Chapter 350

Chapter 302: Notes

In the afternoon, on the balcony of house number 17 in Green Shade Town, Dorothy silently pondered while holding the “Navigation of the Literary Sea.” She thought about Adele’s response and wondered if there was some hidden conflict between the Radiant Church’s line of the Holy Mother and the Gluttonous Wolf’s line associated with the Cup Mother’s amniotic sac, since they both involved the “Cup.” Perhaps there were some unknown disputes hidden within.

‘Of course, it could also be that I’m overthinking this. There might not actually be any high-level conflicts among deities. The Radiant Church, being the largest official extraordinary institution, should naturally resist organizations like the Wolf bl**d Association.’

Dorothy continued to think along these lines. After some reflection, she decided to set aside the questions she couldn’t immediately answer. She closed the “Navigation of the Literary Sea” and instead began to admire the scenery around her, enjoying the coffee and sunlight during her leisure time.

Just as Dorothy was savoring her coffee, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Hey~ You over there~”

Hearing this voice, Dorothy was slightly startled and looked in the direction from which the sound came, toward the street below her house. Then she saw a familiar figure—a young girl with short gray hair, wearing loose home clothes, an apron, and carrying some sort of bag. It wasn’t someone else; it was Beverly.

“Beverly? What brings you here?” Dorothy said unexpectedly when she saw her neighbor downstairs. Beverly waved a small rectangular bag nonchalantly and continued shouting.

“Your package, come down and get it quickly. I still have soup cooking at home.”

‘Soup? You’re not just learning to make coffee, now you’re learning to cook? ‘ Dorothy thought to herself in surprise. However, she didn’t hesitate and immediately got up to go back inside and down the stairs. At the door, Beverly handed the package to Dorothy, who took it. Beverly then continued speaking.

“Alright, I’ll go back to recording data. If you have time, remember to come taste my soup.”

“Hmm… Okay, I’ll come if I have time.”

Dorothy responded, and Beverly, still wearing her apron, immediately turned and left. Watching Beverly’s retreating figure, Dorothy thought, ‘This clockwork person is really getting into everything. Last time she made coffee, now she’s cooking. Is she collecting data to develop some kind of household robot?’

Dorothy’s confusion lasted only a moment before her attention shifted back to the long package she was holding. Though there was no information written on it, since it was brought by Beverly, there was only one sender.

Holding the new package, Dorothy turned around and returned to her room. After closing the door, she made her way to the study. Sitting down, she placed the package on the table and opened it. What appeared before Dorothy was an old, yellowed notebook. On top of the notebook was a note written in Adele’s handwriting.

‘Indeed…’ Dorothy thought to herself. Now, the only person who knew how to send things through the White Stone Craftsmen Guild was Adele. This had to be the research materials Adele was sending her from her teacher Dalena.

Without much thought, Dorothy picked up the note and read its contents.

“This is the first piece of information I found. It seems to be early research notes of my teacher on the path of Enlightenment. Due to the presence of poison recognition, I did not read it thoroughly, so I don’t know if it contains anything you’re interested in. I’m currently dealing with some troubles, but after I resolve them, I will find more materials to send you. Please keep these materials safe, and pay attention to poison protection.”

‘Poison recognition? That’s great. I used the Heart-Eating Staff Sword last time, and lost 7 points of “Cup,” which is no small matter. This is a good chance to replenish.’

Dorothy thought to herself, then put Adele’s note aside and picked up the old notebook of Dalena, flipping through it carefully.

With the strong learning ability provided by the Scholar, Dorothy quickly finished reading this thin notebook. After finishing, she sighed deeply.

“I never imagined that Adele’s teacher had such an origin… The Path of Desire is actually like this…”

Dorothy murmured to herself, then began to organize the contents of the notebook in her mind. As Adele had said, this notebook was early research by Dalena. At that time, she was merely an apprentice and had not truly stepped onto the Path of Desire. However, the reason she chose this path surprised Dorothy.

Based on the records in the notebook, Dalena was born in a remote mountain village in the Main Continent, Farano. The village where she lived was isolated from the outside world, rarely interacting with others and maintaining unique customs and traditions.

In Dalena’s hometown, there was a unique belief. The people there worshipped a deity called the Goddess of Abundance. According to the description in the notebook, this goddess could bring bountiful harvests to the land and was also a protector of love, marriage, and childbirth. Dalena’s hometown had been honoring this goddess for generations, unaffected by the expansion of the Radiant Church.

Dalena was born into a priestly family dedicated to the Goddess of Abundance. From a young age, she learned a sacred dance performed in various rituals to worship the deity. The main method of worship was through dance, a secret dance containing specific preparations, psychological suggestions, incantations, and other hidden techniques. During her training in the dance, Dalena felt her strength growing day by day, and she became increasingly loved by the villagers, just like her ancestors.

According to the notebook, later on, Dalena discovered that the ancestral dance she had been performing was actually the Desire Dance Method. Unbeknownst to her, she had accumulated spirituality through the Desire Dance Method and the family rituals, eventually becoming an apprentice of the “Cup.” After her mother’s d*ath, she officially inherited the position of the village priestess responsible for worshipping the Goddess of Abundance.

However, their peaceful life was soon disrupted. Due to industrial development, a railway was built near their village, exposing their long-hidden beliefs. The heretic judges of the Radiant Church quickly led the protective army to their village, forcing the people to change their faith under pressure from the Radiant Church. Reluctantly, the villagers complied.

Fortunately, the most frenzied period of persecution by the Radiant Church had passed. The methods used were now more civilized. Heretics only needed to convert their beliefs in time to avoid any punishment. Unlike before, they wouldn’t be burned at the stake. As long as they did not resist, they would not be forced to use violence. However, all traces of the old faith had to be erased. Books in the village temple were confiscated, murals destroyed, and the statue of the Goddess of Abundance transformed into a statue of the Holy Mother.

No one dared to resist the immense pressure from the Radiant Church. Although young priestess Dalena was angry about the desecration of her faith, she did not dare to resist. Therefore, she secretly took the most valuable treasure from the temple—the ancient scriptures about the worship of the Goddess of Abundance—and fled.