Chapter 16: Gambling
At Balos’s nod, the tester took the crossbow bolt he’d picked from the junk pile and aimed it at Tillysha.
Tillysha’s eyes widened in surprise, her body instinctively tensing up, not used to the Divine Princess Tests.
By the side, Balos stood with hands clasped behind his back, watching silently.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. Only when an Unawakened Goddess was nervous, sensing an impending danger, could she instinctively trigger her Divine Princess Domain in self-defense.
The tester deliberately waved his crossbow around to give Tillysha a hint, “I’m about to sh**t you.” Once satisfied that Tillysha had taken in his actions, he pulled the trigger.
The wooden bolt sliced through the air, hurtling straight toward the little princess. As Tillysha’s pupils shrank in fright and prepared to dodge, Balos gripped her shoulder.
In the next moment, the bolt was caught in mid-air by Balos, stopping inches from the purity of Tillysha’s neck.
Though it looked perilous, this was actually very safe. With years of experience at the Rating Hall, Balos could perform this intercept in his sleep.
Even at the worst-case scenario, if he failed to catch the bolt, the Divine Princess Domain would surely activate to protect her.
“Bzzzzt……” The magical array beneath Tillysha’s feet blinked several times.
The test was over, but Balos’s curious expression didn’t fade.
The girl’s Divine Princess Domain…….. triggered so subtly that even he didn’t feel it?
On the other hand, Blyth had already walked over from the control booth with the results etched on a crystalline printout, looking utterly perplexed.
“Well? What’s this Divine Princess Domain of hers?” Balos asked.
“No…… the scanner didn’t pick up any traces of her Divine Princess Domain.” Blyth rechecked the prints, confused.
“It didn’t pick anything up??” Balos frowned, glancing at Tillysha.
This wasn’t right. She was pushed to the brink; the bolt was almost at her throat. In such dire situations, how could the Divine Princess Domain possibly stay inactive?
“Take a look yourself.”
Balos grabbed the printout, and from the corner of his eye, Tillysha could see the contents too. Only numbers though, ones she couldn’t make sense of.
“How is this possible? Why are all the readings zero?……..”
“Could it be that the girl actually didn’t trigger her Divine Princess Domain?”
“But…… that’s impossible?” Blyth was bewildered. “We’ve never had a case like this.”
“Did you consider the possibility that this girl might not be a Divine Princess at all?” Another tester stepped in, airing his perspective.
“No, Miss Tillysha is definitely a Divine Princess, I confirmed it with magic crystals yesterday.” Blyth adjusted her glasses. “Are you implying that I made a mistake, Mr. Jem?”
“In that case, I’m perplexed. The scanner has never failed before, why is it inaccurate only this time?”
“Perhaps, the scanner didn’t fail.” Balos mused. “There are two possibilities. One is that this girl inherited an amount of Divine Authority too minimal for her to control her Divine Princess Domain, barely scraping into ‘Divine Princess’ territory.”
“The second possibility……”
“Our method is wrong. Miss Tillysha’s method of activating her Divine Princess Domain is unconventional, unable to be triggered by instinct.”
“Eh? Mr. Balos, are there really Divine Princess Domains like that? How come I’ve never heard of them?” Jem shrugged.
“Yes, but they’re extremely rare.” Balos shook his head, looking at Tillysha with a sigh. “Rare enough that you could only read about them in history books and Divine Authority compendiums.”
“So personally, I’m more inclined toward the first option. The girl is barely scraping as a Divine Princess.”
“Put plainly, a Divine Princess without any Divine Princess talent.”
Blyth sighed.
All three present knew that if she couldn’t even activate her Divine Princess Domain, then controlling her Divine Authority would be laughable.
“So, what do we do now?” Jem glanced at Tillysha, who was silently deep in thought.
“Can a Divine Princess without a Divine Princess Domain still be called a Divine Princess?”
“………” Blyth and Balos remained silent.
“If not, it means we don’t recognize her as a Divine Princess. Without the title, she doesn’t have the qualifications to join Coleman Academy. Have you thought this through?”
“Miss Tillysha.” Blyth called to the girl, crouching down, looking at Tillysha with regret.
“Why do you want to enter Coleman Academy?”
“………Miss Blyth, could you give me a month?”
“A month?” Balos was confused. “The Newcomers’ Crown Cup is a month away. If she doesn’t qualify by then, the team will be expelled from the academy.”
Balos was implying clearly; lingering in Coleman Academy for a month without leaving afterward would still end the same way. He doubted any team would take the young Divine Princess. Even if one did, on the battlefield she’d only be deadweight. Supporting such a goddess would require someone legendary, an unprecedented Godling. The problem was, such Godlings were too proud to consider Tillysha.
“Precisely. In a month, I will prove myself during the Newcomers’ Crown Cup.” Tillysha raised her cherub face earnestly.
She was putting all her hopes on the full activation of her Divine Princess form when her body completely assimilates Holy Oblivion.
