### Chapter 392: The Statue
The Boss observed Yuliya’s dazed expression and thought she was just overly worried, so he comforted her, “Don’t worry! You’re an outsider, the punishment for breaking the rules won’t be too severe.”
Huh? There’s a punishment?
Maybe… I should just run away?
If I run fast enough, the punishment won’t be able to catch up with me.
But what if this mark can’t be removed? It would be pretty embarrassing to have a weird transparent halo floating behind me for ages.
“Can this thing be erased?”
“You just need to go to the Church and get baptized once. It won’t be long before the guards come to take you.”
Alright, I was planning to head to the Church anyway. A guided tour sounds like fun!
“Boss, is this just a marker? Does it have any other functions?”
“Oh, of course it does! It’s a restriction that prevents you from reoffending with similar rules.” The Boss pointed to the little halo behind her, “I’m not sure what the other two do, but the red one means you lied. So now, you can’t tell a lie. Go on, give it a try.”
Yuliya looked at herself in the mirror, scrutinizing for a moment before speaking.
“I’m very ch…”
She suddenly got stuck halfway.
“Very what?”
Yuliya blinked and took a deep breath, bursting out, “I’m very, chou…!”
“Ah, forget it! I am beautiful! Lovely! Gorgeous! Elegant!”
With that, Yuliya let out a long sigh.
Man, lying is really tough!
Although I could force my way through with my abilities, where’s the need for that?
You’ve gotta be sincere in life; I’m a truly genuine person.
Sure, being too beautiful and charming is a little flaw of mine, but hey, no one’s perfect. Some flaws must be acknowledged!
Yuliya cradled her face with her hands, savoring her beauty for a minute.
At the same time, she realized that this power, which disregards conventional magical rules and caught her off guard, basically has some sort of divine authority.
This so-called Truth Church really has a deity at the top.
The Boss watched her antics, mouth agape, unable to say a word for a while.
What’s up with this girl? Are today’s youngsters all this self-absorbed?
“Ahem…” The Boss coughed lightly. “Young lady, while you do belong to the beautiful type, I still hope you could be a bit more humble. There are quite a number of people in our country who are, well…”
The Boss’s words got stuck halfway.
Because she saw the reflection in the mirror where tiny red lights started to twinkle behind her.
Eyes wide open, she quickly changed her tone, “Oh, you’re right! I nearly didn’t realize it; truly a perfect beauty!”
“Bwahahaha! So the Boss has already noticed, huh?”
Stealing a glance at the mirror, the Boss saw the red lights fade and sighed in relief while mumbling, “I run a shop; I see many people. Some qualities just can’t be hidden.”
Yuliya chatted a bit more with the Boss. It’s always delightful to chat with someone discerning.
After a while, there was a commotion at the door, and two guards came in, knocking.
They looked at Yuliya and were slightly taken aback.
“Three colors? An outsider?”
The Boss replied, “Yes, she just arrived yesterday, and she’s quite young. Please cut her some slack.”
“Alright, but it ultimately depends on the Bishop and the statue’s judgment.”
Yuliya was led by the guards to the Church.
On the way, other groups emerged from various corners, gathering together. In total, there were more than a dozen folks, all sporting different halos behind them.
However, while everyone else was monochromatic, Yuliya, the three-colored powerhouse, stood out like a sore thumb, drawing all the attention.
Those who caught sight of her couldn’t help but gasp, bowing in awe, their eyes filled with admiration.
Then they all shifted a bit further away.
Ah, this must be the inherent dominance of the strong.
Yuliya rolled her eyes at these people.
Losers!
Upon reaching the Church, Yuliya peeked in from the entrance. It looked pretty much like any other Church she had seen.
She had visited the Church in the Jade Emperor Kingdom and the one in the Ruinous Country; it was safe to say they were pretty much the same.
Churches are all like this, but what’s critically important and needs distinguishing is the statue.
The Goddess of Life’s statue resembles a compassionate mother, while this one looks more like a stern scholar.
Everyone entered. An elderly figure resembling a Cardinal awaited them in front of the statue.
Seeing them arrive, he opened his arms passionately and proclaimed, “Lost children, come here, and the divine will forgive your transgressions and guide your path!”
Others’ faces fell instantly, except for Yuliya, who was utterly bewildered.
What’s going on? Everyone looks so gloomy; the looming punishment must be quite terrifying, right? This is a Church, a legit one, it shouldn’t be that severe, right?
Before long, the first person was called to step forward, bowing before the statue, seemingly in silent prayer.
Yuliya caught the words he mumbled and felt speechless.
He was merely delayed a bit while returning home yesterday and got caught.
Late? It was still before six o’clock.
Is that even a big deal?
Then, the Bishop exchanged a couple of words with him before announcing the punishment—rewrite the Church’s decree ten times.
Yuliya almost spat out her soda.
Are you kidding me? Do you think this is some middle school punishing misbehaving students?
Yuliya pondered for a moment and asked the person next to her, “Hey, bro, how many decrees are there? Does it take a long time to copy them?”
The guy didn’t want to elaborate; he just gestured with his hands while sporting an even gloomier expression.
Yuliya glanced at it.
No way! It’s so thick?!
Oh no, I initially thought it was like a high school kid copying texts, but this is more like transcribing scriptures in a temple!
No wonder they were so glum; this is life or d*ath!
Yuliya’s face turned sour.
While a monochrome person would copy the decree ten times, I, with three colors, must be doing it super extra times, right?
Some painful memories flooded back.
But as things unfolded, Yuliya grew even more grim.
Not only was copying the decree a punishment, but there were also street cleaning, sanitation duties, reflecting in silence, standing in prayer, and so on.
And each punishment was hefty, at least one month long.
This isn’t even another world; it’s the most torturous school life!
With all this nonsense, they might as well send me to slay some monsters instead.
Maybe… I should just run away…
No wonder outsiders can’t stand it; that school life was worse than prison!
Terrifying.
Yuliya was resolute; if it came to it, she’d bolt.
But she still wanted to see what punishment awaited her.
After all, as an outsider, shouldn’t it be better? But… three colors are a bit much.
Finally, Yuliya stepped forward.
The Bishop looked at the three-color halo behind her and smiled more warmly.
Yet that smile sent chills down Yuliya’s spine; it felt like facing a high school teacher.
“Child, come here.”
Yuliya advanced.
As she got closer, she noticed that the statue’s facial expression could change and even speak.
Only those right in front could see and hear it, while from a distance, the statue appeared unchanged.
It quickly began, “Lost one, you have broken my established rules; first, please…”
But halfway through, it stopped.
Because Yuliya, who was supposed to bow her head, lifted it instead, staring straight at the statue’s face.
At the same time, golden light shimmered in her eyes.
The statue’s pupils widened dramatically: “Asyu…”
It immediately shut its mouth, and with a flash, the statue turned into a real stone.
