Ron's expression was a little dazed. He hadn't expected that just by redeeming a divine miracle, he would suddenly be elevated to stand alongside such influential figures.
Just a while ago, he thought 10,000 Wealth Points was outrageously expensive.
But now… it felt like he had gotten a steal of a deal.
Even though those 10,000 Wealth Points had been hard-earned, they paled in comparison to the title of God's Chosen.
He had no idea how the system had managed it. What, did it hold a knife to the Goddess of Harvest — Hervesta's throat and force her to grant him a miracle?
Ron chuckled inwardly at the absurdity, then snapped back to reality and continued asking, "Your Grace, may I ask what exactly this appointment entails?"
"This is the first time something like this has happened within the church, so I can't say for sure," Bishop Morris replied with a wry smile. "There will likely be a formal investiture ceremony to officially recognize your identity as a God's Chosen. Additionally, you might be offered some honorary position, such as Honorary Bishop."
Hearing this, Ron actually felt less interested.
He had always wanted to live a peaceful, low-profile life. If it hadn't been for the two Legend-rank powerhouses eyeing him like hawks, he might not have felt the urgency to redeem the divine miracle today.
Gaining the identity of God's Chosen was, for him, merely a cover for the real secret behind Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop.
As for the church's appointment, to him, it was just a bonus.
Still, this title should make the two Legendary figures more wary of acting against him.
With that in mind, Ron calmly accepted it.
"Thank you for letting me know, Your Grace." Ron stood up with a smile. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Wait!" Bishop Morris immediately stood up to stop him.
Ron looked puzzled. "What is it? Something else?"
"Ahem, let's sit down and talk, Lord Ron," Morris said with an embarrassed look, then added a bit sheepishly, "Actually, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you—but I'll need your consent."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead, I'm listening."
"Well… here's the thing." Morris coughed awkwardly, "Our church's 'harvest' hasn't been great in recent years. There are too few believers here in the City of Chaos, and we've been operating at a loss. It's only thanks to your donations in the past half-month that we're managing to get by…"
"Uh… so what are you trying to say?" Ron asked cautiously.
"You're a God's Chosen now." Morris rubbed his hands and explained, "And the divine miracle descended right in the main hall of our church. With so many witnesses present, if we just do a bit of promotion, it'll definitely attract more people to pray here."
"For that… I'd like to mention you in the promotion. So I figured I should ask you first—what can be said, and what should be left out?"
"If things go well, Your Highness might even earn a share from the donations… What do you think?"
After hearing Morris out, Ron didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Had the church really fallen on such hard times?
Were they planning to turn the main hall into a tourist attraction?
And he was the featured personality of this 'scenic spot'?
He had so many sarcastic thoughts, but didn't know where to start. Still, he didn't actually object to Morris's plan.
"If you need to, I don't mind. But make sure the promotions don't exaggerate things—try to stick to the truth."
"No problem! As long as you agree!" Morris beamed like a flower blooming in spring.
Just imagining the steady stream of worshippers and the clinking gold coins pouring in, all his earlier frustrations about being overlooked by the Goddess vanished.
After personally escorting Lord Ron out of the church, Bishop Morris immediately returned to the inner sanctuary and began writing letters.
His mind was still a little hazy. He couldn't understand why the Goddess of Harvest would favor such an ordinary prince.
But regardless, the news that a God's Chosen of the Goddess had appeared in the City of Chaos had to be reported to the main cathedral in the Royal Capital immediately!
…
As Ron walked along the street after leaving the church, someone suddenly fell to their knees beside him. The person drew a symbol of wheat on their chest while chanting under their breath.
Ron was startled for a moment. But sensing the life force brimming within the man, he realized he must have been one of the witnesses from the church earlier.
Ron didn't help him up. Instead, he shook his head with a wry smile and quickly left.
All the while, though he looked calm on the outside, Ron was deep in communication with the system.
He glanced at the system panel and reviewed the newly acquired title badge. In his mind, he asked, "What does Life Bloom do?"
[System: "Passive Skill — Life Bloom. When the host is attacked by an enemy whose strength cannot be resisted, the skill automatically triggers. It forcefully stimulates the target's body and evaporates all their vitality. It treats all enemies below Legend-rank equally."]
Ron was delighted. Another layer of protection!
Although it could only trigger once per month, the devastating effect of Life Bloom made it a powerful deterrent against any ill-intentioned enemies.
After clarifying this, Ron asked, "When I advanced to Tier 2 Mage earlier, why didn't I get a new achievement?"
[System: "Tier 2 is still considered part of the basic stage and does not trigger achievement titles."]
"Tch…" Ron clicked his tongue and looked at the green bird-shaped badge with some exasperation.
This 'Magic Rookie' title was really starting to get on his nerves…
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Because the system had just reminded him, the two Legendary powerhouses were still tracking him.
Ron kept a calm expression and continued asking, "If I directly enter the dimensional pocket, can Legend-rank individuals detect its existence?"
[System: "Legend-rank individuals can deduce the presence of a pocket dimension from your sudden disappearance, but they cannot pinpoint its exact location. Only a Legend-rank space mage might have a chance to lock onto it, but with the system's protection, no one except the host can enter."]
Ron was satisfied. He was already planning his next move.
Space magic belonged to white magic, and Vosbites—head of the Magic Academy—specialized in fire magic, so he likely had little skill in space manipulation.
Commander Webster was a Legendary warrior, which meant there was even less to worry about.
With this clear, Ron felt much more confident about what came next.
After all, he could just throw the blame onto the Goddess of Harvest. Not like he had to actually do anything…
"Good afternoon, boss!"
As Ron returned to the shop, Nora immediately ran up to greet him.
"Boss, boss! I finished writing my reflection!" Nora excitedly grabbed a thick stack of papers from the tea table and offered it to him.
Ron didn't want to dampen her enthusiasm, but he had urgent matters to attend to, so he didn't take the papers. Instead, he said, "I've got something to deal with right now. Leave your reflection in my study—I'll read it tonight."
Then he added, "You can pick a book from the bookshelf and read it. With your current reading level, you should be able to understand some of them."
Nora looked slightly disappointed. She had worked really hard on that reflection. But she still nodded obediently and ran upstairs.
Watching her disappear up the stairs, Ron walked to the storage room door and placed his hand on the doorknob.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
A glowing wheat symbol appeared on his forehead, radiating with divine light.
The next moment, Ron opened his eyes and pushed the door open.
Swish—
Ron vanished.
The storage room was left empty.