"Where is this place?!"
What stood beyond the main gate was not connected to Ragunna City at all, but instead a platform with a pool in the center.
At the end of the platform was a domed wall carved with golden flower patterns, and on both sides were stairways leading downward.
The stairs were covered with red carpets, with two Sound Skeleton guards stationed on each side. It was clearly supposed to be an open and bright monastery, yet Zane felt an indescribable pressure for some reason.
Looking down from the high platform, he saw wide straight garden paths, fan-shaped terraces, and geometric flower beds.
Zane looked around for a while. Everywhere he looked, groups of devout people were kneeling on the ground with their hands raised high.
"Almighty imperator, please free us from injustice."
"Merciful imperator, please grant peace to our hearts."
———
Looking at the fanatical devotion on their faces, Zane could not help frowning.
"Did I accidentally walk into some kind of pyramid scheme gathering?"
Perhaps to show the monastery's unmatched status, the entire complex was built into the mountainside, backed by mountains and facing water, completely disconnected from Ragunna City itself.
A monastery placed so high above everything else could not be reached on foot alone.
Combined with the elevation design inside Ragunna City, all kinds of stairways connected different areas, further increasing the fun for visitors.
After all, constantly climbing stairs was exhausting.
And this kind of elevation difference also made navigation even harder.
Simply put, it was extremely unfriendly to people with no sense of direction.
Maybe this was also part of Phrolova's plan?
Following the road, Zane slowly searched his way forward. Even though the monastery directly faced Ragunna City, following the flow of people somehow led him all the way around to the back before he could find stairs leading downward.
After walking for quite a while, Zane looked at the monastery gate in front of him, then at the people around him still kneeling in prayer.
At that moment, a devout monk slowly walked up to him. Under Zane's shocked gaze, he spread his arms toward the sky.
"Praise the imperator. Sir, you must be so captivated by the Lord's radiance that you have returned here three times in a row. If everyone were as devout as you, surely the imperator would cast His gaze upon you as well."
"Praise the imperator!"
"Praise the imperator!"
———
Watching the monks wriggle toward him like white maggots and surround him completely, Zane's plan to find Rover instantly fell apart. He stomped angrily on the spot.
"Sweet heavens! Kind monastery architect! Invincible bishop! Beloved Imbrado! What honey-covered genius made such an amazing road layout?!"
"Oh! Listen to that, such devout praise! Lord Time will surely bless you."
"My honey-coated mouth just loves praising things... Sweet heavens, does this monastery come with some kind of automatic filtering effect?!"
Just as Zane was about to cause a scene in the monastery, a small blonde nun squeezed through the crowd and arrived in front of him.
"Sir, you seem troubled."
Like an angel cutting through layers of mist, the girl appeared before him.
When the surrounding monks saw the girl, their expressions became even more devout. At the same time, they also showed more respect toward her.
"Lady Phoebe."
Phoebe folded her hands in front of her stomach and tilted her head slightly. Her delicate face, as refined as a crafted ornament, carried a warm smile as she gently instructed the monks.
"The spreading of the gospel requires respect and lasting patience. Rash and abrupt declarations will only cause doubt in people's hearts."
"Yes, Lady Phoebe."
The monks all placed their hands over their chests and bowed respectfully toward the young girl. She was like a beam of sunlight within the monastery, bringing a bit of warmth and vitality to this cold and harsh place.
After the monks left, Zane looked over the girl in front of him, only to see her pat her chest like she had finally relaxed.
"Good, good. You didn't cause trouble."
A slowly appearing "?" seemed to rise above Zane's head.
'What is this girl talking about? What does she mean by "didn't cause trouble"?'
Back when he was stranded in Rinacita, all he did was dislike those older monks bullying newcomers, so he put sacks over their heads and beat them up a little.
Then stuffed mice into their blankets, added pineapple to their pizza, and fed their freshly washed clothes to gondolas.
'Wait...'
Zane suddenly widened his eyes and carefully looked at the blonde girl again.
Among everyone in Rinacita, only two people knew he was the one who had ambushed those monks with sacks. And in his memory, one of them happened to be a little blonde girl.
"You are... the Sound Skeleton Princess?!"
Hearing the familiar nickname again after so long, Phoebe pressed her lips together and smiled softly.
Back then, she had secretly climbed aboard a long-distance merchant ship by herself, only to be thrown high into the air by the waves.
It was the lost Zane who pulled her onto his little boat.
And from that day onward, her legs had begun to glow.
At that time, surrounded by the Sound Skeletons, she was given the nickname "Sound Skeleton Princess" by the young Zane.
"Long time no see, Zane."
The girl had long golden slightly curly hair and a pure white hat brim. Her face carried a gentle, intelligent, and sunny smile. Her skirt fluttered lightly, soft and white like morning light.
The fully wrapped white stockings on her legs looked extremely smooth. Under the sunlight, they faintly showed a touch of pink, and even the Sound Marks on her thighs could be clearly seen. Very pink and translucent, practically food-grade.
Like a pure white lily swaying in the wind.
Phoebe means brightness and purity.
As if noticing that someone's gaze had stayed on her thighs for too long, a faint pink color spread to the tips of Phoebe's ears.
A bird-headed staff instantly appeared in her hand as she glared at Zane with an unfriendly expression.
Seeing this, Zane wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly turned his head away with an awkward laugh.
"Uh... Phoebe, your monastery is pretty... luxurious, huh."
Phoebe froze for a moment. She placed the bird-headed staff behind her back, looking slightly proud.
"This is a place illuminated by the imperator's radiance. Out of reverence for the Lord, the workers naturally put in extra effort."
"Uh... I wasn't praising the monastery..."
"Really?" Phoebe tilted her head at Zane's explanation. Her brows furrowed slightly as she tried to understand what he meant.
But to her, it really did sound like he was praising how well the monastery was built.
'Why is this girl still so innocent that she would probably help count money for someone even after being sold off?!'
Zane helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed before directly admitting it.
"I got lost!"
"!" Hearing that, Phoebe suddenly understood, but then became confused again. "But haven't you been here before? You even brought the dolls into the monastery to play."
'...Is that playing?!'
Zane roared inside his head, but he had no intention of telling her the truth about that time.
He could hardly tell her that he had led several of her Sound Skeleton friends all the way into the monastery by force just to deliver food to the little girl who had been locked in confinement for coming into contact with Sound Skeletons.
To avoid dragging the wandering Sound Skeletons into trouble, they only guided him secretly from the shadows, while he swung bricks at every person he saw.
And in the end, that operation got him wanted by the monastery, forcing him to leave Rinacita quickly and return to Jinzhou.
Of course, Phoebe knew nothing about that.