Heinrich did not wait long by the sacred spring. After briefly explaining the basic etiquette of bathing in the spring, which everyone knew anyway, he left the room.

As the door closed with a creak, Tiran and Aya looked at each other.

"So, the next step is to soak in there?" Tiran blinked, "I thought it would be a more elaborate ritual. Now I have a bit of appreciation for this church."

"Well, what are you doing now?" Aya looked at Tiran who was running around the sacred spring, tapping here and there.

"Of course, I'm looking for any magical recording device," Tiran said confidently, "In case there's any footage that ends up in the hands of a bunch of nerds..."

Just then, the sound of the door opening interrupted Tiran's words.

Two girls in white dresses walked in barefoot, and stood in front of Tiran. They had chestnut-colored soft and long hair that naturally fell behind them, and their matching pairs of eyes were fixed on Tiran.

They didn't look very old, perhaps around fifteen or sixteen years old. While their appearances may not be as stunning as Tiran's, they were still quite attractive. The most notable thing was that the two of them looked almost identical, except one of them had two strands of hair sticking up on her head, while the other had only one strand.

"Greetings, Your Highness Tiran."

After bowing respectfully to Tiran almost in a copy-paste manner, the girl with the hair strands sticking up spoke.

"What are you...here for? If I remember correctly, this is supposed to be my baptism alone, right?" Tiran asked confusedly, then suddenly made a comical expression, "Could it be that the church also provides special services?"

"Special...services?" The girl with the hair strands sticking up looked puzzled.

"Tiran, please mind your words. My sister is still young. Please don't mention those things in front of her," the girl with the hair strand spoke displeased, "We are only responsible for helping you bathe and change."

"Oh...I see."

Wait a minute, what do you mean by that disappointed expression? Did you actually want something to happen?!

...

"Why doesn't Prince Brad want to receive the baptism?"

Accepting the cup of steaming tea handed over by Brad, the guard in a white robe held it gently in his hands and blew on it lightly.

"Just don't ask." The prince's expression suddenly became as if he had been whipped.

"Your Highness, your reaction actually piques my curiosity..."

"Well, you see, I'm a member of the royal family, right?"

"Yes, and then?" The robed guard nodded.

"The royal baptism ceremony, even if not public, would certainly be of the highest standard. So there must be someone in charge of assisting with bathing and changing, right?" Brad spread his hands, "But you see, I just don't really like others seeing my body."

"Huh? Is that so?" The guard nodded half-believingly.

Of course not! It's not because those idiots from the church refused to provide me with the cute maidens and insisted on using male attendants instead! If they were just ordinary attendants, that would be fine, but two years ago, during my coming-of-age ceremony, the two attendants I saw were both muscle-bound giants, two meters tall, and looked at me with suggestive eyes. I can't possibly go through that kind of baptism! Who knows if I'll be able to walk out properly after being washed!

...

The sanctuary, the Holy Spring, remained as quiet as ever, except for the sound of gentle water flows.

"Sister, sister, I didn't know that Princess is actually flat as a washboard."

"Yes, a washboard. Flat as the sea." The sister with the hair strand on top of her head looked down at her own moderately developed chest and laughed.

"You two! Weren't you supposed to be in charge of changing clothes?!" Tiran finally couldn't stand the twins' mockery, and with a splash, he stood up from the sacred spring and pounced on the twin sisters with his claws outstretched.

"Although I don't believe in the goddess, but... Praise the goddess." Aya, blood dripping from her nose, stood silently on the side, holding Tiran's clothes, enjoying the sight of the three girls chasing each other in the waist-deep sacred spring.

Praise? If the goddess really knew what was happening in her sacred spring, she might just send down a divine punishment.

Ten minutes later.

"Whew... they can really run." Tiran grumbled as he fastened the buttons on his collar, staring at the two girls bowing to him.

"Oh no, Your Highness, if you're serious, we sisters won't be able to escape. Since the ritual is already complete, we shall take our leave." the twin sister smiled slightly, holding onto her sister's hand as they left the holy spring.

"Hey, those two girls, what are they really up to?" Aya frowned after the two girls left. She was grateful for the benefits they brought, but it all felt... forced, somehow.

"They already said, of course, they probably have other motives, like checking if I soaked in the holy spring properly." Tiran took the towel Aya handed him and wiped his damp silver hair, raising an eyebrow. "I stayed in there for quite a while, so the effect of the holy spring is fully manifested."

As he spoke, Tiran extended a finger and ignited a small cluster of ice blue flames on his fingertip.

"It feels different, a radiant aura?" Although Magic and Chi were sealed, Aya, being a Dragon, still sensed a slight difference.

"The Church's blessing, essentially an amplification effect. There's a hint of light attribute in Chi now, making it more powerful, especially effective against dark creatures. That's why the Holy Knights Order of the Church is invincible when facing vampires and necromancers." Tiran snorted, showing no signs of delight in his expression.

"What's the cost then?"

"So you already know?" Tiran smiled mischievously.

"Of course not." Aya shrugged. "But I understand that good things don't just fall from the sky."

"Then, you guessed correctly." Suddenly, the Chi cluster on Tiran's fingertip brightened. "Although the Temple Church claims to be the spokesperson of the Goddess of Light in the mortal realm, it is ultimately an organization formed by humans. And as long as it is an organization, there will inevitably be traitors. The Church has suffered painful losses in the past due to betrayal by its high-ranking members, so the Inquisitor's Office developed a means to prevent betrayal. And that means—"

"That's it."

After the light subsided, Tiran held a small cross reflecting silver radiance in his hand.

...

"Is the ritual over, Kuriri, Kororo?"

In the small prayer room on the side of the cathedral, Bishop Heinrich stood by the door, gazing at the statue in front of him as the sound of the door opening reached his ears.

"It's over, Father." Kuriri, the sister with a hair antenna on her head, stuck out her tongue. "The princess is indeed as lively as the rumors say."

"Yes, Kuroro and I have completed the mission well." The twin sister had somehow freed herself from her sister's hand and hugged Heinrich's arm with both her hair antennas swaying, wearing an expression that said, "Praise me, praise me."

Heinrich paused for a moment, showing a helpless smile on his face, and affectionately rubbed Kuroro's head.

"Kuroro, you're too cunning!" Kuriri stomped her foot unhappily.

"It's because you reacted too slowly, sister." Kuroro turned around, her face expressionless, making a victorious gesture with her hand, then looked back at Heinrich. "Tonight, it's my turn to serve you, Father."

"Hey, hey, don't use such misleading language!" Heinrich almost choked on his saliva. "It's just a shoulder massage!"

"Eh... Is that so? I read in a book that men would be happy with that." Kuroro tilted her head.

"Kuriri, what kind of strange books did you show your sister?" Heinrich was stunned, and his first reaction was to look at Kuriri, who was her sister.

"Father, it wasn't me! She took it without permission!" Kuriri protested.

"...So you mean, there really are such things?" Heinrich rubbed his temple slightly, pondering whether he should fulfill his role as a father and properly manage the hobbies of his teenage daughters.

...

"The Holy Silver Cross, a pure blessing formed purely from the power of light." Tiran shook the cross in his hand, then crushed it forcefully. The solid cross immediately shattered into countless points of light, dissipating in the air, with a faint trace of black smoke among them.

"It seems like more than just an ordinary blessing," Aya frowned.

"Of course, it's not that simple. In addition to the blessing, there's also a curse," Tiran grimaced and said, "According to the teachings of the Church, those who betray the faith of the light will be punished by God. Once someone who has received divine protection is marked as a betrayer by the Church, the Pope has the power to unleash the curse that accompanies the blessing. The cursed individual not only loses the divine blessing but also suffers the backlash of their own powers. If one day I go against the Church, they would probably not hesitate to unleash the curse."

"You knew all of this and still went through the baptism?" Aya was speechless.

"Well, I can handle this thing anyway, so what's there to fear," Tiran shrugged nonchalantly. "But it seems like the Church is indeed up to something. They probably plan to cause trouble during the New Year celebration. I'll go back and let my father know, we have to keep a close eye on the Church."

Returning to the grand hall of the cathedral, Bishop Heinrich was still waiting there.

"Your Highness, it seems you have completed the baptism ritual," Heinrich smiled and bowed, a hidden gleam of cunning in his eyes.

"Of course, thanks for your efforts, Your Excellency," Tiran replied with a fake smile. She never liked the Church in the first place, and now that she was certain of their ill intentions, her feelings towards them only grew stronger.