Chapter 1053: The Candidate for the Goddess Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth — A rose-colored boat slowly drove past the riverbank under a bridge and the blue moon. The miserable Prince Beny tried to cover his face with his hands. He was utterly furious. “That asshole, I will not forgive him!” Beny snapped angrily. The two bodyguards were drenched too. They stood beside the prince in silence. A bigger crowd had gathered, and some of them eventually recognized Prince Beny. The man had a fair reputation in society, so someone still managed to recognize him in his current state. People eventually took out their phones and started recording. Beny realized the situation he was in. He quickly used his long wet hair to cover his face. With his identity, he would easily make headlines after someone had tossed him into the canals off the streets of Venice, just so he could enjoy himself a little bath. He did not want something so embarrassing to spread to the public. “Are you Prince Beny?” a pleasant voice came from the boat. “Come on in.” Beny did not hesitate, and quickly hopped onto the boat. The voice of the woman in the boat sounded familiar, but he was having trouble recalling who it belonged to. Either way, he would worry about it after escaping from the crowd. The two bodyguards were extremely slow in their reactions. They did not board the boat in time, thus they could only watch it drifting into the distance along the canals. — “Miss Conti, thanks for lending me a hand there. Otherwise, I was to end up as a laughing stock to the people for quite some time,” Beny said gratefully in the boat. The space in the boat was bigger than he had imagined, and inside was a woman in luxurious attire, brewing tea. She placed a cup of tea with a pleasant scent in front of Prince Beny and said in a gentle voice, “Here, warm yourself.” “Thanks, I appreciate it,” Beny emptied the cup, but he was still feeling uncomfortable, as his clothes were soaked through. “Who’s reckless enough to treat Prince Beny in such manner?” Conti asked. “A condescending representative of the Chinese team! I will not forgive him!” Prince Beny snapped angrily. “I bet it’s the usual quarrel between young men like you. Prince Beny is supposed to behave like a member of the royal family,” Conti said. “It has nothing to do with my behavior. He was disrespectful toward the royal family, there’s no way I can ignore what he did!” Beny answered stiffly. “So what are you going to do then?” Conti asked. “I...I haven’t decided yet,” Beny suddenly felt awkward. “Instead of doing it yourself, why don’t you let the national team settle the debt for you instead? After all, he’s a member of the Chinese team. It’s better to defeat him officially in a match,” Conti said. “You’re right! I remember that if our team wins the next match, our next opponent is likely going to be the Chinese team. I’ll let the team know, so they can make the imbecile pay on my behalf. Miss Conti is intelligent as always; the others won’t be able to criticize it,” Beny agreed happily. “Prince, I wasn’t asking you to take your revenge. I was hoping you would be tolerant, and even if violence is unavoidable, you should only do it in an official match. I hope you’re not thinking of doing something that will bring shame to the royal family’s name,” Conti said seriously. “Miss Conti, why would I do anything like that? Don’t you worry,” Beny replied, yet he had already made up his mind. In order to prevent Conti from reading his mind, he quickly switched the topic, “Miss Conti, did you come to Venice to watch the tournament?” “It’s only one of the reasons. Apparently, the Mediterranean Sea hasn’t been peaceful lately. There are signs of something that shouldn’t be here. As a member of the Shoreline Alliance, I have an obligation to patrol the area,” Conti said. “Oh, I see. Could it be a misbehaving sea monster?” Beny said. Spain was also a maritime country. It had long been harassed by sea monsters, and its people were very sensitive about them! “I would rather it be a sea monster, but I’m afraid it’s something that has existed for a longer time,” Conti said. “It sounds like Miss Conti is going to be quite busy soon. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Sister Asha’ruiya lately, how is she doing?” Beny asked with glittering eyes, suddenly felt restless when he thought of Asha’ruiya’s glamorous face and alluring physique. Both she and the ice beauty on the national team were priceless, worthy to be included in his collection. “That girl? She must be training diligently now. I am actually on my way to see her; does the prince want to come along?” Conti asked. “Sure, Miss Conti... oh, actually, I’ll pass this time. I’ll find some other day to drink afternoon tea with Sister Asha’ruiya.” Beny was initially looking forward to it, but when he remembered his current appearance, he totally lost his mood to meet the gorgeous beauty. —— Greece, a citadel in Athens... The Sacred Mountain of Parthenon was surrounded by purple orchids. Their brilliance was visible in every corner in the citadel. The people living in the Citadel of Athens rarely fell sick, since it had the Parthenon Temple, the place with the strongest Healing Magic in the world. It was like the citadel was forever bathed in the Goddess’ light of protection. At the top of the sacred mountain stood the noble Hall of the Goddess. It was constructed from purple crystals, and despite existing for millennia, it was still in perfectly good condition. The night had just fallen, and the moon was bright and round, setting off the elegance and solemn presence of the Hall of the Goddess! — Within the central hall of the Hall of the Goddess, rhomboids of purple crystals dangled from the ceiling, and produced a pleasant melody when a breeze swept past, soothing and calm. The floor was made of darker crystals. The artisan’s skill was so exceptional that there were no gaps anywhere. It was lustrous, yet solemn. Reflections of alluring silhouettes on the floor were fairly common, as the members of the Hall of the Goddess were all required to wear white dresses with girdles. Xinxia would always giggle when she saw the reflections on the floor, as when she described the situation of the Hall of the Goddess to Mo Fan, the fool strongly believed he would be able to peek at the legs and underwear of the women via the reflections. The truth was, even if the women were not wearing girdles, the dark floor that resembled the night sky would not easily expose anyone. Most importantly, no man was allowed in the Hall of the Goddess. Even the leader of the knights could only wait outside, not permitted to set his feet into the hall. “Forget the courtesy, it’s inconvenient for you too. I heard that you saved the lives of many soldiers in Puccini, Egypt, earning the love and esteem of the locals. You even went to war with the army, and came up with a brilliant idea to help the army, helping them to get rid of the mirage,” Hall Mother Felin said. “Yes, Hall Mother,” Xinxia slightly lowered her head. She actually did not look very natural. She was not good at lying. After all, it was Mo Fan that came up with the idea and defeated the Dark Swordmaster, but Mo Fan asked Xinxia to take all the credit, despite her objection. It was necessary for the servants of the Parthenon Temple to earn the love and esteem of the world, so they could be promoted to a Muse and be granted access to the real Healing Magic of the Parthenon Temple. It was all Mo Fan’s contributions instead of hers, yet Mo Fan had forced her to take all the credit, and she was quite troubled by it. “Mmm, you were able to secure the victory for the army in the battle against the undead with your profound knowledge. It is very impressive. Initially, you were to be promoted to an official Servant after your training, making you an official member of the Parthenon Temple. However, you’ve done well bringing honor to the name of the Parthenon Temple, so I will make an exception and put your name down as a candidate. You have been outstanding as an exchange student, but since you aren’t an actual student of the Parthenon Temple, just think of it as a chance to learn. Courtesy, management, sacred arts; feel free to learn any of them, it might come in handy when you support the Goddess in the future,” the Hall Mother smiled. The gaze she leveled on Xinxia was brimming with satisfaction. Not only was Xinxia shocked by her words, a few other women who were just promoted as official servants were astounded too! Many of the Servants and Muses that had served in the Hall of the Goddess for many years put their attention on Xinxia. Their eyes were filled with disbelief, but that was soon replaced with envy and dissatisfaction! “Hall Mother, isn’t that inappropriate? Ye Xinxia is only an exchange student to the Parthenon Temple. She’s fortunate enough to enroll in the Parthenon Temple, how can she be listed as a candidate? There are three criteria a candidate has to fulfill! Leaving her bloodline aside, her nationality isn’t even appropriate! Second, she hasn’t been recommended by more than seven Muses! Last, her cultivation isn’t strong enough to meet the requirements...” the Great Muse Mellaura immediately objected. “The Great Muse is right; people will be criticizing us if we suddenly list a probationary servant as a candidate,” the other Muses quickly spoke up in support. The Servants had no right to speak, but their expressions alone were enough to convey their thoughts. They strongly disagreed with this! They had spent years in the Parthenon Temple, yet they could not even get a promotion. Meanwhile, Ye Xinxia was just a newbie! The old servants were already thinking about how they could abuse the girl. To their surprise, the Hall Mother suddenly promoted her to a candidate. Wouldn’t that mean the Servants would have to serve her, and even the Muses have to respect her, too? How could they allow the sparrow to suddenly transform into a phoenix? It was true that she had contributed greatly in Puccini and brought glory to the name of the Parthenon Temple. However, wasn’t the reward too good to be true?