132: Tina Saint Bridget

"Saintess, the person you are looking for is in the private room upstairs."

As Deacon Mortimer's deep, rich male voice fell, the rhythmic 'tap-tap-tap' sound of high heels on the wooden floor rang out.

As the sound grew louder, Lister and the others standing in the private room had their attention completely drawn to it.

Knock, knock, knock~

Along with the knocking, Mortimer's deep male voice came from outside the door.

"Excuse me, is this the private room of the Ironthorn Territory Lord, Lister Howard?"

Lister knew that the person outside the door was likely one of the factions lurking in Aetheria.

He just hadn't expected these people to find him, and they even seemed quite polite.

Although he didn't know their purpose, Lister felt it was necessary to meet them to understand their background.

"Who are you?"

Hearing Lister didn't deny it, Mortimer outside the door immediately showed a hint of joy.

He thought to himself that it was a good thing he hadn't messed up this time, or he wouldn't know how to face the Saintess with his old face.

He glanced at Saintess Tina, and seeing her nod in agreement, Mortimer immediately replied, "Lord Howard, we are from the Church of the Goddess of Revenge."

The Church of the Goddess of Revenge?

Lister was stunned. Are the kingdom's "rebels" this arrogant these days?

They just casually announced their origins—aren't they afraid of being encircled and suppressed by the authorities?

Although he wasn't sure what they were plotting, Lister wasn't afraid of them.

Because Daisna's Guard Knights were secretly waiting in the private rooms on both sides, and they would rush over immediately if there was any suspicious movement.

Thinking of this, he signaled Red, who was nearby, with his eyes.

Understanding immediately, Red quickly walked to the door and opened it.

The middle-aged man in black robes at the door bowed slightly to Red, then, completely fearless, was the first to enter the room.

Immediately afterward, he turned sideways, bent slightly, cleared a path, and made a gesture of invitation.

A tall young woman wearing a purple gown and high heels gracefully walked in from outside the door.

After subconsciously looking at her face, Lister was immediately stunned, and two words involuntarily popped into his mind.

Enchantment!

Those purple pupils, swirling like clear waves, were like treasures of heaven and earth, filled with an endless sense of enchantment.

Hiss~

Suddenly, a pain from his waist jolted Lister awake from his daze.

A wry smile flashed across his lips; he knew this was the work of Daisna beside him.

Seeing Lister only glanced at her before looking away, Tina was slightly surprised.

She was extremely confident in her appearance and charm. Which man in the Church who saw her wasn't infatuated? Even women were no exception.

Lister's actions completely exceeded her expectations, instantly increasing her interest and curiosity in him.

If Lister knew what she was thinking, he could only say, "Beautiful lady, you're overthinking it."

At this moment, Mortimer spoke up and introduced, "Lord Howard, this is the Saintess of our Church of the Goddess of Revenge, Lady Tina St. Bridget."

"Heh heh, you announce your affiliation so openly, aren't you afraid I'll report you to Earl Fland?"

Hearing Lister's playful tone, Tina giggled and said in a captivating voice, "Lord Howard~, could you really bear to see this Humble Little Woman locked up in a dark, filthy cell?"

"Heh heh~" Lister smiled calmly and teased, "As long as I can get the bounty, I don't think I'd mind."

"Hehe~, Lord Howard, you truly have no appreciation for romance!"

"Romance? Can it be eaten?"

Normally, Lister wouldn't be so aggressive with his words, but today, since Daisna was right beside him, he had to put on a show.

Sure enough, hearing him say this, Daisna, who was dressed as a man next to him, couldn't help but curve her lips slightly. Despite her masculine attire, she was still beautiful and alluring.

On the other side, Tina showed no negative emotions, smiling lightly, "Lord Howard, may we sit down and talk?"

"Please."

After everyone sat down, Lister remained silent. Since Tina had taken the initiative to find him, he naturally didn't need to speak first.

Tina understood this principle, so she wasn't going to play coy.

However, before stating her purpose, she looked at Daisna beside Lister and asked curiously, "Who is this?"

In fact, all Transcendents can distinguish the gender of a target through perception.

Tina had tried to perceive her just now, but unfortunately, Daisna was covered by a deeply hidden protective magic array set up by a High-Level Magician.

With her Spiritual Power, she couldn't penetrate this array.

Hearing her question, Lister immediately knew that she hadn't investigated Daisna's identity beforehand.

Their intelligence work is lacking!

After complaining internally, he said calmly, "This is my friend, Wright."

Tina nodded, finding nothing amiss. Since Lister could connect with Elsid, his friends naturally wouldn't be ordinary either.

The next second, Tina looked at Lister and directly stated her purpose: "The reason I brought people here this time is to cooperate with you, Lord Howard."

Cooperation?

Everyone present, except for Tina's people, was inwardly surprised.

Even Lister hadn't expected Tina to come seeking cooperation with him.

"I presume Saintess Tina has already investigated my identity. I am merely a small Baron Territory Lord; there seems to be no necessary reason for cooperation, is there?"

"Lord Howard, you don't need to belittle yourself."

A sheet of Shuttle Paper covered in writing appeared out of thin air in Tina's hand. She said, "Since we decided to cooperate with you, we naturally looked into your past information."

"Although you weren't particularly outstanding before taking office in the Ironthorn Territory, recently, the Ironthorn Territory has developed exceptionally well under your governance."

"Even though you are still very weak compared to the Kingdom, in my premonition, your future will definitely shine brightly."

As she spoke, the Shuttle Paper in her hand floated toward Lister, supported by a faint purple magical power.

Although Lister appeared calm on the surface, he was inevitably surprised by her control over magical power.

He himself cultivated Wizardry, and he knew very well how difficult it was to control magical power.

Compared to increasing the quantity of magical power in the body, improving control is the most challenging part.

In his perception, Tina was quite young, roughly the same age as him. To have such control over magical power at this age showed her immense talent.

Taking the Shuttle Paper, Lister read it carefully. Although he was somewhat surprised, it wasn't by much.

The main content on the Shuttle Paper was an investigation of his identity information and experiences.

The information before he went to the Ironthorn Territory was very detailed, but after arriving at the Ironthorn Territory, many key details were missing.

At least that's how it seemed to Lister. For example, it noted the changes in the number of his subordinate Knights and Soldiers, how much the population had increased, and who had newly pledged allegiance, and so on.

But apart from this surface-level information, important details about the Ironthorn Territory Workshop, Cement Factory, and Weapon Development Department were only vaguely mentioned, without specifying what exactly they were doing inside.

There was related information about Pixies, but none whatsoever about Bai Ze. In his opinion, it was a very rudimentary piece of intelligence.

Therefore, he still maintained his previous thought: the intelligence work of the Church of the Goddess of Revenge definitely had a lot of room for improvement.

Tina was unaware of Lister's current thoughts. If she knew, she would definitely cry out that she was wronged.

It wasn't that the intelligence work of the Church of the Goddess of Revenge was poor; rather, the Ironthorn Territory had been too tightly guarded under Lister's arrangements recently.

After outsiders entered the Ironthorn Territory, they not only had to register their identity information but were also secretly and closely monitored by Patrol Soldiers.

Under these circumstances, it was indeed not easy to gather more information.

Of course, part of the reason was that the Church of the Goddess of Revenge hadn't truly focused on the Ironthorn Territory, otherwise they could have dug up more information.

Placing the Shuttle Paper on the table, Lister said in a calm tone, "The fact that your Church of the Goddess of Revenge could investigate this much information indeed exceeded my expectations."

"But ultimately, your organization is considered an Evil Organization within the Kingdom. My meeting you today already violates Kingdom Law. Why should I risk the death penalty to cooperate with you?"

Tina didn't feel discouraged; instead, she was slightly pleased.

From Lister's words, she could tell he hadn't explicitly refused and was even somewhat tempted.

The ambiguity was intended to make her provide a compelling reason for cooperation.

If it were any other lord, Tina certainly wouldn't give him such a pleasant expression, but Lister was different.

After meeting Lister, the premonition in her consciousness grew stronger, telling her that the key to the future survival of the Church of the Goddess of Revenge lay with this young lord before her.

This premonition had helped her avert many disasters and accomplish many things; she had even successfully obtained the position of Saintess because of it.

Since she had this opportunity now, she certainly couldn't miss it.

However, cooperation should be fair between both parties, so she naturally couldn't beg pathetically.

Thinking of the rhetoric she had prepared, she smiled slightly and said, "Lord Howard, according to our investigation of you, you were previously the son of a Viscount, whose father died fighting alongside his direct Earl."

"According to the Pedan Kingdom's System of Noble Succession, you should have inherited the title of Viscount, but for some unknown reason, you later became a Baron."

"Don't you want to know who the person who framed you is?"

Lister's eyes sharpened. He had to admit that Tina's words at this moment indeed caused considerable turmoil in his heart.

Regarding the matter of being inexplicably demoted to a Baron, he had always urgently wanted to know the reason behind it and the mastermind who framed him.

Daisna, who was beside him, looked at Lister with worried eyes.

She had known about this matter for a long time and had asked her father, Elsid, but unfortunately, Elsid was also unaware of the reason.

Therefore, she silently kept this matter, which Lister cared deeply about, in her heart.

She thought that once she completed her studies in magic and became a powerful Magician, she might have a chance to learn the truth.

Beside her, Lister looked sharply at Tina and asked, "Does your Church of the Goddess of Revenge know the reason for this incident?"

Tina shook her head and said, "We don't know."

You don't know!

Then why did you make it sound like you did just now?

Perhaps sensing Lister's internal grumbling, Tina continued the next second, "Although we don't know now, I can have members of the Church of the Goddess of Revenge help you investigate the full story."

The Church of the Goddess of Revenge—helping to investigate?

Lister gave her a strange look. To be honest, he really didn't trust this Church's intelligence capabilities.

But after thinking about it, he decided that there was strength in numbers. What if they got lucky?

"Let's put that aside for now. What do you want me to help you with?"

Tina curved her lips and immediately replied, "Don't worry, Lord Howard. The decision to cooperate with you was entirely mine, and I don't need you to do anything for me."

"On the contrary, if you need any help, I can use all my authority within the Church of the Goddess of Revenge to assist you."

"I only hope that if the Church of the Goddess of Revenge encounters any crisis in the future, you can lend us a hand and help us survive."

Lister was astonished. He couldn't figure out whether Tina in front of him genuinely wanted to cooperate or was playing a trick on him.

Although he didn't know how strong the Church of the Goddess of Revenge was, he assumed they weren't weak.

What ability did a mere Baron have to rescue them during their time of danger?

Tina, seeing through his thoughts, said sincerely, "Lord Howard, I said before that I value your future. Although there is a large element of gambling involved, anything I, Tina, decide will never change."

Seeing her determination, Lister couldn't help but admire her in his heart.

"Alright, I'll agree to your terms. However, before confirming the cooperation, I hope to know what the objective of your Church of the Goddess of Revenge is within the Kingdom."

Tina smiled captivatingly, "Don't worry, Lord Howard, the Royal Family has never been our target."

As her voice fell, she stood up and, taking Mortimer with her, left the room directly, leaving behind only a faint floral fragrance.

After the two figures disappeared, Lister turned to Daisna and asked curiously, "Why didn't you speak up and stop our cooperation just now?"

"There was no need."

Daisna smiled softly and said gently, "Because I trust all your decisions. Also, I can sense that Tina doesn't seem like a bad person, and the attendant beside her doesn't have an evil aura."

"Moreover, given their capabilities, they could be a great help regarding the matters you care about."

"The internal situation of the Kingdom is not as calm as it appears on the surface. Although the Church of the Goddess of Revenge as a partner carries many uncertainties."

"But if handled properly, they might become a very good asset for your future development."

"I won't tell Father about this, so you can rest assured."

Lister nodded heavily, saying nothing more, but his favorable impression of Daisna reached a new height.

Red, who was attending and guarding nearby, couldn't help but feel that Daisna was the future Lady of the Territory.

Just then, a noisy sound came from outside the window—the Parade Convoy had arrived.