Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!

Before long, the middle-aged woman returned in a hurry.

She handed Alan a Church rune stone that emitted a faint golden glow and said,

“This rune stone can be exchanged at any exchange house on the Kener Continent for no less than sixty million gold coins. The exchange houses run by the Church also honor it.”

Alan smiled. “Thank you for your trouble.”

Daniel, who had been clenching his fists the entire time, finally relaxed a little.

He stepped closer and patted Alan on the shoulder.

“Young man, let’s consider this matter settled. I hope you won’t let the actions of one undisciplined bishop taint your view of our Church.”

Alan, of course, wasn’t going to embarrass Daniel in front of everyone. He nodded seriously and replied,

“The Church has many followers, and naturally there are no shortage of people who rise to the rank of bishop. But wherever there are large numbers of people, conflicts are bound to arise. I believe Bishop Isaac’s actions were his alone—they do not represent the intentions of the Church.”

Daniel nodded, visibly pleased.

“Good, the fact that you can see things that clearly is enough. Well then, I still have some minor matters to handle. I’ll be taking my leave. In the future, when you see her, do pass along my regards. Don’t forget—The Church of Steam and Magic has always considered the two of you honored guests!”

“I’ll be sure to pass on your message, Elder. If she has time to visit the Church again, I’ll accompany her myself.”

Daniel turned to leave, but added with a smile,

“If we’re truly fortunate enough to host the both of you, our Church will be truly honored!”

With that, Daniel left swiftly, taking the middle-aged woman with him.

On the way, the woman hesitated several times, clearly wanting to say something, but eventually couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Elder, if I may… Bishop Isaac wasn’t actually in the wrong. We really didn’t need to compensate them. We had already informed all sellers clearly when the items were entered into the exchange house: the Church assumes no responsibility for any problems that occur afterward.”

Daniel glared at her sharply. His tone dropped an octave.

“Others we might not compensate. But him? Absolutely not!”

“Why? Who exactly is that Alan? Why are you so wary of him?”

Daniel furrowed his brows, his body beginning to tremble slightly.

“He is someone both I and the entire Church dare not provoke. Even the person behind him—the mere mention of her name is something I don’t dare utter.”

The middle-aged woman was stunned. It took a long moment for her to process his words before she finally asked,

“How could this be…? He doesn’t even seem that strong. Why would someone like that possess such immense influence, enough to make even you wary?”

Daniel slowly turned his head to face her.

“Do you know how you became one of the three current acolytes?”

The woman thought for a moment and replied,

“It was because the previous two hidden acolytes passed away in unexpected accidents. I was promoted urgently to fill the vacancy.”

Daniel pressed further,

“Do you know how those two acolytes actually died?”

“I… I don’t.”

Daniel took a deep breath, and a deep fear flickered in his eyes.

“Those two acolytes were both killed by the person behind Alan. And they didn’t even survive a single strike.”

“You know what that means?”

“Even you, when facing an attack from a tier-diamond mage, might still have a chance to retreat or escape.”

“But those two? They didn’t even get a chance to see what element the mana stream that killed them belonged to.”

This time, the middle-aged woman was completely frozen in place.

Seeing her expression, Daniel no longer said anything more. He merely stroked his beard and let out a cold laugh.

“Those idiots at Lioncrest Academy really had no idea what they were doing. They actually let someone like him slip away.”

“They even barred him from entering the school. Hmph. When stupidity reaches a certain level, people can’t even distinguish good from bad anymore.”

Then, as if remembering something, Daniel suddenly grabbed the woman by the collar. His expression turned deadly serious.

“One more thing—everything you’ve heard about Alan today, you’ll keep to yourself. If I catch wind of anyone in the Church gossiping about him, don’t even think about keeping your position as acolyte!”

“And another thing…”

He glanced at the woman, whose face had gone completely pale from fear, and added coldly,

“I don’t want to see a repeat of what happened today. I don’t expect you all to change his opinion of the Church—but at the very least, don’t provoke his hatred!”

“I don’t have the time or energy to clean up a mess like this every day!”

With his final warning delivered, Daniel activated his teleportation spell and disappeared from sight.

The woman, left standing there alone, was rooted to the spot, still paralyzed by the fear of what she had just learned.

…

In the small courtyard outside the sleeping quarters, the third princess was circling Alan, inspecting him curiously from head to toe.

Her large, round eyes brimmed with curiosity.

Alan scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

“What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

The third princess smirked and teased,

“Who would’ve thought you were hiding this much depth?”

Alan shrugged helplessly.

“Honestly, I didn’t mean to. It’s just that I never had the chance to show anything before. I’m really…”

But before he could finish, the third princess raised a finger and gently placed it on his lips, shaking her head slowly.

“No need to spill everything. A little mystery keeps people guessing—it gives you an edge.”

“Fair enough.”

Yet the moment Alan agreed, the third princess frowned and glared at him.

“I meant keep your mystery with others, not with me!”

“Uh… So do I tell you or not?”

The third princess burst out laughing. Then she gave him a cheeky grin and said two words,

“Guess what?”

Alan played along with a grin.

“Guess whether I’ll guess?”

“Guess whether I guess you’ll guess?”

They bantered like this for a bit, throwing silly quips at each other just to kill time.

Eventually, the third princess’s smile faded, and she scanned the surroundings with a solemn look.

The attendant from earlier, as well as the soldiers cleaning up Bishop Isaac’s remains inside the hall, all straightened their backs at once. After offering a respectful bow to the third princess, they quickly retreated and left the scene.

At that moment, Alan pulled out the faintly glowing rune stone from his pocket—the one the middle-aged woman had given him—and gently placed it in the third princess’s palm.

He had assumed she would be delighted.

But to his surprise, she stared at the rune stone silently, her expression wistful. There wasn’t a trace of joy on her face.

“Sixty million… and you’re not even happy?”

The third princess tilted her head back slightly and said with a sigh,

“Yeah… sixty million gold coins…”

Alan saw she was finally reacting and gave a wry smile.

“I’ve never seen that much money in my entire life. Honestly, when she handed it to me, I was completely stunned.”

Suddenly, the third princess turned and locked eyes with Alan.

“What now?”

Alan was feeling a little awkward. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with her today—but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

“You could’ve chosen to keep all of this for yourself…”

Alan immediately shook his head.

“The scroll belonged to you, not me. I was just the one who helped retrieve it. So naturally, the compensation should go to the employer—you. Besides…”

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Besides, aren’t we friends? Whether you hold it or I do—it’s the same, right?”

The third princess’s eyes lit up with joy. She tucked the rune stone close to her chest, then snapped her fingers, summoning a servant into the room…