Actually, Roland’s previous guess was wrong.
The angels were only careful when he was involved, because they usually did not talk to non-believers.
“Then, may I know the details of this mission?”
After a brief silence, the goddess continued, “One of the angels in this Paradise defected.”
“Okay,” Roland replied softly.
He was not too surprised, partly because of the quest notification, and partly because it was not unusual for good guys to degenerate.
Besides, the goddesses in this world weren’t omnipotent or omniscient. So, it was totally understandable that someone might betray them without them knowing it.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
Roland shrugged. “There’s nothing to be surprised at. I saw Nia wounded last time. She couldn’t have been hurt by someone much weaker than herself.”
“Smart. As expected of a Mage.” The goddess praised him. “You’re clearly much better than my children.”
Claudia, the War Angel, was standing right next to them. She unhappily stole a glance at Roland.
For the angels, the goddess who created them was their mother.
No child would feel happy when their mother praised a child from another family.
Sensing Claudia’s gaze, Roland turned his head, but Claudia had moved her eyes away.
However, her face seemed even colder.
“Don’t bother with Claudia. She simply doesn’t like men,” the Life Goddess suddenly said.
Claudia seemed embarrassed. She couldn’t argue with her mother though her mother was undermining her, so she could only keep quiet.
Roland suddenly asked, “Men? Does it have anything to do with the fallen angel?”
Claudia suddenly opened her eyes and stared at him.
The goddess said casually, “What sharp intuition. I’m growing jealous of Mystra.”
Huh?
This had nothing to do with Mystra.
Though Mystra, as the Goddess of Magic, should be the deity that the Mages worshiped, she didn’t have many believers.
First of all, the Mages who understood magic were few. Most of them were partial believers, if not non-believers.
Also, because Mystra became a goddess as a human being, she had inspired every Mage to learn after her and become a god.
Nobody with such great ambitions would submit their faith obediently!
Noticing Roland’s confusion, the Life Goddess continued, “Just as you speculate, that fallen angel is a man. He’s the only male angel in the Paradise of Life.”
Roland found it quite odd.
The only male angel should be like a boy who had a bunch of sisters in his family. He should’ve been popular and loved. Why would he fall?
This time, the Life Goddess did not explain. She stood up and said, “That boy is named Parn. He’s hopeless now. Claudia will brief you on the rest.”
After that, the Life Goddess disappeared.
She didn’t go stealthily, but simply vanished all of a sudden.
Roland looked around, but all he could see were soft clouds. The Life Goddess was nowhere to be found.
Claudia said, “Follow me. I’ll take you down and inform you of the important details.”
Following Claudia, Roland observed her three pairs of white wings. The more he watched, the more enthused he was.
The feathers on her wings were all glimmering. They were crystals of divine power.
However, Roland’s level was too low for him to use them yet.
Besides, he dared not pluck her feathers.
Going down from the high pillar, he found that Nia was waiting for them.
The moment she saw them, she hopped close and said happily, “Sister, let me take care of this man. You can focus on your own matters.”
Claudia’s cold face was a lot more relaxed. She even put on a smile. “Okay, I know you’re bored. He’s all yours. Tell him everything about Parn.”
“I know.”
Claudia walked to Nia and patted her shoulder.
After a dazzling flash, Nia’s sexy low-cut long dress was replaced by a rather conservative green one.
“Don’t wear such revealing clothes in front of men. It will trigger their nasty thoughts.”
“Okay.”
Then, the War Angel left in satisfaction.
Nia, on the other hand, looked at her green dress and mumbled, “I don’t like green.”
Roland felt that it was a shame that he couldn’t appreciate her boobs anymore. He asked, “Lady Nia, can you tell me more about Parn?”
Nia seemed upset when Parn’s name was mentioned. “He’s a bummer. Everybody loved him and cared for him, but he found the Paradise boring and ran to the Realm of Gods. He even turned himself into a demon.”
Roland raised his eyebrow. “But if that’s all, the Life Goddess wouldn’t have sentenced him to death, no?”
A church that protected life couldn’t have executed anyone easily, not to mention that he was kin.
This world was bright despite the lack of sunlight. Nia’s smooth face reflected the light when she lowered her head and said, “When Parn left, he obliterated Sophie and Krameze, his two sisters, and wiped out many devout souls in the Paradise.”
After a shock, Roland understood everything.
So, Parn had not just run away from home, but also killed two family members and even burned some of the family property (the souls).
Such a rebellious son should be punished.
Besides, the reputation of the Church of Life would be tarnished if a fallen angel committed evil all the time.
With those factors in mind, it was natural that the Life Goddess intended to execute him.
“I know what to do now.” Roland nodded. “What’s the time limit for this mission?”
“Ten years.” Nia pulled her collar, feeling uncomfortable that her breasts were squeezed. “Parn is very strong. You’re no match for him yet. But you’re growing fast. The goddess believes that you can kill him.”
“Last question.” Roland thought for a moment and asked, “There are many people in this world who are stronger than me. They should be able to accomplish this mission much faster. Why are you entrusting it to me when I’m not even a Master yet?”
Nia looked at Roland weirdly and said, “Would you please not be so intuitive?”
“So, there’s really a reason?”
This four-winged angel was not as cold as the War Angel. Her feelings were all over her face.
She hesitated a moment, and eventually, she gave up and said, “Do you know Grand Benediction?”
Roland nodded. “Of course.”
“The goddess used Grand Benediction to search for the most appropriate person to deal with Parn.”
Roland pointed at himself. “Was it me?”
“No.” Nia shook her head. “It’s the goddess herself. Then, she looked for the second most appropriate person, which turned out to be you.”
Grand Benediction… It was the best spell of divination class that could make anything that one wished come true.
Lesser Benediction was remarkable enough as an ability, and the effect of Grand Benediction could only be nullified by divinity and natural law.
Therefore, if Roland was capable of Grand Benediction, if he made a wish that the most beautiful woman in the world will fall in love with him, that woman would definitely fall in love with Roland as long as she did not have any divinity or natural-law-level protective equipment, whether or not she had seen Roland or had a loving husband.
Of course, the requirements for Grand Benediction were very harsh.
First of all, the spell was very tricky. No human beings had ever cast it in recorded history.
Secondly, Grand Benediction would consume precious magic materials, which could not be spared with Magic Material Exemption.
“I still find it odd. Why am I the second most appropriate person when so many experts are out there?”
Nia shook her head, making her curly long hair shake with her. “I have no idea.”
Fine… Roland thought some more and asked, “If that’s all, can you send me back now?”
“You don’t want to stay here a while longer?” Nia asked in surprise. “Too many people crave for Paradise but never have a chance.”
“Maybe later.”
To be honest, Roland found the place boring.
It was free from pain and disaster, and everything was so beautiful.
But still, it was boring.
“Okay.”
Nia walked to Roland in disappointment. Then, she extended her hand and patted Roland’s soul.
Roland was enshrouded in ivory brilliance and couldn’t see anything.
By the time Roland regained his sight, he found that he was back at his inn.
He was still sitting before the desk. Checking the time on the system menu, he realized that time elapsed at the same speed in the Realm of Gods, and that three hours had passed.
Roland began to review his current quests.
There were three important things for him to do, namely to build and develop an ideal guild system for the Mages, to search for elemental cores so that he could transform into the hidden class, and to accomplish the epic quest he just picked up, “The Fallen Angel Must Die”.
Considering the time limit and the difficulty, he should focus on the second task first.
About the elemental cores…
Boom.
Suddenly, the ceiling of the inn was smashed by an explosion, and a person fell amidst bricks and broken wood.
Roland immediately assumed a battle posture. He began to summon and concentrate his magic power.
Andonara jumped up from the bed too, holding her Hero’s sword.
She stared at the person in the dust aggressively.
But in the next second, something glimmered in the dust, and two pairs of wings were unfurled.
Then, with a swoosh, the intruder flew away from the hole on the ceiling and disappeared.
Roland was dumbfounded… What the heck was Nia doing?
