[Vol. 8] Chapter 154: The Argument
Even though things had already reached this point, the Crown Princess, who was clearly incredibly stubborn, still didn’t back down. Instead, she stepped forward and raised her voice boldly.
"Today, I’m not here as the Crown Princess of the Snow Empire or as the High Priestess of the [Eternal Winter Temple]. I'm only here as a regular participant in the trial. Doesn’t the Goddess Church always claim to stand for fairness, equality, and light? If you really believe the trial is fair, then why should you be afraid of what I have to say? Or… are you hiding something?"
"What?! She’s way too arrogant! That’s a terrible insult to the honor of the Goddess!"
"Blasphemer! She must not be forgiven!"
"Do the people of the Snow Empire want to start a war with us?!"
Her words instantly caused an uproar among the citizens outside the plaza. People were angry and shouting, and even Yuna, who usually kept a calm and collected expression, now looked visibly cold.
"Nolan Sinong," Yuna said firmly, "I’ll say it again, this is the Holy Capital of my Empire, not your Eternal Winter City. You don’t have the right to speak out here. This is your final warning. If you don’t back down, I will fulfill my duty to protect this trial. Guards!"
[...Let it be.]
Just as the situation became dangerously tense, with both sides ready to fight and the Holy Knights already stepping forward with angry expressions, a vast and ethereal voice suddenly echoed through the space.
It was the voice of the Goddess, and with just a few simple words, the entire conflict was instantly stopped.
"Yes. As the Goddess commands."
The powerful divine energy that had been swirling around the Bright Light Saintess Yuna disappeared at once. The Holy Knights also stepped back, and the angry shouting from the crowd slowly quieted down. Everyone respectfully waited for the Goddess’s decision.
In the Holy Empire, the Goddess held absolute authority, far greater than even the Emperor of the Austre Empire, who was known for ruling with total power.
[Nolan Sinong, I will give you a chance to speak, but only one. Say what is on your mind.]
“……”
Seeing the surrounding knights retreat and the crowd’s shouting fade under the divine presence, Nolan Sinong finally let out a quiet sigh of relief. That was close, she thought.
In truth, the Crown Princess wasn’t as fearless and reckless as she appeared. Speaking out like that was a risky move, but one she felt she had no choice but to make.
Given her status and background, Nolan’s position in the Snow Empire and the northern part of the world was nearly equal to Yuna Summerfield, the Bright Light Saintess. While her strength might not be as great as Yuna's, it's already beyond that of an ordinary human. Competing in a trial set up by the Goddess of the Holy Empire, and meant for new young heroes, really did make her look like she was bullying the younger generation.
But because of certain urgent reasons, Nolan was in desperate need of powerful outside help. The Ice God, Sinong, had gone missing, and among all the people in the world, the most capable and trustworthy external force left was without a doubt this Holy Empire’s Goddess, and this divine trial to choose heroes.
Even so, Nolan wasn’t someone shameless enough to demand things without effort. She had tried her best in this trial. The problem was that none of the trial stages so far had truly been about strength, and without the right type of challenge, she couldn't show her full power.
In the end, a title of "Hero" had been taken by a little girl from the Lightborn tribe, someone Nolan saw as weak as an ant. She couldn’t help but feel powerless and frustrated.
At first, when Elunie was chosen and the position of the Hero of Heaven was decided, Nolan had considered giving up, calmly accepting her failure this time, and looking for another way forward in the future.
But after she saw the two chosen heroes each receive sacred artifacts granted by the gods, and sensed the deep, powerful laws hidden within those divine weapons, she immediately threw that idea out of her mind. She made up her mind on the spot, no matter what, she had to give it her all and take a shot at this.
No matter which of the six sacred positions it was, as long as she could get her hands on a true divine artifact with incredible power, the hidden crisis facing the [Eternal Winter Temple] could be greatly eased!
Back at the Gate of Heaven, the three of them had once briefly met the Goddess in person. From that short encounter, based on the Goddess's actions and words, the well-informed Miss Nolan had already noticed that this divine being truly did match the Church’s teachings, kind, fair, and reasonable. She was undoubtedly a Goddess of Order.
It was because of this that Nolan dared to take the risk and question the trial in order to fight for a small chance.
Although things had gone as she hoped, and she now had that chance, what she said next would be extremely important. If she made even one wrong move, then even if the Goddess herself didn’t punish her, the angry people of the Holy Empire, and the Church, would surely make things even worse for the [Eternal Winter Temple].
“……”
Her thoughts raced quickly, but the snow-born girl first dropped to one knee in front of the statue of the Goddess and respectfully bowed, fully showing her sincerity and politeness. Then she spoke in a solemn voice:
“Your Divineness, the Goddess. I remember you once said in your divine message that both believers and non-believers were allowed to take part in this Hero Selection Trial, and that there would be no favoritism, only fairness and justice. If that’s true, then the heroes chosen should also be the best and most capable people.”
“I lost the competition for the Hero of Heaven spot. I have no complaints about that. But even if I wasn’t the best in the whole trial, I, Nolan Sinong, am confident that in terms of knowledge, ability, and understanding of the world, I’m not weaker than most of the remaining candidates here.”
“If capable people are pushed aside, while the weak are allowed to take their place, is that not unfair? Therefore, I humbly ask Your Divineness to allow those of us who didn’t win a sacred position to have one more chance to compete for the remaining roles, to prove the true fairness of this trial.”
“Hey! Who are you calling weak?!”
Under the four altars that hadn’t yet chosen a champion, someone with a bad temper immediately shouted angrily.
After all, if things really happened the way Nolan was asking, even if they only got one more round of competition, their chances of being chosen by the Goddess would go down a lot.
It was a clear threat to their core interests. No wonder they were angry, anyone would feel unlucky and upset.
But Miss Snow Girl ignored them completely. Instead, she turned to look at Farnell Stephens and several other candidates from the Gate of Asura who had also been eliminated, and said in a serious voice.
“Are you really willing to accept this? A hero chosen by the gods should be someone truly capable. If the one leading the people is weaker than the ones being led, wouldn’t that just be a joke?”
Several of the candidates looked at each other. It seemed that Nolan’s words had started to sway them. Only the young man from the Human United Kingdom, the one known as the legendary adventurer ‘Thunderlight’, just gave a helpless shrug, clearly not planning to get involved.
“Well… hahaha~ I don’t really care that much. Anyone who made it this far probably has some kind of hidden power, right? Since the Goddess picked people this way, there must be a reason. In the end, not being chosen doesn’t mean your life is over. Just go with the flow, you don’t need to take it so seriously~”
“Tch…”