On the training ground of the Count Mansion.
Personal Guard Knights in short training outfits were training while curiously watching the Black Cat running laps around the entire Count Mansion.
The obese Nisi, dragging his nearly spherical body, looked as if he had lost all will to live as he panted and ran without daring to stop.
Seeing the tired, panting, and gloomy-faced Black Cat, the Personal Guard Knights couldn’t help but chuckle:
"Lord Nisi, were you caught peeping at the maids again and got punished by the Count?"
"Scram! Master Cat is exercising! Exercising, you know?!"
Nisi glared at them, huffing angrily.
"Uh-huh, you’re right, exercising."
"Lord Nisi, you keep exercising, we’re gonna finish training and go inside for some tea snacks."
"Ah, it’s so hot today, and I heard the maids have prepared that special thirst-quenching iced lemon tea invented by the Count."
"Would Lord Nisi like a glass?"
"Ah, ah, stop bothering Lord Nisi, he still needs to train."
Looking at these Personal Guard Knights who were taking pleasure in his distress, Nisi’s round face almost twisted.
Remembering that refreshing, thirst-quenching iced lemon tea invented by Charlotte, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva and then burst out in exasperation:
"Scram, scram, scram! A bunch of heartless creatures! Go drink your iced lemon tea! Don’t ever think of asking Master Cat to reinforce the Magic Array on the training ground again!"
The Personal Guard Knights laughed heartily, leaning on each other’s shoulders as they walked indoors, filling the entire training ground with a joyful atmosphere.
Inside the Count Mansion, Charlotte stood by a second-floor window looking down at the training ground and shook her head slightly.
Nisi was indeed capable and approachable enough to quickly blend in with others without putting on airs. However, his lecherous nature got him into trouble every couple of days, something that hadn’t changed despite so much time passing. It was utterly exasperating.
"Still not punished harshly enough."
Charlotte huffed softly, turning back to her desk and unfolding a map.
It was a map of the Mireya Continent.
The map wasn’t accurate; compared to the "entire continent" Charlotte saw during her second crossing awakening, it was merely similar, with many areas being completely disproportionate.
Beyond the continent, places belonging to the "Old Continent" weren’t depicted at all.
Even so, this was still the most comprehensive map currently available of Mireya.
Charlotte looked toward the map, more precisely, toward several red dots marked on it.
These were spots marked by Nisi, his guess at the possible locations of undiscovered Ancient Halls.
She had already examined Nisi’s body, and indeed... the creature had fashioned a body from a Divine Statue, something she hadn’t thoroughly inspected before. This time, using the Blood Divine Power for an examination, Charlotte truly discovered something different about Nisi’s physical form.
Nisi’s body, although appearing as a cat, was essentially more akin to a puppet body meant to house a soul, indeed bearing some characteristics of a Faceless Divine Statue, and it could even act as a vessel for Divine Descent.
No wonder the Blood Demon Church had captured Nisi.
Apart from his remarkable magical abilities, they likely recognized something unique about his body. They may not have detected its true nature through Blood Divine Power like Charlotte, but they still sensed its uniqueness.
As for why it assumed the form of a cat rather than a human, judging by Nisi’s gloomy reluctance to discuss it, it was likely due to some mishap.
While it was a pity, since the Divine Statue had been used by Nisi, Charlotte had no choice but to let it go.
As for the other two divine halls Nisi unearthed, according to him, they had already been plundered by the Holy Royal Court and the kingdom of Coria, with the Divine Statues falling into their hands.
That was out of her hands; Charlotte couldn’t just run off to the Church Authority Country and Coria Kingdom directly.
Fortunately, with Nisi’s markings, she could arrange for someone to investigate them in advance.
After thinking it over, Charlotte shook a bell and directed a magical voice command.
Before long, Odosia, dressed in a maid’s outfit, entered.
"Your Majesty Charlotte, what are your orders?"
She asked, neither servile nor overbearing, her voice as cool as ever.
Looking at the Black Dragon Maid in front of her, who was not exactly respectful but considerably submissive, Charlotte felt a bit nostalgic.
Dragons truly revered strength; as long as you were stronger, it was possible to subdue them.
Though Black Dragons were notoriously rebellious among dragons, having spent so much time with Odosia, Charlotte felt this didn’t apply to her.
Perhaps it was because Odosia had lost her memory, or perhaps because she had lived with Werewolves for ten years, her character seemed more like those affectionate sub-humans, unlike the sinister, cunning, cruel, and ruthless Black Dragons of legend.
Thinking it over, Charlotte smiled and asked:
"Odosia, how do you feel about being in Castel?"
Odosia was silent for a moment before replying:
"Very comfortable. But... too comfortable."
Charlotte raised an eyebrow:
"More comfortable than my time with the Blood Demon Church."
Indeed, the Blood Demon Church had a reputation akin to a rat crossing the street, vilified by everyone. Even in the Northern Land, they frequently clashed with various forces, not to mention, according to Albrecht, even their internal strife was incessant.