A peculiar tone with a familiar voice approached from afar, causing the Hero to halt in her steps.
Following her, the Gleaming Scale Serpent recognized the voice as well, instantly becoming alert and raising its head.
On the wide street free of many obstacles, the chillness of the winter air failed to quell the warmth in the newcomer's voice.
"Holy——Sword's Hero, my dear~~~"
The joyous call echoed through the streets.
Even in this Border where heroes abound, such an excessively grandiose title drew the gazes of many passersby, causing the Hero's cheeks to blush faintly.
She sighed with resignation, pulling out the Feather Pen given to her by the other person, and started writing in her notebook.
'I've told you before, I haven't drawn the Holy Sword, so please refrain from addressing me as such.'
She lifted the notebook toward the newcomer, her expression reluctant yet her eyes betraying some joy of encountering an old acquaintance.
'——Mr. Cruising Bishop.'
[Why is the Cruising Bishop here at the Border?]
1. Disturbance from beyond the realm
2. Deciding to serve as a Bishop at the Border
3. The final stop on his pilgrimage, soon he will return to the Holy City
4. Wrapped in bandages
9. He's actually here for the Hero ♛
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure
Despite being several streets away from the Church, a Bishop has taken the initiative to come out to greet a young woman.
Many cast curious glances in this direction, adding to the involuntary awkwardness on the Hero's face.
Nonetheless, she waved to the Cruising Bishop and proceeded to approach him.
While the other's personality was a bit odd, he had provided her with a great deal of help and was also open to accepting others' advice, amending his wrongs.
Thus, the Hero had a rather favorable impression of him.
But since parting ways in Lake Town months ago, she never thought it likely to encounter this overly enthusiastic Bishop again.
Though the Cruising Bishop had been reprimanded by the Little Girl more than once, the Hero had not forgotten that he was in fact a Legendary Bishop, a traveling figure of renown, more powerful even than the Guild Leader of the town, capable of dispatching a group of Goblins with a simple wave of his hand.
The encounter at Lake Town was but a serendipitous event; she could hardly envision herself, who was once preoccupied with slaying Goblins, having many dealings with such a stalwart figure in the future.
Hence, hearing a somewhat familiar voice at this far-off Border, the Hero indeed felt a touch of surprise.
But as the distance closed and she discerned the Bishop's expression, the joy of reunion was somewhat diminished.
1. Outside realm activity, stationed here and heard of the Hero's arrival
2. An Assault relating to the Saintess's Divine Prophecy occurred
3. Prophecy of the Nightmare Sage ♛
4. In need of the Phoenix's power
9. The Saintess is in trouble
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure
Let's discuss a sudden topic.
Does everyone understand 'prophecy'?
If randomly asked to anyone on the Border town streets at this moment, whether questioning a powerful Mage or ordinary citizens, the answer would likely be the same.
The Mage would contemplate and smile bitterly in denial, while the citizens would shake their heads in confusion.
They would all respond: they do not understand prophecy.
True Prophecy Skill, a rare gem atop the Magic Crown, represents the unequivocal inevitability, a future that will not be absent.
Even the Great Mage who has successfully cast this Forbidden Curse cannot confirm whether his Perception truly transcended time and Destiny, arriving at the answer to the future, or if his immense Mana, reaching into the Taboo Domain, forcibly twisted the future into the desired outcome.
Some Mages proposed that this Spell should be removed from the curriculum — 'for it is not a power to be wielded by mortals.'
Even if the Kingdom's Church does not worship Gods, those with such powers are revered with a title befitting the Divine Domain.
Yet if you change the question, you may receive a different answer.
If you toss a glass high into the air and then ask a passing ordinary citizen before it lands,
"What will happen next?"
He will most likely respond.
"The glass will shatter."
The event has not occurred yet, but this citizen without any magical abilities gave an answer.
If there are no other hindrances or accidents, this is the future that is most likely to happen,
When the glass indeed shatters upon the cobblestones, the citizen has achieved a 'prophecy.'
For this is a law, a stream of events, the inevitable conclusion for fragile items bound by gravity after they fall.
But at that moment, should another passing Mage cast a Levitation Skill or Feather Fall Skill on the glass,
or more straightforwardly, if a pedestrian catches it.
Then the citizen's prophecy is deemed a Failure.
Whether it's a Prophetic Mage, a Diviner, or an Astrologist,
these experts of prophecy-based magic are fundamentally no different from that ordinary citizen.
If someone seeks divination for fortune, wishes to find the location of a lost treasure, or to locate a missing family member, or pinpoint an enemy's whereabouts...
As long as the price is right, they would be more than willing to cast their spells, offering non-committal answers, rather than shaking their heads in inability.
Prophecy, in essence, is about transcending the five senses with Spirit, reading the direction of the world, extracting necessary information, and arriving at a vague answer.
The more knowledgeable one is, the more magical power and influence they have, the higher their mastery of prophecy.
Because more information and knowledge they possess, the more precise their prophecies become.