Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 918 - 191: A Blush Outshines a Thousand Words

He understood completely.

Mary's grip was much stronger than he had imagined.

"Look."

To demonstrate the truth of her words, Mary gently crushed a piece of stone into powder in front of Ethan. The scene was full of visual contradiction and artistry, as impressive as Lin Daiyu uprooting a weeping willow.

Mary emphasized once again, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not an ill-tempered and violent girl."

However, in Ethan's ears, her words had another meaning. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time she had been "misunderstood" like this.

"I believe you."

Ethan responded with difficulty, feeling that his foot must be swollen.

"That's good then."

Mary snapped her fingers and began to arrange the relics in front of Ethan, with juice, fruit baskets, sweets resembling cakes in pink, thoughtfully accompanied by honey and jam. She used life energy to facilitate the growth and change of vegetation, and before long, a brand-new wooden table appeared before them.

Just as Ethan was marveling internally that the Church Court's Valkyrie also had a girlish side, a bright axe fell from Mary's "storage space" at her feet.

"Uh..."

Mary straightened up, held her breath, and after a moment of deep meditation, explained, "You know, I like to do some woodworking in my spare time. I helped my dad with carpentry when I was little. Don't get me wrong, the axe isn't for chopping people."

She wanted to leave a good impression on Ethan, as he was the first person she truly respected.

In the past, however, her way of doing things had often caused her trouble.

The people in the Church Court who knew her were all afraid of her. Even the new priests distanced themselves after spending some time with her.

This was why her resting place was built in the mountains, far from the Crown of Dawn Cathedral. Although at the time, the Pope pompously stated it was the Church Court's highest honor for her, her achievements warranting a separate resting place, people privately speculated it was because they feared that burying her temper with other Church Court heroes would taint the cemetery and possibly spawn vengeful spirits.

"Mary, you don't have to be like this."

Ethan picked up the juice glass and smiled.

Mary seemed excessively reserved before them, akin to a lonely child eagerly entertaining guests with an almost humble eagerness when they finally visit her home.

From a temporal standpoint, since the end of the Third Epoch, Mary's soul had rested here, isolated from the mountain top.

"We are friends, aren't we?"

Ethan raised his glass, proposing a toast. "Understanding each other and tolerating each other, that's the essence of friendship."

This had always been his attitude toward making friends.

Even considering the worst-case scenario, among his many friends, in terms of danger level, Mary—who can crush stones with her bare hands—doesn't even make the top three. After all, he's someone who is used to facing big challenges.

Bazatous silently observed everything from the side, and as Ethan spoke, he too nodded in empathy.

He immediately thought of himself, about how his art had long gone unrecognized, with even his most fervent believers unable to comprehend his true intentions, interpreting the art meant for creation and construction as weapons of world destruction, which was even more disappointing than slander from enemies.

Bazatous felt that Mary, stunned at this moment, was much like how he had been when he first met Ethan.

So he picked up the juice as well.

Clinking glasses is another human-created etiquette, used to express friendliness in social settings.

"Mary, here, just show your true self."

These words deeply touched Mary, and in a daze, she drained the juice in her glass. Now only her broken soul remained here; she shouldn't be able to taste the juice. Yet, after thousands of years, her taste buds experienced that familiar yet unfamiliar flavor once more.

Yes, they were friends.

Amongst friends, there was no need for pretense, though in the past, friends had been quite the luxury for her.

Almost everyone close to her had ulterior motives.

After the Scarlet Plague ended, she was ensnared in a mire of disguise, her temper significantly restrained, her actions filled with hesitance. Living in the Crown of Dawn Cathedral every day was oppressive.

For she was Saint Mary.

The people sang of her great deeds, praised her existence as if the Goddess of Life walked among them.

Therefore, she had to meet their expectations.

Mary savored the taste of the juice left in her soul and looked deeply at Ethan.

Since they were friends, what should friends say to each other after a long time apart?

She asked herself earnestly.

What did she want to say right now?

Simply revealing her truest self should suffice.

As she thought this, a smile appeared on Mary's face, but the next moment, it vanished, replaced by a wintry chill.

—"Senzi, you *** dared to stand me up for a year and seven months, do you want to die!"

The vegetation in the entire valley was agitated from the powerful inquiry, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a thunderbolt streaked across the night sky.

Mary gripped the long-handled axe in both hands, and now the axe didn't seem meant for woodworking.

The benefits of the Life Divine Teachings were evident here—no matter if she accidentally injured a friend during a squabble, she only needed a spell to restore them completely.

A thousand years ago, this was what Mary was most satisfied with on this path.

Her eyes flashed with lightning, and Ethan felt as though he was facing the storm itself.

The standoff lasted several minutes before Mary suddenly realized something, her tone hesitated, "…Too much?"

She took her time deliberating, arranging her words, "Oh, Sir Ethan, what I meant was if you dare stand me up for a year and seven months again, I'll definitely kick your butt hard."

"There are reasons for this."

"Hm?"

"Since Julius died, the Far West has undergone many changes, and now the Pope is someone named Carlo."

"I've heard of him."

"After Carlo became Pope, he enacted a series of policies, including forming the Border Administration Bureau and setting up checkpoints along the Far West boundary to rigorously screen every entrant. Among them, Imperial People were marked as unwelcome, and since then, Imperial People couldn't set foot in the Far West through legitimate means."

Ethan's voice was filled with sorrow, a silent indictment against Pope Carlo.

Little Dark immediately widened her eyes.

This Senzi was full of nonsense!

He stood Mary up for over a year simply because he forgot about it, and though Pope Carlo was despicable, he had nothing to do with this matter!

But as she inwardly tried to refute Ethan, she was surprised to find everything Ethan said was, in fact, true.

He had simply recited Carlo's policies, guiding Mary to blame Carlo herself.

Ethan didn't forget to glance at the black cat on the table, subtly smiling.

Learn a thing or two, Little Dark; this is the art of language.

Clearly, he had achieved significant success, as a fierce expression appeared on Mary's face.

"Carlo!"

The words were almost squeezed out through gritted teeth.

"His actions are much more than this."

Ethan continued to recount the "facts" he knew, "Not only has he limited Imperial People's freedom to visit friends in the Far West, but now he also wishes to incite a war, forcing friends to fight each other with blades."

"Take me to him."

The girl's face turned redder than any words could express.

It was the look of planning to twist someone's head off.