Chapter 562: The Effect of the Sea-Praying Ritual (Second update, requesting guaranteed monthly votes)

Lu Mian did not respond immediately, as he was currently Louis Berry, an adventurer who did not understand the Highland language.

Not until Lugano finished translating Noelia's words did he nod gently with a smile, saying in Intis:

"Please, come in."

As he spoke, he stood up.

Lugano, who had already reached the doorway, pulled the door open.

The visitor outside was indeed Noelia, a battle nun of the Church of Abundance. Today, she was not wearing her black cloak, nor was she wearing that religious-looking black-and-white-striped bicorne hat. Her thick, black, curly hair cascaded like a waterfall over her brown leather armor, and her light blue eyes were bright and spirited.

Glancing at the two straight swords on Noelia's back and the revolver at her waist, Lu Mian smiled and stepped forward to greet her:

"Thank you for coming to provide help."

Noelia, who had needed Lugano to translate earlier, responded this time in Intis:

"How did you know I came to provide help?"

Lu Mian did not hide the intention behind his performance today; he raised a finger and pointed to his head.

His meaning was that he had deduced it using his brain.

Of course, his thanks just now were actually for the other party helping him digest a little more of his "Conspirator" potion.

Noelia's thick, dark eyebrows twitched slightly, and she nodded in approval.

She then cast her gaze toward Lugano and Ludwig, as if asking for Lu Mian's opinion on whether to have these two avoid the conversation, while Lugano wore an expression that said, "I don't want to hear it, I don't want to get involved."

Lu Mian did not make things difficult for him, signaling for him to take Ludwig out for a stroll and buy some street snacks.

Once the big and small figures had left the suite, Lu Mian said to Noelia:

"You actually know Intis; you didn't say a word last time."

Noelia smiled and replied:

"We often have to rotate shifts at those mountain passes on the southern foothills of the Piraeus Mountains."

The Piraeus Mountains were the Feynapotter Kingdom's name for the Dales Mountains; migrating shepherds always crossed them to enter the plains and pastures of provinces like Gaya.

Without waiting for Lu Mian to ask further, Noelia tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and said with a smile:

"It's not very polite to keep a lady standing while chatting with you."

Only then did Lu Mian invite Noelia to sit on the sofa, while he chose the single armchair.

Noelia looked at him and began to speak on her own:

"The Sea-Praying Ritual in Santa Harbor can be traced back to the late Fourth Epoch. It has a history of over a thousand years and can be called ancient. The Church once cleared it out, relocating all relevant informed individuals and purifying all participants, but in less than a hundred years, people here began secretly holding the Sea-Praying Ritual again."

She did not say why she wanted to tell this history; it seemed like she was simply sharing information.

"Did you not continue the cleanup later?" Lu Mian asked.

Noelia pursed her red lips and said with a solemn expression:

"Regarding this matter, the orders from above were often contradictory. Sometimes they let our Church of Abundance handle it, and other times they signaled to wait and observe for a while, and all of this was countersigned by the God-Favored."

Lu Mian knew from channels like Madam Magician and the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society that the Church of Mother Earth had two major systems: the God-Blessed and the God-Favored. The God-Blessed referred to Beyonders within the clergy who followed the 'Earth' and 'Moon' pathways, while the God-Favored were those favored by the Mother in other pathways. Orders issued by the God-Blessed had to be countersigned by at least one God-Favored to be considered valid; otherwise, they would be viewed as products influenced by evil gods and devils.

Lu Mian did not understand why the Church of Mother Earth had to create such a complex system that seemed to be guarding against the God-Blessed, but he believed it must have its own reasons.

After experiencing so many things, he became increasingly clear that some inconspicuous rules in the arcane world might hide lessons written in blood.

"Are you God-Blessed, or God-Favored?" Lu Mian thought for a moment and asked.

"I am God-Favored." Noelia did not mention her specific pathway.

Lu Mian nodded gently, signaling for the other party to continue.

Noelia smiled and sighed:

"After a long period of repetition, we finally made the decision to tacitly approve of the Sea-Praying Ritual. At the very least, it brings prosperity to Santa Harbor, rarely affects people outside the participants, and does not cause social unrest.

"This was all a long time ago. I can only understand the general situation through ancient records and cannot truly grasp the specific reasons that convinced the Mother Superior, the President, and the Archbishops back then. In short, the Sea-Praying Ritual became a traditional folk custom of Santa Harbor, allowing the maritime trade and fishing industry here to flourish."

Speaking of this, Noelia crossed her arms over her chest and said piously:

"Life is precious, the harvest is joyful."

Lu Mian's gaze narrowed slightly, and he asked directly:

"Why did you change the prayer gesture?"

Was there a problem with this?

Noelia opened her eyes and said with a smile:

"This was the prayer gesture often used in the past, but later, the Mother regained part of the authority she had lost, so we had to use the new prayer posture for formal occasions."

She stood up, spread her legs slightly, raised both hands high, and gave Louis Berry a serious explanation, as if she were preaching:

"The feet connect to the merciful earth, the palms touch the spiritual sky, and in the middle is the radiance of life; these are all the domains of the Mother of All Things."

She could even regain part of the authority she had lost? Lu Mian was somewhat puzzled, but that was not the point.

Noelia sat back down and continued:

"We didn't try to figure out the core process of the Sea-Praying Ritual, but through year-after-year monitoring, we did grasp some things:

"The 'Sea Viceroy' who successfully obtains the favor of the sea possesses the power to manipulate this sea area and prevent shipwrecks, but this seems to come at the cost of their life and something else. At the same time, the Sea-Praying Ritual brings about the rapid reproduction and vigorous growth of various lives in this sea area, ensuring a harvest for the fishermen. Additionally, it has manifestations in terms of fate; the families that the 'Sea Maidens' marry into all become more or less lucky, and this is not just from the preferential treatment they receive."

The effects of the Sea-Praying Ritual sound very complex... It has both the power of the ocean domain and manifestations in fate, reproduction, and harvest... Lu Mian couldn't figure out why this was the case for a moment.

Noelia looked at Lu Mian's face with bright but gentle eyes and said:

"The committee members of the Fishermen's Guild, some villagers of Milo Village, and the participants in the core process of the Sea-Praying Ritual have all obtained some magical powers. We have dealt with the kind of small devil you encountered before, and while hunting down certain criminals, we discovered they could turn into a kind of lizard-like monster."

Humanoid lizards? The kind of humanoid lizards from the Paco family? Lu Mian did not expect to get clues about this matter from Noelia.

Noelia revealed a smile:

"Later, we discovered that the people who could turn into lizard-like monsters had one thing in common."

"What commonality?" Lu Mian did not hide his curiosity.

Noelia replied with a mysterious smile:

"Their mothers had all served as 'Sea Maidens'."

Children of the "Sea Maidens"? Children of the sea? Which brother or sister of Rubio did I kill? He not only turned into a humanoid lizard but also went crazy and severely injured his mother? Lu Mian instantly associated many things and felt he had grasped the essence of the commission from the Paco family.

But he immediately had some doubts:

If this were true, for families with "Sea Maidens," this wouldn't be a secret. Why did the Paco family still want to hide it from committee members of the Fishermen's Guild like Juan Oro?

Noelia did not ask what he was thinking and said in a teasing tone:

"After confirming that those lizard-like monsters were related to the Sea-Praying Ritual, we specifically warned the committee members of the Fishermen's Guild. Afterward, no such criminals appeared again; they were well-disciplined and controlled. So, sometimes, I understand why those above tacitly allow the Sea-Praying Ritual to be held in Santa Harbor. They are much more obedient than you adventurers and easier to restrain."

Noelia's hidden meaning was: I just told you not to get involved in the Fishermen's Guild's affairs, and the next day you stormed the residence of the "Sea Viceroy," holding a gun to Juan Oro's head. You are much more troublesome than those people in the Sea-Praying Ritual!

Lu Mian smiled and did not comment.

Noelia deliberated for a few seconds, looked into his eyes, and said:

"I don't know what your purpose is in investigating the Sea-Praying Ritual, and I don't want to know. I can only tell you that if your actions endanger the entire Santa Harbor, we will intervene directly and drive you out.

"With this as a premise, we might provide some help."

Lu Mian picked up the straw hat placed to the side and pressed it to his chest: