"Phew... No matter what, I finally got one. That’s one-sixth of the task completed..."
Letting out a long sigh, Dorothy muttered to herself. She then carefully examined the holy symbol of the Radiant Savior in her palm. After a moment of contemplation, she thought to herself.
“The holy symbol of the Radiant Savior... This should be the easiest one to obtain among the six Pure Color Deities, right? After all, the Radiance Church is the only officially recognized religion that openly proselytizes. Although the faith in the Radiant Savior has been marginalized by the Three Saints, it hasn’t completely disappeared. So, getting Their holy symbol is just a matter of spending some money. But for the others, it might not be as simple as throwing money at the problem…”
Dorothy pondered this for a while, then her expression hardened as she murmured.
"No... Perhaps there’s another holy symbol that can be obtained just by spending money."
After saying this, Dorothy placed the emblems she had acquired for 900 pounds into her magic box. She then instructed her corpse marionette coachman to drive the carriage forward, heading back to the northern suburbs.
…
Tivian North Suburbs, east of King’s Campus, Green Shade Town.
Standing in front of No. 37 Green Shade Town, Dorothy, dressed in a small suit, had just stepped out of her carriage. She rang the doorbell of the old mansion with practiced ease. After a short wait, the door opened, revealing Beverly, dressed in casual home attire and looking somewhat drowsy. When she saw Dorothy, her eyebrows raised slightly, and she spoke.
"Well, look who’s here, the busybody. Are you here to deliver a letter or discuss business?""I’m here to ask a few questions. Depending on the answers, we might discuss business. Let’s go inside and talk."
With that, Dorothy walked straight into the house and sat down on the sofa in the living room. After glancing around, she noticed that the house was in its usual state, with no strange mechanical parts or machines lying around. It seemed Beverly hadn’t been tinkering with anything today.
Beverly followed Dorothy into the living room but didn’t sit down immediately. Instead, she went to the counter and used a recently invented automatic coffee machine to brew a cup of coffee for Dorothy. She then brought it over and placed it in front of Dorothy before sitting down herself. Dorothy picked up the coffee, took a sip, and after savoring the taste, nodded in approval.
"This coffee is really well-brewed. If your automatic coffee machine can make coffee this good, you could make a fortune by mass-producing it."
"If only I could. The technology behind it involves cognitive poison, so it can’t be released to the public. It’s just something I made for personal use~"
Beverly replied casually, confirming Dorothy’s earlier suspicion that the White Craftsmen’s Guild likely possessed many technologies far ahead of their time. However, due to the presence of cognitive poison, these technologies could only be used privately and couldn’t be shared to transform society.
After taking another sip of coffee, Dorothy set the cup down on the table and asked Beverly.
"I came here today to ask you about some information regarding the gods of the Stone domain. Do you know who the Pure Color Deity of the Stone domain is?"
Dorothy spoke seriously, and Beverly, after hearing this, raised an eyebrow and replied.
"Oh, so you know about the concept of Pure Color Deities now? Your progress in mystical studies has been impressive lately. And now you’re suddenly asking me about this... Is it for some research or ritual?"
With a curious look in her eyes, Beverly asked Dorothy, who responded bluntly.
"Something like that. Anyway, do you know anything about this? Is the Pure Color Deity of the Stone domain the Core of Order?"
Dorothy asked tentatively, and Beverly waved her hand dismissively.
"Of course not. The Core of Order’s domain is primarily Stone, with an auxiliary focus on Lantern. Its essence lies in the smelting and forging of Stone, in shaping and reshaping, in continuous innovation and change. The pure Stone, on the other hand, is much more primal. Pure Stone symbolizes the steady and unadorned mountains and earth, the untouched treasures and mineral deposits. Compared to the Core of Order, pure Stone is relatively unchanging."
Beverly explained to Dorothy, then paused for a moment before continuing with a serious expression.
"According to our guild’s research, although the faith in pure Stone no longer exists, there was once a belief in a stone deity long ago. In this faith, this deity was called the Stone Prince, or the Lord of Mountains, the Son of the Earth."
"The Stone Prince..."
Dorothy frowned slightly upon hearing this, then after a moment of thought, she continued.
"When exactly was this Stone Prince faith active? From what you’re saying, it seems like this faith has completely disappeared now?"
"That’s not entirely clear. According to some of my colleagues in the guild, the traces of the Stone Prince faith are incredibly scarce even in the Mystic History. All we know is that this faith is very ancient, dating back to at least the Second Epoch, and it persisted into the Third Epoch. But now, it’s completely vanished.”
"In this era, for our White Craftsmen’s Guild and even the entire mysticism world’s Stone-related organizations, the Core of Order—or the God of Steam and Machinery—is the primary faith. Aside from that, there’s also something called the Secret Trade Society, which gathers a group of pure merchants who worship a deity called Dark Gold, a deity said to bring wealth."
Beverly explained, spreading her hands. From her words, Dorothy realized that the faith in the Stone Prince, like the Goddess of Abundance, had completely vanished.
Although Dorothy wasn’t sure about the exact relationship between the Mother of Chalice and the Goddess of Abundance, if it was a succession, then the Stone Prince seemed to have it even worse, with no remnants of faith left at all.
According to Beverly, the faith in the Core of Order seemed to be the dominant force in the Stone domain, and the White Craftsmen’s Guild was, in some ways, influenced or even led by it. Apart from the Core of Order, there was also a deity called Dark Gold, who, based on Beverly’s description, seemed to be a God of Commerce.
From this perspective, it seemed that the number of existing gods in the Stone domain was fewer than in the Lantern and Chalice domains. Dorothy wasn’t sure if Beverly only knew about these or if these were the only ones. If it was the latter, did that mean there were many vacant divine positions on the Stone path?
After listening to Beverly’s explanation, Dorothy didn’t respond immediately but instead fell into deep thought. Beverly, on the other hand, wasn’t in a hurry to ask. She sat back, crossed her legs, and smiled as she watched Dorothy.
"The Stone Prince? Hmm... That name feels a bit odd. It’s a god, yet it’s referred to as a prince. I would have thought that since Stone and Chalice are corresponding spiritualities, and the Pure Color Deity of Chalice is the Mother of Chalice, then the Pure Color Deity of Stone should be the Father of Stone. Why is it called the Stone Prince?"
Dorothy murmured, stroking her chin as she posed this question to Beverly, who waved her hand dismissively.
"That’s not clear. The title Stone Prince was used by the followers of the Stone Church to refer to their god. We’re just continuing to use this title now. As for why they called their god the Stone Prince instead of the Father of Stone, that might require delving deeper into the Mystic History to find out."
Beverly replied slowly, then after scrutinizing Dorothy for a moment, she continued.
"By the way, you didn’t come here just to ask about a god’s name, did you?"
"Of course not. To be honest, I’ve been doing some research on the Mystic History, and this is relevant to it. For my research, I don’t just need the Stone Prince’s Honorific Name, but also His holy symbol. Can you help me get one?"
Dorothy continued to ask Beverly. Based on what Beverly had said earlier, the White Craftsmen’s Guild had conducted research on the Stone Prince faith, so it was likely they had a holy symbol in their possession. Sure enough, after hearing Dorothy’s request, Beverly scratched her head and replied.
"The Stone Prince’s holy symbol... The old folks who research this stuff probably have one. If you need it, I can contact them and get one for you."
"Really? You can get one for me?"
Dorothy’s eyes lit up at Beverly’s words, and Beverly nodded seriously.
"Of course, what’s our relationship? How could I not help with something like this? But..."
Beverly, who had been sitting at a distance, extended her arm. With a series of mechanical clicks, her wrist split open, revealing intricate machinery inside. Her arm extended several meters until her right hand finally reached Dorothy’s face.
"Although holy symbols generally aren’t worth much, the Stone Prince’s holy symbol is still an artifact from the last epoch, so it has some collection value. Even for me, it’ll cost a bit to get one. How about this: my service fee plus the cost of the holy symbol, let’s say 1,200 pounds?"
As she spoke, Beverly’s mechanical hand, now extended several meters toward Dorothy, wiggled its fingers. Dorothy couldn’t help but frown at the sight.
“I knew it…”
Dorothy thought to herself. Although she had expected this, seeing Beverly’s money-grubbing gesture still left her feeling a bit uneasy.
With a grimace, Dorothy pulled out a stack of bills from her wallet and placed them in Beverly’s outstretched hand. Beverly’s hand quickly retracted, and in no time, her arm returned to its normal length, the mechanical components hidden once more.
"Alright~ I’ll contact them and get a Stone Prince holy symbol for you. It should take a few days, and I’ll have it sent to your house."
Beverly said as she counted the money. Hearing this, Dorothy added.
"One more thing. Do you know where Aldrich is right now? If possible, I’d like to get in touch with him."
Dorothy said this because Aldrich was a Red Completion-rank Beyonder with Revelation auxiliary. Dorothy thought that he might have information on the Pure Color Deity of the Revelation domain, so she asked Beverly. After finishing counting the money and putting it away, Beverly replied.
"That old man? He mentioned a while ago that he found a clue to restoring his strength, but he had to go to a rather dangerous place to investigate. Our usual methods of communication don’t work there, so I can’t reach him right now."
"You can’t reach him? Hmm..."
Hearing Beverly’s answer, Dorothy frowned slightly. Without Aldrich, she could only hope that Adèle would be able to provide more information about Darlene.
Afterward, Dorothy chatted with Beverly for a while longer. During their conversation, she subtly asked if Beverly knew anything about the Pure Color Deities of other domains. Beverly’s response was as follows.
"Other Pure Color Deities? Hmm... I’m not really into that kind of research, so I don’t know much. Aside from the Stone Prince, I only know about the Mother of Chalice and the Radiant Savior. After all, these two faiths have been marginalized within their own systems... but not to the extent of the Stone Prince, who has no followers left.”
"Oh, and if I remember correctly, the Nether Coffin Order in the Silence domain worships a god called the King of the Underworld. I’ve heard that this King of the Underworld holds a position in the Nether Coffin Order similar to the Mother of Chalice in the Afterbirth Cult. So if you’re looking for Pure Color Deities, They might be one. You could start by looking into the Nether Coffin Order for information about Them.”
"As for Shadow and Revelation... I know almost nothing about those. You’ll have to figure that out on your own~"
Beverly said this, and when she mentioned Revelation, she gave Dorothy a meaningful look, making Dorothy think that Beverly probably knew about her identity as a Revelation-path Beyonder.
“The King of the Underworld? Is that the Pure Color Deity of Silence? I thought it was the Great Soul from the New Continent... So it’s not? Also, that old man Aldrich must have told Beverly about me. The information she just gave me contains cognitive poison, and she didn’t even warn me before saying it. She must know that I have a high resistance to cognitive poison.”
Dorothy thought to herself. After chatting with Beverly for a bit longer and failing to get any other valuable information, she finally stood up and said her goodbyes.
After stepping out of Beverly’s house, Dorothy looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.
“No matter what, after two days of effort... I’ve finally obtained two holy symbols... Lantern and Stone. For me, these should be the easiest holy symbols and Honorific Names to obtain…”
Walking down the streets of Green Shade Town, Dorothy looked up at the sky and thought to herself. The Lantern holy symbol was easy to get because the Radiance Church was an official, universal religion, and its holy symbol was accessible to anyone. The Stone holy symbol was easier because of her close relationship with the White Craftsmen’s Guild. But even so, obtaining these two holy symbols had cost Dorothy a whopping 2,100 pounds.
As she walked, Dorothy took out her wallet. When she had left home in the morning, it had been bulging with cash. Now, on her way back, it was almost flat.
Opening her wallet and touching the two remaining 50-pound notes inside, Dorothy felt a pang of heartache.
She had originally had 4,450 pounds. After this spending spree, she was left with only 2,350 pounds. Just for two holy symbols, she had spent half her fortune. If the remaining holy symbols were going to cost this much, she couldn’t afford it!
"While it’s true that problems that can be solved with money aren’t really problems... when you don’t have money, that becomes a big problem..."
Touching the two remaining bills in her wallet, Dorothy muttered with a sigh. At least, compared to Aldrich, Beverly didn’t charge any strange information fees. Otherwise, she would have had to spend even more today.
For now, Dorothy could only hope that the remaining holy symbols would cost her less.
“But... how am I going to get the remaining holy symbols?”
Dorothy thought to herself. Among the remaining four holy symbols, she already had leads on two: Chalice and Silence. The Afterbirth Cult still worshipped the Mother of Chalice, so she could try to obtain the Chalice holy symbol through them. And according to Beverly, the Nether Coffin Order worshipped a god called the King of the Underworld, who held a position similar to the Mother of Chalice, so they likely had the Silence holy symbol.
For Dorothy, the next step was to consider how to deepen her efforts in cracking down on cults.