Thanks to Luan stepping away under the guise of a short walk, the temple was turned upside down.
By the time Benya barely managed to find him again, he was in the middle of enjoying a blissful nap in the prayer room.
Sleep without the Emperor’s gaze on him — how sweet it was……
But I still have things to do.
Having napped until late afternoon, Luan finally made his way to the purification chamber.
Thud. With a heavy sound, the massive stone door swung shut.
Perfect silence, cut off from the world.
The only thing filling that stillness was the clear, flowing sound of water.
The purification chamber, located deep beneath the temple, was a restricted sanctuary accessible only to royalty and high-ranking priests.
This holy place, where the divine power resided most densely, would not open except for its designated purpose.
Through the gaps of the high, domed ceiling that rose in a circle, a single shaft of light poured down like a pillar.
That sacred light illuminated the enormous basin placed at the center of the room.
From the mouths of twelve lion statues lining the walls, clear holy water flowed ceaselessly.
What was strange was that no matter how much water poured in, the level in the basin never changed.
A place of eternal circulation — never overflowing, never diminishing.
That was the purification chamber.
It was the miracle of a god defying the laws of physics, and a sight that proved this space existed in a dimension removed from reality.
Into the center of those mysterious waters, Luan was slowly walking.
“Huu……”
He had shed all the heavy ceremonial robes he’d been wearing, leaving only a thin linen gown draped over him.
The thin fabric, soaked with water, clung to his slender frame, laying bare the sharp lines of his collarbone and the narrow slope of his shoulders.
His skin, pale to the point of translucence, shimmered under the light pouring from above, and his platinum hair, heavy with water, trailed down his face, drawing out a strange, melancholic beauty.
Water droplets catching at the tips of his long lashes sparkled like jewels.
Had anyone stolen a glance at this sight, they would not have dared even to breathe.
A perilous beauty that looked as though it might dissolve into light at any moment — sacred, yet like a glass doll that would shatter at a single touch.
But……
Water temperature: adequate. Communication status: good.
Within that holy exterior, Luan’s mind was running in a purely work-oriented mode.
Divine energy concentration: sufficient. No interference factors detected.
The marble beneath his feet was cold, but the moment the holy water touched him, that chill transformed into a refreshing, pleasant coolness.
The rippling water rose past his thighs, past his waist, and up to his chest.
Time to begin my report.
He had told the Emperor something about a purification ritual and whatnot, but the reason he had come here wasn’t simply for bodily cleansing or to secure a vacation — well, maybe a little — it was because he felt it was time to communicate with the god who had dispatched him to this world.
In other words, it was reporting time.
Can you hear me.
And the place most conducive to contacting a god was, without question, the great temple.
Especially in a space as sacred as this — no need to say more.
Luan carefully released the divine energy he had been suppressing within his body.
It was his first time doing it, but perhaps because this body already held the memory, following his knowledge, he found it surprisingly easy to let the divine energy flow outward.
A cluster of white light bloomed above the water’s surface like heat haze, beginning to fill the entire space.
The whole room vibrated faintly.
Connection complete.
Unmistakably a connection signal.
Luan clasped both hands together demurely in a prayer-like gesture — somehow it felt like he should — and addressed the god.
I am reporting on the current situation. Today, I made contact with Aiden.
He organized his thoughts in his mind with logical precision, as though drafting a formal proposal.
His thoughts would be turning into messages, flying toward the god.
Guide — according to the original work I was given, I am meant to carry out the role of the villain.
The god had said various attempts had all ended in failure, so he needed to choose a path that wouldn’t fail.
However, as the field supervisor, I have boldly decided to change course. In order to prevent the bad ending in which the target is tormented and destroyed, I will adopt a ‘favorability management’ strategy — raising and protecting Aiden.
He paused briefly.
Having stated the course, he needed to explain his reasoning.
Aiden is too kind. And the Emperor is a more capable pushover than I expected.
The Emperor had been treating him with enough leniency that favorability management wasn’t even necessary — to the point of leaving him alone despite his considerable impertinence, purely because he recognized ability.
Seeing how unexpectedly lenient his attitude was, and looking at the state Aiden had been in when they met today, this course of action seemed to be the right one after all.
I will lead these two to a happy ending. If I build up favorability with both sides, I believe I can secure Luanisiel’s right to survival as well as the divorce.
That should be enough for a report.
If this approach had already been attempted and failed, he would need to find another way, but —
If you are displeased with my methods, feel free to strike me with lightning right now. Otherwise, please give me a clear signal of approval.
A tense silence followed.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
And then.
CRAAAASH —
The shaft of light pouring from the ceiling intensified like a waterfall.
A blinding white light so intense it was impossible to keep one’s eyes open swallowed the entire purification chamber.
Yet it was not painful — it was a warmth like the embrace of someone dear.
Affirmation. Relief. Pride.
The will of the god was conveyed with unmistakable clarity.
Roughly translated, it felt like: “Yes, you’re right. Please do that.” and “I’m so glad you came.”
Fierce support and encouragement.
It was an unmistakable stamp of approval.
So even the god was frustrated, huh.
Just as a smile was beginning to tug at the corner of Luan’s lips —
“Ugh……!”
Suddenly, something hot surged violently from the pit of his stomach.
It wasn’t a simple wave of nausea.
It was an acute, wrenching pain — as though the dregs embedded deep in his organs, lodged in every corner of his blood vessels, were being forcibly torn out.
This was the change that came from Luan’s body finally receiving an infusion of divine energy, after years of having no outlet for it during the five-odd years he’d been confined to the imperial palace.
When a massive amount of pure divine energy was poured into him alongside the god’s approval, the toxins and impurities that had accumulated in his body over the years had nowhere to go and began to churn wildly.
His body was undergoing purification.
The rot had to be expelled before the cleansing could begin.
“Cough! Ugh, guh……!”
With sounds that were decidedly unpleasant, his mouth fell open and dark clots of blood came pouring out in a rush.
Luan staggered, grabbing hold of the edge of the basin.
Drip. Splash.
Across the crystal-clear holy water, dark red — no, nearly ink-black — dead blood spread outward.
Instead of the metallic tang of fresh blood, an acrid, rotten stench hung in the air.
This was the refuse that had lingered within his body, unable to escape, throughout his confinement in the imperial palace.
“Huk, huh…… cough!”
It didn’t end with just one.
Luan doubled over, retching up black blood again and again.
The agony of his stomach twisting and his lungs being wrung out was immense — yet paradoxically, his mind grew clearer and clearer with each moment.
Like a completely blocked drain finally being forced open.
This is…… a detox!
Luan thought, sensing it instinctively.
Top-tier aftercare. Honestly.
The oppressive weight pressing down on his chest vanished, and the blood flow that had chilled all the way to his fingertips began to run hot again.
The black blood he had retched out dissolved into white foam the instant it touched the holy water, purified in an instant.
The water in the basin shimmered transparently once more.
The unclean had disappeared — only the pure remained.
“Haa…… huu……”
Luan drew in a ragged breath and wiped the dark blood from the corner of his mouth.
At last, a flush of red color rose to the lips that had been pale to the point of ghostly.
His vision snapped open.
The blurred haze cleared, and his body felt as light as a feather.
I feel so much better.
It was the feeling of a new battery being fitted into a body whose charge had been nearly depleted.
The service really is something else.
Luan smiled faintly and submerged himself in the water once more.
If they could do this, they should have done it sooner.
He had been dragging that heavy body around just to get through his work.
The frailty that had lingered — that listless, sickly way of existing — was gone now.
The powerful divine energy and his newly strengthened body made him feel as though he could do anything.
With this kind of condition, I wouldn’t even get tired pulling an all-nighter doing paperwork with that Emperor bastard!
Luan clenched his fist under the water.
Confidence surged through him.
He had expelled any trace of fear along with the black blood.
All that remained was to return to that hellish imperial palace, clear the backlog of work, build up the Emperor’s favorability, and secure a clean divorce ending.
He lingered in the water a little longer, pleasantly absorbing the remaining divine energy.
His lips curved without him even realizing it.
“Thank you. I’ll work hard.”
Luan stepped out of the basin with a refreshed expression.
Water droplets cascaded from his body like jewels as he parted the water.
The soaked gown hung heavy around him, but his footsteps were light as if he were walking on clouds.
He swept back his damp hair and turned his gaze toward the exit of the purification chamber.
His eyes gleamed with a mysterious violet — deeper and more vivid than before, burning with a clear, luminous light.
“Well then. Time to get to work.”
Now that his body was no longer like a soggy strand of seaweed, it was time to start building connections while the thought was fresh.
