Chapter 58: Could Vivienne Be a Goddess?

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Ron's plan was simple: have Vivienne disguise herself as the dead barbarian priest and infiltrate the barbarian territory to stir up trouble, thereby easing the pressure on the border.
This was an extremely dangerous plan, and Vivienne decided to go alone.
Before that, she needed to escort Grela and the others back to Palavi.
["So, why did you say those barbarians were targeting our village in the first place?" On the way back, Vivienne finally caught on.]
[Judging from the performance of the barbarian priest just now, Hovini Village was not their primary target—even though ultimate destruction was indeed the end goal.]
Although Vivienne was unreliable, she was never stupid.
Ron knew this was a critical question.
If he didn't answer it well, it would leave a thorn in Vivienne's heart, and she might not be so obedient the next time he wanted to deliberately trigger certain plot developments.
Fortunately, Ron already had an excuse ready.
[You recounted the story of the Holy City and the Divine Maidens to Vivienne.]
[“You mean… the magic tattoos on those barbarians are the power of the Divine Maidens?” Vivienne fell into deep thought.]
[“Among the twelve Holy Cities, five Divine Maidens grant powerful strength to others through these magic tattoos,” you explained. “Working together, they can create a terrifying legion that fears neither potions nor magic, possessing unstoppable courage and boundless strength.”]
[As a mage, Vivienne felt a chill run down her spine at the mere thought of such a powerful legion's existence.]
[“Is that why you developed the 'Body Immolation' magic—to deal with these legions?” Vivienne seemed to understand something; Body Immolation had indeed been a specialized counter against those tattooed warriors.]
[“Oh, no,” you said awkwardly.]
Could he possibly tell Vivienne that he developed this skill just to sleep with women?
[“Then how on earth did you defeat those Holy Cities…” Vivienne asked, somewhat bewildered.]
[“Uhm…” You hesitated. “Naturally, by taking the top-down route…”]
[Vivienne frowned slightly, pondered deeply for a long time, and then a flash of realization hit her:]
[“Oh~! You mean you just slept with all those Divine Maidens, right?”]
[“Cough, cough, cough…”]
“Cough, cough, cough…” Ron hammered his chest, choking once again on Vivienne's words.
Damn it! How on earth did this girl manage to deduce the absolute truth directly from his words?!
[“But our village doesn't have that kind of power,” Vivienne said as they finally arrived at the village.]
[“The power of Hovini lies in potion fusion, which often creates exceptionally potent potions,” you replied.]
[Vivienne's eyes lit up. “Do you think I might be the guardian inherited by the village?”]
[“Have you ever brewed a potion?”]
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[“I have brewed them!” Vivienne reasoned, the more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. “I've always felt I had a special talent for potion brewing.”]
[“Uhm… Vivienne…” Lori's soft voice drifted over. “Please stop entertaining these thoughts… Teacher will be angry.”]
[Unawares, Vivienne had already returned to the village entrance.]
[Lori and Grela were looking at her with concern.]
[Vivienne was in a rather sorry state at the moment.]
[The newly purchased magic robes from shortly before were now tattered and shredded from the recent barrage of magic scrolls.]
[The skin ruptures caused by Body Immolation absorbing a massive amount of power left her covered in injuries.]
[Vivienne's blood-soaked appearance caused both Lori and Grela to wear expressions of deep distress.]
[Lori hurried over to apply various healing ointments to Vivienne.]
[“Yeah, exactly. If you brew potions again, Teacher is really going to blow a fuse,” Grela chimed in, using healing magic scrolls to treat Vivienne.]
[“How can you guys be so discouraging,” Vivienne pouted and said.]
[Truth be told, she really *did* have a talent for potion brewing.]
[The talent for turning every single potion recipe into an explosive.]
[Vivienne had attempted to brew potions six times.]
[She blew them up eight times.]
[This resulted in Vigafet's mage tower being remodeled seven times and completely rebuilt once.]
Looking at Vivienne's illustrious resume, Ron suddenly felt that Vigafet possessed the patience of a saint for not slapping this fellow to death on the spot.
Seen in this light, the fact that she still cared so single-mindedly about Vivienne made her an undeniably rare and wonderful teacher.
In this regard, she was very much like Melia.
[While receiving treatment, Vivienne also shared the legend of the Guardian Village with Lori.]
[“Hehe! Do you think I might be the village guardian?!” Vivienne blinked, eager for Lori's validation. “Maybe Teacher only took me in as an apprentice because she saw my talent.”]
[“The power of the guardian?” Lori tilted her head, a flicker of surprise flashing in her eyes.]
[She raised her hand, and a translucent green glow gathered between her palms. “Are you talking about this?”]
[Vivienne looked skeptical. “Is there anything strange about that?”]
[This was an innate talent Lori had possessed since childhood, and Vivienne found nothing odd about it at all.]
[You glanced over and calmly stated, “That is the power of the Hovini Guardian.”]
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No wonder Lori's potion-brewing skills were so formidable.
Ron wasn't actually surprised by this outcome; Lori had already displayed traits in this direction earlier.
[“Aieeeee!” Vivienne was immensely disappointed to learn she was not a Divine Maiden.]
[However, Vivienne quickly adjusted her mindset: “Whatever! Anyway, the fact that Teacher fancied me back then must mean I have a special talent!”]
[“Uhm…” Lori quietly raised a hand. “It was actually me who insisted that Teacher bring you along…”]
[The confident Vivienne instantly turned to stone.]
[Realizing she had said the wrong thing, Lori hurriedly tried to backtrack, but failing to find any conversational pivot, she could only stand there with a red face, repeating in a loop, “Uhm… uhm…”]
[Finally, Lori squeezed her eyes shut, gritted her teeth, and blurted out, “But Teacher agreed because Vivienne has something special about her!”]
[Vivienne's eyes instantly lit up. “What is it?! What is it?!”]
[She was in dire need of validation right now.]
[Lori, naturally shy by nature, became even more flustered under Vivienne's intense gaze.]
[Standing there at a complete loss for words, she stammered and even turned her head to look at Grela for rescue.]
[Grela, having no idea how to handle this, directly ignored Lori's plea for help.]
[Seeing Lori like this, Vivienne found her extremely cute.]
[With a teasing intent, she leaned right into Lori's face.]
[You felt as though Lori was about to short-circuit.]
[Flushed all over, it was as if steam was rising from the top of her head.]
[Operating at maximum brain overload, Lori finally managed to squeeze out a single sentence:]
[“Your breasts are quite big.”]
“Pfft.”
Reading this line, Ron completely lost his composure.
Actually, Vivienne had quite a few fine qualities.
Just her courage and decisiveness in stepping forward and plunging into enemy territory moments ago were worthy of praise.
Yet Lori, clearly unbearably shy under Vivienne's scrutiny, had offered up an utterly absurd reason while her brain was overloaded.
[“I see!” Vivienne hugged her chest with absolute confidence.]
[Damn it! How on earth did you just accept that explanation?! Hey!]
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