Unified Holy Land — Territory of the Summoning Goddess.

The Unified Holy Land, often referred to as the Mini Heaven of the Earthly Plane, was a vast sacred territory where the influences of countless heavenly gods coexisted.

Among all those divine territories, however, the domain belonging to the Summoning Goddess remained uniquely famous.

Not only was it one of the wealthiest regions within the entire Unified Holy Land, but it was also regarded as the center of all beast contracts, summoning rituals, and commerce throughout the world.

At the heart of this territory stood the magnificent Summoning Goddess Palace.

The palace itself resembled a dream constructed from greed and divinity.

Its enormous structure was built almost entirely from radiant golden material and flawless white glass that reflected the shadows of countless beasts across its surface, as though innumerable legendary creatures were hidden within the palace walls waiting to awaken.

At the highest level of the palace stood a massive triangular pyramid made of pure white crystal glass.

Inside that luxurious chamber.

A woman could be seen screaming joyfully.

More specifically, an elf woman.

Her long golden hair cascaded over her shoulders with an unnatural brilliance, while her golden eyes carried silver star-shaped pupils within them.

"Hahahahaha! More! Give me more! Kyahahahahaha!" she laughed wildly while jumping greatly.

As for what she was currently jumping upon – It was money.

Not merely ordinary money either.

Piles upon piles of wealth from different kingdoms, empires, and old ages that covered the chamber like an ocean.

Gold, silver, divine gemstones, spirit crystals, mana stones, legendary treasures, ancient relics, and mountains of precious artifacts were scattered everywhere in quantities so absurd that even dragons would likely feel ashamed of their own hoards after seeing this place.

Perhaps even the followers of the Golden God would suffer emotional damage if they discovered the existence of this chamber.

"Kyaaa~! I love you so much!" the elf woman declared while tightly hugging a statue of the Summoning Goddess Oõleru made entirely from condensed divinity.

Currently, she was in an exceptionally good mood.

The Summoning Goddess Palace had recently secured a massive long-term contract with Arkhavel Academy, causing their revenue to rise tremendously.

But suddenly, the divine statue suddenly began glowing.

"Eh?!"

The elf instantly jumped backward and spread her arms protectively.

Although she technically held the position of a part-time Popess within the palace, she was a full-time collector.

Even the goddess she worshipped would not be allowed to casually take away her hard-earned wealth accumulated over thousands of years.

Fortunately, nothing destructive happened.

Instead, a divine message entered her mind directly.

A new Saint had been selected.

Not only that, but the individual possessed the potential to bring enormous prosperity and benefits to the Summoning Goddess Palace itself.

"What?" the elf muttered while floating slightly into the air.

"But this Saint appeared within the Zenith Empire?"

Her expression immediately became complicated.

"This is troublesome... Once news spreads that a Saint connected to the palace has appeared, countless factions will begin paying attention."

She crossed her arms while thinking rapidly.

Still, despite the possible complications, excitement gradually appeared on her face once more.

"I should send someone to bring that child here," she declared decisively.

After all, during her extremely long tenure, only one Saintess had ever appeared before, and the benefits gained from that single existence had been astronomical.

And she was absolutely not the type of person to ignore such a massive benefit.

***

Skyler stood there with an almost enlightened expression on his face while holy golden light radiated from his body.

"I suddenly feel generous..." he muttered grandly as the divine glow slowly began fading around him.

The moment the phenomenon settled down, nearly everyone present within the school realized the same thing.

A Saint had just been born inside the Imperial Zenith School, and that naturally meant chaos was about to follow.

At the very least, Volka was absolutely certain of it.

However, before the commotion could spiral, a familiar figure suddenly appeared floating high above the Beast & Summoning Grounds.

It was the headmaster Aurelius Zenith.

"Ohoho~! Quite an excellent event has occurred today," Aurelius announced cheerfully while stroking his beard, as his voice imbued with mana, travelled to every corner of the school.

"Since a new Saint has been born within our school so all students shall receive a one-week holiday from tomorrow!"

For a brief second, silence filled the grounds.

Then – YAAAAAHHHH!

The students erupted into deafening celebration as though they had just achieved ultimate freedom itself.

Some nearly cried from happiness.

Others immediately began planning adventures, sleeping schedules, or ways to avoid studying for an entire week.

Unfortunately for them, the evil school had planned to compensate for these "holidays" later by assigning additional classes in the name of justice.

Naturally, none of the students knew that yet.

The celebration continued for quite some time before the situation gradually calmed down again.

Only Aurelius himself understood the true reason behind the sudden holiday.

There was now a one hundred percent chance that organizations connected to the Summoning Goddess would soon officially enter the school, and Skyler himself would likely become extremely busy beginning tomorrow.

Sighing inwardly at the endless responsibilities that came with being old and important, Aurelius vanished once more.

Before disappearing completely, however, he secretly transmitted a message to every instructor present.

[Wrap this entire session up quickly.]

Volka’s expression twitched slightly after realizing everyone except him had received the message.

"That old man really ignored me on purpose..."

Suppressing his irritation, he clapped his hands loudly.

"Alright! Let’s continue!"

Meanwhile, Skyler finally began walking back toward his group.

Unfortunately for him, the surrounding students immediately swarmed him before he could even take five proper steps.

"A living Saint!"

"Which god chose you?!"

"Skyler! Remember when we spoke one month ago?!"

"You confessed to me before! I accept now!"

"???"

Skyler became completely confused after being surrounded from every direction.

In truth, even he barely understood what had just happened.

Eventually, after Volka used a calming spell to restore order among the students, Skyler finally escaped and returned to group with the Golden Slime resting proudly atop his head.

"Congratulations," Caelum said while giving him an exaggerated imperial salute.

"Can I hold the slime?" Anastasia asked immediately.

"How about gifting it to the princess instead?" Loreal added casually.

Ryan, meanwhile, looked at the Golden Slime with the instincts of a future mercenary.

"...How much do you think that thing could sell for?"

"Are you actually a Saint," Paul asked suspiciously, "or did you somehow use an illusion spell?"

Being assaulted by so many questions at once left Skyler slightly dazed.

However, after recovering for a moment, he crossed his arms and smiled smugly.

"One question at a time," he declared proudly before waving his hand dismissively.

"And if any of you need money in the future, feel free to contact me."

"I want to build a giant golden statue of my father, why don’t you lend me the money?"