Chapter 00010: Misunderstood Intentions
# Misunderstood Intentions
Chapter 10
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 10: Misunderstood Intentions
On the screen, Viola held the wooden plate in her hands, lost in deep thought.
Then, as Li Chengxi watched, she suddenly flipped the plate over, and immediately summoned her knights and charged out of the Chapel in a whirlwind.
Just as Li Chengxi had speculated, Viola had discovered the name carved on the bottom of the plate.
To bring Haim Village into an area he could influence, he needed believers, but Li Chengxi couldn’t communicate with NPCs who had zero Devotion, so recruiting believers himself was impossible.
But letting Viola go was different.
She was a princess, after all.
If she went to the village and spread the word, there just might be people who would start to believe.
And in the process, she could return the plate to that little girl named Lilia.
Two birds with one stone.
As for why he didn’t just tell Viola the truth directly, it was because Li Chengxi suddenly realized something—Divine Oracle had never been something that was clearly explained.
Just like the Buddhist koans or Daoist maxims—they were the kind of things that sounded like nonsense at first, but the more you pondered, the more sense they made.
Since he was playing the role of the Demon God, saying it all clearly straight from the mouth didn’t feel fitting for his role.
Anyway, the plate already had the name and address written on it.
As long as she wasn’t blind, she should understand his intent just fine.
But then again… there was one thing Li Chengxi didn’t quite get.
“Why are they all praying to an open five-fingered handprint? That thing’s supposed to be my Holy Emblem? Can’t I customize it or something?”
He felt like the Holy Emblem didn’t look cool enough.
A bit baffling.
———
Year 648 of the Demon Lord Calendar
April 2nd
Haim Village
A child’s cries rang out from the nearest house by the village entrance.
“It’s gone! Grandma! The plate I put right over here is gone!”
“Oh dear, Lilia, don’t cry. If it's gone, that’s a good thing.”
“A good thing?”
Lilia sniffled and asked, “How can something going missing be good? That was the only thing I had left from Mom and Dad.”
She burst into tears once more.
Lilia’s grandmother gently hugged the child, patting her back.
“If it can’t be found, maybe it’s because the divine took it.”
“Why would the divine take my plate?”
“Because the divine likes you.”
“I don’t want this kind of like!”
“Silly girl, if the divine took your plate, that means they’ll bless you in the future.”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true. This is a good thing that many people never get.”
“Then will the divine bless Lilia so she can grow up and kill all the bandits and robbers?”
“You little rascal... Grandma only wishes for you to grow up safe and sound, that's all.”
“No! I’m going to kill all the bandits and robbers and avenge Mom and Dad!”
A faint sorrow flashed in Grandma’s eyes.
Maybe thinking of her son and daughter-in-law who had been murdered by bandits, she silently turned away to wipe her tears.
Lilia didn’t notice Grandma’s subtle movement.
She seemed to truly believe that the divine had taken away her plate and would bless her someday.
With a bright smile, she ducked under the table and pulled out a toy shuttlecock to kick.
As she kicked, she sang:
“Chop chop! Smash smash! Hang them all! Kill all the bandits until they're gone! Suffocate, drown, and hack them down! Every last robber, they must all die!”
Though the tune sounded like a nursery rhyme, the lyrics… didn’t quite seem right…
Just then, a ruckus rose from outside the house, accompanied by the rumble of hooves against earth.
Lilia quickly caught the fluttering shuttlecock in her hands and peeked toward the village entrance, full of curiosity.
But Grandma reacted swiftly.
Hearing the unusual noise, her instincts kicked in.
She shielded Lilia behind her and quickly shut the door, leaving only a small crack.
Before long, they saw a group of dashing Female Knights ride up to the village's edge.
“Woah!”
Lilia let out a small exclamation of awe.
She had never seen such a stylish and mighty scene in this tiny village before.
Her eyes were glued to it.
The lead knight spoke to some fearful villagers for a moment, then the knights dismounted and led their horses in the direction of Lilia’s house.
Grandma’s heart skipped a beat.
Knights were not easy people to deal with.
Even if knighthood wasn't hereditary, they still belonged to the noble class.
To poor commoners like them, they were as high as mountains.
Suddenly having a whole squad of knights come knocking was an immense psychological shock for ordinary folk like them.
But they were already in the courtyard—Big Yellow, their dog, even ran out from its kennel and barked fiercely at the strangers.
They couldn’t just keep hiding; if they angered the knights, being hung from a tree would be considered lenient.
“Lilia, stay behind the door and don’t come out. Grandma’s going to check. Be good.”
Lilia nodded obediently and hid behind the door.
Once she was safely hidden, Grandma opened the door with a creak and hobbled out.
“Big Yellow! Stop barking! Go back to your kennel!”
Big Yellow let out a whimper and scurried back into its kennel.
The lead knight looked at Grandma.
“You’re the resident of this house, correct? I am Viola Avarus.”
“Y-Y-Your Highness, Princess?!”
Grandma nearly dropped to her knees.
Her knees felt weak from the shock.
Viola, having frequently sneaked away from the Royal Palace since her childhood, was quite used to the reactions commoners had upon learning her true identity.
She softened her voice as much as possible.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ve just come to ask you a few questions.”
“Your Highness, please ask whatever you need.”
“Lilia… does she live here?”
Grandma hesitated.
A sudden visit from the princess, and looking for her precious granddaughter? That didn’t feel like a good sign.
Viola could clearly see the unease on the old woman’s face.
She took the wooden plate from Zola’s hands and showed its underside, pointing at Lilia’s name.
“I was guided here by my Lord to find her.”
“Ah! That’s my plate!”
“Lilia! Why did you come out?!”
Grandma immediately grabbed Lilia, who was trying to reach for the wooden plate in Viola’s hands.
She quickly turned to Viola and said,
“Your Highness, my son and daughter-in-law have passed on. My husband and I only have Lilia left. I beg you, please don’t take her!”
“You can rest assured. We’re not here to take her away.”
Viola crouched down, gently smiling, and placed the plate into Lilia’s hands.
“This is your plate, isn’t it?”
“Yeah!”
Lilia nodded hard and said cheerfully,
“I couldn’t find it this morning—how come Big Sis ended up with it?”
Right, how come?
Viola was quietly pondering over that question as well.
Why had the Demon God guided her to this Lilia of Haim Village?
What was the true purpose?
The will of the divine was unfathomable.
To someone who had just stepped into the path of the clergy, deciphering divine revelations was simply too hard.
Surely it wasn’t just to return a lost plate to a little rural girl under ten?
As Viola was lost in thought, Lilia said suddenly,
“Big Sis, did the divine send you here?”
Viola was startled.
Lilia went on:
“Grandma said…the divine took my plate. That means they'll bless me in the future.”
Had her Lord chosen this little girl as a chosen one?
No, no—it couldn’t be.
How could a chosen one be selected so casually?
If she truly were one of the Demon God’s chosen, how could she hide upon seeing her?
Viola shook off her thoughts and nodded to Lilia.
“The Demon God sent me.”
“Demon God?”
Lilia beamed with joy.
“So the divine really did send Big Sis! Are you here to grant my wish? I want to kill all the bandits and robbers in the world!”
Bandits?
Her words lit up Viola’s mind like a jolt of lightning across her brain.
So that’s it.
The Lord’s will is… to have us strike down the escaped bandits!
(End of chapter)