“The 【Holy Spirit Trail】?”

The white-haired shrine maiden, wearing a small fox mask, repeated the term she had just heard, sounding somewhat surprised. In the carriage, Leila, who was reporting the gathered information to her, nodded.

“Yes, the 【Holy Spirit Trail】. I’ve confirmed this information with the caravan members. If everything goes as planned, we should reach the forest near it around noon and complete the trail before nightfall, camping back on the official road.”

“Hmm… The Holy Spirit Trail… The name sounds familiar. I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before… wait a moment…”

After a brief thought, the fox-masked girl reached into the void and pulled out a thick book titled 【The World’s Top 100 Unsolved Mysteries】 and began flipping through it.

“Mmm… Holy Spirit Trail… Holy Spirit Trail… Oh, here it is! I knew I’d seen it somewhere!”

When she turned to a particular page, the girl exclaimed softly, as if her suspicion had been confirmed. She spread the book open so the others around her could see it clearly.

Several girls huddled together, studying the illustrations and text for a moment.

“It really is! The place mentioned here is also called the Holy Spirit Trail. What a coincidence?”

Rene looked up, rolling her eyes at Theresa, who had made the straightforward comment, then pointed to the illustration in the book.

“What coincidence? Do you really think it’s just a place with the same name? It’s obvious that the Holy Spirit Trail we need to go through is the same place mentioned in this book! Look here, it’s located in the northwest part of the Holy Empire. From New Aster City, head west into the forest from the official road, and you’ll enter the ‘Holy Spirit Trail.’ It’s clearly written here. How can you not understand that? You’re so dense.”

“Eh?! Th-Then isn’t that really dangerous? I remember this book… All the places mentioned in it are extremely mysterious. Even if the caravan wants to hurry, they shouldn’t take such a risky path, right?”

“Dangerous… Not necessarily. It’s just risky.”

Joining the conversation between the two girls, the priestess, who had thoroughly read the book multiple times, naturally knew all the information recorded in it. Just seeing it allowed her to recall everything instantly.

【The World’s Top 100 Unsolved Mysteries】 records mysteries, the incomprehensible and unexplored.

Some places, like the Forgotten Land of the Human United Kingdom, are zones of the living dead, while others are simply mysterious with phenomena that can’t be explained by current theories, but aren’t necessarily places where one faces certain death.

Of course, it can’t be said to be absolutely safe, but with proper precautions, the risks can be avoided. The book records places with confirmed sightings and verified phenomena, whereas vague rumors like the “Wishing Spirit Treasure” in the Oaken Grand Canyon of the Human United Kingdom are not included.

Without looking at the book, the fox-masked girl, who had already recalled her previous readings, spoke directly.

“The Holy Spirit Trail is named for the supposed traces of Holy Spirit activity found there. Have you heard of the Holy Spirit race?”

The little dragon girl and Theresa immediately shook their heads, but the two White Feathered girls showed a hint of contemplation, as if they had recalled something.

Seeing this, Violet was not surprised. After all, Leila and Rene, being from the White Feather clan, which is very close to mythical beings and native to this world, would naturally know more about certain things than Xiao Guang or Theresa, who was once a village girl.

Moreover, if the Holy Spirit race truly existed, it would be quite closely related to angels in a certain sense.

In the Holy Empire’s legends, angels were created by the Goddess of Light to spread blessings and promote the faith in the mortal world, serving as holy incarnations. However, this is just a baseless rumor.

With a deeper understanding of “gods,” especially from Sethlin, who was once the Goddess of Earth, Violet had learned more detailed information. She was sure of a few points.

Some gods indeed create or convert beings into their followers using their divine powers. The first angels were actually created by the Goddess of Earth Seth, gradually evolving into a complete and unique race.

But this doesn’t mean that angels necessarily belong to Seth. God’s messengers are not limited to angels alone. The Goddess of Earth created many species, and the gods, with their varied personalities and methods, naturally have a diverse array of followers.

The Holy Spirit is one such kind.

They serve the Goddess of Light, Aurora, who is the sole deity of the Goddess Church, the world’s largest religion, accounting for nearly one-third of the global population’s faith.

The Holy Spirit race are divine messengers sent by the Goddess of Light, Aurora, to spread the faith of light in the mortal world. However, like the angels, this is just a legend.

Sethlin once told Violet during a casual conversation that in her era of gods, there was no deity named Aurora with a divinity of light. Therefore, she remains skeptical about the true identity of this Goddess of Light.

Given the example of the current era, where all sorts of strange and unusual things can happen, Violet, being the priestess, refrains from making any premature conclusions about the Holy Spirit race or the Goddess of Light until she has more concrete evidence.

After listening to Violet’s explanation, Leila nodded slightly and said:

“Indeed, we’ve heard similar legends about the Holy Spirit race from outsiders in the Azure Sky Kingdom. It’s said that the Holy Spirit has two forms. One is a human-like form, appearing as girls with extraordinary powers, born with spirits and able to communicate with all things.”

“The other form is their true appearance. In the absence of outsiders, they transform into light spheres, wrapped in soft light, flying among the foliage and flowers. This ethereal and sacred form is known as the Holy Spirit.”

“Yes, that’s similar to the version I’ve heard. This book, 【The World’s Top 100 Unsolved Mysteries】, describes it in the same way.”

The mysterious aspect of the Holy Spirit Trail lies in the three rules passed down by the local population:

【First Rule: Those who walk the trail must praise the Goddess of Light, not speak ill of her, and avoid having impure thoughts, or they will face the Holy Spirit’s punishment.】

【Second Rule: Those who walk the trail must not belong to the enemies of the Goddess. Otherwise, the invisible power of the Holy Spirit will drag them into a dreamlike state from which they will never escape.】

【Third Rule: Those who walk the trail must stay on the path. If they stray from it, they will be lost in the forest and never return.】

These rules may sound mystical, but don’t think they’re just meant to scare people. Many skeptics have tested these rules with their lives, including some legendary masters. This shows the unfathomable mysterious power surrounding this place.

However, it’s said that as long as one has sincere faith and strictly follows these rules, even a child without the strength to truss a chicken can safely traverse the Holy Spirit Trail. This might be one of the reasons the caravan leader decided to take this detour.

After all, the White Dove Merchant Guild is a local force in the Holy Empire, and its members are devout followers of the Goddess.