"Boss!"
Nora immediately stood up and greeted him sweetly as soon as she saw Ron come out of the storage room.
Ron smiled and nodded. "Come upstairs for lunch in a bit."
After a simple lunch with Nora, Ron—as usual—headed off to the Chaos City Magic Academy for his magical studies.
Now that he had advanced to a Tier 2 Mage, he could finally begin learning some Tier 2 spells.
Meanwhile, Commander Webster and Professor Vosbites continued following him, closely observing every movement.
Even though they had formed some theories already, they still decided to keep watching for a while longer.
Ron, of course, knew about their surveillance thanks to the system's alerts.
In fact, he wanted them to keep watching—so that, under his deliberate guidance, they'd form exactly the conclusions he wanted them to.
The system's temporary mission still hadn't been settled, which meant Webster and Vosbites hadn't yet fully believed that Ron was truly backed by the Goddess of Harvest.
Understandable—it was a god they were talking about, after all.
At the academy, Ron ran into Edith, who respectfully gave him a small bow.
"Your Highness Ron."
"Uh…" Ron took a step back, a bit startled. "What's this all about? Why so formal all of a sudden?"
"You're the God's Chosen of the Goddess of Harvest now. I wouldn't dare treat you casually," Edith replied with a gentle smile, looking him over carefully. Even she still found it a bit unbelievable.
Ron was surprised. "The news spread that fast?"
"There are a few teaching assistants in the academy who are believers of the Goddess of Harvest," Edith explained. "They happened to witness the miracle firsthand this morning in the cathedral hall. Now the whole academy knows."
Ron chuckled and shook his head.
His identity as God's Chosen was clearly different from what Bishop Morris had described regarding other chosen ones.
Since he had redeemed the miracle through the system, it was likely just a single-use divine miracle and didn't necessarily involve the Goddess's personal will.
Which explained why—aside from his magic being promoted to Tier 2—he didn't gain any further divine power from the miracle itself.
In fact, the title badge [God's Chosen of the Harvest Goddess] given by the system had proven to be far more effective and powerful.
Other God's Chosen likely received blessings directly from the deities backing them. Ron? He had none of that.
He was just glad the Goddess hadn't come knocking to demand an explanation.
After a short chat, Ron and Edith walked together to the training grounds.
Edith found herself even more impressed by Ron—despite becoming a God's Chosen, he remained humble and low-key.
"That's the Elven Saintess, isn't it?" Webster asked, turning his head. "Is the prince getting close to her?"
Vosbites rolled his eyes. "What are you even thinking? Ron requested to study magic at the academy. While Professor Hicks agreed to teach him, he doesn't have time to coach him every day. Since Edith has a good relationship with him, she's the one helping when she has time."
"You know quite a bit."
"You think I became the academy head for nothing?"
"So… is Prince Ron's magic talent really that strong?"
"According to Hicks, Ron's wood-element affinity is even higher than his," Vosbites replied seriously. "And now that he's received the Goddess's miracle, his potential might be even more outrageous."
"You think… maybe the Goddess of Harvest picked him because of his talent?"
Vosbites fell silent, deep in thought.
If Ron's magic potential really was that astonishing—strong enough to stir an elemental ocean whirlpool upon forming a mana seed—then that level of talent was monstrous. Not even Hicks himself could claim to match that.
So why hadn't he received divine favor?
Vosbites couldn't help feeling a little bitter, then said, "That possibility can't be ruled out. With his kind of potential, as long as he doesn't die early, he's bound to reach the Legendary threshold eventually."
"And now that he's gained the Goddess's blessing, even that barrier might not exist anymore. As long as he keeps meditating, hitting the Legend-rank is just a matter of time."
In the training field, Ron cast the Plant Manipulation Spell.
A thick green vine burst from the soil, rapidly extending over ten meters long, swaying through the air.
Edith looked up, her mouth slightly open in shock.
That was a Plant Manipulation Spell? Tier 2?
So thick… so long…
And it even seemed alive…
Edith stared at the vine's graceful movements and could faintly sense a touch of sanctity from it.
It was a feeling she had only ever experienced from the Tree of Life.
Of course, compared to the sacred aura of the Tree of Life, this was incredibly faint—barely perceptible, easy to miss entirely.
If she hadn't grown up beside the Tree of Life, she probably wouldn't have sensed it at all.
"That's divinity," Webster said gravely. "Even ordinary magic is now imbued with divine power…"
Vosbites stared at the thick vine, his eyes glued to it. "At this point, I'm starting to wonder if this really wasn't Ron's first divine miracle… Maybe the Goddess of Harvest had already blessed him before. We just didn't know about it."
Even most of God's Chosen wouldn't casually waste divinity like this.
For example, the Dwarven Seer, another God's Chosen, wouldn't use his divine power for prophecy unless it involved major events affecting his whole race. He'd rather burn up his life force than squander the divinity gifted to him by the God of the Stars.
Unless Ron had lost his mind, there was no way he'd be casually wasting divine power in his spells.
Which could only mean… Ron's level as a God's Chosen might be in an entirely different league.
Magic naturally infused with divinity?
The Goddess of Harvest must really favor him…
The two men fell into deep thought, watching Ron cast spell after spell—each one pushing their guesses further and further in the exact direction Ron had hoped for.
"So based on this, Ron must've received the Nether Orchids and Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums from the Goddess long before this," Webster speculated. "The method of receiving them must've been through that dimensional space, right?"
"From what we've seen so far, that seems very likely," Vosbites replied with a thoughtful nod.
They exchanged glances—half annoyed, half amused.
They'd each been suspicious of the other's involvement, convinced there was a scheme behind it all. And now?
The real answer was something entirely different.
While they still didn't know what the Goddess of Harvest truly intended, it now seemed clear that neither the Empire nor the Magic Academy had meddled behind the scenes.
The Church of the Harvest Goddess might've played some hidden role—but whatever this was, it was far from the diplomatic crisis they had feared.
"Well, now that we've figured things out, let's leave it be," Vosbites said, clasping his hands behind his back as he turned to go.
"You sure?" Webster frowned. "There could still be something we've missed."
"There's nothing more to say," Vosbites replied impatiently with a wave. "Even if the Church is involved, it has nothing to do with my Magic Academy."
Webster shook his head. As the illusion mirror faded away before his eyes, he quickly left as well.
He'd only come to the City of Chaos on a detour. Otherwise, he should've already reported to Emperor André III back in the Royal Capital.
After witnessing all of this, he now felt it was even more urgent to return and report everything to the Emperor in person.