The Seventh Prince of the Human Empire had become the Chosen One of the Goddess of Harvest.
The Seventh Prince was attacked on the street, but the assassin was struck down by divine punishment and transformed into a tree.
The Seventh Prince emerged unharmed.
This string of news swept through Chaos City and quickly spread to surrounding cities overnight.
Originally, Ron's status as a Chosen One was only known within Chaos City and by a few high-ranking figures elsewhere.
But last night's assassination changed everything.
The assassin was turned into a tree by the divine power of the Goddess of Harvest—an event with enormous impact.
There were too many witnesses at the scene, and most were common folk with mouths that simply couldn't keep secrets.
In just one night, Ron became a household name in Chaos City.
That tree was soon cordoned off and preserved, becoming a unique landmark on that street.
Faithful followers of the Harvest Goddess came in droves. They organized themselves, set up wooden fences around the sacred tree, allowing people to come pray and admire it—but forbidding anyone from touching it.
Priests and missionaries of the Church of the Harvest Goddess also arrived quickly after hearing the news. While negotiating with the patrol squads, they began discussing purchasing the surrounding properties, considering whether to establish a prayer hall.
To them, this tree was nothing short of a divine miracle.
It was completely different from the divine sign that appeared two days ago in the cathedral.
That earlier miracle—where flowers and vines sprouted across the walls—was part of the process of selecting a Divine Chosen One, and had vanished afterward without a trace.
But the divine tree on East Street remained, tangible and enduring.
It had real significance.
In the southern prayer hall of the Church of the Harvest Goddess, within a transmission chamber, Bishop Morris stood respectfully by the door.
The teleportation array glowed with a soft light, and a figure slowly emerged.
"Welcome, Archbishop."
A white-haired, white-bearded man stepped out from the array and gave a faint nod.
Though the Archbishop appeared elderly, his face looked surprisingly youthful—smooth and radiant, without a single wrinkle.
Aside from the snowy hair, he didn't look like an old man at all.
"Take me to meet His Highness Ron," the Archbishop said, making the sigil of the Harvest—crossing his chest with the symbol of a grain stalk.
"Yes," Morris responded, mirroring the gesture. "The carriage is ready. Please, follow me."
They boarded the carriage together.
Archbishop Ulysses closed his eyes to rest. Only after the carriage had traveled for a while did he ask, "Was the assassin from last night identified?"
Morris lowered his gaze and answered, "So far, we only know that ten people from the Wild Rose network took on the bounty to assassinate His Highness Ron. The assassin was likely one of them."
Ulysses tapped his fingers slowly on his knee. "There's still time. Take me to where the divine punishment occurred first."
"Yes, Your Eminence." Morris immediately instructed the driver to change course.
When the Goddess's miracle descended upon the cathedral two days ago, and Ron André became her Chosen One, Morris had immediately reported it to the main cathedral in the capital via teleportation.
The appearance of a Chosen One caused a massive stir within the high ranks of the Church.
Then, upon learning of the assassination attempt last night—and confirming Ron was safe—Morris again sent word.
That news was like a thunderclap.
The Archbishop, who was originally planning to arrive with the ceremonial delegation in ten days, instead used the extremely costly teleportation array to travel directly to Chaos City.
If teleporting living beings didn't consume so many spatial element stones, Ulysses would have brought the entire delegation through at once.
After all, a Chosen One held unparalleled importance for the Church of the Harvest Goddess.
He would not allow anything to happen to Ron.
The carriage came to a stop on East Street.
Archbishop Ulysses and Morris stepped out and approached the sacred tree surrounded by a wooden fence.
Dozens of followers knelt before it, praying reverently.
Ulysses didn't enter the fenced area—he simply stood at the edge, looking up.
The tree stood four to five meters tall, its crown lush and full, casting a wide area of shade.
At first glance, aside from the bark bearing the faint outline of a human face, it looked like an ordinary street tree.
But only someone of Legendary rank like Ulysses could sense the truth: this was indeed the work of the Harvest Goddess.
Though faint, he could feel a lingering trace of divine power within the tree.
That trace of divine power imbued the tree with a unique divinity, one that irresistibly attracted all faithful followers of the goddess.
"…To think the Goddess values him so highly…" Ulysses murmured to himself, feeling he had glimpsed the divine will.
Perhaps His Highness Ron truly is someone worthy of the Goddess's favor.
"Let's go. Take me to meet the Chosen of the Goddess."
After confirming what he needed, Ulysses returned to the carriage.
At Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop.
After his morning training, Ron took a refreshing shower and changed into the clothes Nora had washed and hung on the balcony.
He'd spent all night thinking about it and decided—mass-producing and selling Elemental Cards could wait.
Better to consult someone experienced in the field first.
But before that, he had more pressing matters to handle—namely, the fallout from becoming a Chosen One.
After breakfast with Nora, she cleaned the dishes and went downstairs to open the shop for business.
Ron returned to the study to find a letter delivered by the Radiant Mercenary Corps.
It was from Commander Webster.
The letter speculated about the identity of last night's assassin, claiming it probably wasn't from Wild Rose but rather someone from another faction.
According to Webster's made-up logic, the two Wild Rose assassins had already been killed by him, and the remaining eight people who accepted the bounty were all mercenaries—so obviously, last night's assassin couldn't be from Wild Rose.
Ron snorted and tossed the letter into the drawer.
Yeah, like I'm gonna fall for that.
If the system hadn't warned him in time, he might really have been fooled.
After all, Webster was the first major figure he met after crossing into this world, and he'd always been friendly and respectful.
Ron had a good impression of both Webster and the Radiant Mercenary Corps.
But this incident left him a bit disappointed.
And also… more alert.
In his previous world, even with all its schemes and rivalries, his civilian status meant that no matter how badly he got tricked, his life was never at risk.
But in this world—where legal systems were underdeveloped and where magic and Battle Aura held immense power—personal strength could be as terrifying as nuclear weapons.
There were no guarantees for personal safety.
Especially since he wasn't just anyone—he was the Seventh Prince of the Empire, and now, the Chosen One of the Goddess of Harvest.
Naturally, he'd be drawn into larger, more dangerous events.
From now on, he'd need to be a lot more cautious.
He couldn't rely too heavily on the system's warnings and support.