The duke chuckled, breaking Danya out of her thoughts, or rather, lack thereof. "Well, now that introductions are out of the way, we need to get going. Since we're pressed for time, I'll be transporting the two of you. Brace yourselves."

Before Danya could inquire about what he meant, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She saw a mortified expression cross Sala's face before her senses went haywire.

Her vision became unfocused. All she could see was a myriad of blurred colors. 

Her ears rang. It was as if she had stood right next to an explosion.

Worst of all was her proprioception. Her body was sending too many different signals at one time. She felt like she was upside down and moving incredibly quickly while standing still, simultaneously.

Thankfully the bizarre sensations ended before a second passed

She stumbled and barely managed to catch herself as normal sensory function suddenly slammed into her.

Sounds of panting and retching coming from Sala greeted her along with the familiar sight of the orphanage.

"It's quite amazing that you're unaffected," Wingraden said and gestured to Sala. "Sala handles moving that quickly much better than most others. Though, he does have more experience with it."

"It's probably just something to do with my class or race," Danya replied timidly, still not used to speaking with the duke.

Duke Wingraden shook his head and explained, "No, no. Your class and new race may have helped a bit, but that can only do so much. Maintaining your composure while your senses are going berserk is an exercise in willpower. Honestly, if someone told me that a level 1 could do so, even five minutes ago, I'd have called them mad. It's almost unbelievable, really."

"The first time, hell, the first several dozen times, that I was moved at that speed, I completely passed out. Sometimes for more than ten minutes." Sala praised, finally recovering slightly. "Even just now, I lost consciousness for a moment. You standing here like nothing happened just proves that your god made the right choice."

Danya only blushed and mumbled unintelligibly in response, not used to being praised.

Wingraden chuckled and asked Danya, "Before we move onto unpleasant matters, are there any possessions you need to retrieve from your room?"

She shook her head in reply. "No, I always carry everything I have when I go to school. Well, other than my school uniforms, which no longer fit me."

The fact that Danya could carry all her possessions in a single small bag caused anger to flash across the duke's face once again.

He sighed deeply and said, "I want to apologize in advance to the two of you for what you're about to see. Typically situations like this would be handled in a much more discrete and less violent manner. But we're no longer living in normal times, and examples need to be made. The world is going to become very harsh, very quickly, and I believe that the two of you should not be shielded from that fact."

Taking a breath, Duke Wingraden turned to face the orphanage, a carefully neutral expression on his face. His aura exploded outwards, covering the entire city.

When he spoke, every citizen heard him, his voice booming in their ears, regardless of the distance.

"AROTO SALAN, YOU HAVE COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST YOUR CITY AND THE CHILDREN THAT CALL IT HOME. THE ACTIONS OF YOU AND YOUR CONSPIRATORS HAVE ENDANGERED THE SAFETY OF OUR WORLD! COME TO FACE YOUR PUNISHMENT QUIETLY, AND IT SHALL BE SWIFT AND MERCIFUL!"

As soon as the Duke finished speaking, similar messages were heard one after another from all over the city. 

Wingraden stood without moving, not even seeming to breathe. What felt like an eternity passed before he spoke again.

"YOU HAVE MADE YOUR CHOICE!"

He extended his hand towards the orphanage and made a grabbing motion.

A bloody person flew through the orphanage's walls at breakneck speed, followed by an explosion of wood and stone. The figure flew straight into the duke's outstretched hand, his fingers closing around their neck.

Danya gasped, having recognized the individual as the head administrator of the orphanage. A snarl marred her face as she remembered the duke's apology for the corruption in the city. It wasn't difficult to realize that the administrator was one of the corrupt officials. He had likely been embezzling the funds assigned to the orphanage, likely for an incredibly long time.

She was shocked by the rage that suddenly surged through her and habitually took deep breaths in order to calm herself down. After the first breath, however, she paused. Now that she was a Divine Champion, there was no reason for her to hide her emotions, and she had every right to be furious at what he'd done to her and the other orphans. She was no longer someone that had to watch what she said or did for fear of retaliation from a noble. It was time that she started acting like the champion that she was.

Snarling once again, Danya moved next to the man hanging in the duke's grasp. She didn't care that the duke and his son were watching her with inquisitive gazes. She swiftly kicked the administrator between the legs with all of her strength. Idly, she noted that the Duke raised the body alongside her kick, likely preventing her from breaking her leg on the man's much more durable body.

A strangled breath escaped her as she growled, "How dare you!?! Do you even realize how hard the lives of the children here are? How small and weak they all end up because of a lack of food? How they're lucky to have even a single pair of clothing besides school uniforms? So many have been mere breaths away from death because the orphanage supposedly couldn't afford medicine. This entire time you've been lining your pockets?!?! You're nothing but a monster in human skin!"

Danya panted, being emotionally drained after her outburst. She stumbled backward, almost falling if not for Sala grasping her arm. Sala smiled and said, "I knew that there was some fire in you! Please remind me to stay on your good side. I don't think I want to ever be anywhere near the receiving end of your kick!"

The duke glared at the man he was holding and said. "I don't think I could have said it any better. So... Goodbye."

Incredibly bright light engulfed the administrator, and within a moment, not even ash remained.

The Duke turned, dusting off his hands, "Well. Now that-" He suddenly jerked, turning around with his fists glowing, and scanned the area. A tense second passed before he relaxed, a puzzled expression on his face.

A Skill Orb was slowly forming where the administrator was previously.

Duke Wingraden plucked the orb out of the air after it finished condensing, only to mutter. "Why is this orb restricted?"

He stood there, not moving for several seconds, before glancing at Danya, "Unless... We were the only two that attacked him... Even if I was the only one that did any damage..."

Wingraden handed the orb to Danya and said, "See if you can use this orb."

Nodding, Danya took the orb and quickly read over the following system prompt.

---
Use Skill Orb - Queen's Blessing?
---

She tilted her head curiously and asked, "Yes, I've got a prompt similar to when you gave me the orb for Inventory. Should something different have happened?"

Chuckling, the Duke answered, "No, I was pretty certain that it would work for you since it didn't work for me." He paused, tapping his chin, "In extremely rare cases, usually those of great significance, the World System converts the energy from a defeated enemy into an item. Often it's a Skill Orb. Orbs produced in this manner can only be used by one of the battle's participants and are often catered towards that individual."

He snorted and continued, "This 'battle' was so insignificant that there should have been no chance of a drop appearing. The gods must be taking full advantage of their increased ability to interact with the system. I believe that one of them, most likely your patron, used a loophole to count your kick as participation in the battle, despite its lack of damage." He grinned, "It was an excellent kick!"

Understanding that no one else would be able to use the Skill Orb, Danya nodded and accepted the prompt.

---
Congratulations, you have learned Queen's Blessing! Your Spark of Divinity has activated!

Queen's Blessing:
You may grant boons to your subjects.
Rank: F
Active:
Grant your followers up to 3 boons derived from your own abilities.
Boons can be changed once every 3 months.
---

After reading the prompt, she spoke, "The skill seems to synergize well with my progenitor perk. If used properly, it could be incredibly powerful."

The duke nodded and spoke, "Drop items, especially skills, almost always end up being invaluable. Many of the world's strongest beings attribute a large portion of their success to their luck with drops."

He placed a hand on Danya's and Sala's shoulders as he continued, "We have one more stop before Sala takes over as your escort for the day. He'll guide you to procure the rest of the supplies you'll need for the trip to the capital."

The world blurred once again when he finished speaking. As Danya was somewhat prepared this time, she managed to stick the landing without stumbling.

She noticed that Sala hadn't made any sounds of distress this time and glanced over. His eyes were glassy, and he was wobbling, unable to maintain his balance. She reacted on instinct and moved to catch him as he passed out and began to fall. She arrived just in time and managed to catch him. In the process, she had pulled him towards her without realizing it, and his face was now resting in her cleavage.

As if by divine intervention, it was then that Sala regained consciousness. Groggy and confused by the fact that he couldn't see, he reached out, grasping for anything that would explain the situation. The soft mounds his hands made contact with did nothing to lessen his confusion. Nor did the subsequent moan.

His vision was suddenly returned as he was no longer being held up. Before he fell face-first into the ground, he was blessed with a close-up of Danya's bare breasts, having uncovered them accidentally.

He slowly got to his feet and looked at Danya, who was busy readjusting her shirt/bra. With a grin splitting his face, he exclaimed. "I could get used to waking up like that! Even if I have to fall on my face every time!"

As Danya blushed, he continued, "Seriously though, thanks for catching me. Two back-to-back trips like that appear to be more than I can handle." 

Danya let out a quiet, "You're welcome." She quickly turned to look at the duke, who had a giant grin on his face, clearly finding amusement in her struggles.

Now that the show was over, Wingraden held the door to the simple shop they were in front of. "Please, after you."

Sighing, Danya stepped into the store, followed by Sala and his father.

The shop was empty except for a single counter, behind which stood a middle-aged man. The man frowned when he saw Danya, clearly displeased. His frown quickly disappeared once he saw the duke entering after her.

Completely ignoring Danya, he spoke with a smile, "Lord Wingraden, how can I help you on this lovely morning? Perhaps a VI for your son?"

Sighing at the man's clear dismissal of Danya, even though she arrived before him, Wingraden responded, "Two of your best models for my son and Lady Danya here."

If he was concerned over his previous treatment and dismissal of Danya, he didn't show it. He barely even twitched at the duke's way of addressing her.

Nodding, the man reached under the counter and retrieved two Skill Orbs. "You have perfect timing. I received approval from the capital for my newest model not even an hour ago. I'm technically not supposed to begin selling any until tomorrow. I think that I can make an exception for you, however."

"Ah! Wonderful news! Thank you." The duke responded before picking up the orbs and stepping out of the shop.