198 The Benevolence of the Church

Chapter 198: The Benevolence of the Church

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It seemed that the Godsfall cult had not truly unleashed the innate power of an Empire Runic Complex, and that certainly was splendid news, because it meant that they were not as adept in this as the Ancient Rohserlian Empire once was.

Nevertheless, since the cult was able to successfully erect a gigantic, dome-shaped barrier all over a large city—despite Baiyi destroying one of their Complex's key points and informing the Church's authority about the situation—it was fitting to conclude that the Church's incompetence was as legendary as a slacker in a university assignment team.

Despite the early warning, the Church was ill-prepared. Its internal administration was infiltrated like a sieve, and the crucial surveillance department was held against their will. Even the main forces were being manipulated. The Church's contributed zilch towards resolving the crisis; perhaps they were too overconfident with their long-standing record of fending off threats, so their preparations for situations like this grew lax over time. There were no contingency plans at all; it seemed that they had not even considered the possibility of an attack.

Hence, as soon as Grunewald overheard Baiyi's low mutter, he instinctively thought that Baiyi was insulting the Church. His face flushed and swelled so much, it looked fit to burst, but he knew that he couldn't afford to fly into a rage. Struggling to compose his emotions, he finally said, "I agree that there is a serious problem with our internal administration, yes… and we will try to resolve this as quick as possible and retaliate."

"Pay more attention to the Templar Fort," Baiyi advised. He was already tired of saving their asses over and over again. "If they were willing to surrender an important asset like Lord Haart, I doubt they'd give up so easily."

"Don't stress over it. The fort is like the windpipe of the land; it is the most secure place in the world," Grunewald reassured with confidence. "We're racing against time to analyze the structure of the shield enchantment. With the participation of the Magic Association and the Door of Conundrum, we believe that this can be resolved quickly. Our defenses will be reinforced at every location, rendering their ploy to teleport demons in from afar ineffective."

"Oh, that's good. Splendid." Baiyi nodded in agreement. Deep down, however, he pondered, ' Once this is resolved, what's going to happen to me? Are you going to let me do whatever I want? '

There was no other option. The Godsfall cult's ambush strategy was a serious threat that required enhanced defenses to counter. They might have only revived Lord Thaas this time, but if there were any more attacks directed at the Holy City of Canningham in the future, the outcome would be unimaginably disastrous.

No one knew what else they had up their sleeves. In order to resurrect their partner, The Abyss Lord, they had chosen to sacrifice Lord Haart, a potential pope, without a moment's hesitation. ' How many more of these hardcore worshippers are there out there? Any attempt to estimate their numbers was already enough to induce worry; the Church's internal administration may already be losing sleep over it.'

Baiyi already knew about this matter, but he chose to keep silent. ' Let the Church soothe their own headaches. '

"Ah yes, Sir Hope… we have prepared a few gifts for you. Do accept our humble offerings," said the Grand Paladin Commander, swiftly substituting the tense topic for a more relaxing one. He shoved five sacks in Baiyi's direction.

This gesture definitely didn't conform to the news that had been reported about the Church. Nevertheless, it would seem ungracious of the Church not to offer any rewards; however, Baiyi was in no hurry to accept the gifts that had been presented to him. Instead, he glanced at Laeticia, and asked a question, "How long would it take for her to mature into a proper saintess, specifically?"

"It'd take two years minimum; five years if her progress is slower," Grunewald answered honestly. Strictly speaking, the tentative duration for completion that the Grand Paladin Commander had mentioned could be considered generous and forgiving, probably even the shortest the Church could tolerate. A wait of up to ten years was pretty common for saintesses in training.

"Since there's still so much time, then I'll borrow her for a bit," Baiyi said, "Let her be my ward and learn a thing or two from me. After all, Saint Joel's sermons cannot be understood with a few lessons."

"Ah... about this…" Grunewald's expression was one of conflict. Baiyi's request was reasonably sound, but to allow a little saintess to be supervised by an unknown stranger… It was a hard decision to make.

Upon noticing Grunewald's conflicted expression, Baiyi gave some reassurance, "As I recall, one isn't restricted by their damned venue when practicing their faith, they only required a devout heart. Wasn't this included in parts of your sermons? Furthermore, the internal administration has not been fully stabilized, right? Let her come with me, away from all this mess. Allow her the chance to focus solely on her practice, and let this serve as a good foundation in her journey to becoming a proper saintess. Don't worry, I'll definitely foster her to become an excellent saintess."

'Whether or not she'll end up being a saintess who follows your religion, is hard to say… There's also a possibility that she might end up becoming a spinster instead of a Saintess… ' Baiyi thought privately.

Convinced by Baiyi's reasoning, the Grand Paladin Commander had no choice but to agree with a nod. "I understand. Times are bad for the Church, and it is a bit disorganized…" He glanced at Laeticia, seeking her opinion. "What do you think? Are you willing to study under Sir Hope?"

There was no need for words; her eyes already revealed her deepest desires. Here, she would be surrounded by her dearest, most-respected seniors, beautiful girls of the same age, and above all—a cute puppet that moves! Anyone would have made the same choice she did.

"Alright, understood. But, you're still coming back with me today; we'll need to get approval from the higher-ups," Grunewald said with a tone of finality. After that, he excused himself and Laeticia.

' She'll be back ,' Baiyi thought with confidence. He watched Laeticia leave, closely tailed by her silhouette.

When Baiyi turned around, he noticed that Attie had already gone to tidy up her new room. Mia and Tisdale talked about Laeticia, who will be added to the team soon, in hushed tones.

"That girl is so pretty!" Tisdale whispered in excitement. "Master really brought another pretty girl home again!"

"We look the same age. I think… but why…" Mia mumbled as she glanced at her own chest. She could not help but feel a little dejected.

"Does it seem like… she really likes the master? I wonder if there's history between them…" Tisdale pondered. "Could she possibly be… the master's daughter?!" Her expression changed to one of worry, as though she had unexpectedly encountered a menace.

"Whaa—Sir Hope's daughter...?! Then... I…" Mia stopped short, getting bizarre ideas in her little head.

Suddenly, a hand appeared out of nowhere and pinched their faces.

"AAAAAH... OW OW OW—"

"UUUUUAHH— IT HURTS…!"

"Spouting nonsense over her, I see… have you even finished the homework from yesterday?" Baiyi asked, exasperated. "I even have a daughter now, it seems! Have you forgotten how old I am!"

"Arghhh… it's only natural to ask that question, seeing as you treated her so nicely, master!" Tisdale clarified promptly. Perhaps Mia was not too sure about this, but she knew that Baiyi would surely be at least a thousand years old.

"And you? Were you treated very badly? Don't you girls want to be my daughters?" Baiyi demanded.

Both girls quieted down instantly.

A moment of awkwardness permeated the air.

"Cough…" Baiyi loosened his grip hastily. He rubbed their cheeks, explaining himself, "That...is not what I meant—uhm—it's not what you've imagined."

He blurted without much thought. This explanation made the two girls feel even more awkward.

"Ahem… fine, I'll explain." Baiyi cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway... Laeticia is an apprentice who was heavily recommended to me by my good friend, so I'm essentially just doing him a favor. Don't you dare think otherwise, you little rascals. Hmm… I suppose that will be all. I'm going to the Magus Lab now, so I will not be joining you girls for lunch." Baiyi announced briskly. With the sacks containing the Church's gifts in tow, Baiyi excused himself and retreated to the lab.

After he left, the two girls rubbed their sore cheeks and muttered simultaneously under their breath, "Idiot…"

Filled with anticipation, Baiyi opened a gift sack, and his anticipation vanished the instant he saw its contents. "Ever so tacky…"

Among five sacks, three of them were just unacceptable; they filled to the brim with silver and gold. A quick count revealed the final amount to be almost ten million gold coins. That was not a small amount by any means. 'But it is still too tacky…'

The remaining two sacks was filled with magic scrolls. Their contents of the scrolls ranged from medical remedies and invocations to exorcism; it was almost equivalent to having a church by one's side.

'These things are pretty useless…' Baiyi shook his head solemnly. These scrolls were of no value to him, and he could decide to let the girls light them up as fireworks instead. He tipped the rest of the scrolls out from the sack. Just as he was contemplating on the best way to recycle these items, he felt something at the deepest corner of the sack. They were white, perfectly-formed feathers.

The feathers were pristinely clear. Every single vein on them could be counted clearly as if they had been weaved using light itself. Baiyi's heart pounded with excitement. He knew these feathers originated from the wing of an angel.

According to knowledge from the Voidwalkers, these beings were called Angels. When it descends into the human realm, an Angel would possess a human. Their backs would grow wings adorned with feathers made out of light, and these feathers would scatter across the realm whenever the Angels took flight, just like a Gundam mecha. But of course, these feathers could not be touched at all. Their appearance was just a trick of the light.

There were only a few possibilities to explain why the feathers before his eyes were captured in solid form. One, they had been pulled directly from the wing of an angel. This was a highly unlikely situation the angels' corporeal bodies usually resided on the sun. Two, the descended angels overstayed their due, and their feathers gradually solidified over time.

No matter the circumstances under which they were procured, the feathers were extremely rare and precious. Even the discarded ones were simply a visual trick. It was extremely difficult to obtain authentic feathers.

Without question, Angels' feathers are regarded as one of the most precious materials in the realm. It was an extremely generous gesture for the Church to gift him three of them. Maybe calling them tacky was uncalled for, after all.

It was unknown if these feathers originated from a beautiful, demure female angel, or a bearded male angel with thick leg hair. Although the gender of the host did not play any significant role, it would still contribute a slight difference in perception…

The best way to make use of these exotic feathers, however, required further exploration.