Chapter 17: The "Troubles" from Above
William had been keeping an eye on Theresa the whole time.
Seeing her walk over, he kept his expression calm but moved his hands quickly.
As he removed the paper with the holy water on it, he simultaneously placed a clean sheet underneath.
After doing this, he discreetly moistened the new paper with a little saliva and put on a distressed expression.
Theresa walked over, saw only a small water stain on the paper, and knew that this one had failed too.
"Don't be discouraged. Failure is normal at first. Try to focus more on chanting during the process."
William appeared "deeply moved" and immediately struck a pose to try again.
The deacon who had succeeded first saw Theresa stop by William and assumed he had also succeeded.
"Did he succeed too...?"
The man was about to come over and investigate.
But as he approached, he heard Theresa's words and realized he had misunderstood.
Theresa quickly left.
Seeing no one paying attention, William crumpled up the blue-stained paper and pocketed it.
At the same time, he poured all the holy water he had made onto the front of his robes.
After emptying the cup, William added some purified water to rinse it, then spilled the residual water onto his clothes as well.
This way, even if someone else used the cup, he wouldn't be exposed.
"Phew..."
The wet clothes were uncomfortable, but William breathed a sigh of relief.
Who would have thought that the holy water he made casually would have such high purity?
"Judging by the color, it should be close to ten years old," William thought to himself.
In the past, when making holy water, he would either let it sit for a while after making it before using it, or use what the old priest left behind.
So he had always been frugal.
Who knew his starting point was ten years!
With a little thought, he knew this was the effect of [Holy Water Consecration].
At the same time, William realized something else.
Judging from Ren and Theresa's descriptions, high-age holy artifacts were definitely rare.
Did that apply to the crucifixes and amulets he made as well?
"If that's the case..."
William recalled the items he had sold and given away earlier.
"Looks like I need to prepare some contingencies."
As for handing this over in exchange for status...
An ordinary priest couldn't possibly possess such things. That would naturally lead people to wonder—did he obtain them from some ancient deity?
That would be the crime of blasphemy.
If William actually produced this in front of others, it would definitely shake the Church internally.
Leaving aside promotions, it would definitely attract jealousy.
So William's almost instinctive reaction was to hide it.
Besides, a person who could casually produce near-ten-year-old holy water was practically a walking treasure vault.
William could already imagine spending the rest of his life locked in a basement.
Just to survive, he would become a holy water manufacturing machine, working day and night.
"That was close."
...
The half-day exorcism training ended quickly.
Besides the first deacon, a few others performed well.
Next, Theresa would take them to the Diocese Academy for the next round of selection.
She knew that this short amount of time wasn't enough to teach much.
Exorcism wasn't just theory; experience was more important.
To master it systematically, one had to go to a diocese-level academy, like Wheaton College in New York.
The remaining people weren't idle either.
Soon, the clergy arranged by the higher-ups arrived with the commission. The local personnel had to accompany them throughout.
An hour later.
Two young people arrived at the nursing home. William and Ren were called out by name.
William sized up the man and woman in front of him.
The man was a priest, handsome, about twenty years old.
He frowned as soon as he entered, seemingly disliking the environment.
The woman was dressed as a nun, similar in age to the man.
Although she wasn't wearing makeup, her features were exquisite. Combined with her calm expression, she gave off an aura of "do not approach."
Although the loose nun's habit covered her figure, her fit physique could still be glimpsed when she walked.
Ren poked William discreetly, giving him a "you know what I mean" look.
"Just you two?"
Luen Claus stood with his back straight, radiating an air of superiority.
"Prepare a quiet room for us. For dinner, we need salami, whole wheat bread, wine..."
As the illegitimate son of the Bishop of Miso Cathedral, Luen was a veritable "noble scion."
Although he and his father had only acknowledged each other privately in the past, after the Holy Word came out, his father gave him a title.
His future held the opportunity to study in the Vatican and become an Archbishop in charge of multiple dioceses.
To pave this path, he accepted this commission and came to this dump—in layman's terms, to gild his resume.
As for the content of the commission, it naturally wasn't difficult. Not to mention that his father had given him holy artifacts.
Specifically, a crucifix used in the fasting rituals of the Holy Land.
Dealing with demons and ghosts would be a piece of cake, right?
Therefore, Luen was full of confidence.
Since they had plenty of time and it was rare to come out, they might as well rest properly and complete the commission conveniently before leaving.
On the contrary, the person beside him...
Luen looked at the girl next to him—Olivia Guerrero.
She was the daughter of a Cardinal. That was a background with real Vatican ties.
Before coming, his father had instructed him to build a good relationship with her, ideally to win her over.
That way, the Claus family might be able to climb even higher.
As for whether the Vatican would hold him accountable if things went south, Luen wasn't worried at all.
As long as it wasn't exposed, his father would cover for him.
So Luen spoke softly, "Olivia, what would you like to eat? I'll have them prepare it."
He showed a rare smile, acting every bit the "gentleman."
Olivia remained expressionless and said faintly, "The same as you."
Luen was secretly delighted.
She's ordering the same as me. That's a sign of trust!
Luen felt a sense of closeness with her.
So he turned and ordered, "Two portions then."
Opposite them.
Seeing this guy order like he was in a restaurant, William knew exactly what kind of person he was dealing with.
"This is trouble..." he thought to himself.
In situations like this, several scenarios could unfold.
Either these two would overestimate their abilities and barge into dangerous places, leading the whole team to their deaths.
Or during the commission, the nun might unfortunately show a little favor to William or Ren, causing the man next to her to hold a grudge, creating an enemy out of thin air.
Or the two of them would be completely incompetent, accept an impossible mission, and leave William to clean up the mess.
Any of these scenarios was dangerous!
William was already thinking about how to stay away from these two.
Ren, on the other hand, heard Luen's request and smiled enthusiastically.
"Small matters... leave it to me!"
...
Under Ren's arrangement, they stayed at a church he was familiar with.
Originally, Luen planned to wait a week before completing the task, but Olivia wouldn't agree.
So everyone decided to rest for one night and set off for the commission location the next day.
That evening.
After eating and drinking his fill, Luen finally revealed the content of the commission.
"The Church received news that a town called Ravens Fair hasn't held any religious activities for a long time..."
According to him, in recent years, people in this place frequently died accidental deaths.
Without exception, the victims had their tongues ripped out. As a result, the town's population was dwindling.
So the purpose of their trip was to go to the town and check if there were any evil spirits or demons.
At the same time, they were to restore church services there and let the Lord's holy light shine on Ravens Fair once again.
Listening to this, William found it somewhat familiar.