Tivian North Suburb, in front of the East Gate of Royal Saint Crown University, Green Shade Town.
In the afternoon, the rare autumn sunshine Sprinkle on Green Shade Town's streets. On the small balcony of No. 17, Dorothy, wearing a loose white dress and with her hair down, sat on a chair. After several days of gloomy weather, she finally came out to bask in the sun today; otherwise, she felt like her body would grow mold.
In front of Dorothy at this time was a thick book. Beside the book were steaming coffee and a small cake. What was written in this book was the communication between Dorothy and others; this was precisely "wen hai hang zhi".
Dorothy added a large spoon of sugar to the coffee on the table and slowly stirred the liquid in the cup with a spoon. After stirring enough, she placed the spoon on the plate next to the small cake, then picked up the coffee cup and brought it to her mouth to slowly savor it.
Bathing in the warm sunshine, Dorothy felt the surrounding tranquility while looking at the newly appearing words on the book-sea navigation record. After careful scrutiny, she put down the coffee cup, picked up the pen next to it, and began to write a reply on the navigation record.
"So that means you've started working at the hospital now?" After writing the words on Vanya's communication page, Dorothy quietly watched the written words sink into the book. After waiting quietly for a while, Vanya's handwritten reply appeared.
"Yes, Miss Dorothy. Since most of the people in our Historical Scripture Department have been sent to heal Spirit Sight, they are not allowed to return to work until they are 100% recovered. So now the entire Church Historical Scripture Department is paralyzed. As someone who just got promoted to Black Rank, I temporarily don't have a job, so I was assigned to Avrell Mu'en Hospital. Here, my ability as a Healing Priest can play some role."
On the "wen hai hang zhi", Vanya thus described her recent situation to Dorothy. After her promotion, due to the lack of job positions, she seemed to have been transferred to the Church's hospital.
"So, from now on, your workplace will be there, serving as a Sister doctor, and you won't work in the Church District anymore?" Dorothy continued writing her response on the "wen hai hang zhi". As the words sank, after patiently waiting, Vanya's handwriting reappeared.
"No, I'm just temporarily helping out there. There are professional Sister physicians there. Although my ability can help a bit, I'm only interning and helping for a while here. If there's a more suitable position later or if the Historical Scripture Department returns to normal, I might be transferred again. I'm still living in the Church District; the hospital here is just a temporary position."
Vanya responded like this. Looking at her response, Dorothy nodded slightly and roughly understood what was happening.
'Vanya was temporarily promoted due to her merits, and there's no suitable position for her for a while, so she was transferred to the hospital for internship because of her abilities... But this is only temporary. According to her, she should be transferred back to a more suitable position later. Hopefully, it's still the Historical Scripture Department. There, she can access the Church's secret transmission.
'And after the Historical Scripture Department recovers, Vanya will be transferred back with the position of a Black Rank middle Deacon. This means she will likely take over Kirk's position and head the Historical Scripture Department. If Vanya becomes the head of the Historical Scripture Department, it will be much easier for me to get the Church's secret transmission!'
Dorothy thought to herself like this, then she wrote her thoughts just now to Vanya, asking if it was possible. After a moment's pause, Vanya also replied in writing.
"That's true. Deacon Kirk is a Black Rank middle Deacon. If I return to the Historical Scripture Department, I will likely directly take over his position. However, in that case... for the Church, the position of Historical Scripture Department Director will have had two problematic people in a row. Both I and Kirk have secrets that the Church doesn't allow. Miss Dorothy, honestly, it makes me feel a little strange..."
Vanya responded to Dorothy like this. Just by looking at her words, Dorothy could feel the unease in Vanya's heart. She compared herself to the traitor Kirk, finding that both of them had concealed major secrets from the Church, which made Vanya feel somewhat guilty.
Seeing Vanya's reply, Dorothy paused slightly, then decided to help Vanya with some guidance. So, she picked up her pen and wrote on the "wen hai hang zhi".
"No, you shouldn't say that. Although Vanya, you've concealed a little too much from the higher-ups, you have never done anything that harms the Church's interests. You've even helped the Church fight against otherworld and cleared threats for the Church. How can you be compared to that Kirk who attempted to use Spirit Sight to harm his subordinates and harbored evil intentions?
"Vanya, you don't need to worry about this. Think about it, if you hadn't also had a secret from Aka that day, you wouldn't have discovered Kirk's problem, and the Church might have suffered immeasurable losses. You haven't betrayed the Church; you are just protecting the Church in secret in your own way.
"This way of protection is destined not to be understood by some people. Although there are risks, someone must do it, otherwise, the schemes of malicious people like Kirk will succeed. Didn't the Saint Child teach that to protect the Church and the faith, every believer needs to have the spirit and courage of sacrifice, to protect the Church in secret in a special way that is not understood, bearing risks? Isn't this also a manifestation of self-sacrifice? So, Vanya, your heart doesn't need to be confused; just continue to do what is in your hands well."
Dorothy wrote the words of guidance for Vanya on the navigation record. After Sister Vanya, who was taking a nap in the lounge, read her words, she couldn't help but look stunned, then muttered.
"Protecting the Church in secret... in my own way?"
Seeing the words Dorothy wrote to her, Vanya felt a shock in her heart, and the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to be the case. Thinking about it, almost everything she did under Aka's will was an act of salvation. Although her actions violated regulations, they truly eliminated threats and reduced losses for the Church.
'Yes... just as Miss Dorothy said, the Saint Child taught us to have the spirit of sacrifice for protecting the Church. Isn't my protecting the Church in secret also a form of sacrifice...'
Thinking like this, Vanya actually felt herself suddenly become much nobler. This setting of "lonely protecting the Church in a way that is unique to oneself" made her feel a bit exciting. The unease she felt just now not only greatly diminished but even boosted her motivation. Feeling psychologically comforted, she let out a long sigh of relief, then picked up her pen and responded to Dorothy in writing.
"Thank you, Miss Dorothy, for your guidance. I am ashamed that as a Sister, I still need you to guide me with the content of the Holy Scripture. Your words have enlightened me a lot, and I feel much clearer inside now.
"Miss Dorothy, your wisdom is admirable. I will concentrate on my current work as you said. If there is anything important, you can inform me."
On the balcony of No. 17 Green Shade Town, Dorothy couldn't help but nod when she saw Vanya's response. With a look of 'this child can be taught' on her face, she thought to herself, it's a good thing this child is simple and easy to fool.
Then, Dorothy spoke a few more words to Vanya in a guiding tone, further understood her recent situation, and ended this communication.
Every so often, Dorothy would communicate with her contacts, the "members" of the Rose Cross, in this way, to understand their situation. They were also happy to talk with Dorothy, the only known "Rose Cross high-level" person. On one hand, they wanted to understand the situation of the Rose Cross, and on the other hand, when they encountered problems, they liked to seek answers from Dorothy, just like what happened just now.
After guiding Vanya's heart, Dorothy began to flip through the navigation record in her hand, reviewing recent communications with others, and then mentally organizing the recent situations of each contact.
'Neff has recently been learning secret transmission while trying to get familiar with her abilities. She wants to practice in places with spirits, so she's been looking through newspaper archives in the library, searching for haunted places to explore, but she's come up empty several times.
'Overall, any clearly haunted incidents in Tivian should have been dealt with by the An Yin Bureau, so the possibility of finding real spirits by following ghost rumors is not high. Poor Neff, although she was promoted to Extraordinary, she hasn't experienced her abilities even once yet.'
Looking at the communication page with Naifnis, Dorothy thought to herself, if a Seer can't find spirits, isn't she no different from an ordinary person? Neff had directly complained to Dorothy in the navigation record that she felt nothing after being promoted to Extraordinary, and her daily life was still the same as an ordinary person, without any change.
After reading Naifnis's communication page, Dorothy turned to Kapak's communication page. Since Kapak was eager to learn and often asked Dorothy for guidance, there were many words on it.
'Kapak has already started learning Shaman knowledge with the Shaman of his tribe. According to Old Shaman, after Kapak's Spirituality accumulation is full, he will hold a ceremony for Kapak to truly become a Shaman Apprentice.
'According to the nature of Shamans, Kapak will likely also become an Extraordinary of the'Silence' domain like Neff. However, it seems that the Extraordinary system in the New World is different from here. Kapak might be different from Neff's Seer even if he becomes an Extraordinary of'Silence'.
'Another point is that after long-term observation, the Old Shaman of their tribe has officially begun to allow Kapak to promote various modern technologies and items in the tribe, including medicine. With the support of the Old Shaman, Kapak, who has modern medical methods, can finally freely treat the tribe's illnesses. His status in the tribe is rising rapidly, but this has also caused dissatisfaction among a considerable number of conservatives... The conflict seems to be becoming somewhat sharp. I hope nothing happens later.'
Dorothy thought like this, then she began to flip through the navigation record in her hand again. This time she turned to a page with relatively few conversations; this was Anna's contact page.
'As for Anna, this child has been busy learning aristocratic etiquette and various related knowledge recently, preparing for the full inheritance of property after coming of age. Currently, the Field family's property is entrusted to a third-party financial institution led by the Church for management. Although Anna is the first heir, as a child, she cannot fully dispose of this wealth.
'I wonder if making Anna an Extraordinary of 'Qi' and quickly finishing all related courses would allow her to formally inherit the property earlier? But this would definitely arouse suspicion from the An Yin Bureau and the Church... So I need to be cautious.'
Dorothy pondered thus. After the plan to invent an internal combustion engine fell through last time, her plan to make a lot of money was temporarily shelved. Now, Anna is the future financier she expects, but the other party is just a child and cannot fully dispose of her property.
After reading Anna's contact page, Dorothy felt a slight regret. Just as she was continuing to flip through the navigation record, she saw a new handwriting on one of the pages, a delicate handwriting that was not originally on this navigation record.
"Good afternoon, Detective. I have already found some information about the teacher and have mailed it to you. The teacher's memories are very chaotic in my mind. I need some time to organize and sort out the locations where these materials are hidden. In addition, I've encountered some trouble here, so the next batch of information might take some time to send to you."
Dorothy gazed at the new handwriting on the new communication page before her. She knew whose handwriting this was; it was Adele's. When she said goodbye to her that day, Dorothy had given her a contact text for easy communication in the future, and now the other party had sent a message.
"Okay, I understand. I'll keep an eye out for it. By the way, what is the trouble you mentioned? Is it tricky?"
Dorothy wrote her response to Adele. Unlike the other contacts in the navigation record, Dorothy's tone and wording towards Adele were more equal, while when she spoke to others, there was a slight sense of superiority. This was because, under Dorothy's arrangement, others subtly had the meaning of Rose Cross members or quasi-members, so Dorothy was naturally their superior. Adele, however, was a Chalk Rank Extraordinary, a collaborator of the Rose Cross, not a member, and not Dorothy's subordinate.
"It's some issues from the Shining Light Church. It's not tricky, but it's troublesome. Detective, you don't need to worry about me." Soon, Adele wrote back in response, and Dorothy was a little surprised after reading her words.
"Shining Light Church? Do you have a relationship with them?"
"We have a big relationship. The Holy Mother faction of the Shining Light Church is the secret protector and supporter of our Scarlet Heart. They are the ones secretly supporting us in fighting against the Wolf Blood Society. Otherwise, why do you think the Wolf Blood Society didn't directly attack us head-on like they did when they destroyed the Joyful Dance Assembly? It's because of the deterrence provided by the Church in secret that they don't dare to be as aggressive as before.
"And the Shining Light Church also noticed the matter in the Coal Ash District a few days ago. They know my abilities and are now sending people to understand the situation from me. Dealing with them has taken me quite some effort recently."
Adele's words gradually appeared on the paper in front of Dorothy. Looking at these sentences, Dorothy couldn't help but stroke her chin.
Dorothy had already thought about it. The Wolf Blood Society had already openly destroyed countless "Cup" organizations. Why, when facing the Scarlet Heart, an alliance formed by survivors under their claws, did they choose to play some sneaky tricks instead? There must be some powerful force deterring the Wolf Blood Society in secret for this result. But she didn't expect that the one secretly supporting the Scarlet Heart was actually the Shining Light Church? And it specifically named the Holy Mother faction within it.
'This is interesting... Currently, the Holy Mother seems to be a deity primarily in the 'Light' domain, supplemented by the 'Cup' domain. Now the Holy Mother faction is actively interfering in the conflict between 'Cup' organizations, seemingly wanting to support the Scarlet Heart against the Placenta-Department organizations like the Wolf Blood Society. What is the motive behind this?'
Dorothy thought like this. From this microcosm, she could see that people in the Shining Light Church, especially the Holy Mother faction, seemed to be wary of and hostile towards the Placenta-Department. Is there a deity's will contained within this?