Sea of Conquest, Natsuki Archipelago.
During the morning, in front of a large wooden house somewhere on the main island of the Natsuki Archipelago, chaos reigned.
Broken floorboards, snapped trees, and Natsuki warriors clutching their wounds on the ground—the scene bore the marks of a recent battle. The combatants had been the Natsuki warriors guarding the place and a man who was supposed to have come to deliver a message.
"Let me go! Let me go, Sukai! I came here to deliver Priest Amman's orders! How could you attack me?!"
Held down by several warriors, Obuye knelt on the shattered floorboards, shouting with a look of resentment. Standing before him was the Natsuki warrior named Sukai, a guard here. Inside the large house behind him, many pilgrims of the Glow were being held.
"I know you're here to deliver an order. The question is, what kind of order... To make sure there's no misunderstanding, why don't you repeat exactly what order you were supposed to give us?"
Standing in front of Obuye, Sukai, dressed in a short shirt with his arms bare, spoke seriously to the man. Hearing this, Obuye was momentarily stunned before speaking again.
"Priest Amman has received a response from the Glow, and they rejected our terms! Priest Amman ordered me to tell you to kill all the hostages immediately! It's our response to the Glow! I have Priest Amman's staff as proof!"
Obuye shouted at Sukai, his eyes fixed on Amman's staff lying on the ground in the distance. After hearing Obuye's words, Sukai let out a breath and spoke.
"Phew... Then there's no mistake. You're the one we're looking for. Take him away and lock him up."
Sukai responded casually, then signaled his subordinates to haul Obuye away. Seeing this, Obuye began to struggle and shout frantically.
"Sukai, you can't arrest me! I'm delivering an important order! The Glow doesn't treat us as human, we must make them pay... Ugh-wa-ah..."
Obuye roared excitedly, but Sukai, seemingly annoyed by the noise, used his ability to manipulate a glob of water from a nearby ditch and slammed it onto Obuye's head, enveloping it completely. Since Obuye was a Water Arts user, he wouldn't suffocate immediately, but he could no longer shout.
After watching Obuye being taken away, Sukai stepped forward and picked up Amman's staff from the clearing. Looking around, he finally saw the Priest of the Abundant Tree, Amman, slowly walking out from behind a nearby tree.
"Priest Amman, I've done as you instructed. As soon as that fellow Obuye mentioned killing the hostages, I arrested him..."
Seeing Amman approach, Sukai spoke while handing the staff back. Taking his staff, the stern-faced Amman nodded slowly and spoke.
"Thank you for your hard work. Now, release those pilgrims of the Glow. Gather them together and arrange a better place for them to rest."
"Yes, I'll get to it once I've dealt with Obuye."
Following Amman's instructions, Sukai led his remaining men away and soon disappeared. After Sukai left, the White Nun, Vania, slowly stepped out and came to Amman's side. Amman looked at the staff in his hand and sighed softly.
"I never imagined... that we were being used from the very beginning. We thought we were fighting for our faith, but in the eyes of others, we were just tools to be manipulated against the Glow. If not for you, Miss Vania, I don't know what Natsuki's fate would be... Likely destroyed by the Glow, with its remains devoured by the minions of the Evil Snake."
Amman lamented. After hearing his words, Vania spoke slowly.
"I only did what I should have. As a fellow remnant of the Goddess's faith, I couldn't stand by and watch Natsuki meet a tragic end."
Amman fell silent for a moment. Leaning on his staff, he turned to Vania and continued.
"We owe you much, Miss Vania... However, I am curious—how did you know there was something wrong with Obuye, and that the Evil Snake was behind our actions this time?"
"It was actually quite simple. When I asked how Natsuki learned that our fleet's defenses were weakened, you said Obuye brought the news back from a recent business trip, claiming he heard it at sea. However, that explanation doesn't hold up for me. I was on the pilgrimage fleet the whole time, and I know our weakened defense was a temporary situation caused by an unexpected incident. That incident happened in the distant city of Navaja. At the time, the Glow had blockaded the entire Port of Navaja. Without using extraordinary scouting abilities, an ordinary person wouldn't know what was happening inside the port.
"Therefore, it's highly unlikely this event circulated among ordinary maritime merchant circles. Even if it did, it would have been among merchants near Navaja, and it would take at least several days to spread. But according to you, Priest Amman, Obuye returned to Natsuki four days ago, which is roughly when the incident with our fleet occurred. This means Obuye, who had just returned to Natsuki, knew everything about our situation the moment it happened. This is preposterous; he couldn't have learned this information by asking around in merchant circles as he claimed. Someone must have scouted it in Navaja and used some extraordinary means to notify him. Thus, he must have a close connection with some extraordinary force outside of Natsuki."
Vania responded earnestly. Hearing her words, Amman stroked his beard and replied with a sigh.
"So that's how it is... Aside from Obuye, few of us usually venture far from Natsuki. As a seafarer, Obuye has always been our primary channel for outside information, and we never questioned his news... I just never expected that he would one day betray the Goddess and fall into the embrace of the Evil Snake... Perhaps it's because he spent so much time away... By the way, Miss Vania, how did you know he worshipped the Evil Snake?"
Amman continued to ask Vania, and she smiled as she slowly replied.
"At first, I didn't know which side he was on either. When I spoke with him earlier, I was actually using wordplay to trap him. Priest Amman, you were a bit far from us and might not have heard clearly, but I used ambiguous words to imply I was on the same side as him. During the conversation, he let a key piece of information slip. That's how I knew he was a follower of the Abyssal Snake."
Vania finished. After hearing her explanation, Amman nodded thoughtfully. He let out a sigh and narrowed his eyes at Vania.
"I never expected that at such a young age, Miss Vania, you would have such meticulous thoughts and clever schemes. It's truly eye-opening. Having someone like you as an ally is both reassuring and worrying."
"Priest Amman, you flatter me. To hold onto one's faith in the Goddess under the shadow of the Glow requires constant caution and attention to detail. Thinking a bit more does no harm.
"You still know too little about me, so it's normal to feel such worry. I understand. However, you needn't be overly concerned. As fellow loyal followers of the Goddess, nothing I do will bring any harm to Natsuki."
Facing Amman's remarks, Vania responded candidly. Amman remained silent for a while before letting out a long breath.
"I hope so. After all, Natsuki has no other path left to choose."
Amman finished, paused briefly to look at the towering giant tree in the distance, and then continued.
"Very well, let us go back and continue discussing how to feign conversion. Once we've made the preliminary decision this morning, we will immediately send word to the Church."
"Mm... I hope everything can end peacefully."
... "Phew... Finally... The mole, the one most likely to cause a slip-up, has been caught. This mess with Natsuki is finally almost resolved. How exhausting..."
Inside a suite in a hotel in Troyes, Dorothy sat at her desk and let out a long sigh of relief, slumping back into the sofa. On the desk before her lay a large pile of drafts covered in various handwriting—the fruit of her hard work throughout the night.
Dorothy had spent a great deal of time last night drafting a fake conversion plan for Natsuki. After referencing a wealth of detailed materials, the conversion scheme she had tailored for Natsuki finally saw its preliminary results this morning. The price, however, was a night of staying up, leaving Dorothy in a state of mental exhaustion, with messy hair and a general lack of energy.
'Ugh... I originally wanted to slack off a bit and just put together something simple to fool them, but I didn't expect the compensation from my client, Natsuki, to be so generous. It directly ignited my passion for work. After a night of serious effort, the final product is twice as detailed as I originally planned...'
Slumping on the sofa, Dorothy held her forehead and thought to herself. The thirty points of 'Grail' provided by the Natsuki documents were so enticing that she had unconsciously worked much harder.
'Now the pilgrims are safe, Natsuki's disaster has been avoided, and the mole has been caught. Regardless, the matters on Natsuki's side are preliminary concluded; I just need to keep an eye on some follow-up issues... As long as Natsuki's people study my plans seriously, deceiving the Church shouldn't be a problem. After all, even if Natsuki announces their conversion, the Church's missionary work will be a long-term process of transformation. There are too many opportunities to exploit during that transition...'
Dorothy continued to think. She wasn't particularly worried about any issues arising from this comprehensive conversion plan, which summarized the experiences of countless predecessors. Even if something did go wrong and the Church found out, it would only be Natsuki's problem. In Dorothy's safety design, Vania was seen as someone being used by the Natsuki people in the eyes of most except Amman. This meant that even if the conversion plan was exposed, it would be difficult for the Church to hold Vania accountable; they would simply think she had been manipulated by Natsuki.
'In any case, Natsuki's side of things is finally over, and I can finally focus on my own affairs... After taking a good rest for two days, I'll go directly to the White Mason Guild here... Of the 'Grail' and'Stone' spiritualities I was originally short on, I have quite a surplus of 'Grail' now. Now I mainly just need to buy some secret transmissions of'Stone.' This trip has saved me a lot of money...'
Thinking this, Dorothy stood up from the sofa with a yawn. After tidying up her drafts, she went to the washroom for a quick wash, then threw herself onto the bed, wrapped herself in the covers, and fell asleep. Before long, she was in the land of dreams... Iveyg, Cathedral of Heart Cleansing.
Inside the vast and magnificent cathedral, a dozen figures stood straight. All of them held sharp spears and wore standard uniforms that combined metal armor with black clerical robes, their faces hidden behind heavy helmets.
A dozen Church Knights stood silently before the empty cathedral, radiating a murderous aura in front of the tall and majestic Altar of the Trinity. Before them, Archbishop Antonio stood with a solemn expression, his gaze sweeping over these powerful warriors who were ready for action.
"In twenty minutes, the Grey Hermit will arrive over the Cathedral District. Board it, and you will reach Natsuki before this evening. At that time, you must find all the kidnapped pilgrims and rescue them all. If there is resistance, no matter who it is, eliminate them. As long as the pilgrims can be rescued, you do not need to consider the destruction of Natsuki; you may use any means necessary to launch any attack."
"To ensure the absolute success of this operation, the Holy Domain has specially dispatched the Grey Hermit from thousands of miles away so that you can launch the most secretive surprise attack on Natsuki. You have no reason to fail, do you hear me? You must rescue the pilgrims to the greatest extent possible!"
"After the rescue, evacuate immediately. The Holy Flame Fleet will arrive afterward to execute the Purification."
Antonio spoke sternly to the solemn knights lined up before him, and the knights bowed in unison.
"We swear to the Lord, we shall not fail our mission!"
Hearing the knights' words, Antonio nodded. Then he slowly turned around and looked at the massive Altar of the Trinity behind him. His gaze fixed on the Altar of the Holy Mother, and his originally solemn expression instantly turned melancholy.
"In the end... is this outcome still unavoidable?"
'After being in Iveyg for so many years, it all comes to nothing in the end... In the end, you still won, Justin...'
Gazing at the Altar of the Holy Mother, Antonio lamented with a sense of loss. Since taking office as the Archbishop of Iveyg, he had never once executed a Purification order. But looking at the current situation, all of this was unavoidable.
With the implementation of the Purification order, the results of the moderation policy Antonio had promoted in the Iveyg diocese for years would also vanish into thin air.
"You have crossed the line, Natsuki..."
Antonio made his final lament. Just as he was wondering whether he should resign from his post as Archbishop of Iveyg, a small side door of the cathedral opened, and a priest ran in flustered.
"Lord Antonio! Major news! We have received major news from Natsuki!"
The priest shouted as he ran toward Antonio in front of the altar. Antonio frowned upon hearing this and spoke.
"What news? Could it be that Natsuki couldn't wait and has started executing the hostages?!"
"No, it's not like that. It's conversion! Conversion!"
"The Priest of the Abundant Tree of Natsuki has declared! They will release all the pilgrims and convert collectively!"
Reaching Antonio, the priest spoke loudly after catching his breath. Hearing his words, Antonio was stunned. After a long pause, he spoke in shock.
"What did you say? Say it again?"
"Yes, the Priest of the Abundant Tree of Natsuki announced that they will release all pilgrims and lead all Natsuki people to abandon their old gods and customs, converting collectively to the Holy Mother on the spot!"
Standing before Antonio, the priest spoke seriously, solemnly, and formally. Hearing his words, not only was Antonio frozen in place, but the knights on standby also began to look around, their postures revealing disbelief.
"Incredible... that tough character Amman... actually announced a conversion. What happened? Why was their change so sudden?"
Antonio said in disbelief. He had never expected that the most stubborn Natsuki people in the Kno Southwest Islands would suddenly convert. These hundred thousand plus Natsuki people had suddenly become loyal believers of the Holy Mother?!
"Lord Antonio, according to their statement, they seem to have decided to convert after being moved and taught by one of the originally kidnapped pilgrims. That pilgrim appears to be a nun who believes in the Holy Mother. It is said that she convinced the Natsuki priests and elders with her Grace and Discourse, leading them to decide to convert to the Holy Mother."
Facing Antonio, the priest spoke with extreme caution. Hearing the priest's words, Antonio was stunned once more, and then spoke in even greater disbelief.
"A nun... who believes in the Holy Mother?"
"Yes, her name is Vania Chafferen. She seems to be a nun who came on a pilgrimage from the Preet diocese."
Hearing the priest's words, Antonio's expression remained complex for a long while. Then he slowly turned his head to look back at the Altar of the Holy Mother, murmuring.
"Just a single nun, using Grace and Discourse, made all of Natsuki convert? Could it be that you have descended a miracle upon her? Oh, Holy Mother..."