It was a clear, sunny day. In a peaceful little garden, bright sunlight filtered down through the dense canopy of trees, dappling the flowers and plants. Small animals like squirrels scurried among the vegetation, and from afar, the deep ringing of bells could be heard, mingling with the chirping of birds in the garden.
Amanda, dressed in a light, elegant robe with long golden hair, sat on a bench in the quiet garden, feeding the small birds gathered on the paved ground in front of her with the feed in her hand. She scattered the feed on the ground and watched the birds pecking leisurely. Occasionally, some small animals would also come over to share the food.
Just then, not far from Amanda, in the space that was previously empty, an irregular distortion suddenly appeared. Then, a translucent illusion flickered into existence there, finally taking the form of a Sister. It was none other than Sister Awei.
"Captain, Cardinal Francesco has been safely delivered to Holy Mountain, and the Good Healing Institute has begun treating him," Awei reported softly to Amanda, who was feeding the birds. Amanda did not stop her actions and spoke while feeding the small animals.
"How is he now? I heard it's quite serious."
"It is quite serious. Cardinal Francesco encountered a divine enemy this time. While handling the Glamorgan incident, he was repeatedly wounded by the Pain Lady's divinity, several times on the spiritual level, and once directly injured in the flesh. According to Sister Carolina's judgment, that direct divine damage to the flesh caused great harm to Cardinal Francesco, leading to his eventual collapse."
"Cardinal Francesco's mental state is not very good now. His body and soul are still enduring the torment from the Pain Lady. He often cries out loudly unconsciously, screams uncontrollably, and is unconscious more often than he is awake."
Awei finished her report slowly and stood quietly in place, waiting for Amanda's response. After a slight pause, the latter sighed again and spoke.
"How pitiful... The Pain Lady's divine wounds are probably the most tormenting among all otherworld gods. Does Carolina's side have confidence in resolving it?"
"Looking at her attitude just now... I'm afraid it will be difficult. The injury involves divine residue, so I'm afraid Captain, you will still need to intervene in the end," Awei continued to report to Amanda. Hearing her words, Amanda sighed slightly, then threw out all the feed in her hand, letting the small creatures on the ground scramble freely.
"I understand. I will go to the Good Healing Institute later," Amanda said. After hearing her words, Awei bowed slightly.
"I understand. I will go inform Sister Carolina to prepare later."
Awei replied, and at this moment, Amanda's gaze turned over and she continued to speak.
"Oh, yes, about the matter in Glamorgan... What is the current investigation status?"
"Regarding the Glamorgan incident, the Court of Tribunal has completed the preliminary investigation. Based on the accessible information, this incident is essentially the result of a long-term struggle between the Pain Lady's Eight Point Nest and the hidden Night Sky inheritance within Prit, and the center of their struggle is the legacy left by the Night Sky Empress in Prit," Awei respectfully replied to Amanda. Hearing her words, Amanda's expression slightly condensed, and then she continued.
"The Night Sky's inheritance... is actually still preserved in Prit? Could it be that they have been hiding there for over a thousand years?"
"This is not yet clear. The mysterious organization that rescued the imprisoned personnel of the Prit Church and informed Francesco of the Pain Lady's conspiracy calls themselves the patriots hidden in the shadows of Prit, and they have been fighting against the Eight Point Nest in the shadows. It should also be them who caused the Night Sky Empress's temple to appear before Sister Vanya and her group at an inappropriate time... and who eliminated the Pain Lady's chosen one after Francesco fainted."
"In the subsequent investigation of the Night Sky temple, the Court of Tribunal discovered other divine traces, possibly belonging to the Night Sky Empress. Perhaps at the end of the entire incident, the Night Sky Empress's will also participated..."
With a solemn expression, Awei respectfully said to Amanda. Hearing Awei's words, Amanda's face became even more serious.
"Did that Empress really leave something behind in Prit? If so, why did she only intervene this one time in over a thousand years? Why didn't they appear during the Wind King Rebellion?"
Amanda said this, and Awei immediately replied.
"There are indeed many questionable points in this, but the divine traces found in the Night Sky's temple are real. The Night Sky Empress should have indeed interfered with Prit by some means. Logically, it is extremely difficult for the Night Sky's divine traces to be detected, but the Court of Tribunal's investigation team found the traces without encountering any obstacles. The traces were not hidden at all, which may also prove that the Night Sky Empress deliberately conveyed to us the information that she had interfered here."
"Although there are clues and evidence, this incident involves a true god, and the Court of Tribunal does not dare to make a hasty judgment on the specific reasons. If we want to know the truth, perhaps we can only contact the Night Sea..."
Awei said this because there were clear signs of a true god's personal interference at the scene in Glamorgan, and the Church's Court of Tribunal, which has investigative authority and has always been strict and rough in its actions, did not dare to act rashly for a time. And Amanda, after hearing Awei's words, couldn't help but ponder and speak.
"Contacting the Night Sea... This is a capability only possessed by the Holy See, but there are still no signs of its return at the moment, which is really difficult..."
"Within the saint church, the only one who possesses the ability to listen to the will of heaven... is the Holy See. Whether it is the Three Saints or otherworld gods, only the Holy See has the right to directly negotiate with Them. Now that the Holy See is not here and such a matter directly related to a god has occurred... it's really troublesome..."
Amanda said gravely with a serious expression, and Awei, not far from her, also nodded and continued to speak.
"Yes... Indeed, given the current situation, the Court of Tribunal does not dare to make a decision on this matter lightly. Since it involves the direct will of a true god, it must wait until the Holy See returns before a decision can be made."
"Yes, facing an evil god like the Pain Lady is fine. In terms of stance, we can directly increase the intensity of the investigation into the Eight Point Nest and target them directly. But the key is that the Night Sky Empress is also involved in this, and it's difficult to even think about it when the Holy See is not here..." Amanda said with a sigh. Then, after thinking for a while, she asked Awei.
"Oh, right, how is Vanya doing now?"
"Sister Vania Chafilun has returned to Tivian, and the Court of Tribunal has conducted another review of her, but found no abnormalities. She should have been caught up in the struggle between the Night Sky Empress and the Pain Lady in Prit, and both sides seem to have shown signs of using her. The Eight Point Nest once tried to trick Sister Vanya into desecrating the Night Sky temple in Glamorgan, but it seems to have failed in the end due to the Night Sky Empress."
"According to the multiple testimonies from the Glamorgan Church, the Tivian Church, other guards of the Holy Relic Pilgrimage Group, and Francesco, Sister Vanya's performance in this incident was indeed without any problems and was within reason..."
If we absolutely have to find a problem with her, it can only be said that the probability of her encountering such major events is a bit too high… It makes people can't help but have some other extra thoughts about her, and can't help but think… it was the arrival of Sister Vanya that led to the occurrence of these events. The investigators from the Court of Tribunal used this reason when re-examining Sister Vanya…
Awei said this to Amanda, and after hearing Awei's words, Amanda was silent for a while before slowly speaking.
Navaja, Natsuki, Adis, Kankdar, Moncarlo… wherever this little Sister goes… things happen there. When encountering this situation, people usually think that she has a problem, that she is some kind of factor in those events, that she has a hidden secret, and thus became the fuse for this series of events…
But the problem is… although these events happened around that little Sister, their natures are vastly different. Some involved the Black Dream Hunter Group, some involved the Sea Abyss Church, some involved the otherworld, and some involved the saint church itself. This time, it also involved the Pain Lady and the Night Sky Empress…
Although that little Sister was involved in these events, the forces behind the planning of these events are all different. Each event is almost completely unrelated, with different motives, processes, results, and involved forces… There is a lack of connection, making it hard to imagine any inherent link between them… Some people in the Court of Tribunal really want to point out that Vanya has a problem because she has experienced too many things, but they have never been able to find evidence that Vanya was the fuse for these events. Not only can they not find Vanya's problem, but they also find it difficult to analyze the commonalities among these events…
Waving her hand slightly, Amanda said to Awei, and Awei also nodded thoughtfully after listening.
Captain is indeed very right. Although Sister Vanya has experienced many things recently, the differences between these things are huge. It feels completely impossible to say that Sister Vanya is involved with so many forces at the same time… However, the frequency of her experiencing events is indeed unnaturally high. If it is not attributed to other reasons, then it can only be attributed to fate…
Yes… This can probably only be said to be the work of fate. However, fate is something that is only in the hands of the gods. Could it be that a true god is guiding the fate of that little Sister in the dark… Amanda said this, and after hearing her words, Awei paused slightly, then continued to speak.
Captain means… the Holy Mother is really guiding Sister Vanya forward?
Heh… who knows? The will of Heaven is unpredictable. Among the Seven Saints, even I, who am considered the most loyal to the Holy Mother's teachings, have never heard a single divine word from the Holy Mother. I also cannot guess where the Holy Mother's gaze is currently directed. Perhaps that little Sister was indeed chosen by the Holy Mother, and perhaps the various things she has experienced are precisely the heavy tests given by God.
Amanda continued with a slight sigh, then she slowly stood up from the garden bench. Just as she was about to leave, she seemed to remember something and then said to Awei beside her.
There's one more thing. Since Cardinal Francesco is now back at the Holy Mountain to receive treatment and won't be getting better anytime soon, who will take over the position of Archbishop Prit now? Does Hilbert have a candidate?
Oh, this… Captain Hilbert originally intended to let Gavino, the commander of the Crown Knights, take the position of the new Archbishop Prit, but in the process, he was obstructed by Grand Inquisitor Klama.
Captain said this to Amanda, and after hearing her words, Amanda raised her eyebrows slightly and spoke.
The Prit diocese should be a traditional diocese belonging to the Knights faction. With the Holy See absent, it should not be a problem for Hilbert to appoint the Archbishop there…
That's right, but Inquisitor Klama believes that the proliferation and growth of the Eight-Pointed Nest in Prit have reached a rampant level and must be investigated and cleared with swift methods. Therefore, he wants his inquisitor to serve as the Bishop of Prit, which would be more convenient and professional for investigating otherworld matters.
Inquisitor Klama believes that the Glamorgan incident is a major and unusual event, so this time the matters in Prit cannot be handled according to the usual practice. However, Captain Hilbert directly refused Inquisitor Klama's request, and the two sides are in a stalemate, unwilling to give way to each other. If there are no surprises, this matter will likely be brought up at the next Cardinal Council.
Awei explained to Amanda in this way. Although on the surface, within the Church, the Court of Tribunal and the Holy War Army, the two major systems, one is internal and the other is external. The Court of Tribunal deals with otherworld problems, while the Holy War Army deals with otherworld problems. However, in the specific investigation process, because the Holy War Army lacks professional investigation agencies, the Court of Tribunal has the right to investigate both otherworld and otherworld problems. The Holy War Army, after the investigation has yielded results, has the power to carry out purification based on the results for large-scale otherworld or otherworld.
Therefore, in the case where it is clearly known that the Eight-Pointed Nest forces are rampant in Prit, Klama's request to appoint an inquisitor as the Archbishop to deepen the investigation is not unreasonable. However, Hilbert will not easily give up the Prit diocese, which has historically belonged to the Knights faction.
Klama actually wants to appoint his own person in Prit at this time? This… is within expectations, but now is clearly not the time to argue. As long as the new Archbishop Prit is not appointed, there will be no one in charge of Tivian's Vision of Ranks, which will lead to more chaos… It would be good if they temporarily sent someone over to hold the fort…
Listening to Awei's words, Amanda said with a frown, while Awei continued to answer with a serious expression.
I'm afraid that won't work. Now both sides are unwilling to give way and will not allow the other side to send someone over first to gain the upper hand. They are both worried that if the other side's Scarlet temporarily takes office, they won't be able to step down easily. Similarly, it will be more difficult for other saints to send Scarlet over first. This matter can probably only be resolved at the Cardinal Council.
Heh… Given their attitude, this meeting probably won't solve the problem. It will likely take some time to reach a compromise… During this time, there cannot be a deterrence vacuum in Tivian for the saint church. Someone must temporarily take over the responsibility of Archbishop Prit.
Amanda said with a serious expression, and Awei, after hearing Amanda's words, couldn't help but speak.
Captain… you don't want to send someone to Tivian, do you? But in this matter, if someone from your faction, Scarlet, goes to Tivian, they will be jointly guarded against by both Klama and Hilbert… This is not a good move…
Awei said to Amanda with a little worry, and Amanda smiled slightly before speaking.
Don't worry, I won't send anyone else to Tivian. Haven't I already had someone in Tivian for a long time? And it's not Scarlet…
Captain, do you mean…
Sister Vanya holds a divine artifact, right? Using this as a medium to link the Church in Tivian is enough for her to temporarily take charge of the Vision of Ranks. No one should object to letting a Chalk who cannot be officially appointed temporarily serve as the interim Archbishop. Then, arrange for someone to assist her at any time, and you can rest assured and wait for those people to argue out a result.