In the peaceful and serene garden, Sister Vanya, dressed in a white nun's habit, sat on a stone chair, listening with a hint of astonishment to Amanda's narration, as she spoke of the new trial she was about to face.
"So, I must now go to those chaotic lands and save one hundred thousand innocent sufferers amidst the disasters to truly complete my promotion?"
"Yes, the path of salvation requires the act of salvation, giving salvation. This is the final trial on your path to advancement. Only by truly honing your heart of benevolence through countless acts of salvation can you attain a high position in the Saint Church." Sitting not far from Vanya, Amanda patiently continued to explain to Vanya. After listening, Vanya pondered for a moment, then nodded seriously.
"I understand, Captain. I will go all out to help those in need. I will do my best to help the suffering escape their sea of misery and fulfill what a servant of the Lord should do."
Vanya said to Amanda with focused seriousness. Listening to her words, Amanda smiled slightly and nodded, then continued to speak.
"I have seen your determination. Although your mission this time is difficult, I will provide ample assistance to help you complete this final trial. Oh... regarding the selection of your place of salvation, I suggest going to North Wu. You have helped the Sadi Regime, and they can be of some assistance to you. Additionally, the Saint Church also needs to hold a pilgrimage in Adus to demonstrate its influence, but this can be arranged after you successfully complete the trial."
Amanda continued to speak seriously to Vanya. Listening to her instructions, Vanya continued to respond respectfully.
"I understand, Captain. I will definitely complete the trial and not disappoint your expectations!" With a solemn expression, Vanya said to Amanda. After seeing Vanya's declaration, Amanda finally nodded slightly and spoke.
"Then, I will look forward to it, Sister Vanya..."
...
Similarly, in the quiet and peaceful small garden, Amanda, dressed in a simple long gown, still sat in her original position, silently admiring the tranquil beauty of the surroundings. Beside her, the illusory, translucent nun still stood rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on the direction where Vanya had disappeared not long ago.
"What do you think of her? Awei."
Suddenly, Amanda, who was admiring the scenery, withdrew her gaze and looked at the illusory nun beside her, speaking. Listening to Amanda's words, Awei paused slightly, then turned around and spoke respectfully.
"Are you referring to Sister Vanya?"
"Who else but her? You have been taking care of her for some time now. Tell me what you think of her..." Amanda picked up the tea from the stone table beside her and took a slow sip as she spoke. Listening to Amanda's words, Awei pondered for a moment before slowly replying.
"Sister Vanya... at first glance, she is kind, polite, pious, benevolent, easygoing, diligent... She possesses all the qualities an excellent Holy Mother believer should have, and it doesn't seem to be faked, making people instantly like her. It's just that sometimes I feel she is overly nervous, always cautious no matter the time. Although this can be explained by her being new to Holy Mountain and unfamiliar, sometimes I can't help but wonder if she is hiding some secret deep down?"
Awei slowly narrated her thoughts on Vanya, while Amanda placed the finished teacup back on the table and continued to speak.
"Your feelings are generally correct. Vanya is indeed a good child, but it is also true that she has secrets in her heart."
"She really has some hidden secrets... Have you already discovered them, Captain?" Listening to Amanda's words, Awei said with some surprise, and Amanda nodded in response.
"She definitely has some secrets... otherwise, it wouldn't explain so many miracles and events happening to her one after another. I've long believed there is something special hidden about her, and just now I caught a glimpse of it..." Amanda said this, and Awei asked curiously.
"What did you glimpse?"
"Traces, traces of Spirituality. Just now, when I helped her alleviate the aftereffects of the ritual, I also conducted a detailed examination of her whole body. Afterwards, I found unusual traces of Spirituality in her body, traces of the extremely rare 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Spirituality." Amanda said slowly, and Awei couldn't help but frown slightly after hearing her words.
"'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Spirituality... Sister Vanya... can she actually accumulate 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Spirituality within her body?"
"Yes... and quite a lot. I can see that she has accumulated 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) frequently and for a long time within her body, but before coming to Holy Mountain, it was deliberately consumed through certain methods... This little Sister came here after planning and organizing the spiritual components within her body. Although her cleansing was very thorough, it inevitably left behind subtle traces. These traces are so subtle that besides me doing it personally, only the Holy See could probably detect them."
Amanda continued to respond slowly and leisurely. Listening to her words, Awei was stunned, then seemed to remember something and spoke.
"Traces of 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Spirituality... Could this be related to the Judge of Heaven? Sister Vanya has a deeper connection with those people, and the change in Adis was not that simple. Those people would indeed not protect Vanya with all their might in the Kankdar incident for no reason..."
Awei said with understanding, then her expression became serious and she asked Amanda.
"Captain, do we need to detain Sister Vanya now and interrogate her thoroughly?"
"Heh, if I wanted to detain her, I wouldn't have let her go back just now." Listening to Awei's words, Amanda chuckled and shook her head in response, while Awei continued to ask with some confusion.
"Sister Vanya has a deep cooperative relationship with external organizations in secret. This is not only a huge hidden danger but also a serious violation of Church rules. If we don't handle it ourselves internally quickly, if the Court of Tribunal finds a handle, it will be extremely detrimental to you..." Awei said bluntly with a serious tone, and Amanda slowly responded.
"Within and outside the Church, Vanya is being watched by many people. Her promotion is already an agenda almost the entire Cardinal Council is paying attention to. If it is interrupted without reason now, it will cause big problems and give Klama a handle to investigate... Under the current circumstances, nothing concerning Vanya on our side can go wrong. Even if she has problems, it must be temporarily put aside..."
Amanda said this. From her current perspective, there can be no mistakes regarding Vanya's issues. At this special moment, she has already invested a lot of political resources in Vanya. In a sense, she and Vanya are already tied together to a certain extent, and she cannot easily terminate Vanya's promotion voluntarily.
"Are you concerned about these matters, Captain... Sister Vanya might have some problems, which you should have foreseen, but even so, you have continuously invested resources in her until now it has become difficult to completely cut ties... This kind of recklessness is not like your usual style..." Awei said with some confusion in her tone, and Amanda replied with a bit of helplessness.
"There is nothing that can be done. During the time the Holy See is absent, all the Cardinals have begun to lose control of their expanding power and attack each other. I originally wanted to abide by the rules. But others' attacks on me in secret have not stopped. Especially Klama, he is the boldest, and his attacks are the most blatant. Every time he and others attack, the best weapon I have happens to be that little Sister.
"From Natsuki to Kankdar and then to Tivian, it has been like this every time. I originally wanted to thoroughly investigate Vanya for a long time, completely understand her background before giving her heavy responsibility, but Klama and the others did not give me this opportunity. They were the first to break the rules again and again, so I cannot continue to stick to the old ways..."
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Amanda said this. Her attitude of ignoring Vanya's problems was also a helpless move influenced by the escalating political struggle within the Church. The operating rules within the Church now are very different from before.
"If possible, I also hope to handle this series of matters cleanly and not get involved with unclear external organizations, but the current situation is already very different from before. Klama is already so rampant that he has started to contact the Tayi Sect to deal with me. If I continue to follow the rules, I will not be able to cope with him."
Amanda continued to speak. Listening to her words, Awei said in surprise.
"Captain Klama has had contact with the Tayi evil cult?"
"Yes, although it is indirect, it is considered contact. This is a secret transmission sent to me by Governor Faloro through a secret channel. It details the entire incident of his last assassination. You can take a look..."
Amanda said this, then took out a small, already opened envelope from the sleeve of her long gown. She took out a letter from the envelope and placed it on the table in front of her. Awei, after scanning the letter carefully, couldn't help but frown even more.
"Actually... something like this happened... Captain Klama, in order to continue attacking you, actually interfered with Faloro's internal affairs and even contacted the Tayi... This, do they have no principles at all? Such a person... is actually a Cardinal of the Saint Church..." Looking at the content of the letter, Awei couldn't help but say in disbelief, and Amanda also sighed and spoke.
"Yes, isn't it ironic? We Cardinals, personally selected by the Holy See, who are at the pinnacle of the Saint Church, are actually all blinded by power. With a little less control, we expand and become like this, our piety not even as high as a little Sister's. This is the most twisted deformity of the upper echelons of the Saint Church..." Amanda sighed as she put away the secret transmission on the table, and at this moment, Awei added.
"So... because Captain Klama contacted the Tayi Sect, you also acquiesced to Sister Vanya, who has deep ties with the Judge of Heaven."
"In a sense, yes. After all, compared to the Tayi, this mysterious Judge of Heaven currently seems better, at least they haven't committed any malicious acts. Perhaps they are similar in position to the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild..." Amanda continued to respond to Awei. After listening to Amanda's words, Awei continued to speak with a solemn expression.
"Although the Judge of Heaven seems much stronger than the Tayi, Captain, you cannot be too careless with them. After all, they also seem to want to infiltrate us using Sister Vanya."
"Of course I know this... So, Awei, I also have a task for you. You can go with Sister Vanya on her trip to North Wu and protect her from a distance. During this process, you can try to contact the Judge of Heaven again, make some things clear to them, and try to understand their purpose." Amanda looked at Awei beside her and instructed. Listening to Amanda's words, Awei nodded directly.
"I understand, Captain..."
"Alright, now you can go and prepare yourself as well." Amanda ordered Awei like this, and Awei, after bowing slightly, gradually became transparent and disappeared.
Looking at the disappearing Awei, Amanda let out a long sigh. She looked at the sun gradually setting in the distant sky, wondering what she was thinking.
In this contemplation, Amanda took out an item from her sleeve and held it in her hand to examine it. Upon closer inspection, it was a worn and old Holy Mother pendant necklace.
...
Prit East Coast, Tivian East District.
During the daytime in East Tivian, on a bustling and lively street in the East District, people came and went, and carriages passed through. A black carriage slowly moved in the line of vehicles. Inside the carriage, Dorothy, who had just returned to the country, was sitting and looking at the scenery outside the window.
"Sigh... I just came back and have to go out again, traveling is really annoying..." Dorothy scratched her head and muttered. Although she now had a new goal, she was not in a hurry to leave Faloro immediately for North Wu, but returned to Prit first.
Although Dorothy was now an Extraordinary, if she wanted to travel for a long time, she still needed to say hello to her family... or rather, directly to her older brother in person. Although traveling back and forth was a bit tiring, it was still necessary.
'But it's also good, this way I can buy the secret transmission directly from Beverly. This time I need to replenish more Spirituality. Generally, there are only a few copies of each type of secret transmission at the Craftsmen's Guild strongholds, which might not be enough for me now, and Beverly can prepare it for me in advance, which is convenient.'
Dorothy thought to herself like this, then while calculating her money and how much secret transmission to buy, she controlled the Corpse Puppet to quickly pass through the streets in the carriage, slowly driving towards her home.