Chapter 139: Walk-ground Bird

“I see. He passed away with satisfaction in his heart. Perhaps, to him, that was a death worth rejoicing over,”Melia said with a hint of sorrow in her voice.

“I promised Mr. Nyx that I would treat you as my own daughter,”Oscar said.

“That won’t be necessary,”Melia lowered her head slightly.”I can take care of myself now.”

“At the very least, compared to you, my life now is already quite good.”

Oscar fell silent.

Melia, who managed the finances and logistics of the Church of the Sanctuary, was indeed in a better position than he, a teacher bound by restrictions, forbidden to lie, and granted only limited freedom.

Moreover, he was no longer the sole teacher at the Monastery. In the end, those three scholars had agreed to stay and impart their knowledge.

“If the Bishop asks in the end, do you think he could be called a Saint of the Church?”Melia asked.

Oscar opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. In the end, he could only reply helplessly:

“At the very least, compared to the Saints personally acknowledged by the Bishop from the Cross Painted in Blood Theocracy, he’s still not qualified.”

“And judging solely from the contents of his final manuscript, rather than a Saint, he seemed more like an Aberrant seeking to explore the power of the Lord.”

Melia exited the library and happened to see two people waiting outside.

“It’s Olivia and Cicero,”she paused, then greeted them.

Olivia looked Melia up and down with a serious expression, then broke into a goofy smile.

“Agamemnon left behind a walk-ground bird on purpose. I came to get you to eat it together,”she said.

Walk-ground bird was a code word between them—it referred to White Dove.

“Sorry, Olivia. I want to go see the Bishop,”Melia said. After a moment of hesitation, she added,”Of course, you can save me half. No, just a leg will do.”

“Alright then,”Olivia licked her lips.”I’ll save you a leg.”

With that, Olivia jogged off.

Then Melia turned her gaze to Cicero.

“And you? What is it you want?”Her expression was cold, as if looking at an enemy.

“Ahem, about that funding before—”

“No. Leave,”she said skillfully.

“Got it～”Cicero quickly scampered off.

“I want to take over Burke Church. What conditions do I need to meet?”Melia knelt on both knees,

her forehead touching the floor.

Inside the Church, Corleon sat on the front pew, while in an inconspicuous corner sat Knight Wolf clad in bright red armor.

“You’re not capable of meeting that requirement, and besides, it would be dangerous for you,”Corleon said.

“I hope the Burke Church he built can remember his deeds,”Melia said.

“The manuscript he left behind is already enough for the Church to record his name,”Corleon replied.

“But that manuscript is an Aberrant’s,”Melia responded.

“Regardless of it being aberrant, as long as the manuscript records the truth, the Church of the Sanctuary will preserve it, just like the documents from the Cross Painted in Blood Theocracy.”

“……”

Melia remained silent, kneeling on the floor.

Corleon didn’t turn around.

The Church fell into silence.

Finally, Melia spoke.”I humbly request that the manuscript be named the Burke Manuscript, and that it be stored in Burke Church.”

“Do you trust that the successor will preserve the manuscript well? Like you said, it’s an aberrant document,”Corleon said.

“You should’ve heard too—what happened when Priest Nyx joined the expedition.”

“That fanatical Faith—perhaps a future successor might be a Fanatical Believer and would tear and burn this Aberrant document?”

Melia lifted her head and looked at Corleon’s back.

“I choose to believe that whoever inherits his place will carry on his will,”she said.

“The will you spoke of, the one you yourself acknowledged as Aberrant,”Corleon sighed softly.

“Your request is granted,”he said.

“Thank you for your mercy,”Melia bowed once more, then got up and left.

As she was about to step out of the Church, Corleon suddenly spoke.

“Cicero needs to build a hospital. Approve two thousand gold coins for him.”

“Two thousand gold coins? If we give that to him, our reserves will be a bit low,”Melia turned back and said.

“It’s fine. Someone will bring in more gold coins later,”Corleon replied.

“Understood, I’ll see to it,”Melia nodded.

“Also, have Agamemnon keep all the recent White Doves. See if we can breed them,”Corleon added.

“No need for you all to keep secretly hoarding White Doves.”

“Pure White Doves are still important. We don’t have enough of them right now.”

Melia stiffened, her voice somewhat weak.”Understood. I’ll inform Agamemnon.”

With that, she jogged away in a hurry.

“I’ve heard news about the Cross Painted in Blood Theocracy,”after Melia left, Knight Wolf spoke.

“They’re a group of madmen. Their Nation Founding Manifesto has already spread through the Rat Path, from the Northern Kingdom to the southern Otlinsmann Empire—everyone knows of their madness.”

“They chose a good place to found their nation.”

“The Northern Kingdom is in civil strife, the Principality of Corlay is under attack by Dark Creatures and Fishmen, and on our side, the Nation of Werewolves and ambitious individuals block their path.”

“They’re right in the center of chaos, and for the time being, no one can target them.”

“But their information has already spread through the Rat Path, and every noble has come to an agreement.”

“Their nation must be destroyed. Their manuscripts must be burned. Not a single copy may remain.”

“Are you going to get involved in the Theocracy’s affairs?”he asked.

“The destruction of the Theocracy is inevitable. I merely want to preserve their wisdom,”Corleon responded.

“Even if I don’t get involved, the origin of the Theocracy is still the Holy Scriptures of the Church. Those nobles won’t let it go unpunished.”

“Before, there was a lord, so it was considered a matter within his domain. The nobles wouldn’t bypass him to pursue it.”

“But now, the Lord has officially declared war on the Principality, and the Church has revealed the Lord’s Might.”

“At the same time, you remained within the Church.”

“With the Lord absent from the territory, from the moment you chose to recuperate within the Church, the real authority of the York Territory has already shifted to the Church.”

“You know, even Priest Nyx, who once governed, was no longer suitable for administration after becoming a Priest.”

“Even if the Church doesn’t interfere in governance and only spreads the Lord’s Teachings, who cares?”

“They will only see that the Church has usurped the Lord’s authority, and such a Church can never be integrated into their system.”

“Whether it is greed, resistance, or simply a clash of ideologies.”

Corleon walked beneath the Cross, stretched out his arms as if to ease his body.

“The existence of the Church has already placed it in direct opposition to them,”he said.

Knight Wolf silently watched. In his eyes, Corleon looked as if he were bathed in the Glory of the Lord.

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