However, preparing for a grand mass wasn’t sothing that could be done in a day or two. Moreover, to ensure a large enough turnout of devout followers, they could only hold it on Sunday, the last day of the ten-day period.
To suppress this evil object, it was best to summon the strongest Divine Benefactor, the Living Saint Dipresy.
The Church, however, had not expected that after sending away one internal troublemaker, Wigram, the procession transferring the evil object would attract another: Rorschach.
’What in the world is inside?’ The scene Rorschach had just experienced was still fresh in his mind. He was sowhat relieved he hadn’t brought Balan’s Pearl with him; otherwise, things would have been even more complicated.
Judging by the forced "Soul Ergence," the object the procession was escorting was definitely related to a Divine Spirit. If Balan had been present, it would have been disastrous for the remnant soul of the God of Deceit to stir up trouble.
’A dark and gloomy feeling... is it sothing from the Mother Earth Sect?’ Rorschach didn’t dare use his Arcane Vision to observe again. He just followed from a great distance. Fortunately, the procession was barely faster than walking speed, and Rorschach successfully tracked it to Saint Miller Cathedral.
Rorschach watched the cathedral from across the street. The honor guard entered through a side gate, while a carriage from the Royal Palace stopped at the main entrance. Two figures, one in a grey robe and the other in red, stepped out and went inside. From this combination, it wasn’t hard for Rorschach to guess that the two were Joseph and Dipresy.
Since Nekker’s departure, the burden of the Kingdom had fallen back onto the Pri Minister’s shoulders alone, and there were now even more maddening issues than before.
"I haven’t been here in a while." Dipresy entered what was nominally his own Bishop’s Palace. He directly unsealed the lid of the container and looked at the Evil Sword.
His actions were similar to Joseph’s; he also reached a hand toward the hilt. The other attendants wanted to warn and stop him, but the Cardinal stopped on his own.
He closed his eyes as if listening for a mont. This Divine Benefactor had indeed heard words that others could not. When the Archbishop opened his eyes again, he abruptly gripped the hilt.
The people around him gasped softly. Joseph also grew tense, his aged body stiffening, ready for action.
The coffer holding the sword erupted in a brilliant golden light. Amidst everyone’s astonished cries, the "Holy Sword" appeared once more, again overflowing with the radiance of the Lord of Order.
"A miracle!" ’This is truly the Lord’s agent on earth!’ Those who witnessed it firsthand were overco with excitent.
Dipresy’s expression, however, remained cold. He raised the restored, radiant sword. A patch of filth still clung stubbornly to its tip.
"Judgnt..." After murmuring for a mont, the Archbishop changed his mind. "The evil has been suppressed once again by the Lord’s radiance. Do not disturb it further. A Sunday grand mass alone will not be enough to expel the evil. Prepare to perform its Purification on Ascension Day in September."
"Yes."
"There are endless matters at the Royal Palace waiting for . I’ll take my leave." The Archbishop did not stay, once again entrusting the Church to Priest Joseph. "See that there are no more mishaps."
Outside the Church, Rorschach didn’t get any closer. He rely confird that the procession’s destination was Saint Miller, admired the magnificent classical architecture for a mont, and then turned to leave.
Now, he had to find his master.
Unfortunately, Master Kano was very busy. The Great Mage had already received a report from the Magic Guild and wasn’t particularly concerned about the situation Rorschach described. "I’ve heard about it. It’s quite normal for the Church to take in and suppress objects related to Evil Gods. It’s one of their few positive functions."
"Since it’s been delivered to Saint Miller Cathedral, there shouldn’t be any further trouble. We’re stretched thin as it is. How could we possibly have the ti to deal with this?"
Dipresy and Joseph had also been very busy lately. For Valuva, the Kingdom had endured a tumultuous spring, was suffering through a tumultuous sumr, and could foresee a tumultuous autumn on the horizon. The great figures were so preoccupied that a heretical organization like the "Sword of Judgnt" Sect had erged right under their noses. It seed Kano might be making a similar mistake.
"I also saw Pri Minister Dipresy and Priest Joseph. From the aura I sensed, it’s highly likely this is related to Mother Earth."
"Does it ever end?" Kano frowned, then quickly realized his words could be easily misinterpreted. "Sorry, I wasn’t talking about you, Rorschach."
After apologizing, Kano’s attitude beca a bit more serious. "It’s not often those two appear together... All right, I’ll make inquiries with the Church about this. Who told them they could just parade right past our Guild’s front door? I’ll notify you if anything cos up."
’Wait for a notification!’ ’If this were a job interview, that would be the classic brush-off. This isn’t much better. Rorschach even suspected Kano would forget all about it.’
Still, upon reflection, he realized there was no need to dwell on it. If the sky were to fall, the Church and the Great Mages would be there to hold it up. The rational course of action was to not go looking for trouble.
The reason Rorschach had been so concerned was twofold. First, Mother Earth was an old adversary. Even if he didn’t seek Her out, She would co looking for him, and the familiar aura put him on high alert. Second, there was the vision he’d seen during his temporary "ascension." Rorschach felt that the owner of the "giant hand" in the starry sky had given him a helping hand, which was very puzzling.
And what did the "dying star" falling toward him represent? It was as if Rorschach had been daydreaming, but his skill in Prophetic System magic was as terrible as his skill in the Space System, so he couldn’t decipher any more specific information.
’You’ve got this, old geezers from the Church and big brother Holy Knights! Protecting the Royal Capital from the Evil God’s corruption is all up to you...’
...
Just when the matter seed to have co to a close, there was a sudden turn of events.
At the tail end of sumr, Rorschach was in the cafeteria following his usual routine: eating while reading the newspaper.
"The Third Level Estate Assembly is about to convene. Representatives from the Kingdom’s various regions are arriving in Valuva one after another..."
"Multiple regions in the south report abnormal weather during this year’s harvest season. Grain yields are expected to be lower than anticipated..."
"Forr Minister of Finance Nekker’s new book has caused a huge stir and may surpass Alexander to beco this year’s most popular author..."
"The new Royal Supre Court has reconvened, with only two new justices appointed..."
A year ago, any one of the news items Rorschach was reading could have been a headline on its own. Now, the changes in the Kingdom were truly coming one after another, too fast to keep up.
’Hm?’ A long-unseen type of advertisent appeared. Soone was summoning Rorschach after a long ti!
A carriage was waiting at the designated location. Rorschach had assud it would take him to a rendezvous point, but to his surprise, Mr. Jun was already sitting inside.
"Brother Jun, long ti no see. You’ve... put on weight?"
Rorschach glanced around at the carriage’s interior. It could only be described as luxurious, with calfskin upholstery and an ice bucket that both cooled the air and chilled fine wine.
"Sigh, I’ve been so busy lately. The only way I can reward myself is by splurging a little on food and drink."
The once-outstanding field Special Envoy now exuded an air of... corruption and depravity!
"Hey, I’m not embezzling public funds for personal gain like my predecessor!" The Forest Patrol Falcon noticed Rorschach’s suspicious gaze and quickly explained, "Isn’t the Holy Kingdom a total ss right now? Our budget hasn’t changed in terms of Empire Currency, but when you convert it to the Kingdom’s paper money, you get a whole lot more."
’The exchange rate has plumted, huh?’
Brother Jun held up two fingers. "I have two things to tell you today."
"First, the Empire is about to impose a grain embargo on the Holy Kingdom. The boss specifically asked to give you a heads-up, though from today, it’ll only be a few more days before the people in the Kingdom get the news anyway!"
"Second, our checkpoints have discovered large quantities of items related to the Holy Mother Order being shipped into the Holy Kingdom. Although we’ve confiscated so of it, the agency doesn’t know how much has already flowed in. Can you inform the local Magic Guild about this?"
Hearing the Forest Patrol Falcon’s two pieces of news, Rorschach’s brain went into overdrive, just like a protagonist from a certain famous web novel. Two words imdiately ca to mind: "Flee" and "Report."
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