Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Count Balk Sheen was very young, looking to be in his early thirties, with short chestnut hair neatly combed back and a very delicately trimmed beard. His exquisitely crafted light blue robe had tiny rubies adorning the cuffs and waist, making him look noble and elegant.
He waited beside Anos’s carriage, and immediately stepped forward after Anos got off the carriage. He humbly bowed to Anos, took Anos’ right hand, gently kissed the cross emblem on the back of his hand, and said devoutly: “Your Highness, it is an honor for the entire city of Losa and even the entire Reed County that you can come to Losa!”
Anos withdrew his hand without leaving a trace and said with a smile: “God will remember your piety, Lord Sheen.”
Balk Sheen stood up with a smile, walked to the right front of Anos, and slightly turned sideways: “His Excellency Archbishop Ellis is waiting for you in the church. Please allow your humble believer to lead the way for you.”
Luo Mi, who was following behind Anos, raised his eyebrows with interest.
He was not particularly surprised by Count Balk Sheen’s humble attitude. What interested him was the eye drops that Balk applied to Anos as soon as they met: Count Sheen, a secular lord, came to the city gate in person to welcome the Holy Son of the Church, while the Archbishop of Reed Cathedral was waiting for the Holy Son to see him in the church.
Luo Mi turned his head to look at Reinhardt beside him, and sure enough, he saw Reinhardt’s eyes flash.
However, based on Luo Mi’s understanding of Anos, Anos probably wouldn’t give much thought to this matter.
As expected, Anos didn’t respond at all, he just nodded and said, “Thank you.”
Balk’s expression was still pious, and the whole picture looked like a meeting between an ordinary believer and the Son of God. It looked harmonious and beautiful.
Luo Mi thought of the various undercurrents beneath the water and couldn’t help but sigh: “It’s a terrible adult world.”
….
Reed Cathedral was one of the most famous cathedrals in the empire. It had a luxurious and magnificent appearance, twelve towers soaring into the sky, and the walls were covered with gorgeous rose glazed tiles, reflecting brilliant light in the sun.
According to the Vatican’s definition, only churches of sufficient specifications could be called “cathedrals”, and only cathedrals with “sacred significance” could have the word “holy” added in front of them.
Luo Mi once asked Anos what the “sacred significance” was. Anos pondered for a moment before answering: “Specifically, if a saint was martyred there.”
Luo Mi: “…”
Sounded like hell.
Reed Cathedral was a church of sufficient standard, but it could not be called “holy” because no saint was martyred there.
Luo Mi heard from Reinhardt that the Reed Cathedral was very beautiful, even not inferior to some churches in the Holy City, so he followed Anos inside with great curiosity. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by the knight at the door of the church before he entered.
“Sinners shall not enter the church!”
Anos, who was walking in front, stopped and looked back at the two knights: “Lian is a devout believer and has been recognized by me.”
The two knights did not give in: “The archbishop has ordered that people with sinful blood are not allowed to enter the church, otherwise it is a blasphemy against God!”
Luo Mi opened his eyes wide and complained to the system: “Isn’t this a standard cannon fodder line?”
Anos did not get angry but said calmly: “I have reported to His Holiness the Pope, and His Holiness the Pope has recognized Lian’s existence.”
The two knights looked at each other, hesitated slightly, and one of them took out a walkie-talkie and said something.
Then, a pure golden rose decoration above the church door suddenly dropped down, and its petals blossomed, revealing the loudspeaker inside.
A calm and somewhat cold voice came:
“It is precisely because of the Pope’s permission that I did not send knights to purify this being with sinful blood. But it is absolutely impossible for him to step into the cathedral. If you want to come in, please come in. If you want to bring the devil in, please beat all my knights!”
These words were very impolite. Although the silver knights following Anos did not make any moves, their momentum suddenly increased. Luo Mi even saw Reinhardt put his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
The knights of Reed Cathedral were obviously not as well-trained as the Silver Knights. Under the pressure of the Silver Knights’ momentum, they subconsciously took a step back, but still insisted on blocking the door.
Luo Mi, who was at the center of the conflict, held the good show in his arms, patted the kitten that was huddled up in fear of the aura, and said to the system in his heart: “This archbishop is quite courageous. He dares to go against the Son of God. If the Son of God was a petty person, won’t he be in big trouble?”
[According to the setting, the position of the Archbishop is not that easy to deal with.]
Luo Mi pondered for a moment: “I used to think that Count Sheen could cause so many troubles, but the nearby Reed Cathedral didn’t notice anything. I think he was probably bribed by Count Sheen, but now I don’t think so.”
If the archbishop had been bribed, how could he dare to go against the Son of God so forcefully?
Anos was silent for a moment, but his expression did not change, and he only took a step back: “The church should be open to all devout people. Even sinners should have the opportunity to confess. Since Archbishop Ellis has decided this, I stand with all believers.”
After saying that, he turned around and walked back.
Luo Mi was stunned.
He didn’t expect that Anos would actually give up entering the Reed Cathedral for him – it was reasonable that the Son of God should stay in a cathedral, otherwise once the rumor that “the Son of God and the Archbishop are not in harmony” spread, it would be a disgrace to the entire Holy See!
What’s more, Count Sheen was watching right beside them!
Anos turned around and walked to Count Balk Sheen, stopping slightly.
Balk took a step forward and bowed humbly: “If it is convenient for Your Highness, the church next to my manor is where I hold mass and worship every day. Although it is small, it is very clean and can be used as a resting place for Your Highness.”
Anos smiled politely and said, “I’m sorry to bother you, Lord Sheen.”
Balk bowed again, speaking devoutly: “It is my honor to be close to His Majesty the Holy Son!”
….
The “small church” mentioned by the Count was several times larger than the churches that Luo Mi had seen in the towns of Larry and Pigli.
The interior of the church was not luxuriously decorated, but the pure wooden floor, waxed confessional benches, round glazed vases without patterns but perfectly round, etc., all highlighted the wealth of the owner.
The large cross in the center of the church was bright and clean, and it was obvious that there were servants who were responsible for cleaning it every day.
Anos closed his eyes and prayed in front of the cross. Luo Mi looked at the interior of the church from the corner of his eye and said to the system in his mind: “On the surface, Count Sheen is still a devout believer.”
The system did not believe:
[Does the host believe this disguise?]
“Of course I don’t believe what he says.” Luo Mi’s eyes fell on Anos’s feet, “Have you noticed that the color of the floor Anos is standing on is slightly lighter than the other floors.”
[Count Sheen has planned an ambush at the feet of the Holy Son?]
“…Your associative ability is comparable to that of the input method.” Luo Mi was speechless. “It means that there are often people standing and stepping under the cross often, which means that there are often people praying under the cross! Those who can pray in the Count’s private chapel are either the Count himself or the Count’s closest relatives.”
When Reinhardt had introduced Balk Sheen to them in detail on the way, he had mentioned that although the Count had just celebrated his 30th birthday last year, he was still unmarried and naturally had no children.
Luo Mi touched his chin and felt that things were getting interesting: Archbishop Ellis was cold towards the Son of God and his entourage but Count Balk Sheen was like a devout believer. Could it be that these two people were acting in collusion?
He glanced to the side and saw the young count closing his eyes and praying with a sincere and pious expression.
Luo Mi simply didn’t believe that the Count, who had instructed his men to stage the Witch Trial and sow discord between Pigli Town, was a true believer.
[Host, please note that the Son of God’s prayer is about to be completed.]
Luo Mi quickly adjusted his expression and pretended to be immersed in prayer.
After Anos finished his prayer, he turned around and saw Luo Mi, and a hint of genuine admiration flashed in his blue eyes; but when he saw Balk who also had a pious expression, the admiration was only on the surface, covering up other emotions.
Balk took a step forward, bowed as usual, and said, “Your Highness, you must be tired from the journey. You may as well take a rest. I have asked the servants to prepare some simple food. Your Highness, please enjoy it.”
After Anos nodded, Balk paused for a moment, “Archbishop Ellis is young and full of vigor. I think he only has a slightly different understanding of God’s will from His Royal Highness the Son of God. I will go and make peace with the archbishop in person later. Only when the whole Vatican is united can the glory of God be better spread.”
These words were flawless, so Anos naturally had no objection: “Thank you, Lord Count…”
Behind Balk’s back, Luo Mi winked at Anos so hard that his tail almost shook to the sky.
Anos let his eyes stay on Balk’s face, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly, twisting the words, “But the archbishop’s consideration is not unreasonable. As a servant of God, as long as there is enough place to live, there is no need to live in the cathedral.”
Balk understood what Anos meant and said with a smile, “I understand. Then I have to thank the Archbishop for the honor of hosting an angel on earth.”
He took a step back and motioned for Anos to go to the church’s dining room.
When Luo Mi walked past him, he paused deliberately, raised his tail and looked at him.
Balk also bowed slightly to Luo Mi, as if he didn’t care at all that the guy in front of him was a devil. He was as respectful and polite as he was to the Son of God.
Luo Mi raised his alertness towards him in his heart: What a ruthless guy!
….
The food that Balk arranged for them was also very exquisite: baked honey white bread, warm milk for dipping the bread, and half a glass of red wine before and after the meal.
Bread, water or milk, and wine were one of the standard sacraments of the Vatican.
The bread and red wine provided by Count Sheen were of very good quality. They met the standards of the Eucharist while enhancing the enjoyment of the meal. He even arranged for Luo Mi to have special bread that could provide energy to demons.
At the end of the day, even if Luo Mi and Anos looked through magnifying glasses and found faults, they could not find any abnormal behavior of Balk Sheen except that he was a devout believer, which made Luo Mi a little disappointed:
He was also hoping that the Count could throw more sugar-coated bullets to tempt Anos to immerse himself in it!
When Luo Mi saw Anos standing in front of the window looking at the moon, he even began to worry: Would Anos be fooled by Balk and really think that he was a devout Christian?
Just when he was about to remind Anos, Anos turned his head with a serious expression: “There must be something wrong with Balk Sheen.”
Luo Mi was a little surprised: “Huh? Why?”
Anos glanced at him and said, “You are still too naive to be fooled by him.”
Naive Luo Mi: “… Can you elaborate?”
“Being too perfect is a performance.” Anos sighed softly. “In the Holy City, there are countless bishops and nobles praying every day. I have seen so many of them that I can naturally tell which prayers are from the heart and which are just performances for His Holiness the Pope and me.”
Luo Mi understood: “What do you think is the purpose of Count Sheen’s performance?”
Anos shook his head: “My initial guess was that he wanted to play the role of a devout believer and deny what happened in Larry Town and Pigli Town. But…”
“But there’s no need to act like this if he doesn’t admit it.” Luo Mi continued, “He acted so seriously, it seems like he has something to ask of the Church.”
Anos nodded slowly, and then said: “In addition, Archbishop Ellis Podoval’s attitude is also very strange. The attitudes towards demons within the Vatican are indeed different, and Archbishop Ellis is indeed the most radical one towards demons. However, in public, it is a consensus that the Archbishop should be cautious in his words and deeds and maintain the overall image of the Vatican.”
In other words, those who did not know how to maintain the overall image of the Holy See could not reach the level of archbishop.
Luo Mi touched his chin: “So what are you going to do?”
Anos said, “I suspect that Archbishop Ellis and Balk Sheen are colluding with each other and acting in coordination with each other – so I plan to go directly to Reed Cathedral to meet him tonight.”
Luo Mi was stunned: So reckless?
He recalled Anos’s previous style of doing things and realized belatedly that this Holy Son of Heaven was a man of courage and bravery.
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