Chapter 548

Chapter 548: Contemplation and Decision

“Grandmaster Odysseus has come.”

Whispers circulated among the crowd, expressing surprise at the arrival of the Holy Lance Order’s Grandmaster. Although the scene was somewhat chaotic, it wasn’t considered a significant matter. In a short while, the Ten Palaces would gather enough people to easily disperse the protesting priests and then address each one individually to gradually resolve the issue.

However, if the Grandmaster himself appeared, the nature of the situation would become formal, making it harder to suppress.

“Why are you causing such commotion, disrupting the order of the Holy Mountain?”

Grandmaster Odysseus had a stern face, his sharp eyes slowly scanning the crowd. Those present dared not meet his gaze and lowered their heads.

The scene fell into silence. After a while, a priest’s voice trembled slightly as he explained.

“We have suffered injustice and wish to seek justice and fairness,” he said nervously, looking at this man like a lion.

“What injustice have you suffered?” Odysseus’s voice was steady as a mountain.

“In recent years, we…” He began to explain slowly, with some companions nearby gradually joining in to help supplement his story.

Their meaning was roughly that, a group of priests who were originally equally qualified, due to different assigned churches and regions, over the years, saw significant differences in status and treatment. They worked harder and contributed more but did not receive corresponding respect and rewards. Instead, they were mocked and looked down upon by the priests in affluent regions.

“On what grounds should this happen? We have dedicated ourselves to the Church in the harshest places, contributing to the peace of this world, yet we suffer such humiliation!”

“Mud Priest, Coal Priest, country bumpkins, shabby fellows—these are the titles they’ve pinned on us. No matter how long we serve or how much we contribute, promotion opportunities never come our way.” As they spoke, recalling the hardships over the years, some even shed tears, moving the many onlookers around them.

“The Church sees your efforts and hardships and will always remember them,” Odysseus’s tone softened slightly at this moment.

“But such behavior is ultimately not good. If everyone acts this way, where will the order be? Distributing according to chaos is unacceptable.”

“You should all go back first. Believe that the Ten Palaces and the Church will give everyone an explanation.”

This usually strict person showing such tenderness instantly moved these priests, who then admitted their faults, stating they shouldn’t have overstepped in their protest, disrupting the order and peace within the Holy Mountain.

Finally, under the arrangement of these Holy Lance Knights, they returned to a guesthouse outside the Flame Palace, where branch church members reside when visiting headquarters.

Watching them disperse and disappear into the night, several guards from the Ten Palaces frowned slightly. Today’s incident was indeed sudden; they had just received the news and rushed over, not expecting it to unfold this way.

“What do we do, Captain?” asked a guard beside him.

“First, report to Lord Cypsis. This matter seems rather complicated,” the golden-armored guard sheathed his weapon and led the group quickly toward the Ten Palaces.

—

After the events on the other side of the mountain subsided and the crowd dispersed, the restaurant below the Flame Palace became quiet once more. Seven students from Emnes were enjoying their dinner there.

Compared to other palaces, this restaurant seemed to have more meat dishes, satisfying the recent bland tastes of these students.

“Come on, another drink,” a few boys drank to the point of getting flushed.

“Cheers!”

Despite the completely different language and culture, the scenes at the table were always similar. Lolan Hill looked at the crowd before her, shook her head slightly, then turned her attention to the small glass of wine beside her. It was a light red fruit wine, seemingly made from a kind of red plum from the Holy Mountain. The alcohol content was low, with a sweet and sour taste.

She rarely drank, but this rare gathering didn’t want her to stand out too much, so she ordered a glass of fruit wine.

“Lohil, Polly, come, let’s also toast together,”

Jellica held a large glass, wanting to clink cups with the two beside her. She seemed to have a good drinking capacity, probably having drunk often before.

“I can only have a little, otherwise I’ll get dizzy,” Polly looked at the remaining liquid in her cup fearfully, as if it were something extremely unpleasant and bitter.

“Alright, alright, no need to force you. How about you, Lohil, what’s your drinking capacity? If you can’t, it’s fine too.”

Jelica turned around and looked at the silver-haired girl who was slightly dazed with a glass of wine in her hand.

“Nothing much, I can handle this.” The young lady’s voice carried a hint of a smile. Then, the girls clinked their glasses and slowly finished the liquid inside.

Compared to the high-proof white wine, most alcoholic beverages on the Western Continent didn’t have such high alcohol content. Few merchants used distillation techniques, but alchemists often used distillation to extract certain substances.

The seven of them chatted and ate until the night grew deep.

“It’s getting late; let’s call it a day,” Jelica said after finishing the food on the table and seeing that everyone was mostly drunk. It was time to part ways.

“I’ll go back with Loshil and Boley. You boys take care of each other,” Jelica said ahead of time. She didn’t want to help these drunk boys or have her friends do so.

“Alright, be careful on the way.”

Hesin nodded at the three, then lifted one person under each arm and carried them out of the dining hall, walking slowly like a rare strongman. The others supported each other and walked out leisurely.

“Let’s go too. Boley, stop looking. Don’t worry about them. Among us, except you, everyone’s strength is above Sequence 5. There won’t be any safety issues on the way.”

“Mmm, though…you’re right, but I feel a bit offended,” Boley muttered reluctantly before being pulled away happily by Jelica.

The three returned along the mountain path. Since they were all quite sober, they didn’t need help and walked briskly, gradually disappearing into the night.

—

Ten Swords Palace, Inner Palace of Flowing Water.

Sibis was having his meal, with a large table full of empty plates, suggesting he had a good appetite.

Ah—

This rotund man finally put down his utensils and stretched out his hands. The attendant immediately came over with a damp towel to wipe his hands, then began clearing the table.

“Seems there was some commotion outside today. Have the duty captain come in and report,” he lay comfortably in his armchair, closing his eyes, letting the nun behind him massage his head as he spoke slowly.

“Yes, Sir Sibis.”

Then an attendant went to notify the captain waiting at the door.

“Sir Sibis,”

The captain first saluted, then slowly reported what happened at Holy Flame Palace in the evening.

After he finished, Sibis did not respond immediately, but remained silent for a moment.

“I understand. Later, you and those present will write down the detailed account and place it in the palace. Someone will analyze it over time.”

“Yes, Sir Sibis.”

“Hmm, then you may leave now.” He raised his thick fingers slightly and waved, making the people around him leave the palace, leaving only the nun massaging him and a personal attendant.

“Odys, when did you become so cunning?” He seemed to sigh, then asked the two beside him.

“What do you think? Is he acting out of goodwill or with ulterior motives?”

“Of course, with ulterior motives.” The attendant nearby said with evident joy at having the chance to express himself.

“Oh, then analyze it for me,” Sibis said with a smile on his closed face.

“If we had handled it normally, our guards would have arrived in time to disperse the disorderly priests, detain the leaders, and interrogate them over several months until things cooled down, then give them a little benefit to pacify the situation.”

“But now, during the critical period of the Papal election, even if he stopped the incident, our subsequent actions would be somewhat passive.”

“If we ignore it and let it develop, the stigma on our heads cannot be removed, which would greatly affect the recent election.”

“But if we deal with it, the situation might worsen. It’s easier to find fault than solve problems. A misstep could trigger greater conflicts. More people seeing benefits might think we are easy targets, just like these priests, and bring up years of grievances.”

“Originally, we could have suppressed this matter forcefully, but with the appearance of the Sacred Lance Knights, going to arrest people near Holy Flame Palace would be obstructed. Such behavior would prove we are guilty and dare not disclose it publicly, greatly damaging our past prestige.”

He analyzed enthusiastically, speaking more and more, seemingly proud of his own cleverness.

Clap clap clap—

Bis clapped his hands and said, “Very good, not bad, indeed. But do you have any good countermeasures?”

The attendant who had been excited just now suddenly choked up, unable to come up with any good ideas for a long time.

“Then stay silent. If you can’t solve the problem, don’t raise questions. Any organization, no matter where it is, definitely has all sorts of problems. If you see them but can’t find an effective solution, pretend you didn’t notice.”

“Taking away hope is the most hateful thing.”

“Yes, Lord Xibis.” The formerly assertive attendant immediately fell silent.

Xibis leaned back in his recliner, cooling off in the courtyard of the Inner Palace of Flowing Water. He slowly played with a small trinket in his hand, his gaze slightly focused as if thinking about some matters.

Only when it was late at night did he signal for the guards outside the palace to be brought in. After whispering instructions to them, he went to bathe and then rest.

—

After returning to their residence, Boley went to sleep early, while Lolan Hill, after taking a bath, sat at her desk with a pen in hand, writing something under the dim light of a candle.

With the papal election approaching, she began to consider her future choices: whether to get involved and intervene or remain low-key and not participate in this event.

It could be foreseen that if she got involved, there would certainly be risks, either exposing her identity or causing conflict between the two countries.

However, completely not intervening would also be inappropriate. If the Holy Land were to side with the Frost Rose, Clancia would face a very troublesome opponent in the future.

The Church has branches throughout the continent, with a good reputation and a considerable base of supporters. If they were to oppose it, they would not only have to face hundreds of thousands of Extraordinary Beings but also deal with overwhelming public opinion, which would become significant destabilizing factors, shaking the foundation of the nation.

It seems I still need to get involved. At least, I need to choose a neutral Pope.

Lolan Hill combed through her damp hair by the ear. The night wind blew over her body, bringing a slight chill. She wrote four names on the paper: ‘Shaland’, ‘Odys’, ‘Xibis’, ‘Bines’.

‘Xibis’, according to his usual behavior and rumors, is not a good joint partner for Clancia; there is a huge gap in their values.

‘Odys’, although usually strict in conduct, is someone who particularly values the interests of his own side. Joining forces with him would be very exhausting and unproductive. He stands only on the side of interests and has great ambitions. For both Clancia and the Frost Rose, he is not a good ally and should only be chosen when there is no other choice.

‘Shaland’ is too mysterious and powerful; neither side dares to easily court or contact him to avoid provoking his displeasure. Perhaps he is more loyal to the duties and righteousness of the Church. Using petty tactics in front of him would only lead to self-humiliation.

The only remaining and seemingly easy-to-talk-to one is ‘Bines’. She is not weak herself, has a kind personality, and has a group of loyal and close supporters.

But since becoming a Sequence 9, her character and wisdom are not ordinary. They are not people who can be easily deceived or persuaded.

To really win over this female priest, genuine sincerity must be shown; otherwise, it would be futile.

Lolan Hill circled Bines’ name with her pen and then wrote some information next to it to aid her thoughts.

‘Angel Sequence 9’, ‘Moon of Dew and Gold Branches’, ‘Aquarius Scepter Priest’, ‘Emanas Mentor’, ‘Intellectually Biased Towards Kindness’, ‘Can Communicate’, ‘Cool and Wise’, ‘Clear Distinction Between Public and Private’, ‘Aware of Her Own Identity’, ‘Resides in the Spiral Tower’

She paused, looking at the paper in front of her, slowly pondering, her body motionless.

After a long while, she continued to write another line and then put down her pen.

It seems I still need to have a good conversation with this female priest to understand her perspective and find similarities or common ground within Clancia to strengthen mutual recognition.

She is not the type of person who can be easily swayed by interests, but she might yield for ideals and righteousness, which is what makes Lolan Hill quite fond of her.

I hope we can become friends.

Lolan Hill blew out the candle in front of her, gathered the paper on the desk, and returned to bed to sleep.

The moon hung low in the west, and the deep night was as cool as water.

Thank you, Sakura Yurisa, Mingri Zhiyu, Maple Bridge Night Mooring, En Hem Hem Ha Ha, Shen Dian, and Hua Su Xu, for your support~