Chapter 795

Chapter 44 News (Part 2)

[Regulations for the Placement of Refugees in the Disaster Zones of Silgayan South Province]

The document began with this heading, followed by the various organizations responsible for its execution, starting with the Holy Church’s Second Knight Order and its Grandmaster, Mr. Coralon Slioneleo, followed by the names of the major dioceses of Silgayan and some bishops, as well as all members of the Zhi Xinghui deployed in Silgayan.

“The regulation…,”

As my eyes followed the full handwriting below, I couldn’t help but read aloud the contents of the document: “In accordance with the will of the divine, to save and aid the people, devout servants of God should unconditionally and without seeking reward provide necessary assistance to refugees suffering from war and disasters. However, they should also categorize the degree of their suffering to better and more appropriately implement rescue measures. The following are the specific criteria.”

“Any displaced families who have no means of livelihood but still have complete family members or a majority of able-bodied men, should be classified as mild disaster victims. The church has the obligation to provide appropriate assistance to these children of God. The Second Knight Order and the major dioceses must cooperate with the currency exchange guilds to ensure their basic needs for residence and living are met.”

“Primarily focusing on areas such as Alethein City, Crow City, Lake Town, and Tasta City, which are the first areas for reconstruction and development, those with farming skills or skilled workers like masons and carpenters should be prioritized. Major diocesan bishops must arrange and plan work for the people of God, providing sufficient food and water to solve the labor shortage problem.”

This decree sounds quite grandiose.

I subconsciously glanced at the bottom of the document and noticed that the date written was December 11, 1188, meaning this decree was issued at the end of last year.

But months have passed since then, and looking at the current state of Alethein City and the people of the Second Knight Order, it’s…

How many of the recipients of this document are executing it wholeheartedly without any ulterior motives? This is clearly an issue with oversight at the upper echelons of the church.

But two years ago, the church

wouldn’t have had such issues, would it? How could it be?

Could it be that the higher-ups have become so preoccupied with internal strife that they can no longer manage?

I speculated in my mind, unable to understand why nothing seems to have been done about this matter. Moreover, just a few days ago, someone even caused a commotion at the church entrance. Clearly, the attitude of the people towards the church—specifically some of the people here—has deviated from what I originally thought.

Is Angel in a mess with this? Hmph.

I shrugged, using the faint blue light emitted by the floating ice ball to steady myself and continue reading the content below.

“These are the criteria for classifying mild disaster victims. Additionally, if a family is left only with women or very few men, or if there are mostly elderly, children, injured, sick, or those with little or no ability to work, they should be classified as moderate disaster victims. Major dioceses, cities, towns with ample resources must unconditionally accept such people and provide them with independent refugee zones.”

The refugee zones should be fully managed by the Second Knight Order. The supplies for the refugee zones should be fully handled by the local currency exchange guilds. No one should drive away or exile moderate or worse affected refugees under any pretext. If this leads to large-scale unrest or deaths among the refugees, the church will punish the perpetrators in the name of God with burning at the stake.”

Mmm.

Does Alethein City have a refugee zone? It doesn’t seem so.

No one dares to drive anyone away, but nothing else is being implemented properly.

Turning a blind eye, including the Second Knight Order, the majority are complicit in this.

“Besides the aforementioned refugee families, after deliberation by the Council of Saints, the following groups should be classified as severe disaster victims. First, families left with only one member,”

The second category of those who are destitute and alone, the injured or sick who lack care and treatment, and young children who have been separated from their relatives for a long time and cannot take care of themselves will be classified as severe disaster victims. If discovered and conditions permit, they should be sent to the Castle of Silence to receive assistance from the Church. Additionally, if refugees with an affinity for order are found, they can also be exceptionally sent to the Castle of Silence for accommodation. For every person meeting the aforementioned criteria who is brought in, the deliverer can receive five gold coins and three pounds of venison at the temporary parish set up by the Church at the Castle of Silence. Those who bring in more than five people will be awarded the ‘Disaster Rescuer’ honor medal by the Holy Church.

—

That’s it.

Sigh—

I exhaled lightly.

This was what Reckt told me.

Lonely souls, those without support, innocent children—

Once discovered, all of them would be sent to the Castle of Silence, even if they did not wish to go. [It started around the beginning of this year, I believe.]

When Reckt found me outside the city, he said there was something important he needed to tell me. After some hesitation, I eventually met him on a desolate grassland far from the rhinoceros carts.

[I came here under Queen’s orders, bringing four skilled warriors from the Canri Swordsmen to investigate two matters in Silgayan South.]

Throughout our entire meeting, I did not remove my mask or cloak, standing several steps away from the man and listening to him tell me the important news from the capital.

[The first matter, and the most important one, is to find any clues about you. The Queen ordered me to trace your complete trail during that heretical war, which led me to even go to Woodward Forest, a place that was completely burned down and now sealed off by the Church. Ah, things have become very complicated. I think I should start from the beginning.]

[Actually, at the end of last year, we saw the shocking news in the reports, and the Queen was furious. She threatened to lead two thousand city guards to the Holy City, but I couldn’t stop her. Knowing your position in the Queen’s heart, I was afraid she might do something rash that would harm the kingdom, but she didn’t. ]

[The Queen was much wiser and calmer than I imagined. From the beginning, she never believed the reports. She knew the Church was lying. I don’t know how she deduced this, but she knew the situation was not as reported. She pretended to believe the report, and later, when she went to the Church district in the capital and confronted the Pope, it was all just for show.]

[Perhaps you don’t know, but the Church held a grand funeral ceremony for you in the Holy City at the beginning of last year. Of course, the main purpose of that ceremony was not for the funeral itself. You understand, the Pope was then busy dealing with Cardinal Saint George. Regardless, after that, including your father and mother, everyone truly believed you were dead, except for the Queen.]

[I think the Queen wasn’t entirely sure if you were alive at that time. She probably sensed the heresy war in the West and the flood disaster that year, both of which had many suspicious aspects. The Queen noticed these inconsistencies but pretended to believe the story. On the night after the funeral ceremony, she met with the Pope alone, without anyone else.]

[Their conversation lasted about half an hour. I don’t know what exactly they talked about, but after that, the Queen immediately returned to the capital with her people. She never mentioned anything about you again until one day]

[I found out that the Queen had already made contact with Saint George, who had been missing for a long time.]