A high-ranking provincial official had died just like that? And it hadn’t even caused a ripple?
As the Archbishop of the Fifth Wing Region, Libim controlled all the believers in that area. If Aililan had been here alone, she likely would have had some reservations.
However, in the eyes of Isiphlan and the others, this seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary occurrence.
Lizberu fell into thought for a moment before asking, “The position of Archbishop of the Fifth Wing is now vacant. Will there be changes below? Do we need to take precautions?”
Isiphlan waved her hand and shook her head.
“There is no need. Lizberu, you have been by my side for so long; you should understand — our doctrine is the basis of our rule, the army is our reliance, and above the army, we are the powers that are nearly divine. As long as the Saintesses have not all died out, there will be no chaos.”
“This is not a time of war, nor is it a situation where talent is scarce. On the contrary, the Church is currently relatively stable, the politics are fairly clean, and our talent reserves are overflowing.”
“Do you know how many people graduate from the Theological Seminary every year? In the Holy Land alone, there are over 1,000 every year, and tens of thousands from the combined regional academies. Because there are no suitable positions, many of them have to change professions to make a living after graduation. Countless people in the Church are burying their heads, desperately trying to climb up.”
“Furthermore, with your entire generation of Saintesses gathered here, this is the Church’s strongest era.”
“You are truly different from my generation. Back then, there was a gap between the old and the young, with only two or three Saintesses supporting the Church’s progress. Seventy years ago, there was even a Saintess who had to enter a political marriage just for the Church’s survival.”
“That so-called Light is nothing more than generations of Saintesses carrying the weight of the Church on their shoulders as they move forward.”
Hearing this, the Saintesses were all moved. “This is all thanks to the glorious legacy left by our predecessors,” they said.
Isiphlan laughed. “You don’t need to belittle yourselves either. Every generation has its own tasks. The task of my generation was to save up a wealthy family fortune for you. So, don’t be polite with us — spend what needs to be spent.”
The Saint of Tolerance’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she asked, “Aren’t you afraid we’ll squander the entire family fortune?”
Isiphlan huffed indifferently.
“If it’s gone, it’s gone. Regardless, I won’t be around to see the Church decline. If the future Saintesses are incompetent, they can go off to political marriages if they must, or become someone else’s playthings. Even if the Church is destroyed, it is all nothing but passing clouds.”
The Saint of Tolerance clicked her tongue in surprise. “You are far too open-minded.”
Isiphlan gave a faint smile. “It is not open-mindedness; it is simply that nothing in this world is eternal. The Church cannot escape the wheels of history.”
Lizberu interrupted their conversation, asking pragmatically, “What about the personnel arrangements for the Fifth Wing Region?”
Isiphlan thought for a moment. “Transfer people from the Holy Land to take over, and select the middle and lower levels from the Theological Seminary to serve as the backbone. Since the Virtue of Chastity has great plans, we should try our best to create a clean administrative environment for her.”
***
The next day, the meeting convened once again.
Bishop Libim had completely disappeared without a trace. More than half of the familiar faces originally in the meeting hall were gone. However, many new faces had appeared, directly arranged to fill the vacant positions.
Aililan gave a dry cough. The older Saintesses had already briefed her on the situation.
“Ahem, cough — shall we discuss yesterday’s agenda again?”
A young man with a new face stood up and said in a firm tone, “I have already reviewed yesterday’s agenda. I believe there are no issues, and I resolutely support all the Saintess’s resolutions.”
“I also agree.”
“Agreed.”
“I support it.”
…
What else could they do but agree?
Was it that the new faces didn’t want a future? Or did the old faces want to go “drink tea” with the Heresy Inquisition Guards?
This time, the meeting proceeded very smoothly. Aililan did not propose any more radical measures. Pushing too hard against the interests of those already in power would cause some degree of blowback.
As the meeting concluded successfully, Aililan had a faint premonition that her reporting duty trip was likely coming to an end. Before long, she would have to return to Atester.
But she had something on her mind.
Aililan’s gaze was somewhat melancholy. She had made no progress with Sister Temperance, whom she most wanted to grow closer to. Instead, she had unexpectedly bonded with “Diligence”…
She had mostly been too busy. Since arriving at the Holy Land, there had always been things to deal with, and Lizberu was busy with her own duties as well.
After thinking it over, Aililan went out alone. She wanted to pick out some gifts for the Saint of Temperance before she left.
‘My fondness for Sister Temperance is mostly based on first impressions and a strong sense of favor. But what does she actually like? I realize I know nothing about her.’
After wandering around for a while, Aililan realized with frustration that she didn’t even understand Temperance’s hobbies.
Instead, she ended up buying a bottle of precious fine wine and a rare, one-of-a-kind collector’s item — a fragmented history of the Lost Empire, along with a scholar’s translated annotations of the ancient civilization. It cost her nearly 10,000 gold coins.
She wasn’t interested in these things herself.
Therefore, these weren’t for her, nor were they for Temperance. They were… gifts for Diligence.
Arriving alone at the Diligence Saintess’s mansion, Aililan discovered that the rooms here were not exactly tidy. The rooms even drifted with the faint, musty scent of paper.
Stacks of books were piled up crookedly, some reaching half the height of a person. There were at least a dozen such book piles in the room. Books were scattered here and there across the floor.
Aililan casually opened a book, and several sheets of draft paper tucked inside slid out.
One of the characteristics of the Diligence Saintess was her love for learning.
By the window, Yegeerlinai was focused on flipping through a book. From time to time, she would stop, pull another book from a stack nearby, and cross-reference it for verification.
Perhaps because she wasn’t planning on going out, she hadn’t tied her long hair back today and was wearing a plain white nightgown. Her earnest expression as she pored over the books gave her the air of a literary girl.
Two hours passed.
The maids of the Diligence mansion changed the tea several times. Looking at their Saintess, who was still buried in her studies, they opened their mouths to speak but hesitated.
Aililan gestured for them not to disturb her, then asked curiously in a low voice, “Her room is so messy, why don’t you help tidy it up?”
A constrained look appeared on the maid’s face, and she whispered, “It’s not that we don’t want to tidy up. It’s just that if we move the position of those books and the Saintess can’t find them, she gets angry.”
“Has your Saintess always been like this?”
“Yes, always.”
A long time passed again.
Yegeerlinai finally stretched. As the maid had said, she was still holding a book as she walked toward a pile of volumes, seemingly looking for references to continue her verification.
“This rune etching should be able to be optimized; it could save at least another 2% of the magic crystal’s energy… But which part is causing the mutual exclusion? Or should I change the inscription path…”
She muttered to herself as she searched.
It was only then that she realized, belatedly, that Aililan was there. She froze for a moment.
The next second, she dropped the book in her hand, ran over, and scooped Aililan up in a hug, spinning her around with a face full of joy.
“Chastity, what are you doing here!”
“Why didn’t you call out to me?”
“Look at my brain, I can’t stop once I start reading. Are you hungry? Is there anything you want to eat? Are you thirsty? Did you get bored waiting? Also, did you bring your Saint Crown of Thorns? I went to the treasury yesterday specifically to trade for a gemstone. I hope you’ll like it; I want to set it into your Crown of Thorns…”
Aililan opened her mouth, but in the end, she only smiled.
“Everything is fine.”
She looked into Diligence’s eyes.
In there — she saw nothing but herself.