Chapter 404 (2): What a Terrifying Chapter Title
Luxury restaurant, booth.
Slurp... Chomp...
Nom, nom...
Isabella put on a feasting show like a divine beast of gluttony, which was a familiar sight to Wayne, so he didn’t show the slightest surprise. Mona, on the other hand, struggled to recover her jaw. She wondered if her suspicion had been unwarranted. Perhaps the beautiful big eater was actually an old friend of Wayne’s rather than an old friend.
“Isabella, you shouldn’t lack mana as a Gold-ranked mage,” Wayne said. “Why are you still storing mana through eating?”
“I’ve gotten used to it. I can’t stop now.”
Isabella mumbled in between slurping, her terrible table manners severely undermining her beauty.
She had joined the surgical strike unit when she was Silver-ranked. One serious injury had left a lasting ailment, making it so that her mana was half that of other mages at her rank. She had no choice but to store mana in fat so that she could unleash greater power when necessary.
After reaching Gold, her ailment had healed on its own. She no longer had to eat an unhealthy amount to keep her mana stable, but there was no changing her eating habits. She thus reversed the formula and converted calories into mana. As a result, her curves were curving.
Was she a natural beauty? But she had used magic. Was her figure artificial? But she hadn’t used technology to modify her looks.
Besides, many female mages had their own magical formula to maintain their figure, with the goddesses being the prime examples. Their filters were applied to the maximum.
Fine dining was about class. While the dishes were made with care, they were incredibly pricey.
Isabella ignored class and treated the restaurant like any buffet. After a feast that left the manager elated and the chefs in tears, she lowered her utensils and wiped her mouth delicately.
There. She was classy.
“...” x2
Wayne rolled his eyes, suspecting that Isabella’s terrible table manners were intentional. She was like a beautiful woman purposefully shitting her pants when running into a pervert to protect her purity, scaring the pervert into going soft.
That was purely Wayne’s speculation. Keeping up the pervert image for as long as he had, he was so immersed that he now saw himself as a real pervert.
Isabella had always wolfed down her food. It wasn’t anything personal, and she definitely didn’t see Wayne as a pervert. In her eyes, his character was undoubtedly excellent. He wasn’t depraved, but distinguished.
If he truly wanted something from her, he wouldn’t have introduced his lover and secretary to her, but pretended to be single so that they could have a romantic fling in the city of romance.
After the meal, Isabella picked up her glass of red wine and took a sip. “Apologies, when we parted ways last time, I promised to buy you a meal in Palis, but I was the one who kept eating. Don’t worry, though. I’ll pay the bill.”
“Are you sure?” Wayne cocked his head, snapping his finger. The restaurant’s floor manager came over with the bill. The list was long, and so was the number. Isabella’s face tightened.
“This isn’t the best restaurant, but it is the most expensive. Do you need me to give you a loan?” Wayne teased, taking his wallet out of Mona’s purse to pay the bill, joining the top membership while he was at it. “I expect nothing less from you. You ate enough to make me a super VIP.”
“I’m sorry...” Isabella lowered her head in embarrassment. She hadn’t realized until now that the restaurant was beyond what she could afford. Why hadn’t she noticed, you ask? Only those who didn’t know a real foodie would ask such a question.
“Don’t worry,” Wayne reassured. “I’ve been doing quite well over the past two years and saved up a fortune. I’ve also been embezzling money from the church.”
...Should you be saying that to me? Isabella thought.
“Are you full?”
“I am.”
“Do you want some fruit?”
“Um, thank you for the hospitality.”
VIPs were entitled to free desserts and fruit. Wayne only had to snap his fingers to make the floor manager appear out of nowhere. Hearing that their Father of the day needed fruit to offset the grease, he immediately made the arrangement.
“Isabella, I have a few questions for you.” Wayne raised an eyebrow. “I became an Oracle High Reverend in March, and it’s May now. It seems that Palis hasn’t been informed. Is that right?”
“I haven’t been informed,” Isabella said honestly. “The church hasn’t issued an official document to announce the change.”
Wayne nodded. Pope Senna was his loyal vassal, and both she and Anastasia held nothing but complete admiration and devotion to their faith. The headquarters of the Church of Nature had already issued an official document to announce Wayne’s promotion. The Londan District had received it, so there was no reason for Franc to still be in the dark.
Some weasel must have intercepted it.
Wayne wasn’t surprised at all since it was the Church of Nature they were talking about. “Tell me,” he said. “What is this district’s current perception of headquarters?”
“Pope Ludwig has relegated his authority over internal affairs to the acting pope, Senna,” Isabella said around a mouthful of banana. “If nothing goes wrong, she’ll become the actual Pope in ten years.”
That much was the right story. Even at headquarters, not many knew that Ludwig had already died.
“Who’s in charge of the Palis District? Has anything unusual happened recently?”
“It’s High Reverend Sandrine, a legendary mage. She’s assisted by four other priests...”
“There hasn’t been anything unusual lately. The only thing that isn’t business as usual is our closer ties to other churches because of the Black Axiom Sect...”
Isabella elaborated on the chaos in Palis. Franc was one of the seven major districts of the Church of Nature, with the district head office set up in Palis. One Legendary-ranked High Reverend was stationed here with the support of four Gold-ranked priests.
Without a royal family exerting pressure, the churches held great influence in Franc, dividing the world of magic in Franc.
The most direct proof was the fact that the Ministry of Magic’s headquarters was under the control of the churches. Four legendary mages, each from the Churches of Nature, Sun, Moonlight, and Heavenly Father, were Honorary Vice Ministers, while a Gold-ranked mage had been made the Minister.
It was obvious who was actually in charge.
The political landscape in the Francan magic community was a complex web of different interest groups. Left unchecked, the issue wouldn’t be obvious, but if there was even an attempt to investigate, not even plundering all the warehouses in the nation would make up for the creative accounting that had taken place.
With churches continuously working against each other under the table rather than in the open, they ensured mutual losses, only banding together to fight a common enemy like the Death Knight.
In other words, it was chaos.
Around a year ago, a mysterious organization that called itself the Black Axiom Sect suddenly emerged in Palis. It started out like a small-scale wildfire, attracting little attention since it seemed easy to put out. In half a year, though, the sect saw a rapid development and attracted the churches’ attention. After conducting a secret investigation, they labeled it as a cult, making it their common target.
The Black Axiom Sect was like a spring. The more the churches suppressed it, the more it bounced back. At this moment, it had become a great headache for the churches.
“The Black Axiom Sect has spread from Palis to the rest of Franc. Though the Ministry of Magic is still in control overall, innumerable mages have been deployed to different parts of the country to crack down on the sect, leaving Palis with insufficient defense...”
“We still don’t know where the headquarters of the Black Axiom Sect is, how they organize their leadership, and how powerful the higher-ups are...”
“The Church of Heavenly Father should’ve been the one to take on the mission at the Holy Mother Cathedral tonight, but due to a lack of manpower, they turned to the Church of Nature for help. That’s why...”
When the plate of fruit was emptied, Isabella was done with her story, too.
Without waiting for Wayne to snap his fingers, the floor manager had another assortment of fruit served. Putting aside the cost, he had to make sure that the service was satisfactory.
“How about the Headless Knight?” Wayne asked. “Heard anything about him?”
“The Headless Knight?”
“The Death Knight, I mean.”
“The Death Knight has been absent for a long time.” Isabella lowered her voice. “According to a reliable source, the Death Knight has abandoned the underground catacombs in Palis and left for Londan. You’re from Londan, so you should’ve heard.”
Wayne nodded. “I’ve heard of him, but never met him.”
He asked a few more questions, to which Isabella responded one by one. After hearing her out, he came to a few conclusions.
First, he was certain that the Black Axiom Sect was the work of the demon alliance. The demons couldn’t have been evangelizing to spread the words of kindness and truths. Ultimately, they were always trying to open the Gate of Hell.
“Boss, the Black Axiom Sect...” Mona turned to Wayne. Her hunch told her that the sect had something to do with demons.
“No rush. Let’s do one thing at a time.” Wayne held Isabella’s gaze. “Come back to my hotel with me tonight.”
“Sure.” Isabella nodded, showing no confusion or wariness.
Wayne was befuddled by the lack of panic or the progression from being conflicted to resigned. “Wait, do you trust me so much?”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
Right.
Being trusted felt good. Wayne said in a pleased tone, “Don’t worry. I won’t have you work for free. Your meals will be arranged.”
Isabella cracked a smile. She was satisfied as long as food and accommodation were provided.
Wayne felt sorry for her. The Church of Nature was a large organization that shouldn’t be starving a hundred-and-fifty-kilo Francan strongwoman into someone with long, slim legs and an ab crack. Even he, a scum, couldn’t tolerate it.
He patted Isabella on the shoulder. “Given our history, I can’t just let you suffer after I’ve been promoted. Take me to the High Reverend tomorrow. I’ll give you a meal subsidy so that you can eat to your heart’s content and let the church reimburse you.”
At that moment, Isabella looked at Wayne in a completely different light. It was like a pervert seeing a stunning woman or a martial arts fanatic acquiring a secret cultivation method. Basically, she was a foodie looking at a blank check for her food budget.
Mona shook her head in resignation. She could tell that Wayne felt nothing for Miss Isabella, and it was entirely out of habit that he did something to win her affection.
It wouldn’t be a serious problem. Tonight, she would make Isabella realize that Wayne’s offer was completely innocent. She shouldn’t misunderstand her way into falling in love.
***
The second day, Isabella, who hadn’t had a wink of sleep, sat on the sofa, dazed. Her strand of dark green hair fell before her eyes, turning her vision green.
She had finished her essay. Since it was such hard work, she was... starving.
Isabella had been forced to listen to a concert with Secretary Mona as the lead vocalist. The quiet, composed secretary became a different person at night. Her experience was evident in her singing voice.
But why had she been hurling insults? It didn’t sound like acting.
Isabella also didn’t understand why the soundproof barrier that Mona had set up when she closed the door would malfunction halfway through the concert. She suspected it to be Wayne’s doing. Dangling the blank check as bait, he wanted her to offer her service to him voluntarily, joining the concert as a second vocalist.
Who did he think she was? Isabella wasn’t a woman who would give up her dignity and integrity for food.
Her thought was interrupted by a call from her stomach. Her eyes turned greener. Both dignity and integrity could be put aside. There was no place for any talks about spiritual fulfilment when her most basic needs hadn’t been fulfilled. One could only reclaim their dignity and integrity on a full stomach!
Isabella convinced herself. Wayne was young and rich with both status and magical talent. He was also her previous superior’s student, giving them an established link. He wouldn’t be a bad choice.
In the bedroom, Mona was dressing Wayne. She believed her little trick had done its job. Isabella would stay away from Wayne as long as she wasn’t completely shameless.
Mona didn’t realize that the trick had only compelled Isabella to talk herself into liking Wayne.
“Boss, do you suspect the Church of Nature?”
“I don’t just suspect that. I know there’s a problem.” Wayne put on his suit jacket and watch. “First, I’m certain that the Church of Heavenly Father’s people in Franc have already caved to the demons. The clergy members have either defected or been enthralled.”
“The Life Alliance and the Church of Heavenly Father have been too close. For the Church of Nature’s surgical strike unit to work for the Church of Heavenly Father...”
“Tsk, the demons managed to do what the Heavenly Father could not.”
Wayne sighed. “The Church of Nature is suspicious, and I’m not just talking about the High Reverend, but also the four priests. I’ll try to find out more from the High Reverend and figure out where the Black Axiom Sect is based. We must eliminate that threat first to prevent the demons from holding a sacrificial ritual and hurting the general public.”
I like the sound of that. Tell me more. x2
Mona looked at Wayne with admiring eyes. Every time he talked about demons, she couldn’t help but fall harder for his fierce, derisive tone. She submitted to temptation and pulled him in for a kiss.
“Stop it. I have business to attend to today.”
Wayne rolled his eyes. Hesione had influenced Mona too much. He never expected demons to become part of their relationship.
“Boss, I believe you are the Anointed One. The demons have never once succeeded in their machinations with you around...”
Mona nodded to herself. Whether Hesione believed it or not, she believed it wholeheartedly.
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