Chapter 405 (1): Please, Don’t Die
After breakfast... after Isabella finished breakfast, Wayne and Mona each set out for a different destination. Wayne was heading to the district head office to look into the High Reverend and find out more about the Black Axiom Sect, while Mona was collecting information on the reincarnated angels so that they could pick off the strays that the angels missed in their total assault.
“Nicely written. There’s not a word of lie. I didn’t expect someone as serious as you are to be this good at flattering your superior.”
Wayne marveled at Isabella’s essay on his way to the head office. If Kristen were as good at writing as Isabella was, she wouldn’t have to exchange her beauty for inspiration and an outline; she would become a best-selling author on her own.
Isabella was in a good mood with all the food she had filled her stomach with. She blinked at her long-term meal plan without a word.
“What is it?” Wayne didn’t know that the soundproof barrier had malfunctioned last night, allowing Isabella to hear all the percussion.
“Um, Oracle High Reverend... Mr. Wayne, there’s an important question I need to ask you. Please give me a proper answer.”
“Don’t be a stranger. Just call me Wayne.”
“Mr. Wayne, you said yesterday that you wouldn’t let me suffer since you’ve been promoted. Are you planning on planting an informant in the Palis District?” Isabella asked concisely.
“That’s one way to put it...” Wayne stroked his chin, swallowing the insulting words that he was planning to recruit a dog. That would damage the righteous image Isabella had for him.
Isabella sighed in relief. With her hunger sated, her spiritual needs made themselves known. It would be too shameful to volunteer to be Wayne’s lover just to be fed long-term. She decided to make herself clear, maintaining her integrity and dignity.
“Mr. Wayne, I’m willing to offer my service. You’re an Oracle High Reverend of the church, so there’s no shame in offering you my loyalty.”
“You don’t have to frame it that way and put a distance between us. I’ve always seen you as a friend.” Wayne was a little disappointed. There were so many weasels in the Church of Nature that Isabella had also succumbed to the bad influence, speaking just like them.
“Thank you for your recognition.” Isabella nodded. It was important to know one’s place. Wayne might see her as a friend, but she shouldn’t consider an Oracle High Reverend a friend.
Having affirmed her position, Isabella said directly, “I write essays well because I’ve had sufficient practice. My former superior, your master, is averse to flattering her superior, so all those documents were my responsibility to pen.”
So that’s how it was! Master’s embarrassing story +1!
Wayne decided to share the story with Veronica once he was home. That would fuel the conflict between his mother and her daughter-in-law.
Isabella’s sudden change in attitude was disconcerting, though. Wayne asked, “When we first met, you were an opinionated lady whose audacity and decisiveness left a deep impression on me. It’s only been two years. Why have you become...”
“So servile?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I’m a member of the surgical strike unit, a scalpel through which the church erases dissidents,” Isabella explained. “Outside of missions, I need not think much.”
She could think even less with an Oracle High Reverend master. She would offer her loyalty and service, while Wayne would make sure she was well-fed. Simple.
“In that case, your life will be mine from now on.” Wayne patted her shoulder. “You’ve got a good eye. You managed to seize your last chance to invest in me. If you had missed it, it would’ve been difficult for you to catch the train later.”
Isabella wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but whatever Wayne said, she just had to nod.
She’s already this obedient without any training. Wouldn’t she be my most loyal servant if I corrupt her?
Wayne was more and more satisfied with Isabella. He pondered whether he should turn her into his vassal, but decided against it. A tentacled monster went well with a mature lady, making a classic pairing in action adventures. If the mature lady was a tentacle monster, though... that would be dreadful.
He already had three such ladies at his service, so he didn’t want another. He decided to train Isabella in the orthodox way to show others that it wouldn’t be a bad thing to serve him.
“Isabella, are you in charge of the surgical strike unit?”
“I’m not. There hasn’t been a new leader since High Reverend Silvia’s transfer. The surgical strike unit was divided into four divisions, each controlled by one of the four priests. I’m only a captain, a level three archdeacon.”
“A Gold-ranked archdeacon?” Wayne snorted. “Gold-ranked mages could be High Reverends in Londan. Franc sure has a wealth of talent.”
Clearly, the surgical strike unit had been divided and conquered, turning the public transport into personal vehicles. The Scalpels became a private army under the control of the four priests. Isabella was having a hard time in Franc under the pressure.
Wayne thought for a moment and decided to transfer her to Londan so that she could help Silvia reestablish the surgical strike unit there. He would also call the Pope to make Isabella a priest. He would have eyes and ears everywhere.
That’s decided then, he thought happily.
When he shared his decision with Isabella, she wasn’t convinced that the promise had substance. “Mr. Wayne, Her Holiness...”
“Wayne!”
“Wayne, even though you’re an Oracle High Reverend and the Pope’s student’s student, she won’t just act on a call and—”
“She will,” Wayne interrupted. After a pause, he said, “Since you’ve offered me your loyalty, you should know who you’re working for.”
His serious tone made Isabella gulp reflexively.
“Before I became an Oracle High Reverend, I gained the recognition of Elemental Mantra, becoming the next Nature Knight. That’s why I was able to support Senna and make her the Pope.”
Seeing Isabella’s contracted pupils, he continued, “There was conflict between me and the previous pope, Ludwig. The rumors aren’t accurate. It’s not that he no longer concerns himself with the affairs of the church, but that a dead man naturally cannot do anything.”
Gulp!
Isabella felt her cold sweat drench her shirt, her knees going weak as she faced the true ruler of the church.
Her meal plan would sustain her for a lifetime!
He had blown his own horn enough to make his newly recruited subordinate’s head ring. Satisfied, he shared a gossip to lift the atmosphere. “As for my relationship with the Pope, it’s something like my relationship with Mona. You may hold yourself with more pride from now on. Don’t bring shame to my name.”
“Um...” Isabella couldn’t believe it. “But... she’s your master’s master... Is that really appropriate?”
“Is there a law against it?”
No, but morally speaking...
Isabella went through the situation in her head. According to Silvia, Senna had no moral compass to speak of, so she had to be the one who had made the mistake. The shameless old woman became a shameless pope and made a move on her student’s student, gaining her status through the Nature Knight.
That had to be the truth.
“You’ve had it hard, Wayne.”
“Um, I’m pretty sure you’re thinking something rude...”
They chatted as they walked, during which Wayne shared a few more events that had happened at the Church of Nature. Isabella was having trouble wrapping her mind around everything. Thankfully, they arrived at the district head office in Palis then.
As was the tradition of the Life Alliance, the head office looked like a library on the outside, occupying a large plot of land. The smell of books drifted out, carried by a serene, warm breeze.
Isabella greeted the guard and swiped her ID to enter the true head office. Wayne did the same by projecting a friendly presence with his powerful thoughts, eloquently talking his way into the verdant space.
It was an incomplete Philosopher’s Stone. The church only had to sacrifice one legendary mage to create a head office that could act as a bastion of both offense and defense. It was a bargain!
The Palis head office looked almost identical to the Londan head office, with blue sky, green land, mountains, and cathedrals. They seemed cast from the same mold.
Due to Isabella’s lack of status, her request to meet the High Reverend had to go through several approval processes. If nothing went wrong, she would be summoned to the High Reverend’s office in three days.
Wayne wasn’t going to wait three days. With his silver tongue, he managed to make his way to the office door. He stepped in and saw... no one.
It was empty. Through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, warm light shone into the office. High Reverend Sandrine was having a meeting in the conference room.
Wayne sat down at her desk, browsing the documents. Isabella stood behind him. An elite like her wouldn’t know how to give massages like a proper secretary. Instead, she stood straight as a spear and behaved like an enforcer, assassin, and bodyguard.
Wayne flipped through the documents like he was right at home. His gaze shifted to the framed photo on the desk, featuring Sandrine.
The woman appeared to be in her thirties, wearing a white mage robe. With a tall nose, full lips, clear eyes, and quiet grace and confidence, she appeared to be a mature, charismatic woman.
Sandrine was the top leader of the Franc District, a legendary mage and Silvia’s previous superior. Since the current Holy Maiden came from Franc, Sandrine could expect a bright future and was qualified to compete for the seat of Oracle High Reverend at the headquarters.
Compared to her, Silvia’s only advantage was that the Pope was her master and her son’s lover, and the Nature Knight was her son.
The winner and loser had long been determined!
Click!
The office door opened. Sandrine walked in with the same white robe she wore in the photo. She paused when she saw the uninvited visitors in her office.
The reserved fragrance coming from her made Wayne’s nerves tingle. He waved his hand at his nose. “As expected of the city of romance. I smell perfume everywhere.”
He turned to the side and sniffed Isabella, smelling no perfume.
With an awkward look, Sandrine said matter-of-factly, “Oracle High Reverend, did you visit the Palis head office in an official or private capacity? Is there anything I could do for you?”
“Before that, there’s a question I hope you could answer for me, High Reverend.” Wayne put his feet on the desk and leaned back into the chair, looking down at Sandrine while huffing out air. “In March, the official notification of my promotion to Oracle High Reverend was sent. It’s now May. Why do the members of this district not know me?”
“For confidential reasons, everything about you is under wraps,” Sandrine explained. “The four priests and I are the only ones privy to the information.”
It was a reasonable justification that Wayne couldn’t find any fault with. He lowered his head and said, “Okay. I’ll give that a pass. I won’t press.”
“Thank you for your understanding.” Sandrine remained smiling. “It must be your first time in Palis. Do you need me to arrange a tour for you?”
“I already have a destination in mind.”
Wayne observed Sandrine’s expression, looking for any changes. “I’d like to go to the underground catacombs. Get ready and come with me.”
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