The next day.
The sky was cloudless, and the morning light was bright.
Leon woke up early, completely unaffected by Aaron's words from the previous night.
After enjoying breakfast, he took everyone and rode their horned horses toward Stormveil City.
Stormveil City, Alchemists' Association.
“Young Master Leon's presence is truly an honor for our Stormveil City Alchemists' Association...”
An elegant-looking man wearing a monocle stepped forward to greet them. With a smile on his face, he bowed to Leon.
Leon nodded slightly and followed the man into the Alchemists' Association.
“I came to the Alchemists' Association today to ask about a few things.”
Sitting in the association's meeting room, Leon got straight to the point.
“Chairman Walker, have you ever heard of an alchemist named ‘Evelyn Parker’?”
Hearing the name, Chairman Walker searched his memory for a moment before replying:
“Young Master Leon, are you referring to the Alchemy Witch from over a thousand years ago, Evelyn Parker? If it's her...”
Chairman Walker gave a complete and detailed account of Evelyn Parker's life, her alchemical achievements, her contributions to alchemical technology, and how contemporary alchemists viewed her, leaving out nothing.
After listening, Leon nodded slightly. It seemed Scott from the Alchemy Guild had indeed been telling the truth.
Of course, not lying did not mean he hadn't hidden anything.
However, knowing that the underground ruins of Zachary Manor were indeed highly likely to be Evelyn Parker's legacy was enough.
Having verified the matter of the ruins, Leon proceeded to discuss a potential partnership with Chairman Walker.
Leon wanted to hire alchemists from the association to go to Eldenborg and Jellyfish Town, using alchemical equipment to help the locals repair and pave the roads.
On his previous journey to Jellyfish Town, Leon had been splashed with muddy water due to the terrible, rutted condition of the roads.
Ever since then, he had harbored the idea of rebuilding the roads and packing down the soil.
As for where the money for road construction would come from... naturally, it would be funded by the assets seized from the nobles he had executed, beheaded, and stripped of their estates.
After dealing with those corrupt nobles, half of their wealth had been used to compensate the affected local residents, while the other half was funneled into a newly established revival fund, specifically dedicated to hiring local citizens for the road repair projects.
Now, a portion of it could also be used to hire the alchemists.
Hearing that Leon was willing to pay to hire the association's alchemists, Walker grinned and readily agreed.
He even offered a “buy one, get one free” deal, stating that for every Official Alchemist hired, an Alchemy Apprentice would be sent along to assist for free.
It sounded like a great bargain, but seeing the grin on Walker's face, Leon suspected this “deal” was mostly because Walker didn't want to keep feeding the association's apprentices for doing nothing...
After finalizing the details of the hiring agreement with Walker, Leon left the association and headed to Stormveil City's Cathedral of Sacred Light.
The priest on duty at the cathedral's entrance recognized Leon. Upon seeing him, the priest immediately bowed and invited him inside.
Inside the Cathedral of Sacred Light, Miles was currently performing a Mass for the believers, so Leon did not disturb him.
He waited until the service concluded and the congregation dispersed before stepping forward.
“Priest Leon, what brings you here?”
A bright smile immediately spread across Miles's face when he saw Leon.
He gazed at Leon, suddenly noticing that something seemed different about him compared to before.
Tiny Sacred Light particles drifted around Leon's body from time to time, quickly dissolving back into him as if guided by an invisible force.
This phenomenon made Leon look as if he were enveloped in a faint halo, giving him an incredibly divine aura.
Seeing Miles staring at the Sacred Light particles, Leon smiled slightly and said:
“I had a minor breakthrough in my meditation technique, which is why these Sacred Light particles are manifesting.”
Miles came to a sudden realization.
Indeed, for a Divine Art genius like Leon, the magic he mastered was naturally vastly different from that of ordinary priests.
If nothing else, the combination of the Hand of Divine Art and the Hammer of Sacred Light, along with the healing Light Prayer, was already extraordinary.
Now that his meditation technique had made a breakthrough, it was perfectly normal for such unusual signs to manifest on his body.
After exchanging brief pleasantries, Leon said:
“Bishop Miles, I've come this time because I wish to study a few buff-type 【Divine Art Scriptures】.”
As a small chapel, Rose Cathedral did not have any 【Divine Art Scriptures】 stored in its sanctuary.
The only place that possessed 【Divine Art Scriptures】—which could allow a priest to quickly comprehend them and grant Leon a massive influx of experience points—was the Cathedral of Sacred Light in Stormveil City.
Upon hearing his request, Miles shook his head gently and replied:
“Since the implementation of the priest examinations and the church reform, even a bishop like myself no longer has the authority to distribute the 【Divine Art Scriptures】.”
He explained further:
“One of the core elements of this church reform is the reclamation of the authority to distribute 【Divine Art Scriptures】 from local bishops and Archbishops.”
“Now, whether you are a bishop or an Archbishop, if you wish to distribute a 【Divine Art Scripture】, you must first submit an application to the Holy See and wait for their approval.”
“Furthermore, the Holy See will dispatch inspectors to every cathedral each year to audit the number of 【Divine Art Scriptures】, the status of sacred relics, and various other records...”
Shifting from local bishop distribution to centralized control by the Holy See?
Hearing this, Leon vaguely recalled that the church reform documents did indeed mention changes in this area.
Still...
“That's easily solved,” Leon said.
He instructed his guards to bring him pen and paper, then sat down to pen two letters on the spot.
One was addressed to the approval department of the Holy See in the imperial capital.
The other was addressed directly to Maxwell, the Pope of the Holy See.
The contents of the letters were incredibly simple, summarizing down to a single line:
“I, Leon, want the Divine Art Scriptures!”
The other priests in the cathedral stared in utter disbelief as they watched Leon write directly to the Holy See in the imperial capital to demand the scriptures.
Seriously, bro?
Applying for a Divine Art Scripture required specifying the declaration reason, the declaration guarantor, the applicant's past achievements, and other detailed information.
Yet here you are, casually writing two letters with content so brief it resembled those common scam messages like, “I, the Sage King, send money!”
Could such a sloppy application actually get approved?
Upon seeing the letters Leon had written, Miles simply laughed—a helpless, amused chuckle.
Because he knew that if Leon sent these letters back to the Holy See in the imperial capital... they would actually be approved!
Had they not seen how widely Pope Maxwell had been grinning when presenting the award to Leon during the ceremony after the priest examinations?
If Leon wrote a letter asking for a few 【Divine Art Scriptures】 and the approval department dared to reject it, Pope Maxwell would immediately march over to demand why they were trying to ruin a once-in-a-century Divine Art genius!
“Priest Leon, as for the other 【Divine Art Scriptures】, I can only hand them over once the Holy See sends back the approval letter,” Miles said.
“However, there is one 【Divine Art Scripture】 that I compiled myself, which I can give you right now.”
“I understand. I won't make things difficult for you, Bishop Miles,” Leon said with a nod.
Miles was a true man of faith, having spent his entire life upholding his belief in the Sacred Light and strictly abiding by the church's principles.
Leon had always respected such individuals, so he would not force the issue of the 【Divine Art Scriptures】 and place Miles in an awkward position.
Besides, Leon was in no hurry to study the scriptures anyway.
While waiting for the Holy See's reply, he could easily focus on leveling up the other spells on his Divine Art panel.
“Priest Leon, please follow me.”
Saying this, Miles led Leon toward the sanctuary to retrieve the 【Divine Art Scripture】.
After the two of them left for the sanctuary, only two Official Priests remained in the main hall, exchanging bewildered glances.
“Vincent, do you think if I wrote a letter to the Holy See right now, they would approve my application for a 【Divine Art Scripture】?”
“Is your name Leon? Or is your last name Douglas? Are you a once-in-a-century Divine Art genius? Or did you secure an absolute landslide victory as the top scorer in the priest examinations?”
“Uh, none of the above...”
“Then instead of writing a letter, you'd be better off going back to sleep. The chances of the Holy See approving your application are much higher in your dreams.”
“...”
Rate on N.U.
