Everyone's gaze turned to the approaching group of three led by Professor Duncan.
"Professor Duncan." Freya smiled and greeted the dwarven scholar, thinking that it had indeed been a long time since she had last seen him.
Professor Duncan laughed heartily and teased Ansu's number two girlfriend, "So it's the Holy Maiden! Long time no see, how have you been lately?"
"Professor..." Freya's expression turned helpless, "I am no longer the Holy Maiden of the Church."
"Hmm?" Professor Duncan was startled and instinctively looked at Eddie behind him. "What happened? Did something happen to the Church?"
Freya was surprised by his lack of knowledge. "Professor, have you not gone out at all during this time?"
The pope's death, the chaos caused by cultist organizations, and her status as an "apostate Holy Maiden"—this series of troubles within the Church should have been common knowledge by now...
Eddie smiled helplessly and explained to everyone, "Since returning from the ancient ruins, the professor has kept us in the capital of Solan Province, conducting research day and night without ever stepping outside."
He and Leon exchanged a glance. "The two of us only heard today that major events had occurred within the Church of Holy Light, but we haven't had the chance to tell the professor yet..."
"Sorry, sorry..." Professor Duncan's expression was full of guilt and embarrassment.
He only then realized that his greeting just now sounded like a sarcastic jab...
Thinking about how the girl before him had fallen from the position of a revered Holy Maiden, he couldn't help but sigh. He turned to his two students and whispered, "Tell me what else happened during this time later; I need a quick catch-up..."
Freya didn't mind and simply offered a thin smile. "It's alright, Professor."
"Wait, where is Ansu?" Professor Duncan pulled out a chair and sat down, his gaze scanning the people present.
"Ansu... he has important matters to attend to right now." Freya explained, "He asked us to gather here first and head to Norvigel together; he will catch up later."
"Oh, I see..." Professor Duncan nodded, then began to mutter to himself.
"Thanks to Ansu's help, we brought back many good things from the ancient ruins trip. My eyes are nearly blurred from all this research..."
"Also, because of the influence of those ancient magic devices, I've made a major academic discovery. I wanted to discuss it thoroughly with him." He sighed with a hint of regret. "Sigh... forget it, a few more days won't hurt. I'll tell him when I see him."
As he muttered, Professor Duncan's gaze fell on a unfamiliar face beside him.
"Oh, and this is...?" He curiously observed Danielle, feeling that this lady looked somewhat familiar.
"Danielle, formerly a demon hunter of the Holy Light Purification Department." Danielle calmly extended her hand. "I have long heard of Professor Duncan's great name in the magitech academic circles. It is an honor to finally meet you today."
"Not at all..." Professor Duncan gave a self-deprecating laugh as he shook her hand. "I'm not that famous; I'm on the verge of being kicked out of the Royal Academy."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, these two individuals, both accomplished in their respective fields, had different thoughts.
Danielle thought to herself that Ansu's connections... were indeed quite impressive. Not only could he talk to both the legal and illegal sides of society, but he even knew famous scholars in the magitech academic world...
After hearing her self-introduction, Professor Duncan finally remembered who this Danielle was and was slightly surprised.
This female demon hunter was quite a legend back in the day; he heard she was even close to becoming the chief of the demon hunters. He didn't expect her to join Ansu's side as well...
Because of Ansu, everyone had gathered in the North and might continue to work together in the future, so they quickly became acquainted.
The conversation naturally turned toward the recent upheaval within the Church of Holy Light due to Freya's presence.
"Just yesterday, the dust settled on the new pope." Danielle's tone carried a hint of irony. "That Leonard went through all that effort, only for it to be a wasted endeavor in the end. After Seance reported the events in Benalu City, the Sacred Cardinal Guard in the Royal Capital immediately canceled Leonard's candidacy."
"He indeed went too far." Professor Duncan had also just finished hearing the whole story, and even as an outsider, he could feel how much Leonard had overstepped.
"Setting up a private Inquisition to eliminate rivals, as well as the unauthorized detention and attempted murder of Archbishop Paul, a fellow candidate..."
"These actions have crossed the line." Danielle instinctively looked at the silent Freya. "Regardless of whether Paul was right or wrong, the sheer unscrupulousness of those methods was enough to make all the archbishops wary... Who would want to serve such a ruthless and unprincipled new pope?"
She sighed softly, her tone carrying a bit of melancholy.
The archbishops of the Sacred Cardinal Guard eventually elected a very conservative new pope, who was neither the capable demon hunter leader Leonard nor the 'merciful saint' Archbishop Paul. Thus, the three most popular candidates of the past few years had all been wiped out...
"How is... Archbishop Paul now?" Freya asked softly, concern in her eyes.
"He was dismissed and is being investigated." Danielle said, "Now that the new pope has taken office, he will likely focus on the case involving you and him—the demihuman Holy Maiden case. But I think... the punishment won't be too severe. Paul will likely just be demoted and reassigned."
She watched Freya, who had silently lowered her head, and her tone softened slightly:
"After all, you truly are a genuine holy revelator. The Goddess... did indeed choose a demihuman to take on this responsibility. Although we cannot fathom the deity's profound intentions... can we really blame the Goddess?"
"The only issue now lies in Archbishop Paul's withholding information."
The archbishops of the Sacred Cardinal Guard believed he had 'ulterior motives,' and according to Danielle's observations, that Archbishop Paul indeed seemed to have them; his ambition was very large...
...
In the Eternal City, the Royal Capital, Saint Milton.
Inside the solemn and sacred Inquisition, the crowd began to disperse, and the hall gradually grew empty.
Leonard stared at Paul at the other end of the corridor—the rival who had once maintained a facade of harmony with him while secretly competing for years.
Seeing that Paul still maintained a calm and indifferent demeanor, Leonard couldn't help but sneer and whisper to his confidant:
"Even at this point, he can still act so composed... I don't admire anyone in this life, but I admire that old man Paul's acting. No matter the situation, he can perform like a benevolent saint who pities the world..."
At the other end of the corridor, the recently released Archbishop Paul calmly gazed at the young deacon who had come to meet him.
The deacon sighed; this once powerful archbishop had now been demoted to an ordinary priest.
Although he could freely choose any church within the Empire to serve in, he had unexpectedly chosen the most difficult path—voluntarily going to the cold and distant northern border to preach. This was the most grueling assignment...
As Paul's confidant, the young deacon didn't quite understand why he made such a choice. "You shouldn't be treated so unfairly... Besides, that fellow Leonard was only demoted by one rank, while you were demoted by three."
"It's nothing." Paul gently straightened his faded robes, his gaze serene. "I indeed acted too hastily and nearly caused serious consequences for the Church."
He looked up at the Holy Light emblem on the cathedral's dome and sighed. "The cohesion of the Church of Holy Light is already so fragile; it shouldn't continue to splinter due to internal strife. I think this is for the best. Shedding these heavy shackles allows me to... start over in the North."
The deacon looked at the wrinkles on Archbishop Paul's face and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you not worried at all?"
Losing this opportunity and having to start from the bottom as an ordinary priest... Archbishop Paul might never reach the position of pope in his lifetime.
"Why should I be worried?" Archbishop Paul shook his head, his voice remaining calm. "Time is on our side."
"Time?" the young deacon repeated in confusion.
"Yes..." Archbishop Paul stared out the cathedral's stained glass window toward the distant North, his eyes flickering slightly. "Time is on our side."
...
On the far other side, in the dwarven mine deep within the Black Forest.
Inside a magnificent hall with an ancient demon style, Ansu was sitting cross-legged on a soft velvet sofa, his fingers constantly tracing patterns in the air. A magic gate composed of faint blue runes flickered before him.
During their time living here, Celia had given him the secret key to the 【Void Corridor】.
As long as he appeared in person and performed this specific rune sequence to resonate with the magic space, he could open the passage to this secret treasure vault at any time.
And because of his system skill bar, he had also maxed out the progress bar for this 7th Circle space magic, 【Void Corridor】. This was currently the highest-level skill he had learned.
After studying the opening and closing of the door several times, Ansu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now he wouldn't have to fear being locked in a dark room...
"I never see you this serious when learning other magic."
Celia's voice drifted from beside him. Ansu turned his head and saw Ms. Witch in her pajamas leaning lazily against him.
"I'm very serious when learning other magic too, you know?" Ansu curled his lip. "I just like to review every now and then. It's called a studious spirit!"
These days, the two of them rarely had so much leisure time, and since this was a hall of magic and knowledge, they would sometimes immerse themselves in profound magic research or occasionally spar.
"Give me a break!" Celia opened her eyes and glanced at Ansu.
"There are a bunch of powerful spells sitting right there, and you barely look at them. You went straight to researching this Void Corridor first. I know you're just being wary of me, afraid I'll actually lock you up!"
Ansu put on an unfairly accused expression. "I am learning other magic as well. It's just that you might not understand my way of learning..."
Because he didn't need to flip through a book and research at all... He just unpretentiously pulled the progress bar.
"I don't believe you!" Celia huffed, then lunged at him, wanting to test Ansu's learning progress.
"Come! Let me check on you~"
Rate on N.U.
