The Church's Operation

【Unfortunately, I don't know. There is no such information in the monastery.】

Olivia could only suppress her curiosity regarding that matter and said to Melanie, "Deacon Ronan said we would move out at night. I think it's time for us to go."

Melanie nodded and immediately leaped up. She looked as if she was going to jump onto the table, but as she was about to land, her body shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, she became a figure slightly smaller than a girl's fist, looking just like a doll before landing lightly on the table.

This scene was so fantastical that Olivia couldn't help but click her tongue in wonder, leaning down to take a closer look.

"Don't get so close, Olivia. Even though you're a beautiful girl, any face looks terrifying when it's too close," Melanie said, raising both hands to signal Olivia to back away.

Olivia stood up straight again. "I just found it amazing. After all, I've never seen such an ability before."

She then shook her nun's habit, which had an inconspicuous pocket. It shouldn't be a problem to fit Melanie inside.

"Is it alright to stay here, Lady Melanie?"

"Of course."

After confirming that the pocket was clean and tidy, Melanie nimbly hopped inside and lay down in a comfortable position. "Alright, go ahead and do what you need to do. Remember not to tell anyone about my situation."

"I understand."

Olivia's mood was a bit subtle. She stood there for a few seconds in contemplation before walking out of the office. Her gaze swept both sides of the corridor, and she spotted Ronan at the far end to the left.

Ronan wasn't standing there alone; several others were with him.

As Olivia walked over, Ronan immediately looked up. "Olivia, how is everything on your end?"

"I just need to move with you all from now on. That's what Lady Melanie said," Olivia replied.

"Move with us? She doesn't need your help anymore?" Ronan was somewhat puzzled.

His reaction surprised Olivia. Did Ronan not know what kind of ability Melanie possessed?

Since he didn't know, there was no need for her to say more. She simply took out the Refresher Talismans she had prepared earlier and handed them to him.

This lifted Ronan's spirits, and he stopped worrying about Melanie's business. "In that case, let's move out quickly."

...

Inside the carriage, Olivia met the others.

Among them was a full nun who followed the Priest path and was a Pilgrim named Vanessa White. She had a round face with common brown hair and brown eyes. She greeted Olivia with a hint of shyness.

"I... I haven't been b-back... in a long time. Is... is Teacher Mona... doing w-well?" Vanessa spoke with a stutter.

Why was she a stutterer?

Olivia's slightly tense mood immediately relaxed as Vanessa spoke.

She smiled and said, "Teacher Mona is doing very well. It's just that her enthusiasm is a bit too intense; it can be a little overwhelming."

Vanessa smiled shyly. "F-for ex... excellent n-nuns, she... she is always that en... enthusiastic. Unfortunately, I... I am n-not... an excellent nun."

Clearly, she knew Mona well enough.

She stutteringly told Olivia that she simply couldn't learn those complex Sylvan Runes. Therefore, even though she had become a full nun, she couldn't make talismans. Otherwise, Ronan wouldn't have had to go to the monastery for help.

Vanessa expressed clear envy for Olivia's ability to create many talismans.

"Everyone has something they're good at. There's no need to feel down about what you can't do. I'm sure you can do things that others can't," Olivia comforted her.

Vanessa's eyes brightened. Just as she was about to say more, Ronan decisively cut in to interrupt their conversation, turning to introduce the remaining two to Olivia.

Was he worried the other two would feel left out, or was he afraid of Vanessa's communication? While listening to a stutterer could be a bit taxing, Olivia didn't actually mind.

The remaining two both held the position of father, which naturally corresponded to the Pilgrim class rank. As for their transcendent paths, they were both Arbiters.

One of them was heavily built. Sitting in the carriage, he looked like a bear, his white robes seemingly on the verge of bursting. His name was Raymond Zeller.

'He's a natural Arbiter. Just standing there, he makes people feel like they're being judged,' Olivia thought to herself.

The other was an expressionless father who remained silent the entire time. Even his introduction was handled by Ronan. His name was Rocas Buchanan.

'Is this guy socially withdrawn? I remember fathers often have to receive believers and help them with their troubles. Can he handle that job?' Olivia couldn't help but wonder.

Including her, there were five people in total. This was definitely enough to handle some less complex supernatural events, especially since they had a deacon like Ronan with them.

'And of course, I have a chanting nun in my pocket.'

Olivia's gaze flickered almost imperceptibly toward her quiet pocket.

The carriage traveled at a steady pace toward Aus Street.

Aus Street was quite a distance from the Sunlight Cathedral, so the journey took some time.

At night, all of Kaliron was very quiet. After all, Lighting Talismans were not supernatural items everyone could afford, and the light from candles wasn't bright enough. Consequently, most people ceased their activities at night, choosing the comfort of their beds and pillows instead.

Aus Street was even darker and deeper. Due to urban planning, there were few residential areas here; Morning Dew Park alone occupied a large area, and the park was empty at night.

Their carriage stopped outside a residential area. One by one, they stepped down and looked at the nearby rows of bungalows. Most were shrouded in darkness; only a few had candles lit, and even then, the light was dim.

Ronan scanned the area and quickly issued orders.

"Vanessa, sense the surroundings for magic fluctuations. If there are none, go check for supernatural traces. Raymond, take a lap around the perimeter and see if there are any suspicious people. If you find any, you can move to apprehend them immediately. Rocas, follow me. I've agreed to meet a few believers tonight; they should still be waiting. Let's go check on them. As for Olivia..."

When he got to Olivia, Ronan paused, momentarily unsure how to arrange things. According to his original plan, he hadn't intended to bring Olivia along. After getting the Refresher Talismans, he could have let her stay at the cathedral.

But Olivia said Melanie had sent her. Although Ronan didn't know why, he had to bring her.

After thinking it over, Ronan made an arrangement for Olivia.

"You're responsible for guarding the carriage."

In Ronan's view, this was a relatively safe assignment. He wasn't about to let a novice nun get deeply involved in a supernatural event, even one that didn't seem particularly dangerous.

After the arrangements were made, Ronan and the others left to go about their tasks.

Olivia sat in the carriage and spoke in a low voice, as if talking to herself. "Should I just stay here?"

"Since that's how Ronan arranged it, just do as he says," Melanie replied.

"Will they come?" Olivia was, of course, referring to the transcendents of the Bloody Sickle.

Whenever she thought of the Bloody Sickle, scenes from the orphanage cellar inevitably surfaced in her mind.

The evil and bloody rituals, the corpses of children... it was truly an unpleasant image.

Melanie's voice came from the pocket. "I don't know, but we must be patient and have faith. If you feel bored, use meditation to pass the time."

Meditation?

That was a good idea.

Olivia immediately began to meditate. She felt a large amount of magic particles from all directions emerge along with her meditation, quickly gathering toward her.

Melanie, who had been lying lazily in Olivia's pocket, poked her head out as Olivia began to meditate. She looked at Olivia, her emerald eyes filled with a hint of scrutiny.

'Such dense magic particles. She can sense so many? For an Initiate, this is the performance of a rare genius, isn't it?'

Melanie watched with great interest.

In her perception, the meditation method Olivia was using was indeed the Glimmer Meditation Method, so everything could only be attributed to Olivia being a genius herself.

'Perhaps she'll finish the path of an Initiate within these two days. I heard her previous contributions have already earned her the advancement materials to become a Pilgrim. Truly good luck.'

Melanie made her judgment.

Under the light of the crimson moon, time gradually passed. Before long, Ronan returned with the others and sat in the carriage.

Olivia stopped her meditation and looked over.

Ronan seemed to be pondering something and said nothing. Vanessa, however, stutteringly explained the situation to Olivia.

Simply put, they hadn't found anything.

After comforting the believers, they had made a circuit but discovered nothing. However, this didn't mean the matter was over or that they could leave. They had to stay and keep watch.

"When dealing with events involving supernatural factors, waiting for potentially useful information is quite common for us," the burly Raymond chimed in.

Olivia asked, "Is it certain that this is related to transcendents?"

Raymond was the one who answered again. "Yes. The believers' pleasant dreams were stolen. This is very much like the behavior of a Dreamwalker. When a pleasant dream is stolen, either no more dreams occur, or nightmares appear."

The believers living in this area were seeking help from the church precisely because frequent nightmares had resulted in terrible sleep quality, making it impossible for them to even focus on their work.

Olivia was surprised. "Dreamwalker? Stealing pleasant dreams?"

Raymond explained, "Perhaps you haven't heard of it, Sister Olivia, but Dreamwalker is a transcendent path, similar to the Priests and Arbiters of our church, just more secretive because very few transcendents follow it. I only know of one supernatural organization called Dreamland Paradise that has many Dreamwalkers. However, that organization has always been low-profile, so it's not yet certain if the Dreamwalker involved this time belongs to Dreamland Paradise."

Olivia keenly noticed that Raymond referred to Dreamland Paradise as a supernatural organization rather than a heretical organization. This meant Dreamland Paradise was not an enemy of the church.

The church didn't find all supernatural organizations intolerable. As long as there was no conflict and the organization's philosophy and actions were orderly, the church could acknowledge their existence.

Dreamland Paradise was likely such an organization.

She didn't mind gaining more understanding of the supernatural world, so she continued to ask a few more questions, to which Raymond provided answers.

For instance, the act of stealing pleasant dreams could effectively help Dreamwalkers increase their strength. As for the specific details, only the Dreamwalkers themselves knew.

In past records, at least the Dreamwalkers of Dreamland Paradise did not steal the dreams of innocent people, which was why they hadn't been labeled as heretics.

Not long after they began talking, Ronan joined the conversation. Only the stuttering Vanessa didn't dare to speak, and Rocas, like someone with social withdrawal, wouldn't open his mouth at all.

They talked while waiting for any possible discoveries, but unfortunately, nothing happened until dawn.

As the first rays of morning light fell, various people began to appear on Aus Street. Dressed in extremely cheap clothes, they hurried along the street, rushing to their places of work.

A cold wind caused leaves on the roadside branches to flutter down. The clamor gradually broke the night-long silence of Kaliron.

"It seems we've waited in vain tonight. Let's head back and try again tomorrow night," Ronan announced the conclusion of the operation.

It wasn't every time the church took action that they would gain something. Returning empty-handed was the most common outcome.

No one was surprised by this, though everyone's mental state was a bit poor after a night without sleep.

Ronan looked at everyone and smiled. "Let's use the Refresher Talismans Olivia made. It's not time to sleep yet. We'll sleep once we get back to the cathedral."

Everyone nodded and used the Refresher Talismans they carried. Almost instantly, everyone entered a refreshed and invigorated state.

Olivia wanted to stop them, but it was too late. She could only say, "Those Refresher Talismans were made to counter supernatural influences. The effect is... well, quite strong. I'm worried that even after you return to the cathedral, you'll still be so invigorated that you won't be able to sleep."

The glowing Ronan's lip twitched. "Yes, I can feel it. That is a very powerful refreshing effect... Olivia, your ability to make talismans is far beyond my expectations."

He had originally thought it was good enough that Olivia could make Refresher Talismans at all, and didn't expect them to have such an outstanding effect. After all, Olivia was just an Initiate and a novice nun; she hadn't been learning Sylvan Runes or talisman-making for very long.

But after truly experiencing the effect of the Refresher Talismans, he realized that Olivia's skill level was already quite high, which made him regret his earlier decision.

'I wonder if I'll be able to sleep this afternoon. We have to move again tonight. If I can't sleep at all...'

"Once we're back at the cathedral, I'll make some Sleep Talismans for you to counteract the effect of the Refresher Talismans," Olivia mentioned appropriately.

"Olivia, you truly are a kind nun," Ronan said, his mind at ease.

...

After returning to the cathedral, Melanie left Olivia's side, agreeing to meet again that night.

Olivia then went to the meditation room and made several Sleep Talismans for Ronan and the others. For her, this wasn't much trouble.

After finishing these tasks, she enjoyed a breakfast provided by the Sunlight Cathedral and meditated for a while before falling asleep in the room assigned to her. She slept straight through until evening.

The crimson moonlight once again enveloped Kaliron.

The city's clamor she had felt before sleep seemed like a brief illusion. Looking out at the vast Kaliron from her window, the city had fallen silent once more.

Olivia woke up, finished washing, ate dinner, and made some talismans. Melanie then came to find her again. The chanting nun once again shrank and hid in her pocket.

"Hopefully, we'll find something tonight," Melanie said, settling into a comfortable position in the pocket.

"Hopefully."

Olivia responded casually.

Shortly after, she followed Ronan and the others again, arriving at Aus Street by carriage.

Today's arrangement was the same as yesterday's.

On the quiet street, Ronan and the others moved out to do their respective tasks, while Olivia remained in the carriage to wait.

She could only pass this tedious waiting process by meditating.

'I wonder if we can draw out the heretical transcendents of the Bloody Sickle today. If we can, I hope it's not the kind that Melanie can't handle.'

Olivia thought to herself.

She began to meditate, absorbing numerous magic particles into herself, putting her body into a relaxed and comfortable state.

However, she hadn't been meditating for long today when Melanie's voice came through. "Stop meditating. Something's happening."