Chapter 71

Messai’s adjutant felt that the atmosphere within the chapel was quite strange recently. It was not limited to only the chapel. The atmosphere of the entire city of Norland was strange.

By the order of his commander, he gathered the other missionaries in Norland and, together with them, began to write and copy new gospels.

The so-called gospel was a piece of archaic paper. Written on the paper were the teachings of the Nation of the Holy Church. It also informed the townsfolk the appearance of demons.

Mainly, the adjutant wrote that the mastermind behind ‘Beauty and the Demon’ were demons. Furthermore, the Hearthstone Tavern in Norland was a demons’ lair. He urged for the citizens of Norland to be on the alert against demons and not be deceived by them.

But, as he wrote the gospel, the adjutant discovered for the very time his conscience was being affected. This was because the main content of the gospel was to inform the citizens of Norland the conspiracy behind ‘Beauty and the Demon.’

It would be one thing to make comments regarding that Demon Prince. The adjutant would be able to easily produce hundreds of ways to denounce a demon. But, he ran into difficulty when he started writing about the character Belle.

Firstly, he needed to inform the citizens of Norland that Belle was a demon in disguise, that she was wicked beyond redemption...

But... by the glory of the gods, after he watched the movie ‘Beauty and the Demon,’ he was truly incapable of producing words denouncing Belle.

Belle was such an innocent and kind-hearted girl. Yet, she suffered such a tragic end. Even an executioner with the heart of stone would shed tears for that girl. As for him, a missionary, it was even more so.

But, the adjutant was certain that the demons were the mastermind behind ‘Beauty and the Demon.’ Belle’s identity could also very well be a demon in disguise.

He must inform the public about this matter! Only then could he alert them to the demon’s schemes. As long as the citizens of Norland realise that their city has been invaded by demons, the Holy Church could very possibly obtain more believers in Norland.

If things were successful, then he, a mere missionary, could very well be promoted into a priest. If that was to happen, he would not need to handle all these troublesome matters everyday.

“Adjutant, did the priest go out today?”

“Yes, Lady Messai. Father Kortsch had left early in the morning to take care of something urgent.”

Before the adjutant could even indulge himself in fantasy, his direct superior Messai appeared. Her appearance made it so that he had no choice but to stand up from his seat and salute her.

“Lady Messai, I am able to act as a proxy for Father Kortsch in certain matters. Is there anything that Lady Messai needs?” asked the adjutant.

“The savings that I’ve placed in the chapel...”

As Messai’s words reached this point, her voice grew gradually quieter. But, she soon found confidence and her voice grew lofty with devotion.

“I need to take out a portion of the sum!”

“This... of course. Lady Messai, that is no problem at all. Please allow me to write a bill.”

Even though that was what the adjutant said, he still realized that his superior was acting very strangely lately.

Among the templars, Messai could be said to be someone extremely honest, orderly, righteous and so on. She was the representative of all virtues worthy of admiration.

The templars were not very with food, drink, entertainment and even marriage. At the very least, once a templar retires, they would be able to find a lass that they’re fond of to marry. In victorious battles, they would get together to drink and toast in celebration.

But, according to rumors, this knight of the Holy Church Army, Messai, placed such strict demands on herself. It was like she was an ascetic monk.

She would hand all of her wealth to the church to safekeep. Never would she utilize any of her savings. As for her diet, they were the most simple and plain among the templars. To her, money was truly mere worldly possessions. Only the glory of the Lord was what’s truly important to her.

But, in the past two days, this miss knight would frequently seek out the chapel’s priest. Her purpose every time would be to retrieve some money she kept in the church.

Naturally, the priest would directly transfer her money to her without question. But, when it came to the adjutant, he felt the situation to be very strange.

Could it be... the templar’s embodiment of honesty... Knight Messai, managed to catch some sort of...’extraordinary’ bad habit in this city?

The adjutant didn’t dare to ask too much as Messai’s status was much higher than his.

After recording Messai’s transaction in the chapel’s account book, he went inside the chapel’s gold storage room and retrieved a hundred golds to hand to his superior.

Messai weighted the gold in her hand. She was expanding through gold nonstop. It was all so that she could retrieve the Lord’s glory. After persuading herself with that reason, she informed her adjutant his mission, “Finish the gospel quickly.”

“Yes, Milady.”

Under the adjutant’s watchful gaze, the female knight walked out the chapel. The adjutant took a glance at the word-packed gospel. Complicated emotions filled his mind.

It mainly had to do with the movie ‘Beauty and the Demon.’ That movie was simply too good. Even though the adjutant knew that it was a movie created by the demons to stir up public sentiment with falseness, he... was unable to stop himself from liking the movie!

Perhaps... this was the demons’ true aim? A bold guess. He suddenly realized that the current situation might not be something that they can handle.

After he spent over two hours writing the gospel, the adjutant heard the voice of his teacher, the priest of the chapel, from the payer room outside.

The adjutant immediately stood up and walked out of the study room. He quickly arrived at the hall. He discovered that the five remaining templars were all present. The church’s clergies were also present.

Immediately, the adjutant realized something — a bishop might’ve arrived at this chapel.

The adjutant quickly walked over to stand in formation. Soon, he could see a stooped figure standing in the center of the chapel.

It was an old man holding onto a crutch. His body was so thin and haggard a gust of wind would be able to topple him. What he was wearing resembled low quality rough clothes made from hemp. Merely by judging his appearance, he seemed like someone who had fallen into dire straits.

But, the adjutant knew very well who that old man was. One of the Nation of the Holy Church’s Archbishops. The Saint with the title of Desireless.

No one knew what this Archbishop’s real name was. This was the first time the adjutant saw this legendary figure.

His initial impression was that this old man looked very ordinary, so ordinary that one would neglect his existence.

“Don’t be so reserved. It is useless for you all to revere me for I am no god.”

The old man spoke. His voice was a hundred times younger than what the adjutant expected. At the same time, the adjutant also felt his gaze sweeping across the hall.

The adjutant felt a sense of terror. Desireless’s eyes were bandaged by a dirty old cloth. Logically, he shouldn’t be able to see anything.

But, the adjutant still felt himself being watched by Desireless.

“Who can tell me why there’s a templar missing? Where is my disciple Messai?”

When Desireless spoke with a voice able to cause everyone to fall asleep, the adjutant’s body trembled. Him and the other templers stationed in the chapel glanced at each other. They were all able to see the confusion in the others’ eyes.

The movements of the commander of the Ecclesiastical Templars, Messai, was simply too strange these days. She would leave early in the morning and return late into the day. They would practically never have the chance to see their commanding officer in the chapel.

“Is no one going to answer my question?”

When Desireless asked that question, the adjutant kept feeling that the Archbishop was looking at him. In the end, under the Archbishop’s pressure, he was forced to stand forth and reveal what he was truly thinking.

“Lord Archbishop, I think... I know the answer,” said the adjutant in an uncertain manner.