novelraw Chapter 109
Chapter 109
109: Sauron
"Hahahaha, you two certainly seem to be in high spirits! Lady Saint, has something worth celebrating happened? Why not tell this old man so I can share in the joy?"
Just then, a somewhat hearty laugh came from outside. Everyone heard it and subconsciously looked toward the entrance. The person in charge of Wangyou Grand Cathedral, Bishop Sauron, had appeared at the doorway of the altar room at some point. He stroked his snow-white long beard and walked toward everyone with a smile.
"Mr. Sauron, it seems your judgment is indeed quite good. Miss Evelia's talent in God-given Magic is remarkably high. She can already use the most basic God-given Magic now."
"Oh? Really? Hahahaha! It seems that although this old man has grown older, my eye for talent hasn't diminished at all! If I recall correctly, Lady Saint, you successfully mastered God-given Magic in just one hour and were called a genius rarely seen in ten thousand years by the Pope. Then may I ask, Miss Evelia, exactly how long did you take? I'm guessing it shouldn't have been more than three or four hours, right?"
"I..."
"Miss Evelia's talent is indeed very high. She successfully mastered it in less than two hours."
Evelia was just wondering whether to answer Bishop Sauron's question truthfully when she didn't expect Jasmine to answer before her. She even slightly concealed her actual situation. At the same time, Evelia noticed that while speaking, Jasmine tugged at the corner of her clothes, seemingly hinting for her not to speak.
She was intentionally hiding her true situation from Sauron?
But why? Wasn't Sauron a Bishop of the Church?
Could it be... that there was something wrong with him?
Recalling Jasmine's determination to bring her into the Holy Church no matter what, Evelia felt a slight shock in her heart. Her gaze toward Sauron also gained a hint of caution. She had originally thought that the "pests" from the Descent Faction who infiltrated the Church could at most reach the position of Father. After all, the requirements for promotion within the Church were very strict. It wouldn't be easy for those pests to climb higher.
But if even Archbishop Sauron was a member of the Descent Faction, that would be somewhat terrifying.
The status of clergy in the Church, from lowest to highest, was: External Practitioner, Internal Practitioner, Deacon, Assistant Priest, Father, Bishop, Archbishop, Cardinal, and Pope. From this, it could be seen that the position of Archbishop was already a high-ranking clergy member in charge of an entire large diocese. If someone at this level was a spy for the Descent Faction, then the things they could do behind the scenes would truly be horrifying to think about.
By the way, those who could learn God-given Magic like Evelia were at least Internal Practitioners, or nuns, of the Church. And Jasmine, as the Saint, held a status comparable to a Cardinal, second only to the Pope within the Church.
Jasmine wouldn't suspect someone without reason. It seemed she would have to be slightly more guarded against this Bishop Sauron in the future.
Evelia secretly glanced at the white-haired old man before her who looked kind and amiable. Clearly, she and Amya had both had a fairly good first impression of this old fellow.
"Oh? That really is quite an impressive talent! My goodness, back in the day, this old man spent an entire day just to barely grasp the basics of God-given Magic. Looking at you young people now, you truly surpass those who came before!"
Sauron smiled and stroked his beard, his face full of satisfaction and admiration for the young people. He also glanced at Evelia intentionally or unintentionally, his eyes seeming to hold a hint of confirmation.
At this time, Evelia was also quietly observing Sauron. However, she didn't notice anything strange in Sauron's eyes. She only used her Soul Gaze to temporarily determine that Sauron's words of praise just now were indeed from the bottom of his heart, without a single bit of falsehood or flattery.
"But speaking of which, Mr. Sauron, shouldn't you be arranging today's work in the cathedral right now? How do you have time to come here?"
"Oh right! Thank you for the reminder, Lady Saint. I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. I came now because the cathedral has arranged for personnel to visit the orphanage today to offer some comfort. In modern terms, it's going there to do volunteer work and take care of the children. I was wondering if you young ladies would be willing to come along?"
"An orphanage? I can certainly go. I wonder what Miss Evelia thinks about this?"
Jasmine blinked. She herself had come from a Church orphanage. Although it wasn't the one here in Wangyou City, she still had some sense of belonging to this institution. However, according to her original plan, today should have been for teaching Evelia to complete the basic cultivation of God-given Magic. But she hadn't expected Evelia's talent in this area to be so heaven-defying. Her speed of mastery far exceeded her imagination, directly completing the entire day's planned curriculum ahead of schedule.
But whether or not to go along still depended on Evelia's own wishes.
"An orphanage... Sure, why not! Of course that's fine!"
Evelia thought for a moment and agreed quite naturally. Her thoughts were similar to Jasmine's. Although she hadn't lost her parents at a young age like Jasmine had, she had also experienced the pain and sorrow of losing her parents. Naturally, she could easily empathize with the children at the orphanage.
"I'll follow Eve-Eve. Wherever Eve-Eve goes, I go."
Our Miss Angel, ever since she discovered that Evelia was her former older brother, had been following her everywhere like a shadow. She wished she could find an opportunity to devour her completely. Naturally, she wouldn't choose to leave Evelia's side.
"In that case, I'll have the priest prepare a carriage for you young ladies. The orphanage we're visiting this time is the Christian Orphanage, which was built with investment from the Church. Our relationship with them is quite good. Quite a few children who have the calling will choose to join the Church directly after growing up!"
Sauron chuckled as he stroked his beard, then turned to prepare the carriage for Evelia and the others. Although they were last-minute additions, one of them was the Church's Saint, one was a genius the Church had dragged in through hard work and deception, and another was an angel. Their identities were all intimidatingly important. Pulling some strings to squeeze them in at the last minute was still fairly easy.
Jasmine remained silent as she watched Sauron leave. Only after confirming that he had completely walked away did she let out a long sigh. She turned to Evelia and said:
"Miss Evelia, you probably still have some questions about why I hid your true situation earlier, right? Actually, I don't necessarily suspect Sauron. It's just that there are indeed some suspicious points about this person that even I, as the Saint, haven't figured out. I have no choice but to be slightly more guarded against him. If possible, Miss Evelia, you might want to keep an eye out as well."