Four Hundred and Fifty: Utilization
Above the vast sea, battered by strong sea winds, a massive fleet was sailing forward. On the broad deck of the flagship, a nun clad in white listened to the cleric’s words and felt her unease intensify. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke.
“Eh… A grand banquet personally arranged by the Archbishop with many important figures attending? This… Isn’t this a bit too extravagant? We are merely here on pilgrimage… I think there’s no need to make such a fuss…”
“Why not? Sister Vania, you have just successfully enlightened tens of thousands of ignorant people in XiasTree, helping them recognize the true truth of the world and guiding them under the light of the Holy Mother. With such accomplishments, you naturally deserve a grand welcome banquet.”
Seeing the nervous nun before him, Andre spoke with a comforting tone, but Vania’s expression did not seem to ease much after hearing his words.
“Um… I only did what I was supposed to do. Out of pity and self-preservation, I wanted to help the people of XiasTree a little, but I never expected to succeed in making them truly understand the Holy Mother’s teachings. The outcome was something I hadn’t anticipated… I really didn’t expect things to turn out like this…”
Vania said, appearing as if she had inadvertently caused a significant commotion, feeling uneasy and at a loss. Hearing her words, Andre paused slightly, then his expression became more serious as he spoke.
“Sister Vania, regardless of the circumstances, whether or not you intended to enlighten the ignorant people of XiasTree beforehand, the people of XiasTree have now declared their complete conversion, and you are undoubtedly the one who led this enlightenment. You are the first hero. There is no doubt about this; you should not doubt yourself.
“Now, newspapers have started reporting on your achievements, so no matter who you face, you must remember your identity as a missionary of XiasTree. Do you understand?”
Facing the nun, Andre earnestly stated. Upon hearing this, Vania’s body trembled slightly, then she nodded and replied.
“I understand…”
“Haha, don’t be nervous, Sister Vania. Go back to your cabin and rest properly. It’s best to appear in your most vibrant state for the welcome banquet.”
With a relaxed tone, Andre smiled and continued speaking to Vania. After hearing his words, Vania responded respectfully.
“I understand, Andre. I’ll go back right away.”
Saying this, Vania turned around and left the deck, returning to her cabin. After walking through a long corridor, she finally arrived at her guest room. As soon as she closed the door, Vania leaned against it and took a deep breath.
‘It’s the first time I’ve been given so much attention, it’s so nerve-wracking. I didn’t expect the impact to be this big… Not only did the Archbishop arrange a banquet, but it’s also been reported in the newspapers…’
Holding her chest, Vania thought anxiously. Although she had been warned before, the current commotion still caught her off guard.
Vania believed that on the surface, she had merely persuaded some peripheral individuals to convert, similar to how the Tivyán Church would organize people to spread the teachings of the Three Saints in extremely remote areas. She had done nothing different from them. While she deserved credit, she hadn’t expected the reaction to be this significant, even reaching the point where the Archbishop of Iwig was involved.
Recalling the grand reception when the church navy came to pick her up in XiasTree, Vania still felt anxious. Having grown up in the church since childhood and having been an ordinary scripture reader for over half a year, she was overwhelmed by the sudden attention and treatment.
‘According to Miss Dorothyia’s previous statement, after returning to the church fleet, I should express surprise and confusion regarding the events in XiasTree. At first, I was worried about whether I could perform well… But looking at the current grand reception, there’s no need to act anymore…’
As she walked to the bed in her cabin, Vania thought to herself. Given the current situation, her anxiety and unease were genuine.
‘I really don’t know what will happen after arriving in Adria, but I hope the impact of this incident will pass quickly. Being constantly in the spotlight isn’t very comfortable…’
Thinking this, Vania sat on the edge of her bed. After glancing out the window at the sea view, she nervously took out her personal sacred text and began writing on a page.
“Miss Dorothyia, I apologize for disturbing you again. Now, there are some new developments that I need to report. The teacher on the ship told me that I will reach Adria tomorrow, and there will be a welcome banquet arranged by Archbishop Iwig. At that time, I might have to face someone at the archbishop level directly. Is there a problem with that…”
…
At the same time, on the other side of the sea, a regular passenger ship was sailing across the vast ocean. In a luxurious cabin aboard the ship, Dorothy, dressed in a white dress featuring naval uniform characteristics, sat inside, gazing seriously at the “Navigation of the Literary Sea,” reading Vania’s latest message.
‘The conversion in XiasTree, I didn’t expect the church’s reaction to be this big. Not only were multiple newspapers from different countries reporting simultaneously… Even a major archbishop was moved to arrange a banquet… This is somewhat unexpected…’
Looking at the familiar handwriting in the “Navigation of the Literary Sea,” Dorothy thought to herself. Then she glanced at the headlines of various newspapers placed beside the book. All the news reports were about pilgrims encountering danger, the Holy Mother’s nuns spreading the gospel, and the conversion of peripheral people.
These were all newspapers that Dorothy had bought in Trua before boarding the ship. To verify the church’s promotion efforts, she found them to be much stronger than she had initially imagined.
Dorothy knew that converting tens of thousands of peripheral people would have a significant impact on the church, but she didn’t expect the influence to be this great. Based on the information she had, the church had simultaneously reported the events in XiasTree in multiple cities along the northern coast of the Conquer Sea, omitting any secretive details and presenting it as a successful modern saint’s mission story.
The church’s large-scale promotion of this event seemed to aim at portraying Vania as a new saint and turning the conversion in XiasTree into a modern-day sacred text story. Many passengers on the ship were discussing these reports enthusiastically, and many devout believers were moved, exclaiming that Sister Vania was the new Saint Mother of the era.
‘The church’s promotion of the events in XiasTree is so intense and significant, it feels somewhat strange. They had just planned to send a fleet to destroy the entire island, but shortly after announcing the conversion, they began to publicize the results so prominently. It doesn’t quite add up…
‘Such high-profile promotion of this saint’s preaching, don’t they fear that in the future, when faced with stubborn peripheral people like those in XiasTree, they won’t be able to decisively act due to prior publicity? Moreover, the indirect implication of the pilgrims’ danger reflects the inadequacy of the church’s knight order’s escort duties. Such high-profile promotion of this event actually has negative impacts on other departments within the church…’
Sitting on the bed in her cabin, Dorothy thought as she read Vania’s response in the “Navigation of the Literary Sea.” Considering the situation from the church’s perspective, it was inappropriate to promote the events in XiasTree so quickly and prominently. Although the church’s influence expanded and the religious concepts of the Three Saints, especially the concept of the Holy Mother, were promoted, from another angle, it restricted the church’s justification for using force against heterodox peripheral people in the future and exposed the negligence of some departments within the church.
If Dorothy were to put herself in the shoes of the entire church, she would indeed promote the conversion in XiasTree, but not so quickly and prominently. The current situation seemed to be very beneficial to some members of the church, but others might not be so pleased.
In Dorothy’s view, the church’s situation indicated internal divisions. When it came to purification, they were resolute, and when it came to promoting conciliation and education, they were equally resolute. This situation was likely the result of power struggles within the church.
