Chapter 502 Reward
While Hilbert and Brook were discussing the situation in Adus, on the other side, in another spacious office, Amanda sat here dressed in red, her eyes slightly closed as she slowly savored a cup of coffee. In front of her desk floated a semi-transparent ghostly figure, a ghost-like nun.
“In other words… now the Cardinals are even more convinced that Sister Vania was still an innocent party in this incident. The sudden appearance of the Judge of Heaven Church and the Lightning Strike is due to the secular leader of the Revolutionary Army, Shadi?”
With a thoughtful expression, the semi-transparent ghostly nun spoke to Amanda, who, after hearing the ghost’s words, slowly opened her eyes and placed her teacup on the desk before speaking slowly.
“Yes, Sister Vania comes from Prit, having been adopted by the church as an orphan and raised within the church since childhood. She has a clean record with no bad history. Shadi was born in Northern Ufeiga, Adus, and got involved in the Treasure Theft Society during his teenage years, often dealing with ancient ruins. Multiple intelligence sources also prove that he had contact with ancient heritages. Between these two, who has closer ties to the First Dynasty is obvious. Originally, the Cardinals had no doubts about Sister Vania’s motives, but Klama, that fanatic, insisted on bringing it up, so they reluctantly discussed it, but the outcome was clear. I just briefly mentioned the official line, and we ended the topic.”
Amanda said this, looking slightly relieved. After hearing her words, the ghost nodded in understanding and continued to speak.
“So, how does the Cardinal see Adus, especially Shadi’s regime? What is their attitude towards the suddenly appearing Judge of Heaven Church?”
“According to the confirmed secret history of Northern Ufeiga, the Judge of Heaven is the ‘Enlightenment’ deity. From the beginning of the fourth era until now, over thirteen hundred years, there has never been any news of an ‘Enlightenment’ society or an ‘Enlightenment’ extraordinary being. If the existence of the Judge of Heaven Church is true, this is no small matter.”
The ghostly nun spoke seriously to Amanda. Hearing the nun’s words, Amanda nodded and then leaned back in her comfortable chair to speak.
“Yes, the re-emergence of a suspected ‘Enlightenment’ society is a more important issue for the Cardinals than the situation in Adus. Our main discussion this morning was about this aspect. Regarding Sister Vania, the heretical Savior faction, and the situation in Adus, they are all minor details.”
Hearing Amanda’s words, the ghostly nun was taken aback, then with a more serious expression, she asked.
“So, what is the Cardinal’s view on this Judge of Heaven Church? How does the Holy See plan to deal with them?”
“View? Hmph… We have too little information about them to form a concrete view.
“The only things we can confirm about them are a few points. One is that they can control lightning, and lightning might be the element represented by the ‘Enlightenment’ spirituality that we have long been unaware of. Two is that there is a high-ranking extraordinary being among them, capable of creating thunderstorms covering a city that lasts for several hours, and they also possess a method to bypass the constraints of the commandments set by the archbishop to k*ll the heretic Mahetar of the Savior faction. Three is that they may have some connection with Shadi, likely through contacts made during Shadi’s past treasure-hunting career involving hidden transmissions from the second era.”
Amanda analyzed and explained to the ghostly nun. After listening to Amanda’s analysis, the ghostly nun paused slightly and then continued to ask.
“The Holy See has limited knowledge about this sect, so does the Cardinal plan to use divination to understand the detailed information about this sect?”
“It has already been done. This morning, at the meeting, a resolution was directly passed to specially approve fifteen standard storage units of ‘Enlightenment’ items for divination to confirm the reality of the Judge of Heaven Church. The divination was conducted on-site, from various angles, but all attempts failed. We were originally considering approving another fifteen ‘Enlightenment’ items for further probing, but after the first attempt, we suffered a backlash of divination, consuming a certain amount of ‘Enlightenment’.
“The first round of probing yielded no results, and coupled with the subsequent counterattack, the Cardinal roughly estimated the reserves of ‘Enlightenment’ held by that sect. They are not weaker than those large heretical cults, and could even be stronger. Although their counterattack wasn’t particularly strong, it demonstrated their substantial accumulation of ‘Enlightenment’. It seemed more like a warning against our probing, telling us not to proceed further.
“Therefore, after discussion, to avoid unnecessary divination battles, the Cardinal decided to terminate the approval of another fifteen ‘Enlightenment’ items for probing. After all, it’s highly probable that they are a genuine ‘Enlightenment’ sect. If we were to engage in a large-scale divination battle consuming hundreds of ‘Enlightenment’, we might not win.
“For a thousand years, the Holy See has accumulated a vast reserve of ‘Enlightenment’ resources from around the world, which is our capital in standing firm amidst powerful enemies. At this time… various heretical cults are stirring. We must ensure a sufficient reserve of ‘Enlightenment’ to deter evil-doers with ill intentions, rather than squandering resources on non-core interests.”
Looking at the ghostly nun in front of her, Amanda slowly said, “Although we cannot truly confirm whether the Judge of Heaven Church is an ‘Enlightenment’ sect, the possibility is there. If they truly are ‘Enlightenment’, judging by the large-scale thunderstorms they have shown, the scale would not be small. In this era where ‘Enlightenment’ is far more precious than other spiritualities, engaging in a divination battle with them would be very dangerous. Therefore, after receiving the warning and learning that they indeed have substance, the Cardinal timely halted the second round of probing to prevent escalation of conflicts.
“That’s right… currently, the price of ‘Enlightenment’ remains high. Compared to last year, the average market price has increased five to seven times. Engaging in a divination battle under such circumstances… especially with a suspected ‘Enlightenment’ sect… is indeed not a good choice.” The ghostly nun said, then pondered for a moment and continued speaking.
“But… thinking about it, the sudden surge in the price of ‘Enlightenment’ over the past year might be related to this sect. As far as I know, the main reason for the recent increase in the price of ‘Enlightenment’ is due to frequent unidentified divination attacks on the secret police and secret societies of major countries, as well as the mysterious downfall of the Boneyard Society.
“In the past… no sect would use precious ‘Enlightenment’ for such broad and meaningless divination. The downfall of the Boneyard Society, though caused by us, has many suspicious points and involves the recently emerging ‘Thief K’.
“Now thinking about it, the surge in the price of ‘Enlightenment’, the rise of ‘Thief K’, and the appearance of the Judge of Heaven Church happened close together, even within half a year. Could there be any connection?”
The ghostly nun told Amanda these thoughts. Listening to the ghostly nun’s words, Amanda glanced at her and then answered with interest.
“You mean… the sudden rise and appearance of the Judge of Heaven Church were actually foretold. They started manipulating the price of ‘Enlightenment’ early on to raise funds, preparing for their eventual emergence after a millennium of seclusion? And that so-called ‘Thief K’ is likely related to the Judge of Heaven Church?”
“Yes, I even think that the downfall of the Boneyard Society was actually a conspiracy by the Judge of Heaven Church. They sent ‘Thief K’ to use tricks to get Antonio to eliminate the Boneyard Society, cutting off a stable source of ‘Enlightenment’ storage, thus further driving up the price of ‘Enlightenment’ to gain profit.”
The ghostly nun whispered softly. Hearing her words, Amanda pondered for a while and then continued speaking.
“Hmm, your words make sense…
“At this morning’s meeting, we have determined our preliminary stance toward the Judge of Heaven Church. As long as Shadi does not publicly declare Adus to believe in the Judge of Heaven and legalize its faith, we will not engage in direct confrontation with this sect. Instead, we will send a secret investigation team to Adus to conduct secret investigations, primarily to gather information.
“And what you just mentioned is undoubtedly another direction for investigation. I will notify the department to pay attention to the current ‘Enlightenment’ market. Given the high prices, if there is a stable source of ‘Enlightenment’ being released, it is likely related to that sect.”
Amanda finished speaking. The ghostly nun nodded affirmatively after hearing this and continued speaking.
“Pardon my boldness, Your Excellency, may I ask, if this sect claims to serve the Judge of Heaven, which has reappeared after thousands of years, does their reappearance also mean the return of the Judge of Heaven? Recently, have there been any major waves in the mortal world?”
“Waves? You mean… the disturbance caused by the birth of a powerful divine existence? Not yet. That is to say, although the Judge of Heaven Church has appeared, the Judge of Heaven itself has not yet revived… at least not completely. This is also the main reason why the Cardinal, despite taking this sect seriously, temporarily has no plans to interfere. As long as they do not have a true god, the impact on the world remains limited.
“If the Judge of Heaven has truly awakened, I’m afraid the Holy See would return from the upper realm immediately.”
Amanda said this. Hearing Amanda’s words, the ghostly nun pondered deeply. After the silence, she continued to speak to Amanda.
“In any case, Sister Vania’s fortune has truly turned, once again escaping danger. Regardless of the truth of Adus, as long as Shadi rejects heresy and acknowledges the Holy See as the only legitimate religion in Adus, Sister Vania’s mission will be considered complete… Sir Hilbert’s plan will be in vain, and his initial publicity efforts have become a facade. Sister Vania has become the greatest hero in the eyes of the public regarding the Adus incident, which is good news for us.”
“Haha… yes, this young nun is indeed a blessing for us. I did not expect the Adus situation to develop like this.”
“Madam Amanda, should we start promoting Sister Vania and the Adus incident now, letting the public and believers know that Sister Vania is the biggest diplomatic hero in the Adus incident…” the ghostly nun suggested to Amanda. However, Amanda shook her head and said.
“Not too urgent. Now Shadi is purging the heretical forces within Adus. Until he completes the purging and personally declares that Adus will break away from heresy and respect the Three Saints, we should not release any information publicly. At most, we can preheat it a bit in newspapers. Once Shadi announces it, we can follow up.”
Amanda made her decision. After hearing her words, the ghostly nun pondered and spoke again.
“So, how should we handle Sister Vania’s reward? Although she gained credit unexpectedly in both XiaTree and Adus, rewards should still be given, otherwise, it will cause suspicion. The credit for XiaTree is easier to explain, as it involves the conversion of tens of thousands of people. But Adus is a country with twenty million people. Preventing heresy from seizing a country with twenty million people from the light of the Three Saints is a huge achievement…”
The ghostly nun said to Amanda. Listening to the ghostly nun’s words, Amanda couldn’t help but ponder deeply. After a long thought, she slowly spoke.
“These achievements are indeed significant. A veteran bishop or senior official with such accomplishments would be enough to be promoted to an archbishop or chief executive. But Sister Vania’s experience is too shallow, having served as a senior official for less than two months. Promoting her further would be quite difficult…
“In short, let’s take it step by step. I plan to give Sister Vania a better special assignment, allowing her to accumulate prestige and spirituality while building her reputation. After some time, I will propose to the Cardinal to prepare her for promotion, making her a chief executive. After gaining some experience, she can then be transferred to an archbishop position in an overseas diocese.”
After much thought, Amanda spoke this way. Hearing Amanda’s words, the ghostly nun paused slightly and then continued asking.
“So, Your Excellency, what kind of assignment do you plan to give Sister Vania to accumulate prestige?”
“At the next meeting of the Cardinal, I plan to propose assigning her the position of a Saint Relic Custodian, giving her a secondary relic blessed by God to manage. She can hold and spread the word with the relic, continuing to accumulate prestige and experience. When the time is right, I will propose starting her promotion ceremony to the Cardinal, elevating her to a chief executive. After gaining some experience, she can then be transferred to a large archbishop position.”
“After this process, which might be a bit long and may involve some disputes with others, it could take a lot of time. I hope she can be patient…”
