Chapter 255: Extraction
“Three-quarters cooked steak? Are you sure? Sister Vania?”
Behind the counter of the restaurant, the server asked Vania. In this cafeteria filled with clergy members, it was rare for someone to order a steak that was only three-quarters cooked, as one could still see bl**d inside.
“Mm… I thought about it and would prefer a well-done one,” Vania replied after some consideration. The server nodded in response.
“Alright, Sister Vania, please find a seat in front to rest. Your meal will be right up,” the server said. Vania followed the server’s instructions, found a seat in front of the steakhouse, and began to ponder.
“Just now, I suddenly wanted a three-quarters cooked steak… I always eat it well-done…
“Mm, but it makes sense. I’ve had well-done steaks too many times, so wanting to try something different is normal. This time, I’ll let it go, but next time, I’ll really order a three-quarters cooked one.”
Vania thought to herself, feeling that her initial idea wasn’t unreasonable. She even regretted asking the server to change it to well-done at the last moment and decided that next time she would definitely order a three-quarters cooked steak.
Vania didn’t stay seated long before the server brought up the well-done steak, sizzling on the plate. Satisfied, she paid the bill.
Using kn*fe and fork, Vania slowly savored the delicious steak. At that moment, a figure carrying a tray appeared opposite her.
“Hey, Vania, you’re fast.”
A nun in similar attire sat down across from her, placing her noodles on the table and greeting Vania, who looked up in surprise.
“Sister Aurora, what a coincidence.”
Vania responded. This nun, Aurora, could be considered her colleague. They both worked at the Historical Records Office, one of the few nuns there. Although their relationship wasn’t particularly close, they were quite familiar since they often saw each other.
“Why don’t we eat together? We’ve been working hard lately. Eating and chatting would help us relax.”
Aurora suggested, then started chatting with Vania. Since they worked together, their conversation turned to work-related topics. However, as they talked, Aurora shifted the topic to gossip about their colleagues and superiors.
“By the way, Vania, did you notice? Deacon Kock has been coming to check on-site more frequently recently. It feels like a lot of pressure seeing him walking around while we work.”
Lowering her voice slightly, Aurora said to Vania, who nodded after taking a bite of her steak.
“Yeah… it’s true. Before, Deacon Kock preferred staying in his office doing research.”
“Yes, yes. He used to prefer academic work in his office. It’s said he wanted to move up to become a main priest or get promoted. I wonder if he’s made any progress.”
Aurora told Vania, who pondered for a moment before responding.
“Moving to main priest or getting promoted… it’s not easy. Moving to main priest might have a chance if the research is good enough, but promotion requires both spirituality and contributions.”
Vania explained. Within the Radiant Church’s internal hierarchy, there were parallel promotion paths: the main priest line and the deacon line.
The main priest line included leadership positions, ranging from a simple church priest and presbyter to bishop, archbishop in major cities, and finally to cardinal and pope in the Sacred Summit. Each position corresponded to different levels of leadership over varying sizes of dioceses.
The deacon line referred to non-leadership or secondary leadership roles within the Radiant Church, typically called deacons. These positions ranged from junior deacon to senior deacon, councilor deacon, and grand councilor deacon.
Generally, deacons assisted main priests, with higher-ranking main priests being more prestigious. For example, although bishops and senior deacons were of the same rank and required white-tier clerics, bishops held greater authority and access to extraordinary resources, whereas senior deacons were less prominent.
For instance, Vania was not an ordinary nun; as an apprentice extraordinary being, she also held the rank of junior deacon.
While eating, Aurora continued chatting with Vania, occasionally pulling out a pendant box and looking at it with a nostalgic expression.
“What’s wrong?” When Vania finished her meal, she asked Aurora, who was staring at the opened pendant box. Aurora replied:
“Oh… sorry, I suddenly felt homesick thinking about my mother outside, so I looked at the photo for a moment.”
As she spoke, Aurora turned the open pendant box towards Vania. Inside was a small photo showing a woman holding a little girl, likely a childhood photo of Aurora and her mother.
“Thinking of your mother…”
Seeing the photo, Vania felt a pang in her heart, also feeling a bit nostalgic for her own mother, whom she had no memory of. The problem was, Vania was an orphan raised in a religious orphanage with no recollection of either parent. Now she felt a strange longing for someone she had never met.
“I’ve been feeling sentimental lately…”
Vania thought, then focused on finishing her remaining meal.
After dinner, Vania rested for a while and then went to the cathedral for evening prayers. After the prayers ended, she finally returned to her single room.
Upon returning to her room, Vania didn’t immediately sleep but sat at her desk and opened an old book.
This was a new secret transmission given to her by Doro, titled “Scourge,” which they obtained when defeating the vampire Claudius during their previous mission. Doro had read it and passed it on to Vania.
Every night, Vania spent part of her time reading these secret transmissions. Reading them directly felt much better than using cumbersome instruments for observation during work.
After flipping through a few pages, Vania felt a clear discomfort in her mind. She closed her eyes and prayed to Akka, seeking to cleanse her poison.
…
East of King Campus, in Green Shade Town, No. 17, Doro, wearing pajamas and lying on the sofa reading a novel, heard the daily prayer sound. Without much thought, she extracted all the poison accumulated in Vania into spirituality.
However, after extraction, she furrowed her brow because the spirituality she extracted was unexpected.
“Hmm? This time, the spirituality includes ‘Shadow,’ ‘Lamp,’ ‘Cup,’ and ‘Enlightenment’? Wow… how many? Almost all six types of spirituality are here?”
Noticing this, Doro frowned and put down her novel, thinking carefully.
“I remember the secret transmission I gave Vania last time… it was just ‘Scourge,’ a purely ‘Shadow’ themed transmission. Logically, it should only extract ‘Shadow’ and ‘Enlightenment.’ Where did ‘Lamp’ and ‘Cup’ come from?”
