Tivian North Suburbs, Green Shade Town, outside the East Gate of Royal Crown University.
In the afternoon, the rare autumn sunlight bathes the streets of Green Shade Town. On the small balcony of No. 17, Dorothy, dressed in a loose white home dress with her hair down, sits on a chair. After several days of gloomy weather, she finally takes the opportunity to bask in the sun, feeling as though her body might otherwise grow moldy.
In front of Dorothy lies a thick book, with a steaming cup of coffee and a small cake beside it. The book contains the written exchanges between Dorothy and others—this is the Literary Sea Logbook.
Adding a large spoonful of sugar to her coffee, Dorothy leisurely stirs the liquid in her cup. Once it’s well-mixed, she places the spoon on the plate next to the cake and picks up the coffee cup, taking a slow sip.
Basking in the warm sunlight, Dorothy enjoys the surrounding tranquility while reading the newly appeared messages in the Literary Sea Logbook. After carefully reviewing them, she sets the coffee cup down and picks up a pen to write her replies.
"So, you’ve started working at the hospital now?"
Dorothy writes on Vania’s communication page. She watches as the words sink into the book and waits patiently for Vania’s response.
"Yes, Miss Dorothy. Since almost everyone in the Historical Scripture Department has been sent to detoxify their cognitive poison, they’re not allowed to return to work until they’ve fully recovered. As a result, the entire department is currently paralyzed. Since I’ve just been promoted to the Black Earth rank and have no immediate position, I’ve been assigned to Aphro Grace Hospital. Here, my abilities as a Healing Prayer can be put to some use."
In the Literary Sea Logbook, Vania explains her current situation. After her promotion, due to the lack of available positions, she seems to have been temporarily transferred to the church’s hospital.
"So, does this mean your workplace has permanently shifted to the hospital, where you’ll be working as a nun-doctor, no longer in the Cathedral District?" Dorothy continues to write in the Literary Sea Logbook. After the words sink in, Vania’s response soon appears.
"No, I’m only temporarily assisting there. The hospital has professional nun-doctors. While my abilities can be of some help, I’m only there as a temporary intern. If a more suitable position becomes available or if the Historical Scripture Department returns to normal, I might be transferred again. I’m still living in the Cathedral District, and the hospital is just a temporary assignment."
Vania responds in this manner. Reading her reply, Dorothy nods slightly, understanding the situation.
“Vania was temporarily promoted due to her merits, but there’s no suitable position for her at the moment. So, because of her abilities, she’s been transferred to the hospital as an intern... But this is only temporary. From what she’s saying, she’ll likely be transferred back to a more suitable position later. Hopefully, it’ll still be the Historical Scripture Department, where she can access the church’s mystical texts.”
“Moreover, once the Historical Scripture Department is restored, Vania will return as a Black Earth-rank Intermediate Deacon, meaning she’ll likely take over Cork’s position as the head of the department. If Vania becomes the head of the Historical Scripture Department, it’ll be much easier for me to obtain the church’s mystical texts!”
Dorothy thinks to herself, then writes her thoughts to Vania, asking if this is possible. After a moment, Vania responds.
"That’s correct. Deacon Cork was a Black Earth-rank Intermediate Deacon. If I return to the Historical Scripture Department, I’ll likely take over his position. However... for the church, this would mean that two consecutive heads of the Historical Scripture Department have had issues. Both Cork and I have secrets that the church wouldn’t approve of. Miss Dorothy, to be honest, this makes me feel a bit uneasy..."
Vania responds in this way, and Dorothy can sense Vania’s unease just from her handwriting. Vania compares herself to Cork, the traitor, realizing that both of them have hidden major secrets from the church, which makes her feel somewhat guilty.
Seeing Vania’s reply, Dorothy pauses for a moment, then decides to offer some guidance. She picks up her pen and writes in the Literary Sea Logbook.
"No, that’s not the right way to look at it. While you’ve hidden some things from the church, you’ve never done anything to harm the church’s interests. In fact, you’ve helped the church fight against heresy and eliminate threats. How can you compare yourself to Cork, who attempted to harm his subordinates with cognitive poison and plotted against the church?”
"Vania, you don’t need to worry about this. Think about it—if you hadn’t had secrets from Aka that day, you wouldn’t have discovered Cork’s treachery. The church might have suffered immeasurable losses. You haven’t betrayed the church; you’ve been protecting it in your own way.”
"This method of protection is bound to be misunderstood by some. While it carries risks, someone must do it. Otherwise, the schemes of people like Cork would succeed. Didn’t the Holy Son teach us that to protect the church and the faith, every believer must be willing to make sacrifices and show courage? Protecting the church in an unconventional way, bearing the risks—isn’t that also a form of self-sacrifice? So, Vania, you don’t need to feel lost. Just continue doing your best in your current role."
Dorothy writes these words of guidance in the Literary Sea Logbook. When Vania, resting in the break room during her lunch break, reads them, she is momentarily stunned, then murmurs to herself.
"Protecting the church... in my own way?"
Reading Dorothy’s words, Vania feels a sense of revelation. The more she thinks about it, the more it makes sense. Her actions under Akasha’s will have almost always been acts of salvation. While her methods may have violated some rules, they have genuinely helped the church eliminate threats and reduce losses.
“Yes... as Miss Dorothy said, the Holy Son taught us to have the spirit of sacrifice to protect the church. Protecting the church in secret is also a form of sacrifice…”
Thinking this, Vania suddenly feels a sense of nobility. The idea of "protecting the church in her own unique, solitary way" resonates with her. Her earlier unease diminishes significantly, and she even feels a surge of motivation. Comforted by this realization, she lets out a long sigh and writes back to Dorothy.
"Thank you for your guidance, Miss Dorothy. I’m ashamed that, as a nun, I needed you to use the teachings of the Holy Scriptures to guide me. Your words have enlightened me, and I now feel much clearer in my heart.”
"Miss Dorothy, your wisdom is truly admirable. I will follow your advice and focus on doing my current job well. If there’s anything important, please let me know."
On the balcony of No. 17 in Green Shade Town, Dorothy reads Vania’s response and nods, a look of satisfaction on her face. She thinks to herself how fortunate it is that Vania is so pure and easy to guide.
Dorothy then continues to offer some words of encouragement and learns more about Vania’s recent situation before ending the conversation.
Every so often, Dorothy communicates with her contacts—the "members" of the Rose Cross Order—in this manner, keeping up with their situations. They are also happy to chat with Dorothy, the only known "high-ranking member" of the Rose Cross Order. On one hand, they want to learn more about the Rose Cross Order, and on the other, they often turn to Dorothy for answers when they encounter problems, as was the case just now.
After guiding Vania, Dorothy flips through the Literary Sea Logbook, reviewing recent communications with her other contacts and organizing their current situations in her mind.
“Nephthys is still studying mystical knowledge while trying to familiarize herself with her abilities. She wants to practice in haunted places, so she’s been looking through newspaper archives in the library, searching for places with ghost stories to explore. But she’s come up empty several times.”
“In general, any confirmed haunted locations in Tivian have likely already been dealt with by the Serenity Bureau. So, the chances of finding real ghosts by following rumors are slim. Poor Nephthys—even though she had become a Beyonder, she hasn’t had the chance to experience her abilities yet.”
Reading Nephthys’ communication page, Dorothy thinks to herself. A Spiritualist who can’t find spirits is practically no different from an ordinary person. Nephthys has complained to Dorothy in the Literary Sea Logbook that after becoming a Beyonder, she feels no different. Her daily life remains the same as before, with no sense of change.
After reviewing Nephthys’ page, Dorothy flips to Kapak’s communication page. Since Kapak is very studious and often asks Dorothy for advice, there’s a lot of text here.
“Kapak has started learning shamanic knowledge from the tribe’s shaman. According to the elder shaman, once Kapak’s spirituality is fully accumulated, he will perform a ritual to officially make Kapak a Shaman Apprentice.”
“Given the nature of shamans, Kapak will likely become a Beyonder in the Silence domain, just like Nephthys. However, it seems that the Beyonder system in the New Continent is somewhat different from here. Even if Kapak becomes a Silence Beyonder, he might differ from Nephthys, who became a Spiritualist.”
“Additionally, after a long period of observation, the tribe’s elder shaman has finally allowed Kapak to introduce modern technologies and items to the tribe, including medicine. With the elder shaman’s support, Kapak, equipped with modern medical knowledge, can now fully apply his skills to treat the tribe. His status within the tribe has risen quickly, but this has also caused dissatisfaction among some conservative members... The conflict seems to be intensifying. I hope nothing serious happens.”
Dorothy thinks this to herself, then continues flipping through the Literary Sea Logbook. This time, she lands on a page with relatively fewer conversations—this is Anna’s communication page.
“As for Anna, she’s been busy lately learning noble etiquette and related knowledge, preparing to fully inherit her family’s wealth once she comes of age. Currently, the Field Family’s assets are managed by a third-party financial institution overseen by the church. Although Anna is the primary heir, as a child, she doesn’t have full control over these assets.”
“I wonder if, by making Anna a Revelation Beyonder and having her quickly master all the relevant courses, she could inherit the assets earlier. But that would definitely raise suspicions from the Serenity Bureau and the church... So, I need to be cautious.”
Dorothy ponders this. After her plan to invent the internal combustion engine fell through, her grand money-making scheme was temporarily put on hold. Now, Anna is her hoped-for future financial backer, but as a child, she doesn’t yet have full control over her family’s wealth.
After reading Anna’s communication page, Dorothy feels a slight sense of regret. Just as she continues flipping through the Literary Sea Logbook, she notices a new message on one of the pages—a delicate handwriting that wasn’t there before.
"Good afternoon, Detective. I’ve found some information about my teacher and have already mailed it to you. My memories of my teacher are quite chaotic, and I need some time to sort through them to locate the rest of the hidden materials. Additionally, I’ve run into some trouble recently, so the next set of documents might take a while to send."
Dorothy stares at the new handwriting on the communication page. She knows who it belongs to—this is Adèle’s. When they parted ways that day, Dorothy gave her a communication text to stay in touch, and now Adèle has sent a message.
"Understood. I’ll keep an eye out for the mail. By the way, what kind of trouble are you facing? Is it serious?"
Dorothy writes back to Adèle. Unlike her other contacts in the Literary Sea Logbook, Dorothy’s tone with Adèle is more equal. With the others, she tends to adopt a slightly superior tone, as they are implicitly considered members or potential members of the Rose Cross Order, making Dorothy their superior. Adèle, however, is a White-rank Beyonder and a collaborator with the Rose Cross Order, not a subordinate.
"It’s some issues with the Radiance Church. Not serious, but troublesome. Don’t worry about me, Detective."
Adèle quickly responds, and Dorothy is somewhat surprised by her words.
"The Radiance Church? You have dealings with them?"
"Quite a lot, actually. The Mother Faction of the Radiance Church is a secret protector and supporter of Crimson Heart. They’ve been backing us in our struggle against the Wolf Blood Society. Otherwise, do you think the Wolf Blood Society would have hesitated to attack us directly, like they did with the Joyful Dance Society? It’s because of the church’s behind-the-scenes support that they haven’t resorted to their usual brute force.”
"The church has also taken notice of the recent events in the Coal Ash District. They know about my abilities and have been sending people to question me. Dealing with them has taken up a lot of my time recently."
Adèle’s words gradually appear on the page. Reading them, Dorothy strokes her chin thoughtfully.
Dorothy had already considered why the Wolf Blood Society, which had openly destroyed countless Chalice-aligned societies, would resort to underhanded tactics against Crimson Heart, an alliance formed by survivors of their attacks. There must be some powerful force secretly deterring the Wolf Blood Society, but she hadn’t expected it to be the Radiance Church—and specifically the Mother Faction.
“This is quite interesting... From what I can see, the Holy Mother seems to be a deity primarily aligned with Lantern and secondarily with Chalice. Now, the Mother Faction is actively interfering in the conflicts between Chalice-aligned societies, seemingly trying to support Crimson Heart against Wolf Blood Society and other Afterbirth-aligned groups. What could be their motive?”
Dorothy ponders this. From this glimpse, she can see that within the Radiance Church, particularly the Mother Faction, there seems to be a strong sense of vigilance and hostility toward Afterbirth-aligned groups. Could there be a divine will behind this?