Daytime in Tivian. Beneath a gloomy sky in the cathedral district, the deep, steady toll of bells rang out slowly. The chanting of scripture echoed continuously through the air as worshippers walked across the spacious cathedral plaza. The massive Hymn Cathedral stood as ever, its sharp spires pointing straight into the gray sky of Tivian.
In one part of the cathedral district, inside a large office decorated with suits of armor and various weapons, Sister Vania, dressed in a white habit, was seated on a high-backed chair at a large desk. Her expression was serious as she read through and annotated the many documents piled across the tabletop. On either side of her were two neat stacks of paperwork.
Vania’s pen moved swiftly across the pages as she worked with practiced speed. Just then, a soft knock came at the door. She paused briefly and looked up.
“Come in.”
At her gentle invitation, the door opened and an elderly nun entered slowly. She walked over to the desk and placed a document upon it.
“Lady Vania, this is the procurement list for medical equipment from Grace Hospital’s latest large-scale purchase. Please review it,” the elderly nun said respectfully.
Vania quickly set her pen aside and stood up, responding.
“There’s no need for such formality, Sister Anlei. I’m only temporarily acting as Archbishop. It’s just a provisional role, really—I’m still just a servant of the Lord like you, an ordinary nun.”
Vania responded humbly, lowering herself before the elder. Sister Anlei gave her a warm smile and replied.
“Sister Anlei, you give me too much credit. My main duty right now is simply to oversee the Layered Vision and ensure that no cultists exploit this transitional period. When it comes to the actual affairs of an archbishop… I don’t have much experience. Before this, I was just a nun of the Historical Scripture Department. Even as a Holy Relic Bearer, I was mostly involved in missionary work. I’ve never had to handle administrative matters...”
Vania spoke with continued humility. Sister Anlei walked a few steps closer, examining the documents stacked on the desk, then spoke again.
“You’re too humble, Lady Vania. Since your appointment, you’ve only had a few days to familiarize yourself with things, yet you’re already handling a great deal with composure. Your document processing has become increasingly efficient, and your decisions—especially in auditing and financial matters—are so precise and well-handled that even the specialists are impressed. Many of us have seen you working late into the night. Your dedication and talent have not gone unnoticed by the others.”
“Oh no, I’m merely doing the best I can. After all, some matters in the diocese require the Archbishop’s authority. I can’t just delay them endlessly, so I try to understand the situation as best I can before giving my opinion.
“But don’t let the volume of paperwork fool you... Many of these documents don’t have direct rulings yet. I’ve just attached my thoughts to them and set them aside. I plan to consult the relevant officials before making final decisions. I still need to rely heavily on experienced administrators like you,” Vania replied sincerely.
“Your careful and prudent approach is reassuring,” Sister Anlei continued.
“With Archbishop Francesco absent, the Church in Tivian has remained stable largely thanks to your efforts. Though you’re new to administration, your recent performance has been exceptional. You clearly have a natural aptitude for it.
“Whether it’s your approachable nature and appearance that inspires the faithful, or your ability to handle internal affairs, and most importantly, your sincere faith and devotion—you embody all the qualities of a model servant of the Lord. For the Church of Tivian to have someone like you is truly a blessing. Many of the elder clergy here, myself included, foresee a very bright future for you in the Church.”
Hearing this, Vania wasn’t quite sure how to respond to such praise. So she humbly said:
“Ah… that’s all due to the Lord’s blessing…”
She then bowed her head in a short, pious prayer. Truthfully, Sister Anlei’s praise wasn’t entirely undeserved. Vania did naturally possess a warmth and grace that made her beloved by the faithful. As for her administrative talent and learning ability—those were largely thanks to Dorothy.
By linking her information channel to Vania, Dorothy had shared her immense memory and processing power, treating herself as the “host” and Vania as the “client.” Through this connection, Vania, powered by the enhanced data-processing of a high-rank Revelation Beyonder, could smoothly manage even the most complex responsibilities of the Archbishop.
In fact, if Vania were to fully leverage Dorothy’s computational capabilities—plus employ a few corpse marionettes to serve as messengers—she could singlehandedly run the entire administrative operation of the Tivian Church. Hundreds of administrative staff could be made redundant, replaced by Vania acting as a centralized administrative engine. The result would be a “one-woman church” with efficiency far surpassing any traditional clerical bureaucracy.
But as things stood, Vania didn’t need to go that far. Even with just a small bit of help from Dorothy, she could manage the Archbishop’s duties remarkably well.
As for the final quality Sister Anlei had praised—Vania’s sincere faith and devotion—that was perhaps more subjective. But from Vania’s own perspective, she had never once turned away from the teachings of the Holy Mother, so calling her devout wasn’t exactly wrong.
After a bit more small talk, Sister Anlei excused herself and left the office. As she departed, Vania slumped back into her chair with a soft sigh of relief.
But she hadn’t been sitting for long when another knock sounded on the office door. Vania paused for a moment before speaking again.
“Come in.”
The door opened, but no one stepped in immediately. After a short delay, a nun peeked her head in cautiously. Upon seeing her face, Vania’s eyes lit up.
“Isn’t this Aurora? What brings you here?” she said openly, recognizing the new arrival as her former colleague from the Historical Scripture Department.
“Ah, yes… Lady Vania! This is the quarterly archival summary report from the Historical Scripture Department. I’ve come to deliver it as per standard procedure!”
Aurora replied in a clearly nervous tone, clutching the document as she quickly approached the desk and placed it in front of Vania.
“I see… yes, it’s about that time of year again for the quarter’s summary,” Vania mused.
“I used to be very busy around this time as well... Brings back memories.”
She smiled slightly, thinking back to her old post. Though she was still busy now, her tasks had changed entirely.
“But come to think of it, shouldn’t the department head submit this summary personally? Why are you the one delivering it?” she asked.
Aurora, already uneasy, jumped a bit at the question and hurriedly explained:
“Ah… You mean Priest Robert? He took a team to Glamorne to examine some ruins and hasn’t returned yet. After we finished the report, everyone was fretting over who should bring it. No one felt qualified. In the end, we drew lots… and, um, I was picked…”
She scratched her head in mild distress. Vania couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“What’s there to be afraid of? We’re all still colleagues.”
“Well… that was before. But now you…”
“Now is no different. We are all servants of the Lord—the only thing that’s changed is the position. And even that’s only temporary. No need to be so nervous. Come, relax a little. Maybe we can even catch up.”
Vania smiled warmly at the nun around her age. But Aurora couldn’t quite ease up. She remained tense throughout the conversation, answering only what she was asked and saying nothing more.
Looking at the familiar yet distant colleague from the Historical Scripture Department before her, Vania quietly sighed inwardly. She chose not to force the conversation and, after giving a few final instructions, let the other nun take her leave. Watching Aurora jog out of the office and gently shut the door behind her, Vania once again settled into her chair.
Afterward, she looked out the window. Through the panes, Vania gazed at the vast plaza before the Hymn Cathedral. She watched groups of young nuns, about her age, chatting and laughing as they walked briskly across the square, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion.
When she thought about it, Vania realized that only a year ago, she had been little different from those very same nuns. At most a junior deaconess, she’d had almost no separation from the rank-and-file sisters. Every day, she had worked, prayed, and slept alongside them.
Not so long ago, she and her fellow sisters had shown deep reverence when facing mid-rank deacons of the Black Earth rank. When confronted with White Ash rank deacons or visiting bishops, they hadn’t even dared to speak. As for Archbishop Francesco—the highest-ranking figure in the entire Pritt Diocese—Vania had only ever seen him from afar during major ceremonial events. She had never even imagined speaking to him, let alone interacting.
But now, she had somehow become the one seated in the Archbishop’s chair, handling the affairs of the entire Pritt Diocese. Those she once looked up to were now the ones looking up to her. Power, status, authority—things she had never even dared to think about—were now suddenly part of her life. It all felt surreal.
Looking back, Vania realized her fate had once been just like that of countless others in the Church’s grassroots—nothing especially unique. The moment that changed everything came a year ago, in a church graveyard in the county of Igwynt—when her prayer received a response.
“From that moment on… my destiny has likely been written by the hands of a deity. But where exactly is that fate going to take me…?”
Sitting in her chair, Vania thought somewhat wistfully. Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
“O Great Akasha, Recorder of All Things… please connect me to Sister Vania…”
“Sister Vania, are you available at the moment?”
Startled for a moment, Vania immediately straightened in her seat and responded mentally.
“Yes, Miss Dorothea… What is it? I’m currently taking a short break from work.”
“It’s like this: some old friends have sent you another letter,” said Dorothy.
Hearing this, Vania’s eyes widened in surprise. Then, as if remembering something, she immediately replied.
“Old friends… You mean the Wolfblood Society?”
“Yes. Just recently, I received a letter via the ‘White Prayer’ account at the White Craftsmen’s Guild. As always, it’s from those little wolf cubs,” Dorothy answered in Vania’s mind.
A moment later, an image of the opened letter unfolded in front of Vania’s eyes, and she instantly absorbed its content. After a quick scan, her brows furrowed.
Back during the incident involving the werewolf Smith, Dorothy had orchestrated events to make the Wolfblood Society believe there was a potential recruit within the Church—a supposed insider they dubbed the “White Prayer.” Ever since then, they had used the Guild’s channels to secretly maintain contact, attempting to corrupt this fabricated identity.
Naturally, the one they referred to as “White Prayer” was Vania. In the period after Smith, she had received their correspondence through Dorothy, even managing to obtain a Chalice holy symbol from them—one Dorothy later used for her own advancement. But after both she and Dorothy left Tivian, their contact with the Wolfblood Society diminished. Since returning, this was the first time Vania had heard from them again.
“Tivian Church in turmoil… Concern about instability in the larger environment… A letter to confirm my status…
“Miss Dorothea! The Wolfblood Society is trying to probe internal intelligence from me! They want to verify the truth behind the rumors—they’re assessing the current strength and weakness of the Tivian Church… They must be planning something!”
After reading the letter, Vania spoke solemnly in her mind. She had immediately seen through the Society’s intentions.
“Mm… You’ve come to the same conclusion I have. The Wolfblood Society has had its sights set on the Tivian Church for quite some time. With Francesco absent, they won’t pass up this chance.”
Dorothy’s voice responded coolly. Vania continued, voice firm.
“If they’ve set their sights on the Hymn Cathedral, then I can’t let them succeed—no matter what. Miss Dorothea, we must find out exactly what they intend to do. Should I reply and try to coax more details from them?”
“Not just yet. Trying to trap them with suggestive wording in the reply is risky. If the recipient is cautious enough, they’ll sense something’s off. What we need to do is reply normally—just a little information, to win their trust.”
Vania frowned slightly at that.
“A normal reply… with a bit of real information? To bait them into sharing more later?”
“No, no. As I said—setting verbal traps in letters is too risky. We don’t need to take that kind of chance. What we need… is simply to engage in normal, light conversation. That alone will be enough.”
“Just… a little normal exchange is enough?”
“Of course. Trust me.”
Sitting comfortably in her seat, Dorothy responded with a soft smile through the data channel. In her hand, she held the freshly received letter she had retrieved from the Craftsmen’s Guild not long ago.
Because even when communicating through a proxy medium—communication is still communication. For a Dream Interpreter, even exchanging words through written letters is enough to quietly deconstruct a person and begin drafting their psychological profile.