Chapter 106: Chapter A Dangerous Person
"Tell Agamemnon that all the white doves appearing inside the Birdcage must be properly cared for."
"And also, those white doves aren’t for you to eat."
Corleon warned the three of them and returned to the Church with the white dove.
Just yesterday, after handing the Birdcage to Agamemnon, the white doves that appeared inside had been roasted and eaten by the three of them.
Fluttering its wings, the white dove that narrowly escaped from Cicero’s hand naturally flew up onto the Sacred Cross.
That sense of purity made Corleon inadvertently reveal a smile.
The Church was quite empty. With the lockdown still not completely lifted, there were barely any who came for the Sacrament, let alone anyone who came to worship and pray within the Church.
Corleon sat on the front row of the pews and closed his eyes.
Until dusk approached, Nyx arrived at the Church.
The two commoners who entered with him set down the person they were carrying and then left.
"Bishop, I have sinned."Nyx knelt beside the man.
"What sin have you committed?"Corleon opened his eyes, a flash of gold flickering through them.
"I was peeking at the Lord’s power,"Nyx said.
"The Lord has never hidden His might,"Corleon stood up, overlooking Nyx.
"The Lord loves the world. The Lord never blames those who strive to realize themselves."
"He is a Scholar and a Mage. To explore the unknown is his selfhood."
"But the Lord is great. He is the past, the present, and the future — not something mortals can pry into."
"If he seeks to explore the existence of the Lord, you should have preached to him the Lord’s Gospel."
"Not allowed him to sneak into your Small Church and attempt to glimpse the Lord’s power through theft."
"Because theft is a sin."
"You are not guilty. You merely made a mistake."
"The mistake was in knowing that he had lost his way while seeking the Lord, and yet you did not guide him back onto the right path."
"Yes, this is the mistake I have committed. I beg for your punishment,"Nyx’s senses as a Scholar had been forcibly pushed to the extreme.
His body trembled. It was a natural reaction upon seeing the truth of this world, trembling in the face of Mystery.
"The Monastery of the Church has already been completed. Soon, people will begin going there to study."
"Throughout the coming year, you must visit the Monastery once every five days, and preach the Holy Scriptures to those studying there."
"Speak of the events that occurred while you spread the Lord’s Teachings."
Corleon said.
"Thank you for your Mercy,"Nyx deeply bowed, pressing his forehead to the ground.
"This is the Lord’s Mercy,"Corleon said as he helped Nyx up.
"The Lord’s existence is not something that can be understood by man. Otherwise, there would be no need for us, the Servants of the Lord."
"And what we must do is precisely to spread the Lord’s Teachings."
"These are the Lord’s Words, and they are the Lord’s Gospel."
"You’ve been a Priest for so long. You ought to understand these things."
Corleon sighed and said.
"It means my Faith is still not firm enough,"Nyx said.
"He is Oscar, the apprentice of a close friend of mine."
"Of course, his master was already reduced to ashes long ago during his exploration."
"Because of that, I took care of him for a while."
"He is an outstanding Scholar, so I wish to plead with the Bishop to spare him."
"I am willing to accept punishment in his place."
Corleon supported the trembling old man and sat him down on the pew beside him.
"When he entered the Great Church, he had already awakened. He just hasn’t wanted to get up yet,"Corleon said.
Nyx was stunned and looked at Oscar.
"Haah~ That was such a good sleep,"Oscar, lying on the ground, yawned and stood up.
"I’ve heard of your name long ago, but this should be our first time meeting,"he said.
"Oscar Brian, Court Baron of the Otlinsmann Empire, a Knight conferred by Emperor Dionysius Garuberg Jefferson, Junior Scholar of the Scholar’s Guild in Greenwood City, and currently a Mage who knows a few minor tricks,"Oscar placed a hand over his chest and performed a noble’s greeting.
"I salute you."
Corleon glanced at Oscar and said,"Is your self-introduction supposed to be given under an alias?"
Oscar was momentarily stunned, then chuckled,"What a wondrous power."
"But please forgive me, Bishop. This world is far too dangerous. Using a false name is simply my way of avoiding certain dangers."
Nyx looked at Oscar with a mixture of suspicion and surprise.
"Of course, I’ve always been myself, you can rest assured,"Oscar said to Nyx.
Nyx opened his mouth, but in the end remained silent, merely listening quietly.
"This world is indeed dangerous, but so are you,"Corleon said."You’ve only been in the York Territory for just over a month, yet you’ve already stirred up so much."
"Those were things they wanted to do. I merely lent a small hand,"Oscar replied.
"That’s not what I was referring to."
"Then what is it? Ever since arriving, I’ve simply been observing them,"Oscar asked.
"You shouldn’t have touched the things in the Lord’s original fief,"Corleon said.
"Are you referring to that seal over there?"Oscar recalled.
"But I only tried it briefly. Once I felt that it wasn’t something I could break, I left."
"Although Mr. Nyx believed I was tainted by a Mage’s Curse, I wouldn’t recklessly force my way in knowing it was dangerous."
Oscar slightly bowed his head to Nyx.
But Nyx had already closed his eyes.
Just this brief exchange was enough for Nyx to understand.
Since meeting Oscar, the amount of truth in his words could be counted on one hand.
No, even now, it was still unclear whether his name was truly Oscar or something else.
"Your actions don’t match your words at all,"Corleon said, then turned around and walked to the foot of the Sacred Cross.
"If not for the Lord’s Mercy, your soul would’ve already been purified."
If Corleon hadn’t discovered it in time and used the Slumbering Horn to interrupt his casting, Oscar’s soul would’ve long since been assimilated by Faith.
"That was indeed dangerous,"Oscar said, though there was no fear on his face.
"In the fief of the Lundex Territory lies a terrifying sealed existence. Even just your brief attempt was enough to allow some of its contamination to leak out,"Corleon said.
After putting Oscar to sleep with the Slumbering Horn, Corleon saw something extraordinary from him.
One of the Seven Deadly Sins recorded in the Holy Scriptures — Gluttony.
Corleon had never seen true Gluttony himself, and Gluttony’s existence ranked far above even the Wolf God.
However, Corleon had once been attacked by a Gluttony Demon. During that Revelation, he had briefly glimpsed Gluttony’s true form.
And from the clues on Oscar’s body, Corleon saw that same true form of Gluttony.
The actual situation was nothing like Oscar claimed — merely a small experiment.
Oscar had already reached the point of glimpsing the being for even a brief moment.
Even if Oscar himself didn’t realize it at the time.