The Church

Rienta picked up the hot tea on the table, took a sip, and said, "I need a map."

Without the slightest hesitation, Roman immediately replied, "No problem!"

"Luna, bring us our most complete map!"

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, a voluptuous blonde nun standing nearby bowed slightly and then walked towards the door.

Rienta, without glancing to the side, took out a gold bar from her [Timeless Space] and placed it on the table.

The gold bar landed on the table with a slightly dull thud.

"Bishop Roman, consider this gold bar my donation to the Church."

Roman's eye twitched slightly, feeling utterly helpless.

Donating is no problem.

But who just throws it on the table like that?

He was a bishop, the head of all the Churches within a radius of hundreds of miles!

Throughout the entire Church, there were only three people who held the same position as him.

If he just took it, wouldn't he lose face?

"Ahem, um..."

Rienta's brow twitched, and she extended her palm.

Bite!

A new gold bar was smashed onto the original gold bar.

"Um?"

Roman swiftly reached out and pocketed the two gold bars.

"Lady Rienta, please do not hesitate to ask if you require anything else."

Rienta nodded in satisfaction, stood up, and said:

"Take me to see your Church's Library."

Two gold bars meant nothing to him.

If converted to gold coins, it would only amount to a few hundred Schtrahl gold coins.

He couldn't be bothered with such pretense and politeness from these important figures.

Instead of wasting time, you might as well chat with Serie for a while.

Roman, quite savvy, led the way, with Rienta and Serie following behind.

Soon, the three arrived at the Library.

The room was filled with densely packed bookshelves.

Roman puffed out his chest, pointed to the collection of books, and said with great pride:

"Lady Rienta, please take your time choosing. Take as much as you want!"

So arrogant?

Rienta's lips curled into a slight smile, "Bishop Roman, are you sure?"

Roman: "Of course! I can make the decision on such a small matter."

Rienta: "Alright! Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After saying that, Rienta waved her hand, and Roman bowed slightly before leaving the Library.

Only Rienta and Serie remained in the vast Library.

"Rienta, you're not planning to empty this place outright, are you?"

Serie knew that Rienta had a very impressive [Personal Space].

Because, when Rienta proposed to go find the [Goddess's Monument], she actually tried to pack up the entire Courtyard and take it with her.

Rienta turned her head to look at Serie.

Bright sunlight streamed through the window, casting a dazzling glow on Serie's golden hair.

In addition, Serie was tilting her head and staring at him without moving.

For a moment, Rienta was caught off guard.

He quickly turned his gaze back to the bookshelves, coughed lightly, and said:

"Cough cough, of course not."

"I only plan to pack up all the books about the [Sacred Scriptures ]."

Although Flamme traveled around, teaching magic.

But in the current empire, magic remains an ability that only a very small number of people can master.

Apart from Flamme.

Nowadays, only Churches have books on magic.

The main reason is still the [Sacred Scripture].

With the Goddess's Protection, one can use the magic recorded in the Sacred Scriptures.

One classic example of magic is [Goddess's Three Spears].

The rest are mostly support magic.

Of course, Rienta's purpose was not these spells, but the interpretation of the [Sacred Scripture].

Before coming here, Fern said she had seen the name engraved on the stone tablet.

Fiala... Thor...

And it happens within the Bird Chapter of the Time Pilgrimage.

Time Pilgrimage —it's obviously related to his time travel.

Serie chuckled softly, shook her head, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the bookshelves.

She planned to randomly pick a few books to enrich her collection.

Although humans are a short-lived species, some exceptional individuals possess magical talents that even she finds astonishing.

For example, Flamme.

For example, Rienta.

And there's the future great Sage Aiwisi.

About an hour later.

Rienta and Serie left the Church.

Roman escorted the two to the door, and only after they were out of sight did he remove his somewhat obsequious expression.

After standing there pondering for a while, he led the blonde nun Luna to the Library.

The Library was half empty.

Luna was leading several members of the church to take inventory of the books in the collection.

Roman, dressed in his bishop's robes, stood before the statue of the Goddess, quietly watching the busy congregation.

The once full Library now has a section that is completely empty.

At a glance, at least nearly a thousand books are missing.

However, Roman didn't care much about the missing books.

I'm actually more interested in how Rienta managed to take so many books away.

A short while later.

Luna approached Roman and bowed.

"Your Excellency, they've taken away all the research records on the [Sacred Scriptures ]."

"[The Sacred Scripture]..."

Roman looked somewhat strange and murmured something under his breath.

Strictly speaking, the two gold bars donated by Rienta couldn't have bought this many books.

However, no matter how many books you have, you can't buy bread.

Those two gold bars, if used to buy bread, could fill the entire Church.

He could tell that Rienta and the elf were both powerful mages.

The [Sacred Scripture] does indeed record many Goddess Magic.

However, to use Goddess Magic, one must first have the [Goddess's Protection], and secondly, one must use Goddess Magic [Sacred Scripture] as a medium.

When the followers came to him, they mentioned that Rienta others had come for the [Goddess's Monument].

Therefore, Rienta's purpose is quite clear.

After a long while.

Roman chuckled softly, looked at Luna, and said, "Send a message to the Church branch near where the [Goddess's Monument] is located."

"Dedicate all efforts to compiling research records on the [Sacred Scriptures ]."

"Oh, and remember to send over the portraits of Rienta and that elf as well."

Luna was taken aback at first, but quickly understood Roman's meaning.

After a long silence, he finally replied:

"Yes, I understand."

Roman noticed Luna's hesitation, but he didn't explain.

He had always groomed Luna as his successor.

And Luna will inevitably have to deal with these aspects sooner or later.

Instead of letting him talk about it, it's better to let Luna see and do it herself.

The Church today is not the Church as it used to be.

The empire's territory continues to expand.

Flamme is traveling throughout the continent, teaching magic to people.

The Church needs to change.

At the very least, we can't just focus on healing injuries and breaking the curse like we used to.

In just a few short years, a mage like Rienta has appeared.

As time goes by and more and more mages appear, an organization similar to Church will inevitably form.

He estimated he wouldn't live to see that time.

But Luna is different.

The future Luna cannot be like this.