Priest Isa

"What's wrong with you, priest?!"

Before Chen Fan could react, Gao Yuan's angry voice rang out.

Already full of pent-up frustration from the "security check," Gao Yuan vented all his anger on the petite priestess in front of him.

For a priest, offending a God Chosen was a grave sin.

At best, it was insubordination and would result in severe punishment.

At worst...

It was an attempt to harm a God Chosen, carrying the suspicion of heresy!

For that reason, the silver-haired priestess had no time to fix her disheveled hair or put back on her fallen black hood.

Enduring the pain, she hurriedly climbed to her feet and bent at the waist, pleading with the two God Chosen.

"My lords, I-I didn't mean to."

"The Goddess issued a divine decree. It happened so suddenly that I didn't notice..."

Her soft, delicate voice reached Chen Fan's ears.

Perhaps because she had thought of the punishment awaiting her, there was a tremor in that gentle voice.

Even the petite body concealed beneath her oversized black robe was trembling slightly.

Chen Fan could not help frowning.

That soft voice, that oversized black robe, that petite figure...

She seemed a little familiar.

Chen Fan quickly found that figure in his memories—

Wasn't she the clumsy little priest who had guided Gao Yuan before the Third Divine Decree began?!

Hah!

So they were acquainted after all!

Gao Yuan, standing beside him, had not recognized the priest. He snorted coldly, seemingly about to say something else.

"Old Gao, enough."

Chen Fan spoke up to cut him off. "I was thinking about some matters in the library just now, so I wasn't watching where I was going."

"When it came down to it, it was my own fault."

"Besides, it was only a bump. There's no need to take it out on a little priest."

Gao Yuan was startled, and the anger on his face quickly faded.

Though he was usually somewhat rash, as a God Chosen, his intelligence was certainly up to par.

He understood what Chen Fan meant:

On one hand, the amnesiac Chen Fan needed to keep a low profile. The fewer people who noticed him, the safer he would be.

On the other hand...

Chen Fan truly had something important to ask him.

Thinking of that, Gao Yuan snorted again and swallowed the words that had been about to leave his mouth.

"All right, you can go."

The silver-haired priestess looked up at Chen Fan, as though she could hardly believe what she had heard.

"If I remember correctly, you're the priest who guided Old Gao earlier, right?"

"Yes. You may call me Isa."

Chen Fan waved his hand. "In the Lord's name, I forgive your sin."

Realizing that she had narrowly escaped disaster, the silver-haired priestess Isa's eyes reddened slightly. "Thank you for your mercy!"

She pressed her pale lips together, her expression earnest. "My lord, you are a good person."

"May the Lord be with you."

Chen Fan's eye twitched.

That was not a good thing to say!

"No, I'm not."

Chen Fan answered with an equally serious expression.

Isa:?

"No, you are definitely a good person."

"Once you reach the God Kingdom, the Lord will surely like you."

Fuck.

Good people deserved to be liked by the Lord?

Why was she cursing him out of nowhere?!

Was this repaying kindness with enmity?!

Chen Fan immediately panicked. "I'm fucking not a good person!"

"Gao Yuan is the good person!"

Gao Yuan:?

Isa:???

She blinked her right eye, then quietly rotated her exquisite Mechanical Left Eye.

She could not quite understand why.

Was this the gap between her and a God Chosen?

"My lord, you are truly modest."

The silver-haired priestess's expression turned solemn, and a hint of reverence entered her soft voice. "I should learn from you."

Chen Fan: "..."

It was over. There was no explaining this.

He let out a quiet sigh and somewhat helplessly pointed at Isa's messy silver hair.

Only then did the clumsy priestess realize that something was wrong with her appearance.

Being improperly dressed was also a grave sin of disrespect toward the gods within the church.

She gave a soft cry, then extended a pair of slender Mechanical Prosthetics from beneath her black robe and hurriedly tidied the messy silver hair hanging before her.

Under Chen Fan's gaze, after quickly fixing her hair, she fumbled to pull the fallen hood back over her head, hiding her lovely face beneath the oversized black robe.

"One more thing."

Only after the priestess had finished tidying herself did Chen Fan speak again. "You mentioned that the Goddess had issued a divine decree, right?"

The oversized black hood bobbed up and down, and a strand of silver-white hair quietly poked out from beneath it.

"Yes."

Unlike before, Isa's voice was now incomparably solemn.

"The Archbishop personally announced it."

"The Goddess has issued a divine decree."

"Varrela Calendar Year 160 will begin three days from now."

"That was way too fast..."

The moment they stepped out of the East Main Church, Gao Yuan could not help sighing.

"Fast? What do you mean by that?"

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, a strong premonition forming in his heart.

Here it comes, here it comes. The little intel treasure is about to volunteer information again!

Sure enough, it was exactly as Chen Fan expected.

Gao Yuan first turned his head and scanned the surroundings. After confirming that there were almost no robed clergy nearby, he lowered his voice. "Today is July 19, 2067, by the Old Calendar."

"Do you remember when the Varrela Calendar last changed?"

Chen Fan glanced at Gao Yuan speechlessly.

If he knew, would he need to ask?

After keeping him in suspense long enough, Gao Yuan said cheerfully, "January 3, 2067, by the Old Calendar."

"Didn't expect that, did you?"

"In just a few months, an entire Varrela year has passed."

Chen Fan nodded calmly. "That is rather unexpected..."

"Rather unexpected?" Gao Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how long Varrela Calendar Year One lasted?"

"A full ten Old Calendar years!"

This time, genuine surprise appeared on Chen Fan's face.

He was right.

Zero's voice sounded at just the right moment, while a familiar holographic projection appeared before Chen Fan's eyes.

This unit found the specific change dates of the Varrela Calendar while scanning the documents.

Varrela Calendar Year One was the longest, lasting a full ten Old Calendar years and 139 Old Calendar days.

Varrela Calendar Year 159 was the shortest, lasting only 200 Old Calendar days.

This unit has performed a simple analysis of the data.

As the voice fell silent, an azure chart rapidly appeared before his eyes.

It was a steadily declining curve.

Though there were slight rebounds along the way, its overall trend was indeed one of continual decline.

At this rate, by around Varrela Calendar Years 220 to 250, one Old Calendar day would probably equal one Varrela year.

Looking at the projected curve that suddenly accelerated downward and hit the bottom, Chen Fan could not help sucking in a cold breath.

When something was abnormal, there had to be a reason.

Such a bizarre calendar must have an equally bizarre cause behind it!

PS: Happy New Year's Day, dear readers!

Ahem, during the double monthly pass event, aren't you really going to cast a few monthly passes?

QAQ