Bishop, You Wouldn't Want To

"Could there be some misunderstanding in this?"

Facing Chen Fan's counter-question, Wallis Bishop fell silent again.

How was he supposed to answer?

Was he supposed to say that during the Church's detailed inspection, they discovered forbidden information hidden in the book's pages?

But the problem was... when the Church obtained that Forbidden Book, there were no signs of the hidden layer being artificially damaged at all!

Beneath the ornate hood, a pair of red-glowing Mechanical Eyes stared intently at Chen Fan, whose face was filled with innocence and confusion.

Previously, during the Third Divine Decree ceremony, he had a good impression of this God Chosen – being able to remain calm during the Divine Decree ceremony, this God Chosen would surely satisfy the Goddess.

But now, Wallis Bishop, who had repeatedly hit a wall, looked at the face not far away and felt a surge of irritation in his heart.

Leaving Gao Yuan aside for now, he had always been this unreliable. As for Isa's abnormal behavior, he absolutely didn't believe there wasn't someone behind it!

There was a problem, definitely a problem!

Wallis had already guessed who was causing trouble behind the scenes – without a doubt, it was that seemingly harmless God Chosen, Chen Fan!

But... he couldn't produce any evidence.

No matter how much suspicion he had in his heart, without evidence, the identity of a God Chosen was Chen Fan's best protective umbrella.

The Divine Descent Ceremony was imminent. Let alone Bishops and Archbishops, even the Pope couldn't act against a God Chosen without reason!

"Perhaps."

Wallis Bishop suppressed the anxiety in his heart and took half a step back. "Chen Fan, you have a point."

Although his heart was blooming with joy, Chen Fan's face still maintained its original innocence and confusion.

No matter how much Wallis Bishop and the Archbishop racked their brains, they wouldn't have guessed that he had read the forbidden information in the hidden layer without damaging the pages.

Coupled with the information provided by Isa and Gao Yuan, Wallis Bishop's vague statement couldn't affect Chen Fan, who had a "God's perspective," in the slightest!

Wallis looked at Chen Fan, who showed no flaws, and felt a sense of melancholy in his heart.

This farce should end here, right?

The answer was no.

If it were at the beginning of his transmigration, facing a completely unfamiliar environment, Chen Fan might have chosen to stop while he was ahead to gain more benefits.

But now...

The Varrela Calendar was about to change, and coupled with the Forbidden Book incident, the time for the conflict between him and the Church to trigger had been greatly advanced.

To ensure that the Church wouldn't continue to trouble him, and to ensure the smooth implementation of his subsequent plans, he had to use his identity as a God Chosen to pressure the Church – although the Church's attitude towards God Chosen had always been somewhat ambiguous, God Chosen still held a very high status legally.

Furthermore... who knew how long he could remain a God Chosen? If he didn't use this identity to stir up some trouble, wouldn't it be too much of a waste?

Thinking this, Chen Fan's face appropriately showed understanding and sorrow:

"Bishop, although I don't know much about the Forbidden Book, I can still understand your difficulties."

"However... have you thought about one thing?"

"Why would there be a Forbidden Book in the Church's Library?"

"Bishop, please be sure to investigate this matter thoroughly. If left unchecked, it could cause irreparable harm to all God Chosen."

"You wouldn't want all God Chosen to be labeled as Sinners, would you?"

Wallis's face instantly changed drastically.

But upon closer thought, this was indeed a huge hidden danger – every God Chosen could freely enter and exit the Library. What if there were other Forbidden Books inside? What if this matter became known throughout the city...

Threat, this was a naked threat!

Looking at the faint smile on Chen Fan's face, Wallis suddenly felt a chill rise along his mechanical spine.

"...I understand."

"Chen Fan, please rest assured, the Church will give you an explanation."

Wallis used his Mechanical Eyes to carefully examine Chen Fan again, then turned and waved his hand, leading a group of Priests and guards towards the main door:

"Let's go, back to the Main Church."

Watching the group of Priests leave, Chen Fan returned to his room expressionlessly.

It wasn't until he closed the door that Chen Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He leaned against the back of a chair, slowly sat down on the wooden chair in the room, raised his hand to wipe away the slight cold sweat on his forehead, and murmured, "This should be fine now."

"Old Gao, the Church probably won't have time to trouble us for the next few days."

"Next few days?" A soft voice came from behind him, "You mean the Church will still trouble you in a few days?"

No, in a few more days, it might not be as simple as just trouble – a God Chosen defecting, that kind of scene would be much bigger than this.

Just as Chen Fan was about to explain, he suddenly realized a problem: Damn it, where did that soft voice in this room come from?

"...Isa? Why are you still here?!"

Chen Fan lowered his head and saw the small figure, perfectly concealed by the black priest's robe, standing cautiously beside the closed door. "Shouldn't you have gone back to the Church with Wallis Bishop?!"

"..."

Silence.

After dozens of seconds of silence, Chen Fan saw the wide priest's robe in front of him tremble slightly. "...Is, is that so?"

A confused voice came from under the black hood.

"But didn't Wallis Bishop just strip me of my priest status?"

Chen Fan: "..."

Don't say it, it seems that really happened.

This is troublesome now.

Looking at Isa, who was silently shrinking in the corner of the room, Chen Fan raised his hand and scratched the back of his head.

Let Isa go back to the Church?

That's definitely not possible.

Wallis Bishop just suffered a setback from him, who knows how angry he is right now!

Putting himself in Wallis Bishop's shoes, he would definitely vent all his anger on Isa, the "culprit," since she leaked the Church's secrets.

Then... let Isa stay at his house?

That also seems a bit problematic.

First, there's Gao Yuan, as a God Chosen, single-mindedly wanting to set things right and lead the Church in the "correct" direction of development.

Then there's himself, also a God Chosen, but his mind is entirely focused on how to avoid the God Chosen Ceremony, how to break free from the Church's control, how to escape Varrela City...

Listen to that, does that sound right?

If Isa knew the true situation of the two of them...

"Hey, you, Isa, right?"

Before Chen Fan could figure out the next steps, Gao Yuan's voice already came from the side. "Since the Church doesn't want you anymore, why don't you work with us?"

"The current Church is too distorted. We'll find an opportunity to overthrow it and then lead the Church onto the right path."

"What's that... people-oriented! Yes, it's people-oriented!"

"How about it? Think about it carefully?"

Chen Fan: "...???"

Isa: "?!!"

Looking at the terrified scene of Isa taking a half-step back in shock, pressing her thin body against the door, Chen Fan twitched the corner of his mouth and said with a somewhat stiff tone:

"How about... you listen to me explain the idea of being people-oriented first?"