Bishop, You Wouldn't Want...

"Could there have been some misunderstanding?"

Faced with Chen Fan's retort, Wallis Bishop fell silent once again.

How was he supposed to answer?

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

But the problem was... when the Church had obtained that Forbidden Book, there had been no signs that the layered pages had been tampered with!

Beneath his ornate hood, a pair of red-glowing Mechanical Eyes stared fixedly at Chen Fan's face, which was filled with innocence and confusion.

Earlier, during the Third Divine Decree ceremony, he had held a fairly favorable impression of this God Chosen—anyone who could remain calm during the divine decree ceremony would surely satisfy the Goddess.

But now, after repeatedly running into walls, Wallis Bishop looked at that face in the distance and felt a burst of irritation rise within him.

Putting Gao Yuan aside for the moment, he had always been this unreliable. But Isa's uncharacteristic behavior? Wallis absolutely did not believe no one had been directing her behind the scenes!

Something was wrong. There was definitely something wrong!

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

But... he had no evidence.

No matter how many suspicions he harbored, without evidence, Chen Fan's identity as a God Chosen was his best shield.

The Divine Descent Ceremony was imminent. Forget bishops and archbishops—even the Pope could not lay a hand on a God Chosen without cause!

"Perhaps."

Suppressing the agitation in his heart, Wallis Bishop took half a step back. "What you say makes sense, Chen Fan."

Though he was already secretly delighted, Chen Fan maintained the same innocent, bewildered expression.

Even if Wallis Bishop and the Archbishop racked their brains, they would never imagine that he had read the forbidden information hidden in the layered pages without damaging them.

Combined with the information Isa and Gao Yuan had provided, Wallis Bishop's vague explanation could not affect Chen Fan in the slightest, given his "God's-eye view"!

Watching Chen Fan reveal not a single flaw, Wallis felt despondent.

This farce should be over now, right?

The answer was no.

If this had been shortly after his transmigration, when he had faced a completely unfamiliar environment, Chen Fan might have chosen to stop while he was ahead in exchange for greater benefits.

But now...

With the Varrela Calendar change imminent, coupled with the Forbidden Book incident, the conflict between him and the Church had been triggered far earlier than expected.

To ensure that the Church would stop making trouble for him, and to ensure the smooth execution of his upcoming plans, he had to use his identity as a God Chosen to pressure the Church—though the Church's attitude toward the God Chosen had always been somewhat ambiguous, God Chosen still held an extremely high legal status.

Besides... who knew how much longer he could remain a God Chosen? If he did not use this identity to stir up trouble now, would that not be a terrible waste?

With that thought, Chen Fan's face revealed just the right amount of understanding and sorrow.

"Bishop, although I know little about the Forbidden Book, I can still understand your difficulties."

"However... have you considered something?"

"Why would a Forbidden Book exist in the Church's library?"

"Bishop, please make sure to investigate this matter thoroughly. If it is allowed to continue, it may cause irreparable harm to all God Chosen."

"You surely would not want every God Chosen to bear the title of Sinner, would you?"

Wallis's expression changed dramatically.

But upon reflection, this truly was a huge hidden danger—every God Chosen could freely enter and leave the library. What if there were other Forbidden Books inside? What if this matter became known throughout the entire city...

A threat. This was a blatant threat!

Seeing the faint smile on Chen Fan's face, Wallis suddenly felt a chill crawl up his mechanical spine.

"...I understand."

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

Wallis scrutinized Chen Fan once more with his Mechanical Eyes, then turned and waved his hand, leading the priests and guards toward the door.

"Let's go. Return to the Main Church."

Watching the priests depart, Chen Fan returned to his room expressionlessly.

Only when he closed the door did Chen Fan finally let out a breath.

Supporting himself on the back of a nearby chair, he slowly sat down on the wooden chair in the room. Raising a hand to wipe the faint cold sweat beading at his temple, he murmured, "That should settle it."

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

"These next few days?" A soft, sweet voice came from behind him. "Do you mean the Church will cause you trouble again in a few days?"

No, in a few days, it probably would not be as simple as causing trouble—when a God Chosen defected, the commotion would be far greater than this.

Just as Chen Fan was about to explain, he suddenly realized something. Where the hell had that soft, sweet voice come from in this room?

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

Chen Fan lowered his head and spotted the little potato cautiously standing by the tightly shut door, her figure perfectly concealed beneath her black priest's robe. "Shouldn't you have gone back to the Church with Wallis Bishop?!"

"..."

Silence.

After several dozen seconds of silence, Chen Fan saw the oversized priest's robe before him tremble lightly. "...Is, is that so?"

A voice full of confusion came from beneath the black hood.

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

Chen Fan: "..."

Now that she mentioned it, that did seem to have happened.

This was troublesome.

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

Send Isa back to the Church?

That definitely would not work.

Wallis Bishop had just suffered a setback at his hands. Who knew how furious he was right now!

Putting himself in Wallis Bishop's shoes, Chen Fan would definitely vent all his anger on Isa, the "chief culprit." After all, she had leaked the Church's secrets.

Then... let Isa stay in his house?

That seemed problematic too.

First, there was Gao Yuan. As a God Chosen, he was wholeheartedly devoted to setting things right and guiding the Church onto the "correct" path of development.

Then there was Chen Fan himself. He was also a God Chosen, yet all he thought about was how to avoid the God Chosen Ceremony, escape the Church's control, and flee Varrela City...

Just listen to that. Did any of it sound right?

If Isa learned of their true situation...

"Hey, what was it... Isa, right?"

Before Chen Fan could sort out what to do next, Gao Yuan's voice came from nearby. "Since the Church doesn't want you anymore, how about you work with us?"

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

"What was it... people first! Right, people first!"

"What do you think? Give it some serious thought, will you?"

Chen Fan: "...???"

Isa: "?!!"

Watching Isa take half a step back in shock, pressing her tiny body against the door in terror, Chen Fan twitched the corner of his mouth and said stiffly:

"How about... you first let me explain the idea of putting people first?"