Pope-like Demeanor

More than ten minutes later.

Chen Fan stopped his endless stream of words and reached out again to pick up the water cup beside him and took a sip.

He never expected that he could complete two "preachings" in such a short time, and the targets were even a priest and a God Chosen of the Church!

Who the hell would believe this if he told them!

Your preaching skills have greatly improved.

One didn't miss any opportunity and interjected with a jab:

This unit believes you have the demeanor of a Pope.

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly: 'Shut up.'

He turned his head to look at Isa, who was still standing by the door.

For Isa, who had always lived in the Church, those people-centered, enlightened ideas were clearly still too advanced – although he had significantly modified and cut down on these concepts and ideas, ever since he finished his lengthy speech, this black-robed Mechanical Little Potato had completely frozen in place.

It was like she had crashed.

Chen Fan thought happily in his mind.

He didn't rush her but waited quietly, giving Isa ample time to digest and think.

Beneath the priest's black robe.

Isa's delicate little face was crumpled up.

The words Chen Fan spoke had a huge impact on her worldview.

She felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't pinpoint what the problem was.

The Church... the Church was clearly the Goddess's most devout follower, so how could it become an obstacle hindering people's hearts?

She couldn't help but think of what she had seen during the Divine Descent Ceremony.

All the believers treated her with great respect.

Thinking back now, perhaps it wasn't respect, but fear.

And this fear wasn't directed at her, but at the black priest's robe she was wearing!

More accurately, the believers were afraid of the Church behind her!

When a church only brings fear to its believers, are the actions of this church still correct?

Isa pursed her lips tightly, her clear right eye slightly narrowed, revealing deep confusion.

Amidst a barely perceptible mechanical whirring sound, the red-glowing mechanical prosthetic eye adjusted its direction. Hidden by the black robe, she carefully observed Chen Fan and Gao Yuan, who were sitting in chairs.

They were God Chosen!

According to the Archbishop, they were God's spokesmen in the human world!

How could they say such blasphemous words—

No, that's not right. Gao Yuan and Chen Fan's words didn't deny God; they only denied the Church's usual practices.

The moment this thought flashed through her mind, under the black hood, Isa's right eye suddenly widened.

If the God Chosen were truly God's spokesmen in the human world...

Then what they spoke of, could it be the Goddess's will?

So, it was the Goddess who wanted to change the Church, not the God Chosen having ulterior motives?

Time passed minute by minute.

The water cup in Chen Fan's hand was already empty.

'One, do you think Isa can be fooled by me?'

A somewhat bored Chen Fan chatted with One in his mind.

This unit holds a pessimistic attitude.

You might have underestimated the influence of religion and faith on intelligent beings.

As a priest, having grown up under the influence of the Church since childhood, theoretically, your remarks will find it difficult to shake her beliefs.

'What about Gao Yuan?' Chen Fan pouted, 'He's still a God Chosen!'

...Gao Yuan is an exception. The premise of this unit's discussion with you is normal people.

Hearing this, Chen Fan looked at Gao Yuan with a strange expression – Gao Yuan, noticing Chen Fan's gaze, grinned, revealing a carefree smile.

Chen Fan silently withdrew his gaze: 'Alright, I'll tentatively agree with your view.'

'But I still believe in my preaching skills.'

Heh heh, this unit likes your unyielding attitude.

Just as the person and the machine were arguing, the black priest's robe that was frozen by the door trembled slightly.

"I'll join you."

The soft, sweet voice was incredibly firm.

After a brief moment of surprise, Chen Fan's face broke into a gentle smile: "Welcome aboard."

[???]

[How is this possible?!]

In Chen Fan's mind, One had already started doubting its own system: [No, you have to ask her for me, what is she thinking?]

[This, this isn't scientific!]

Isa's voice rang out again: "This matter... is it the Third Divine Decree?"

Chen Fan was taken aback.

"What?"

Why, out of the blue, was she bringing up the Third Divine Decree again?

Isa raised her mechanical prosthetic and took off her wide hood.

Her picturesque eyebrows and eyes were lowered, revealing an indescribable sadness and helplessness.

"The Church has done wrong, so the Lord is naturally angry."

"So the Lord conveyed her will to you during the Third Divine Decree, is that right?"

As she said this, Isa's expression became resolute: "As a believer of the Lord, I am willing to help you."

Ho... Holy crap?

Chen Fan seemed to understand.

In Isa's view, the Goddess was displeased with the Church's actions and thus used the Divine Decree to convey her will to the God Chosen, preparing to rely on the God Chosen's power to improve the Church's situation.

As for why the Goddess didn't act personally... this Mechanical Little Potato didn't seem to have considered that aspect yet.

Although it sounded a bit outrageous, when Chen Fan put himself in Isa's shoes, he felt that this explanation was also reasonable—in the history of Varrela City, no God Chosen had ever been so bold, but if the Goddess was "backing" them, everything sounded much more reasonable.

It was still the same point.

The brains of intelligent beings have a strong ability to fill in details.

Clearly, the brain-filling ability of this Priest in front of him was slightly too strong.

Chen Fan opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then met Isa's gaze and nodded vigorously.

"You're right, that's exactly what happened!"

Good heavens, if this continued, he would almost believe that he was a righteous person with legitimate reasons!

"The Lord... did indeed convey some information to me through the Divine Decree ceremony."

Chen Fan lied without batting an eye, even adding a temporary patch to Isa's words: "After the Lord returned to the God Kingdom, it's inconvenient for her to interfere in worldly affairs. As a God Chosen, I naturally have to share the Lord's worries."

Gao Yuan, who was standing nearby: "???"

How was this a little different from the version he had heard before?

Did he mishear?

Gao Yuan tried to recall, but felt his mind was hazy, as if covered by a fog.

Hmm... he must have misheard.

Gao Yuan scratched his head and updated the version in his memory himself.

On the other side, Chen Fan was gleefully putting on a smug face in his heart:

'One, speak up!'

'Didn't you say it was impossible before?'

One was silent for a moment, then responded in a low voice: [...Excluding Gao Yuan and Isa, this machine's simulation calculations are only for intelligent beings with normal brain circuits.]

'Heh heh, I still like the way you're stubborn.'

One: [...]