"Follower III"

"Protestants aren't that bad." After a long standoff, Snape said, "Do you know Yarm village? The village where everyone voluntarily stayed behind for quarantine when the plague came."

The secretary-general sighed. "You can go."

"I can't just leave like that. You said it yourself—the devil effect." Snape said. "If you leave with a bad impression, the next time you meet another Protestant or wizard, you'll assume the worst of them."

"We're still cooperating. We're attending a gathering tonight." Gianluca said. "Don't forget our common enemy, Father."

"I don't know whether I hate devils or Protestants more."

"I'm not—" Under the secretary-general's furious glare, the wizard fell silent.

"We want to save Venice," Gianluca said. "To keep it from truly sinking, as the scientists have predicted."

"That isn't a prophecy!" the secretary-general roared.

"All right, a forecast!" Gianluca conceded. "Do you want Venice to sink, Father?"

"You think saving one city can save the world?" the priest said mockingly.

"As long as we can stop the Adriatic Sea from rising, I think there's hope," Gianluca said.

The priest slumped into his chair and covered his face with both hands.

"Stop dreaming, boy."

"If sea levels rise, coastal regions will be flooded. Just like in the Middle Ages, when the temperature dropped too low and farmers were forced to leave their land, crowded populations will intensify social conflicts, right?" Gianluca asked.

"Whenever the temperature fell, nomads attacked the farmers in warmer regions," Snape said. "Everyone's living space shrank because of the weather. Everyone wanted their own territory to be a little bigger, and they never stopped fighting each other."

"And then they reported and falsely accused people to the authorities for revenge," Gianluca said. "The Council of Ten often received such denunciation letters in the past. I'm sure the Inquisition received plenty