The Supreme God's Whisper

When Allen returned to the church, Wood smiled with blatant hypocrisy.

"Baron, have you come to fulfill my previous proposal?" Wood said with a smile. "Was it the Holy Father's calling that brought you back here?"

Yorkshire looked utterly baffled. On the way back to the church, the Baron had worn a frighteningly grim face the entire time, and he had not dared ask why they were returning.

Still, he did not want a direct conflict with the church, because behind Outpost County Church stood the enormous Holy See.

"Yes, the great Holy Father is with me." Allen clasped his fists toward the statue in an awkward gesture and said, "On my way back to the city, I actually heard the Supreme God Holy Father whispering as well."

Yorkshire wore an expression as though he were severely constipated.

Wood's smile froze on his face as he stood there completely stunned.

"The Holy Father's whisper" was the favorite catchphrase of bishops from every major church, a foolproof trick for swindling commoners. He had never expected this good-for-nothing Lord to learn it too.

Ironically, the people on the continent who least believed in gods and spirits were usually these charlatans themselves, and Wood happened to be one of them.

On the Saint Cassis Continent, including the Supreme God Holy Father and all the other miscellaneous gods, no one had ever personally witnessed any divine miracle in a thousand years. The Holy Father's whisper might have been the hallucination or delusion of some religious lunatic, but if anyone claimed that the Supreme God had truly spoken to mortals, Wood would be the first not to believe it.

Wood knew Allen was talking nonsense, and Yorkshire knew it too, but neither exposed him. Nor could they.

Wood muttered, "Are you certain it was the Holy Father's whisper?"

A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart, because whenever he opened with the phrase "the Holy Father's whisper," it was always followed by outrageous extortion and enormous lies.

Allen wore a devout expression. "The Holy Father guided me back here. The Father said that God would watch over me, purify evil, purify the Evil Dragon Egg. I cannot refuse such a duty."

Yorkshire and Wood were both utterly confused.

"I suppose the Holy Father meant for me to come back here and take the egg away!" After saying that, Allen shook his head in feigned confusion and asked, "That counts as the Holy Father's whisper, right? I'm not entirely sure. I just felt that some voice in the dark was telling me to do this."

"Yes! It absolutely was!" Wood was overwhelmed by a powerful wave of happiness and hurriedly nodded. "I'll have someone bring the Evil Dragon Egg immediately."

After saying that, he nodded at the priest beside him.

"How enviable, Lord Allen. You can hear the Holy Father's whisper too. You must be a devout believer." Wood smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum.

Yet beneath that outward smile lay deep contempt.

The Grand Duke's son? Ha, isn't he still dancing in the palm of my hand? He really is the sort of idiot who only cares about material things. Later, I'll have someone spread rumors and send those heretics to cause trouble at the Old Castle. It would be best if they killed him too. Then wouldn't the Grand Duke, who holds military power, become the Holy See's free thug?

Yorkshire's face was full of pain. If he tried to stop this now, it would no longer simply be a matter of overstepping his status. It would mean questioning the Holy Father, and the consequences were not something a mere clerk like him could bear.

"Wonderful. It seems I truly am a devout believer. Even Bishop Wood says that was the Holy Father's whisper." Allen slapped his forehead, then said in feigned irritation, "I nearly forgot. The Holy Father also told me something else."

"What?" Wood asked doubtfully.

Allen smiled faintly. "The Holy Father also told me that all the people of Outpost County are devout believers. As God's people, all living beings are equal. The Holy Father's light will forever shine upon this place. God said that all Commoner Tax Laws in Outpost County must be abolished, including the thirty percent of personal income and three copper coins paid to the Holy See."

"Absurd!" Wood's expression changed instantly. His spring-breeze smile was replaced by a frosty glare. "Those are regulations set by the bishopric. Every border city in every human nation does things this way. How could they possibly be abolished so easily?"

"The bishopric? Oh, so the Holy Father's word does not count. The archbishops' words are what count." Allen nodded thoughtfully, then said to Yorkshire, "So the Holy Father's whisper is completely useless. Go back and tell all the people about this. From now on, no one needs to pray to the Holy Father. They should just pray directly to those distant bishops instead."

"Huh?" Yorkshire stared at Allen in bewilderment.

Allen paid him no mind and turned to leave after speaking.

"Wait!" By now, Wood finally understood what this good-for-nothing Lord was trying to do. Though he could not understand what the lives of commoners had to do with him, he still reached out to stop Allen, his expression dark as water. "You have misunderstood me, sir. What I meant was that the Holy Father could not possibly make such an absurd demand. Lord Allen, did you hear wrong? You should know that deceiving others in the Holy Father's name will send you to the stake."

Seeing the faint threat in his words, Allen merely shrugged. "I didn't say it. The Holy Father did. Didn't you just confirm it yourself?"

Wood sneered. "Baron, perhaps that was merely your imagination."

"Your imagination, my ass!" Allen instantly turned into a street thug. He kicked over the nearby prayer stand and cursed loudly, "You just said it was the Holy Father's whisper, and now you're saying I'm lying? Everything is up to you, huh? Is there any justice left in this world? Screw you! I'll write to my father right now and tell him that you questioned the Holy Father. I'll have my father ask those cardinals what the hell is going on. Is it you who has the final say, or the Holy Father?"

Yorkshire finally caught on and spoke leisurely. "Bishop Wood, you just confirmed that Lord Allen had indeed heard the Holy Father's whisper. Why are you changing your story now? If it was not the Holy Father's whisper, why were you so certain just now? Are you questioning Lord Allen, or the omnipotent Holy Father?"

The old fox Wood was dumbfounded. He had long heard countless rumors about the useless noble of Outpost County, and until recently, he had never thought much of this Lord in name only.

Yet this good-for-nothing Lord, whom he had never even bothered to look at properly, had quietly set a trap for him, and he had charged into it without hesitation. Now he could not change his words, and if this reached the bishopric, the blame for acting without authorization and failing in his duties would certainly fall on his head.

Allen gave him no chance to think and continued cursing. "You said the Holy Father wanted me to purify that damn egg, and I believed you because I heard the Holy Father's whisper too. And now what? You're pinning some random huge charge on me? Do you think I'm an idiot, or are you one?"

Before Wood could continue arguing, a pale-faced priest approached with a black egg the size of a human head cradled in both hands.

All three of them had their attention drawn to the enormous black egg.

The Black Egg was oval-shaped and covered in Magic Patterns. It trembled at high speed as if it possessed life, and like a black hole, it was impossible to look away once one stared at it.

The priest's face looked terrible. His hands shook as he painstakingly set the enormous black egg on the table, then hurried away. Once he reached a distance, he collapsed onto the ground.

Yorkshire's face suddenly turned pale, and his body shook without pause. His pale features became twisted and savage, killing intent covering his handsome face as his eyes turned blood-red.

Wood gave Yorkshire a strange look. He had not expected this unremarkable clerk to possess such powerful Mental Power.

An ordinary person would have been unable to withstand the Black Egg's negative influence at all and would have long since gone mad.

Watching with the mindset of enjoying a show, Wood did not immediately use Holy Light Magic to suppress the negative magic power. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Allen.

It would have been better if he had not looked. The moment he did, his jaw nearly dropped.

Allen casually walked up to the Black Egg, lightly tapped it twice with a finger, then pressed his ear against it and listened for a while. After fiddling with it for quite some time, he showed no sign whatsoever of being affected by the negative power.

Wood had no choice but to chant a spell. Golden light flashed, and the Magic Patterns on the enormous black egg gradually dimmed. Only then did Yorkshire's complexion improve slightly.

"That's all? I don't see what's so special about it." Allen shook his head and said to Yorkshire, "Let's go. Since it wasn't the Holy Father's whisper, let's each go home and find our mothers."

Yorkshire took a deep breath and nodded dazedly.

"Oh, right. Don't forget to tell the people that this Holy Father's whisper nonsense is all bullshit. Heh heh." After saying that, Allen looked at Wood with mockery in his eyes.

Wood glared hatefully at Allen.

You came back here on purpose to wreck the place, didn't you?

Just as Allen and Yorkshire were about to leave, Wood gritted his teeth and chased after them.

By then, he was prepared to compromise, because events had developed far beyond his expectations. He could not allow the people of Outpost County to question him or question the Supreme God. The worst outcome would be suffering the distrust and wrath of the Holy See's upper ranks.