Bishop Mathers

Bishop Mathers of the Red Queen District's Light Bearer Cathedral is Avalon's most orthodox Nine Pillars God Church, and also the highest in status.

The coronation ceremonies of Avalon's kings and queens throughout history have been held here, and it is also the location of the royal tombs. Other people in the Avalon Kingdom who can be called "great" will also be buried here after their state funerals.

Its daring to be named after the Dedication Path's guardian pillar god, "Light Bearer," is enough to prove its sacredness.

"Please come this way."

An old man wearing a Mitre and dressed in a solemn, floor-length red robe turned around and said to Iver politely and gently.

Judging from his skin and eyebrows, this man with a goatee and glasses was only in his forties, and his temperament gave off the feeling of a strict head teacher. But he inexplicably gave people a feeling of "old age," making people instinctively think he should be an old man. Perhaps it was because his beard and hair had an unnatural paleness, not natural white hair, but a fading caused by aging.

The old man looked up and reminded Oswald, who was pushing the wheelchair behind Iver, "Be careful, the road ahead is downhill."

The Mitre on his head was shaped like some kind of elaborately designed, ornate, and sacred candlestick.

It could even hold candles—but they wouldn't actually insert and light candles except on important occasions.

With the design of this Mitre, it could hold up to three candles. The large candle in the front and the two small candles on the left and right sides represented the high level of the old man's holy order.

Even counting the Pope of the Eternal Theocracy, he could be considered the third level from the top.

Strictly speaking, all high-ranking clergy, including the Pope, are considered "Bishops." All Bishops' Mitres have three candles, and only Bishops can wear red robes. The Pope's Mitre can hold three large candles, while the lowest-level Bishop can only insert three small candles.

The next lower level, Priest, has two candles, and the lowest-level Deacon has only one.

Although the churches in this world all worship the Nine Pillars Gods simultaneously, the churches themselves also have their own emphases. The vast majority of clerics walk the Dedication Path, so the Nine Pillars God Church itself respects "Light Bearer" and uses the red candle of "burning oneself to illuminate others" as the sacred symbol of the Nine Pillars God Church.

Although Iver is also a Priest, he has not yet graduated, so he has not been granted his own Mitre. This means that he is not considered a part of the religious system, does not receive a salary from the church, and is not bound by the rules of the church.

"Thank you, Bishop Mathers."

Iver said politely and gratefully, "I'm still troubling you to personally teach me Sacred Art."

"It's no trouble at all. I was able to be elected as a Spiritual Councilor, thanks to Professor Moriarty."

Bishop Mathers placed his hands in front of him, his fingers interlaced. He walked parallel to Iver on the east side of the Light Bearer Cathedral.

He smiled cheerfully, "I saw the newspaper this morning—you did a good job yesterday.

"That group of Demon Scholars has done many evils, and recently sacrificed an entire village. Including more than a dozen old people and more than forty children, all of them were made into ritual materials. Their crimes are heinous and even alarmed His Holiness the Pope. Now they are not only wanted in the kingdom, but also listed in the Punishment Hall of the Theocracy.

"Before you have officially obtained the power of the Path, you relied on your own wisdom to find them, and defeated them with a pistol... Overcoming the strong with the weak, very good. His Holiness the Pope has not yet received the newspaper. But I believe that if he sees the newspaper, he will also praise you as a 'hero emerging at a young age'."

"It's not that great," Iver smiled gently, "Without Senior Hai Na's protection, I might have been killed even if I found them."

"Well, that little girl is also very good."

Bishop Mathers agreed, "Brave and resourceful—most importantly, willing to believe in others.

"Her strength is so much stronger than yours, and she is older than you, but she did not blindly believe in her own strength, and was willing to trust your judgment... When she cannot handle the problem at hand, she is willing to pass the ball to someone who can handle the problem. I think this is probably also a kind of wisdom."

"You also watch ball games?"

The person who suddenly asked the question was Oswald, who was behind Iver.

The old elf asked with interest, "Which team do you support?"

"Of course, it's the Mistletoe Club."

Bishop Mathers answered without hesitation, "I think there's something to be said about that newcomer they brought in this year."

"What about the Unicorns? What do you think of the Unicorns' performance this year?"

"I'm an Avalon person, so of course I support the Avalon team. You're an Elf, so you support the Eternal Theocracy's team. That's normal."

The Bishop said cheerfully, glossing over the topic.

He looked at Iver and said seriously, "Although you've proven that you can overcome the weak—defeating an enemy who was about to reach the Third Level without gaining any extraordinary power—it would be a dereliction of duty for us elders to just leave you aside like that.

"Although doing so may not be in accordance with the rules... According to the regulations issued by Her Majesty the Queen forty years ago, Avalon citizens need to be adults, have achieved excellent results in cultural course assessments, and have good moral evaluations, with no bad habits or criminal records, before they can formally come into contact with the Path and embark on the road to transcendence.

"But there's only a month left until the final assessment for your class. You've already proven your integrity and rationality, and I'll talk to Her Majesty the Queen about it later."

Hearing this, Oswald, the butler pushing the wheelchair, suddenly coughed lightly.

"Bishop," the old but still elegant Elf butler asked seriously, "has something happened?"

Bishop Mathers still cheerfully crossed his hands, but did not immediately reply to Oswald's words.

It wasn't until the three of them arrived at the small chapel on the east side of the Light Bearer Cathedral, and Bishop Mathers took out a huge key that looked even longer than Hai Na's short sword, and opened the tightly closed door... that the old Bishop slowly opened his mouth and said:

"—Today, St. Genevieve Chapel is open for you alone.

"In addition to teaching you the three Sacred Arts of 'Sacrificial Fire', 'Illumination', and 'Blessing', I will also help you complete your first advancement. Don't be too nervous, the first advancement does not require entering the Dream Realm. The situation in Avalon is not good right now, and I think you need some self-protection ability."

"So, what exactly happened?"

Oswald pressed.

Bishop Mathers closed the door of the chapel and turned on the light switch.

In the next moment, the chapel, which looked and occupied an area like a university lecture hall, suddenly lit up.

On the left and right sides, countless life-size statues stored in niches instantly became bright. As if awakened by the light, the statues in the niches slowly began to move slightly and silently, gradually turning their gazes towards them.

Bishop Mathers reached out and lightly tapped the three candles on his Mitre, respectfully greeting the statues: "Seventy-three Pioneers.

"May the Light Bearer watch over your candle flames."

And Iver and Oswald also lowered their heads slightly to show their respect.

These seventy-three statues are all the Pioneers who have been buried here with state funeral specifications since the founding of the Avalon Kingdom, including the past monarchs. Each of them has their name engraved in Avalon's Historical books.

When Queen Sophia passes away, she will become the seventy-fourth.

Iver had already seen that a niche without a statue had been added to the corner of St. Genevieve Chapel.

Noticing Iver's gaze, Bishop Mathers thoughtfully explained to him, "This is the place Her Majesty the Queen prepared for herself. The statue of Her Old Majesty began to be carved five years ago and was ready two years ago. Now the statue is stored in the Silver and Tin Palace."

Then, he turned back to look at Oswald.

"The Round Table Hall probably doesn't know about this yet, but I've already reported it to Her Majesty the Queen."

Bishop Mathers said seriously, "Important information has come from the Eternal Theocracy.

"They caught a Stibnite Person spy over there and got something out of them.

"—It is said that there are traitors among the kingdom's upper echelons. They plan to cause a sustained chaos of unknown time, scale, and location on Glass Island. The ultimate goal is to 'obtain or approach some kind of sacred entity'.

"The Royal Capital is likely to fall into chaos soon, and I don't think it's necessary for Iver to wait for the end of his final exams.

"Just in case, he must immediately embark on the Path of Transcendence."