Eat Dates, Take Pills

After the other elves left, Sherlock and Lily came over with the Grey Saintess.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow when he saw the bunch of fruit Iver was holding. "Interesting."

Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, he had a general idea of what had just occurred.

Cardinal Matilda carefully picked up a fruit and put it in her mouth.

She chewed slowly and carefully, her brows furrowing slightly involuntarily.

Is it very sour?

Looking at her expression, Iver asked.

Driven by a subtle psychology, he was very concerned about the taste of the fruit that grew on his body.

I never imagined that one day I would have such a self-awareness as a hen laying eggs... This was Iver I had never expected before.

"...fine."

Matilda opened her eyes in surprise. "The taste is not bad... or rather, quite good. It's a bit sour at first, followed by a slightly astringent sweetness. There's also a strange aroma... and it leaves a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth after eating it."

She always had her eyes half-closed, which made her look gentle and as if she was always smiling. But Iver had never been able to see what color her eyes were before—only now could Iver see that she had a deep blue eye color similar to her hair.

"I don't think it will taste bad."

Iver breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a light laugh.

However, this also confirmed for Iver that this thing should be able to trigger the Art of Shepherding. Because it had already triggered the Flesh Dedication trait, it could be considered a sacrifice.

[Flesh Dedication (Purple): You are a master of self-sacrifice. And now you will be even more proficient.]

Calling it a sacrifice is reasonable. After all, when Iver ripped it from his eye socket, he felt a momentary, excruciating pain as if his soul were being torn apart. It felt like flesh sprouting deep into his bones and then being ripped off... It grew by absorbing souls as nourishment.

Fortunately, Iver has the [Dissolving Soul] attribute, which allows his soul to regenerate, and because it is no longer amorphous, the damage to himself when it is torn off is less.

"I'll try some too."

Sherlock unceremoniously picked up a fruit and put it in his mouth, somewhat surprised by how good it tasted.

"You mean dates? The taste is vaguely similar, but the texture is different. It's too soft, more like cherries."

Sherlock pondered, "As for the taste, it's only slightly sour at first bite. That's probably due to the peel. The flesh inside is cloyingly sweet, and as for the texture..."

As he spoke, he picked up another pill and ate it.

"... Does it look a bit like blood?"

He added somewhat uncertainly, "It also seems to sting a bit on the lips."

"No nucleus?"

Iver was somewhat surprised to see that Sherlock didn't vomit.

He pressed further, "Any other reactions? For example, is your life force replenished, or your desires strengthened, or something like that..."

The black aura swirling around the fruit caught his attention.

But Sherlock shook his head. "It's just an ordinary fruit, I didn't react at all."

That's not right.

How could this be an ordinary fruit? It's Sin Thorns Fruit, nourished by the soul, growing from a dream...

"I don't have any either."

Cardinal Matilda also answered.

However, she was clearly interested in this. "For the first time in a thousand years, a bishop did not burn during his Promotion Ritual, but instead received a handful of strange dates. I have been in charge of the Holy Order Department for a long time, and this is the first time I have seen such a phenomenon."

"... May I take some to keep?"

"It's okay."

As he spoke, Iver distributed a dozen or so red fruits, which looked like elixirs, to Cardinal Matilda.

He cautioned, "Although I don't know if this thing has any special effects, it probably shouldn't be eaten in large quantities. After all, it's a fruit that grows on a thorny plant."

"... Sinful Thorns?"

The most surprising thing was that the Saintess was pure white.

After all, she had more contact with the Eternal Pope Eternal Pope, who was entangled in sin.

She looked at Iver: "So, the Sin Thorn... can actually bear fruit?"

"I don't know."

Iver shook his head innocently. He truly didn't know—he didn't even know what Sinthorn was.

He can only confirm one thing at the moment: the "Paradox of Illumination" that the candle keeper spoke to him about was actually asking him whether he should turn back to the torchbearer.

Because Iver met the requirements for both the Torchbearer and the Radiant One class change, he chose the Radiant One. If he reached the Fifth Level, there would be no turning back... So, the Candle Master specifically confirmed here whether Iver chose this path or chose the wrong path due to a lack of understanding.

—The candle keeper gave people a chance to back out, I'm so happy I could cry.

Iver felt a little touched.

According to this theory, all future Awakeners will probably grow fruit during their Promotion Ritual... but that's not necessarily true. Iver was a bit impulsive at the time, so when his eyes itched, he just ripped off the Sin Thorn.

His seemingly casual and risky move was actually calculated. Since Si Zhu was right there, he certainly wouldn't have stood by and watched him get hurt if there had been any danger.

—If you don't take risks in front of adults, are you going to take risks when you're alone? But if you hadn't pulled it off then, who knows, maybe thorns would have grown in your eyes, or maybe flowers would have grown out of them.

"Flowers will grow..."

Thinking of this, Iver paused for a moment. Then he suddenly realized what was happening.

He remembered.

In the game, the character portrait of the Radiant is that of a white-haired girl with side bangs covering one eye. Then, through her tightly clenched fingers, two white flowers are held like brass knuckles.

Iver initially thought it was simply an artistic composition. After all, none of the Radiant One's skills were related to flowers.

Another possibility is that because Iver gave Isabel one-third of his soul, it didn't receive enough nourishment to turn into a white flower...

So Iver made up his mind—next time, he wouldn't tear it off; he'd let the Sin Thorn grow for now. He'd see what it would become if it continued to develop.

I want to try it.

The Grey Saintess made up her mind, came over, pinched one, and put it in her mouth.

But after chewing for only two bites, she suddenly froze.

As if sensing some kind of pain, she suddenly covered her eyes, which were bound by white ribbons. Her body trembled uncontrollably.

Iver's heart tightened immediately. "Saintess Highness?"

—Could the Sin Thorns Fruit and the Amber have reacted in some way? Others may not know, but he does. Grey's eyes have been affected by the Amber, and she has now lost her normal vision.

"... No, I'm fine."

Grey immediately raised her hand, enduring the pain to comfort her. But Iver could hear the tremor in her voice.

However, before she could calm down, she immediately asked Iver, "Archbishop Moriarty... no, Iver. If you have similar fruits in the future, could you give them to me first? Whatever your request, I will do my best to help you."

For the first time, Iver heard a hint of urgency in her calm voice.

Upon hearing this, Iver for a moment and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

... It seems there is indeed a reaction. But it sounds like it should be a good thing.

This stuff seems to have a special healing effect on amber.

I knew it! This stuff couldn't possibly be ineffective...

"Of course," Iver laughed, "I'll give you all of these."

Anyway, no one else needs them. Rather, the effects of these things are not something that other spirits should discover.

To produce this "Sin Thorns Fruit," one must first be Fourth Level Radiant Being. Secondly, one must possess the property of Dissolving Soul, otherwise, the soul would likely be damaged when it is first torn off... Moreover, Iver doesn't know if [Flesh Dedication] is needed to concentrate and enhance the medicinal effects.

Currently, only Iver is able to continuously produce it.

In the Theocracy, there are far too many elves experiencing the phenomenon of crystallization.

Judging from the pure white reaction, it's probably not a magic pill that will cure you instantly. Even if you threw Iver into a juicer, it wouldn't save many people.

Revealing this secret would be dangerous. While most elves possess a desire for selflessness, that's not universal; and even having a desire for selflessness doesn't make someone a perfect good person—sacrificing others for their sake is also an expression of that desire.

For safety's sake, it's better to leave them all to Pure White.

If Pure White can cure Amberization Disease before the Pope Inauguration Ceremony in March, perhaps the disaster for the Theocracy can be averted? Even if it's just a temporary fix... a temporary fix is still a good thing.

Matilda also seemed to be deep in thought.

She clearly knew Grey's secret, and thus immediately realized something from the Saintess's reaction.

"Then I'll give you these first, Pure White."

As she spoke, she carefully handed the handful of fruit in her hands to the Saintess.

Grey said with gratitude, "Thank you, Cardinal Matilda."

She then looked at Iver and bowed slightly. "Thank you very much, Iver... If you encounter any trouble in the Theocracy later, please be sure to come to me."

The Grey Saintess's attitude toward Iver has changed significantly.

Cardinal Matilda's expression also turned serious.

She narrowed her eyes and said solemnly to Iver, "Iver, this matter is best kept secret. I will contact the Cardinal Hall immediately, but do not tell anyone else about this before then..."

"If I'm not mistaken, you might become the benefactor of the entire Theocracy, or even all the elves."

But Sherlock frowned as he watched the Cardinal Bishop's reaction.

He looked at Iver with some concern, sensing that his friend, who had become the newly appointed archbishop, seemed to be involved in some troublesome situation.

He clearly only came here to learn divine magic...

... Or rather, the trouble had always been there, just waiting for him to come.