Iver's Residence

After obtaining the Sin Thorns Fruit, the Pure White Saintess quickly left, seemingly wanting to verify some of her conjectures.

Matilda, with Iver in tow, prepared to go downstairs to their lodgings.

Generally speaking, this should actually be a completely white job. Cardinal Matilda usually does not leave the Holy Order Department.

But since Pure White had personal matters to attend to, the blue-haired Cardinal chose to look after Iver in her place.

Whether as a student, a guest, an archbishop, or a key figure who can solve Ningpo's problem... you can't just give him an address and throw him away.

"Remember this place, Iver."

Matilda led Iver onto the elevator platform and explained, "There are twelve elevators on each floor. You can wait in the one closest to you. Each platform has one going up and one going down—the gold ones only go up, and the black ones only go down. There will be a three-minute pause at each floor."

"If there are too many people, just wait for the next bus at the entrance and don't push. Although there is a protective barrier, it is still very dangerous."

Matilda patiently guided Iver, as if teaching a child to ride an elevator for the first time.

Iver nodded upon hearing this.

Indeed, this thing looks dangerous.

Although this "elevator" has handrails, it's not fully enclosed at all. It looks like a protruding viewing balcony, which is quite intimidating.

The timing device here is also very visually appealing.

This elevator platform isn't a physical entity at all, but rather a kind of barrier. Its metal part is actually a ring, and it looks more like a force field generator. This black force field even has dark gold glowing patterns that spread like vines, gradually filling the black disc-shaped force field.

When it was full, a flash of dark golden light appeared, and the disc detached from the ring and began to descend.

It descended quite quickly.

After a brief delay, it felt like falling. The intense feeling of weightlessness frightened Lily —or rather, made her grip Iver's arm tightly. Iver, however, didn't react much; in fact, he seemed somewhat nostalgic.

They suddenly began to slow down, and then gradually came to a stop on the twelfth floor.

Some people leave from here, and some people come in from outside.

Lily finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Iver could feel that her palms were sweating.

He glanced at Sherlock subconsciously and found him surprisingly calm, just sitting there with his arms crossed, looking rather bored.

"Your luggage has been delivered to your quarters by the guards."

Cardinal Matilda spoke gently, like a mother offering earnest advice. "Your residence is in the Fifth Ring, while your studies are in the Ninth Ring. It's not that I don't want to provide you with accommodations in the Ninth Ring... but those areas are mostly inhabited by elves, and you might not be able to adapt to their lifestyle and rhythm. Also, there might be some rather xenophobic elves."

"From the Fifth Ring downwards, the currency is usable. The Sixth Ring and Seventh Ring are relatively primitive, so avoid going there unless absolutely necessary. There are no guards stationed there, and it could be dangerous."

"If you want to buy anything, you can go to the First Ring; they have the most complete selection. If you can't carry anything yourself, you can hire trolls to help you. They are very strong, and the hiring fee isn't expensive."

"The Fifth Ring is a research-oriented level, and it's quite quiet compared to the levels below. If you'd like to live on a lower level, you can tell me or Chunbai. We can arrange for you to be moved to a lower level."

"Each ring has a fairly large living area. If you want to get around, you can find some raised houses in the middle of First Ring. They are near the elevator platform. Just like the elevator platform, they are constantly rotating, and you can use them to quickly get to a certain area. Then you can look further in or out, which will be closer."

"Remember not to harm the giant tree; that's absolutely forbidden. Therefore, the scale of battles here is strictly limited... If you have any disputes with others, try to resolve them without damaging the ground."

At this point, Cardinal Matilda glanced at Iver and then at Sherlock: "Try not to use fire-type abilities. This isn't outside; the ground can't withstand burning. If the ground is damaged, immediately find the nearby elven bishops to heal it. Don't run away— His Pope Your Majesty is watching you."

"Heal the ground?"

Sherlock suddenly asked, "Does this also fall under... ' Advanced Divine Arts '?"

"That's right."

Matilda nodded. "'Illumination' is actually a healing technique that can only be used on living beings with lifespans, feelings, and intelligence. Therefore, illumination cannot help plants heal their injuries, much less restore the remains left by the apostles."

"Healing a divine body is already a Advanced Divine Arts, so it's very troublesome."

She smiled at Iver, "I have high hopes for you. Maybe you really can learn Advanced Divine Arts."

They chatted as they went, and soon the elevator descended to the fifth floor.

Matilda took Iver to the "Perpetual Motion Ring," and Iver asked curiously, "When do I start learning?"

No rush.

Matilda said casually.

She said with a smile, "Have some more time. It's a rare opportunity to come all this way, so you can wander around here as much as you like... Oh, by the way, you didn't buy a ' Passage Manual ' when you went to the First Ring, did you? Those seem to be quite expensive."

"I didn't buy it," Sherlock replied.

"It's good that you didn't buy one," Matilda said. " From the First Ring to the Fifth Ring, you can get a free Passage Manual at every inn and house. But they're all in Elven Language ... You should know Elven Language, right?"

As she spoke, she switched to Elven Language.

Previously, Elven Language was used only when Pure White and Yanis were speaking, and during Iver's ceremony to accept the title of Archbishop. In all other conversations, to accommodate Iver, everyone spoke Avalon Language.

"... So, in other words," Sherlock's lips curled into a mocking smile, "Those goblins were actually translating these free offerings and selling them for money, right? Isn't that fraud, Cardinal Matilda?"

"No, because there are indeed people who don't understand Elven Language."

Cardinal Matilda shook her head. "Therefore, there are indeed people who need it—what we can guarantee is that you will get the item if you pay the money. But we cannot and should not control how much the item should cost."

"Pricing based on the intrinsic value of the product is unfair because we need to consider transportation costs, labor costs, spoilage, and other factors. We also have no intention of studying such rapidly changing factors, so let the market regulate itself. If someone sells something at an excessively high price, someone else will definitely sell a cheaper version."

"What we can do is prevent violence and fraud. For example, using violence to monopolize a product, or giving money without delivering the goods, or taking the goods without paying—or playing word games, such as giving something that is not the same as what is being sold."

"So when you go shopping, you must pay attention to the price. It's impossible to get a refund if you think something is too expensive or unnecessary after you've bought it."

At this point, Cardinal Matilda smiled slightly, "Cardinal Loki has studied this matter. He believes that deception is necessary—it is because of the existence of deception that people's conversations and actions are flexible. It is a kind of social lubrication, leaving room for flexibility and leeway for everyone, and also making people willing to think about the words and deeds of others."

"Indeed," Iver nodded. "If a society is completely free of fraud, it will only reduce people's ability to think, but it cannot eradicate 'unintentional misinformation,' such as forgetfulness or misunderstanding."

"Cardinal Igor has an interesting point about misunderstandings between people..."

Cardinal Matilda led Iver and his party to their lodgings while they chatted.

It wasn't a particularly large house. It was even smaller than the villa that Princess Isabel gave to Iver.

From the outside, it appears to be a two-story wooden house, with each floor measuring approximately eighty square meters. Naturally, there is no courtyard, swimming pool, or garden.

But what puzzled Sherlock was that the door to the house had no keyhole or handle.

He tentatively reached out to push the door open, but as his hand approached, a vine-covered handle suddenly sprouted from it.

This startled Sherlock. His hand froze in mid-air for a moment.

Iver simply grabbed the handle, spun it, and went into the house.

After they all went inside, the door was closed. From the inside, the door still looked clean and had no handle.

"There will only be a handle when you and a few other guests are near the door with the Cardinal Bishop."

Cardinal Matilda chuckled, "This is also a kind of security institution—though not very significant, it is generally absolutely safe within the Theocracy."

"These are newly built rooms, and there have been no guests before, so there's no need to worry about anything left over; everything is new. There are four bedrooms in total, two on each floor. There's also one toilet, one dining room, and one study on each floor."

As she spoke, she led everyone to the outermost bedroom on the first floor and opened the door.

She proudly explained, "These wooden cabinets are also a gift from the giant tree. You can put leftover food or clothes in them. As a wardrobe, it can automatically clean your clothes, as long as they're not too dirty; and it can also be used as a food storage cabinet, preserving fresh fruit for about half a month to a month, preventing it from wilting and meat from rotting..."

Cardinal Matilda spoke, casually pulling open one of the cabinets.

—The next moment, a fresh elf corpse fell out of the storage cabinet with a clatter.