You Tell Me-Does It Keep Things Fresh or Not?

Cardinal Matilda fell silent in an instant.

A ripple of silence echoed between the four Human World silently watching the corpse.

Since this house was just built, no one had lived there before...

Where did this corpse come from?

Iver instinctively glanced back at Sherlock.

—Is this your fault?

Although Sherlock is not in his child form now... but from another perspective, aren't all the cases that detectives who have become children encounter after regaining their adult form major cases? Sherlock glanced at Iver with some confusion, then very consciously walked up, squatted down, and wanted to examine the corpse.

But as soon as he squatted down, he frowned.

Because the body was so clean, there were absolutely no clues to be found.

She was a female elf who looked to be in her twenties or thirties, with short, curly, light brown hair. She was also wearing a red robe that only bishops could wear.

—This is an elven bishop.

After she was released, her abdomen gradually became wet. Blood slowly seeped out, but it only soaked through a small area of her clothing before stopping.

Her expression was very calm, without any sign of struggle. Her skin was still elastic, pale but not deathly pale, and her body temperature was lukewarm rather than cold.

It was as if she had just died when the cupboard was opened.

Based on Cardinal Matilda's description of her "preservation ability," it can only be determined that her time of death was within one month.

"... There is absolutely no way to determine the time of death."

Sherlock shook his head, trying to gather more information. "The wound is on the abdomen... Can I examine it?"

As he spoke, he politely turned to look at Cardinal Matilda, who remained silent.

After all, he was no longer a child. Although the dead body was right in front of him, this was not Avalon, and as an advisor to the Bureau of Supervision, he did not have the authority to handle corpses at will in the Theocracy.

Cardinal Matilda sighed, "You examine it, Detective Hermes."

Upon hearing this, Sherlock removed the corpse's clothes to examine the wounds.

From Cardinal Matilda's expression and attitude, Iver realized that she seemed to know this person.

As Sherlock examined the body, he leaned close to the Cardinal Bishop and asked, "Who is she?"

"Her name is Mercedes, you probably don't know her."

Cardinal Matilda sighed, "But Grey knows her."

"... Saintess Highness?"

Iver paused for a moment, then realized. "Is it a friend of Pure White?"

—If he didn't "grow jujubes", then the person who accompanied him and introduced these facilities at this time should be the Grey Saintess.

Then she would see the corpse fall out of here... and possibly even land directly in her arms.

"She's a mutual friend of Grey and Yanis. She grew up with them."

Cardinal Matilda shook her head and slowly said, "Perhaps their relationship isn't as close as theirs. But she's now Grey's only friend left..."

... Is this a provocation? Is someone dissatisfied with Grey?

A thought popped into Iver's mind.

—No, that's not right.

Iver immediately dismissed this thought, which was tinged with a bit of wishful thinking.

It's not that simple.

Because the only people who entered the house, besides the Pope Guard who had come to drop off their luggage, were the owner of the house and other Cardinal Bishop.

Judging from Cardinal Matilda's reaction, it seems that the Grey Saintess's initiation of amber condensation was not a secret. In other words, it's highly likely that the other Cardinal Bishop also knew about it.

Judging from the Saintess's overly heavy feelings for Yanis, her Amberization Disease seems to be related to Yanis's disappearance two hundred years ago without saying goodbye.

At this moment, killing the Saintess's only remaining friend and exposing the body to her would undoubtedly stimulate her to further solidify her resolve.

Iver's heart tightened immediately.

... So, the plot has already begun? "Something's strange, I'll explain later."

Sherlock covered himself with the clothes again, stood up, turned around, and frowned, saying, "The amount of bleeding is too little. There might be other reasons. Because logically speaking, this kind of wound shouldn't be enough to kill someone, let alone a bishop... She should also be at the Third Level, right?"

"Yes. As far as I know," Cardinal Matilda replied, "Bishop Mercedes has reached the Third Level in at least three paths—she is not Professionals, but Inheritors."

"The Inheritors?"

Iver asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Aren't the Pope Guard all Inheritors?"

"While some young elves... like Yanis, have professions, Grey and Mercedes are both Inheritors. She is Saintess Candidate."

Not all young elves have a "profession".

After all, the profession system is a new thing that Wei Zhe and Hourglass have been working on recently, and it has only existed for a little over a thousand years. It grants corresponding authority symbols by having the Pillar God and the Celestial Master recognize the corresponding profession.

In this way, the scattered and chaotic professional lineages were successfully attributed to the gods.

This ensures that superhumans don't go astray and also serves to organize their abilities into a system. It consolidates the previously unique Extraordinary Ability of each individual.

It is entirely possible that the ancient extraordinary beings in the past unintentionally read some occult books that they should not have mastered, or acquired some occult knowledge that deviated from the true path. Their souls were thus corrupted, deviating to another path, or they developed a mental split after receiving knowledge from different great beings within the same path.

This is impossible within the established professional system—abilities beyond the scope of one's chosen profession, even mystical arts within the same path, cannot be mastered. However, once a job change is completed, one can directly obtain Extraordinary Ability with a high degree of completion. And as long as someone has walked this path, others who follow it, pass the trials, and obtain the same profession and the same abilities can also achieve this.

This is also a kind of "demystification," which belongs to the core authority of the Hourglass.

For example, the profession of "enlightener" is a transformation of the traditions passed down from sages.

Iver is very likely the first person in modern times to master the Radiant Transformation, as this profession may have only recently been introduced by Weizhe. It's also possible that this is a profession that candlekeepers are less inclined to accept among believers.

Looking back now, the most standard name for the Candlelight God is "the God of Thorns Binding the Body" and "the God of Burning Body Chasing Darkness".

These are the two professions directly related to the candle maker.

The latter clearly corresponds to the Torchbearer, while the former corresponds to the Illuminator—in other words, the Illuminator is destined to be bound by the thorns of sin.

The Candlelight Master did not want his believers to bear the original sin that should have been borne by Him, and therefore discouraged them from converting to the Radiant Ones. That's why he came to Iver to ask him if he wanted to convert back to the Torchlight Masters.

In ancient times, it was a path of inheritance forged by an elven saint. Her legacy wasn't written into the Grimoire, but buried within the ruins—the statue she transformed into after her death should be on the Sixth Layer or Seventh Layer. Only by contacting the saint's statue can one find the possibility of entering this path.

It's like a puzzle game; the safe's combination is theoretically in another puzzle. But the number is fixed, Iver simply looked up the solution and entered it directly.

However, not all inheritances of extraordinary powers were set as professions by the two Pillar God.

Those inheritances that require a combination of multiple paths, or even special bloodlines or skill transmissions, are generally not recorded as professions. For example, the Child of the Moon, the Werewolf, the Demon Avatar incarnation, and the special inheritances possessed by the Elf... or "Shepherd".

The biggest difference Professionals and Inheritors lies in the directionality of their shared path.

Professionals's soul is influenced by their profession and purified by their path... Take Bishop Mathers, for example, he's been stuck at level 39 for a long time.

He had said before that he was hesitant to complete the advancement ceremony and step into the Fifth Level because he was worried that he would be corrupted by the power of the Fifth Level and that it would change his personality and mind.

The physical modifications that a profession makes can make Professionals's state more stable, preventing them from losing control or their strength.

Those Inheritors must rely on their own resonance with it to reach the corresponding level. Once they lose this resonance, their abilities may even decline—this is the more primitive state. Just as muscles that are not exercised for a long time will turn into fat, skills that are not learned for a long time will be forgotten.

Without the anchoring effect of a "profession," once one completely loses their true self—even for just a moment— their Extraordinary Ability will be immediately lost.

However, for elves, whose emotions are much more stable compared to other races, they generally do not lose their power for this reason. Elves believe that the "job system" is mainly an ability created for Short-lived Races, whose emotions are more unstable, and is a power that only Short-lived Races would try to master—over a long period of time, elves have plenty of time to sculpt themselves into a form more suitable for receiving the corresponding inheritance.

Many elves, even those under a thousand years old and born after the class system was established, will still become Inheritors.

This is mainly due to the influence of elders and society.

"In my opinion, one of the reasons why Yanis left the Theocracy was because of Betina Tia's Amber."

Cardinal Matilda said slowly, "Betina Tia is the Inheritors. She was originally Yanis's mentor."

"Sometimes Grey tells me that she thinks this might be one of the reasons why Yanis hasn't come back. In our Theocracy, the status of Inheritors is generally higher... After all, the profession is what it is, anyone can change professions, but Inheritors must have someone to guide them one-on-one. Having a successor means having a mentor, parents, and reliable, trustworthy, and traceable social relationships."

"Therefore, we elves have a strong sense of inheritance, and sometimes the mentor who passes on the mantle is more important than the parents."

"During adolescence, when a child's worldview is just beginning to take shape, they need to spend a lot of time with their mentors in order to receive the inheritance. The time spent with them is more than ten times longer than with their parents. Some mentors, in order to prevent their parents from having a negative influence on their children and thus deviating from what is needed for the inheritance, will not even let their Children go home."

"In this respect, Yanis is like an orphan. After Betina Tia Diamber, Yanis could have chosen other mentors to continue her studies, but she still chose to flee the Theocracy and become Professionals..."

Cardinal Matilda's gaze was complex. "I think, at least at that time... she must have felt inferior. They might have argued, or they might not. But after that, Grey became much quieter and stopped making new friends."

"Bishop Mercedes was Grey's only friend. She received the same inheritance as Grey, but because she was more lively and had a much lower compatibility with the Saintess, she could be considered a 'failed Saintess.' While Grey reached the Fifth Level of the dual paths, Mercedes could only reach the Third Level."

"Her path has come to an end, but she's unwilling to become Professionals. Perhaps it's out of pride, or perhaps she just wants to keep lonely Grey. So she's been hanging on the twenty-first floor for a long time, continuing to receive the Saintess's training... I've always thought that's for the best. At least little Grey will have a companion, someone to talk to."

"... Fortunately, it wasn't Grey who came here with you."