Nora

The only slight regret was that none of the information contained even a hint of supernatural power, though this was hardly surprising.

Aside from these images, he also gained a fair amount of common knowledge regarding the Silent Temple, which sat somewhat stiffly in the depths of his mind, yet could be recalled at will.

What is this? Knowledge infusion?

Theus looked at the incense burner with an intrigued gaze.

This incense burner is truly a remarkable object; once the incense is lit, it allows one to see a series of images.

It feels as if knowledge has entered my mind in a peculiar way...

I just wonder if it can be used for learning. If knowledge and images flow in naturally just by lighting the burner, it would be perfect if this strange ability could be used for teaching.

One of the obstacles to technological development is that the human body is too fragile. In modern society, for an ordinary person to learn cutting-edge knowledge from scratch and begin scientific research, it takes decades of time.

A doctoral student is almost thirty by the time they graduate, and that is assuming everything goes smoothly. How many years does a person even live in total?

The human brain has a limit to its learning speed. If there were a way to bypass the tedious learning process, human research efficiency would surely increase dramatically.

"The Silent Temple..." Theus fell into deep thought.

Nora picked up the chain and the incense burner, nodded with a satisfied expression, swung the burner around a few times, and deftly stowed it at her waist.

Theus's eyelid twitched. Why did her movements feel so practiced, as if she frequently used this incense burner like a meteor hammer to smash people?

Surely not...

Theus glanced at Nora. She had already put the burner away and was sitting obediently on the chair, her long white hair draped over her like a layer of quiet snow.

Just being near her gave one a sense of calm. Is this the effect of being a Burier?

Theus closed his eyes and recalled the knowledge he had just acquired.

A Burier is exactly what the name implies: a member of the clergy responsible for burying corpses within the parish.

The attitudes of the Silent Temple and the Candlelight Society toward secular life are vastly different. The Candlelight Society actively proselytizes but rarely participates in secular affairs, whereas the Silent Temple is the exact opposite; they have little interest in preaching, yet the clergy actively take on many additional responsibilities.

For example, presiding over funerals, baptizing newborns, or even organizing people to stockpile firewood in winter and patrolling villages to drive away wild beasts.

It could be said that the people of the White Crow Duchy deal with the Silent Temple from birth until death.

Correspondingly, they do not require residents to be religious. If a blizzard strikes, people of any faith can enter the church to take shelter from the storm.

They are like the thick stone walls of the church: silent, cold, and hard, yet they shield people from the wind and snow.

Theus suddenly understood a little. The Silent Temple truly does not need to speak to preach; as long as they walk forward into the wind and snow, believers will naturally follow.

One church after another supports settlements and villages; as these settlements connect, they become markets and towns. The thousands of cities in the Northern Territory standing together are the Silent Temple, standing proudly amidst the wind and snow.

Like a Great Wall built upon the mountain ridges, day after day, it blocks the wind and snow for the Northern Territory of the Empire.

And now, with the White Calamity descending and the Duchy gradually heading toward destruction, these taciturn people have no choice but to come here to make a living.

Nora sat on the chair without moving, as quiet as a statue covered in fallen snow.

Sharp words are like keen swords, while heavy silence is like a towering mountain peak.

Theus could discern neither joy nor sorrow in her eyes. After weighing his options, he took the initiative to speak:

"Miss Nora, do you know if there are other races in this world—races other than humans?"

Theus asked quite directly. He did not intend to probe back and forth—he did not have the time for that.

Whether or not one can accept the existence of other races is the foundation for further communication and can be considered the most critical point.

If Nora and the Silent Temple behind her could not accept the existence of other races, then Theus would not accept their presence in his territory either.

The Banshees were too important to Theus. He had to protect them; they were almost his only trump card. To seek a glimmer of survival among the major powers, relying solely on the knowledge in his head was not enough.

The Church has supernatural abilities, but do the pirates not have them as well?

Nora's white pupils shifted to look at Theus. After a moment, she nodded gently.

Theus breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that ever since the incense burner infused him with knowledge, his five senses had become sharper, allowing him to interpret Nora's subtle body language more clearly.

For instance, at this moment, he could sense Nora's meaning: she knew of other races, but she did not trust them.

Is this some kind of supernatural power of the Silent Temple? Being able to communicate simply without the need for words is quite fitting for the name of this church.

It was as if two people were old friends of many years, reaching an understanding with a single glance.

Nora hopped down from the chair with a thud, looked up at Theus with a somewhat serious expression, and waited for him to provide an explanation.

"Please rest assured, I have indeed come into contact with some other races... Their attitude is very friendly. Although they look different from humans, their values are not much different, and we can get along amicably."

In truth, Theus was also fortunate that the Banshees he encountered had values relatively close to those of humans; even years of enslavement and torture had not driven them into madness or paranoia.

Nora nodded.

"But they have encountered trouble recently... It seems there is a type of pollution, a pollution from the seabed, that has caused some of their members to... be injured."

As Theus spoke slowly, he kept his eyes fixed on Nora's reaction.

Upon hearing the word "pollution," Nora's eyes widened instantly. She stepped forward, looked Theus up and down, and then decisively pulled out the incense burner.

"It's fine, I wasn't implicated, nor did I come into contact with the contamination," Theus explained.

Nora raised her hand, signaling for Theus to remain silent, then pulled a piece of incense balm from the pouch at her waist, rubbed it evenly between her hands, and wiped it onto the incense burner.

This time, she pressed a latch on the incense burner, and it popped open with a click. Nora removed a component from inside and pulled another one from her pocket to replace it.

She gently twisted the incense burner, and this time, a much thicker smoke drifted out, quickly enveloping the two of them.

Theus swallowed hard. He hesitated for a moment but chose not to move; instead, he tried his best to relax his body and took a deep breath of the smoke.

The worry and concern in the young girl's eyes just now did not seem fake, and seeing her white pupils, Theus inexplicably felt a sense of... peace of mind.

Shaking his head, Theus quietly activated the Symbiotic Pact and began to use the senses granted to him by the Banshee. He had a vague feeling that these senses were less likely to be deceived than his own human ones.

Although the possibility of Nora doing something like that was slim, he still decided to be careful.