Saint Maria and the Great Yan Grand Chancellor. (cont.)

At least Texas understood that Laterano, as a religious state that had existed for countless years, possessed a significance beyond the Terra itself, with its Laterano Church transcending national boundaries.

It can be said that in almost every part of the world, there are Laterano, and in almost every part of the world, there are people who follow Laterano Church.

They may not have been wealthy or powerful, but their piety was undeniable.

And a saint is someone who, within the Laterano Church, is second only to the 'Lord'!

In other words, according to the rules of Laterano Church, being a saint is the highest level a person can reach!

But...

Maria?!

Saint?!

Are you kidding me?

Texas is somewhat unbelievable.

Exusiai, however, shrugged.

"Instead of asking me if I'm mistaken, you should ask those people if they've made a mistake, if they've misspelled Lady Maria's name... Of course, I don't think the word 'Saint' is a common word in Laterano."

Exusiai was no less shocked than Texas. In fact, as someone who had received Laterano Church from a young age, Exusiai knew all too well what this thing meant.

"Since its founding, Laterano has had only twelve saints..."

Exusiai spoke, she slowly lifted the book that was pressing down the instant noodles next to her.

She didn't even need to look; she simply used her finger to turn to the page she wanted.

"The Lord said that humans possess three virtues: sacrifice, sharing, and courage..."

She spoke in a low voice in ancient script, her Exusiai closed, letting the moonlight from the window shine on her.

Its bright wings trembled slightly, emitting a pure, soft light.

Almost instantly, Texas was stunned.

She then realized what was happening.

No matter how lively she is on ordinary days, Exusiai is still a pure Laterano.

Deep within her heart, the Laterano Codex was etched into her very being!

Compared to herself, Exusiai was clearly more astonished by the fact that Maria was a saint!

"Before this, I had never heard anything about Lady Maria... I didn't even know she was the thirteenth saint!"

Exusiai opened her eyes again, looking solemnly at Texas beside her.

"Can you imagine just how outrageous this is?"

"After the Laterano learn the words 'I,' 'father,' and 'mother,' the first thing they learn is the story of the Lord and the twelve apostles... The life and achievements of each saint are deeply etched in the hearts of the Laterano, but... from beginning to end, I have never heard of a saint named Maria..."

There are three conditions for becoming a saint.

"Firstly, he must have accomplished something extraordinary that no human being could have done during his lifetime..."

"Secondly, after his death, his influence continued to extend, altering the course of history and guiding believers towards goodness and beauty..."

"Thirdly, invoking his holy name can grant the power of blessing, and every hundred years, at least one miracle related to his abilities will occur..."

Exusiai spoke clearly, ensuring Texas heard everything.

But...

"These three conditions..."

"I don't know, is that right?"

Exusiai's gaze was serious.

This was precisely what she couldn't understand; they seemed completely unaware of what Maria, as a saint, had actually done.

"Condition one: a feat beyond human capability... To be honest, I've never even heard of Saint Maria, let alone her deeds... Second, I don't know anything about Maria's influence, let alone the third—that calling her name can bring about miracles."

Exusiai sat on the bed, her expression extremely complicated and conflicted.

Texas was the first to react.

She first checked the doorway to make sure no one was there before reinstalling the lock and closing the door. Then, after confirming that no one was at the window, she closed the window and drew the curtains.

Finally, he carefully sensed his surroundings and, after confirming that no one was around, stood in front of Exusiai again.

"Then... does the Siracusa incident count?"

Although the Age of Families in Siracusa was nearing its end when Texas was born, Texas knew how the family had once held absolute power in Siracusa.

If that's the case, could this be considered a great achievement of Maria? And even now, the Inquisitors in the Gray Hall are influenced by Maria, so as to what her great achievements were... well, that's hard to say.

"It shouldn't be considered one."

After a few moments of silence, Exusiai shook her head slightly.

She also knew about the Siracusa affair, after all, the priest had been involved and knew the details.

Theoretically, the Siracusa story does fit, but...

"Not big enough..."

Not big enough?

Texas was somewhat puzzled.

Exusiai about this are rather complicated.

"Well... compared to Saint Jeanne's mediation of the war between Victoria and Gaul, which threatened the entire Terra, it only changed the situation of one country. According to records, at that time, both sides had already mobilized all their resources and allies. Once war broke out, it would have been a matter of changing the entire Terra landscape. In comparison, although Siracusa's actions were also very great, their impact was too small. Moreover... to this day, what is passed down in Siracusa is not the legend of Maria, but the legend of the Night Watcher, isn't it?"

Exusiai spoke, her eyes thoughtful.

"Furthermore... saints are only granted titles posthumously; living people are not qualified to inherit their saintly titles..."

"..."

The more Exusiai thought about it, the more she felt that her understanding was far too limited.

Under Texas's watchful eye, she continued to peruse the file concerning Maria.

However, there are not many records above. The only one is about the establishment of the first Laterano Church monastery unrelated to Laterano and the fact that he became the first leader of that place.

And that place.

Named...

Yharnam Monastery

"They've gone back, kind Hunter."

Inside Yharnam, the Doll slowly approached Maria bowed respectfully.

Maria closed her eyes, pondering Gladiia's words.

Most of the food on the table had not yet been eaten.

Gladiia didn't say much; most of it was just historical information about Aegir's records.

Although it wasn't much, it was enough for Maria to get a general understanding of it.

Only...

"It seems Miss Gladiia is hiding something from you?"

The Doll tilted its head, looking slightly puzzled.

She could clearly sense that Gladiia had noticed something about Maria, which was why she was willing to speak up, but also because of this, she had concealed some things.

But Maria didn't seem to care.

"I respect her wishes, and I won't force her to tell me if she doesn't want to."

"... You have indeed changed a lot since having children."

The Doll blinked, its tone calm, though it was unclear whether it was mocking Maria.

Maria didn't pay much attention, but turned her head and looked at the carved, translucent stone in the Doll's hand with a slightly strange expression.

Having lived in the Great Yan, Maria understood that this was a unique type of jade belonging to the people of Great Yan...

"This is?"

Maria tilted her head.

The Doll, however, remained quietly with its head bowed.

"It seems something has been discovered over in the Great Yan region..."

"You've arrived?"

While the Old Celestial Master was still processing documents in the mansion, Maria had already arrived here.

Upon seeing Maria's arrival, the Old Celestial Master, whose eyes were already darkening, perked up.

Seeing Maria's slightly puzzled expression, she didn't hesitate and went straight to the point.

"I've found a clue about what you gave me earlier."

"Um."

Maria didn't waste any words and sat down to listen to the Old Celestial Master's explanation.

"Within the Great Yan, there was some research on Mixed-Breed Warriors after you left, but only for a short time. Due to various reasons, the technology was sealed away... And there are only two keys to unlock it. One was kept by successive emperors, and the other was divided into three and passed down and kept by the three elders of the cabinet."

The Old Celestial Master took another big gulp of coffee... Although she was an old woman, she was clearly not a stubborn old woman; on the contrary, she was quite willing to accept the changes of the times.

"Based on the arm you had Zuo Le send back, I can confirm that it is the first-generation stable fusion warrior project document..."

As the Old Celestial Master spoke, he rubbed his temples again, clearly not in good condition, while Maria continued to listen quietly.

"I have already had my people secretly investigate the current three cabinet elders, and finally, they've identified a target."

As the Old Celestial Master spoke, he silently pushed out a file.

Opposite him was a serious-looking man with Xubai and somewhat unfocused eyes, but his brows still revealed that he was no idle man in his youth.

"Xu Zhengguan... is one of the three elders of the cabinet, and he was promoted by the previous prince. He held power for many years, and for a time he even overpowered the other two elders. However, in recent years, he has become weak and old, and his strength is increasingly insufficient... As for his descendants, for some reason, most of them have left Hundred Stoves."

"Given the time and circumstances, they are the most motivated to act."

This was everything the Old Celestial Master had investigated, but Maria was clearly still not satisfied.

"Just the motive?"

"It's just the motivation."

The Old Celestial Master also sighed.

Everything happened so suddenly that she simply didn't have enough time to gather information about the other party, especially since the other party was a Grand Secretary. Even if she had the time, it wouldn't be easy for her to figure out the other party's background.

He called Maria over for two reasons: firstly, to report on his work, and secondly, to see what Maria thought.

Currently, within the Hundred Stoves, the group of 'Gordan' and 'Shanhai Assembly' who infiltrated have already investigated a portion of the situation, but they are still some distance from the core of the enemy.

The other side also became aware of their investigation and gradually went into hiding. It was clear that it was too late for them to take action against them as they had before.

The two sides entered an extremely delicate tug-of-war.

The possibility of breaking the deadlock lies with Xu Zhengguan, who is currently in this situation.

"..."

Maria remained silent for a few moments, her gaze serious.

Clearly, she didn't have many plans for this.

Maria believed that now that they knew who the enemy was, they should take action directly to find out if the enemy was involved and what their purpose was.

But the Great Yan of today is clearly not the same as her era, and her kind of unilateral action would be impossible to carry out in this era.

In other words...

Do you need evidence?

Maria frowned and tapped her fingers lightly on the table.