"Oh, you're here too?"
Annan looked surprised, as though he had only just noticed them.
"We've been here a long time," Yvenson said flatly.
"Sorry, I got carried away."
Annan admitted it readily. He had never intended to hide what he was doing, and continued asking right in front of them, "Eldest Sister, do you think the Orr Empire's reaction has anything to do with the local Wealth Church?"
Now it was the Black-Clad Cardinals' turn to feel awkward.
"The people sent to investigate haven't returned yet. Without solid information, speculation is pointless..."
The two Black-Clad Cardinals had just breathed a sigh of relief when Idelia added, "But they may have had a hand in it, to test us..."
Idelia was half right.
As the most widespread faith among humans, the Goddess of Wealth had believers ranging from princes and ministers to common folk.
Many believers were not merely faithful; they were members of the nobility too.
The Lady was important, but so was wealth. In their eyes, that Holy Son who had appeared out of nowhere was draining them dry. Were they really supposed to hand over their glittering gold to him?
They certainly did not want to pay, but they could not openly object, so they resorted to underhanded tricks.
Even if Annan Reeves was genuine, they could still say with an air of righteousness: You took one path and found the Holy Son. We weren't idle either; we took another path. Why should we abandon it?
The half she had gotten wrong was that the Orr Empire's reaction had nothing to do with testing them.
The noble believers had only tried to find themselves an excuse not to cooperate. Then, to their surprise, they discovered it took hardly any effort to stir up trouble...
Someone else