Father and Daughter

The main church of the Church of Steam and Machinery in Backlund is called Saint Hylarn Cathedral. It is located in Saint Hylarn Square in the Saint George District and is the center of the Church of Steam and Machinery in Backlund and even the whole of Loen. It is known as the "Second Papacy".

There was a restaurant serving Severas cuisine in the square. Neph sat by the window on the third floor, observing the Saint Hylarn Church.

Rather than a church, Saint Hylarn Cathedral is more like a factory, or some rather blatant mechanical construct. Neph can see levers and gears on it, as well as chimneys spewing white Steam.

This made Neph wonder if the church was actually some kind of mechanical creation. Perhaps when attacked, the church would reveal its true form, suddenly transforming into a mechanical Giant or a ship, and fulfilling its intended function.

But Neph couldn't find any corresponding evidence in her mind, and regrettably, in the more than one hundred years since Roselle invented the Steam Engine, no one had ever seen Steam church suddenly stand up like this.

Neph came here with the idea of persuading the "God of Steam and Machinery," but when she actually sat here, she found that things were not so simple.

If there's even a sliver of a possibility of going to Lenburg or Isar, Trier is a place Neph would never set foot in—she could at most approach the border of Intis, but there's absolutely no way she could go inland.

This is directly related to her identity. Her self-proclaimed title of "Pure White" has caused quite a stir in Loen, and it's unlikely that Intis was unaware of it. And if she was, an unavoidable question arises—where did the title "Pure White" actually come from?

Others might not know, but how could the "White Angel" herself not know?

Her status as a believer was practically an open secret within the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. Coupled with the claims of Pope Madabochi of the Evernight that she had fallen to this state because of the attack by the Eternal Blazing Sun —once this theory is established, it seems there is no possibility of reconciliation between her and the Eternal Blazing Sun.

What is Intis? Back when the "God of Steam and Machinery" was still called the "God of Artisan," the Church the "Eternal Blazing Sun" steadily suppressed the Church "God of Artisan," hence Intis was also known as the "Sun Kingdom."

Even today, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery and the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun are not truly equal. As far as Neph knows, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery only exists in some factory cities and large cities, and its coverage area is far less extensive than that of the Church the Eternal Blazing Sun.

This is also one of the reasons why Neph considered persuading the "God of Steam Engine"—in her view, changing the "Second Papacy" to the "First Papacy" would not be that difficult for the Church of Steam and Machinery.

But despite the persuasion, there was absolutely no way she would set foot in Trier; that would be tantamount to suicide. And while standing in Backlund, Neph suddenly realized something.

How should she start this conversation?

"I wonder if the Church of Steam and Machinery has any Angel in Backlund— " Neph muttered, taking a bite of the Lamb Tripe. Her expression froze for a moment, then she silently pushed the dish away. After thinking for a few seconds, she pulled it back.

After taking a "photo" of the dish and meticulously retouching it to make it look tempting from every angle, Neph sent the photo to Klein with the caption. "This restaurant is great—well, especially the Lamb Tripe, it's delicious and brings out the natural flavor of the ingredients—I mean, you have to try it."

Then, she pushed the dish away expressionlessly.

I seem to remember that during their final evacuation, they had an Angel with them, but I don't know if it was a resident one—well, Bornova Gustav —or Bernadette's brother—right, speaking of Bernadette—

Neph's mind stirred slightly. She glanced at the nearly empty game, pondered for a few seconds, and then called the waiter to settle the bill.

A white mist enveloped her vision, and Bernadette felt a chill run down her spine. When she came to her senses, a figure dressed as Warlock—

The girl in the robe was already sitting at her desk.

"Long time no see~" The girl slid off the table, leaned back, and a recliner appeared beneath her, catching her.

At the same time, at No. 160 Böklund Street, Klein suddenly felt a void beneath him. He barely managed to steady himself and stared into thought at the spot where the recliner had disappeared behind him.

"Neph?" he called out tentatively into the air.

Of course, Neph couldn't hear this distant call. Without any hesitation, she beckoned to Bernadette. Bernadette hesitated for a few seconds, then stood up and bowed, saying, "Miss Pure White."

Neph didn't seem to care much about her attitude, simply nodding casually before smiling and asking, "I remember you were preparing for your advancement Ritual, weren't you?"

"Yes," Bernadette nodded, "However, after receiving your warning, I have given up."

Neph smiled at her and said, "I remember you needed to stop a Catastrophe involving high-level forces?"

Bernadette nodded, looking puzzled. Neph sat up and asked curiously, "If I prepare a Catastrophe and then notify you Catastrophe through so you can resolve it, would that count as preventing it?"

Bernadette's lips twitched, as if she wanted to say something, but then she suddenly realized something, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, "You're Angel?!"

"Just promoted." Neph raised her chin.

"Then, about my father—?" Bernadette suddenly clenched her fist, Neph saw her purse her lips and look at her expectantly.

This instinctively made Neph somewhat dissatisfied. Unlike Bernadette, she hadn't taken this matter to heart, because she knew perfectly well that Bernadette could never rescue Roselle; at most, she could only see Roselle once.

Furthermore, Neph believes that when asking for help, one should have the right attitude. Even if Bernadette is faking it, she should at least pretend to care about her situation. For example, right now, she thinks Bernadette should first express her thoughts on her promotion.

Neph frowned and glared at Bernadette, but stopped before she could speak. She clutched her head, the words of the "True Creator" echoing in her ears, sending chills down her spine. "If it were any other Great Old One, it might not have this effect, because in the process of 'digesting,' you would absorb the other's memories and be influenced by them—"

-If she can integrate memories, does that mean she's truly unaffected by those memories?

No, that won't affect my self-perception, but it will affect my personality and my preferences—but compared to others, I'm already lucky enough— Neph looked at Bernadette in front of her, exhaled, and replied, "I would prefer you to see him after you've been promoted; that would be safer and more certain. But if you want to go directly, there shouldn't be any problem."

Chapter 5 Father and Daughter

"However, I hope you remember—"

She paused, her voice becoming serious. "Bernadette, those who have been corrupted may retain their original appearance, memories, and personality, but you should understand that they are no longer themselves."

"Your father is working hard to leave more of himself behind," but when another version of him appears and makes some requests of you, I hope you understand what you should and shouldn't do.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't mind sending you and your daughter to reunite."

Bernadette's face paled, and she said sincerely, "I understand, I will remember."

She paused, then asked, "If I go directly there—?"

"It's nothing serious," Neph shook her head, "But I can't tell you in advance what you're about to encounter—oh, by the way."

She suddenly remembered something and asked Bernadette, "The Genie —0-05—is with you, right?"

Bernadette paused for a moment, then nodded. She wasn't surprised that Neph knew about this, but asked:

Do you need it?

"I want to talk to it," Neph smiled.

Bernadette paused for a moment. It was an obvious fact that "0-05" held a secret; she had known this before. But at this moment, she realized that Neph knew the secret.

Faced with a potentially safe source of knowledge, Bernadette, as a "Mystery Pryer," didn't hesitate to ask, "Do you know the secret of the Magic Wishing Lamp?"

"Hey, I can't tell you that," Neph winked, "But you can ask me after you become Angel."

Bernadette noted this down and then asked, "The Magic Wishing Lamp is in the Warehouse. Would you like me to go and get it?"

Neph hesitated for a few seconds, but then refused. "No, you can wait, wait until I've written—oh no, wait until I'm ready."

After praying to Neph and receiving Neph expected affirmation, Klein gave up searching for his missing chair, Door Opening, and ordered his Personal Valet Richardson, who was standing at the door, "Have someone bring in another Armchair."

Richardson paused for a moment, then accepted this inexplicable order and turned to leave.

He soon brought a new Armchair. As Klein lay back in the Armchair, he noticed a fleeting hint of doubt in Richardson's eyes, but he paid it no mind and instead silently spread his Spirituality.

He, who is currently playing the role of a "Bizarro Sorcerer," will not miss any opportunity to scare people.

Klein quickly devised a script for a ghost Thief, and he even figured out how to handle the situation: seek help from the Church of Evernight. After Ince Will's incident, Dwayne Dantès, or rather Gehrman Sparrow, was no longer a secret within the Church of Evernight Church of Evernight, and he was now able to interact with them in a more respectable way.

When Neph returned the Armchair, Klein had already finished the first frame of the play. Upon seeing Neph and the Armchair she brought back, he suddenly laughed and said, "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

"What?" Neph looked at him in confusion.

"Put this chair by the door," Klein replied.

Although Neph didn't understand, she did as she was told. With a wave of her hand, the Armchair disappeared from the room and reappeared in the doorway. Then, Neph observed Klein turn a Rat into Paper Doll and knock on the door.

"I'm a little curious," she asked sincerely, "Do you have enough Rat here? Do you need to import some?"

"No, not yet." Klein refused.

Neph regretfully removed her hand from Ais, sighed deeply, and then leaned closer to Klein, saying, "Mr. Fool, would you mind—well, performing the Fool's Fall trick again?"

"----?" Klein stared at Neph without expression.

Neph coughed lightly and explained, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not putting on an act in front of the Tarot Club, I'm going to—uh, do you remember I mentioned to you?" the original owner of "Sefirah Castle"—

"Well, it's like this, I found someone He used to know, that person—uh, that person was terribly cheated by Him and has lost everything—"

Klein glanced at Neph thoughtfully, then shook his head and said, "Actually, I shouldn't worry too much. After all, when I thought about it, even if I played the Fool in front of the Tarot Club, you still remembered to help me clean up the mess."

"You always know your limits, even though you constantly try to provoke me within those limits."

"I didn't mean to provoke you—" Neph said in her defense.

Klein gave her a noncommittal look. There was some credibility to what she said. Klein was willing to believe that this wasn't Neph's main purpose, because he had no doubt that Neph could do even worse.

But he didn't intend to spell it out. He knew he had to appear sufficiently concerned to prevent Neph from testing his limits. Therefore, he didn't respond to that question, but instead asked, "Tell me, what are you planning to do?"

"I haven't thought of anything specific yet," Neph stroked her chin. "I think it won't be easy to fool Him, otherwise I would just say I killed him—oh, I see!"

Neph suddenly laughed, her eyes sparkling. Klein immediately felt a bad premonition. He stared at Neph warily, only to hear Neph laugh and say, "I'm going to weave my story onto you!"

"What story?" Klein frowned. "The Child of God?"

"No, not that," Neph shook her head, "It's—"

She paused, considered for a few seconds, but found it difficult to explain in detail, so she simply said, "You don't need to worry too much. Anyway, the person I'm trying to fool is a trapped God— "

"A trapped— God?" Klein paused, "How exactly are they trapped—?"

Neph thought for a moment and asked, "Have you ever heard of Artifact Spirit?"

"I've seen it in the world of cultivation." Klein nodded.

"He was captured and used as the Artifact Spirit of a Sealed Artifact," Neph shrugged. "That's roughly it."

Klein moved his lips, but couldn't say anything.

"How horrible," he sighed helplessly.

Neph shrugged and told him, "Bernadette seems eager to see her father—I was going to wait until after you became Angel before bringing it up, but it seems she can't wait."