"O soul with three faces, please heed my question..."
Inside the Morning Dew Mansion, after seeing off Acheron and Welt, Sunday closed her eyes and sank into the valley of Remembrance, where past scenes surged like a tide.
"If the power and wealth of the strong can cover up crimes, who can judge them?"
[ The Eternity ] Yite!
"If the weak must pay any price to survive, who can guarantee their rights?"
[The unparalleled Lord Yite!]
If even the purest and kindest souls make mistakes, who can offer them solace?
[ Lord Yite! Lord Yite! Lord Yite!]
"If [the strong helping the weak] is truly the foundation of Paradise... then who is it that leaves them to wail in the midst of suffering?"
[I... Pah! The wicked lord of Destruction — Nanook!]
"..."
On Sunday, I slowly opened my eyes. Once my vision cleared, what came into view was Blake's face with an almost compassionate, kind smile.
A barely perceptible hint of anger lingered in Sunday's eyes, and his thin lips pursed slightly.
" Mr. Blake... you recklessly pry into other people's Remembrance. How are you any different from the Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection?"
Sunday found it incomprehensible that the Church Chair's actions at this moment had nothing to do with his earlier question about the strong helping the weak; rather, they seemed more like a case of the strong bullying the weak.
"You didn't lock the door." Blake's answer was brief and direct.
Sunday:...
Okay, it's his responsibility that the door wasn't locked.
"Do the Halovian's servants, Dream Chaser, and Pipixi wealthy merchants... [ The Family ] also have similar confessionals?" Blake thought of the confessionals similar to those in Church.
Blake, who knew the Book of Eternal Virtues by heart, noticed Sunday's absent-mindedness and spoke up to inquire about it.
Sigh~ They've been working so hard for the Charmony Festival, and now their own sister is missing. Anyone would be heartbroken by such an accident, let alone Penacony, who also has Stellaron.
A faint light flickered in Blake's palm, and a dream bubble, shimmering with a mesmerizing glow, appeared out of thin air and drifted leisurely toward Sunday.
"Let me show you how the Church handles these matters. I hope you can learn something from it and sincerely praise Lord Yite."
The perspective delves deeper into the sacred and Eternity church, where Sunday's consciousness arrives in a tranquil confessional.
The candlelight flickered, and a faint scent of incense filled the air.
The wooden lattice window of the confessional was knocked on rudely. A red-haired man, dressed in the standard knight's armor of the Church of Eternity, with disheveled hair and reeking of alcohol, leaned against the window.
A soft, deliberately lowered female voice, filled with professional compassion, came from behind the window:
"Welcome, lost lamb! May the light of Lord Yite It guide your wandering soul. Speak of your troubles and sins, for the Lord of Eternity hears all confessions, and His mercy will forgive sincere repentance..."
"Hiccup~ You're quite diligent, it's me, Botenis. What's this all about now? No... I almost went off-topic, can you please control those trainee pastors under you?"
The voice behind the window paused for a moment, as if trying to maintain the pastor's professional demeanor:
"So that's how it is. You committed [the fraud perpetrated by the priests and knights]? Deeply reflect on your sins, feel remorse, and sincerely repent! Then... the merciful Lord Yite It will surely forgive your transgressions."
Bang!
With a muffled thud, Botenis's fist slammed into the thick, specially made glass of the Church. "Damn it, don't play dumb with me!" His angry expression vanished completely in a few seconds; he shook his hand, wincing in pain.
"Ouch... that hurts so much! No wonder it's Church- made glass, it's so durable."
To avoid going off-topic, Botenis continued:
"How did you teach those priests? They don't know healing spells, yet their combat abilities surpass those of the Knights... Ugh, as a Knight Commander, I feel my dignity has been utterly trampled upon!"
"And... during the competition, those priestesses even gave the knights laxatives! That underhanded trick must have been your idea!"
"And you, a priest, have actually taken on the work of a priestess... You've stolen the job of that Acting Priest, and you're having a lot of fun, aren't you?"
The soft female voice behind the window remained silent for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence:
"Distinguished guest, is there anything else you wish to confess? If not, please leave this room and return to a more positive outlook..."
A tiny, sarcastic voice drifted out almost from the crack in the window. "... Useless knight commander."
Upon hearing this sarcastic remark, Botenis's forehead veins bulged, and his fists clenched again.
"What?! You bastard, priests, just stick to your jobs and don't steal our knights' work!"
"You are now the High Priest, worshipped by the people, in other words, the second-generation Fulisina. Just give those priests a few pointers, and the problem will be solved immediately! Tell them to have some self-respect!"
The sound from behind the window finally lost its professional composure, carrying a hint of barely perceptible irritation:
"It seems you have nothing left to repent for~ Well then... I'll wait for the next lost sheep..."
"No... what strange things are you saying? I told you to leave this room and give the Knights an explanation!"
"Aaaaaah! Get out of here! Get out of here right now after you've finished confessing!"
The voice behind the window finally couldn't hold back any longer, its tone rising several octaves, and it directly ordered Botenis to leave.
As if realizing its lapse in decorum, the voice readjusted itself. "Ahem~ My apologies, distinguished guest, our prayer time is over. Goodbye."
Botenis's lips twitched violently as he stared at the wooden lattice window. That damned priest... you forced me to use my killing move!
He seemed to have calmed down, took a deep breath, sat up straight, even covered his face with his hands, his shoulders trembled slightly, and his voice was calm and sincere:
"Actually, there is something I need to confess and repent for."
The sounds behind the window immediately piqued my interest; I was very curious about what Bernice wanted to confess.
"No problem! Confess to your mistakes and repent for them. May the [ Eternity ] Aeon protect you—His merciful light shines equally upon each and every one of us believers."
"Let me guess, are you particularly interested in the items Lord Yite used, or do you want to smell his soft, black hair?"
"Or... what unique insights do you have about the current priestess of the Church —the exceptionally intelligent and beautiful Lady Saileni?"
Botenis stroked his chin. "The most treasured vintage wine of the current priest of the Church... once blessed by Lord Yite... I accidentally drank it, and the bottle even broke."
The breathing behind the window seemed to pause for a moment, "What...!"
"Because... she kept proudly showing off that she had bought the hard-to-obtain ' Eternity ' wine from Chair Blake, which made me wonder if it was really that good, so I secretly drank some."
"It was surprisingly delicious, and I ended up drinking it all. I figured she probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference, so I just filled it with cheap liquor."
Botenis continued slowly.
"Eh? Knight... Commander, what are you talking about...?"
The voices behind the window trembled slightly, and even the way they addressed Botenis had changed.
"I haven't finished yet, because she ordered her priests to administer laxatives to the Knights, so..."
"... A few minutes ago, I logged into her global internet account and posted an article praising [ the Lord Ravager ] online."
The sounds behind the window froze completely, and a deathly silence enveloped the confessional.