Volume 1 Chapter 597
by post_apiChapter 597: Lolth: I Have Come Up With a Perfect Plan Again!
"What?!"
Hearing Lolth’s words, Janine Irene, who was never really crafty, expressed her shock directly.
Her first reaction was…
"How is this possible?!"
"This silly rumor… It can’t hold true unless the Director of the Heretic Tribunal and Her Holiness show up!"
"Even if ordinary people and those of lower status believe it… the high-ranking officials will not!"
"If it were any other day, this kind of rumor spreading wouldn’t matter… After all, it could help keep the people’s spirits stable…"
"But if you want Her Holiness the Lady of Light to be the Pope, those with voting power and a voice in the matter will do everything they can to expose it!"
"It’s pointless to keep such rumors from them too!"
Although Janine Irene was quite straightforward, she was not naive to the ways of the world.
On the contrary, having followed the reform-minded Holy Maiden for many years, she was very aware of the current state of The Church of Light and the Papal State.
Therefore, she quickly pointed out the flaws in Lolth’s actions.
However, Lolth did not show any emotion upon hearing Janine Irene’s words.
She simply looked at Janine Irene calmly.
Until Janine Irene’s questioning voice grew quieter…
Then, the young Paladin seemed to think of a terrible possibility and showed a look of surprise.
"You… you mean…"
"You have kept everyone in The Church of Light in the dark?"
Janine Irene couldn’t help but ask.
Lolth gently nodded.
"Yes, except for His Holiness the Pope… But he is my accomplice."
As Lolth said this, Janine Irene opened her mouth wide and could not close it for a long time.
Finally, she slowly exhaled and asked again.
"How did you do it?"
"Did you use the methods of the Succubus clan?"
At this moment, Janine Irene began to have a bit of faith in this senior!
However, the answer Lolth gave was even more surprising than Janine Irene had expected.
She asked Janine Irene back seriously.
"How many people do you think have seen the true face of the Lady of Light and the true face of the Heretic Tribunal, combined?"
Lolth asked this.
Janine Irene was taken aback.
As the leader of the Oracles Knight Order, even while serving the Holy Maiden, Janine Irene rarely saw the Lady of Light take off the hood that covered her face.
As the Lady of Light throughout the ages, she had to remain a mystery during her time in office.
They were simply known as the "Lady of Light."
Their appearances and names were erased and hidden.
Only when they resigned or passed away would this be lifted.
This was the "divine favor" of the God of Light—at the moment they became favored, their identities became pure.
Thus, the only ones who had seen the true face of the Holy Maiden were herself, the Director of the Heretic Tribunal, and His Holiness the Pope!
The Director of the Heretic Tribunal was also known for being mysterious.
After all, what he did was work in the "dark places."
Especially this generation’s esteemed director, who was accustomed to acting mysteriously.
No one knew where he came from.
Only the Holy Maiden and His Holiness the Pope knew the true identity of the Director of the Heretic Tribunal!
Wait a moment…
Thinking of this, Janine Irene suddenly felt an uncontainable wave of fear.
Knowing the true identity of the Lady of Light and the true identity of the Director of the Heretic Tribunal…
Wasn’t this all happening in Hillenbrand Town, apart from His Holiness the Pope?
And His Holiness the Pope, nearing the end of his life, did not appear much… perhaps he was even the "accomplice" of this senior before her.
No one could see through her by observing her appearance.
This meant that the difficulty of impersonating the Holy Maiden and the Director of the Heretic Tribunal had greatly decreased!
Janine Irene felt a wave of dizziness.
"But… but… can the aura be perfectly disguised too?"
"Where can you find someone to mimic the Holy Light power of Her Holiness and the Power of Judgment of the Director of the Heretic Tribunal?"
Janine Irene said this but suddenly fell silent.
She suddenly realized…
The Lady of Light… wasn’t the senior in front of her also one?
And one of the most famous ones too!
The other person had not been in Hillenbrand Town and just revealed that she met the Pope in the Holy Capital…
However, this Senior Lolth did not say…
She was in the Holy Capital, simply meeting the Pope.
Lolth noticed her gaze and realized what she was thinking, and just shrugged.
"That’s right, I personally took action and impersonated."
As she spoke, her left hand squeezed out a puff of Holy Light energy freshly taken from the Fountain of Benevolence.
Although in a way, she did not do it on purpose…
But since it happened, there was no need to confess to Janine Irene that it was a misunderstanding.
Janine Irene felt this energy and was once again speechless in shock.
Lolth quietly raised her right hand, releasing a powerful aura of Judgment mixed with Holy Light.
"Actually, I am playing the role of the Director of the Heretic Tribunal…"
"Another person is playing Her Holiness."
"I just started yesterday; although I am still a bit inexperienced, everyone in the high ranks was there for my first appearance…"
"But no one noticed any flaws."
As Lolth said this, Janine Irene already felt her hands and feet tingle a little.
The "Holy Maiden" returned to the Holy Capital just yesterday, while Hillenbrand Town was attacked by the Director of the Heretic Tribunal about four or five days ago.
Janine Irene suddenly realized something…
All these timing points are just too coincidental.
Did the Pope inform her in advance about the actions of the Director of the Heretic Tribunal, so was it intentional?
No, I’m afraid that’s not the case; she really only saw His Holiness yesterday… there is no need for the elder to deceive herself about this.
So, everything is… planned out?
Especially when she thought of that day, after the Director of the Heretic Tribunal went on a rampage…
She appeared here.
Janine Irene suddenly understood why she had a share of the Power of Judgment!
Because, perhaps, even the unexpected rampage of the Director of the Heretic Tribunal…
Was within her expectations?
Especially the later chaos at demi-god level, even god level, completely obscured what happened in Hillenbrand Town.
All of this is likely expected by this elder.
And she was able to arrange everything in advance, even calculating for "unlikely surprises"…
Janine Irene did not feel that anything was wrong.
Because she realized that this elder was not just the Lady of Light…
She was also the Pope!!!
The Pope of The Church of Light, of course, possesses the ability to master the highest level of the Supreme Divine Spell, known as the Divine Word!
"Great Prophecy!!!"
This incredibly profound and mysterious Supreme Divine Spell is likely something even the current Pope of Light cannot master so thoroughly!
To activate the Great Prophecy consumes not just divine power…
It also takes the source of life itself!
It contains the vitality and the essence of the soul!
This method was considered top-notch, even for the master. For mortals, even with a demi-god body, it was a huge drain!
Unless one became a god and their soul and life had merged into the Divine Kingdom, reaching a higher state…
Otherwise, this method was a direct provocation to the Plane Will of the continent, capable of probing fate to some degree, and was itself incredibly complex…
It was destined to be a means that should not be used lightly!
Yet this elder could still use it after ten thousand years…
No wonder this elder resolved the church crisis by herself a thousand years ago.
At that moment, she suddenly understood why Her Holiness admired this elder so much.
It turned out that I really did not understand Her Holiness!
I had not realized all the remarkable qualities of this senior until she informed me.
However, Janine Irene still did not show it.
"Then in that case… isn’t there still a risk?"
"After all… if Her Holiness goes back, how will we replace her?"
Janine Irene thought for a moment and asked.
But this was no longer questioning Lolth; she simply wanted to hear her opinion.
Lolth had naturally considered this as well…
In fact, when Lolth had Dorothy pretend to be the Holy Maiden, she had already thought of a way to use the prince to get the raccoon back.
Not just to fulfill the promise to the Pope…
But also to find a way for Dorothy and herself to completely escape this mess.
The only worry was that Dorothy might not be very willing…
To her surprise, Dorothy seemed very interested after hearing her proposal.
So Lolth made up her mind.
Of course, before this plan could be put into action… she first needed to persuade Miss Janine Irene.
"This is why I came to see you alone, Miss Janine Irene…"
"Even though the timing and people involved seemed perfect right now…"
"But ‘changing’ could indeed be very easy to get wrong."
Lolth paused here for a moment.
"And compared to ‘exchange,’ you haven’t even realized the biggest flaw in this matter."
"The biggest flaw?"
Janine Irene was stunned, then asked with some confusion.
"Where is there a flaw?"
Hearing this, Lolth raised her hand and pointed at Janine Irene.
Janine Irene was also surprised and pointed at herself.
"Me?"
She said in disbelief.
"Of course it’s you," Lolth said calmly. "The Lady of Light was captured with you, and now she has been ‘rescued’… but what about you?"
"What about the commander of the Oracle Knight Order?"
"Right now, the higher-ups in the church probably think it was the Director of the Heretic Tribunal who couldn’t take you and the Holy Maiden away… Given the past actions of the Heretic Tribunal, they wouldn’t dare confirm this with the director."
"However, they will definitely find a way to investigate the truth of Hillenbrand Town…"
"You are the key subject of the investigation."
"At the same time, this is also a good way to attack the Director of the Heretic Tribunal’s incompetence – they currently believe that the Director of the Heretic Tribunal and the Lady of Light are on the same side."
"This is our biggest crisis now – the combination of the Heretic Tribunal and the Lady of Light… it is too disruptive to the balance."
"So… Janine Irene, can you understand where you most need to be right now?"
As Lolth spoke, Janine Irene began to understand.
"I understand… I should have also been rescued and should be quietly healing in the Holy Capital!"
"If someone uses my rescue situation against me… I can appear myself and make their attack pointless!"
Janine Irene said excitedly.
"That is indeed a good idea," Lolth laughed but shook her head, "but… Janine Irene, that’s still not good enough."
As she said this, her smile slowly faded.
"After all, we still don’t have a good plan on how to ‘exchange’ the true and false Holy Maiden, right?"
"Moreover, this reduces the ‘negligence’… The Holy Maiden’s achievements are still not convincing—after all, she didn’t bring back the Rod of Eden and was captured by the demon race."
"Even though the Director of the Heretic Tribunal bringing back the Holy Maiden is a great achievement, increasing the Heretic Tribunal’s influence, the fact that she was captured is still significant. So using this support is not valid."
Janine Irene felt confused when she heard Lolth say this.
"What should we do then…"
The Paladin began to humbly ask Lolth for advice.
Lolth looked at her with a serious expression.
"This method may not seem very ‘virtuous’… but, Janine Irene, I need you to understand…"
"Sometimes, to achieve a great purpose, you have to sacrifice some things… that may seem like your bottom line."
"Of course, we still have to stick to the true bottom line, but we cannot be so rigid."
Janine Irene nodded when she heard Lolth’s teaching.
"I understand, mentor."
She also showed a look of being taught.
It was clear that Janine Irene now had great respect for Lolth.
Lolth also nodded lightly.
"So… you are not where you should be right now, which is not the Holy Capital."
"As the commander of the Oracle Knight Order, the best place for you should be on the way back to the Holy Capital with the Holy Maiden."
Lolth said this in a calm tone.
But Janine Irene was stunned again.
"On the way back to the Holy Capital with the Holy Maiden?!"
"How is that possible?"
"Didn’t you say that you made everyone believe the ‘Holy Maiden’ was inside the Holy Capital…?"
Lolth heard Janine Irene’s doubts and interrupted her.
"But that’s not true, is it?"
As Lolth said this, Janine Irene stood there in shock.
"So… you are saying…"
Lolth looked at Janine Irene and laughed.
"The Director of the Heretic Tribunal worked with the succubus who hid in the church over ten years ago, the deceiving pope, and the interrogator of the Demon Army to imprison the real Holy Maiden and to make a brainwashed innocent girl pretend to be the pope, aiming to become the true controller of the church…"
"Luckily, the Lady of Light noticed this early and took risks just to draw out the Director of the Heretic Tribunal to reveal himself…"
"In fact, Her Holiness has had a way to leave the Demon Army’s territory at any time, but she pretended to be weak on purpose."
"After a long journey, avoiding the demon race’s pursuit, they finally uncovered the true face of the Director of the Heretic Tribunal…"
"What do you think?"
Lolth looked at Janine Irene and asked seriously.