Volume 1 Chapter 552

Chapter 552: No Unexpected Event Will Miss Lolth

Sitting directly across from Lolth were two figures wearing priest robes and masks.

The magical aura around them reminded Lolth of somewhere she had felt it before.

Disease God Kingdom, Patricia.

Great Sage Morning Star.

Sitting across from her was Patricia from the Wizard Association.

Another…

Still Patricia from the Wizard Association.

To be exact, it was a type of her doppelganger.

It seemed to be a magic puppet that carried a part of her soul and consciousness, likely some kind of advanced technology from the Wizard Association, capable of looking very real.

With the added mask, it became even harder for ordinary people to tell if it was a person or a magic puppet.

However, Lolth recognized her very easily.

She could only lower her head deeply to prevent Patricia from recognizing her.

At the same time, she was very surprised…

Because clearly, Patricia also had the aura of the God of Light.

She didn’t know how Patricia did it.

She couldn’t understand why Patricia was here.

Of course, if Patricia knew she was here, she would probably be even more confused!

Lolth thought this and quietly made her disguise even tighter.

Of course, besides her, the other members of the Church of Light did not notice Patricia among them.

So, after everyone had gathered…

"The meeting" was held as usual.

Although this was a round table, there was still someone leading the meeting.

The leader of the meeting was, of course, the person who looked the most important and powerful among those present.

He was the young man sitting to the right of Lolth, dressed in a cardinal’s robe, among the two young men.

After looking around, he slowly began to speak.

"Some of you sitting here today, we have met three years ago…"

"And for some, this is your first time here."

"No matter what, your presence here represents… a kind of ‘qualification’ and a kind of ‘trust’."

"We believe you are… different from the group that currently holds power in the Church and the Empire!"

"They believe they hold the Lord’s glory and twist His will to protect their own interests!"

"They claim to do everything for the Lord, but they fear even the slightest shake to their position!"

"As long as they consider themselves devout, they can act recklessly; as long as the Holy Light endures, they can line their pockets…"

"They do not deserve to occupy those positions!"

"I believe you all think the same way!"

"Ladies and gentlemen… this is a rare moment when both the church and the empire are experiencing a change of power; it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"We must seize this chance!"

"Let us transform this church!"

The cardinal spoke passionately, and everyone nodded slightly.

Lolth listened to his clichés but felt somewhat uninterested.

This traveler had heard many things like this.

Those who see themselves as idealistic young individuals driven by passion wanting to overthrow a massive regime…

That truly leads to no good outcome.

Even failing and dying would be among the better endings.

Not to mention this is a world filled with extraordinary powers…

Lolth glanced at the two cardinals in red.

Legend First Level.

A Privy Bishop alone could annihilate everyone here except for himself and Patricia.

Even calling upon the Privy Bishop seems like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut…

However, Lolth also understood that these two cardinals might not be the top leaders.

There could be someone even higher up.

But even if there truly is someone above, the young people here are definitely not close confidants or direct subordinates.

Instead, they are merely pawns being stirred up.

Lolth watched the speech with great interest while also observing Patricia’s movements.

The young girl also nodded seriously in greeting.

But beneath the mask, her face was tightly biting her lower lip.

It seemed she was struggling to hold back laughter.

"That’s quite a strange sense of humor…"

Lolth felt a bit wistful.

Although she found this secret meeting here somewhat ridiculous, …

This kind of "ridiculous" would not actually make her laugh out loud.

However, considering Patricia’s somewhat neurotic tendencies, Lolth understood.

Her unusual sense of humor was not exactly surprising.

After the young cardinal finished speaking, he paused and gestured for the person sitting next to him to continue.

Compared to the passionate guy from before, the new speaker sounded more composed.

"So, even though in the past we had always operated in the shadows, providing each other with hidden support while using everyone’s strength to remove those intolerable ‘bad apples’ in the church, it is now… with our members growing and our power increasing, it’s time for us to slowly step into the spotlight!"

"However, we do not intend to directly announce our existence, as that would undoubtedly lead those powerful figures who fear our growth, the decayed and corrupt rulers, to attempt to destroy us."

"But we can still choose our representatives in this game of power."

"First, regarding the church… Now, many cardinals and Privy Bishops are watching the pope’s position."

"Our strength and qualifications are certainly not enough to directly compete for the pope."

"However, regardless of who ultimately becomes the new pope, there will surely be vacancies and changes in the positions of ‘Privy Bishops’ and ‘Cardinals’ in the Holy Capital Eden Palace, also known as ‘Cardinal Archbishops.’"

"We need to send our representatives in."

The young man said this, and suddenly a voice came from the thirty people.

"That must be the two lords!"

Everyone agreed enthusiastically.

"Yes, if we work together and leverage our connections and energy, there is definitely hope!"

"You both already have the qualifications!"

However, the two red-robed cardinals shook their heads.

"No, there is a more suitable candidate."

"We still have our mission and tasks."

As they spoke, the slightly more gentle and composed cardinal smiled and continued.

"Well then… allow me to formally introduce…"

"Bishop Hume Valentina from the City of Brightness Church!"

"Please unveil, Bishop Hume."

Lolth quickly looked around, wanting to know who Bishop Hume was.

Then, she noticed that everyone was glancing left and right.

"Bishop Hume" did not reveal her face immediately.

A thought suddenly appeared in Lolth’s mind.

She glanced at Patricia and saw that the smile on her face had frozen.

In an instant, Lolth felt like laughing a little.

But she wasn’t very sure.

She looked at the two young cardinals in red.

Sure enough, those two knew all the identities that matched the seats, and they both looked in Patricia’s direction.

To be precise, it was the direction of the magic puppet next to Patricia.

Lolth couldn’t hold it in any longer.

"Bishop Hume… please lift the veil!"

The two young men looked at Patricia and said with a smile.

"Grass!"

Lolth tightly clenched her fists under the table, her nails digging into her skin.

Dorothy curiously looked at her trembling teacher and quietly asked,

"What’s wrong, teacher?"

Lolth tried to hold back her laughter and explained to Dorothy,

"That ‘Hume’ is a fake… She is the Sage of the Mage Tower… I know her!"

Dorothy looked at the two people across from her, surprised and frozen.

"Oh no, there are other people who sneaked in…"

The little girl couldn’t help but exclaim.

After a moment of hesitation, Patricia finally decided to give up and added another layer of disguise before taking off her mask.

Under the mask was a face that looked about seventy to eighty percent like her own, appearing as an innocent young girl.

Bishop Hume did not look like this, of course…

Many, including the Cardinal, who had perhaps seen Bishop Hume, were slightly taken aback.

They watched Patricia’s magic puppet, feeling the waves of Holy Light power that seemed fine but felt somehow off, and were momentarily stunned.

Patricia controlled the magic puppet and looked around.

Lolth already felt that she was ready to use magic and escape!

Just then, a voice suddenly broke the silence.

"Oh my, Bishop Hume… After working day and night, you have lost so much weight!"

The voice was filled with a mix of surprise and emotion.

Patricia’s magic puppet, which already had a stiff expression, looked even more blank.

"Ah… huh?"

She spoke, and then the others began to chatter as well.

"Yes, it has not been easy!"

"Indeed, it is Bishop Hume… I agree with choosing her!"

"Truly, no one is more suitable than Bishop Hume!"

Patricia, who simply knocked out two people to sneak in, felt a huge impact.

At that moment, the passionate young cardinal nodded as well.

"Not only that… I sensed a change in Bishop Hume’s presence…"

"So, she has actually broken through to legendary status!"

"Bishop Hume is really too low-key; we didn’t know anything about this!"

"Now, supporting Bishop Hume to become the cardinal in the Holy Capital seems even more promising!"

What he said left Patricia completely confused.

Lolth almost laughed out loud.

However, soon both Patricia and Lolth understood the relationship between them.

After all, this should be the first time anyone revealed their true face!

The Church of Light and the Holy Empire are incredibly vast, and the structure of the church is extremely complicated!

It is actually very rare for the bishops in both regions to meet.

So, it is normal for them to be unfamiliar with each other.

After all, every gathering seems to require some disguise.

Moreover… who would think of the wizards from the Wizard Association getting mixed in?

Once they thought of this, everyone naturally understood.

However, for Lolth, understanding is understanding…

But seeing Patricia’s situation is still very funny.

And while Lolth was trying to hold back her laughter, another young cardinal spoke up.

"So, everyone…"

"Besides our efforts to promote Lord Bishop Hume to the center of power in the church, we also need to use the chance of appointing a successor to place our people in the empire’s center of power!"

"Currently, we have already provided a certain level of support to the Third and Sixth Princes, and we have a friendly relationship with both factions."

"However, next, we will send a bishop to be the mentor of the Fourth Princess."

"Her Royal Highness, the Fourth Princess, is also a popular choice for the successor…"

"So everyone must fully cooperate with the bishop we send!"

"Her Excellency Bishop ‘Nai’ from Giloviev Church in New Dawn City!"

Lolth, who was trying not to laugh, suddenly couldn’t hold it in anymore.

"Please reveal yourself, Bishop ‘Nai’!"

Hearing the soft voice of the cardinal, Lolth froze.

Why is it me again?

Well… this was expected…

It feels like my disguises never work out!

Whenever I try to sneak in, disguise myself, or interrogate someone, something unexpected always happens.

Or rather, whenever something unexpected happens, I am sure to be involved!

Just now, Patricia should have realized this point.

The only thing to be thankful for is that, based on the whispers of the other masked figures around, Lolth could guess that this person pretending to be "Nai" is much more mysterious than the others.

At least more low-key than Patricia’s role as "Bishop Hume."

Everyone’s reaction was just that.

"Giloviev Church? Where is that?"

"Bishop Nai? Who is that?"

"It seems like she was one of the original organizers of this meeting…"

"It seems like she is quite powerful!"

"But who exactly is she?"

Considering that even Patricia could manage to get away with it, Lolth thought that revealing her face wouldn’t be a big deal.

It was likely that no one would recognize her—probably.

However, this also meant one thing…

Lolth sighed and finally chose to reveal her face.

And at the moment she revealed her face.

"Pfft—Ha!"

The magic puppet sitting directly across from her, who had originally looked completely uninterested, suddenly burst into laughter.

Then, she quickly covered her mouth.

"I’m sorry, Bishop Nai is just too beautiful… I didn’t expect that!"

She explained this and locked eyes with Lolth.

Both of their gazes were very complicated.

It probably contained three complicated meanings: "What are you doing here?", "What are you doing here, you fool?", and "Let’s chat in a bit!"

In the end, they both looked away, and Lolth turned to the two young cardinals in red.

The other party nodded in agreement with Patricia.

"Indeed… Bishop Nai looks good!"

"We made the right choice. I heard that Her Highness the Fourth Princess has very strict standards for her subordinates’ appearances!"

"Now Bishop Nai should easily win over the Fourth Princess!"

It seemed like it was the first time they were seeing Bishop Nai’s appearance.

For Lolth, this was both good and not good…

It seemed good not to reveal it right away…

But this also meant…

She really had to teach the princess of the Holy Empire now.