Chapter 61 - Think Carefully
The rehearsal ended, and everyone headed to the academy gate to welcome the delegation from the Church of Radiance.
As the leader of many human nations and the guide of humanity, the Church of Radiance holds a transcendent position in human society.
No ruler of any country dared to openly oppose the church on the surface.
After all, opposing the Church of Radiance and the Pope was tantamount to opposing the Goddess of Radiance, who was the common faith of human nations.
If such a label were slapped on them, they might not even have time to be attacked by other human nations before their own people, deeply dissatisfied, erupted in internal turmoil.
Moreover, throughout history, the Church of Radiance had only declared war on the demon race and almost never on human nations.
The few times it did declare war on human nations, it was later proven that those nations had committed grave sins, such as colluding with the followers of the Demon God Pillar.
The final conclusions always prove that the decisions of the Saintness were correct, and the Church's decisions were justified.
This instilled in all humans a belief that “the decisions of the Church of Radiance are the decisions of the Goddess and are absolutely correct.”
Decisions made by the Saintness were rarely wrong, especially major decisions like internal wars.
There were always too many victims who fled to the Church for refuge, and ultimately, the Saintness, unable to tolerate it any longer, would seek justice for the people and mobilize the Church's armed forces.
It was always proven afterwards that the Church had never attacked the wrong people.
In fact, it was widely believed in human nations that kings and even emperors became rulers of the mortal world only with the Goddess's approval.
If a king kidnapped the Goddess and the faith, the people would also despise such a king.
This was also why Winnie didn't want to involve Mirexia. Historically, kings and emperors who opposed the Church of Radiance had not fared well.
For all these reasons, even the kings of major nations had to show some respect when meeting bishops of the Church, receiving them with the highest diplomatic protocols.
This was even more true for kings of smaller nations; having a bishop from the Church of Radiance visit was a tremendous honor, and they will go beyond the standard protocol to welcome them.
This time, several archbishops from the Church were coming, and Carillian Academy naturally took it very seriously. The students also understood the significance, so no one dared to slack off, and they were quite tense during the rehearsal.
However, not everyone was so serious. There were exceptions, like Winnie, who was yawning in the lineup, showing no respect at all.
While everyone's attention was focused on the direction from which the Church delegation would arrive, he was like a security guard just counting the hours until his shift ended.
Before long, a carriage pulled by unicorns arrived. The white-gold carriage, adorned with pure white six wings and a golden cross, descended to the ground.
Once it stopped, the unicorn folded its wings and stood gracefully at the solemn and majestic gate of Carillian Academy, shaking its beautiful mane in a very human-like manner.
Unicorns, being highly intelligent and rare creatures, often exhibit human-like behaviors. From certain actions of this unicorn, it seemed to be a female.
Legend had it that unicorns were the favored creatures of the Goddess of Radiance, Varelis, brought down from the divine realm. Because the wings of unicorns bore many similarities to those of angels, riding in a carriage pulled by unicorns was a symbol of status within the Church of Radiance.
After the carriage stopped, all the students and instructors couldn't help but focus their attention on the carriage door.
Soon, the carriage door was lowered, and the curtain was drawn open. The first to emerge from the carriage were not the bishops, but two teams of fully armed Holy Cross Knights.
Well-trained, they quickly formed two lines, each holding their sword hilts with one hand, standing on either side of the carriage door.
A red-haired woman, also clad in Holy Cross Knight armor but without a helmet, stepped out and held open the curtain for those behind her.
Judging by the color of her sword hilt and her demeanor, she seemed to hold a position similar to a squad leader within the Holy Cross Knights.
Behind her, three middle-aged men, each holding a staff, dressed in white robes, and wearing tall hats, emerged one by one.
They wore mithril rings adorned with cross-shaped gemstones, and their white robes were embroidered with intricate and uniquely beautiful golden patterns. The cross emblems on their chests and shoulders were adorned with two wings.
These were the symbols of arch-bishops. Other clergy members with some status and position had emblems featuring only a golden cross burning with holy fire, while arch-bishops and bishops had a burning cross with two wings. The Pope's emblem had four wings.
After the three men descended from the carriage, the Holy Cross Knights lining the sides slightly bowed their heads, showing a respectful demeanor.
Clearly, these three middle-aged men in splendid white robes were the delegation from the Church of Radiance this time.
Winnie, standing in the lineup, raised an eyebrow. Putting aside everything else, these three men looked quite upright.
One appeared amiable and kind, another seemed stern and upright, and the last was strikingly handsome. Although he was older, one could still see traces of his youthful handsomeness.
Moreover, the handsome middle-aged man looked somewhat familiar to Winnie, especially his eyes, which had a rare cross-shaped pupil.
Wait, no.
Has he seen this kind of pupil somewhere before??
Winnie frowned, feeling like he had stumbled upon something.
When the handsome middle-aged man on the left glanced at a certain honey-haired girl in the lineup, Winnie looked over and saw that Luna was also looking at the man, though their eyes quickly parted after a brief exchange.
Winnie suddenly realized.
Ah! That familiar pupil shape, wasn't it the same as Luna's pupil shape??
No wonder he had thought Luna looked familiar when he first saw her. So she was actually a named character who had appeared in the original story??
The surname “Horaleth” sounded somewhat familiar to him, as if he had heard it somewhere before. Now it all makes sense; this family name must belong to a prominent family within the Church.
In an instant, Winnie felt a chill run down his spine.
Oh no!
Had his stint as a maid been exposed??
Damn it, he had been trying to avoid the Church of Radiance all along, yet he had ended up showing his female form in front of a prestigious family of the Church, and in such an embarrassing way.
No, surely she hadn't been recognized, right??
For a moment, Winnie's emotions were like a rollercoaster, his heart sinking to the bottom.
Wait, he had only shown his face once carelessly, and a key figure had seen him. Who was trying to frame him??
Varelis, was it you?? If you don't start protecting me soon, you old folks will be left without descendants! I'm doomed!
If Winnie had felt a little smug when Luna had complimented his looks earlier, that feeling was now completely gone.
Although the possibility was slim, he couldn't help but wonder if Luna's initial approach to him had some ulterior motive.
Now that he thought about it, how could it have been just a spur-of-the-moment decision to talk to him??
Definitely not. She must have had some purpose.
So, did Luna discover his secret or not??
Calm down, calm down. She definitely hadn't.
No need to worry. He had only transformed into Vanessa and worked as a maid at Luna's place once, and he had never revealed any connection between Vanessa and Winnie.
Even if Luna's imagination was wild, she wouldn't be able to guess such a thing, there was no precedent for it, and normal people's imaginations wouldn't stretch that far.
However, whether she had recognized Vanessa as a descendant of Varelis, Winnie had no idea.
Whether he could keep his secret from these high-ranking Church families, Winnie had no confidence at all.
Now that he thought about it, the waters were too deep. If Luna had recognized Vanessa's identity back then, and had still cheerfully dressed her in a custom maid outfit and had her work as a maid in her shop??
What on earth was this woman trying to do?? Was she really that scheming?? If she knew his identity and still deliberately put him through that, how heartless was she??
Damn it, was the Church of Radiance a den of scheming women??
At this thought, Winnie felt a pang of fear. He had been so clueless back then, acting like a naive fool while working as a maid in her shop.
Surely, nothing will come of it, right?
Well, she probably hadn't recognized him. After all, if she had, why wouldn't she have arrested him on the spot??
Even if she wanted to avoid alerting him, she could have secretly notified the Church's professionals to investigate, confirm his identity, and then deal with him discreetly.
But it had been so long since he had been penniless and had to work part-time as a maid at the maid cafe, and there had been no movement at all. This was enough to prove that she hadn't discovered him.
Thinking this way, Winnie breathed a sigh of relief.
He should still be safe for now.
“Welcome, three arch-bishops. Vice Principal has sent me, along with several teachers and student representatives, to greet the esteemed guests from the Church of Radiance,” Morinkate stepped forward with several deans and bowed to the Church delegation.
Student Council President Mirexia followed behind them. Regardless of her usual status, now she was merely the president of Carillian Academy's Student Council.
“Morinkate, it's been a long time. I hope you've been well,” the amiable archbishop seemed quite talkative and had met Morinkate before, chatting without any airs.
The archbishop with a stern and displeased expression remained silent, while the archbishop from the Horaleth family on the left maintained a professional smile and also said nothing.
“It's truly nostalgic. So many years have passed since we last met. I've aged, but you still look as spirited as ever,” the amiable bishop said with a smile.
“You flatter me, Archbishop. You still look very young, just as you did back then,” Morinkate responded without any overstepping, knowing that the archbishop's friendliness was just his way of interacting with people and not a sign of close personal relationship.
“Pleasure to meet you. You must be Morinkate, the chief combat instructor of Carillian Academy, known as the 'Boneless One,'” the stern archbishop spoke up.
“Yes, that's me. You must be Archbishop Alfarin,” Morinkate replied.
He had heard of this archbishop's reputation, and likely so had many others, mainly because this archbishop's 'reputation' was too well-known.
Yes, a reputation for arrogance and extreme harshness towards others.
“Morinkate, may I ask when our last visit to your academy and our meeting with your academy took place?” Alfarin raised an eyebrow.
“Archbishop Alfarin, I believe it was many years ago.”
“Yes, many years ago. This meeting should be quite significant, shouldn't it?” Alfarin's tone gradually took on a hint of sarcasm.
"Our Pope has sent three archbishops to show our great importance to this meeting. And your academy? The principal aside, I don't even see your vice principal. Is this how you treat esteemed guests?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene seemed to grow tense.
Winnie, standing in the lineup, pursed his lips, and his gaze toward the old man changed.
Even if he was an archbishop, shouldn't he show some courtesy in such a formal setting??
Even if that was truly the case, shouldn't he at least keep up appearances in public? Couldn't this be discussed privately, or at least hinted at discreetly to express dissatisfaction? Saying it outright like this only makes things awkward for everyone.
If this were a visit from any other country to Carillian Academy, such an issue would never arise. But who were they dealing with? The Church of Radiance.
Even if you were a transcendent existence, the remnants of an ancient empire, Carillian Academy, for us to visit you is an honor, a great face we're giving you. And you dare to only send a few deans?? Who exactly are you trying to slight??
“Archbishop Alfarin, I believe your question is very pertinent and hits the nail on the head. In fact, we were just about to explain this. As you all know, our principal is currently indisposed, and our vice principal, due to the recent activation of the amplification circle, despite its subsequent non-use, is still suffering from the circle's side effects and is unable to properly and respectfully welcome you all. That's why he sent us in his stead,” Morinkate, a seasoned veteran, remained unfazed in the face of the archbishop's provocation and calmly explained with a smile.
“Moreover, if the amplification circle had been successfully activated, the side effects would have been even greater. You are here exactly because of this. Think about it, if our vice principal hadn't had the foresight, we wouldn't have the honor of your visit, would we?” Morinkate's words were highly diplomatic, implying that if Carillian Academy hadn't held its ground, the entire continent would have suffered, and naturally, there would have been no subsequent visit from the Church of Radiance.