"If holiness has no real value, and even inflicting suffering on ourselves cannot alleviate the suffering of our neighbors, should we still be attached to the apparent holiness?"
Agnes thought she had not expected Stitch to ask such a question, but when Stitch looked at her with his eyes that were high and low, his slightly tall body was slightly rickety, and there was a sound coming from him. The anxiety gradually turned into a heavy fatigue, and Agnes suddenly realized that she actually thought it was natural for Stitch to ask such a question. She just didn't expect that Stitch would ask the question so directly.
What Stitch told Agnes was not too unexpected to a certain extent, but it was sad precisely because such things had to happen naturally.
Fall is not a word that is too unfamiliar to the members of the Church of the Mother Earth, and what caused it may be certain materials and items, or it may be the whispers ringing in the ears.
Stitch mentioned to Agnes a priest from the Church of the Mother Goddess named "Loreto", who was the person who had previously dealt with Stitch and brought back the information Stitch had obtained from the School of Life. Feineport.
And Stitch received the news of Loreto's corruption from Fenebaud...
Moreover, Agnes looked at Stitch, and it seemed that he and Loreto had a good relationship, and judging from his story, Stitch's participation in this mission had something to do with Loreto.
Agnes suddenly fully understood the seemingly abrupt request that Stitch had made before, hoping that Agnes would take the identity of Ella Boethea instead of Sister Pagani, as she had speculated. Like that, her identity as a nun of the Mother Earth Church would never allow her to say such an answer——
"If you think that what holiness achieves is a huge illusion, then give up the attachment to appearances like most people do, and save the misery of sinful life for those who are struggling in the coffin of suffering."
Stitch looked at Agnes and suddenly laughed. He tried to raise the corners of his mouth that were drooping due to facial muscle imbalance to make his smile look less ferocious.
"As expected, you would choose such an answer," he said with a weird-looking smile, with a hint of relief in his voice, "As expected..."
"It seems that you already had the answer before you asked me, but you just want to hear me tell you your answer again, right?" Agnes interrupted Stitch's words and raised her head. Looking at the few rays of sunlight shining through the dense forest, his eyes rested on a somewhat incomplete leaf.
Stitch said nothing and answered with his own noncommittal attitude.
It seems that what will happen next is clear enough, and the whispers in the ears also inform Agnes of Stitch's thoughts - he wants to change the current situation in which members of the Church of the Earth Mother are prone to corruption.
So... fearless, but admirable, Agnes thought, feeling a part of herself feel a little cold.
"Forget it, it doesn't matter what decision you made. What matters is that you have something that you think is really important." Agnes blinked at Stitch.
"You want to leave the Church of the Mother Earth," she said in a positive tone. "You feel that you cannot get the truth from the Church of the Mother Earth."
Stitch nodded without denying.
"But you have not abandoned your belief in the Mother Earth, nor do you believe in the bewitchment of those primitive moon believers." Agnes stared closely at Stitch's eyes and said almost word for word.
Stitch smiled the most natural smile for him and nodded.
"Then you need to understand that it is extremely difficult for you to maintain your independence in the School of Life."
Agnes's face gradually became a little serious. She looked at Stitch's face little by little, and Stitch winked at Agnes.
"In fact, when I first felt you, I understood that, madam, you have given me this ability," Stitch said, "As long as I am determined enough and willing to pay the price."
"Well," Agnes raised her eyebrows, "I'm glad you are willing to believe me, even though I don't know about it."
Stitch looked at Agnes's expression little by little, and after a long while he suddenly said: "No, you know."
He paused and then continued: "Maybe you didn't know it before, but you must know it now."
"It seems you think you know me well enough." Agnes suppressed the smile on her face and spoke in a calm voice.
"I may know something about you," Stitch explained, "but all I know is you as 'Agnès Pagani' or 'Ella Boethia',"
"And for the rest," Stitch took a deep breath to make his voice a little firmer, "or maybe more of the part, the only thing I can believe is that I and everyone else There is no difference, this is the established rule.”
"When did you learn about such rules?" Agnes asked.
"Very early on, maybe at the Pavla Monastery." Stitch replied seriously.
Agnes couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
"When I first felt you, my most prominent feeling was the huge and active corrosiveness in you..." Stitch said in words that sounded a bit repetitive.
"Not under the church?" Agnes asked with a frown.
"Yes, in Pavla Monastery, I felt an unsuppressed infection and erosion, and briefly set his sights on me." Stitch said without hesitation.
"I don't have a clear memory of this, but I thought you weren't born yet?" Agnes asked.
"Yes, I hadn't formed a complete me at that time." Stitch said in a low voice with some unknown meaning in his words.
"So when I saw you with my own eyes for the first time, I almost couldn't help but feel that you shouldn't look like that. It looked too unreal," Stitch said. He paused and looked at it. Speaking to Agnes, "I think your role as 'Ella Boethia' is more in line with the eroding reality."
"Maybe that's just because the so-called upper class advocates keeping a sufficient distance..." Agnes said with a slight smile.
"No, I didn't mean that." Stitch said.
Agnes closed her mouth and looked at Stitch, waiting for his words.
"Please forgive me for such a comment," Stitch considered his words and said slowly: "At that time, your expression was always upright. It looked fake, but it was so fake that it looked like... The kind of elaborately designed figures displayed in the most sophisticated shop windows are priceless but never natural.”
"Expression management is a very important course. In their words, you must behave very elegantly at all times, like a swan..." Agnes shrugged.
"Swans are not elegant," Stitch laughed. "Swans are just animals. They are born that way. It has nothing to do with the so-called elegance. On the contrary, they are very fierce when pecking people."
"Maybe," Agnes shrugged, "Maybe it's just because it's illusory enough that it has real appeal..."
She lowered her voice and asked instead: "Your Excellency Utravsky is still here, what are you going to do?"
"Your Excellency Utravsky will not stay here for long," Stitch said calmly, "Everything will happen after he leaves."
"Okay, you have completely made your choice," Agnes curled her lips, "I hope all your choices will never be ambiguous."
