Many people are hidden in inconspicuous rooms. Uriel looked at them and found it difficult to speak for a moment. These women, or rather, most of them are just mothers of girls, they spread their wings like a nest of frightened doves, trying to protect their children. Are those their children? Presumably only they themselves know. He tried his best to look away from them so as not to miss the target person's whereabouts.
"Are you going to hide behind a woman's skirt, Lord Bishop?" Uriel quickly locked his position, and as far as he could see, the women ducked away, exposing this distinguished Lord Bishop.
Bishop Cowes pressed his hand on the wooden handle, and the window paper flapped in the cold wind. He was hunched over and turned his back to everyone. Most of the girls sent to the convent are still young. In their eyes, no matter how devout their faith is, they are not as important as their own babies. The nuns scolded loudly, trying to force them to comply with the torment of labor, but after the White Envoy swung his ax and smashed a witchcraft puppet that broke in, they also closed their mouths, like cutting the wrapping paper of a rope. The same slowly spread to the side.
"Found it?" The instructor threw the long-handled ax used to chop down trees downstairs, but it was completely useless. As long as he tried to approach the room, the women would let out a burst of panic and screams. He could only stand where he was.
"Over there, do you see? What we are looking for is no longer the bishop of Silverdome City, but an old mother who has not grown up." Uriel stepped forward with the rune sword, and the glow of divine magic was wiped out. He held it in his hand. He and his mentor scanned the entire building before discovering this guy's fire from the souls of mortals. "Cous Luet, I didn't know you could breastfeed a child. Do you dare to lift your skirt? Let's see if you are a man."
This sentence was definitely not meant to humiliate, it was just that Cos Lue looked too funny. Under the watchful eyes of a group of nuns and young women, Kaos discarded his luxurious bishop's robe, covered his crown with a pointed hat, and put on a half-dry shawl - this must have been something he had hung out from hanging clothes. Pulled off the pole. In order to completely blend in with the crowd, he also wore a long gray linen skirt and changed into a pair of shoes that didn't fit well. No wonder Uriel looked around according to the fire induction, but could not find any trace of the bishop.
"Uril." Kos Lue turned his head. His face was as red as a wrinkled tomato, and the sweat beads on the tip of his nose flashed in the candlelight. He is not so shameless that he can remain calm even if his disguise is exposed to his face. The apprentice originally thought so, but Kaos did not speak to fight back.
"Uriel... Sir, this was Azby Zion's idea, and Iconi Fairwin." The bishop in skirt looked at the apprentice pleadingly, "They are all the nightingales of the Archbishop. I can only, I can only listen to them! I can only do this... By the way, it's Iaconi! He betrayed you and killed Andren... Wait, where did he go? You killed him ?”
"He died for what he dreamed of," Uriel told him. Although that's not really glorious.
Bishop Kaos's mood changes were all written on his face. After a rather entertaining expression change, he forced out a smile to show his innocence: "I am just a little person, Lord Messenger. I have never hurt you or anyone else! You are the knight of Gaia, A true Knight of the Cross, and I am not worth mentioning.”
Of course you didn't hurt anyone, Uriel thought, you just watched others struggle and praised yourself as a great virtue in not adding insult to injury. "I'm not here to blame you for your poor hospitality in Silvercrest City, Caus Lue, I'm here to find someone."
"That child? He is not here! There is no way the church would be involved in such evil..."
"That's enough." Uriel didn't want to argue with him whether the facts were false. "You didn't find him." Previously, the apprentice was worried that Bishop Kaos would threaten Aiken's safety. Now it seems that not only did this guy not He had the guts to participate in the baby trade, and he didn’t even have the brains to survive and protect himself. He is different from both Iaconi and Brother Azby. He fell to this point just because of stupidity, and stupidity has no bottom line. "You should have seen clearly what the church is like with your own eyes. I promised Aiken's mother that I would take her son back. Regardless of whether I find him now or not, the matter will not end here. Someone must do it. This is responsible.”
"Responsible? Dark wizard?" Bishop Kaos still didn't understand.
No need to waste any more time on him. Uriel raised his hand—in fact, he raised his sword. The women immediately screamed loudly, and the children began to cry. Bishop Calth was no exception. The divine chains passed through the crowd and tied him to the floor. At least it would make him look noticeably different from those girls.
"Ladies..." There were about a dozen girls in the room, all of different ages, wearing uniforms and with their hair trimmed short. Uriel could hardly look away. He raised his voice and suppressed his scream: "You don't have to be afraid. This sword is made of Gaia's divine writings. It will only hurt sinners."
"We are sinners." A girl mustered up the courage to talk.
"Love can create sin, but love is not a sin." He thought of a girl who tied her red hair into a carrot. "I don't know why you are here. Because of passion or impulse, being deceived, or even being forced, I have no way of understanding. But this is just a mistake, not a sin." It's just a mistake... "And this is your own life. Wrong, you have tied your life to another life without permission, but this is not a sin so serious that you have to be imprisoned and work every day to atone for your sin. Let me say, only prostitutes need such discipline, but the church has not punished them What to do." Hmm, maybe they even enthusiastically helped the brothel business.
"The church provided us with a place to stay. We had no home. Neither my parents came to visit me."
"They provide shelter, collect payment, and ask for more! They kidnap you in the name of morality and ask your relatives to pay for ransom." Uriel exposed the lies of the charity home to appease the girls, "If your family takes If you don’t contribute money, the church won’t worry because they know you will produce wealth yourself.”
Bishop Cowes seemed to want to say something. If he dares to speak again, Uriel thought, I will break his jaw. Fortunately he didn't have the guts.
A tall nun said: "The church cannot support a group of people who live for free and do no work. I have to find things for them to do. Once people are idle, their minds will be filled with depraved thoughts."
"That's right."
"We are making a living for these sinners...these people who have made mistakes, otherwise they will have to sell their bodies for the rest of their lives! How many people are willing to marry a woman with children? They are greedy and indulgent, and will have a lifetime of shame. Mark." She suddenly realized that Uriel was not retorting earlier, "Just understand, sir, the church is helping them."
"The church really cannot support a group of young women who are not engaged in production, and no one has the obligation to be responsible for their livelihood. I fully agree with the church's approach. But the problem is that the return you are asking for is not the meager labor salary, but their Children - you regard them as goods, offer high prices to visiting wealthy families and noble ladies, and even take orders in bulk! From Blumnot to Eastman, you are conscientious as suppliers."
"How could something like this happen in the church!" Seeing a girl hugging her child tightly and avoiding her like a flame, the tall nun immediately denied it. "Even the tower messenger cannot slander Gaia——"
"Cos Lue." Uriel pulled the chain, and the Bishop of Silverdome turned over on the floor, looking like a dying big-headed fish on the shore. "Tell her, tell them, how did Father Andren die? Don't think you can get away by pretending to be stupid. Tell them, tell them quickly! Otherwise you will have no chance to speak."
Bishop Cowes still didn't speak. He said nothing and his expression was full of pleading. Just looking at his appearance was enough to prove the truth of the accusation. Iaconi killed Father Andren, and it was impossible for him not to know the whole story. The nun's face became as pale as paper, as if she was shocked by the terrible darkness inside.
Uriel would not forgive her for her ignorance and dullness. After all, it is the concept of chastity preached by the church that gives human traffickers the opportunity. And why are these civilian girls the victims? Could it be that this kind of statement is not popular among the upper-class nobles? Calling the prostitutes of noble men as courtesans, but punishing girls who make mistakes as sinners, the goddess Gaia may regret teaching humans the rules and regulations.
"Unforgivable!" The nun pointed at Bishop Cowes tremblingly, "How could you do such a thing?"
"You have wronged him." The apprentice snorted, "Either this guy is like you, unaware of the sinful transactions happening under his nose, or he is like a mouse in the corner and dare not say a word. The former means that he has no idea. Needless to say, I am sitting in my seat, so the latter is naturally an accomplice."
"Cous Lue is not qualified to serve the goddess." Another nun said flatly, "My lord, I beg you to kill him."
Kaos is not qualified, but what about Archbishop Payton? Uriel thought, I have to ask him myself. Fortunately, Payton Forest, as the archbishop of the Eastman Kingdom Church branch, could not lose his position and run away. This plan was not carried out when he was in Iron Claw City because he was concerned about the wizards of the school. Now he has nothing to worry about.
"I won't accept your request," Uriel told her, "but I will kill the bastard, in front of everyone who was deceived. It's a bonus. I'm here for a boy named Aiken, his mother wanted me to find him. That was the only request I accepted."
The fighting in Beacon Town was subsiding, but the clear sky outside the window was gathering black clouds at noon. Raindrops carrying the smell of seawater slid down the glass, and the firelight across the street was gradually thinned. While the messenger was chopping up a living golem without eyes and using its bones to sharpen his knife, Uriel opened the door.
When the instructor saw the baby in his arms, he couldn't help but look surprised.
"He is Aiken." The apprentice said, looking down at the baby's sweet sleeping face. "Did you hear what happened earlier? He can really cry."
