Quadruple split.

Chapter 2711 Leaving the Seat
“Well then, Mr. Potter.”

Father Allen gazed at the young priest before him, whose name could possibly be anything but Harry Potter, and said calmly, “You may leave now. I swear on Tisu’s name that I will never reveal any information about the priest Harry Potter or any suspicious persons. I will take all memories of you to my grave and remain silent until my death.”

Mo Tan showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he slowly stood up, a meaningful smile curving his lips, and said softly, "To be honest, Father Allen, I didn't expect things to progress between us so quickly."

“Watch your words, Potter.”

Father Allen narrowed his eyes gloomily and said with an unfriendly gaze, "If you insist on making me feel disgusted, I can change my mind at any time."

"Oh."

Mo Tan nodded and laughed nonchalantly, "Then you should change your mind."

Father Allen: "...What did you say?"

"Look, since I can seize the initiative in less than two sentences, why should you be grateful for my willingness to cooperate with me in concealing my identity?"

Mo Tan revealed a sly smile, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Although I don't know what you just saw, it was clearly not something pleasant, was it?"

Allen didn't speak, but stared at the young man in front of him with his usual gloomy eyes, which indirectly confirmed that what he had just witnessed was indeed not 'pleasant'.

There was nothing that could be done about it. After all, if he hadn't reacted quickly enough and decisively embraced his first death, he probably would have completely lost even the 'self' he cherished most.

"In short, I've changed my mind."

Mo Tan bent down to pick up the two precious notebooks that the other party had kindly given her, and without any hesitation stuffed them into her bag. She said with a smile, "I want to talk to you more, Father Allen. I am eager for us to get to know each other better."

Allen chuckled coldly and shook his head, saying, "Unfortunately, Mr. Potter, as I just mentioned, my curiosity is not as strong as yours. Rather than getting to know someone I'm not interested in, I'd rather live a leisurely life, like being a priest who isn't popular with children in this White Mountain City."

"But that's pointless, you unpleasant priest."

Mo Tan smiled and shrugged, saying, "We are all very special people. We are all people who were 'dramatically' chosen. This world will not accept an unchanging pastoral idyll. It craves change, and whether we like it or not, we are among the small group of people who can drive change in the world."

Father Allen's expression darkened further. He remained silent for a long while before coldly saying, "I'm not interested in these things."

"But you can't deny that all of this is beyond your control, can you?"

Mo Tan spread his hands and said with a mischievous smile, "Perhaps you can escape for a day, two days, or even five or ten years, but one day, you will still be forced to stand on the stage, unwillingly performing the monkey play that you resist, becoming a hero, demon king, princess, or stepping stone in the bard's story."

Father Allen looked at Mo Tan coldly and said in a deep voice, "I will not become a princess."

"Okay, it seems this is your bottom line."

Mo Tan snapped her fingers cheerfully and repeated in an annoyingly exaggerated tone, "She won't become a princess."

Father Allen's right hand, tucked into his sleeve, slowly clenched into a fist: "Don't test my patience, Potter."

“I am not testing your patience, Father Allen, because you are a very patient person.”

Mo Tan shook his head and chuckled, saying, "After all, someone like you has managed to stay in this White Mountain City peacefully for a full ten years, maintaining the same piety every day. It's not something that can be described simply as 'very patient'."

Allen took a deep breath and said coldly, "What exactly do you want, Potter?"

"I just want to talk to you."

Mo Tan innocently raised his hands and said in a light tone, "As you can see, regardless of whether I have any skills other than being a 'clumsy priest,' I am indeed a weakling in front of you, so... there's nothing to be afraid of, is there?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Father Alan Clark turned and walked out of the room, which was called the 'common room' but was actually used only by him, without saying a word. He walked so fast that his wide robes almost fluttered behind him.

"hehe."

Mo Tan chuckled softly and then started walking, following closely behind the gloomy priest who had tacitly agreed to have a brief 'chat' with him. Two minutes later, they arrived together.

"During the prayer period?"

Mo Tan looked at the majestic sun god statue behind the pulpit, which was shrouded in a warm layer of solar flare and whose face always made others unconsciously look away when trying to see it clearly, with great surprise. He asked in astonishment, "Are you sure you want to talk here?"

Father Allen slightly raised his hand, and the heavy wooden door to the prayer room slammed shut. He then slowly walked to the soft couch to the left of the pulpit and sat down, asking calmly, "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Mo Tan scratched his butt like a gorilla, then sat down opposite Father Allen and shrugged, saying, "But isn't this right under the nose of the Sun God? I'm fine, but as a legitimate clergyman of the Sun Church, aren't you afraid of divine punishment if you accidentally say something you shouldn't?"

Allen didn't answer the question, but instead asked in return, "Why should I say what you call 'things I shouldn't say'?"

"Because the person you are talking to is not a devout believer, nor an ignorant brat, nor an ordinary person who can be easily dismissed with a few words of nonsense."

Mo Tan narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, "It is me, the great boy who survived, Harry Potter."

Allen looked the 'boy' in front of him up and down, who looked to be at least twenty years old. He frowned for a while before suppressing his urge to complain. He then said calmly, following his own rhythm, "First of all, I need to correct one of your statements."

Mo Tan nodded obediently: "Please speak."

“I am not a devout follower of the Sun Cult.”

Allen raised his right hand, igniting a cluster of blazing golden sun flames in his palm, and said softly, "Although I am indeed able to use the Sun God's magic with ease, unlike your lousy third-rate self, it does not mean that I am particularly devout."

Mo Tan let out a sharp whistle and said with a smile, "So, you're a heretic?"

"Since you never believed it..."

Allen dissipated the radiant heat in his hand and asked calmly, "Then what is there to talk about betrayal?"

"Okay, okay, you're a bull."

Mo Tan clapped her hands and nodded vigorously, saying, "As expected of the man I have high hopes for, you gave me such a big surprise right from the start. And then? Judging from what you just said, there's probably more to explain than just this one thing, isn't there?"

“And then—” Allen turned to look at the statue on the wall that was hard to look at directly, a playful smile curving his lips, and said lightly, “The reason I don’t mind discussing some seemingly ‘heretical’ things in the prayer room is because the so-called ‘Sun God’ is no more.”

"This is really...quite unexpected."

Mo Tan licked his lips, his gaze instantly becoming several times more intense than before. After a long while, he took a deep breath and, with great disrespect, pointed at the statue embedded in the wall: "So you mean, the great sun god Tisu... has fallen?"

However, Father Allen shook his head and said calmly, "It's not 'fallen,' it's just gone."

"I'm not very educated, so could we explain this a little more clearly?"

Mo Tan crossed his arms and asked somewhat unhappily, "What exactly happened to Brother Su? If he didn't perish, how come he's 'gone'? And as far as I know, many apostates of the Sun Sect did receive divine punishment immediately, and the intensity was much higher than that of apostates from other sects, basically a death sentence."

"the reason is simple."

Father Allen leaned back in his chair, scrutinizing the young man before him who remained unfazed, as if the news he had just heard was merely a casual remark. He said, “The ‘divine punishment’ you heard about is not a punishment bestowed by the gods, but rather a result of certain rules and the self-restraint of the individuals involved.”

Mo Tan, who had always been interested in religion but had little opportunity to interact with the various religious sects (?), nodded vigorously and urged with great interest, "And then? And then?"

"Shut up, Potter, don't interrupt me."

Allen glared at Mo Tan with displeasure, paused for a while before continuing, "The so-called rules can be understood as follows: although 'Sun God Tisu' is no longer here, his position still exists. Otherwise, if even this concept no longer exists, how could the clergy of the Sun Church continue to use divine magic and maintain their status as one of the leaders within the Holy Church Alliance?"

Mo Tan didn't speak this time, but just nodded his head frantically.

"So, since this rule is still in operation, those who fundamentally violate the rules of the Sun God's position will naturally be punished according to the procedure. In this process, because there is no interference from the person holding the position, the default punishment is the maximum, just as you said... ten deaths without a chance of survival."

Allen nodded with satisfaction, giving a slight approval to the seeker who did not interrupt him again, and continued, "As for self-restraint, it is when a devout believer in the past cannot reconcile with himself, causing the divine power accumulated in his body to go out of control, and then turning into the most basic sun flame to burn himself to ashes. This situation is less of a 'divine punishment' and more of a 'mental illness'. You can understand it as a magical backlash."

Mo Tan nodded again, then said with a sudden realization, "I see—"

“Well then, now that I have answered your two questions, Mr. Potter.”

Allen leaned forward slightly, gazing at Mo Tan, who hadn't shown much surprise and whose 'sudden realization' seemed genuine, and said seriously, "Now, it's my turn to ask a question."

"Eh?"

Mo Tan blinked, looking aggrieved, and said, "But I still have so many questions to ask, Professor!"

“First of all, I am a priest, not some ‘professor,’ Potter.”

Allen casually corrected him, then said coldly, "Secondly, I value 'fair trade' very much, so if you are unwilling to cooperate after I have already expressed my sincerity, I'm afraid I will have no choice but to ask you to leave."

Mo Tan pouted and muttered irritably, "You stingy person."

"Now please answer my question, Mr. Potter."

Father Allen looked at Mo Tan, who had tacitly agreed with his argument of 'fair trade,' and asked seriously, "Was your coming to the Sun Church in White Mountain City intentional or accidental?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Tan immediately replied without hesitation, "Of course it's a coincidence!"

"Potter."

Father Allen sighed and said softly, "You can understand that what I mean by 'cooperation' also includes 'telling the truth'."

"Huh? So I still have to tell the truth?"

Mo Tan was greatly alarmed.

"..."

Allen didn't speak, but the door to the prayer room slowly and loudly opened.

Clearly, he was demonstrating the meaning of "Get out of here" through his actions.

"Okay, okay, I'll just tell the truth."

Mo Tan muttered something unpleasantly (the door closed again at this moment), and said lazily with his arms crossed, "You definitely came on purpose. Do you think someone like you is easy to find?"

Father Allen nodded slightly and asked, "So what is your purpose? And what is your reason for coming to see me?"

"It's hard to say what my purpose is. After all, my initial plan was just to get to know you a little better before making any plans."

Mo Tan leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and said, "To be honest, I came to the north this time with important business to attend to, so I didn't plan to stay in Baishan City for long. So until I lost consciousness due to some minor 'accident' just now, I had already achieved my goal and didn't intend to go any further."

"But did my reaction change your mind?"

"Pretty much. Although I did consider just brushing it off at first, your eagerness to distance yourself from me made me think we could start getting to know each other better beforehand, after all..."

"What exactly?"

"Shut up, Allen, don't interrupt me."

"..."

"After all, I highly doubt that you, who seem to have discovered something, will also say goodbye to this bland and boring little town after I leave, and go somewhere else to continue deceiving yourself and seeking a peaceful life."

"..."

"But great responsibilities are bestowed upon those who are destined for them, and many things cannot be avoided simply by trying to escape them."

"..."

"Why aren't you speaking? Am I wrong? Your Highness, the Prince named after the Blazing Sun?"

Chapter 2702: The End
(End of this chapter)