I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 37 Review
"Alright, alright, it's just a coincidence." Dorothy stroked DuPont's smooth black hair. It would look pretty good if he styled it up. It has to be said that as long as you have a good foundation, you'll look handsome no matter how you style it. "You only come here once a week, so there's no way a cult assassin would come to assassinate you. Don't worry too much."

“Coincidences are even more terrifying.” DuPont thought about the appearance of those little puppies in his past life, but after thinking about it, he couldn’t help but hold back. So he simply hugged the other’s soft waist and couldn’t look up: “These followers of evil gods are really too bad. How can there be such guys who only want to harm others without benefiting themselves?”

“Some people are born evil, while others are led astray by wrong paths.” Dorothy frowned as she thought of this. She turned DuPont around, subtly twisting the ring on her index finger, her expression serious. “This is no small matter. It’s a murder case, and you’re a party involved. The other priests will definitely examine your consciousness to try to reconstruct the scene. Tell me secretly what really happened. If it’s different from what you say, I can’t protect you.”

Second Circle Divine Art, Realm of Honesty

Within a certain area, no one can lie.

"After I finished my confession, I met the monk who was in charge. After giving her the holy emblem, I went back to the changing room to change and leave. Then I heard some strange things, like, 'I'm here to test you on behalf of the lady. You must obey me and I'll show you the new world,' and so on."

Dorothy's face immediately turned somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.

It turns out Simon was able to sneak in because she was unwell at the time, which created a loophole when she was looking for Angie to replace her.
But she also discovered another problem.

Although Simon is a scumbag and a pervert, he is still a level 5 priest. How could he be killed so cleanly and efficiently by this brat?

It even seemed as if a single stab had struck a vital point; the attack was incredibly precise and ruthless. The wound was so large that the blood flowing out had stained nearly half of the stone bricks in the changing room.

"Huh? I don't know either." DuPont scratched his head, looking puzzled. "At first, I was like I was under a spell, all I could hear was what he said. I did whatever he said, but then I suddenly heard him say that it was the lady's order, and I felt something was wrong. I woke up from that dazed state."

"How could a lady allow her priest to cast control spells on his followers? Realizing this, I was instantly filled with rage. I picked up the dagger from the monk's robe and retaliated. He then collapsed, bleeding profusely, muttering something unintelligible. Once I overcame my fear, I rushed out to seek help."

The spells of the Realm of Honesty have been in effect.

“Angie?” Dorothy shook her head and turned off the divine spell on her ring. “This has nothing to do with her. I had some urgent business at the time, so I asked her to help me collect the Holy Symbol. It seems that something went wrong during the personnel change, but who could have imagined that something like this would happen. Alright, Dupont, you must not tell anyone else about this. If any other priests need to verify the details with you later, just accept it.”

DuPont nodded after hearing this, but frowned in confusion: "No, shouldn't the church reward me for killing a cult member? Why are they issuing a gag order and asking me to verify things? It's like I committed a crime!"

“Church matters are always a bit complicated. There are too many important people and too many inside stories that you and I can’t understand. And matters related to cultists are also of great importance.” Dorothy said, poking his cheek. “But you’re right, what you did was indeed a good thing. I will mention your merit and ask the High Priest to give you a proper reward.”

"Hehe." DuPont chuckled at this and was about to continue taking advantage of the situation when he was interrupted by a knock on the door: "Apprentice DuPont, please come with me."
-
As sacred symbols resounded, a barrier of silence enveloped the room. Dorothy and two other high-ranking church officials were in the high priest's study, silently watching the light and shadow appear on the wall alongside the master of the place.

That was the account of what DuPont told him after being hinted at after the surgery, and the entirety of the magical tests he underwent while unconscious.

The detection faction, the kind-hearted ones.

The self-narration in the suggestion technique did not trigger the honesty domain, and was basically consistent with the report submitted by Dorothy, with only a few minor differences in wording.

The second attempt to detect the lie failed, and the spell had no effect.

"The recording functions of both image crystals are fully functional, High Priest." Dorothy, who was at the end, spoke up. After seeing the old man nod, she used her mental power to penetrate the crystal and played the interrogation video from the second crystal onto the wall.

The video was very long, a full half hour, but the group watched it in silence until the end, when the magic was dispelled for DuPont. Only then did they lower their gazes.

“The images are fine. We’ll keep one copy for ourselves and give the other to the Yalhe Cathedral.” The high priest was quite old, and his voice was a little hoarse. “Tell us everything.”

"Irene Dupont, a 14-year-old from Nas Town, is the son of Old Dupont, a Level 10 Demon Slayer Ranger and Baron. His mother has passed away. Since being sent to Northwest Academy, he has hardly left the academy. His reputation within the academy is not much different from that of an ordinary teenager. He has mediocre talent but is still hardworking and has no bad habits. He has virtually no social life and no girlfriend. He is rather introverted and aloof."

He attended church every week without fail to sing in the choir, had never been to Yalkh, and knew neither Simon nor his family. He had absolutely no motive for committing the crime; in fact, his killing of Simon was purely accidental. In retrospect, it was indeed a coincidence.

The burly man at the head spoke first, the greatsword behind him still radiating blood: "I think we can submit all the reports now. Simon, this scoundrel, is a perfect example of 'evil deeds inevitably lead to one's downfall.' He had a set of luxurious magical equipment, but he didn't bring anything for the sake of convenience. He even used suggestion spells to try to make his success easier, and as a result, he died at the hands of a mere level 2 apprentice. His throat was slit, causing massive blood loss that couldn't be cured even with healing. This is entirely the will of the goddess."

“I still feel something is amiss. Although Simon was indeed a good-for-nothing playboy, his death was too easy.” The second person was a middle-aged man with a somewhat sinister face. He subconsciously looked at DuPont, who was sleeping on the wall after drinking the potion: “Even if Simon was blinded by lust and caught off guard, I don’t think it’s very likely that he could be killed in one blow. Not to mention, why would this mage apprentice have such sharp and decisive skills?”

"His file shows absolutely no experience as an adventurer, nor has he ever killed anyone. He's as innocent as an unwritten papyrus. Yet his actions contradict this file. Even if we have a clear conscience, would the people of Yalkh think so? And why did we appoint this person as the deacon to receive 'sinners'? This is a very important task, and this has happened at this crucial moment. Pastor Dorothy, I want to hear your answer." "Of course, it's because Pastor Damien's men are unwilling to work in the confessional. I don't have many people under me, so naturally I can only find a few fearless volunteers." Dorothy sneered at this. "They need to look like sinners, be quick-witted, and know the value of silence. Even this kid was carefully selected and hired at a high price. Otherwise, you'd have given me this job alone? Remember, you'll have to reimburse me for the expenses later!"

"As for his skills, didn't we just detect that this kid is from Nas? His father is a level 10 ranger, so he must be extraordinary. To be a noble in the Nas Desert, he must be a military noble, and he may have even fought against the Dragon Calamity. He just wanted his offspring to become a spellcaster, so he sent him here to be a mage. Isn't it normal for the children of these military nobles to have received close combat training?"

"But he hasn't been back for two and a half years!"

"Pastor Damien, you haven't left your house for two and a half years, have you forgotten how to cast spells?" Dorothy retorted. "Besides, he just mentioned that a very powerful barbarian is teaching him combat, and he also said that he was in a state of rage. Maybe he entered a berserk state and broke through Simon's suggestion spell?"

"That's absolutely impossible!" Damien couldn't help but sneer. "A mage apprentice becoming a disciple of a barbarian? That's just plain insane. And the idea of ​​him comprehending Berserk is utter nonsense. I've never heard of a mage possessing such talent..."

Before he could finish speaking, the burly man said, "Master Lavoisier does indeed have a barbarian friend named Barbarian Stone. He has high-level strength, and it would be almost impossible for me to defeat him in hand-to-hand combat without using divine magic."

Damien was speechless upon hearing this, and pointed at DuPont on the bed: "But Griffin, that doesn't mean he has the talent to be a warrior, let alone to have the berserk ability that many northern barbarians cannot awaken, right?"

“I just checked him out, and this boy’s physical talent is actually quite good, even better than many of the apprentice paladins in the church. His biggest weaknesses are only agility and perception, but you have to remember that he is only 14 years old. His body still has room to grow and he has not yet awakened his racial talent. If he can successfully awaken it before he turns 18, there is almost no profession that he cannot adapt to. Of course, there are some professions that will not have a very high ceiling.”

After finishing his sentence, the burly man continued, ignoring his companion's ugly expression: "If he's interested, becoming a paladin in the church wouldn't be bad. At 14, he has such intelligence and courage, which is much better than the noble child soldiers sent from our Northwest. Although an intelligence of 14 is mediocre for a mage, it's already exceptional for a paladin. If he eats well, takes care of his health, and doesn't take any detours, he might even surpass me on the path of a paladin in the future."

Hearing his own Grand Master say this, Damien completely lost his confidence, simply shrugged and remained silent. The old man, however, smiled and said, "So this kid really is an unpolished gem. How long do you think it will take for him to become a true paladin?"

“He might become an apprentice in less than six months and graduate before he turns 16.” The burly man scratched his head. “However, based on the faction test just now, he can basically only become a sworn paladin under the new system. If he goes to the traditional system, it will take at least twice as long and he may not even succeed.”

"But right now, whether in the capital or the Silvermoon Federation, there's a heated debate about whether paladins should follow the traditional path or the oath-based path. Normally, this might not be a problem, but at this critical juncture, training this boy who just killed Simon into a paladin might make some people in Yalkh think we're deliberately causing them trouble. This doesn't align with our consistent neutrality, and some might misunderstand our intentions."

Upon hearing this, both Damien and Dorothy nodded in agreement.

Although Griffin's original intention was to cherish talent and not miss out on this promising young player, the current time is too sensitive, which is undoubtedly an excuse in the eyes of those with ulterior motives.

Even the way they do things is rather clumsy.

"Dorothy." The high priest spoke, and upon hearing the summons, she quickly lowered her head, placing her hand on her chest: "Please enlighten me, High Priest."

"You're the one who hired this person, so tell me how you're going to resolve this."

“DuPont’s apprentice is a rather simple-minded person. He doesn’t even know what will happen if he doesn’t resist. He just thinks that there are cultists who want to harm him.” Dorothy spoke slowly and carefully: “I didn’t tell him whether Simon was a cultist or was misled by cultists. But before, he just thought that he had done the right thing and should be rewarded. I thought that as long as the reward was generous and he was told that the truth was a little different, I could give him a better reward.”

To avoid further panic among believers and for his own safety, we will release some false information to mislead the cultists and remove him from this matter. He must also keep quiet to prevent the cultists from overhearing and retaliating. By offering both favors and explaining the pros and cons, I think he will clearly understand what to choose. Afterwards, we should not take any major actions; given his youthful nature, he will forget about it in a few months. I think we should be more concerned about Yalkh's situation.”

The high priest looked at the others, both of whom remained silent, clearly having no objection to the plan.

"That's settled then." The old man pondered for a moment and said, "You can decide on the reward as you see fit. Don't be too generous. The key is to make this young man feel the church's care and respect for him, and then have him completely forget about this incident."

"As for Simon, preserve his body and send it back to Yalkh. We have a clear conscience. Even if his family were to spend tens of thousands of gold coins and swallow their pride to beg the archbishop to resurrect this good-for-nothing, the information we get would be the same. They wouldn't be able to find us even if they wanted revenge. If they want the kid's information, give it to them. But remember to remind Lavoisier that he's his friend's student and has nothing to do with us."

"Yes."

After speaking, the high priest fell silent. He waved his hand, and the three people inside bowed and filed out. The old man looked at the image crystal that had been left behind and smiled.

"A legitimate priest was killed, and the killer is actually being rewarded. I think Yarakh is going to get interesting again."

(End of this chapter)