A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 257 The Great Mass

It's a little earlier.

Beneath Valuana, a route has been constructed from the research building to the guild hall and then to the small building in front of St. Miller's Church. This passage utilizes the sewers and underground tombs of the royal capital for connection and repair, and is now wide enough for a carriage to pass through.

However, the passage did not exist just ten days ago.

"Have you been wanting to do this for a while?" Rorschach watched as the Star Robe and Alchemy Department busied themselves. They simply bought the building near the church, converted it into one of the tunnel entrances, and installed a lot of equipment.

Pavard of the Starcoat Squad lowered his binoculars: "The Church of Order will understand if they discover this in order to combat cults."

Ahead lay the magnificent St. Miller's Cathedral, with pigeons rising and falling in the small square in front of its main entrance. During this period, the main task of the Star-Robed Mages was to capture people based on the detected aura of the "Earth Mother." After capturing cultists, the guild would not provide food. They would be tied up and transported in truckloads through the underground passage into this "outpost," and then a short-distance, high-capacity temporary teleportation spell would be used to drop them at the entrance of St. Miller's Cathedral.

Then the cultists would be taken in. At first, the paladins guarding the gate were quite surprised. After Priest Joseph investigated the cultists, he said something to the knights and thereafter accepted all the "packages" sent by the guild, as if a subtle tacit understanding had been formed.

With nothing else to do, Rorschach found a quiet room and began writing letters.

During this time, he kept an eye on the news and occasionally ran into Pascal at the Tower of Stars, which made him increasingly aware of the instability of the Holy Kingdom's situation.

They had to flee! Not only that, there was also the invitation for Andrei's family to "immigrate as skilled workers." Originally, Andrei and his family were unwilling to go, but as food became increasingly scarce and security became more chaotic in the capital, going to Bain became a very attractive option.

Rorschach wrote the letter of introduction, intending for Andrei to take it to Bart and help settle his family in.

Most citizens, unable to seek refuge with relatives in the countryside or simply leave, could only wait in fear for the Level 3 Assembly—no, the organization now renamed the National Assembly.

However, the kingdom's situation did not improve suddenly with the establishment of the National Assembly. The people began to worry about a counterattack from the nobles. Both inside and outside the assembly hall, the citizens were afraid that the king and the nobles would lead the army and violently suppress the newly established assembly.

Rumors spread like wildfire: there were military movements near the capital today, and there was collusion with foreign powers. In particular, the propertied class in the city suspected that nobles might be instigating vagrants and bribing the shabby men in the eastern suburbs to engage in zero-dollar shopping.

Clearly, the business owners, large and small, who still had some surplus grain, were both afraid that the king would take away their wealth and food in the name of taxes and donations, and also afraid that the poor people on the verge of starvation would rise up and plunder their warehouses and cellars.

The church was also filled with anxiety.

A priest was in charge of cleaning today, and they were talking in the corridor: "The wealthy and noble should go and help the starving common people. God says, 'See your generosity as much as your riches.'"

"But their food and wealth were obtained within the order permitted by God, so we can only persuade them to sponsor the church's porridge distribution."

"But porridge is never enough. People are collapsing from hunger in the slums of the eastern suburbs, during the harvest season! How absurd."

"God says, 'There should be clothes in your wardrobes for those who are destitute, and food on your tables for those who are hungry. For what you have is given to you by Me to show My love, not as a source of pride.'"

"Alright, I know you've memorized the scriptures well. You should tell those rich guys to take Father Macondo's place and, after you finish preaching, ask them to donate more."

"No, this won't work at all!"

"Then what do you think will work?"

When questioned, the priest fell silent. He thought, "Something must have gone wrong somewhere. The order established by God is unshakeable and perfect; the problem lies with those who don't follow it!"

What to do with those bishops who have actually sold their souls to the devil, those blasphemers who call themselves sorcerers and steal divine power, and those nobles who disregard the lives of their people? A great trial is needed! A trial personally descended by God to decide everything.

When some priests and paladins felt pain and confusion, how much they wished that a god would stand up, think for them, and tell them what was right and what was wrong.

Similar ideas have already spread within the Order Church in the capital.

However, neither Deplesie nor Joseph could read everyone's mind. They continued preparations for Ascension Day as planned.

In the square, the crowd for Mass gradually gathered. The believers, of course, did not preside over the ceremony; the event was entirely handled by the priests. Ordinary people simply watched Mass, observing it devoutly and obediently.

"Why are there so many people?" Luo Xia noticed the unusual scene outside the window. Shouldn't people come to the square to stroll around after eating? Why are they all here when everyone is starving?

Pavard was surprised: "You didn't know?"

“Master Rorschach is an Imperial,” Jane explained for Rorschach. “Today is the Ascension Day of the Holy Spirit of the Order Church, and we should be celebrating Mass now.”

The archbishop in his red robes emerged, and the congregation offered their praises. Rorschach looked closely and saw that the person presiding over the ceremony, walking with a cane, was none other than Deplesie.

His voice was authoritative and powerful, echoing from the steps of the cathedral across the square and reaching the magic guild's "Observation Post" across the street: "Send you away!" (Jaber's words)

Rorschach suddenly wanted to leave. He realized that a thought had been implanted in him, which alerted the boy, and the thought immediately disappeared, like a thief caught in the act of breaking into a house and running away in a hurry.

At this moment, Jane stopped Power, who was about to get up and leave: "Mobilize the ether within your body."

The monk did as instructed and quickly broke free from the strange state.

"This is the archbishop's decree, and also the signal for the start of Mass. 'Send you away,' expelling non-believers from the scene." After saying this, Jane glanced at Rorschach, who hadn't moved an inch. He didn't even know about Ascension Day, so he was definitely unaware of the decree. In other words, the young mage in front of her was resisting entirely by willpower?

The doors of St. Miller's Church were wide open, and the sounds of hymns and organ music floated out from the dome until all the believers in the square were immersed in the exquisite melodies. It was already evening, but they seemed to be bathed in the morning sun.

The cardinal gave a sermon after a long absence, and at the end he looked affectionately at the faithful and the people of the kingdom: "We are as if in the midst of winter, and the real winter is not far off. May our brothers and sisters not forget the Lord's teachings, and in the most difficult times, help and love one another."

The priests began distributing communion, and everyone who was willing to receive baptism, whether noble or commoner, poor or rich, received a small piece of bread.

Unleavened bread might be a bit dry, but most people eat it bit by bit with tears in their eyes.

"I'm getting a little hungry." Power swallowed hard as he watched from afar. Captain Jane reluctantly pulled out some dry rations, which were similar to communion at church, but with butter, sugar, and eggs mixed into the flour, making them much sweeter.

"Take it, consider it a holiday gift."

"You still celebrate Ascension Day?"

Jane shook her head: "Today was originally a festival in southern China where people look forward to a bountiful harvest, but in the process of spreading the Order Church, it was appropriated and transformed into their own church's festival, giving it a new meaning."

Rorschach was speechless: "Huh?!"

(End of this chapter)