I find it very sacred to pick someone up and make them a saint.

After thinking for a moment, he looked at Phoenix:

"Could we seek help from the local city lord and law enforcement officer? That area should be Viscount Neuer's territory."

"Neuer?" Phoenix exclaimed in surprise. "That's actually their territory?!"

Phil sighed and facepalmed: You're only just realizing it?

Neuer El-U was the daughter of General Sestan El-U.

She is the living legend of the empire, the beloved daughter of the "bloodthirsty lion".

He had already become a major at a young age.

After realizing what had happened, Phoenix clutched his head in pain.

He genuinely didn't want to provoke General Sestan, even though the stubborn old man was a staunch royalist and therefore absolutely loyal to him, the rightful prince.

But he always acts like he's an idiot.

Being with him, seeing those eyes filled with vicissitudes and sharpness, makes you feel overwhelmed with pressure.

At this moment, Mien said softly, "We can also use the army to wipe them out directly."

"Absolutely impossible!"

Phoenix immediately rejected the idea.

Is it really worth sending troops to deal with such trivial matters as esoteric Buddhism?

Putting aside General Sestan, wouldn't that only make Rachel look down on her even more?

Making such a big fuss and mobilizing the army over such a trivial matter is unprecedented in hundreds of years. Don't they have any shame when it comes to foreign relations?

Mien stopped talking and watched as Phoenix's face turned red.

He was furious and embarrassed, unable to advance or retreat, like a giant baby about to choke to death on a piece of bread, not knowing what to do.

Phil watched from the sidelines, not only without any intention of helping, but also feeling a sense of satisfaction.

This fool finally understands the Academy's position in the Empire and the correct attitude towards Mien.

In his anger, Phoenix found himself having to re-evaluate Mien and realized that the Empire couldn't do without the Academy, mainly because he couldn't do without it.

He subtly lowered himself slightly from his high position and asked:

"Can't your academy handle this matter?"

Mien sighed: "It's not that we can't handle it, it's that we simply can't predict it. There has never been such a large-scale cult activity before. If it exceeds expectations, we will have no chance of controlling it."

Seeing that the situation was about right, Phil continued:

"In that case, Chief Mien, I think you should handle this first. There are no signs of any major harm, so we don't need to use our resources yet."

At the same time, he gestured to Prince Phoenix.

Phoenix, after a moment of bewilderment, quickly added, "Yes! The Empire has many more important and urgent matters for us to handle."

Mien: "But..."

"Nothing much," Phoenix said.

"If it causes serious trouble, we will handle it ourselves. You can deal with the rest yourself; you don't need to come and tell us."

Mien looked somewhat embarrassed.

At this moment, Phil stood up gracefully, pushed a document back to Mien, and said respectfully:

"Then I'll have to trouble Scholar Mien."

Seeing this, the prince was reluctant to bow, still too proud to admit it, but he placed his hands on his chest to show respect to Mien and said:

"Scholar Mien, you don't need to bring up such trivial matters with us in the future. Your Academy can handle them cleanly."

Mien immediately returned the gesture and readily agreed.

This is Milne's survival strategy within the Cassil Empire.

He and the academy behind him, as a de facto administrative body, were essentially there to solve problems and clean up messes.

This would allow the nobles to free up their hands for pleasure and infighting.

All we need to do is understand this point and make good use of it, striving to make ourselves incredibly important—this is a plan that Mien had already devised long ago.

They've been raised into overgrown children who can't take care of themselves.

Then use it at the right time.

"By the way, what brings you two here?"

"Oh, Saintess!" After all that commotion, Phoenix almost forgot the purpose of his trip.

Phil opened his mouth:

"It's still about the Holy Maiden of the Holy See."

His Highness, knowing the expectations and anxieties of the people of the Empire, and having heard that the Academy of Scholars has found a qualified candidate for Holy Maiden, has brought me here to the Academy to learn more.

When Phil took over the conversation, Phoenix didn't bother to get involved anymore; he didn't care about the saintess's affairs at all.

At the same time, he also felt a vague fear of Mien.

Although the other party was very respectful to me, I felt that he was extremely difficult to deal with. Like General Sestan, dealing with him would make me feel very stupid.

He shrunk away dejectedly to one side.

Mien nodded: "Yes, I happened to meet a little girl a few days ago when I was investigating in Iron Can Street. She seems suitable to be trained as a saintess."

Upon hearing about the girl's background, Phil's doubts were somewhat dispelled; she had no connections and indeed came from a place that would be deliberately overlooked.

"Did her level of resonance with the positive energy reach the required standard?"

Mien: "After rigorous testing, it exceeded 60%."

Phil nodded with apparent satisfaction: "That's good. Chief Mien has really done the Holy See a great favor, and also the entire Empire."

Changing the subject: "In that case, why don't we take her back to the Church of Light for a while? On the one hand, let her get familiar with the environment of the Church of Light, and on the other hand, let's improve the faith and inheritance of the Goddess of Light."

Of course, this will only be for a short time; they will soon be sent back to the Temple Academy.

"Not right now," Mien replied decisively. Having finished cleaning up their messes, she felt much more assertive and confident.

"Because she is currently preparing for the entrance examination for the pre-sainthood, and time is of the essence, the Academy will not allow anyone to see her for the time being."

"Are you going to lock her up in the Academy for a year?" Phil frowned.

But at the same time, Mien's promise that she "would not let anyone see her" reassured him.

His promises always carry weight.

The bottom line for this trip is simply to ensure she doesn't fall into Rachel's hands.

Mien shook her head: "It's not a year, it's the Saintess assessment in three months."

"Three months from now? You want her to participate in this year's assessment?"

Phil was taken aback: "How could she possibly make it in time? Has she received any training elsewhere?"

"No, but the matter of the Holy Maiden has dragged on for too long, and the people are quite anxious. We must do our best to promote her to the Academy of Scholars as soon as possible."

She has a certain talent for learning, and we'll try to let her participate in this year's exams first.

Upon hearing this, Phoenix said with relief:

"Chief Mien has done a great job, and on behalf of the Emperor, I commend you for your efforts."

After saying that, she glanced at Phil with relief, as if to say: Okay, go back now, we still have a party to attend.

The Pope was immediately furious and didn't bother to respond.

Adopting a worried and thoughtful expression, he continued:

"But even so, it's not necessarily better than Furila."

"Furila's Light Resonance level has not reached the minimum threshold."

"I know, but since it's for the sake of the empire and its people, not just for performance metrics, we must consider whether she can fulfill the duties of the Holy Maiden of Light."

"Oh?" Mien asked curiously, "Does Pope Phil mean he's still considering Furnella as a saint?"

Phil smiled and waved his hand: "Of course not, but if her actual abilities are inferior to Furila's, would becoming a saintess really be better for the empire?"

Mien looked helpless, but she had already guessed what would happen today and had made arrangements in advance.

"In that case, Pope Phil, after she passes the test, arrange for the two of them to have a competition."

If the results show that Funila is still superior, then Funila will become the saintess; this matter cannot be delayed any longer.

"A written test?" Phil's eyes lit up. "How will it be?"

Mien pondered, "She has to pass the basic theory exam in three months... So be it."

Instead of the combat test scheduled for seven days later, we'll directly replace it with a two-on-two combat contest. This will allow for a comprehensive comparison of their mastery of the power of the Light Faith, and minimize controversy.

"Okay," Bishop Phil readily agreed.

Anyway, he could accept whoever became the saintess as long as Rachel didn't interfere, so he got a free opportunity.

In Mien's heart:

Even without the competition, Lucia would still become a saint under Rachel's interference.

But by doing this, not only could the Pope and the princes be convinced, but the princess could also be gained another favor.

Win-win.