Do ratmen dream of the sacred tree of spirits?

Chapter 98 Urgent News

Fafnir was stunned. Not "spiritual contamination"? Could Sister Fanning have misjudged? That shouldn't be the case— He looked at Sister Fanning. "Bishop Leighton," Sister Fanning said, "the situation is urgent. Her spirituality is being devoured; this is no ordinary matter—"

“I said,” Bishop Leighton turned around, his impatience no longer concealed, “Congressman Fanning, I am a messenger. I am not ignorant of spiritual studies. I know about cases from more than 30 years ago, and the cause was never found. You can’t just conclude that it’s spiritual pollution because a student’s symptoms are somewhat similar, can you? Can you take responsibility for your words?”

""

"The black threads inside her body"

"There are many ways in which abnormal spiritual fluctuations can manifest, and black does not necessarily mean pollution." Bishop Layton casually cast a spell on Eileen, and Eileen's complexion immediately improved. Fafnir activated his spiritual vision and found that the black thread had disappeared.

"How about that? It's a piece of cake, Sister Fanning. I have to criticize you. As a top enlightener, you might not be incapable of solving this problem. You just subjectively thought it was spiritual pollution and didn't dare to take action."

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"But—" Sister Fanning was about to continue expressing her opinion.

"Alright, that's enough. This is really troublesome. If you bother me with such trivial matters again, you will be punished. Don't bother me anymore."

Also, don't see me off; you all just stay here and watch over this student.

Bishop Leiden left without looking back.

"This is a big problem." Bishop Layton closed his eyes to rest in his own carriage. He had just cast a spell to remove spiritual pollution from the student, which had consumed a great deal of his spiritual energy. He had accumulated energy for a long time beforehand to clear it in a short time, creating the illusion that he had used an easy and simple spell.

It was worth it, Bishop Leighton thought. He knew Sister Fanning was a stubborn girl, and he didn't know why Fafnir had gotten involved with people from the Eastern District. He had previously looked down on Fafnir's relationship with Vice Inquisitor Victor, thinking it was just a case of trying to piggyback on connections. But later, when the letter from the Eastern District Joint Inquisition was sent to Lorraine, stating that "it is reasonable for the poor children's school to have classes from three to five in the afternoon," Bishop Leighton realized that this little guy was not someone to be trifled with.

Bishop Leighton thought that he had to keep them in check. If the matter of "spiritual pollution" got back to the district, he would be punished. He decided to investigate with his assistant Edmund first, and only report it if things got out of control.

Upon returning to the city hall, Bishop Leighton first sought out Edmund Grey and asked him to go with him to investigate the cause of the incident near the school for poor children.

"Oh, right, I also need to check the array at the grammar school," Bishop Layton thought, hoping this matter wasn't related to the demon realm, considering what happened over thirty years ago—

After Bishop Leighton left, Sister Fanning stood beside the chaise longue, her expression complex. She didn't say anything more, but just looked down at Eileen's face, which was gradually regaining its color. Fafnir activated his spiritual vision and looked again carefully. The black threads in Eileen's body had indeed disappeared. Although the grayish-white spiritual glow was still faint, it had at least stabilized and was no longer flickering and disappearing like before.

"Sister Fanning—" Fafnir called softly to the stunned Sister Fanning.

"Let her rest first." Sister Fanning turned around and walked towards the door. Fafnir followed and gently closed the door.

"Little one, do you think my judgment was wrong?" Sister Fanning's words carried a tone of uncertainty that Fafnir rarely heard from Sister Fanning.

"I don't know, but what I saw with my clairvoyance was the same as what you saw."

-

Sister Fanning leaned against the wall, her unfocused gaze fixed on the window at the end of the corridor: "More than thirty years ago, when that strange disease also appeared in the Fourth Freedom, the spiritual characteristics described by my parents were almost exactly the same as what Eileen is experiencing today: black threads that devour spirituality, accompanied by fever. There's no mistake."

"Why did Bishop Leyton—"

"We can reasonably guess or speculate that it might be because he is unwilling to admit it," Sister Fanning's voice lowered a little: "Little one, think about it, if this really is spiritual pollution, what does it mean?"

This means something from the depths of the spiritual realm is seeping into the material world; it means the blind spot of the sacred tree's perception is larger than we thought; it means the regional bishop, the one primarily responsible, has only now discovered the problem, and he's unwilling to admit it. Could it be not because my judgment was wrong, but because he can't bear the cost of admitting it?

"Sister Fanning, if it's true, what should we do—"

Sister Fanning remained silent.

Fafnir thought for a moment and then said, "Sister Fanning, please help me contact Mr. Victor."

"Okay, little guy, I think you did the right thing."

Fafnir sat in Sister Fanning's office chair, closed his eyes, and spiritual threads wove together in his mind, the outline of Mr. Victor becoming clearer from blurry—

"My little Fafnir, it's a pleasure to hear from you. What can I do for you?" Mr. Victor's voice rang out directly in his mind, his tone cheerful and relaxed.

Fafnir quickly recounted the events of the day: Eileen's illness, the black threads seen in her vision, and Bishop Leighton's denial.

"Little Fafnir, thank you for your news. Listen carefully," Mr. Victor's voice rang out again, carrying a gravity Fafnir had never heard before: "Sister Fanning was right. Bishop Leighton is covering it up."

"Mr. Victor, what should we do?"

"You don't need to do anything," Mr. Victor said. "I'll handle this."

He paused for a moment: "This is really important news, little Fafnir. The Holy Kingdom has been so turbulent lately, from the provocations of the Nains Empire to the recent abnormal fluctuations detected in the spirit world in the Eastern Region. Sigh, to be honest, I feel like I shouldn't have come to the Joint Tribunal in the Eastern Region. Haha, I'm almost overwhelmed with work."

"Mr. Victor, please get some rest. I understand."

"Thank you, and," Victor's voice lowered, "my little Fafnir, take care of yourself—"

The communication was cut off, and Fafnir opened his eyes to find Sister Fanning looking at him.

"What did Victor say?"

He said you were right, and that he would handle it.

Sister Fanning nodded and said nothing more.

Outside the window, it had already gotten dark, and the clock tower in the distance chimed the hour.

In the principal's office, Eileen awoke from her deep sleep. The abnormal flush on her face had mostly subsided. "Eileen!" Martha called out, looking at her. "You're finally awake. Fafnir has prepared dinner for us—"

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