I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

"Why did Sheldon von Wilhelm do that?"

Karchenko leaned against the window, listening quietly to the archbishop's words. Rainwater slid down the eaves and splashed onto the windowsill, making him look somewhat melancholy.

"He has no reason. After William stepped down and returned to the South, he had territory, family wealth, and a Grand Magus in charge. As long as he didn't provoke the kingdom or the church, no one could touch the King of the South. He had no reason to rely on selling cannons to pirates to make a living."

Karchenko removed his rain-soaked leather gloves, revealing red marks on the web of his hand from the torture he had inflicted on the suspect.

"So either he's gone mad, or someone's framing him."

"You tend to favor the latter?"

"I am more inclined to believe that the results of my interrogation may not be true. Family secret magic, special sacred objects, or even certain forbidden techniques can all tamper with memories. This is not unprecedented in the history of the kingdom."

Bishop Villar pondered for a moment, then pulled a thin, old booklet from deep within the bookshelf, turned to a certain page, and pushed it toward Karchenko:

Have you ever heard of "memory imprinting"?

Karchenko took the booklet, his gaze sweeping over the dense annotations:

"...Something only found in royal archives?"

"Yes, this is a secret technique that the current ruling family discovered in an ancient ruin many years ago. It can engrave a specific false memory into the depths of the recipient's consciousness, but the caster has to pay the price of mental backlash."

The only family currently in power is the Augustus family, but it's not convenient to say that outright.

"Implant a memory in him that makes him believe William is the mastermind?"

The bishop closed the booklet and put it back on the shelf. "Terrence may just be a pawn that was thrown out to make the investigation lead to William."

Karchenko asked, somewhat dejectedly:

"...So everything we found is useless?"

"It's not completely useless. At least we can send the message to the Holy City and let them make a decision. As for the cannons that have already fallen into the hands of pirates, there's nothing we can do about it."

This is precisely the part that Karchenko least wants to face.

He spent two months lying in wait and finally caught a big fish, only to find that the fish was likely just a carefully laid bait.

However, the new cannons that have already fallen into the hands of pirates will not disappear; they will continue to threaten shipping lanes in the southern waters for a long time to come.

Every merchant ship hijacked, every sailor killed, could be linked to these cannons.

He could report it to the Holy City, and the church leadership would launch a political investigation, with the king and parliament also getting involved.

But is it useful?

Those processes are slow, and by the time a decision is made, there may be more artillery fire and more ships sunk.

"Even if the Holy City pushes this matter to the Kingdom to handle itself, it will ultimately just be a political game. William will deny it, the current Prime Minister will take the opportunity to make trouble, Parliament will take sides, and it will drag on for a few years... By then, the pirates will have already turned the southern seas into a mess."

Bishop Villar listened quietly, his gaze falling on the gradually clearing horizon outside the window.

"Therefore, we cannot follow the procedures of the Holy City."

Karlchenko looked up at him: "What other options do you have?"

"Let the hero come. He recently dealt with a group of pirates and casually inquired about the origin of those cannons."

As we all know, the hero holds a very special position in the kingdom. In a sense, he represents universal principles and justice, and his symbolic significance far outweighs his practical significance when the Holy Sword is not unleashed.

For this reason, whenever a hero draws the holy sword from the holy mountain, he will first travel across the continent to punish injustice and maintain the purity of the church and the kingdom before heading to the Demon King's castle or the dragon's lair to subdue the enemy.

Therefore, the church often assigns bishops or patriarchs who are disliked because of their strong sense of justice and inflexibility in dealing with people to serve in the western regions or remote dioceses, while the truly shrewd and calculating ones are all in the Holy City.

But that's a story for another time.

In short, heroes are natural inspectors, and their investigations of churches or nobles have a natural legitimacy and authority.

Karchenko, who had been investigating the suspect and was unaware of the hero's arrival, was somewhat surprised to hear this. "The hero is here? You want him to get involved?"

"It is reasonable for the church to ask the hero to assist in the investigation, and it is not an overreach of authority. We can also test William's reaction through the hero."

Karchenko thought about it and decided the plan was feasible.

"But...is he willing?"

"I don't know, but it's worth a try."

……

Meanwhile, the Sea Sparrow was moored at the western dock of Lion Tooth City, its hull gently rocking in the drizzle.

Ji Tian sat in the cabin, with the sea chart given to him by the Elf Queen spread out in front of him, his fingertip pointing to several dotted lines marked "Old Mine Road".

His original purpose in coming to the Southern Territory was to find the treasure of the first hero. Now that he had obtained the treasure, he couldn't just abandon this errand entrusted to him by the Elf Queen.

Elena sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him:

"Are you thinking about those abandoned mines the Elven Queen mentioned?"

"The Queen wouldn't bring this up for no reason. Her saying 'keep an eye out for anything else inside' means there is indeed something inside."

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know, but since she didn't say it clearly, she probably isn't sure herself."

Ji Tian originally wanted Ophelia to do the calculation, but considering that there were too few prerequisites, he decided against it.

Lilith leaned against the cabin door, watching the gradually subsiding downpour outside, feeling somewhat eager to try.

"Master, when do we set off?"

"Don't rush. The dwarf mines are safe, but the city might be a different story."

Ophelia sat in the corner, carrying a basin of water. Her short, silvery-white hair was gently ruffled by the breeze seeping through the window cracks. She was using water mirror magic to divine, and after a moment, she said calmly:

"The archbishop may have something to say to us."

"About what?"

"I saw the scene on the other side of the water mirror in my divination. He came to us most likely to ask for help, and it is probably related to the smuggling of artillery."

Ji Tian rolled up the sea chart and put it away, seemingly lost in thought, and said:

"When the archbishop comes to the hero, there are only two possibilities—either it's something he can't handle himself, or it's something he's not suited to handle."

The former is impossible, the latter requires a plausible reason; neither is a bad thing for me.

Lilith sensed an impending storm: "What if we don't help?"

"You don't have to help."

"Then why are you still going?"

"Since we're already here," Ji Tian stood up, casually straightening his collar, "let's hear what he has to say before deciding whether to help or not."