In the name of the true god

Wangdu Heavy Prison, administration building, warden's office.

Connor, who hadn't been home for many days and had been eating and sleeping in the prison, had just finished talking with Steele.

Not surprising at all.

After the meeting ended, Steele tried to persuade him to leave with her, appealing to his reason and emotions.

—Anyway, with so many changes, the relocation of the heretics is a foregone conclusion, and you priests will definitely be transferred away soon as well.

—If you want to come with me, this is the best opportunity. Otherwise, it will be quite troublesome to submit your application after the church has arranged a new place for you.

—I hope you'll seriously consider this. Even if you want to stay and develop your career in the capital, at least have an open and honest conversation with me about your views on the future.

Steele's words still echoed in my ears.

Connor stood with his hands in his pockets in front of the huge, bright glass window, gazing into the distance.

Things have come to this...

Is it really necessary for me to stay in prison, to stay in the capital...?

If I stay, what can I do...?

If we don't leave...

Connor vaguely saw that person in his past memories.

So much time has passed that the figure has long since become a blur.

Yet this very person, whose face he could barely remember, influenced his entire life, leading him to willingly stake his future on "heresy."

"Knock knock knock".

A knock came at the door.

Connor took a deep breath and resumed his indifferent demeanor: "Go in."

Jude and Melanie walked into the office: "Brother."

"Sit down." Connor was not surprised to see the two of them together and went to sit down in the reception area first.

"I came here to talk to you about the two recent prison breaks," Melanie said bluntly. "You should know that both of these were orchestrated by the priests, right?"

"I only found out after it happened," Connor replied calmly.

"As expected, they don't consider you one of their own." Melanie felt her chances of persuading Connor to form an alliance had increased even more. "What are your thoughts?"

Connor glanced at Jude, who was sitting opposite Melanie, and said, "Tell me your thoughts first."

"I know that no matter how much they ostracize you, you are still a priest. Unless they really push you to the brink, you won't ruin your future and break ties with them." Melanie didn't ask for too much. "But... those prison guards are innocent, aren't they? They want to achieve their goals by sacrificing innocent people, so they have to pay a price."

"so?"

"I would like to ask you to secretly gather some evidence for me to prove that both of these prison breaks were intentional acts by the priests."

"It's pointless," Connor shook his head in refusal.

First, he could not find any compelling evidence.

Secondly, there is evidence that the conflict between the priests and prison guards is irreconcilable.

the most important is.

Warden Urban Adel is having an audience with His Majesty Leonard.

Perhaps the order to relocate the "heretics" will come down around noon today. There are only a few hours left, and it will be too late for anything.

"It makes sense!" Melanie said firmly. "Even if they're being transferred out of the prison, they can't just walk away like that!"

"Melanie, don't act rashly. You can't win against them," Connor patiently reminded her. "Do you think Chambers wanted this all along? He's just following the church's orders. Even if I stand up and testify against them, the outcome won't change. Rather than tearing things apart, let them go. At least... no more prison guards will become victims."

Jude, standing nearby, secretly thought things were going badly.

Judging from Connor's attitude, he seems to have accepted the status quo.

Melanie was indignant: "The deaths of those prison guards—"

Connor said, "They died in the line of duty, and as the Superintendent of the Heretics Ward, I will provide their families with the highest level of compensation."

"that's all?!"

"that's all."

"Ha..." Melanie sneered. "They could have lived."

"What's done is done."

"Have you ever considered that if you had agreed to help me sooner, they wouldn't have died?"

Connor remained silent.

Melanie stood up: "Although I know very well how difficult it is to make them pay the price, I saw it, and I can't pretend I didn't see it. If you're unwilling to help, I'll find a way myself, in my own way, to make them realize that no one should die innocently for their purposes."

After saying that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

"Bang!"

Hearing the door slam shut, Connor looked at Jude: "Aren't you leaving?"

"Brother..." Jude had countless things he wanted to say, but considering that Connor was constantly under divine supervision, he could only weigh his options repeatedly and suppress all his thoughts. "Are you going to leave the capital with Mr. Steele?"

"No."

I'm not leaving.

He also rejected Melanie's "alliance".

What are Connor's plans next?

Jude then asked, "Brother, there's something I've always been curious about."

"explain."

"What exactly is the oversight of the gods?"

This statement has a dual purpose.

The first objective is to understand the specific standards of oversight so that misunderstandings can be resolved more safely with Connor, and the scope of collaboration can be broadened.

The second purpose is that if he were an ordinary person, he would have no reason to care about the standards of divine oversight. In other words, with Connor's intelligence, he should be able to reaffirm his "heretic" status and realize that he has a tendency to seek help.

"...Two aspects." Connor stared into Jude's eyes. "When swearing an oath to God, one cannot lie. And one cannot do anything detrimental to God."

"What if I lied or did something detrimental to the gods?"

"His wind elemental abilities were taken back by the gods, and he was punished on the spot, his body spontaneously combusted, and he was reduced to ashes."

Jude was startled.

No wonder Connor rejected Melanie's alliance.

Can……

If it's so strict, why was Connor unharmed when he risked everything to find him after Priest Rodney died?

A few days ago, he hinted that his church was preparing to carry out a "fake transfer," so why didn't he suffer any backlash?

Moreover, Connor's entry into the capital's heavy prison and his becoming a priest were probably all for the purpose of providing maximum assistance to the implicated wizards and resonance sorcerers. Wouldn't such a "thought" be noticed by the gods?

"Can't the gods read minds?" Jude asked.

"No. The gods only look at actions and results."

Only look at the behavior and the result...

In other words, Connor may want to help the wizards and resonance sorcerers, but he can't actually do it.

Jude then asked, "Are there any exceptions? Does doing anything against the gods mean certain death? That's a bit too broad a definition."

Connor said, "There are exceptions."

Jude's eyes lit up: "What is it?"

"Emotions that transcend loyalty to God," Connor confessed, "like... family ties."