Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Anne was simply surprised: "While ritual texts are precious, there are ways to collect them, aren't there?"

Tia said, "That's right, but the Alchemy Society has provided more than one set of ritual schemes. Each branch and each sequence is paired with at least three different advancement ritual schemes."

"So Annie, if you go to the Iris Garden this time, you'll probably have quite a good harvest."

Tia then looked at Vera and said, "Vera, you'll probably improve a lot by going to the Iris Flower Garden."

"Huh? Is there anything else I need to do?"

Vera pointed to herself, incredulous—the Alchemy Society hadn't shared alchemist rituals with Ansu!

Tia smiled and said, "Because I'm going to see President Jeremiah and ask him for advice on the crafting of the Philosopher's Stone and some important alchemical techniques."

The Philosopher's Stone is secondary; what matters is the art of alchemy, the secrets of the "Book of Transformation," the transformation ritual that Tia has always longed for.

This is a Sequence 3 advancement ritual that requires "soul cutting," "guardian angels," "inorganic transformation," and the "spirit-body transformation" of a great philosopher.

The soul-splitting can be handled by Bridget, the guardian angel can be handled by Vera, and Tia can complete the inorganic transformation and the transformation of spirit and body on her own.

Of course, this is all contingent on Vera and Brigitte reaching the threshold sequence 5 of both rituals, and Tia also reaching sequence 4.

Promotion to Sequence 4 is quite troublesome and may take a considerable amount of time. Therefore, taking a shortcut is of course the best option.

The closest shortcut is naturally the Philosopher's Stone of Sequence 4.

However, this was something that could only be encountered by chance, and Tia didn't really expect to be able to get it. So her main goal was to go to Mistmoon City to learn alchemy from Jeremiah, especially the techniques of the Book of Transmutation.

Jeremiah herself was a scholar of substitution, and she brought Vera to audit her classes. Vera wasn't stupid; as long as she could concentrate, it was obvious that she would make rapid progress.

Vera was quite excited to hear this.

To be fair, she's still a complete self-taught student, so of course she'd be happy to hear a master's teachings!

Since that's the case, then it's decided!

Let's go! Towards the Iris!

Only Eleanor looked at Vera and Anne with a bewildered expression, then at Tia.

And what about me? And what about me?

Chapter 340 Hey, I Have a Good Teacher

Eleanor disappeared from the scene for more than half a month after that.

Eleanor did discuss this issue seriously with Queen Elizabeth, expressing her desire to participate in academic exchanges related to irises.

Before Her Majesty could express her opinion, Albert, who had come to discuss stamp duty reform with Elizabeth, activated his anti-Yellow-hair radar, telling Elizabeth, amidst her disappointed and long "Oh," that she shouldn't even think about it.

The next day, Eleanor was surrounded by a whole squad of Royal Guards.

Unfortunately, Albert suffered severe psychological trauma in this regard.

He'd heard the news! Last time Eleanor went to the Iris Flower Garden, she was tricked by some blond-haired guy named Bonaparte—no, white-haired guy—and ended up living with him!

And he can't even punish this Bonaparte!

Because this Miss Funina Bonaparte actually held a seat in the Iris Council and was highly regarded among the Constitutionalists, she was the uncrowned queen known as the "Great Guardian".

Albert became very wary after figuring out Bonaparte's identity:

After just one visit, Eleanor was completely captivated by him.

If they go there again, will their Ansu princess be forced to marry Iris?

Eleanor also has a right of inheritance.

If something really goes wrong and Eleanor is forced to take over the government, then Anzu will truly be ruled by the Iris people!

That was a complete disgrace to the Moen family!

Albert was not a very open person. The Way of the King itself is not as tolerant as oak or the Holy Grail, nor as open as a forge or a prophet.

But people always compromise.

If you were to suggest that Eleanor and Tia should fall in love, Albert would be nagging about it for the rest of his life.

But if some white-haired conman with an iris flower were to trick Eleanor into marrying him, then it wouldn't be out of the question for Eleanor to marry Tia.

Her Majesty the Queen was quite open-minded, but she didn't stop Albert.

After all, it's not very safe to go to see irises at this time of year.

Eleanor's iris journey ended in tragedy, and Anne and Vera were also busy.

Ansu doesn't have the concept of a winter break; Saint Laurent's classes run from September until March of the following year.

There is a seven-day Christmas holiday in early January, and some colleges will have graduation exams in February. After the exams, you can arrange your time freely.

Of course, if the college is really inhumane and schedules the exam for March, then it's very unfortunate, and you'll have to continue attending classes until August.

The seminary where Anne and Vera attend a very humane schedule, but they still have to attend all the required classes. They also have to complete half a year's worth of studies in three months to take the graduation exam ahead of schedule.

Anne was alright; she was the eldest daughter of the Mercury family, so failing her courses didn't matter to her—she could just consider it tuition money to sponsor church work.

Vera was in a real hurry—if she failed too many courses, her ordination would be revoked, and her career in the church would be over!

Therefore, Vera spent the entire month of September engrossed in reading, and whenever she encountered something she didn't understand, she would seek help from Anne and Tia.

Tia can still answer the questions about the basics of mysticism mentioned earlier.

Anne admitted that she barely understood the more difficult parts, especially the scholastic philosophy and doctrinal arguments, and even reading them made her dizzy, let alone Tia, who was terrible at doctrinal studies.

In the bedroom.

Tia, who was reading a book, teared up and suggested, "Why don't you consider changing careers? The Anti-Corruption Bureau really needs you."

Vera glared at her, puffed out her chest, and emphasized, "My faith in the Father of All Things is very sincere!"

"Look at those pornographic books and illustrations of erotic animals, they don't follow any rules, do they..."

"The precepts are only on paper, but faith and morality reside in my heart!"

"How fresh it is!"

Tia, hearing Vera's rather proud tone, exclaimed in surprise, "So that's why your breasts are so big?"

Listen to this! Is this even reasonable? Is this even reasonable?

Vera's lips twitched slightly as she corrected her, "I'm still reading. Let's continue with the key points..."

Tia really can't learn this.

The Church's scholastic philosophy was a self-contained system, and Tia only had a superficial understanding of the Church's doctrines, let alone the philosophical language that had been refined countless times over thousands of years to prove the sanctity of the doctrines.

She, an outsider, couldn't even get close to it.

All I could say was, "How about I go and find you a bishop to consult?"

Vera said dejectedly, "I want to too, but the Fog Harbor area, which is under the supervision of Professor Famas, is the busiest place for church work. Grandpa Marshall is good at it, but he doesn't know scholastic philosophy."

Tia was shocked. "Even the old bishop himself doesn't know how he got his degree and ordination."

"Once you learn something, you'll definitely forget it completely if you don't use it!"

Vera complained, "The Grand Council has been over for 725 years, and the secular reforms have been over for 535 years. Only a fool would use something like this, which is just patching up the doctrine!"

The extraordinary path, dedicated to patching up doctrines, consists of the "exegetical" and "lawyer" branches of the Holy Grail.

Among them, the legal organs under the Council of the Twelve Elders of Herod in the holy city still have a dozen or so lawyers, which are rare species, while the order of interpreters has long since disappeared.

As for Ansu.

Sorry, there's nothing there.

Firstly, the church's theoretical system is already quite complete, and theologians have filled in the gaps over thousands of years.

Secondly, the Ansu Church is already quite secularized and is heavily involved in production activities. It doesn't matter if there are loopholes, because the public doesn't care about loopholes anyway. A good church is one that can provide bread, milk and jobs.

Therefore, apart from the core doctrines such as the Father of all things, God's love for the world, and the theory of salvation, pastors can flexibly adapt to the needs of the church, which over time has created a rather relaxed atmosphere in the church.

This is why Vera got away with drawing erotic comics, but when she showed them to Princess Isabella, she was only punished by being made to stand in the corner.

If this happened in ancient times, it would be unimaginable.

However, traditional doctrinal systems and scholastic philosophy are part of historical heritage, essentially church history, and are things that are subtly ingrained. Pastors may not use them, but they cannot ignore them.

However, the Holy Church lacks legal professionals, so the textbooks used by the seminary are still from sixty years ago, which explains why Vera and Tia find them so difficult to understand.

Tia found it absurd to hear that even Marshall wasn't very knowledgeable about these subjects. "Then the church has bishops who are well-versed in the precepts?"

Vera said with distress, "Then we can only look for a cardinal who wears a double crown! To become a cardinal, one must be tested on discipline and doctrine."

"But where am I supposed to find a cardinal?!"

Tia patted her chest and said, "Yes, Pope Peter is in the Apostolic Palace! You can make an appointment with him. He's recuperating from his injury, so he probably won't have anything to do."

"what?"

Chapter 341 Antiques, Tickets, and Eleanor

Although it sounded a bit far-fetched, Vera thought about it and it actually seemed feasible...

After all, the Papal Palace offers free reservations, so she doesn't have to spend any money.

There's no entrance fee for an audience with Pope Peter, and since the Pope is still recovering from injuries sustained during a ritual performed in a nightmare, he'll certainly have plenty of free time.

Moreover, Pope Peter is very kind, approachable, and helpful, and he certainly wouldn't ask her for tuition fees.

Oh my god, it really is you, Tia Surf, the master of fleecing!

Vera was shocked by what Tia said—how could she not have thought of that!

But she certainly couldn't go empty-handed; that would be too annoying. Basic manners were essential.

But Vera thought about it and realized that she didn't have anything she was good at. Nuremberg was so close to Silver Castle, and apart from child labor and pollution, it didn't have any noteworthy specialties.

She couldn't possibly send her own erotic drawings as gifts, could she?

Then she'll really be kicked out of the house by Aunt Isa...

Vera asked nervously, "Should I bring a gift? Does the Pope like anything?"

Tia immediately said confidently, "Leave these to me. He loves antiques, I'll make you two later."

"Huh? Make two?"

Before Vera could figure out what "making antiques" meant, she heard Annie turning her key and opening the door downstairs.

Tia couldn't explain it clearly either, and Dada went downstairs by herself.

Anne saw Tia on the stairs, waved, hummed a little tune, and happily sat down on the sofa.

After Tia came downstairs, Annie took out two invitations from her pocket, waved them at the black-haired girl, and said with a grin, "Guess what these are?"

"A love letter to me?"

"Eek! A shrimp head!"

"Eh—"

Tia drawled out her words.

Anne feigned a look of disgust, then her eyes crinkled into a smile. "It's an invitation from the Alchemy Society! It's for the first fleet!"

This academic exchange was quite large in scale.

The group was divided into three batches. The first batch consisted of students and teachers from various universities in Silver Castle, totaling more than 200 people.

The second group consisted of a joint exchange delegation from universities in several industrial cities, including the Greater Silverburg and Newport News regions. There were even pastors from churches who were skilled in technology. The number of people was quite large, over a thousand.

The third group was an exchange delegation from the Royal Society, which was relatively small, with only sixty or seventy people.

Anne explained, "This is the first batch. The second batch will arrive in about a month, and the third batch is planned for the second half of next year. Vera is in the second batch."

"We'll be going to Fogmoon City for exchanges for more than half a year, so we can stay there for a month first, and then go to Golden Moon Bay. When the second fleet arrives at Golden Moon Bay, the Alchemy Society will be holding a big lecture there."

Tia asked curiously, "Isn't Vera coming with us?"

Upon hearing this, Anne laughed and said, "Because Bishop Famas felt that three months of study was too intensive, he arranged for Vera to be in the second term."

"Annie, are your studies okay?"

Tia wasn't worried about her studies, because the Anti-Corruption Bureau had discussed it with her and would ensure she graduated smoothly.