Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

"Are you here to see Father Kotomine today, Narukami-san?"

"Couldn't it be that I'm here to see you, Leticia?"

I don’t know if it was simply because of the nun’s uniform she was wearing, or because she was too serious, but Lan Ke couldn’t help but tease her.

But the other party's reaction surprised Lan Ke a little.

"Narukami-san, are you here to see me?"

Leticia seemed a little happy, as if she didn't notice Lan Ke's teasing at all.

However, this obviously has nothing to do with Lan Ke's own charm. She has lived in a small town since she was a child and has almost no playmates of the same age. She was alone before entering the church school, and after entering the church school, she was basically surrounded by girls of the same age.

Although the probability of contacting the opposite sex has indeed increased a lot due to day school and internship, it is a pity that I still haven't made any friends of the same age and opposite sex. That's why I feel a little enthusiastic about Lan Ke, a rare person who is not annoying to get along with.

But this made Lan Ke not know how to start for a moment.

Looking at the other person's expectant eyes, Lan Ke considered it over and over again, and finally did not deny it.

"Actually, there's something I'd like to discuss with you, Leticia..."

Lan Ke always has a feeling that if he denies others in such situations, the other party will be very sad. It is probably like when the big golden retriever at home comes to play with you, but you drive it away.

In order to prevent his strange hallucinations from continuing to increase, Lan Ke had to force the topic back on track.

Lan Ke told all the information he had obtained from "Bujima Saeko (Shadow)" without missing a word. Although Leticia was a little confused during this period, she still faithfully fulfilled her duty as a listener. Only after Lan Ke finished his "story" did she look at him with a puzzled look, as if she was curious about why Lan Ke said this.

"That priest seemed a little strange, and not long after he left, things also seemed to be a little strange at my senior's house. She didn't think much of it before, but because I'm sensitive to time, after I asked her, she remembered that a priest had visited their home at that time..."

Faced with the problem described by Lan Ke, Leticia didn't know what to say for a moment.

After all, as a novice nun, the only difference between her and ordinary people is probably that she has a more devout faith, and she has never come into contact with such superstitious things.

But just when she seemed to be completely embarrassed, a deep male voice suddenly sounded behind them.

"Maybe it's a psychological suggestion."

"?"

Lan Ke looked at Kotomine Risei with some confusion, as he appeared behind her out of nowhere.

Lan Ke was frightened the first time he encountered this situation, but the second time, he was much calmer. In fact, based on last night's "experiment", Lan Ke knew that it was not that his "intuition" had failed, but that this intuition was more obvious towards people who were hostile to him, while it was sometimes effective and sometimes not for people who were not hostile to him.

However, Kotomine Risho obviously misunderstood Lan Ke's reaction.

"Sorry, I was just about to say hello to Mr. Narukami when I overheard you and Leticia talking, so I couldn't help but interrupt~"

"No, actually, I'd like to ask you about this, Father, too. But what you just said..."

Lan Ke thought that the other party, as a priest, might bring up topics like "curse" and "pagans", but this "psychological suggestion" surprised him.

But Yan Fengli seemed not to care about it. After nodding to the two of them, he sat on the bench next to him and started talking to Lan Ke across the aisle.

"Psychological suggestion isn't as magical as you might think. All it takes is for the person being suggested to develop 'doubt', and a range of consequences can occur. For example, the simplest way is to make someone feel 'suspicious', and in severe cases, someone might even suffer from 'neurasthenia'..."

The other party's explanation does make sense, but is it really okay for a priest to explain it this way?

Looking at Lan Ke's puzzled look, Yan Fengli actually laughed.

"With the progress of the times, priests also need to learn. Although I feel that I am gradually falling behind the pace of young people, these things are what I studied when I was young, so I have a 'little understanding'..."

yi ling yi er er ba san ling jiu ba

Chapter 26 Father, am I...sick?

Although Lan Ke came to ask 'Yinfeng Risei' for information, he was actually mentally prepared.

As he said before, he himself does not understand religion, but he does not reject any religion that encourages people to be good. He even feels that when treating certain diseases, this kind of belief can become the spiritual support of patients and assist them in treatment.

But this cannot change the concept of "religion". He originally thought that the other party might directly say that the "weird things" he mentioned were "the work of the devil" and then suggest that Lan Ke bring his friends to be "baptized".

But the other party was talking about "psychology", which caught Lan Ke off guard.

But after he finished speaking, he suddenly changed the subject.

"By the way, Mr. Narukami, could you please describe the image of that 'priest' in detail? I might recognize him. After all, I am a 'bishop' after all. Theoretically, even if I'm not familiar with any of the priests in Japan, I should know them all..."

Lan Ke's original purpose was to ask Kotomine Risho for information, so he naturally would not refuse. Instead, he told all the information he got from Busujima Saeko. However, in order to conceal the channel through which he obtained the information, Lan Ke told the other party in advance that he would not disclose the information of the person involved.

To this, Kotomine Risei naturally agreed with pleasure.

When Lan Ke mentioned that the other person had facial features that were very different from those of the Asian race, and that his skin wasn't as white as that of the Caucasians, but rather darker, but at the same time not the skin color of black people, and that his white hair was particularly conspicuous...

After listening to this, Yanfeng Lizheng did not comment, but thought about it for a while before shaking his head.

"At least as far as I know, there are no such people among the priests registered in Neon. After all, Neon's priests are mainly locals, and priests other than the yellow race are basically appointed by the Vatican. So as far as I know, no one with such facial features has been appointed to Neon."

"It is very likely that the other party is not a member of the church."

However, after he finished speaking, he took out a somewhat rustic cross from his arms and handed it to Lan Ke.

"Although it's not the cross I use for prayer, I carry it with me anyway. It should help ease the tension of your friend, Mr. Narukami."

Lan Ke has always been the one giving gifts to others, but this is the first time he has received something from someone he is not very familiar with... Even if it is not for him, Lan Ke still instinctively chooses to refuse.

After all, it was obvious that the other party gave the gift for their own reasons.

But Kotomine Risei explained with a smile, as if he could read minds.

"As the Lord's shepherd, how could I turn a blind eye to hearing that a lamb was suffering from a 'nightmare'? Mr. Narukami, you were merely delivering something for me. You don't need to worry about it."

Yan Fengli had already said this, and Lan Ke couldn't refuse.

But he was a little distressed. What reason should he have to hand over the cross to Busujima Saeko?

Besides, the opponent's 'nightmare', or more accurately 'shadow', has been defeated by me and returned to normal. Theoretically, there is no need for this thing, right?

Yanfeng Lizheng didn't say much, just smiled at Lan Ke and Leticia, and asked Leticia to entertain Lan Ke before turning around and leaving.

It was only then that Leticia looked at the 'cross' in Lan Ke's hand with some curiosity.

Looking at the other person's curious look, Lan Ke couldn't help but feel curious as well.

“Is this cross precious?”

The cross that Kotomine Rizheng handed to him was very simple. The metal cross was engraved with the word "Crucifixion of Jesus" and had no other patterns or decorations.

However, since it was the cross carried by the "Bishop" Kotomine Risei, Lan Ke thought it should be worth a lot of money. But what he didn't expect was that Leticia shook her head.

"This cross is the 'standard cross' of our church. All believers who are 'baptized' receive one. It's made of ordinary copper. The truly precious crosses are used during our daily bedtime prayers. This is just the cross that Father Kotomine carries with him..."

Lan Ke, who is not a religious person, naturally doesn't know that true believers generally have more than one cross. In addition to the one they wear daily, they also have a special cross used during special prayer ceremonies. At such times, the praying people tend to be more pious.

"To ordinary people, this is just an ordinary copper cross with traces of use, but to believers, it is a very precious gift..."

Leticia paused involuntarily at this point. In fact, this was also where she was confused.

If Father Yanfeng gave Lan Ke the cross he wore as a gift in an attempt to convert him to Christianity, it would be normal, but giving it to Lan Ke's friend seemed a bit tricky.

But this was Kotomine Risho's personal belonging, and he gave it to someone else. Even though Leticia was curious, she didn't say much.

The cross had been received and the desired information had been obtained. Logically, Lan Ke should have left. However, when he was about to speak, he found that Leticia was looking at him with an expectant look, as if to say, "Is there anything else you need my help with?"

That expectant expression made Lan Ke not know how to refuse for a moment, so he could only try to talk about some things at school.

While Lan Ke and Leticia were chatting, they didn't notice that Kotomine Risei seemed to be acting strangely today.

He had just returned from outside and had no intention of slowing down while greeting the believers he was familiar with. Instead, he walked straight to the back of the church. Only then did his expression become serious. A nun who happened to pass by was stunned when she saw Yan Fengli with such an expression.

Kotomine Risei, who also noticed the change in the other person's expression, once again put on a gentle smile and nodded to the other person.

The two sides passed each other, and everything seemed to be the same as usual. Everything they had seen before seemed like an illusion, but the other party was sure that this was definitely not an illusion.

As a 'nun' who has worked in the church for more than 20 years, she has been working with Kotomine Rizheng for a long time. She rarely sees her show such an expression.

The last time was when I learned that my daughter-in-law had passed away?

"Could it be that something happened to Kallen?"

ー0㈠二⑵㈧⑶檪⒐/

The other party unconsciously quickened his pace and planned to ask his friends in the church school later.

Yanfeng Lizheng had no idea how much pressure he had put on his subordinates. He was simply thinking of bad things.

It wasn't until he returned to his office that he took out his cell phone and made a call.

"Risei? Why are you calling me at this hour?"

The other party's words sounded like a complaint, but having known the other party for so many years, Yanfeng Lizheng knew that it was just a joke between old friends. However, the situation this time was rather special, so he did not exchange pleasantries with the other party, but went straight to business.

"'Pucci' seems to have been to Neon before. The last time anyone saw him was over a month ago. I'll have someone inquire about him, but it's likely he's already been lost."

Not a single word that Kotomine Risho said was nonsense, and the other end of the phone seemed to have fallen silent as well.

It was not until a while later that the other party sighed.

"I understand. I'll have someone investigate."

The two of them didn't chat too much, and Yanfeng Lizheng hung up the phone directly, and at the same time couldn't help but sigh.

He was not actually familiar with 'Pucci', but his old friend had mentioned this 'very good young man' more than once.

Compared to Japan, the presence of the "church" on the other side of the ocean is undoubtedly much stronger, and even religious figures can interfere in elections.

But even in a country with a religious tradition like this, it is not easy to find a promising successor, because the doctrine they inherited or studied is an extremely special existence in the church - liberation theology!

A "special theology" that was born only a few decades ago but swept across the Americas in that year.

When it first appeared, it caused heated discussions within the church, and some more conservative people even felt that it should be regarded as "heresy."

After decades of debate, especially with the succession of a new Pope, although "liberation theology" is still a very niche doctrine within the church, at least it is no longer subject to as fierce attacks as it was in the past.

Precisely because of its particularity, it is extremely difficult to find an heir who is good enough to inherit the position of "bishop" and who shares the same ideals as oneself.

The Temple of the Goddess of the Temple

The reason why Kotomine Risei studied this theory was because of his own son.

As mentioned before, Kotomine Risei was born into a traditional religious family, and his children are naturally the same. Especially after his wife passed away, he devoted all his energy to the upbringing and career of his children.

And his son did not disappoint his expectations. Although he became more taciturn, in his opinion there was nothing wrong with "abstinence".

The other party was as good as he imagined, and even married a girl he rescued. He was extremely happy about this. After all, his son was too "abstinent", and he was also worried about the other party's offspring problem.

At least in his opinion, his family is very happy.

An ideal son, a daughter-in-law who respects him and loves him, a lovely granddaughter...

But all this was destroyed one day.

His daughter-in-law was taken away by illness. Not only that, he found that his son had become very unfamiliar. At his daughter-in-law's funeral, he lowered his head with a heavy expression, but he didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that his eyes were extremely empty.

On that day, after many years, the father and son had a long talk, and his son did not deny his abnormality.

"When Claudia died, I felt very sad, but for some reason I couldn't cry. Father, am I... sick?"

That day, the legendary priest who had once fought dozens of pagans alone during his missionary work seemed to have aged a lot.

He first comforted his son, telling him, "You are just too sad because your wife passed away." Then he encouraged him to temporarily leave the church where he worked and start traveling. He hoped that he could relax during the trip and try to find his true self.

It was at this time that he began to come into contact with "liberation theology", a special doctrine that is "slightly different" from traditional theology.

When talking about "liberation theology", most people focus on the word "liberation". In fact, it is indeed closely related to the left-wing movement in South America. However, people who don't know much about it don't know that it also emphasizes that modern science should not be rejected, but should be regarded as a "treasure given by God to mankind" and used reasonably. It also requires believers to pay attention to vulnerable groups. Even if they are not believers, as long as they are in vulnerable groups, they should be helped.

This is one of the reasons why the 'Tokyo St. Mary's Cathedral' now distributes food to the 'homeless people' without discrimination.

When traditional churches distribute food, they at least require those who receive the food to read the Bible. But in reality, how many people actually accept it?

On the contrary, it was Kotomine Rizheng's indiscriminate charity that gained the church more believers and a better reputation.

The person on the other end of the phone was a friend he met while studying 'liberation theology'.

And 'Puchi' was the other party's once favored successor.

Although they had only met a few times, the disabled but strong-willed, gentle and elegant young man left a very deep impression on him.

He really couldn't imagine that the other party would openly betray the church and spread "heresy".

He simply felt pity, but his friend must have been much more shocked than him.

So he really wanted to grab the other person with his own hands and ask him - what exactly made you change like this?

But just then there was a knock on the door.

"come in……"