After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

There is no need to understand it right now.

"Come on, you're welcome, sit anywhere."

Rosalin leaned her holy staff against the weapon rack nearby, then sat down and asked with a smile:

"What would you like to drink? Black tea? Or coffee? I remember when you were still in the team, you should have preferred coffee, right?"

As he spoke, his hand reached out for the jar on the coffee table.

When Aize was in the team before, he did drink coffee like water, but that was to refresh himself for the almost sleepless nights working. It can't be said that he liked it at all, but rather had a bit of PTSD.

Now he was quite unhappy about this and shook his head rudely:

"No, I don't plan to stay up late today. If you have anything to say, just say it quickly."

Rosalyn stretched out her hand, then retracted it, her facial muscles trembling slightly, as if she was a little unhappy.

But her smile is still perfect:

"Don't be so anxious. After all, we were teammates who went through life and death together before. It's been a long time since we last met, and in a place like this, shouldn't we catch up first?"

"Teammate... heh."

Aize smiled bitterly.

Among her three teammates, Rosalyn was not as good as Leah, or even Heidi, in terms of the direct pressure and extra work she caused herself.

But in addition to her erratic behavior, she also often supported and even fanned the flames for Leah.

At this point, he was talking as if they had a good relationship before, which made Aize feel a little confused.

Past experiences have made Aize clearly realize that it is meaningless to try to beat this guy around the bush. It will only confuse himself and then be defeated by the other party's rich experience in wrangling and riddles.

Let’s not waste time on nonsense and get straight to the point.

"I'm just asking directly, what are your thoughts on this expedition?"

"Hmm? What do you think?"

Rosalyn opened her eyes wide and tilted her head, looking as if she didn't understand what Aize was talking about.

Aize was also not in a good mood and raised his voice directly:

"Stop pretending! I've seen your so-called Crusade Army before. They're nothing more than a bunch of refugees armed with weapons. They wouldn't stand a single second against even the remnants of the Orcs. What on earth are you trying to do by sending them to die on the battlefield?!"

After the previous Holy City Trial, the Pure White Saint jumped from an unknown small sect to become the most powerful newcomer within the church, and as time goes by, her influence will only grow.

In time, it is possible to completely undermine the current Church of the Supreme God or even replace it.

To Rosaline, who actually controls them, the original core members of these sects are as important as plant seeds, which can grow wildly once sown.

As a result, this guy actually brought all the core members of the sect to the front line, preparing to consume them in a way that anyone with a bit of common sense would know was a complete waste.

This is basically a slap in the face to yourself, it doesn't make any sense at all.

Aize couldn't figure it out.

In response, Rosalyn simply held her face and smiled softly:

"Aize, what you said is wrong."

"ha?"

"I didn't send them to the battlefield. They volunteered to join this expedition. With your intelligence network in the Holy City, you should have known this, right?"

"you--"

Aize was speechless for a moment.

On the surface, things were indeed as Rosaline said, but after confirming the existence of the belief network and interference mechanism, it would be foolish for Aize to believe it.

But if she bites her to death like this, it would be difficult to do so.

How to do?

Should I just tell her about the faith network?

After a brief thought, I decided not to be so reckless.

Otherwise, if I can't force her to reveal her flaws and she becomes wary of it, it will be difficult to deal with.

Aize calmed down a little and decided to continue with what she said:

"They said they wanted to go, and you really let them go? You've seen what a battlefield is like. They're just a bunch of rabble-rousers, totally incapable of fighting, and you actually let them do whatever they want? Isn't that courting death?"

If you say it is voluntary, then it is voluntary, no need to argue.

But voluntary will not change its bad situation.

Then let's just deal with the matter directly, starting from the practical implementation level, so that you can't send them out, and maybe you can find some loopholes in this way.

Then continue to put pressure:

"Rosaline Meredith, disband this ridiculous Crusade Army now and return its members to the Holy City—if you don't want to see them die in the first round of attack!"

"I'm sorry, I can't do that."

Rosalyn refused without hesitation and with extraordinary decisiveness.

Then he put his hands together in front of his chest, closed his eyes and said slowly:

"Although the followers of the Pure White Saint Cult regard me as their object of worship, I am still not one of them, let alone their leader. They participated voluntarily, and I have no reason or right to stop them."

"...Tsk."

"Besides, war is inherently accompanied by sacrifice and danger. The members of the sect understand this, and they also understand the consequences of their choices. Even so, they remain unwavering, willing to sacrifice everything for their beliefs. Ah, how noble this is. To stop them under such circumstances would be utterly inconsiderate."

In the second half of her speech, Rosalyn's tone became increasingly higher, even with a hint of singing.

"What bullshit!? A bunch of ordinary people who only know how to chant scriptures and have never seen the world, making irrational choices based on blind fanaticism, what value can we draw from them?"

Aize was already in a bad mood, and he was even more furious when he heard such irresponsible blame-shifting remarks.

He stood up from his position in an instant:

"Have these people ever seen how the demon army fights? Do they have a rough idea of the battlefield? Do they understand the combat environment and the enemy and our own situation? Do they have the necessary skills and physical fitness? They have nothing, only half-hearted faith. What makes you think their faith will not waver?! That they won't collapse in battle and bring down their allies?"

You can't really just rely on the brainwashing power of the faith network, right?

Judging from the current situation, it is just a hint rather than direct control. Aize is very skeptical whether it can produce such a strong effect.

Besides, there is no point in forming it.

A weakling is a weakling. A peasant who can only wield a pitchfork can never be a match for the regular demon army even if he has the best equipment.

Not only will you commit suicide, but you may also bring down the morale of your teammates and even the entire front line.

Aize's fierce attitude finally made Rosalind react a little.

She slowly raised her eyes, her ever-present smile seeming a little lighter than usual, with a hint of helplessness in it, and she gently shook her head.

"Aize, your understanding of faith is still as shallow as ever. You're obviously very smart in other aspects, so why are you so narrow-minded in this?"

"what?"

"I've already said that their faith is so strong that it makes them sacrifice everything and do things they would never normally do. So why should you be surprised? In fact, wasn't their unwavering faith the reason they were able to march so quickly from the Holy City to here? I bet this also exceeded your expectations, didn't it?"

The pure white saint spoke, the angle of her mouth a few degrees wider than usual.

It seemed like he was really mocking Aize's shallowness.

Unfortunately, Aize had no way to respond to the matter of the march because it really caught Aize off guard.

Taking advantage of Aize's inability to answer, Rosalyn slowly stood up, walked to the fireplace in the room, reached out and gently stroked an angel sculpture placed on it.

Turning his head, he continued:

"Besides, even if you're right, I can't stop them."

"……Why?"

"Because they believe in me, they place their wishes on me. I can hear the sound of their prayers. Therefore, I must respond, otherwise, they will be too pitiful. Haha, if you are like me, you should know what I am talking about, right? After all, on this level, we are the same."

The members of the Pure White Saint Sect are basically pilgrims. They gave up everything they originally had and came to the Holy City just to pursue their own beliefs.

Unfortunately, however, whether it is a holy city or a religious sect, the faith has never been so pure.

These outsiders were simply unable to integrate into the church's power system, and were looked down upon by the local residents of the Holy City as beggars from outsiders. They lived in extremely difficult conditions and were persecuted by the Inquisition from time to time.

In other words, the Church of the Most High God betrayed and abandoned them.

It is sad and unfair that they cannot abandon the church that represents their faith.

Complex emotions such as piety, injustice, anger, hope, etc. were ultimately placed on Rosaline, the so-called "messenger of God" who was the only one who cared about their lives, leading to the current situation.

In essence, it is the same as Aize being blindly pursued by his subordinates and civilians.

So Rosalyn's remarks were not wrong.

However, Aize shook his head:

"No, that's not right. We are different."

Faced with his subordinates' mindless admiration, Aize's consistent choice is to take the initiative to pierce that illusion, forcing them to face reality, themselves, and the world.

"All you've done is make them ignore their own existence, their own limitations and possibilities, and indulge in blind and cheap fanaticism until they die. Don't compare them to me, okay? It's disgusting."

I wanted to say disgusting, but after thinking about it, I changed the word.

Rosalyn thought for a moment, then the smile on her face deepened:

"So what about you?"

"I?"

"Is what you're doing really what they want? For example, I... I remember my name was Christina, right? That girl who called you Master, isn't she the best example?"

Chapter 58: Night Visit to the Saint (2)

During the entire conversation between Aize and Rosaline, Christina Karlsade pressed her ear against the door, fearing that she would miss even a single word.

During this process, her mood quickly plummeted from a high point of inexplicable excitement.

The secondary reason was the cooler temperature brought on by the gradual nightfall, which made her shiver several times even though she had just gotten out of the bath and was only wrapped in a bathrobe.

The yellow waste in her head created by the high temperature and chaos quickly decomposed, and rationality regained its dominance, giving her a clearer and more reasonable understanding of the absurdity of her own behavior.

The main reason is the content of the conversation between the two.

What the hell was going on when they tied the master up and took him back to the room to do that? They were clearly discussing important matters concerning the future of the phalanx.

It was obvious that he had gone too far in judging Aize with a lecherous heart.

Realizing that her eavesdropping behavior was both ridiculous and meaningless, Chris planned to leave quietly and prayed that her master did not notice her little action.

Then--

"Is what you're doing really what they want? For example... I remember her name was Christina, right? The girl who called you Master, isn't she the best example?"

Her name suddenly appeared in the conversation between the two people, and she, who was about to leave on tiptoe, subconsciously pressed her ears back again.

Inside the room, Aize crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows:

"Chris? What do you mean? What does this have to do with her?"

Rosalyn smiled softly, ran her fingers across the back of the sofa, and paced slowly:

"From what I understand, that child suffered a tragic defeat before, and fell into despair and fear, unable to recover from it. That's why he was sent to serve under you as a squire. Is that correct?"

"..."

Although Aize knew about this matter from the beginning, he never mentioned it in the team.

This guy could just say that off the cuff. Did he learn about it from the maid of the Karseide family who was included in the faith network?

Looking at Aize's solemn expression, Rosalyn smiled again:

"What's wrong? Why are you so serious? Are you wondering how I knew that?"

The feeling that every step was completely calculated made Aize sniff unhappily.

But the expression on Rosalyn's face remained relaxed and casual.

"It's nothing, actually. Even without the oracle, I can sense the child's confusion, despair, and fear. It was you, Aize, who changed that child. Your achievements and accomplishments dispelled her dark shadows and even became the pillar that helped her stand up again, right?"

Aize nodded with a dark face.