Chapter 98: Dispute within the Church
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"It is not our place to discuss such matters of His Highness the Pope, Reuben. God is watching over all of us." The latter spoke devotedly.
The minister that was addressed as ‘Reuben’ quickly corrected himself, "You’re right, I have indeed crossed the line."
Their conversation shifted away from the Pope and focused on the scene of the four bodies.
Benjamin could slowly make out that the Pope and Bishop were away for whatever reason while the majority of the priests were absent on various matters so there was no one in charge of the internal affairs. Therefore, the two priests were reluctant to take any action.
Father Reuben’s thoughts were to close off the city gates and restrict the comings and goings of every personnel until the suspect was apprehended. The other priest, on the other hand, felt that it would be too extreme as it would cause an unnecessary panic to the public. He would rather hold off the matter until the return of the Pope and Bishop.
The two stood by their own opinion and could not come to a decision and Benjamin felt as though he was listening to a live debate competition. Each of them gave their respective reasoning but both of them would not back down from their argument.
Benjamin had no choice but to wait it out.
They could take their time to debate and surely they would be tired from the squabble soon after and they would need to take a sip of water. Then, his opportunity would have arrived.
It was not as though any attention would be drawn to him. He was in the perfect spot to eavesdrop.
Benjamin was in no rush. In fact, he could obtain more valuable information on the Church. For an example, the priest whom Benjamin had taken care of was groomed by the Bishop to be the next in line to be Bishop within the next few decades.
Therefore, this priest that was inconspicuously killed was not a matter to be overlooked.
He had inevitably gotten himself into another unwarranted predicament.
Benjamin could only shrug off the matter in innocence. It was not his intention to foil any of the Church’s internal hierarchy development plans.
On top of that, he could tell that there was a hint of glee from Father Reuben’s tone. It was as though the man’s sudden death came as a delightful surprise.
Who would have thought that although the Bishop was still alive and well, a contention to become the successor of the Bishop had already begun.
Benjamin could not help but sigh at the violent internal politics within the Church.
Apart from the movements of the Church, they also mentioned Michelle. Apparently, Father Reuben relied on clues baited by Michelle and felt that the perpetrator was let loose due to their conservative method. Father Reuben went on to bring up that due to these restrictions, Michelle had escaped to another land.
Upon hearing this, Benjamin could not believe his ears.
Michelle? Escaped to another land? What?
Father Reuben’s upright attitude on this matter left no room for the other priest to doubt the authenticity of this information. If it was not because Benjamin had just seen Michelle, he would have believed it himself.
It looked like Michelle had something up her sleeve and managed to fool the Church. Now they actually thought that Michelle had escaped elsewhere and naturally loosened their watch on her.
No wonder no one was sent to protect Benjamin.
The Church was definitely an odd ball. They could prevail on matters concerning the aristocrats and mages. However, they could be easily misled on sensitive matters such as this.
Benjamin was listening to the Church’s first freshmen debate competition while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Finally, after half an hour, their argument came to a sudden halt.
"Milords, there are a few hundred drunkards causing a scene outside the Church. Some of them are even sleeping on the pedestal. We suspect the aristocrats must have secretly hired these men to cause havoc."
A Holy Knight hastily entered the room to inform the two that were still deliberating.
It was as though the judge announced the end of the free debate as both of them ended their speech simultaneously.
At the same time, Benjamin raised his brows in bewilderment.
The aristocrats had done it again.
Benjamin was left speechless on how the aristocrats would stoop so low to gather a crowd and cause a ruckus.
It was not as if these petty moves would yield the submission of the Church and keep their offsprings off the monitoring cross.
"What is there to be worried about? You can just chase a bunch of drunkards away just as what we did with the opposing aristocrats from noon. " Father Reuben turned to reply to the Holy Knight in a nonchalant manner.
"But, Milord..." The Holy Knight paused. "These drunkards aren’t afraid to have this blow out of proportion. They came in numbers and are hard to get rid of. We are unable to use force in front of the parishioners. There is no one in charge of the Church right now and we are unsure of what to do."
The other priest held his tongue and shook his head. He sighed, "I can’t believe that the aristocrats resorted to this. They really have no honor."
Father Reuben thought about it and faced the other priest, "Why don’t you return to the Church with him to handle the matter while I will finish up here. Our duty was supposed to be guarding the Church and prevent this matter to get out of hand."
The priest shook his head in disagreement to the suggestion.
"No, you will have to return with me," he was firm with his answer. "The Bishop partnered me with you so I could balance out your hastiness. If I were to leave, how would you be able to complete your task?"
Father Reuben immediately rebutted, "If I were to leave with you, then who is going to deal with the matter here?"
"We could cast a Divine Charm to preserve the scene and the Holy Knights could be on guard. The final say will be decided upon the return of His Highness the Pope and the Bishop tomorrow."
"This can not be done..."
The two priests were going at it again while the Holy Knight was on the horns of a dilemma.
Benjamin who was hiding at the secret tunnel saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
He swore that he would never make fun of the aristocrats’ childish antics. If it was not for this ruckus, he would not be able to bag this opportunity.
The conservative priest’s suggestions were Benjamin’s ray of light. If he managed to convince Father Reuben to return to the Church, he would be one step closer to obtaining his trophies.
But...
After arguing for another ten minutes, there was still no apparent conclusion.
It seemed for Benjamin, Lady Luck was moving further and further away from him.
... How long was this going to go on?
It was at this very moment, another Holy Knight entered the room. He was at his wit’s end, as he interrupted the ongoing argument.
"Oh no, the hooligans have increased in numbers. The people left in the Church are not able to hold them any much longer. If this continues, they will penetrate the Church!"
The two were left no choice but to abandon the argument.
Benjamin was surprised at such news. The aristocrats were willing to go this far to severe ties with the Church and not to mention, the small fortune they used to hire these men.
If previously it was a play for peanuts, then now the aristocrats are forced to be reckoned with.
It appeared that the Church had exhausted all their priests and were left with these two in charge. However, this sudden incident in the inn had brought them here. Therefore, there was no one who could take a lead at the Church.
If these rebels were to really penetrate the Church...
That would be fun.
Benjamin could not help but take pleasure in the dynamics that were bound to happen.
Things had to be taken care of based on their respective priorities. The death of a priest was no small matter. However, if compared with rebels infiltrating the Church, the latter would take the cake.
Obviously, Father Reuben understood the gravity of this and immediately was in concord with the other priest to leave the murder at hand and leave for the Church.
And there Benjamin was; idling at the secret pathway’s entrance and an opportunity came knocking by.
Not so much of a bad luck after all.
The priest cast a Divine Charm onto the bodies to preserve the scene. This was to prevent to corpses from deteriorating. They ordered a Holy Knight to guard the doorway and the two quickly made haste to the Church.
The two priests left.
And, all that was left in the room, was the Holy Knight.