Yes, the Church could make mistakes.
Faced with the evidence of the Church’s dealings with the nobility, Joan was left speechless. What followed was another night of agonizing self-dissection regarding her faith.
Greed permeated every corner. It hid within the human heart, a natural depravity of mankind that existed even within the pure white cathedrals bathed in holy light.
But God would not be so.
She could distrust the Church, but she could not lose her faith in the Divine.
...
Joan still remembered the day her faith took root.
She had been an orphan girl huddled in the corner of a town besieged by wind and snow. At the very moment she stood face-to-face with Death, she saw a light shining from afar.
A pure white Son of God, bearing the golden light of dawn, dispersed the town’s blizzard.
He said, "It was the Divine who guided me here."
He carved the image of the Divine at the town’s entrance, symbolizing that God’s grace and favor watched over this fading land.
Joan had been an orphan without any faith, struggling merely to survive. But that day, the light that broke through the snow, the warmth that dispelled the biting cold, and the golden glow that flew toward her instantly constructed the foundation of her belief.
A pure white God, a warm gold, a merciful prophecy.
How could she not believe?
...
...
So why was she wavering now?
The wind and snow still plagued the town; the wandering children were still dying. Nothing had changed. The portrait at the entrance still bore a look of mercy, its lines unchanged from years ago.
Joan moved through the town in a daze, led by the rest of the party.
On the first day the Church officials left, the blizzard began to ravage the town once more. People hid in the newly built cathedral, praying for protection and peace, only for the white ceiling above them to be torn away by the violent winds and sucked into the vortex.
The people wailed in terror, believing they had angered the Divine. They could only double their piety, begging for forgiveness.
The more information they gathered, the colder Joan’s heart became. She no longer obsessed over rules and tacitly allowed the other team members to kidnap the town’s clergy just to extract the truth.
The truth was far more piercing than the wind and snow.
This mysterious blizzard came from the Church; it was a tool they used to control the town. There was no "prophecy"—the words of the Son of God were merely excuses they had fabricated on a whim.
The reason?
Simply to seize the talents of those orphans.
"...Then why take those orphans back to the Church?"
"If they are sufficiently pious and trusting, the 'stripping' process is much easier to manage."
"What are they used for? Making magical artifacts, or trading with the nobility—both are excellent uses. Why so serious? This place was mentioned in the prophecy; shouldn't we make reasonable use of it?"
"Divine punishment? Don't be ridiculous. For hundreds of years, no Son of God has been able to speak with the Divine during the Grand Ceremony. God doesn't care about matters like ours."
Looking at the Saintess, who seemed ready to kill him with her gaze, the old man’s eyes shifted, and he spoke with a smirk: "So eager to hold us accountable? Even God ignores us. Do you dare say His prophecy didn't mean this? If you want to blame us, why not blame God first?"
The aged voice was nothing like the warmth she remembered; it was filled with undisguised mockery and malice.
"Those clothes you're wearing... you look like you're from the Church too. Our interests are aligned. Why are you angry?"
Joan tore open a scroll and fled the town as if escaping a nightmare. The rest of the team had just finished processing the truth and had no time to stop her.
To have one's faith shattered at the very place it first bloomed... it was truly too painful.
Mu Ran glanced at Erwin. The golden-haired youth ran a hand through his hair in frustration and casually knocked out the old man, who seemed like he wanted to keep talking.
The room suddenly grew even quieter.
"We shouldn't have come here," someone whispered.
***
Before Dawn
They finally spotted Joan’s fluttering white veil at the edge of a cliff.
The group hid behind the trees, whispering and shoving each other for a long time until, finally, Mu Ran was pushed forward to speak with her.
Mu Ran: *Wait, what?? I thought I was the villain in your eyes?*
Despite the thought, he still stepped forward quietly.
Hearing footsteps, Joan turned her head. "...It’s you."
Mu Ran tried to keep his tone light. "Yeah. I guess I’m the only one brave enough to walk into the line of fire right now, huh?"
Joan’s eyes crinkled slightly as she spoke softly, "Another one of those strange phrases. It seems you really are unusual."
Mu Ran followed up naturally, "So, want to talk? Maybe I can help you figure some things out."
What was there left to figure out?
The cold wind, carrying a bit of the town’s snow, lifted the hem of Joan’s thin dress, bringing a bone-chilling cold.
Was her faith in the Divine a joke?
The so-called prophecy was false and devoid of dignity;
The so-called Church was evil and acted with impunity;
The so-called God was indifferent and turned a blind eye.
There was no pure white God, and He had never cast His gaze upon the suffering people.
God did not love humanity.
Then her dream of spreading ideals and faith, her hope of seeing every inch of the land covered in divine grace—it was all laughable.
Faith in the Divine had reshaped this orphan girl from the street corner, defining the life she had planned. Now that the truth was revealed, how was she supposed to exist?
The usually eloquent Saintess had lost her ability to organize her thoughts. She could only recount her internal struggle and pain in fragments. Her soul seemed to have returned to that grey, snowy night—homeless, struggling merely to survive.
"You're agonizing over your faith in God."
Joan didn't hear the mockery or comfort she expected. Instead, the youth spoke world-shaking words in a casual tone.
"If a god fails in their duty, they do not deserve the faith of the people."
"Since they have failed, they should be cast down from their pedestal."
*Cast down from their pedestal.*
Joan felt as if her breath had frozen.
"But... He is God..."
"In the place where I once lived, if a god protecting a region failed their duty and caused the people to suffer, the people would tear down their marble statues, cease their offerings and faith, and denounce their incompetence in the history books."
The youth’s eyes curved, the red glint in them like a demon tempting a soul. "...And then, they would choose a different god."
*Change the god.*
Joan stared blankly at that crimson glow, which looked increasingly eerie under the moonlight. She felt as if she had lost her soul.
Her reflex was to think: *Even the demons denounced in the Holy Records are only like this, right?* Then, she painfully brushed away every description from the Holy Records in her mind. For the first time, she looked at Mu Ran earnestly and without prejudice.
The youth’s past words no longer seemed so grating.
Her faith of over a decade had already completely collapsed.
The Saintess’s voice was very soft, like moonlight about to be crushed. "Then do you think... my God has fulfilled His responsibility?"
The youth tilted his head, thought for a moment, and flashed a smile. "Hmm... not at all. He is an incompetent god who has failed his duty."
Joan laughed.
The cold wind lifted her white veil, making her smile appear increasingly gentle behind the haze.
"Fine."
She seemed more composed than she had ever been.
She heard herself say, "I shall question the Divine."
In the Capital, beneath the High Tower, during the coronation ceremony of the Son of God watched by ten thousand—
She would speak for those who suffered, questioning the Divine’s failure and incompetence.
If the golden stars fell, she would announce His funeral before the world.
Then, she would abandon her status and faith to wander every corner of the continent, awakening people like herself and helping those trapped in suffering.
She would no longer believe in God.
Never again.
***
Morning
Mu Ran opened his tent, his gaze lingering on the chain around his wrist.
The color had changed significantly...
He stepped out of the tent but didn't hear the girl’s daily routine of prayer. Looking around, he couldn't find the figure in the white dress either.
Mu Ran leaned toward Erwin and whispered, "Is she not here?"
"She went out early. Said she’d be back by noon."
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Erwin asked, "What did you say to Joan last night?"
"Uh... just some words of enlightenment?"
Erwin murmured, "Your way with words is way too powerful..."
His mood was clearly low, his tone melancholy. "Even though I expected to find some of the Church’s dirty laundry, I didn't think it would be to this extent... You know, I’m also an orphan raised by the Church, but I never experienced this, and I had no idea it was happening. Honestly, they treated me quite well..."
Mu Ran patted his shoulder and comforted him, "It’s normal for you to feel this way. Joan is a bit different from you."
Erwin hesitated, then finally sighed. "If I’d known, I would have scouted the place myself. I really don't want my teammates to be this sad..."
"Well, you can't really guard against this kind of thing." Mu Ran changed the subject. "You seem very responsible toward Joan."
Erwin looked up warily and made an 'X' with his arms. "Don't overthink it! It’s just basic leadership quality!"
"Such a big reaction? I thought you had a special interest in her."
Erwin: "I don't."
After a pause, he added, "If I have a 'special interest' in anyone, it’s only Carlos."
Mu Ran: "?"
"It’s just this inexplicable feeling of closeness... It’s so weird." Erwin frowned, his eyes confused. "But I feel like he doesn't like me very much. Sigh."
Mu Ran: "Cough... may I ask what kind of 'closeness'?"
"Hmm~? Don't get the wrong idea!"
"If I had to say, it’s like an older brother looking after a younger brother!"
"You’ve slept in the same area as us for so long, so you probably know, right? This guy has nightmares every night. He’s so clumsy, always getting himself tangled up. I don't know what happened in his past, but it makes me so sad."
"If this journey ends successfully, maybe I can ask him what happened?"
Mu Ran: "..."
He realized belatedly: "You’re actually telling me all this? Aren't you afraid I’ll tell him?"
Erwin’s eyes curved, full of smiles. "That would be for the best~ Every time I want to say something to him, I’m too afraid to speak. If you pass the message, it saves me the trouble of agonizing over my wording."
*Fine.*
No wonder he shifted the topic to Carlos; he was prepared.
However, if Erwin’s intuition was this strong, was Carlos really not the other twin?
"Do you really not have any..." brothers?
"Come look!!"
Loria ran over excitedly, pointing in a certain direction and shouting loudly.
"There’s an empty city over there!"
***
"So... he claims to be a wandering orphan?"
"No memory of his past or hometown, yet possesses staggering talent and elemental affinity?"
"And a gift for studying the holy doctrines?"
"Heh, and you... you just call him the Son of God?"
The man in the white robe had originally been conducting a routine inquiry, but this information piqued his interest.
"Fine. Bring him to me. Let me see for myself."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 圣录 | Holy Records | The sacred scriptures or texts of the Church. |
| 滚下神坛 | Cast down from the pedestal | Literally "roll off the altar/divine altar"; to lose one's high status or be exposed. |
| 高塔 | High Tower | A significant location in the Capital, likely related to the Church. |
| 元素亲和力 | Elemental Affinity | A measure of how well a person can connect with or use magical elements. |
