The New Civilization of Witches

Chapter 147: Delegation of the Envoy

Alicia had never expected that one day she would be part of the delegation of envoys.

After all, whenever the church sent a delegation of envoys, its members were always elite soldiers. They are not only blessed with civil and martial virtues, but also look good enough to represent the church. He was very confident about his fighting skills and church rites. But when it came to his appearance, how handsome was a woman who swung her greatsword on the battlefield all day? Thinking about this makes him uncomfortable.

According to Reverend Mira, their delegation was going to head to a small town in the Western Region of the Kingdom of Graycastle. Their goal is to deal with the blasphemous events of a prince who hides a witch. In addition to the priest who led the delegation, there were 10 members of the Judgment Army. One of them was even the rock-faced cool captain he had met at the Hermes Defense.

But from the looks of it, the man was still cold-faced despite the absence of battle. Alicia felt the temperature drop slightly just by standing next to her.

Pastor Mira is completely different. He was over 40 years old and had a pair of thoughtful looking eyes. He always smiles when he discusses anecdotes about the church. He was sophisticated and warm without losing a single bit of elegance. Even in front of the archbishop, his calm was uncontrollable. Alicia had heard many times that she would most likely be the next bishop.

What surprised Alicia, however, was that Mira as a civilian official rode on her horse as well as the one in the Judgement Army. In these two days, he led a procession, from the forest in the mountains to the tracks of the city. He allowed his horse to move at a steady pace while minimizing any physical activity. This was a skill that would take a long time for someone from the Judgment Army to master.

“We're heading south, aren't we?” Someone in the procession asked after leaving the Hermes area and entering the Kingdom of Graycastle.

“No. Border Town is too far away from us. I don't want to hurt my ass if we travel overland,” Mira waved and said, “and we'll go east to Inner Valley City. There's a river that can take us straight to Redwater City. From there, it would be an easy road to Longsong Fortress. ”

“When did you join the church?” Alicia asked curiously, “You are not only familiar with the anecdotes of the Holy City, but also experienced with the secular world.”

“12 year ago. At that time I was exactly 30 years old,” replied Mira.

“It's very late!” Alicia exclaims. “As far as I know, the older a person is, the harder it is for him to understand the teachings of the gods. But it only took you 10 years to promote yourself from a believer to a pastor. That's amazing.”

“Ya,” Mira smile. “That's the charm of the church. I am the daughter of a merchant. I followed my father and learned to do business in the Four Kingdoms. We buy regular local commodities and resell them at higher prices elsewhere. The price can be several times higher. Take the example of Seawindshire emerald coral. We bought them from local fishermen for 20 or 30 silver royals. We then put it in a water tank, took it to the Kingdom of Everwinter, and sold it to get the king of gold . If the coral has a nice color and well-spread branches, we can sell it to more than five gold royals. I used to wonder why the same item had two different values. ”

“Because ... it's rare?” Alicia answered.

“That's what I thought at first.” The priestess nodded. “But something happened and my opinion changed. There was a noble in the king's city who had a magician capable of changing the temperature. He appeared in various ways before finally successfully growing Seawindshire corals in the Kingdom of Everwinter. He modified the basement under his yard into a large pool with roof windows. Harvest about once a year. The corals he planted were more than our yield for 10 trips back and forth. But his trading path was so long that my father only took it once a year. As a result, emerald corals flooded the market. Nobles even sold them to the palace and nobles. If rare objects become more common, it is only natural that the price will go down. ”

“But just two years later, the palace refused to accept cheap emerald corals, thinking they were fake. Father not only did not slash half the price, he even doubled it. As for the nobleman, he was found by the church and accused of the crime of hiding a witch. He, along with the witch, was tied to a stake and burned to death. But I know the corals aren't fake. They're exactly the same as the ones my father sold. ”

“The idea that rare objects are priceless is not wrong. But there are other factors that affect the price of an item. This is the simplest example. Since the Everwinter Royal Palace treated emerald corals as a symbol of luxury, they set their value. As more emerald corals appeared, royal rules were affected. So on the day of the noble's execution, the queen even held a grand celebration. Do you think this stuff is like us being secular? ”

“What's it like?” Alicia's lost.

“Like the people, children under the throne,” said Mira word for word, “we were born with a price, and this price does not reflect our true value. Just like these emerald corals, we are clearly the same, but some have low prices, and some are too high to reach. ”

“The nobles are like corals in the royal palace of Everwinter Kingdom.” The priestess smiled. “We are all born with the same hands, feet, pair of eyes, and mouth. However, their prices are set at the highest value. It was not determined by their own abilities, but by the rules of the kingdom. So I joined the church. At least, in the new Holy City of Hermes, your birth does not limit your worth. If we can turn an entire continent into the last holy city of the church, then that is what is called our holy city.country.”

“You have made a very good point!” Alicia nodded repeatedly with excitement running her way. If they really managed to build the Kingdom of God according to the description of Mira, where people were born without class and there were no lowly people and slaves, it would make a beautiful sight.

“Kingdom of God?” The stiff-faced Captain of the Judgement Army sneered and stepped forward. “How many more people do they want to turn into cold-blooded monsters? Dear Reverend, and how much do you know about God's Punishment Army?”

“Hey, you ..” Just as Alicia was about to reprimand her for being disrespectful, Mira stopped her.

“The God’s Punishment Army is made up of the strongest fighters in the church. They are loyal, willing to devote themselves, and brave enough to join the God Punishment Army.”

“Not bad. You were right about them being the most powerful fighters and turning into soldiers. But what they changed was not a warrior, but rather a group of emotionless monsters!” After coldly blurting out this sentence, he left and got ahead of the team.

“How cruel!” Alicia said furiously. When he met him at Hermes, he considered him a quiet man with the steadiness of a general and the courage of a soldier. How could he be such a person?

“It's okay. He's just distracted.” Mira shakes. “Deterioration and sacrifice are inevitable in the construction of the Kingdom of God on earth .. But at least we are willing to do it.”

When the team arrived at the next town, it was already dark. The priestess led the group to the church to rest. After dinner, they returned to their rooms. Alicia followed the captain and stopped him in the hallway.

“Master Mira is our leader. What do you mean by saying those things before? Have you forgotten all the church rules?”

“You are Alicia, right?” he only spoke after a moment of silence.

“Yes, I have a title like yours. I've been asking for your name since the Devil's Moon, but you didn't say anything. May I know your name now?”

“Abrams,” she replied expressionlessly, “why did I say that…? Do you have a sibling?”

“No.” Alicia suddenly recalled that Abrams once said that her older brother was a member of the God's Punishment Army.

“I have one. We grew up together in church. We know each other very well as we are one person. Then, he took the initiative to accept repentance and I never saw him again. The chief justice told me that his conversion was so successful that he now carries out a special mission for the church. I'm very happy for him. ” He stopped. “That's until I see her again in the cathedral one day. I called her name and wanted to come forward to hug her. Guess what I saw.” His expression showed a bit of pain. “Alien. As if he didn't see me. He walked right past me. There was no light in his eyes at all, which was just staring straight ahead. His movements are completely inhumane.”

“...” Shivering on Alicia's back. He was eager to shout that he was lying, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

“The God’s Punishment Army deprives their fighters of human emotions. They are nothing more than a bunch of walking corpses.” She pushed the stunned Alicia and returned to her room without looking back.