Interrogate the Bishop

"Prespoterus! The Church will never have relationship with the mercenary..."

Claudia shouted, she's the only one who made commotion, but I understood her behavior.

Volt's mercenary was a mixed group between the Intelligent and the Savage races, supporting them mean the Church has gone against their very teaching, something they had been branded in their followers' mind since forever, which was the hate against the Dark Elves and the Savage race.

"That is why they have to cover it up, on one side, they have the strength of the Alliance, on the other side, they have the strength of the Mercenary, which potentially get bigger once they annexed the Legion..." I said.

"The Holy Knights, the Templar, the Knights of West (Alicia and Prim, including King Hector's), the Pallum, the Mercenary, the Legion... holy shit, what an army..." Maia mumbled in an astonished face.

She didn't include Kaguya and her people were probably because they never part of them, she was one of the Alliance because her base was just happened to be in Eos.

"I smell a larger war..." Ruu-ruu excitedly said, right, the pallum race was a combat-lunatic due to their ideology.

"If the Church's involvement with the Mercenary is true, they have to answer to King Hector, how could the King be allied with a total fraud?" Alicia coldly said.

"Alicia, we never have enmities with one another, do not start today," Claudia said.

"What? You are still going to defend the Church? How about the Goddess' message that didn't reach us? What do you think happened with it?" Alicia smirked.

"There must have been some mistakes..."

"Fine, then what do you think of the Goddess' vision? Do you think she's lying? Do you think it's a nightmare?" Alicia kept pushing Claudia, from the smirk on her lips, I felt like she's enjoying it.

"You shut up, I believe the Church will have the anwer for this, you wait!" Claudia turned around and prepared to leave.

"Claudia, wait!" Celestine chased after her.

"I am sorry, Goddess, but this is... it is absurd..." Claudia prepared to go out of the room, at this time, I opened my palm and shot my spell.

"Faint!" A bluish-beam shot out from my palm and headed straight toward Claudia, it rushed and struck Claudia from the back, her body stiffened, and then she fell into her knee.

Did she immune to my spell? Nah, since she had a reaction, at most she's stronger than average, but judging from the current state of her mind, I could say she didn't collapse immediately was an impressive feat.

"You..." Claudia glanced at me with anger.

"Your mind is chaotic, get some rest, nite nite," I struck her again with the spell, Claudia's eyes widened, and she fell to her side.

I picked her up and rested her on the wall, damn, the armor she wore prevented me from feeling her curves, oh well, next time.

"Claudia..." Celestine mumbled while looking sad.

"Her action was right to question the Church, just not in at her current state of the mind, and she wasn't trying to find the truth, but to find a justificiation for her belief," I patted Celestine on her shoulder, she nodded whilist staring at Claudia.

"It is best indeed to interogate the church, there are so many questions they need to answer..." I glanced to the other women, said, "about the Goddess' message that didn't reach you, I have three suspicions, first, the bird keeper has been paid to lost the messages, second, the bird keeper has been paid to hand the messages over to the Church, third, the bird keeper wasn't being paid, but you have traitors amidst of your factions."

Maia shook her head, said, "It's impossible for me, I don't have any subordinate nor supervisor, if they have message for me, I get it from the courier himself."

"Then the courier is probably paid by someone to not give you the message, Maia, you find this courier and ask him, but proceed with caution, regarding traitors, we can't just rushed thing..."

"So, you are my boss, now?" Maia chuckled, and then she let out a sigh, said, "okay."

"I don't think I have anyone who will betray me..." Ruu-ruu said, "my subordinate is all cute, and we pallum hate deception."

"Who live in Ansur beside pallum race?"

"Well..." she put her finger on her lips, said, "human, of course, there are also dwarves, half-pallum..."

"There is half-pallum?" I wrinkled my eyebrows.

"The offspring between human and pallum, I know, weird, right? But it happened, although they are minority..."

"Does half-pallum has the same ideology with pallum?"

"Of course, we treat all pallums the same," Ruu-ruu nodded excitedly, then she pouted, "but in term of strength, poor half-pallum suffers a lot, human is really weak, their powerless dna poluted my proud race."

"Okay, enough with the humiliation, how do you usually receive a message?"

"Well, I have a pub, the messagge usually sent to my pub..."

"Then it most likely there is a traitor within the personnel of your pub, you find him or her."

"No way, my personnel is all pallums, we don't cheat people!" she puckered her mouth.

"Don't be blinded by your own race, some of the most poisonous people come disguise as friends or family."

"... Fine..." she looked elsewhere.

I looked at kaguya, she nodded and said, "I probably know the traitor on my side."

I was surprised, quickly said, "Good, can you apprehend him, or her?"

"Impossible," she shook her head.

"Why? Are they someone with greater rank or status in your temple?" I wrinkled my eyebrows.

"He was, but no more, there were no one with higher status than me back at Thorn," Kaguya said.

"Then, what's the problem?"

"He's..." Kaguya went silent, and then she said, "he's no longer a problem."

"What do you mean?" this girl was making me confused, couldn't she just answer it short and simple?

"He's exiled a long time ago."

"Then how could he have any relations with our condition?"

"... I don't know."

The urge to slap my own forehead, I shook my head and said, "Okay, one of your priests must have been the traitor."

"Okay," kaguya nodded, what okay? Okay you would search for them or what? Girl, don't be one-worder.

Then we had Alicia, Primrose, and Claudia. Naturally, from Celestine's side could have the traitor too.

"Alright, I'll give you job, and don't debate me in this, find that traitor, but do not confront them, report it back to me," I glanced at Celestine, "Tina, hand them over the bird-shape origamis."

Celestine nodded, then I said to Olga, "You wait with Celestine for a while, okay? Trust me, I got this."

"Un, be careful..." Olga said, I smiled at her and went out of the room to go to the church.

...

The Church at Ken was biggest among the seven forts, it was called the Cathedral, the building reminded me of the church at reinanse era.

I sneaked inside the Cathedral, the securities were rather tight for a place of worship, the templars were wandering around, there were also priests and nuns either in the library or their bedrooms.

It wasn't difficult to find the bishop's room, there was literally name plate that said 'Bishop' and two templars guarding the door, I knocked them out, and silently entered the room.

"Your highness, is the war will really over?"

I heard a worried tone, it was a nun who was personally attend to the bishop.

"The Goddess has the vision, and we have sent Kuroinu, there is no need to be concered, my dear..." the bishop said in soothing-elderly mannerism.

"But... I heard rumor... there is a saying that Goddess Celestine's power is weakening, I mean... what if... what if the Goddess..." the nun said, and she obviously couldn't continue, after all, what she's about to say was the same as blashphemy.

"Ahh, yes, it is indeed troublesome, but my dear, we must have a full faith toward our Goddess, she shall guide you to the sanctuary of peace, where you won't ever need to be troubled by the worldly matters..."

"Besides, I guarantee you that everything is going to be alright, the world we invisions is one step closer to become a reality..."

"The world we envisions..." the nun mumbled.

"The worthy world for our Goddess Larentia to descend, and she graces us with her divine presence..."

"Goddess Larentia..." the nun's eyes turned dazed, it's like she was imagining her meeting with that Fake God.

"That's why we must harden our heart to sacrifice everything, for her demand, we shall meet, and she is the most grateful," the bishop said.

"Yes, Bishop," the nun nodded.

Afterward, they didn't talk again, but the Bishop's words made me have the glimpse of what the Church's planning, naturally, the best way was to ask the Bishop directly.

"Faint," I shot the nun with a fainting spell, then I grasped the bishop by his neck, lifting him up in the air,

"Gah! Who... who are you?!" the Bishop coughed, he flailed in the air and grasped my hand, tried to shake it off.

"What is your deal with Kuroinu?" I said calmly, regardless of his saliva drenched into my hand, it didn't bother me a slightest bit.

"I... don't know what are you talking about... cough... help..." the bishop tried to scream, but his throat was held tight by me, and since I had handled the templars outside, he wouldn't get any help anytime sooner.

"Tell me the truth," I grabbed one of his fingers and snapped the bone.

"AAAhhh!!!" the Bishop screamed, but his voice was unable to come loud, so it turned out like he was squealing.

"The church... doesn't work together with Kuroinu... there is no way," the Bishop said in the midst of his overflowing saliva.

"..." I snapped his second finger, the Bishop trembled all over due to the pain.

"You pay for this!" the Bishop began to chant something in a low voice, but I snapped his finger again, breaking whatever magic he wanted to cast.

It was quite a haggle afterward, the Bishop was rather persistent about not to tell me, but I kept breaking his five fingers, I snapped them, then healed them, and snapped them again, over and over.

"Enough! Enough! No more!" the Bishop was sweating all over, the middle-aged face slicked with cold sweat and tears, his head also turned red as blood several times almost squeezed out of his neck.

"Then tell me," I simply said.