Melissa

Telvis Empire is a special empire with the church as its main body. The church is the center of power and politics in this country, so a large number of churches are set up in the residential areas outside the central area known as the "temple" for ordinary people.

Unlike ordinary religious facilities, these churches also serve as the "residential castles" for the lords of the surrounding areas, with the right to manage the surrounding areas. Citizens in the "territory" have an obligation to regularly submit a certain amount of grain or materials to the responsible person in the church. After leaving some of the materials for the use of the church, the person in charge must transfer the surplus grain and materials to the "temple".

Although the principle is similar to the tax collection in the monarchy, there is a slight difference. This "taxation" is not mandatory, and even if they do not pay, no one will come to collect... only individuals or families who do not pay taxes to the church will not receive the church's "protection" and become "freemen" who are not allowed to enter the church facilities.

The so-called "protection" means treatment of illness, healing, escorting, etc. by personnel of the church. If they do not receive protection and are not allowed to enter church facilities, they will not be able to enjoy these services. If they become seriously ill or injured, they can only find a way to solve it themselves - in the world of commoners, whether it is healing or removing curses, the methods are extremely scarce and single, and the consequence of relying on the church may only be "death".

Therefore, in this Telvis Empire, the vast majority of people are "believers" of the church, and can also be called "citizens" of this empire.

Generally speaking, as long as one has the status of "priest" in the church, they can qualify to become a church manager with a territory. Therefore, there is no shortage of managers in the entire empire, because "priests" are not a high-ranking position.

However, people like Cross who have the identity of "judicator" are almost impossible to have a chance to have a territory. The "judicator" holds the most luxurious central position in the entire empire, and does not have to worry about anything around. But he was lucky because in the environment of numerous priests and scarce territories, an old priest who managed the east district died last month.

So he was arranged there by Harlan using his privilege and became the "lord" of that area, which also solved his housing problem and provided him with enough personal space for independent investigation.

"He's really not to be underestimated. All the arrangements are opportunistic and leave no trace."

Cross couldn't help but admire Harlan's cautiousness, which was terrifying even for a magician who was known for being cautious and careful. To most people, Harlan appeared to be a casual but powerful individual based on his usual behavior.

As he walked down the street with Eve, he looked at the three documents in his hand. These were handed to him by Harlan during their conversation when he attempted to touch Eve's cheek and was blocked by Cross. By using a simple magic trick, these documents had been transformed into small objects.

One of the documents was his appointment as a manager in the East District, hastily completed in the morning judging by the handwriting. The second document was a rough map of the Telvis Empire, drawn by Harlan himself, which was somewhat unclear but clearly marked the position of the nun responsible for receiving Cross.

The third document was a report on the investigation into the "tyrant" and the "organization" by the Holy See since the "dark ages." This was a confidential document that the Holy See could not leak, and it contained many things that even Cross, who had personally experienced the "dark ages," did not know.

"You really trust me, that 'saint'."

The position marked on the hand-drawn map was not far from the exit of the "Temple," and Cross and Eve quickly arrived at the square-like location.

"Are you Cross Asteros and Miss Eve?"

Turning his head at the sound of the voice, Cross saw a girl wearing a deep blue nun's dress.

Unconsciously, Cross's gaze fell on the young girl. She had a soft and gentle appearance, without any sharpness or rigidity. Her wavy short hair was dyed a soft pink and floated gently in the breeze, setting off her snow-white skin. Her watery, dreamy eyes and cute face gave her a lively and agile feel.

"Yes, you're the one arranged by the 'saint'?"

"Yeah, I'm Melissa, a nun from the 16th church in the East District. I will assist you in the future."

The pink-haired girl playfully placed her right hand on her forehead and made a very non-standard "salute" to Cross, who was the "judge." With her big movement, the soft "ball" on her chest shook violently.

"Okay, understood. Please take me to the church and, if you have time, introduce me to this empire. I am not a local."

"Understood."

Melissa easily agreed to Cross's proposal, perhaps forgetting the advice from another nun in the church to return early.

"This city, aside from the 'Sanctuary' district in the center, is roughly divided into four main areas: the east, which is mainly residential, the south, which is primarily for trading, the west, which is centered around food, and the old city in the north, which has yet to be renovated. If you're just interested in getting to know the city, I recommend checking out all the areas except for the north!"

As the pink-haired girl mentioned the west, which is centered around food, her eyes seemed to sparkle with dazzling light, undoubtedly indicating it to be a very attractive place.

However, for Cross, the area that had yet to be renovated in the old city was what he was concerned about - with the Church's wealth, manpower, and time, how had they not been able to renovate that area yet? It had been hundreds of years since the Church had wiped out all the nobles and occupied the city...

"But there isn't enough time to visit all the famous places in the Empire. Melissa, just take me to the area under my jurisdiction in the east for now."

"Understood! Let me take you there!"

The girl gave an unorthodox military salute, turned around, and just as she was about to take a step forward, she turned back... looking a bit awkwardly at Cross. "Actually, we're already in your jurisdiction! As you can see, there really isn't much to introduce here."

Looking around, the square was surrounded by magnificent buildings that looked like small castles, each with a certain amount of yard space around them, making it difficult to imagine this as a "residential area."

"I thought these were special buildings for a certain purpose. They're actually residential buildings? Is this area very affluent?"

"Of course! This is known as the wealthy district! Every time we collect tributes, we receive a lot of materials! Oh! Speaking of which, that acting priest was especially terrible. He took all the snacks and candies that everyone contributed and handed them over to the 'Sanctuary' as unnecessary items!"

The expressive girl pouted and spoke with anger.

But Cross saw a hint of a smile in the girl's angry expression, could it be... "So you secretly ate some candy and gave it to the temple?"

The pink-haired nun trembled slightly at Cross's words and then said apologetically, "And then I had to stand for an afternoon as punishment..."

The girl was stunned.

In front of her was the future manager of this area, and she had just told him about the bad thing she did without thinking... was it really okay?

"Ah! I didn't say anything!" The girl quickly covered her mouth as if to deceive herself.

Cross smiled faintly at this, and being with this girl somehow gave him a feeling of ease.

"Don't worry, for a 'honest' subordinate like you, I will kindly request that sweets and candy be kept as 'necessities' in the church."

"Wow! Cross-sama is like an angel! No, wait... um, how should I describe it..."

In legend, angels seemed to only have female forms, and Cross clearly didn't fit that image, but the girl couldn't find the right word to describe him at the moment, and her complicated expression was quite cute.

"Oh right, is this little... Miss Eve your daughter? She looks a lot like you, especially her expressionless face... ah! So cute!"

The girl gave up thinking decisively, and Cross couldn't help but admire her jumping thoughts.

"No, and I don't look that old, do I?"

Cross shook his head and denied Melissa's guess.

"Well... someone as 'handsome' as Cross-sama must have a lot of female admirers! And with such a high status! Having a daughter at such a young age is not an uncommon thing, right?"

The girl's use of "handsome" probably didn't refer to his appearance, but rather to Cross's generous act of leaving the sweets behind. Surprisingly, this girl was very easy to understand.

"You're overestimating me..."

But to the girl's words, Cross could only laugh bitterly.

"Just kidding! Right, little Eve?"

Naturally, he changed the address from "Lady Eve" to "little Eve," and even the detail-oriented Cross didn't notice the quick change.

"Um."

Eve nodded quietly, then leaned against Cross's arm, looking very affectionate.

"Well, since there's nothing to introduce, let's go to the church. It must take a lot of time to explain the work there, right?"

"Yes... so, shall we go?"

Mentioning the church seemed to remind someone to bring Cross back as soon as possible... but she had forgotten. At this point, the pink-haired nun only hoped that they didn't waste too much time.