Audience With A Bishop

"You may go in now."

Lady Marla, after leaving Luca and Legion in the reception for a considerable amount of time, finally reappeard from the door that she now gestured them to. 

Both Heresy Cultists looked at each other, and then at the glamorously decorated door before them. It was nothing like the old and wretched ones that the Heresy Cult had in their headquarters.

In fact, whether it was the reception, or the compound and its glorious fields that surrounded the Cathedral—not to mention the interior of the majestic building that they managed to see—all of it was far superior to what they had in the Heresy Cult.

The contrast was almost akin to a Peasant visiting a Lord's house for the first time and comparing it to their own premises in the village.

The difference was that stark.

'Now I can see why they treat the Heresy Cult with such prejudice. We really aren't on their level.' Luca thought to himself, nodding at Legion who did the same.

They stepped forward, and the Lady opened the door for them—out of courtesy, of course. It could have also been because she didn't want them to stain the doors with their tainted hands. 

None of that was evident from her demeanor, though.

A solemn look remained plastered on Lady Marla's face as she looked at them venture into the room, and then close it once they were completely inside. 

Luca and Legion could hear the door creaking silently behind them as it finally shut, but they were too busy with the sight before them to be bothered about it. The room they had entered appeared as grand as any noble's office.

It had a fireplace, proper furniture made of what resembled mahogany wood, scented with a flowery aroma that would make anyone comfortable with only a single whiff. The room was also decorated with various accessories—almost like it was an extravagant lady.

The pure white and gold curtains sifted due to the soft winds that blew outside, and the expensive-looking carpet that they trampled on also appeared clean—glowing with some kind of supernatural luster.

No normal carpet was this polished!

Finally, seated next to the window—on one of the two couches that stood opposite each other, with a small table occupying the center—was a man.

He looked no older than thirty, having a handsome face and an overall gentle demeanor about him. His dark gray hair fluttered slightly thanks to the breeze, but his body remained still. He wore a Bishop attire, with the long robe and a cap seated atop his head.

He also had a walking staff that stood upright next to his chair.

"You're here… welcome." Slowly turning towards the two of them, his dark irises seemed to glow for just a second as he smiled.

"...."

"Please… sit." He gestured towards the chair that was opposite him. It only had room for one person, but the man didn't seem to notice.

Or, perhaps he noticed and just didn't care.

Luca noticed Legion's frown deepen, but—much to the young man's relief—he didn't say anything about the matter. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he and the Death Knight approached the seated man, whose smile seemed to be much bigger than before.

'Are you entertained? Do you get a kick from this? You jerk!' Luca thought to himself, but maintained his courteous smile. As an opportunist, he was sensible enough to know his place and focus on the positives of the current situation.

'It's a miracle we were let in at all, not to even mention meeting with a Bishop.'

That alone was cause for celebration, considering how large this Cult was. Of course, Legion probably wouldn't see things this way, since they were blinded by their reverence and utmost loyalty towards Lord Mors, but Luca didn't suffer from that.

He still considered himself neutral, and he understood how the world worked to an extent.

'He didn't stand to welcome us, and he offered us a seat that can only occupy one person… all on purpose.' He narrowed his eyes. 'This is all a power play to establish himself and the Cathars as superior.'

In essence… the Cathars were in control.

"You should sit. I suddenly feel like standing." Luca offered the chair to Legion with a smile, not paying any attention to the glimmer in the Bishop's eyes. The shameless man probably wanted to see more discomfort in their faces, but Luca wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

"No…" Legion responded with a light shrug. "I wouldn't want to stain my armor."

The Bishop's smile quickly vanished, nearly making Luca laugh out loud despite being worried that Legion would ruin all the goodwill they had managed to accumulate thus far. In order to quickly divert attention from that statement, he quickly sat down and smiled very broadly.

"You worry too much, Knight Legion." Luca said. "It wouldn't have stained your armor."

"Hmph…"

At this point, the poor boy felt overwhelmed by the subtle tension in the air. Legion was clearly angry about the Bishop's attitude towards them, and the latter was also clearly displeased with their reaction to it.

Luca was stuck in the middle, forced to navigate these very rough waters.

"Thank you for your hospitality and agreeing to hear us out. The Cathars are indeed as virtuous as—"

"Just shut it and get to the point already."

"P-pardon…?" Luca felt a little flustered, already getting slow chills since he was unable to complete the buttering-up process that would soften the blow of their actual mission in the Cathars Sanctuary.

"Don't play dumb with me, young man." The Bishop sneered, resting his back comfortably on his chair as he eyed him. "I know your little group wants something, which is why you came here under the guise of help."

"N-no, actually…"

"Pfft! It looks like your leader feels too ashamed to come here again to ask for assistance, so she sent you two. What do you need? More food? Clean water? Extra clothing? We have an excess of those, though… I'll have to ask everyone else if they're willing to part with such valuable items for a worthless organization as yours."

'Oh crap! This is bad…!' Luca could sense Legion's growing anger with every snarky remark that was made towards the Cult. However, much to his surprise… Legion held it in quite well.

'He isn't reacting? Legion… you… thank you so much!'

Luca was on the verge of tears, grateful that his senior decided to put their trust in him. He felt even more determined to succeed, though he also couldn't help but feel the sting of the insults hurled towards the organization he was now a part of.

'I never knew Cult Leader solicited help from these people in order to feed the Heresy Cult. Just how many times did she have to put up with these assholes just to help out the members…?' A sad smile played on his face.

He could recall how hesitant she was to absorb other Cults into the Heresy Cult, and now that he had experienced the Cathars from the first hand perspective of a Heresy Cult member, he could see why.

'We are a joke to them… and they're definitely not going to take our message well.'

It already felt like a lost cause.

'Still, I suppose we should just deliver the message as Lord Mors instructed and return to the Cult.' Luca sighed, already making up his mind regarding how he would support Lili's exclusion of other Cults.

At the very least, he would exclude the Cathars.

"Just spit it out already. I'm not like Marla that would fall for some stupid story about a Church Inquisitor coming after us or something like that." The Bishop's voice broke Luca out of his thoughts, causing the latter to square his gaze on the former.

"Actually… there's someone more dangerous coming after you, and it's certainly not from the Church."

"Hm? And what's that?"

"Lord Mors… the Lord of the Dead."

"What?"

"I'll only say this once, since it is Lord Mors' will that the Cathars be saved through his undying power…" Luca's expression turned grum as he stared deep into the Bishop's eyes.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, the boy spoke.

"Abandon your current ways and join the Heresy Cult." Luca was bullshitting or beating around the bush. 

Since his audience was crass and lacking courtesy, he reckoned he could also do the same.

"Only then can you find salvation for your damned souls."