Volume 6, Chapter 9 – The Morning Parade

The next morning.

“Ah~ ah~”

Letting out a big yawn, Yisi emerged from her room looking listless.

“I knew I shouldn’t have taught so late, no matter what.”

Last night, because she had been strolling around Mitters Bayer with Edith, the usual teaching time was delayed significantly. In addition, Edith’s competitive spirit with Camilla was ignited, and she held onto her, studying until late at night before finally letting go.

“Master~! Are you up already?”

Just as she reached the hallway, Mary’s energetic, smiling face greeted her. Her lively and cheerful appearance made Yisi squint slightly—Mary was just too dazzling.

“Are you going to wash up first? Or have breakfast? It’s already snowing outside.”

“Mm, I’ll wash up first.”

“Here’s a towel and a wooden basin. I’ve already prepared them for you, Master.”

As she spoke, Mary handed a steaming wooden basin and a clean towel to Yisi. Yisi, her head still dizzy, took them woodenly and turned back into her room. The inn didn’t have a place like a washroom; one had to draw water beforehand and wash up in their room.

Soon, Yisi noticed something unusual.

Mary had followed her into the room and was standing ramrod straight in the corner, staring at her as she washed her face.

Stare…

Yisi subconsciously looked back.

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Mary gave her a smile.

Then Yisi continued to wash her face.

Mary’s intense gaze returned.

Stare…

Yisi couldn’t help but cough twice.

“Um, Mary, is there something on me?”

“Nope.”

“Then why do you keep staring at me? Besides, I have my own washing utensils. Mary, you don’t need to prepare them for me,” at this point, Yisi suddenly realized that meeting Mary in the hallway might not have been a coincidence, “Wait, have you been waiting for me at the door all this time?”

Clack.

The wooden door was pushed open unceremoniously.

“Yisi, Mary is gone.”

Tiffany, already changed into cotton clothes, walked into the room, her face full of anxiety.

“Eh? Isn’t she right here?”

Tossing the towel into the wooden basin, Yisi pointed to Mary standing in the corner. Seeing Mary, Tiffany immediately breathed a sigh of relief, quickly ran to her side, and patted her head comfortingly.

“Don’t be afraid.”

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“Um… Tiffany, can you tell me what happened? Today’s Mary feels very different.”

Without letting go of Mary’s hand, Tiffany pointed to the fog-covered window outside.

“Fallen, parade.”

“A parade of the Fallen?”

Walking to the window with a puzzled expression, Yisi wiped it, but the inn’s window wasn’t very clean, and she still couldn’t see outside. Helplessly, Yisi could only push the window open, and a gust of cold air that made her skin tingle immediately rushed into the room.

It wasn’t this cold yesterday.

While complaining, Yisi saw what Tiffany was talking about.

The entire street was packed with people. Church paladins in silver armor stood side by side along the street, forming a human wall that separated the prison carts from the common people.

The prison carts were filled with people in ragged clothes, their bodies gaunt. Their faces were ashen, and like walking corpses, they woodenly accepted the verbal abuse and curses from the residents on both sides of the street. In front of these prison carts, a man dressed as a priest was holding a beautifully bound book and shouting. Although the distance was considerable, Yisi could still hear that what the priest was reading were criminal charges.

To summarize, the crimes included theft, robbery, rape, gambling, and the like. All of these Fallen were people with criminal records.

The procession of prison carts led by the priest passed below the inn.

“These demons who have betrayed God only commit unforgivable sins! They have lost to their filthy desires and sold their souls to the devil! Look! This is the punishment sent down by the Goddess! This is the indelible mark of rebellion!”

The priest had a paladin drag a small, thin man out of a prison cart, forcibly stripped off his clothes, and showed the man’s back to the crowd—a grotesque pattern of dark red markings covered his entire back.

The ferocious sight made the surrounding crowd gasp. Immediately after, roars of anger erupted from the crowd. The curses and verbal abuse grew louder, and some people even picked up stones and snowballs from the roadside and threw them at the Fallen in the prison carts.

The Fallen in the carts immediately squatted down, their hands over their heads, curled up together, doing their best to protect their vital spots. Even though Yisi didn’t know these Fallen, she could tell from their practiced movements that they had already experienced many parades and were used to being beaten.

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“Kill them!”

“Send the blasphemers to hell!”

“Don’t spare them!”

Enhancing their own prestige by amplifying the ugliness of the Fallen… Although I understand the meaning behind this act, I can’t agree with it at all. It’s possible that some of these Fallen have committed no crime.

Undoubtedly, the church’s existence was more beneficial than harmful to the human world. Without the church, humanity would have long been devoured by the Blood Clan amidst internal strife. But seeing the current scene with her own eyes, Yisi couldn’t help but feel that the church was ugly.

The reason Mary was waiting at the door so early in the morning was because she was scared after seeing the church’s persecution of the Fallen. Yisi felt as if her daughter had been bullied.

Damn church.

Closing the window, Yisi went to Mary’s side. Perhaps from hearing the crowd’s shouts, Mary’s shoulders were trembling slightly. Yisi couldn’t help but hug her tightly and comfort her softly.

“Don’t be afraid. The people from the church won’t find you, Mary. If they come, I’ll beat them all down. I promise—no, if you like, Mary, it’s no problem to even let you be the Pope for a few days.”

“Mm… thank you, Master.”

Although she said that, Mary still looked listless.

“Church, hate.”

Snatching Mary from Yisi’s hands and holding her, Tiffany looked out the window with unconcealed hatred.

I had originally planned to spend a few days sightseeing in Mitters Bayer, but now it seems I should talk to the Pope about the treatment of the Fallen ahead of schedule.

Yisi glanced at the Omniscient Map. It was eight o’clock in the morning on a weekend, and the Pope was not in Mitters Bayer.

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“Mary said before that she wanted to see what the Pope looks like. Do you want to go now? I heard from Miss Shalu that the church’s next Pope goes to the central temple on the last day of every week to guide the people in offering prayers to God. During that time, even ordinary people can enter. Well, if Mary wants to see the current Pope, it’s no problem to go next week.”

“The next Pope? Is it Miss Evelyn, the one Miss Andrea mentioned?”

Mary raised her head timidly. Andrea had not hidden the matter of Evelyn from Mary. According to Andrea, she could now face her past mistakes and no longer needed to cover up the wrongs she had committed.

“Mm, it’s that Evelyn. And if it’s convenient, I can also bring Andrea over.”

Before Andrea left, she had asked her to pass a message to Evelyn. If possible, Andrea hoped to sit down and reminisce with Evelyn. The soul-linking necklace could only allow the two to swap bodies, not communicate directly, so they had always communicated through letters and had never met.

However, in her opinion, it was almost impossible for the representatives of these two major races to sit down and talk peacefully. The church would not let the next Pope venture into the Blood Clan’s territory, and Andrea was no longer that unqualified Blood Clan queen. Therefore, at that time, she had only agreed to Andrea on the surface, while secretly planning to give her a surprise: that is, after finding Evelyn, she would use teleportation magic to return to the Blood Clan’s territory and bring Andrea to the church.

Her previous dejection vanished. Mary’s purple eyes widened, filled with anticipation and joy.

“Will Miss Andrea be coming too?”

“That’s right.”

“I want to go!”

Without hesitation, Mary raised her hand.

“Mm, let’s go down for breakfast first, then change our clothes. The church guards won’t let us in if we’re not wearing a cross.”

“Yes~”

Agreeing energetically, Mary and Tiffany left the room. Yisi stretched out her arms in a long stretch, her gaze drifting to the window.

“Honestly, causing so much trouble for people.”