Chapter 443 - 209: Change of Master

"Darling, what are you thinking about?"

Elise asked, blinking, when she saw Sean fall into deep thought.

Even now, she hadn’t forgotten their "old married couple" nicknames.

’I should use it more before we go back, otherwise I won’t get the chance.’

"It’s nothing," Sean replied expressionlessly, snapping out of his thoughts. "I was just thinking, we don’t need to rush to Austin Castle."

The passage isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be there whenever we decide to go.

But people are another story. If we don’t hurry up and catch that cavalry troop escorting the "important item," it’ll be much harder to make a move once they reach their destination or enter a major city.

So...

"We should go find that guy, the Captain of the Forbidden Guard, first," Sean said.

Elise tilted her head. "Are we not doing the mission anymore?"

"We are."

"Simple," Sean said. "We just need to set a fire."

There’s nothing a good fire can’t solve.

And if there is, you just add another.

"Is anyone in the church at night?" Sean asked Hoyev.

’He must have already investigated these things for the sake of his revenge against the Priest.’

"Yes," Hoyev said. "They don’t ring the bells and close the doors until ten o’clock. After that, a few Nuns stay behind to keep watch overnight."

"Just a few Nuns?" Sean asked.

"Mm-hmm," Hoyev nodded. "Ordinary people."

Generally speaking, people who work for the Church Court have at least a little Magic Power, making it convenient to display "miracles" to the populace at any time. They claim this is a Power bestowed upon them by the Master, and that only those who are unconditionally loyal and grateful to the Master can possibly become Wizards and possess supernatural Divine Power.

But the staff at the Gothra Town church didn’t have any—most of them, at least.

Hoyev had made specific inquiries. For the residents of this town, working at the church was the path to becoming a Wizard.

And it was the only path.

When the "Master" felt they had been "tempered" enough and had performed well, He would bestow the "Holy Spring" upon them, giving them a chance to awaken.

"They’re that easy to fool?" Sean was speechless. "Have these people never heard of Mysticism?"

Hoyev was silent for a moment before saying, "Is it possible that the Era of Polymath has passed, and the concept of Mysticism no longer exists in the awareness of ordinary people today?"

Sean was even more baffled. "Then what do they learn in school?"

"Language arts, mathematics, foreign languages, physics, chemistry, history... as well as music, dance, painting, and so on," Hoyev said. "They learn everything except Mysticism."

Sean opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Elise had already started cursing.

"Those bastards!"

She had already figured out what the Church Court was up to.

Solidify the class divide between ordinary people and Wizards, and harvest faith in the name of the "Master," thereby maintaining an iron grip over the entire Empire.

No wonder Blake City had missions like destroying churches.

At first, she had thought it might be a bit extreme, afraid of hurting innocent people. But now...

’These churches all deserve to be destroyed!’

"And they call us Heretics, pfft!" Elise cursed. "So shameless!"

No wonder the Farm World they lived in had the so-called "Witch Hunt Operation."

That Witch Hunt Operation wasn’t hunting Wizards at all, but rather anyone who didn’t believe in the "Master" and refused to obey.

"Alright, alright, don’t get so worked up," Sean soothed her. "What’s done is done. Cursing won’t help. Better to save your energy for the killing and arson tonight."

"Killing and arson? That sounds so awful," Elise retorted. "We’re clearly delivering justice."

"It’s a figure of speech. Same difference," Sean said.

’Maybe no killing, but there would definitely be fire.’

Sean realized he had still underestimated the Church Court’s methods.

Ever since awakening his Magic Power, he had consciously avoided excessive contact with ordinary people. Firstly, he didn’t want to involve the innocent. Secondly, Wizards and mortals are not from the same world; their perceptions and values are different, making it difficult to become true friends. That was why Sean had never considered going back to live in Holkaydo.

It was the same in the "New World." Unless absolutely necessary, he never interacted much with ordinary people. And precisely because of this, he had overlooked what their lives were like.

It seemed the Church Court had been very, very busy during the few hundred years he had been away.

They had even removed Mysticism from textbooks.

Sean had originally thought it was only like this in the Farm World; he hadn’t expected the "New World" to be the same.

But it didn’t matter.

Times always change, and people will always awaken. One day, everyone will open their eyes and see the world. If they couldn’t open their eyes on their own, he would help them.

In any case, there was still a long road ahead.

Overthrowing the Church Court’s rule wouldn’t be easy, but Sean wasn’t in a hurry.

First, he’d burn down a church.

"We’ll make our move at midnight," Sean said. "I’ll be in charge of setting the fire, and you’ll be in charge of the killing... no, wait."

He’d had a slip of the tongue. He corrected himself, "Not killing. Scaring."

"Scaring?" Elise didn’t understand. "What do you mean?"

"Drive the Nuns on night watch out of the church," Sean answered.

’From the looks of it, those Nuns are innocent. I have no desire to become an inhuman murderer.’

"Why not just throw them out?" Elise still didn’t get it. "Why go through so much trouble for a few ordinary people?"

"Throwing them out isn’t the point. Shaking their faith is."

Sean explained, "Think about it. The church is such a holy place, so close to the ’Master.’ But then, something foul appears—something that wants to devour people—and the ’Master’ does nothing about it. If that were you, what would you think?"

Back in Alola Town, he had asked Sopea and Koni to help him weave a dream. He ended up scaring Koni to tears, and a Nun who happened to see the scene misunderstood. After that, everyone knew he had improper intentions toward Miss Koni. If Koni hadn’t been Sopea’s student—if she didn’t have a status that protected her from idle gossip—then it wouldn’t have been just Sopea and Elvire who knew he’d "bullied" her. The entire town of Alola would have known.