Chapter 142: Is the Pope’s Name Something You Can Address So Casually?

​“A cleric brought here by the Saintess?”

​As the Cardinal of Divine Oracle, Sylvia’s authority within the Holy See ranked just beneath the five supreme seats. Even the Vice Commanders of the Knight Orders deferred to her. In all her years, no one had ever dared interrupt while she disciplined subordinate clergy.

​Sylvia looked up at the newcomer, her sharp eyes lingering for a moment: at first glance, nothing remarkable, quite ordinary. Still, since this one had arrived alongside Saintess Yalis, she decided to suppress her annoyance—just this once. Her voice, however, betrayed thinly veiled impatience.

​“I am Sylvia, Cardinal of Divine Oracle. Who are you, and what business do you have with me?”

​“Oh… you must be Peri, the cleric? Yalis introduced you to me last night, didn’t she?”

​Yet, just as Sylvia finished introducing herself, the unexpected happened. The new cleric—this unfamiliar face in Holy See robes—ignored her entirely. Instead, Lin Wei stepped right past Sylvia and addressed an unremarkable intern nearby.

​“Uh? Y-yes, that’s me. Hello, Cleric…” The intern’s voice trembled with disbelief. Peri had barely spoken a word the previous night, hardly worth a second thought—yet now, under the midday sun, someone was openly sidestepping Lady Sylvia to greet her: a mere trainee.

​Startled, Intern Cleric Peri could only stand there awkwardly, fidgeting as she struggled to respond.

​She nearly nodded before the words had even left his mouth, instinctively agreeing. But out of the corner of her eye, she caught the sudden shift in Sylvia’s expression.

​Sylvia’s face darkened with such speed it was almost visible. Fear seized Peri’s heart.

​She looked utterly horrified!

​“My name’s Lin Wei. Actually, that Memory Stone you submitted—the one you recently discovered—its contents concern me.”

​Lin Wei seemed utterly untroubled by the implications.

​He regarded the young woman standing before him—someone he’d met just last night. She’d seemed capable enough when speaking with Yalis; who would have guessed she was only an intern?

​Maintaining his relaxed, easy smile, he picked up the thread of conversation from the scolding he’d overheard upon entering the office.

​“No wonder Her Holiness the Pope summoned me to the Holy See headquarters. So it was your message, carried by the Retribution Knights.” His tone was light, almost teasing. “Anyway, I’ll be showing up here often from now on. If anything comes up, I expect your diligent cooperation.”

​With those few simple sentences, he laid everything bare.

​The Memory Stone had contained evidence about him.

​Because of that, Pope Selena had summoned him to headquarters.

​Did this mean that the person who’d resolved the chaos during the Cult of the Evil God’s attack on the Imperial Capital’s Magic Academy was this very Lin Wei standing before her?

​Sylvia stared at him for several drawn-out seconds, yet the anxiety tightening her chest refused to go away.

​“O-of course, I’ll cooperate!” she blurted out.

​To serve with diligence was the duty of every member of the Holy See.

​Intern Peri nodded with a newfound determination, her eyes shining with resolve.

​“We’ll talk more later.”

​“The Pope just gave me another errand—a task for the Herald’s Office. She wants two clarifications issued.”

​The statements had been prepared long before his arrival.

​Without so much as glancing at Sylvia—whom he’d already left to stew for some time—Lin Wei finished speaking and handed the documents over.

​“These concern Secretary Miss and the logistics division. You’re Cardinal Herald, so I’m leaving this in your care.”

​The gleaming, sealed letter landed squarely in front of her—brazen, heedless, and absent even a pretense of respect.

​If Sylvia’s anger had only simmered before, it now threatened to boil over.

​Cardinal Herald—one of the highest clergy in the Holy See, responsible for all official announcements and doctrine.

​She’d occupied this post for nearly six years, and never—not once—had anyone dared treat her with such disregard.

​Least of all some itinerant priest, a stranger she’d never seen before.

​“Are you looking down on me because of some merit you’ve earned?”

​Sylvia’s eyes blazed. She refused to even touch the papers.

​Her voice—addressing a priest so clearly favored by the Pope—wavered on the edge of fury.

​“Earlier, for Saintess Yalis’s sake, I tolerated your interruption. But now you’re being outright insolent—chatting idly in front of me, and handing me tasks directly? Do you have any idea who I am? I am the one tasked with spreading the glory of Goddess Alicia, directing the communications of the Holy See, and governing the Herald’s Office—how dare you treat me in this way?”

​“Cardinal Herald.”

​Lin Wei’s reply was utterly calm, his voice soft but implacable—the heat in the air snuffed out in an instant.

​Facing Sylvia’s rising anger, Lin Wei looked positively unconcerned.

​“I only stopped to say hello because I recognized a fellow clergy member,” he said, as if discussing the weather.

​“As for you—since you’re so self-assured about your authority as Cardinal of Divine Oracle—what do my manners have to do with your responsibilities?”

​He shook the letter lightly, gaze fixed on Sylvia, a silent dare in his eyes.

​Lin Wei offered a crooked, mocking smile—his whole posture radiating defiance.

​“This comes directly from Pope Selena. I’m simply following her order and delivering it to the Holy Sylvia. This isn’t some personal request.”

​“If you’re truly the one in charge, then get it done.”

​A cold edge crept into his voice. “Or do you plan to refuse a direct command from Pope Selena? Perhaps I should let the rest of the clergy hear about that?”

​Blatant provocation. He had no intention of pretending otherwise.

​At first, Lin Wei had thought that the Sylvia’s failure to support the Pope was down to simple negligence—or perhaps their skills had rusted from disuse.

​Now he saw the root cause: Cardinal of Divine Oracle Sylvia herself.

​Look how she scolded her subordinates. Look how utterly disordered the Sylvia was on any given day.

​Plainly, she harbored resentment against the magnificent Pope Selena—she resisted her, heart and soul.

​Since that was the case, why bother holding back?

​So she loathed it when the Pope’s authority was invoked; she couldn’t bear having her prerogative questioned.

​Well, so be it. Today, Lin Wei would do just that—pin her beneath Pope Selena’s command.

​Before he could leave for the border, the Oracular Tribunal had to be dealt with—once and for all.

​“You…”

​Sylvia trembled with fury, nearly exploding on the spot.

​But when faced with an argument she could not refute, no words of denial could pass her lips.

​“Fine. So this is an order from the Pope, is it?”

​She snatched the letters and flung them onto the intern’s desk.

​With a cold sneer, she shot Lin Wei a venomous glare. She didn’t even pretend to read—her refusal was plain as day.

​“The Oracular Tribunal does not issue these bulletins as a matter of course.”

​“And your reason?” Lin Wei’s lips curled in a not-quite smile as he regarded her.

​His eyes shone with a dark intensity, the air sharpening with barely contained force.

​“The information does not add up—the content is insufficient. There’s no direct evidence that any of this material is genuine.”

​Sylvia glared at him, dropping all pretense.

​She had been personally appointed by the Archbishop. Not even the Pope would dare remove her lightly.

​“Everything here is under my jurisdiction as Cardinal of Divine Oracle. What I decide, goes.”

​“You think waving the Pope’s name will intimidate me? Even if Selena herself were standing here, I’d still teach her a thing or two about respecting her elders in the Holy See.”

​Smack!

​A crisp, resounding slap shattered the silence. All eyes turned in shock.

​Sylvia stared in disbelief, clutching her cheek as a burning pain radiated through her skull, a sharp ringing in her ears.

​Beside her, the young intern stood frozen, barely daring to breathe.

​Is it… really possible to witness something so violent in the Holy Office?

​But—oh, it was satisfying!

​Serves her right! That’s what happens when you dare disrespect Her Holiness the Pope!

​“Teach her?”

​The last shadow of a smile vanished from Lin Wei’s face, leaving only a chill that seemed to suck the warmth from the air.

​There was no reason to show mercy to those who courted disaster. He turned his attention directly to the Holy Edict Arbiter before him.

​“Selena… And you think someone like you has the right to say Her name so casually?”

​“You don’t even use the title ‘Pope’ anymore?”