Compared to Theodore's stuffed appearance, Rachel appeared much more elegant. She gently wiped her mouth with the white tablecloth, then patted her ample bosom and said with a smile, "You've really opened my eyes, Mr. Todd."

When facing the president of the "Relief Association," Todd was still able to maintain some composure, but when talking to this seemingly harmless woman, a strange pressure always lingered in his heart.

Rachel picked up a still-green mulberry with a toothpick, slowly put it in her mouth, her almond-shaped eyes curving into crescents, and said, "Mr. Todd, dinner is over, let's talk..." Seeing Theodore's face darken, the woman quickly changed the subject: "...your situation."

"My situation?"

Todd frowned, not understanding the deeper meaning behind the other person's words.

“Mr. Todd, I’ve read your profile. From a monk in a monastery to a priest in the church, your experiences over the past two months can only be described as legendary. Defeating pirates, searching for treasure overseas, participating in the Inquisition—you are now a hero sung about by everyone in the streets.”

Todd didn't respond to the woman's words, his expression growing increasingly somber, a bad premonition gradually emerging.

“However, things aren’t as simple as you think.” Rachel said, taking a map from her bag and drawing a few lines and a circle with a pen. “You said you went to the Northern Islands and dug up the Crystal Relic, but each voyage took about three days. Considering the time spent turning back, ocean currents, wind direction, resupply, and digging, the actual time spent on the journey wasn’t that long. Taking the speed of the ship into account, we can draw your approximate sailing radius with Muxi Port as the center.”

Todd's eyes widened as he looked at the circles the woman had drawn on the map.

“The Northern Islands are within this circled area. There aren’t many islands there. Even if you took a boat and checked every island, it wouldn’t take much time. Think about it, if someone really went through all that trouble and found no signs of excavation, wouldn’t they wonder—where is the crystal treasure?” Rachel then took out two similar-looking but slightly different glass objects from her bag. “Mr. Todd, take a look. Don’t they look familiar? We went to great lengths to find these. These two crystal relics are basically the same in style, but the one on the left is from your first batch of goods sent to Silver Ring City, and the one on the right is from your most recent batch sent to the border.”

Watching the woman in green bring the two glass items close to the firelight and compare them, Todd immediately understood where the problem lay. His breathing became rapid, and he could hardly breathe.

“The first one on the left has air bubbles at the bottom, heavy crystal impurities, and obvious signs of clumsy handcrafting at the joints; the one on the right is completely different, with fine workmanship, fewer impurities, and is close to perfect.” Rachel tilted her head and looked at the Silent One: “They are both excavated Taro artifacts, with the same style, but the workmanship is so different, and they happen to be from different batches. Don’t you think this is too much of a coincidence?”

"If all of the above only aroused suspicion, then your performance at the Inquisition was tantamount to burying your own grave with the final shovelful of soil. You publicly revealed your identity as an alchemist and even conducted alchemical experiments in front of everyone."

Rachel walked over to Todd, noticing the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, and said softly, "Northern islands, advanced technology, and mastery of alchemy. Don't you think that putting these things together is tantamount to admitting that you already possess the skills to make crystal?"

The woman crouched down beside Todd, her tone gentle, but her words chilling: "There's nothing those vultures in the church can't imagine. Do you know what they'll do next?"

Todd swallowed hard and asked unconsciously, "How do we do it?"

"They'll politely decline all your requests, but will lavish praise on your achievements in the 'Holy Ministry Bulletin,' promote you, transfer you to a sinecure in the central diocese, and find someone to take over your town of Muxi. Next, they'll find some random crime to pin on you. In the end, whether they roast you or boil you is entirely up to them..."

Rachel returned to her recliner, stretched, and said with a smile, "You should really thank the Tarot inscription on the crystal for the reason they haven't made a move yet. If the 'Church of Heavenly Father' and the 'Church of Orthodoxy' weren't vying for the title of orthodox and needed these relics as evidence, you might already be in jail."

Todd sat cross-legged on the spot, buried his head between his hands, and closed his eyes in frustration.

What he thought was a flawless plan had so many flaws, it was like a hard slap in the face.

“Mr. Todd, I have a suggestion you might consider.” Seeing Theodore's grave expression, the woman paused before continuing, “Cooperate with us. We can help you overcome your difficulties and bring you more power and wealth. Besides, we are both different species, bound by an innate and unbreakable bond, so there's no need to worry about betrayal…”

Todd looked up, and to Rachel's surprise, his face was calm: "What do you need me to do?"

"It's very simple, there are only two things. First, we hope to establish a sanctuary for the aliens in Muxi Town to ensure that the Church's influence will not endanger their safety."

After hearing the first condition, Todd pondered for a moment, and then understood the other party's intention: "I see, the most dangerous place is the safest place?"

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