Todd, noticing his gaze, immediately understood that this holy envoy was definitely a master of alchemy. Taking advantage of the other's focus on the microscope, he secretly moved a wooden board, blocking the passage to the back room of the laboratory.

"Is this also an alchemical tool?" Tristan asked, stroking his chin with his right hand and supporting his elbow with his left, his face full of curiosity.

Todd kicked the strip of cloth on the ground to cover the gap under the wooden board and said, "Sir, that's called a microscope. You can see very small things."

The man turned around excitedly and asked loudly, "Very small? How small?!"

Todd quickly moved to a different spot, walked up to the man, opened the microscope's wooden case, took out two glass slides, put a drop of water on them, and placed them on the observation table.

Tristan watched the priest's movements, his gaze lingering on the glass slide for a long time.

After adjusting the eyepiece and objective lens, Todd gestured for the Holy Messenger to come and take a look.

A few seconds later, the man yelled, making Todd squint and pick at his ear.

With trembling hands, Tristan pointed to the observation hole and stammered, "What are all these things?"

Todd leaned closer to the observation hole and slowly said, "The largest object, shaped like a shoe sole, is a paramecium; that long, green object is an euglena; and that clustered together is probably cyanobacteria..."

The man pushed him aside, brought his eyes closer, pulled over a nearby stool, and sat down without any hesitation.

Todd scratched the back of his head, glanced at the wooden board behind him, and said cautiously, "Your Excellency..."

The man didn't move his head, waved behind him, and said in a friendly tone, "Call me Tristan, Father."

Todd continued, "Okay, Tristan. About lunch..."

"If you're hungry, go eat first, don't worry about me."

Todd rolled his eyes, cursing inwardly: Nonsense! How could I leave you here alone? There's a bunch of shady stuff here. If the church finds out, I'll be burned at the stake!

"Father, do you have paper and a pen?"

Upon hearing the other person's words, Todd quickly opened the storage cabinet under the table and hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, please wait a moment."

Watching Tristan take out paper and pen and start scribbling under the microscope, Todd sighed, rubbed his stomach, and began rummaging through the lab for the leftover bread from last night…

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"My lord, it's almost time for dinner. The delegation is..." Huggins stepped into the laboratory, so shocked by the scene before him that he forgot to continue.

The holy envoy, dressed in a black deacon's robe, sat intently in front of a microscope, with a pile of finished sketches on the table.

Our Lord Todd sat on a small stool, rubbing his stomach with one hand and resting his chin on the other, his face full of frustration.

Huggins glanced at Todd, then at the Holy Envoy, and hesitated before saying, "The Knight Commander of the mission is searching for the Holy Envoy..."

“Stop talking, he won’t listen to anything you say.” Todd stood up, beckoned to Hudgens, walked over to Tristan, and pointed to the man’s arm.

Huggins hesitated for a moment, but ultimately he and Todd supported Tristan and walked toward the door amidst the protests of the other party.

The dinner was held in a side hall of the church, and due to the hasty preparation, it consisted of ordinary food and drinks.

The Papal Envoy Tristan spoke, first offering praise to the Father, then thanking Bishop Fabian for his company, and finally expressing gratitude for the warm hospitality of the town of Musi.

Todd was somewhat stunned after listening to the other party's statement. Because the Holy Envoy had never mentioned the question he cared about most—whether the Church would agree to establish a knightly order in Muxi Town.

Todd couldn't ask about this directly, so he could only subtly inquire during the banquet when chatting with Tristan.

To his surprise, the Holy Envoy, though young and obsessed with alchemy, was as slippery as an eel in social situations. No matter how Todd prompted him, the other party simply pretended to be ignorant, dodged the question, and never mentioned the Knights.

Finally, Todd lost his temper completely and had no choice but to temporarily give up his plan to ask questions and start talking about other topics.

“I thought the Church viewed alchemy as a terrible monster,” Todd said, taking a sip of red wine.

Tristan poked at the fruit on his plate with his fork and said with a smile, "Would you be surprised if I told you that in the Papal States, many bishops and nobles alike are studying alchemy?"

Todd's eyes widened: "But alchemy isn't...?"

"That's right, the Church once issued a 'Holy Encyclical' that defined alchemy as heresy, but that was eight hundred years ago. The allure of turning lead into gold and the 'Philosopher's Stone' is irresistible to everyone. However, such things still can't be done openly and can only be done in secret."

Upon hearing what the other person said, Todd recalled the scene of his trial as a heretic and hesitated to speak.

Tristan smiled at his expression. "I've heard about what happened before... The Silver Ring Parish is too remote; many things naturally change here. Speaking of which, you and I have some connection. That laboratory you found in the basement of the San Sidlow Monastery..."

Todd abruptly raised his head, looked at the man, and waited for him to say something next.

"...My former master."