Seeing the envoy rubbing his back, Todd feigned concern and asked, "Is the hotel bed too hard?"
Tristan smiled and waved his hand.
As they walked, the townspeople saw Todd in his holy robes and began to sing praises of the Son's grace, and more and more people joined the procession.
Todd wiped his forehead, observing the saint's expression while giving Huggins a meaningful look, signaling him to quickly disperse the crowd behind him.
To his surprise, Tristan seemed to be in a good mood and did not appear displeased by the public's outcry.
“Father, it seems the people here adore you; I heard them call you the Holy Son.”
Upon hearing the other party's words, Todd was startled and quickly said, "The villagers in this remote village have never seen much of the world. Their terms of address are just casual remarks. Your Excellency, please don't mind them."
Tristan gave Todd a meaningful look and said with a smile, "Father, it's a good thing that the people love you."
What does that mean?
Praise or sarcasm?
Todd didn't reply, but lowered his head and followed behind the envoy, carefully trying to figure out what the other person was thinking.
Tristan seemed quite satisfied after accompanying him on a tour of Twilight Town, which made Todd breathe a slight sigh of relief. However, as they walked, Tristan suddenly waved for the guards to leave and asked a question that abruptly made the atmosphere tense.
"Father, how do you view the boundary between faith and scientia?"
What is the boundary between faith and scholarship? This is indeed an extremely difficult question to answer...
The word *scientia* in Latin means "knowledge and learning," and it is the precursor to the word *science*. While this question appears to discuss the relationship between religion and science, it actually inquires into philosophical questions about the origins of the world.
If this were his previous life, Todd could have easily launched into a long, eloquent discourse, citing numerous sources, discussing everything from evolution to genetics, from primitive societies to the information age, for an hour straight.
but……
Now he didn't know where to begin.
As for the reasons, firstly, we live in a medieval society, and without evidence, we can arbitrarily define the origin of the world; burning at the stake might even be the most merciful act. Secondly, the saint's thoughts are truly difficult to fathom. On one hand, he is a deacon of the Church and an envoy of the Papal States; on the other hand, he and his master both study alchemy. Does he lean more towards religion or science?
Frustrated, Todd eventually resorted to storytelling to express his opinion.
"Your Excellency, I read a fable in a book. Would you be interested in hearing it?"
Tristan stopped, found a wooden crate placed by the roadside, sat down, and patted the box next to him.
The priest sat down next to the saint and slowly began to tell the story:
Long ago, two men were walking along a main road. One firmly believed the road led to heaven, while the other did not. But there was no other way; they could only continue walking. Their journey was filled with joy and hardship. The devout man saw the joy as a gift and reward from the gods, and the hardship as trials and tribulations. The other man, however, connected these experiences with cause and effect, logic, and nature, and did not believe in the existence of a god.
Upon hearing this, Tristan noticed the other person had stopped speaking and asked, "So, what about the end? This journey must have an end, right? And what does the end prove about who was right and who was wrong?"
Todd spread his hands, palms up: "The two men walked on the road and no one ever saw them again. They may have reached their destination, but they never came back to tell us what the destination looked like."
Tristan remained silent for a long time before finally laughing: "Father, I admit that I underestimated you at first because of your age, but you are much smarter than I thought."
Brushing the dust off his clothes, the envoy stood up, the blinding sunlight behind him, and extended his hand to Todd: "Come, I have something to give you."
Following Tristan toward his church, Todd spotted two figures in the distance.
Karin and Pamela stood at the church entrance, peering inside.
Upon seeing Todd, Karin's eyes lit up, but upon glancing at Tristan and the papal guards around him, she took a few steps back warily and pulled Pamela back to the convent.
Todd entered the chapel and found someone already waiting at the foot of the cross.
"Ratchel?"
The woman heard Todd's voice, turned her head, and faced Tristan: "I would like to attend the next meeting."
Unlike Todd, who looked surprised, the Holy Envoy nodded and said, "No problem."
The three entered the priest's parlor. Tristan turned around and closed the door. He took out a black wooden box from his pocket, carefully placed it on the table, and slowly pulled off the top cover. A tightly wrapped scroll lay quietly inside the box.
“Todd Fischer.” Tristan took out the contents with both hands, unwrapping the layers of cloth tightly wrapped around the outside to reveal a gray parchment scroll, which he held high over his shoulder and placed in Todd’s hands: “May our God, our glorious Father, bestow wisdom and courage upon you, and may his light shine into the eyes of your soul.”
With trembling hands, Todd took the scroll and slowly opened it. Looking at the lines of Latin text, just as he had thought, it was an edict supporting the establishment of a church knightly order in Muxi Town!
"This is a decree drafted by the College of Cardinals and signed by His Holiness the Pope. The official decree will be formally distributed to every corner of the Diocese of the Father after the ecumenical council and the secular council of the Papal States in October."
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