Compared to Vanna's current helplessness, Pope Helena's attitude was always calm. She had a smile on her face, and that smile even seemed a little happy.

However, Vanna was not happy at all - and it was even more "unreasonable"!

"I think... this matter happened too suddenly," the young Inquisitor racked her brains to think. She had no idea why the topic suddenly turned to this weird direction. At this moment, she was trying her best to make her logic keep up with the overly fast speed of the car. "I understand the necessity of establishing communication with the Lost Homeland, but I think it should be done step by step. And if it's just for communication, we already have a communication channel now. Captain Duncan..."

"He will visit you in your dreams or talk to you through the mirror, right?" Helena interrupted Vanna in a gentle voice, "I know. You mentioned it in your report."

"That……"

"That's not enough," Helena smiled and shook her head. "That was just a 'conversation', a private conversation between Captain Duncan and you. This communication channel is neither special nor binding. It is far from being an official channel between the Deep Sea Church and the Lost Homeland. Vanna, you should understand the difference."

Vanna's lips moved a few times, with thousands of words surging in her throat, but in the end, she said nothing.

She had confirmed that this was not a joke, nor was it a spur-of-the-moment arrangement by the "Spokesperson of God" in front of her. From Helena's attitude and eyes, Vanna sensed something that was well thought out, and... some emotions that she could not understand for the time being.

After a while, she suddenly asked, "What is the will of the goddess?"

"You can understand it that way - if it makes you feel better."

"...I understand," Vanna took a deep breath and finally calmed down. She returned to her usual serious demeanor and lowered her head with a serious face, "Then I will obey this arrangement."

"Go and have a rest first," Helena nodded gently, "There are still many things to do tomorrow."

Vanna bowed her head again and accepted the order, then turned and left the room.

Watching the tall figure of the young judge disappear outside the door, Helena took her eyes off him after a long while. Then she suddenly smiled and shook her head helplessly: "This kid... didn't even ask me how I was going to send her to the ship, and she pretended to be calm..."

A calm and majestic voice sounded at this moment, with the crackling of flames in between: "I am also curious, how are you going to send her to the Lost Hometown?"

In front of the full-length mirror in the corner of the room, the flames on several candlesticks suddenly turned dark green. The faint firelight illuminated the mirror surface, which was dark and deep. In the middle of the rapidly spreading illusory flames, Duncan's figure walked out from the depths of the darkness, quietly staring at Helena who was standing in the room.

Helena did not turn around. Even when she heard Duncan's voice behind her, she still stared out the window quietly: "Ah, you are watching."

"I can't help it. Your abacus is so loud that the beads are flying on my face."

"…What is an abacus?"

"This is a subspace joke." Duncan said seriously. After such a long time, he had long been accustomed to the rhythm of occasionally making up nonsense when talking to people. Observing other people's confused reactions was his greatest pleasure in the process. As for how the other party would make up their minds afterwards...

Anyway, no matter what he says to the people in this world, they will just make up random thoughts.

Helena wisely did not ask further questions. She still did not turn around and suppressed her emotions. Her tone was always calm and gentle. "Although you should not need to, I will introduce myself. Helena, a servant of the storm goddess Gemona, is very happy to talk to you."

"Duncan Abnomer, captain of the Lost Homeland," Duncan said casually, "I like to communicate frankly, so let's be frank - what is your purpose, or what exactly does the Deep Sea Church want to do?"

"We are only focused on maintaining the order of the civilized world and responding to all disturbing changes in the world," Helena replied calmly, "You should have heard what I said to Vanna just now. The world is undergoing some changes - in fact, the situation is far more serious than what I told her.

"Many shadows are approaching our reality. The abnormality of Anomaly 001 may be just the beginning. The sabotage actions of the End Preacher in Plande may also be just part of another big conspiracy. In the north, some city-states have sent disturbing news. At the border, the 'curtain' is becoming increasingly unstable. Border collapses are happening more and more frequently within the civilized territory. Among all these changes, the Lost Homeland may be the only one that has hope of communicating through rational means.

"We hope to establish stable and effective communication with you. Just as you want to know the purpose of the Deep Sea Church, we... also want to know about the Lost Homeland. In this case, why not build a bridge?"

Duncan frowned. "So, you confidently arranged for Vanna to be the bridge - it's a good idea, but how do you know I will agree?"

"You've paid a lot of attention to her and helped her before. From the intentions you've revealed, you're also very interested in today's civilized world," Helena said. "You've regained your sanity and humanity, so you need to rebuild your connection with the civilized world. In my opinion, Vanna is very suitable for this role - or will you trust a 'strange messenger' randomly chosen by the Deep Sea Church?"

"...Indeed, Vanna is at least an 'acquaintance' of mine. From your perspective, sending her here can ensure the safety of the messenger to the greatest extent possible," Duncan said slowly. "But even so, aren't you really worried that sending Vanna to the Lost Homeland will be like walking into a tiger's mouth? Given the good reputation that my ship and I have in the civilized world, it seems more reasonable that your actions would be regarded as a bloody sacrifice if they were made public."

Helena was silent for a few seconds, then slowly turned around and looked at the mirror where green flames were floating.

"So, this matter will not be made public. After all, apart from the Pland people, most people in this world cannot talk about the Lost Homeland without changing their expressions. Vanna will become a secret envoy, and the people who know about this will be limited to the top leaders of the Deep Sea Church and a few city-states - or those who know when the situation requires."

Helena raised her eyes and looked at Duncan's figure in the mirror.

The trembling and distorted bright starlight filled her vision.

"As for your mention of 'a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth'... I'm not worried."

The indescribable flowing starlight was constantly agitating on the surface of the mirror, and it was expanding, shrinking, and wriggling as if trying to break free from the fragile glass. Fine black cracks spread from the edge of the mirror, filling the entire room. Low and chaotic roars filled the mind, and every roar seemed to be mixed with infinite knowledge from the subspace.

"I can hear your voice, which is full of calm reason. I believe that you have indeed regained your humanity, and this humanity is the proof that you are on the side of civilized order."

The mirror seemed to have turned into a whirlpool in the field of vision. The starlight giant in the mirror had completely lost its shape. All Helena could see was endless starlight. The fragmented light and shadows exploded in her mind, but the next second, gentle waves sounded in her mind, reshaping her mind that was on the verge of disintegration.

"You are friendly and reliable. My god has given me guidance, and I believe in my god unconditionally. He ordered me to cooperate with you, so I will do so."

The creeping starlight in the mirror overflowed, and a flowing light and shadow extended and agitated in the air, swaying slowly in front of Helena, as if observing prey, or as if sniffing the breath in the room. The light and shadow formed by the creeping starlight came less than half a meter in front of Helena, and its tiny spots of light seemed to be filled with countless eyes.

Duncan carefully observed the expression on Helena's face through the mirror, trying to analyze the true intentions of the Deep Sea Pope from the details of her words and deeds. Finally, he found that there was only calmness and honesty in her eyes.

After a long time, he withdrew his gaze.

"The agreement is reached. I will reserve a place for Vanna on the Lost Homeland, but in return, she will become one of my crew members on the Lost Homeland. She will follow strict rules and regulations, which will even take precedence over her status in the church. I hope you understand this."

He tried to speak in a prim and dignified manner to make the matter seem businesslike.

But in fact, I was so happy that I couldn’t help it.

He had been thinking about the connection between Vanna and the Lost Homeland since a long time ago, and at that time he was planning how to trick this high-level priest onto the ship to work as a thug, but he had no suitable opportunity or reason. He never expected that this opportunity would fall from the sky.

The Deep Sea Church needs a formal communication channel to understand the intentions of the Lost Homeland, which can alleviate their anxiety. The Lost Homeland also needs a bridge to communicate with the church forces in the civilized world, which will help Duncan's future activities. This is a win-win situation for everyone.

"I understand." Helena nodded slowly. "Then, the deal is done."