Every day, Vanna would walk through the atrium of Plande Cathedral before noon and follow the path between the flower beds to the church. The path was one hundred and three steps long, and it took twenty-seven steps from the entrance of the church to the statue of the goddess. These steps had become a part of her life since she became the judge of this city.

She was familiar with everything in the church, every floor tile from the atrium to the sanctuary, just as she was familiar with her own hands.

In the many days and nights that have passed, she never thought that this short road would be so... difficult and long.

The door of the temple opened, and the overly bright sunlight was left behind. After adapting to the slightly dim environment indoors, Vanna saw two figures standing in front of the statue of the goddess in the center of the room.

The sunlight shone through the tall stained glass windows, spreading a glow over the statue of the goddess. Archbishop Valentine and Pope Helena turned their eyes at the same time, staring at the Inquisitor who was walking into the room in the sunlight.

"You're here," Helena nodded gently, "one minute later than agreed."

"Sorry," Vanna walked forward and bowed slightly before looking at the Pope. "I was delayed for a few minutes in handing over the work to my subordinates."

"It's okay," Helena nodded gently, then glanced at Valentine next to her, "I've already told Bishop Valentine about your situation, and he will help you with the handover and arrangements for your work, so you don't have to worry about the city-state. Your uncle has also received the news, and he understands the church's arrangements - but I still hope you can have a good talk with him later to help him dispel some of his worries about the future."

Although she thought she had made a lot of mental preparations, Vanna's heart still skipped a beat after hearing the Pope's words.

A feeling of not being able to distinguish between a dream and reality surged into her heart, making her a little dazed for a moment. She tried to grasp this feeling accurately, but in the end she found that all her emotions were actually just this sigh - ah, it really happened.

But she suddenly felt confused and even absurd. She looked at the Pope in front of her and couldn't help saying, "Are you really going to send me to the Lost Homeland? Of course, I'm not doubting your decision. I just suddenly felt that... this is not a trivial matter. We must at least understand the attitude of Captain Duncan. Will he really let a high-ranking priest board that ship so easily?"

Fanna felt that her wording was a bit confusing, but she still tried to straighten out her thoughts and continued, "What happened yesterday was a bit sudden. I didn't realize something was wrong until I got back. The Lost Hometown is not an 'open area' that can be entered casually. What do you plan to do..."

"Ah, you finally figured it out," Helena smiled and shook her head, "I thought you wouldn't think of asking for directions until you were about to set out."

Vanna opened her eyes wide in surprise, and then she saw Helena took out a rolled up parchment from her side and handed it to her with a smile.

Vanna took the paper scroll doubtfully, unfolded it carefully, and scanned the words on it. Her expression gradually became interesting.

[Deep Sea Church, Gemona and all the servants are informed... We are now accepting a staff member you transferred due to work needs and temporarily arranging him to a combat position on our ship... The on-the-job treatment is the same as that of a first-class crew member. The salary and various loss expenses of this staff member will still be paid by your organization. The payment method is...

Captain Duncan Abnomer of the Lost Homeland

Signed in Vision-Prande

December 19, 1900

In addition to the handwritten signature, there is also a striking red seal at the end of the document.

Vanna: “…”

The young inquisitor looked a little dazed. She looked down at the personnel transfer acceptance letter in her hand, then looked up at the Pope in front of her. After looking back and forth several times, her eyes fell on Bishop Valentine again.

"Don't look at me," Valentine deadpanned, "I didn't expect this either."

Fanna felt her lips trembling a little: "The signature on it..."

"It's real," Helena said calmly, "and the seal is real too. If you look in the city-state archives, you can even find old records from when the Lost Homeland was resupplied at Plande Harbor a century ago. There are the same seal and signature on them."

Vanna listened in a daze. She opened her mouth and seemed to have something else to say, but Helena interrupted her first: "You have to admit that this makes perfect sense."

"I..." Vanna raised her hand and pointed at herself, then raised the parchment in her hand. After a while, she finally said, "But isn't this a bit too reasonable?! And when did you..."

"Just yesterday," Helena said seriously, with a happy smile hidden in her eyes, "I discussed your entry process in detail with Captain Duncan. We have always believed that this should be a formal and contractual personnel transfer, and for this purpose, formal documents need to be kept on file."

The pope paused here, looking at the still tangled expression on Vanna's face, she couldn't help but spread her hands with a smile: "What else? Vanna? How do you think we are going to send you to the Lost Homeland? Light a few bonfires, draw blasphemous symbols on the ground, and then tie you to a stake and sacrifice you there? Just like some dark heretics who sacrifice kidnapped girls to the warp in a damp cave?

"Fanna, we are an orthodox church. We follow the formal procedures."

Fanna's mouth twitched, thinking that she had not really thought about the details of the "handover" of this personnel at the beginning. When she was reminded by the other party, she realized the rationality of the document in front of her, but because the process was too reasonable, she felt that the whole thing was weird.

All her uneasy imaginations about her future were shattered at this moment - she even suspected that she would have a sumptuous staff meal on the Lost Homeland, and there would even be a deck barbecue after the formal dinner...

That's the Lost Hometown! The Lost Hometown!

Helena saw all the weirdness in Vanna's eyes.

"Okay, now that you have seen the document, I believe your last bit of worry has been dispelled," the Pope said with a smile, "Go and rest first, and do some preparations before departure. There are more detailed contents on the back of this document, including the specific handover time and method. You can go back and take a look."

Vanna was sent out of the temple in a daze.

After the young inquisitor left, the temple fell silent for a moment. Two minutes later, Valentine's voice broke the silence: "Actually, I'm very curious."

Helena turned her head slightly: "What are you curious about?"

"What happened that made you suddenly decide to send Vanna to the Lost Homeland?" Valentine said with a serious expression. "I know your reason, which is indeed valid, but the whole thing seems to me... a little too hasty. You seemed to be eager to establish contact with Captain Duncan and didn't even make enough preparations. What happened?"

"You are a perceptive person, Valentine. You always have been." Helena looked at the old bishop who had been loyal to the church for many years quietly for a moment, then sighed, "In fact, this matter will soon be no secret. It won't make any difference if I tell you now."

She paused and spoke slowly: "Do you remember the 'warning' that Captain Duncan conveyed through Vanna not long ago?"

"Warning?" Valentine frowned slightly and quickly thought of something. "You mean, about Anomaly 001..."

"The elven city-state 'Light Wind Port' near the border has recently received disturbing news," Helena nodded and said, "'Sea Witch' Lucrecia sent them a gift. Guess what it is?"

Valentine was startled, thinking about the details revealed by the Pope's words just now, and vaguely realized the truth. The expression on his face suddenly became interesting: "Could it be... that something really fell from the sky?"

"A piece of luminous debris fell from the sky. It is pale golden in color and is a geometric object larger than the Cathedral of Storms," ​​Helena said. "Although there is no clear evidence to prove that it is the fragment that fell off Anomaly 001, but..."

Helena didn't say anything else, just shook her head.

Valentine listened in amazement. After an unknown amount of time, he finally managed to squeeze out a few syllables from his throat: "...Goddess."

"There is a problem in our world, and the situation is more serious than we imagined. The Lost Homeland is the only voice that has warned the civilized world so far - and this warning has been confirmed," Helena said slowly, "This is Captain Duncan actively conveying goodwill. No matter how terrible that ship was in the past, we must respond now. After all... it's not a certain city-state that is crumbling this time, but the sun above our heads."

"...Can Vanna really complete this mission?" Valentine dispelled his previous doubts, but became worried about another thing. "She is actually a bit reckless and not very good at...detailed and cautious interpersonal communication. If we want to send a special envoy 'on board', she is not the best candidate."

"We don't decide the best candidate, Valentine." Helena shook her head.

She turned around and stared silently at the statue of the storm goddess Gemona.

"The players decide the positions of the pieces at the very beginning."