Chapter 108
The number of archbishops was suddenly reduced to five; all the others were demoted to cardinals.
Copperfield, Garcia, Fikris, Finney, and Granva.
It was expected that Felix, who was of dwarven descent, and Finney, who was of elven descent, would not be demoted. The Papacy had a history of dealings with these two races for hundreds of years, and the turmoil of the archbishops would not affect them until the two races had chosen successors.
But that was enough to make them uneasy.
They were colleagues for ten years, and before anyone could react, they were removed from their positions.
Copperfield was already trembling with fear; he would rather be the one dismissed from his post because he felt he wasn't clean either.
Holding that beginner's magic book, he felt like crying.
Granvar was bewildered. When the first archbishop was called out for removal from office, he was initially startled, but then calmed down. Although he was still overwhelmed by the Pope's power, he felt that he would be called out sooner or later.
But, incredibly, he was still among the archbishops.
At over ninety years old, his strength wasn't particularly formidable. Compared to Copperfield and Uther, he was far inferior. Due to his advanced age, his proof of being an eighth-tier mage was somewhat diminished, meaning he was actually only at the level of a sixth-tier mage.
Their ability to handle official business is also far inferior to that of people like Rivirenhilda.
By all accounts, he's a typical example of someone who holds a position without doing any work, just eating rice for free every day.
But why hasn't he been dismissed from his position yet?!
However, the Pope's actions were not yet over.
He dismissed half of the archbishops, and then a large number of priests and clergy. In the preceding years, Sylvain had been slowly reducing the recruitment of priests, and the priests and clergy already in office had sensed something was amiss. Today, the sword has finally fallen.
It was personally announced to the entire continent by the Pope.
If it were Sylvain's doing, there would inevitably be complaints. But if it was the legendary Pope, and given that they had been mentally prepared for it for the past few years, the churches that received the announcement remained silent for a long time before proceeding with the arrangements in an orderly manner.
However, the churches that are being laid off are not all churches on the mainland. The Eleventh District was definitely going to be laid off, and on a large scale. But if it is another newly merged district, the number of pastors to be laid off will be half.
The announcement didn't stop there. The Pope informed the dismissed priests that they could attend district colleges. The priests were all graduates of literacy classes, and since the selection of civil servants in the kingdom no longer considers background, their literacy gave them a natural advantage. They also frequently interacted with believers. If they wanted to find a way out, they might as well take the annual civil service exam.
Two hundred years of effort by the church have resulted in a near-illiterate population within its ranks. However, the situation is quite different in the kingdom, where culture is largely monopolized by the nobility, leaving commoners with little chance of advancement. In comparison, it is far more desirable to apply for a position as a pastor at the church.
The salary isn't much, but it's stable.
Now, Veris has decided to integrate this large number of literate priests, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, into the kingdom's administrative system.
Lortheran had been keeping an eye on this group for a long time, and had been nagging Sylvain about it for the past two years, but Sylvain remained unmoved. Without a clear order from Veris, he would not touch these people.
Wouldn't the rulers be suspicious of civil servants who had faith, especially those who were originally priests?
If Ethan were on the throne, Veris certainly wouldn't have done that.
But now Lor'theran is on the throne, so he chooses to use the most swift and decisive means. The groundwork has been laid enough, and his authority can ensure that nothing goes wrong.
He will be heading to the Demon King's Forest soon, so it's best to resolve this matter as soon as possible.
Lortheran, on the other hand, believed that although these pastors were loyal to the church, times had changed. He now needed a large number of talented people and didn't care what these people believed in. In the next few decades, the church's influence would definitely be weakened.
There were indeed priests who had complaints, but that wasn't the case; with half the archbishops gone, they really couldn't say anything.
The archbishop didn't say anything!
This massive downsizing campaign lasted for more than a year until the first batch of pastors passed the civil service exam.
The Pope's proclamation was delivered to all the churches overnight, and the palace naturally received the news quickly. Ethan didn't sleep well all night, and had dark circles under his eyes. He was scolded by Lortheran.
More than being reprimanded by Lortheran, Ethan was worried about his visit to the Pope today.
The king and crown prince's procession was extremely grand. They set off from the palace with guards leading the way. The pace of their journey was not fast, which allowed Ethan to catch his breath.
The attendants were also very nervous. Some of them were of noble birth and had been to the Papacy, while others were people Ethan had recruited over the years. They were loyal to the Papacy, but for them, the Papacy was a place that existed only in legends.
They had grown somewhat accustomed to the splendor of the royal palace, but when they saw the solemn and majestic Papal Palace complex, they couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
Compared to the royal palace, the Papacy clearly had a stronger religious atmosphere. The statues in the main square were not of the goddess of love they worshipped, but of the Pope himself. Although the dismantling of the Papacy had begun, there were still many believers coming to worship in the square.
The person who received the King and Crown Prince in the Grand Square was Prince Garcia, who was also the Archbishop of the Papacy. It was not surprising that he was not affected by the recent downsizing, since Garcia was of royal lineage and a symbol of friendly relations between the Church and the monarchy.
His Majesty the King was relaxed, but his attendants, Crown Prince Ethan, and even Garcia, who was leading the group deeper into the Papacy, were all on edge.
Their first impression was that the Papacy was very quiet.
A mysterious fragrance wafts through the building, faint yet distinct, resembling the scent of grass and trees, or the aroma of pages left to settle over many years. When you sniff carefully, you can only detect the freshness of the air; there are no other scents.
When the hour arrived, the chimes echoed throughout the entire complex. A large group of people walked through the grand corridor, and upon hearing the distant chimes, they felt inexplicably more tense than relaxed.
The group quickly stopped, and Garcia led Lortheran, Ethan, and several secretaries into a building.
Both Veris and Sylvain's studies are here, but Veris's study is on the second floor, as is the reception room for outsiders. The first floor contains Sylvain's study and the meeting room where the archbishops usually hold meetings.
The floor was covered with a carpet, not very thick, which looked reddish-brown with dark gold lines outlining unknown pictures, mixed with intricate totems. Ethan glanced at it and then looked up.
They arrived on the second floor. The Pope's reception room for foreign guests was very large. There were no windows or lights, yet it was as bright as day. Ethan cautiously glanced around and was astonished to find that the walls were probably emitting a soft glow.
The material of this wall is probably different.
He glanced at it, and then inevitably looked at the only young man sitting to the side of the door.
She wore a magnificent white and gold robe, adorned with red and gold gemstones that draped over her shoulders, waist, and arms.
The young man had unusually white hair, and the half of his face that was exposed was pale and youthful.
Hearing footsteps approach, he put down the unadorned book he was holding, closed it, and tossed it onto the table beside him.
Lortheran entered the living room, his relaxed expression vanishing, replaced by a serious one.
The accompanying secretaries also held their breath, watching the scene intently.
Undoubtedly, this was a historic meeting. His Holiness the Pope, who had held papal authority for centuries, was receiving His Majesty the King VIII and His Highness the Crown Prince for the first time.
Their job was to record this historic meeting word for word, then draw it into a portrait and frame it in the long corridor of the royal palace's council hall.
They glanced at him cautiously and were immediately astonished to find that His Holiness the Pope was...so young.
His appearance showed no signs of aging, and he moved with nonchalance, yet his aura was already breathtaking.
Behind them stood a young man in a white robe, with black hair and green eyes, and a calm expression. They recognized him as Holy Son Sylvain, who was said to be the next pope.
But looking at the Pope's youthful appearance... will Sylvain, the Holy Son, really one day inherit the Church?
In an instant, all sorts of conspiracy theories flashed through the minds of these secretaries.
Apart from Sylvain standing behind Veris, there were four other bishops standing in the reception room: Fekris, the representative of the dwarves; Finney, the representative of the elves; Copperfield, the representative of the Royal Academy; and Granvar, the literary master who has become famous in recent years and is hailed as the father of the novel.
Veris and Lortheran had experienced similar scenes many times in the past, and the two exchanged pleasantries with great familiarity.
Veris looked young, and Lortheran also appeared young and strong.
Sylvain stood behind Veris, his gaze fixed intently on Lortheran. He hadn't missed the unspoken understanding between Lortheran and Veris.
Veris would say a sentence, and Lortheran would reflexively follow up with the next sentence without thinking, without making a single mistake, which must have been rehearsed many times.
When did this happen?
Lortheran's smile froze under Sylvain's chilling gaze.
Last night, Long suddenly knocked on his window. He forced himself to open his eyes and reluctantly received Long.
The dragon spoke urgently: "Sylvan has temporarily lost his memory... oh, no, he has temporarily lost his previous memories. Veris said that the power within him is also not very stable."
This is no small matter; Veris will definitely tell his other companions.
At this moment, Lortheran finally took his seat, sitting on equal footing with Veris, with the Crown Prince standing beside him and Sylvain beside Veris. He secretly thought to himself that he would make a quick getaway once it was over, and he would never come to the Papacy again before Sylvain regained his memories.
If Sylvain were to deliver a punch, his body would be completely ruined.
While pondering this in his heart, Lortheran remained outwardly unmoved.
He wore a reserved smile, maintaining his royal dignity. He said he had come to pay his respects to His Holiness the Pope, but neither Ethan nor his accompanying secretary expected what His Majesty the King would say during the meeting.
Hehehe, it's probably just polite small talk, exchanging pleasantries and then praising the king's achievements together, right?
But it's clear that Lortheran went to such lengths to bring Ethan along for a reason.
Soon, his reserved smile faded slightly, and he said to Veris, "Your Holiness, please calculate the astrological chart for Ethan."
Apart from Veris and Sylvain, everyone in the room looked bewildered—what is Wang Xing?
Veris had anticipated this, while Sylvain was completely unconcerned.
He smiled, raised his hand, and the entire room suddenly darkened. To the astonishment of the others, tiny sparks of starlight appeared in the gloomy environment.
I have never seen such a miracle. Even the images created by magic circles are not so dreamlike.
Countless stars filled the sky. Veris stood up and pointed to a point that was a little further away. Although the starlight was far away, it was dazzling.
He smiled and said, "Building on the past and forging ahead into the future."
Ethan stared at the point of starlight, as if sensing something. His breathing quickened involuntarily. His mind was drawn to that light, and as he stared at it, he seemed to see a distant scene—he seemed to see his own figure in the graceful light.
Those are his stars!
Veris continued, "His Highness Ethan will be a wise monarch."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other secretaries' expressions changed, and they subconsciously looked at His Majesty the King, not understanding what the Pope meant.
Even if the star shines brightly, His Majesty must never declare Prince Ethan a good monarch when His Majesty is in good health!
Isn't this just sowing discord?!
However, to the secretaries' even greater surprise, His Majesty the King showed no displeasure whatsoever; in fact, he burst into laughter.
He then asked, "How many years do you think Lor'theran can maintain his rule?"
Virist paused, looking at the smug Lortheran, his former comrade-in-arms. Lortheran noticed his brief silence.
His Majesty's smile froze slightly as he suddenly realized something. He was about to speak and tell Veris to stop talking when Veris calmly said, "At most fifty years."
The room was deathly silent.
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Author's Note: Lortheran: If I had known... I wouldn't have asked... Waaaaaa o(╥﹏╥)o
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