Next.

When the sky was just cloudy and the stars were not all gone, Ifu heard cautious footsteps outside the door, and a gentle knock on the door.

"Your Excellency, are you awake?"

She got up and opened the door, and saw Anina standing outside the door, she had already cleaned up her appearance, and the tip of her nose was still red. Although the air is not cold now, the mountain spring water is still cold, adding another decoration to her wheat-colored skin that has been smeared by the sun's rays.

"I can go at any time. ”

"Then let's go now, calculate the time, and we can arrive by midday. ”

"It seems like a long distance to you, as you usually do when you go to the base?"

At the foot of the mountain, Ifu looked at the towering mountain and Anina's thin body, and couldn't help but worry and wonder, what would the "Twelve Churches" that could give her such strong perseverance be?

"Well, when there is something to do, the priest will contact me in advance, and I will leave early the next morning, usually in the afternoon, and occasionally there will be some busy troubles in the church, so I will stay in the church or at the foot of the mountain for one night, and then go home the second time. ”

"You still have a father and young children at home, what are they going to do while you're away?"

Hearing Ifu's question, Anina lowered her head, feeling a little absent-minded about her guilt, and almost tripped over the stones under her feet.

"Heart. Ifu grabbed her just in time and pulled her back into her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. That's where I feel guilty about my family, I'm not a good daughter, I'm not a good sister, and I sometimes feel that my father is so opposed to the church and the gods, because I'm often away from home and cause trouble to my family. ”

"Nothing, let's have some fun. How long have you been a member of the Church?" Seeing the sadness on her face that did not match her age, Ifu changed the subject.

"It's going to be three years soon. ”

"When you first joined the Church, did you have that rule to eat foreign food?"

"Ah, when you think about it, it doesn't seem to be. Anina thought about the past for a moment. "I remember that the first half month of my joining the church was relatively free, but after that half a month, the priest suddenly told me to do this to me in the future. ”

"You were only a member at the time, didn't you think about quitting?"

As soon as these words came out, Anina was embarrassed as if her heart had been punctured, and her face was a little red, I don't know if it was because of the fatigue of the trek or because of her embarrassment.

"Your Excellency, I can't hide anything from you, this is also a flaw in my service to the gods, I did retreat at the beginning, but... I didn't dare to disobey her, the situation at home had already been reported to the church when I joined the church, and I was worried about what would happen to me if I quit, or something..."

Her voice grew lower and lower until only she could hear her, but soon she raised her head again and raised her voice. "But then I learned God's faith in the contact, and I'm glad I persevered, and I can assure you that no matter what happens, I won't back down again!"

"Well, I understand. Ifu smiled at her.

In order to keep Anina strong, she didn't speak again, but thought as she walked beside her.

Although she didn't know much about the Twelve Churches now, she was already almost sure that Xia Li's idea was correct.

It is true that Anina has joined the Twelve Churches, but in this stronghold in Shatania, although she is still attached to the church on the surface and acts for the church, she has quietly carried out some strange activities in private.

As the midday sun was about to climb his throne, Anina led her to a yellowed building, signaling that her destination had arrived.

It looks like an abandoned ruin, occupied by the Twelve Churches as its own stronghold, and the twelve earth-fired symbols are placed on the inconspicuous, equally earthen "door frame".

Ifu looked around, there was no one around, not only was it empty and there was nothing needed for religion, but it was not even clear that it was still in use.

"Your Excellency, please follow me. ”

Anina expertly shuttled through the labyrinthine ruins, and finally stopped in a square, which may be the center. Ifu thought to himself as he looked at the thing in front of him.

On the earthen table, which blends in with the colors of the four places, is placed on an abrupt crystal base, on which there is nothing, but judging by the shape, it must have been a round object in the past.

I saw Anina take out a wooden ball from the loose pocket of her jacket, and there were two holes in the wooden ball, she inserted those two holes into the crystal seat, and then retreated to the side with Yifu.

Then the ground shook a few times, and she saw it fall like quicksand, slowly forming a staircase—just as she had seen it in Uco before.

It's just that this time the difference is that there is no Rhine like an ice dragon below.

She closed her eyes and felt the breath, but all she could hear was a faint melody, heavy, deep and long, like the melodies of many religions.

"Divine Envoy, what's wrong with you?" Anina called to Ifu, and she opened her eyes. "See the priest in a moment, do you know what to do?"

"Naturally, you don't have to worry. She assured.

Entering the space below, as they got deeper and deeper, the light became faint, only the torches on both sides illuminated them, and in addition to the gradually blurring world, the singing voice became closer and closer.

They sang an ancient language, which they could not understand, but felt with their hearts, and the sound was like a supplication, like a mourning, and sometimes suddenly lost its emotion, and became a sacred and solemn chant.

"I wonder if the priest's song can be conveyed to the gods?"

"Well, but more than one of them is singing, and some of them seem to be confused. ”

"So you already know. She looked at Yifu with a wry smile, but in the dim light, she couldn't really see her expression.

They did not speak again, but walked out of the narrow passage as they were guided by the song.

Perhaps because I had seen enough of the repetitive and monotonous scenery on the road just now, I still felt shocked when I walked into the glimmer and saw the church decorated with olives.

The walls are flanked by staircases on which many women in long white or red dresses are standing.

There was a crack on the board that I don't know whether it was made or artificial, and through the crack, a ray of light like a galaxy sprinkled down and fell on the milky white goddess statue that was 100 meters high.

And in front of the statue of the goddess were two women, who sang a hymn in front of the statue, and the sound of the voice was enough to reverberate through the stronghold.

At this moment, even Yifu somewhat believed that the gods they served might really exist.