"Sir, are you religious?"

"Sir, would you be interested in finding out?"

"This is our doctrine, do you have time to listen to it?"

"Sir, wait a minute!"

There was a chirping sound in my ears, and it felt like there were hundreds of Poirot grinding their teeth in my ears.

Hercule finally couldn't take it anymore, he wanted to be angry, but when he saw the girl's gentle face, he couldn't hold it back.

The girl seemed to be working part-time, but she also seemed to be a religious person, and she followed her all the way, preaching those strange beliefs.

After all kinds of entanglement, Hercule was somewhat reluctant to comply.

"Well, I'll just take a look, a moment. ”

Hercule said and took the girl's flyer, he wasn't a bastard like Lorenzo, and although the girl was annoying, he wasn't angry with her.

"Oh oh oh, that's great, my name is Liya, an Orthodox believer, here are some of our introductions, there will be a meeting in a while, would you like to participate?"

Liya introduced herself, and she seemed to have an inexhaustible vitality in her.

Hercule glanced at her, the girl looked about her age.

"Orthodox ......"

Hercule whispered the word, his eyes slightly solemn.

He had just been wandering around the Yega Theater, and with the help of the staff, he had barely learned a little about the history of the theater. It's pretty boring.

Hercule then entrusted Poirot to the staff and asked him to hand it over to Lorenzo, and then Hercule left the theater and wandered the streets, where he had no subordinates to speak of, and he had to gather intelligence on his own.

At first, it went well, from the conversation of people on the street, to the flying newspapers, to the sound of the radio, all of this was collected by Hercule, and a living world was constructed in his mind.

Hercule is the master of this world, and he travels through it, searching for the evil that lies beneath the surface and beneath the depths.

Orthodox, Pope, Rhine League, Choir......

He saw the hideous phantoms in a trance, and just as Hercule was about to reach out and touch them, Lia appeared.

Probably because of her leisurely appearance that attracted her, the girl finally found her target and killed the killer.

"So, you still have a meeting in a moment?"

Hercule asked lazily, he looked at the excited Leah, and it could be seen from her eyes that she was really serious about preaching, but what she had just said was ignored by Hercule.

"Yes, are you coming?"

Hearing Hercule's question, the girl's eyes lit up.

To be honest, this gaze made Hercule very uncomfortable, and sometimes he really couldn't tell the difference between these believers and the pyramid scheme.

"Let's go. ”

Hercule replied.

He did want to know what was going on with this so-called Orthodox Church, after all, their Pope would be killed by Lorenzo in a few days, at least before he acted, Hercule had to have a general idea of them.

"You're not from Gaulnalo, are you? The girl asked excitedly as she walked.

"Yes, Invig. ”

"Invig!"

Liya's voice was a little higher, and then she also realized her gaffe, covered her mouth, and looked sorry.

"Ingwig!"

"What's wrong with Invig?" Hercule asked, not understanding why the girl was so excited.

"I've always wanted to go to Invig, and he says it's full of steel snakes and whales that roam the sky, is that true?"

Lia asked, looking at her yearning look, Hercule remembered that this girl was still in her youth, and it was normal for her to be full of energy.

"Pretty much, I've been there for a long time, I'm used to it. ”

Considering this, Hercule said, the citizens of Old Dunling had long been "accustomed to it" as "anomalous" in the eyes of others.

"That's nice......," the girl whispered.

"What about you? How did you become an Orthodox Christian? I remember that this sect had only just appeared, why, your parents were Christians?"

Hercule asked about Leah instead, and if it weren't for family factors, Hercule couldn't understand how the girl could have come to Orthodoxy in a land full of evangelical churches.

"I ...... It's complicated to explain. Liya thought for a moment, then replied with a smile.

"My parents were shipwrecked when I was very young, and then I was raised in a welfare home, and everyone in the welfare home was an Orthodox believer, and I was that. ”

"Is that so...... Do you really believe in it? Or are you someone giving you a task? Hercule continued to ask.

"Of course, I believe it devoutly. ”

Liya replied, her voice a little hesitant, but she said again.

"At first, I really didn't believe this, everyone said that those pastors were not good people, and when the teacher died, we wanted a pastor to have Mass for him, but the pastor of the evangelical church asked for a lot of money, and we scraped together it for a long time. ”

However, Orthodoxy is different from them. ”

The girl's eyes touched Hercule, and he could see that Ria truly believed in all this.

"How is it different?"

Hercule wondered what Orthodoxy used to make people so religious.

"The Orthodox church has funded our homes, helped us repair buildings that have fallen into disrepair, provided food, and the pastors will come and give us lessons, not only theology, but also other cultural lessons. ”

Hercule was stunned.

"Every child has the opportunity to become an Orthodox priest, as long as they pass the theological exam, they do not need any proof of origin, and they do not need to donate much ...... to the church."

Under Liya's words, for a moment, Hercule actually felt a slight sense of guilt, if Liya knew that her Pope would be killed in a few days, I don't know what kind of mood this girl would have.

Fortunately, this complicated mood didn't last long, and Hercule wouldn't be affected by this kind of thing.

There is no absolute good and evil in this world, but different interests are mixed together and turned into chaotic ashes.

"Is that so? If so, I'm interested in you, and how long will it be before I get there?" asked Hercule.

"It's not far away, everyone here still believes in the Evangelical Church, and Orthodoxy is not accepted, so we can only find an inconspicuous place, a little biased, please forgive me. ”

Hearing Hercule say this, Leah thought she had succeeded in her mission, and seemed even more happy, like a fawn bouncing around.

......

Walking through the dark corridor, the cold air became a little warmer, and the sound of whispering could be faintly heard in my ears, as if someone was talking not far from here.

Hu Ao swallowed, he lowered his head and checked the location of the rally from the leaflet, looking up at the dim road that made him feel a little nervous.

No one knew why the Orthodox assembly was held here, it was dark and remote, and it was uncomfortable, and when he stopped, he could still see the iron plaque nailed to the wall, with time-corroded handwriting, and Hu Ao wiped the dust vigorously, and barely read the words on it.

This is a refuge, Juao suddenly remembered, the captain had said this before, at the end of the Glorious War, after the defeat of Gaulnalo, in order to prevent Invig from counterattacking the land of Gaulnalo, they dug a lot of shelters here in the port of Maruri, and wanted to continue the war, and this was one of them.

There was a warm breeze in the tunnel in front of him, but it couldn't warm Hu Ao's heart, he didn't know what lay ahead, but he still took a deep breath and stepped forward, and there was a faint light at the end of the darkness.

The gate slowly opened, and the noise of the crowd came to the top for a while, and Juao felt as if he was in a square, and his face was everywhere he looked.

It was a large underground hall with several long tables in the middle of the hall, and people had found their seats to sit, some still talking, others praying in chairs with their eyes closed.

No one noticed Juao's arrival, and he slowly walked into the light when a waiter suddenly stopped him.

"I'm sorry, I'm leaving......" Hu Ao was startled, but he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"There's also a location, please come here. ”

The waiter took Hu Ao's hand and said with a smile.

Juao looked at the waiter's face, it was a guy about the same as him, his body was also dirty, his face was covered with dust, but unlike himself, he was like a rat nesting in the sewer, while he was like a real person, with a powerful smile on his face.

He said no more, and let the waiter pull him to a vacant seat and take his seat.

"Hello. ”

Juao looked at the girl next to his seat, who was staring at him.

"Hello! ”

Riya replied with a smile and a friendly hand.

Hu Ao hesitated for a moment, the damn fishy smell had already penetrated deep into his skin, and he didn't want the girl in front of him to show a look of disgust.

Kleeya didn't notice any of this, she directly took Hu Ao's hand and shook it hard.

Hu Ao was stunned for a moment, and then replied with difficulty.

"Hu Ao, you can call me Hu Ao. ”

"May Orthodoxy help you, Juao. ”

Ria smiled at him, then turned her head and started chatting with the man next to her.

Hercule apparently didn't notice any of this in the noise, and he sat next to Leah, answering her perfunctorily questions about whether the iron whales over Old Dunling would fall, and where they would sleep if they couldn't......

I have to say that sitting here makes Hercule feel like he is stepping into a story, and I remember that there are always such images in those books, and there will always be a group of guys secretly having a secret meeting before some big event that changed the times.

Hercule felt that it was very similar here, and from his observations, except for a few new members, the rest seemed to be mostly Orthodox Christians, who prayed softly, one more devoutly.

It's weird, these people are too religious.

A crisp bell sounded, and for a moment all sounds disappeared.

The new members didn't know what was happening, and the believers who were whispering prayers opened their eyes.

Straight in front of the hall, a priest walked up, opened the heavy tome, and cleared his throat.

"Whoever eats my blood and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ”

He said.

Correspondingly, the believers began to whisper prayers again, and their voices converged like the tides of the sea.

The priest didn't say anything more, and the aroma of food came to his face as he gestured to the dark.

The waiters came out of the darkness and brought the prepared food and utensils to the long table one by one, and after all were served, the priest spoke again and recited the teachings, and it was like a signal of the beginning, and the faithful grabbed the utensils and devoured them in the priest's voice.

Facing the food, Hu Ao didn't make a move for a long time, not that he felt that the food was unpalatable, the things in front of him were already very exquisite, and usually he would only eat so well when his little brother was extravagant.

He just...... Just a little uneasy.

Juao remembers the first time he went to sea, when he was punched and kicked in a boat, he ate the dirtiest things, he lived in the dirtiest places, and he had to do what the storm had done to him, and in order to punish him for stealing food, they tied himself to the mast and left his life and death to heaven.

He sometimes felt that he was too unlucky to be in this situation, and Juao tried to do good when he picked up his lost wallet for a man, only to be beaten up by a thief.

It was then that Juao realized that this bad world would not give him kindness, it gave all its kindness to those noble people, and there was only infinite malice left for a guy like himself who was hiding in the shadows.

He didn't dare to eat, he didn't dare to accept this inexplicable kindness, Hu Ao was afraid that he would be blackmailed after eating, afraid that he would be beaten for using dirty dishes, but at this moment, the voice next to him sounded.

"Aren't you hungry?"

Leah looked at him, jam still on the corner of her mouth.

"No...... I just ......"

"Taste it. ”

As she spoke, Lia poked the spoon into Juao's mouth.

For a moment, Juao was terrified, he was afraid that his vision would come true, but nothing happened.

No one came out to beat themselves, and although I don't know what they ate, it tasted pretty good.

The girl laughed.

"It's the flesh and blood of the gods, and it tastes good. ”

Juao paused for a long time, then nodded.

"Then let's have some more flesh and blood of the gods. ”

Ria said as she handed her share, and the girl, like a foraging animal, walked up and down the long table, stood up and took the other portion of mashed potatoes, and then asked Hercule, beside her, where the Iron Serpent slept.

Strange feeling.

Juao had lived so long, had gone through so many bad things, he had become reserved and timid, and he had lived carefully, but in that moment, he realized that he didn't seem to have to.

With the priest's teachings still echoing in his ears, Juao looked around, relaxed, and relieved himself of the heavy heart.

Juo was a little stunned, then he slowly raised his head and looked up at the top of the hall, which was too dark for the light to reach.

It was a strange feeling, a new feeling, a feeling he hadn't experienced in all these years of life.

Maybe...... This kind of thing can be called goodwill.

Obviously underground, Hu Ao felt that there was a light sprinkled on his body, a light that had been overdue for I don't know how many years.