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Thousands of miles away in the kingdom of Hori, the royal capital is Havenlight.

A gentle breeze blows through the corridors of St. Peter's Basilica, and flowers and plants sway in the wind. Warm sunlight shines through the dome and on the stained glass windows, refracted into a warm beam of light, and falls into a small chapel deep in the church, where the floor of the chapel is outlined in different light spots.

In this dimly lit hall, there were three people standing.

The bishop, dressed in spotless crimson robes, stood on the podium. Beside him, a black-clad priest was whispering something to him. In the corner of the hall, a young man in white stood leaning against the wall, stunned.

After a while, the priest seemed to finish reporting the message to the bishop, nodded, saluted the boy again, and then turned and left the hall.

The sound of the door slamming shut was very clear in the quiet hall.

"Benjamin. Suddenly, the bishop spoke, calling to the boy in the corner.

The boy seemed to be still in a trance, and did not respond to the bishop.

"Benjamin, what are you thinking?" the bishop said, but instead of showing a hint of impatience, he said calmly, "it's been so long, and you should get used to the name." ”

The boy came back to his senses, looked at the bishop, thought for a moment, and said, "When will I be able to use my old name again?"

The bishop smiled and replied, "It's all your mother's painstaking work so that you can grow up undisturbed. Later, when you're strong enough to no longer fear the nobles' cold arrows, you'll be able to use any name you want. ”

The boy looked a little dissatisfied: "I already have great power. All the nobles in the entire royal capital, I can destroy them all with divine magic, why should I care about their thoughts?"

"Because you can't kill everybody. The bishop's voice was as calm as ever, "You need them, you need their support, you need your good name among the people, you need them to command the tenant farmers, you need to pay tribute, and you need their money to maintain the army and the huge expenses of the paladins." Great power is not about how many people you can kill, but how many people you can make to serve you. ”

Hearing this, the young man's eyes flickered, and he opened his mouth as if he was about to argue something, but swallowed the words back.

“...... Teacher, you've said this to me many times. After a long time, he held back such a sentence, as if he couldn't think of any way to refute it, but he was a little angry, and refused to put on a posture of being humbly taught.

The bishop watched him quietly, holding the thick Bible in his hands, as if he were looking at him in the shoes of someone else.

Seeing this, the young man looked away stupidly and did not speak.

There was silence for a while.

"Grant. Suddenly, the bishop spoke, his voice like a cello slowly played, "Do you want to know that he just came to me to tell me something?"

Hearing this, Grant hesitated for a moment, but still chose to nod.

But in his heart, he suddenly felt a little confused.

Ever since Benjamin was burned at the stake in his place, he has never been called "Grant" again. The bishop insisted that this was to get him used to it and not let the other nobles find out that something was wrong.

He didn't know why the bishop had changed his mind at this moment.

"He's here to report on the situation at the Crusade gate. "The queen of Ikor has secretly withdrawn from the army, so we have reoccupied the gate, and there will be no more accidents." ”

Hearing this, Grant nodded expressionlessly and said, "The country is safe, it's good news." ”

"That's all?" said the Bishop's calm tone, as if there was a hint of disappointment, "why did the enemy retreat, why did we easily retake the gate, what do you think?"

Not again......

Grant suddenly felt a pang of boredom.

"They withdrew because we had provoked a coup d'état in the capital of Ikor and they had to withdraw their troops. Still, he took a deep breath and replied casually.

"It's just a superficial story. But the bishop shook his head, and said, "I've taught you so long, and you can only see these things?"

Grant lowered his head, like a stubborn child still in the rebellious period, and did not speak.

As a result, the entire parish fell silent.

There was silence for a while, and finally, the bishop gave up his wordless stalemate and spoke again.

"Ikor will withdraw his troops because they didn't come to the gate in the first place. "For fifty years, we have been secretly infiltrating the Empire, laying chess pieces in preparation for future subversions, especially since the establishment of Ikor Empire. Aware of this, the queen of Ikor deliberately led her troops and left the capital, as if she was going to attack the gate of Crusade. But from the very beginning, she just wanted to lure our pawns out so that she could clear the portal and calm her internal worries. ”

Hearing this, Grant finally raised his head.

After thinking about it, he asked: "If that's the case, why are we still carrying out a coup d'état in Ikhor?"

"Because we have to retake the Crusade Gate. "This is a deal that has been set for a long time, and if we want to get it back, we have to sacrifice something. Accordingly, Iker was able to clean up our pawns, but also missed the opportunity to capture the gate. ”

Hearing this, Grant was silent for a while, and suddenly said, "It sounds like our loss is relatively large." ”

The Bishop nodded.

"Because the accident is on us, it's all just a stop-loss measure. He looked at Grant with some kind of anticipation in his eyes, "But we don't need to pull all the forces to carry out a coup d'état. With proper handling, after Ikor cleans up, we will only lose some of our pieces, and they may not even be able to find half of the undercover agents. ”

After a pause, he continued: "The key to the matter is not a coup d'état or an attack on the gate, but how to obtain more subtle benefits in the details of this transaction. It is very difficult to climb to the sky in one step, and only by accumulating advantages in one exchange after another can you ensure that you become stronger and stronger. ”

Although the bishop's tone and expression were as calm as usual while speaking, for some reason, being stared at with such a calm gaze, Grant felt a sense of oppression inexplicably in his heart.

For a moment, he didn't even feel like he was breathing.

"Teacher...... Why are you telling me this?" And so, under the influence of the oppression and avoidance mentality, he felt that he had asked a stupid question.

"Because, before you can become a chess player, you have to know the rules of the game. The bishop did not care, but turned around and looked up at the fresco of the Holy Spirit in the vault, "One day, you will become the new pope." But unfortunately, you are still running away from the gift that God has given you. Your magical abilities are already stronger than mine, but you haven't learned how to use them yet. ”

Hearing this, Grant also fell into a long silence. Like a bishop, he raised his head and looked up at the intricate frescoes, but he looked confused and complicated.

It was as if there was a sense of sacredness descending on this shadowy church, enveloping the two of them together, causing them to fall into a prayer-like silence.

Long......

For a moment, Grant seemed to be dripping on his forehead with droplets, and his eyes suddenly became clear. He looked back at the bishop and spoke quietly: "So, is this the reason why Bishop White, who was stationed at the gate, escaped from the siege of the mage, but died of serious injuries and 'regret'?"

For some reason, his tone became extremely firm at this time, and even a little provocative, as if ...... The bishop had lost his sense of oppression in his eyes.

However, the bishop turned around, and instead of being angry, he smiled somewhat reassuringly.

"You learn fast. "Bishop White is a good man, but he is too paranoid about some things. He had begun to suspect the news of the Pope's retreat, so I had no choice but to take the opportunity to get rid of him in order to maintain the stability of the Church. ”

Hearing this, a faint smile also appeared on the corner of Grant's mouth.

Their gaze met in the center of the hall through the light reflected by the glass windows, like the son's first eye contact with his father after he became independent from home.

Half a day.

As if thinking of something, Grant withdrew his gaze and suddenly asked, "What about ...... What would he do if a piece that was out of control wanted to join the game?"

Hearing this, the bishop narrowed his eyes slightly, and his peaceful eyes seemed to become sharp at a certain moment.

"He's going to make accidents and then he's going to get crushed in the accidents he creates. He replied coldly, "Or...... In an accident, there is a 1 percent chance of hitting the sky. ”