Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 948: Chapter 192: On the Matter of Faith

The eyes, red as blood, were now observing the hospital morgue in this City of God.

Lucifer knew the origin of this servant before him and was quite curious, “Generally, summonings have a tendency. Although I know that using a large amount of despair and the Breath of Death as a medium usually summons servants inclined towards the Undying, I did not expect Queen Vera to respond to this summoning. Truly, I’m a bit flattered.”

“At this level of summoning, why not.” The woman with the red short spear responded calmly, “The King of Hell is nearly at the end.”

Lucifer shrugged, “Back then, among the many mythologies that signed this summoning contract, as the Guardian of the Shadow Realm, weren’t you the most top-notch… A person who can kill gods, claiming the Power of a demigod, Undying.”

The woman holding the short spear didn’t continue, but suddenly furrowed her brows: “The Contract is somewhat unstable. My advent requires the summoner to incessantly provide Power, but the source of the power channel is dry. Lucifer, have you perhaps been sealed?”

Lucifer then opened her hands, revealing an elusive shackle appearing on her hands and neck—a chain connecting to the void.

“Firstly, this.” Lucifer said calmly, “Gabriel’s Holy Artifact, the Shackles of Order, can you break it?”

“I’m sorry, I’m powerless. Gabriel’s rank is the same as yours, and under the Protection of that existence’s brilliance, I cannot unlock her Holy Artifact.” The Queen of the Shadow Realm shook her head.

Lucifer wasn’t much bothered. After all, she wasn’t some small character in the world beyond the City of God, but someone who could make decisions whether in heaven before or in Hell now, so her mind was naturally aware.

“What about the other?” Lucifer asked suddenly.

The Queen of the Shadow Realm slightly furrowed her brows, stared at Lucifer’s body seriously, and after a long time, abruptly raised the dark red spear in her hand, thrusting fiercely at Lucifer!

However, the gunpoint of the dark red short spear was blocked by something at the moment it was about to pierce Lucifer’s forehead—at the same time, around Lucifer’s body, came the sudden sound of chains Sliding.

These chains gleamed coldly, distinct from the chains on Gabriel’s Holy Artifact “Shackles of Order.”

They quickly wrapped around the dark red short spear of the Queen of the Shadow Realm the moment they appeared!

“This is…”

The Queen of the Shadow Realm was surprised, quickly withdrew the short spear, then looked at Lucifer gravely, and after a while, she slowly said, “Oh Queen of Hell, who exactly have you offended… such a level of the Power of Destiny has been imposed.”

“At most, it can only be said to be an unintended offense.” Lucifer said nonchalantly, “But since it can’t be broken, it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t expecting too much in the first place.”

The Queen of the Shadow Realm nodded, then withdrew the dark red short spear.

Lucifer then said, “I cannot provide you with Power now, so the issue of sustaining the consumption can only be left for you to solve. Although you’re the highest-level servant, aiding the summoner in trouble is also your own duty.”

“The Breath of Death has decreased in this hospital.” The Queen of the Shadow Realm shook her head, saying indifferently, “It seems the master who summoned me isn’t much better than trash.”

“Hahaha!” Lucifer suddenly laughed, “Under heaven and earth, not many dare to call me trash… Queen of the Shadow Realm, aren’t you afraid that one day I’ll regain my Power and take your body from ancient Contract, and play with it wantonly?”

The Queen of the Shadow Realm looked expressionlessly at Lucifer, then slowly retreated until finally disappearing into the shadows.

Lucifer smiled slightly then moved her neck—knowing that the Queen of the Shadow Realm hadn’t left, but hidden, ready to appear when summoned.

Lucifer then surveyed around, suddenly muttered, “Hmm, after the summoning, there are some leftovers, maybe I’ll use them to craft some little trinkets?”

…

On the rooftop of the hospital, the Queen of the Shadow Realm stood atop the railing, gazing at this ‘City of God.’

Typically, souls like hers, summoned under an ancient Contract, would be infused with a vast amount of knowledge about the City of God upon crossing over, allowing them to fully adapt to this era.

The Queen of the Shadow Realm then slowly sighed, whispering the name “Cu Chulainn… is this the world you reincarnated into, this third City of God…”

…

…

…

…

Life’s uncertain fate.

Ann finally came back to her senses; this should be the most delightful news for Charlotte recently—though after hearing about Mr. Isam, Ann was silent for a while.

Later, when the Priest from the local church learned of Ann’s recovery, he specifically came from the church, accompanied by another nun, roughly in her forties.

The Priest also brought another piece of news.

“Hoping I could stay here?” Ann was somewhat surprised looking at this Priest from the Great Church, slightly confused and furrowing her brow.

The Priest smiled and said, “Ann, given your current body condition, we believe you staying here would be more appropriate… Do not worry about the monastery there, we have already selected personnel to take over for you. They will arrive in a few days.”

Ann glanced at Charlotte, noticed her tensely clutching the hem of her garment, and gave a reassuring glance, then nodded and said, “Since this is the church’s decision, I have no complaints. But this child has been watched by me from her youth, she hasn’t graduated from here yet. Can’t Charlotte stay as well?”

The Priest then laughed heartily, “Of course, Ann, your recovery will take a lengthy period, how could you be without someone to take care of you? Rest assured, we have long prepared, a dormitory for Ms. Charlotte is set as well.”

“That’s truly wonderful.” Ann smiled slightly.

The Priest then looked at Charlotte and said, “Charlotte, regarding your growth, Ann has always kept a record for us… Considering your performance over the years, I formally request you, would you be willing to temporarily study at the church here?”

“I… can I?” Charlotte was stunned, feeling a sense of disbelief.

Studying at the Great Church here means she might be assigned to a new place in the future, perhaps managing a monastery… Ann came from this Great Church back then, but these years remained in the monastery where she grew up.

“There’s nothing impossible,” the Priest chuckled, “As long as you have the confidence, and are willing to work hard for this confidence without giving up halfway, success will not forsake you.”

“But Ann, I’m afraid…”

“Charlotte, since the Priest has already said this, you should accept it,” the elder nun smiled and said, “As for whether you can actually do it or not, that will have to wait until you try.”

Charlotte gritted her teeth and finally nodded, “Alright then, I’ll rely on you from now on, Priest.”

The Priest still had a kindly smile on his face, but suddenly his smile became somewhat rigid—there had always been a little girl in this room.

From the moment he came in, he had noticed the presence of this little girl, but for some reason, he involuntarily avoided the girl’s gaze.

“Speaking of which, who is this child?” The Priest finally asked.

“She is…” Charlotte started to speak.

But the elder nun quickly took over, “This child was entrusted to me by a devoted follower of our Lord. Her parents are no longer around, so I have been caring for her.”

“Oh, I see,” the Priest nodded, “No worries, since that’s the situation, let her stay here with us. The accommodations we provide for Charlotte are spacious enough for the child as well… Now, nun, I’ll take my leave, I have matters at the church that need attending.”

“It’s not anything urgent, I hope?” Suddenly, the elder nun asked, “Priest, I noticed you seemed a bit worried when you came in?”

The Priest sighed and shook his head, “It’s not exactly a big issue, but not a minor one either. If handled poorly, it could have quite an adverse impact.”

“This…” The elder nun was momentarily stunned.

Meanwhile, the nun beside the Priest sighed, “Nun, you might not know. Recently, a strange church has appeared in the area, causing some of our followers to change their faith… Just today, several devoted brothers expressed their intention to leave. The Priest is rushing back to see if he can persuade them.”

“Such a thing happening?” The elder nun opened her mouth in surprise, “What kind of church could possibly…”

The elder nun’s words stopped abruptly, because she knew if she continued, what she would say could be seen as blasphemy.

“We don’t know either, it suddenly appeared,” the Priest smiled wryly, “We only know it’s called ‘Baji Divine Religion.’ This church has a Messenger of God who can bring people miracles… likely some kind of trick. We’ve reported it to the local police, but every time it ends without any resolution… I truly wish they’d do something quickly.”

Lucifer, who was yawning in the corner, suddenly looked over.

She just heard something… Baji Divine Religion??

…

…

“Could you… eat a bit slower?”

In a high-end restaurant, Bucky looked helplessly at Cage, who was wolfing down food—could this guy have starved to death in a past life?

How many peculiar looks had come their way in this upscale restaurant? If it weren’t for the club-provided mask altering his face appearance, Bucky would have felt like burrowing into a hole.

“Boss Kiba! You have no idea! I haven’t even had time to eat!”

Cage started speaking animatedly, “I rushed overnight to the village of that small nun you had your eyes on, asking about her door-to-door, then hurried back without a break, only catching a nap in the car, and didn’t even buy a burger at the roadside diner!”

“Stop, no need to report everything in between,” Bucky interrupted, “Just tell me what you’ve found out.”

Cage said, “The small nun’s name is Charlotte. She was abandoned at the doorstep of the monastery and then adopted. She’s not even eighteen yet. Boss Kiba, you know these nuns, I bet this Charlotte is a pure woman, haha!”

“That’s all?” Bucky frowned.

Cage said hesitantly, “These two nuns, big and small, usually stay inside the monastery and rarely come out. They only show up at the village market when they need to buy some daily necessities, so what people know is really limited… They all say Charlotte is a kind child, but being a nun, she can’t be ruthless, can she? Oh, by the way, I just saw on the church’s Facebook that Charlotte seems set to stay in the local chapel for further study.”

“Staying here?” Bucky was taken aback, then suddenly delighted, since if Charlotte were to return, it would be very inconvenient for him—he couldn’t spend all his time traveling back and forth.

“Hold on!” Bucky suddenly sensed something wrong then looked at Cage, who was eating spaghetti, “What did you just say? Church’s Facebook?”

Cage nodded with a mouthful of spaghetti.

“Why do you have a church Facebook account?” Bucky asked curiously.

Cage slurped the spaghetti and said, “Because I’m a church member, and church members follow each other. What’s there to be curious about?”

“You… you’re actually a believer?” Bucky was incredulous, “My God… a person like you actually has faith?”

Cage smiled awkwardly, “Actually, it’s just in name. Boss Kiba, you don’t know, posing as a church member comes with several perks. For instance, during personnel evaluations, being a church member gets you bonus points. Last time I was locked up because of Boss Bucky, the church actually helped get me out sooner. But honestly, I’m considering switching affiliations lately. Anyway, now that I’m with Boss Kiba, continuing as a member feels inappropriate.”

“Switch affiliations?” Bucky rolled his eyes. This guy was a classic case of benefiting whichever way the wind blows—even using “switch affiliations” to describe changing faith was unheard of.

“Boss Kiba, you don’t know?” Cage spoke earnestly, “Of course to ‘Baji Divine Religion’! It’s currently the hottest and richest church! I’ve heard simply joining gets you a big gift package from the church worth tens of thousands!”

Something from way back… Bucky was puzzled, how come even he didn’t know?

However…

Bucky sternly looked at Cage, “Switch affiliations! Everything is good now! Who says we can’t believe in Jesus while being out in society! Haven’t you heard of a big shot called Heavy Cannon? He’s actually a priest! No switching!”

“But the gift package…”

“Will these be enough!”

Bucky, affluent and assertive, directly tossed a thick wad of cash onto Cage’s face, “Go to church every day, get close to Charlotte, and then introduce her to me! If you do it well, I’ll drown you in money!”

“Oh oh oh oh… Amen!!”

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PS: This is to make up for February 4th yesterday.