What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

“Yes, he invited me to join the Prophet Church. He even wanted me to become his student and be made a bishop.” Leon said.

At present, the only church that could be confirmed in advance as willing to take him in was the Prophet Church. Wilson Miller was an Archbishop, and his recommendation should carry considerable weight.

Therefore, Leon wanted to confirm with the Priest the value of the Prophet Church’s invitation.

After all, Father Auden could at least be considered a member of the Prophet Church.

“You actually managed to catch his eye to that extent? So publishing your work was his way of publicly declaring this?” Father Auden stroked his chin and sized Leon up for quite a while. “So tell me, did you hire someone to take the exam for you, or did you buy someone else’s research?”

No matter how he looked at it, he simply could not believe that the ruthless, dirty-money-making man before him could resonate with his old classmate.

That old classmate of his was a pure scholar.

“If I could so easily fool the Church’s supervision, that would be my skill,” Leon replied, having no interest in offering further explanation.

“You’re not seriously planning to switch careers into academia, are you? I can’t even imagine what you’d look like as a mathematics lecturer. As for running the business here, it’s safer for you to remain an Inquisitor.” Father Auden said, somewhat uneasy.

If this fellow stopped making dirty money, how was he supposed to profit from him?

“Of course I won’t switch careers. But my rank can be registered under the Prophet Church. It’s not as though there aren’t Inquisitors affiliated with the Prophet Church.” Leon said.

“That’s true. The current Grand Inquisitor who oversees all Inquisition institutions within the College of Cardinals is Cardinal Stuart of the Prophet Church. Incidentally, he is one of the three who hold the Miracle of Omniscience. Perhaps he was the one who approved the Supreme Investigation Warrant back then.” Father Auden remarked teasingly.

“What I want to know is how much value joining the Prophet Church would bring me.” Leon clarified his question further this time.

“That’s hard to say.” Father Auden thought for a moment before speaking. “You should know that the Prophet Church has the fewest members, yet among the Four Great Churches, its status is the highest. It’s very special.”

“After all, it serves the Supreme God, who holds the highest position.” Leon echoed.

“Did the God ever say that?” Father Auden suddenly let out a disdainful chuckle. “From beginning to end, the only ones who elevated the ‘Prophet’ to the highest position were the believers themselves.”

Leon looked at Father Auden in surprise. Such words coming from a Priest were indeed somewhat heretical.

But on second thought, this unruly Priest had always been heretical by nature.

“But the authority over time does sound like the highest rank.” Leon said.

The Supreme God, the Secret God, the Creator, and the God of War corresponded—at least from the perspective of natural philosophy—to the concepts of time, space, matter, and energy. Among these, time indeed stood apart.

“But if the Prophet Church, which worships the Supreme God, did not possess sufficient influence itself, how could it maintain such a status? By relying solely on the concepts written in the Holy Scriptures?” Father Auden countered.

“Stop keeping me in suspense. So what exactly makes the Prophet Church special?” Leon asked.

“If you study history more closely, you’ll find that since the founding of Noren, how many times has the nation experienced major events capable of altering its destiny? The great flood twelve hundred years ago, the great plague nine hundred years ago, the barbarian invasions, the Labyrinth Disaster—and then the repeated wars and dynastic changes. Within the Prophet Church, a Saint would often emerge to act as a prophet, issuing warnings to the Church and the rulers of the dynasty in advance. Some heeded the prophecy and seized their fortune. Others scoffed and paid the price.

The Four Great Churches each had periods of independent development. The other three churches rose and fell throughout history and even suffered devastating blows at times. Only the Prophet Church remained consistently stable. Looking at history as a whole, the Prophet Church always stood with the victors—or perhaps it was itself the victor.

Think about how the current royal family rose to power. When the previous dynasty ended, the four great families established their own duchies and waged war for sixty years. In the end, the Wolfgang family, with the support of Saint Astarte of the Prophet Church, defeated the other three duchies and reunified the Empire. It was said that Saint Astarte possessed the miracle of foresight and had predicted the victory of the Wolfgang family in advance.” Father Auden explained slowly.

“Did those Saints truly possess the ability to foresee the future?” Leon had heard the legends and records of Saints within the Prophet Church who could foresee the future, but he remained doubtful.

“It is said that foresight is a miracle even higher than omniscience. But who knows? Perhaps they truly could see the future. Perhaps they were merely charlatans. What is undeniable is that they controlled the course of history. The destruction of the Islander Nation three hundred years ago was also said to have been guided by Astarte of the Prophet Church—he had foretold the civil war there.

Taking such history as reference, you can imagine how much weight the words of a Pope of the Prophet Church would carry if he claimed—or was believed—to possess the power of prophecy.” Father Auden said.

“That does make sense.” Leon understood.

The Prophet Church always stood on the side of victory throughout history.

Over time, other forces naturally aligned themselves with the Prophet Church—whether the other three churches or the rulers of the dynasty.

“The Prophet Church holds the highest status, and its entry threshold is also the highest. The Prophet is the patron of scholars. His Blessing grants an unforgettable memory. Over time, the Prophet Church became a gathering place for self-important scholars and literati, and the threshold rose even higher. Eventually, it became what it is now.

Without sufficient education, you can’t squeeze into that circle. Even someone like me, merely serving as an unranked Priest, needed to graduate from a prestigious institution and possess outstanding academic ability.” Father Auden said.

“You count as academically outstanding?” Leon smiled.

“In the year we graduated from the Institute of Natural Philosophy, Wilson Miller ranked first. I ranked second. I didn’t delve deeply into other fields, but I was fairly good at mathematics.” Father Auden replied.

“Was being one rank lower enough to cost you the opportunity?”

“The third-ranked fellow became a bishop of the Creator Church—because his father was a bishop.” Father Auden said expressionlessly. “I told you. Some things are decided at birth.”

Leon could only nod. Without the Earl’s connections, he would at most have risen to the position of Deputy Director.

Though a Priest held no formal rank, in the eyes of ordinary people he was already a notable figure. For someone of common birth, that was roughly the limit in this country.

“But you’re different, Fenrir. You fought your way through. When you enter the Church, you already hold rank. You have room to rise. The Prophet Church has the highest ceiling among all the churches. The Cardinals of the Prophet Church hold the greatest speaking power within the College of Cardinals. But climbing to that position is not easy.

The internal hierarchy of the Prophet Church is highly rigid. Its mobility is the worst among the four churches. The higher positions have always been one carrot per one pit. And the Prophet Church’s Blessing—when cultivated to a high level—is said to extend a person’s lifespan greatly, much like the power of a Witch. The current Pope is already one hundred and fifty years old. There are two Cardinals around a hundred years old, and Saint Astarte reportedly lived nearly three hundred years. If he had not perished sealing the great Labyrinth of the Islander Nation, he might have lived even longer.” Father Auden continued.

“Sounds like the Prophet Church enjoys such comfort because a few old monsters are holding the fort.” Leon commented.

“If it were you, once inside the Prophet Church, you’d probably think about killing those old monsters to take their place, wouldn’t you?” Father Auden laughed.

Leon cast the Priest a complicated look.

In Father Auden’s eyes, he truly seemed somewhat unhinged.

“That’s not necessarily the only option.” Leon shook his head. “Perhaps other churches will want me.”

“Then my advice is this: choose the side where you have connections. Wilson may be a pure theoretical scholar with limited real power, but he’s still an Archbishop and has connections. Since he’s willing to recommend you now, your chances increase significantly. If the other churches don’t offer comparable conditions, you might as well choose the Prophet Church.” Father Auden said.

“That’s very pragmatic advice.” Leon nodded.

“Then I’ll go handle the paperwork for your mill. Are you going to continue inspecting the Labyrinth?” Father Auden asked.

“Of course. That was my plan for today.” Leon replied.

After completing the assessment at the Southeastern Diocese of the Empire, he had been delayed two more days by miscellaneous matters, then spent another two days on the road.

It had been quite some time since he last returned to Arend Island.

Naturally, he needed to check on the operations of the Labyrinth and reunite with Rena.

She now lived on Arend Island. Even when Leon was away, she could command her subordinates to run the Labyrinth, with demonic wolves guarding her.

They had constructed sentry posts and a simple fortress at the Labyrinth mine, and renovated one of the original mine buildings for Rena to live in—though now it could also be considered Leon’s home.

Leon was genuinely impatient to reunite with Rena.

That morning, before returning to South Harbor County to handle other matters, he had sent her a letter informing her roughly when he would be home.

At that moment, someone came running hurriedly from the direction of the lighthouse. Leon recognized him as one of his subordinates.

“Mr. Fenrir, a woman dressed as an Inquisitor is rowing toward this place!” The man approached and reported in a low voice, his expression panicked.

For these Underworld figures, the Inquisition discovering this place would undoubtedly be fatal. Father Auden also cast Leon a questioning glance.

But Leon remained calm. “Where?”

The subordinate handed him a spyglass and pointed toward the sea. “Over there. You should be able to see her from here.”

Leon walked onto the pier and looked into the distance through the spyglass. Indeed, he saw a young woman rowing a small boat toward them, dressed in an Inquisitor’s uniform.

Recognizing her face, Leon returned the spyglass. “No need to worry. She’s one of ours.”

Inquisitor Zona Mendes was a subordinate of Bishop Becket.

Since Bishop Becket held office here and was responsible for management and supervision before Leon fully assumed control, he naturally had arranged his own subordinates.

Including Zona, he had placed three Lower-Ranking Inquisitors in the Hamel Inquisition.

All of them were the Earl’s people. Leon was aware of this, and they obeyed his commands.

If Zona had come specifically to the island, it was likely that Bishop Becket had urgent business.

Leon told the Priest and his subordinates to attend to their tasks, then walked onto the pier to wait for Zona to approach.

When Zona drew near and noticed Leon, she saluted him before rowing closer at increased speed.

“What’s the matter, coming all the way here?” Leon asked, standing on the pier with his hands behind his back.

“Director Becket’s orders. You are to return to Hamel Town immediately. Bishop Weiss Rogers of the Creator Church has arrived and specifically requested to see you!” Zona replied in an official tone while standing in the boat.