In her previous life, Liya had learned that one key direction in an anti-corruption investigation was to follow the financial flow.
If the cash flow was abnormal, then most likely the person or the project was abnormal.
The Empire hadn’t developed virtual currency yet, nor did it have strict accounting audits, so Liya could only use the simplest, most primitive method—following the cash flow of the donations.
Of course, just following the cash flow was still not enough.
To get a clear picture of a project’s operations, one had to go deep into the project and make judgments based on practice.
After donating that huge sum, Joen immediately proposed a small “deal.”
“In short, the four of us have long admired the Goddess and all want to become priests, to contribute to love and peace,” Joen said slowly and methodically.
The Bishop muttered to himself: Priests?
With a build like yours, you’d be better off serving the God of War.
The other two would be more suitable as nuns.
“Huh? Wait, four people?”
The Bishop suddenly noticed a blind spot.
Liya narrowed her eyes.
No matter what, having an elemental sprite become a nun was just too ridiculous, wasn’t it?
“I have her right here.”
Joen lifted Liya up like a little kitten, adorably spinning her around the room, rubbing her well-behaved head and nuzzling her.
The Bishop’s face darkened.
“Then I won’t donate.”
“—But the Goddess is merciful. She teaches without discrimination.”
The Bishop’s expression shifted instantly, putting on a kind face.
“Young man, don’t be so impatient. Hear me out, old man.”
“So can we negotiate?”
“Negotiate! We can negotiate anything, young man. Given your piety, I may write you a letter of recommendation in the future, allowing you to join the elite Holy Army of our Chapel.”
“Thank you.”
Faced with someone he didn’t like much, Joen was always economical with words.
For the sake of a thousand gold coins, Joen and the others’ church registration went unusually smoothly.
Even Liya received her own church badge, which read in small characters:
[Ya Ya. Novice Nun. Light Affinity: Pending Determination.]
“Light Affinity?”
“Yes. How can a priest of the Goddess serve without divine arts talent? Hold your badge—like this—and pray to the Goddess in your heart.”
The Bishop still wore a benevolent expression; the goodwill from the donation hadn’t worn off much.
“No rush. Take your time.”
“Fine. Failing at first is normal.”
“It’s okay. We can wait a little longer.”
After consoling them for seven or eight minutes, the Bishop finally couldn’t hold back.
He pressed his forehead and asked:
“Are you really praying?”
“I’ve already started cursing her!”
Liya threw the badge to the ground forcefully, pretending to be dissatisfied, and muttered quietly:
“Goddess chameleon, she discriminates against us pupu… fairy race.”
The Bishop corrected her:
“Watch your words! Only humans divide all things into hierarchies. The Goddess loves everyone equally. She does not discriminate against any race. We’ve even had a succubus paladin as a special case.”
A succubus paladin, for God’s sake.
Liya was speechless.
She had expected that her own prayer would receive no response from the Goddess.
After all, Shadow Demon Maive had said—Outlanders do not enter the Source.
If the Seven Demon Lords couldn’t sense her, then clearly the Four Righteous Gods couldn’t either.
Wait, if even a succubus could work, maybe a pupu could too…
But what even was a succubus paladin?
A joke?
A sudden idea struck Liya.
She pressed her badge onto Pika’s head.
Pika looked up curiously, trying to see the cold little metal piece above its head.
Liya used [Link] to guide Pika through a standard prayer.
Suddenly—the wind stopped.
The dust particles that had been floating aimlessly in the air froze mid-flight, as if time had been paused by an invisible hand.
The badge glowed with a warm radiance—not the warm yellow of mortal fire, but liquid-like, almost solid flowing gold.
Sacred Light poured out silently, violently and gently washing over the surrounding red brick walls.
Every patch of mottled shadow faded away in the light.
Low musical notes lingered in everyone’s ears—a hymn sung in unison by the light itself.
“Hiss! This is… such a pure soul, such outstanding talent!”
“The Goddess is very pleased with it!”
The Bishop’s eyes lit up.
“I knew it.”
Liya’s feelings were complicated.
The Bishop immediately issued a badge to Pika on the spot, which read:
[Pika. Novice Mount. Light Affinity: Excellent. Divine Arts Rank: Level 3. Attached to the Paladin Hall.]
And the small text on Liya’s badge was changed to:
[Ya Ya. Novice Nun. Light Affinity: Poor. Divine Arts Rank: Level 1. Attached to the General Affairs Hall.]
A mount having a higher rank than its owner—Liya had really seen it all.
Even funnier, the example was herself.
Looking further at “General Affairs Hall,” Liya had a subtle guess.
“Don’t worry. It’s a very easy job,” the Bishop explained kindly.
“Every day you just need to serve tea, pour water, and go rest in the back hall when there’s nothing to do. Of course, if a temple knight requests it, you can follow him and provide support.”
That’s just a handyman!
Liya felt a little discouraged, but soon regained her curiosity, watching the tests of the others.
Fei Bi’s divine arts talent was also terrible, only slightly better than Liya’s.
But because she was beautiful and human, she was assigned to the “Charity Hall.”
Ailita’s talent was surprisingly excellent.
It seemed the Goddess truly didn’t care about race.
Disguised as a human, Ailita was assigned to the “Holy Sisters’ Conclave,” which seemed different from ordinary nuns like Fei Bi.
Finally, it was Joen’s turn.
Liya was curious about what response Joen would get when he prayed to the Goddess.
Joen was silent for a long time, then suddenly asked the Bishop:
“Is God truly omnipotent?”
“If the Goddess were so useful, why are there still so many disasters in the world?”
“Because this is the trial God gives to humanity,” the Bishop answered with a benevolent expression.
“Then what about those who die in the ‘trials’? The suffering they endure, the humiliation they bear—what does that count for? Do they deserve it?”
“This is divine punishment in this life brought on by the sins of their past lives. As long as they persist in atonement in this life, they can obtain peace in the next life.”
As the Bishop of the Empire Capital, he had thoroughly studied the scriptures and knew exactly how to answer these questions.
Joen held his badge and was silent for a long time.
In the end, he did not whisper his prayer.
Instead, slowly, he spoke the words of the prayer clearly and loudly.
“If that’s the case… Goddess, I ask you to place all the sins of this world upon me.”
“Grant mercy to the people, grant clarity to the world.”
“Spare them from hunger, from toil, from sickness, from all the partings and sorrows of this world.”
In that instant, the badge suddenly trembled violently.
Blinding light burst from the iron crevices, like the dazzling radiance of a newborn star.
In an instant, all the light became extremely violent.
But Joen, quick of eye and hand, grabbed it tightly.
Scaldingly hot.
Then, all the light was forcibly pressed back, held still together with the badge.
After it ended, he casually toyed with the now-silent badge and smiled at the Bishop:
“Do you think this will reduce the number of people starving to death in the future?”
The Bishop couldn’t help wiping his sweat and said bluntly:
“One person’s power is too meager. Even if you atone for others, how much sin can you repay? Young man, don’t reach beyond your grasp. Doing small good deeds is enough.”
“Do you think the Goddess will agree to me?” Joen asked.
Joen had moved too fast, and the Bishop hadn’t noticed the badge’s movement with his naked eyes.
He only assumed that Joen’s prayer had no response at all.
He sighed.
In the end, for the sake of the gold coins, he gave Joen a cushy job—
“The Goddess doesn’t like those who overreach. But you have a good physique—good material for cavalry combat. I’ll assign you to the Paladin Hall for now, as a novice paladin.”
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