They stood in front of a huge square marble church which had towers and domes and it looked incredibly beautiful and expensive. She wondered how much it had cost to build it.
When they went inside there was a large hall where bookshelves were placed on each side. They were all filled with books that looked like they had dust on them. It was understandable that after 10,000 years it would look like this. She went to the nearest bookshelf which was on the left and saw a lot of thick dark blue books that had a red ribbon around them. They looked a bit like an encyclopedia and there was something ancient and beautiful about it. There were far too many books, and it would be noticed if she took them all.
"Are they all skill books?” she asked because otherwise she wouldn't take them.
"Yes, as I said they don't care, and the church doesn't care since no one looks after them. Look at all the dust they attract.” Fergus replied.
Lily grew greedy again when she heard his words because it was music to her ears.
She quickly ran around and took all the books from shelves and used the Wind Walker to reach the highest ones. When she finished, she had a smile on her face and felt she had accomplished something great.
Fergus couldn't understand her reaction and said, "I've never seen someone so happy to steal useless things."
"All books have value even those that are seen as trash but in the eyes of others it can be a treasure chest," said Lily and giggled.
"come let's go outside." but as she was about to turn around she heard a man say, "Excuse me miss but I noticed you took all the books."
Lily's ears immediately turned red again but was not ashamed and turned around.
There stood a young guy dressed in white priest clothes and he had a white priest hat on. He looked a bit like a pope, but his clothes didn't look expensive enough.
"Greetings, almighty priest. Do you want the books back?” she asked.
The man cleared his throat and replied, "There is someone who would very much like to meet you."
Lily had heard that phrase before and knew what awaited her because it was another insane old man just like the Elder Mage Grimwald .
"No t..." but before she could refuse, she heard a voice:
You have received an audience with Pope Xystus. Cannot be rejected
Damn, she cursed again.
What the hell was wrong with all these crazy people who were either deities or humans.
"Show the way." she said, sighing, following the young priest.
They went through a lot of rooms and even past a crypt that had stone coffins. She was reminded of the old churches she had visited when she was in Italy, and it was nostalgic.
After 5 minutes they arrived in a gaudy large hall and a gold altar at the other end.
When they got there, she saw various white statues of goddesses and gods that she did not know and wondered where Jesus had been put. She remembered that there was always a Jesus hanging on the cross. She wondered if it really was a Holy Church as Fergus said.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
There stood a man with his back to them dressed in white papal clothes with golden threads and a white papal hat. When they came to him, he turned around and she saw he was dressed in red underneath. She could see his brown hair sticking out and was surprised that he was not an ancient stutter but instead a middle-aged handsome man. He held a long gold staff in his right hand which she recognized as a ferula.
" Greetings young miss. Thank you for accepting my audience.” said the Pope, smiling at her.
Lily wanted to scream at him because it was a huge lie. He had forced her in here with the system and wanted to strangle him but held the mask.
"Greetings, holy man. What can I do for you?" she said, bowing to him.
"I saw that you were interested in my books that no one has touched for over 10,000 years." replied the Pope.
"I see them as the most sacred and had planned to polish and care for them when I got home." Lily lied.
When the Pope heard her, he said, "I knew you were the right one for the job." and smiled.
He looked at the young priest and nodded and the priest left them.
A moment later he came back with a red velvet pillow where a gold artifact that looked like The Holy was Grail was placed, but she had already given it to the men to save the unique.
What the hell was that?
It could only be a copy because there was only one Holy Grail in the world, and it could not be copied because it was the most holy in the world.
The priest stood next to the Pope who said, “Since you see them as the most holy thing, I know you will take good care of this one. This is The Holy Grail, but it's broken, and my old friend promised to fix it. Can you hand it to him?”
When Lily heard The Holy Grail, she knew instantly that the one in front of her was the real thing so that meant her system was making copies so why did the man who saw it accept it. Could it be that humans have no eyes and cannot see what is real or fake?
Since it was The Holy Grail, it was the most holy artifact in the world, and she would be punished by the church if anything happened to it.
The church wanted to blacklist her and put a bounty on her head, so it was suicide to accept it. She wasn't stupid after reading the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor where he also got a Quest that he couldn't refuse.
Wait a minute, she looked at the Pope but saw his face hadn't changed and he didn't look like an old sneaky man like Elder Mage Grimwald. After all, he was the Pope so he wouldn't fool her, and he had manners.
She smiled at him kindly and said nicely, "I would like to help you but unfortunately I don't have time my holy almighty pope."
To her horror, she heard a voice:
You have agreed to bring The Holy Grail to Hephaestus for Pope Xystus.
She wanted to strangle him and stared at him evilly and suddenly saw that he was smiling widely. It looked like his smile could heal all the world's suffering, but in her eyes, she saw an evil man laughing loudly at her mockingly. It was another trap she had stepped into.
Were all deities this sneaky or was it just the old men?
Fine, she could just scold him like she did with Elder Mage Grimwald.
"You are a disgrace to God and your perfect ass should not be in your position. You should be ashamed of yourself for taking advantage of my kindness as I am an innocent virgin. I haven't met the right man yet and you as a pope with the highest position have taken advantage of me in the cruelest way. How dare you. I will curse you forever.” she scolded, pointing at him.
“I thank you with all my heart and could never thank you enough. God bless you." he said, showing his beautiful white teeth that looked like shining pearls.
Argh, he ignored her words on the spot. He was the biggest asshole of a pope she had ever met. She had never met the Pope but her first impression was sunk to the ground.
She was about to be blinded by the sneaky fox's teeth and quickly took The Holy Grail and quickly walked out. She was afraid of running into more crazy old men who would use her as a messenger like Iris or Hermes.
As they stood outside the church Fergus looked at her with admiration because she had met the Pope himself as no one had ever met before.
"How do you do that?" he asked curiously.
Lily thought he was referring to her cursing and replied, “It takes practice. I can probably teach you some words when I have time. I am a master at it.”
Wow, admiring her even more, Fergus smiled widely and said, "I'm looking forward to it because you obviously have experience."
If he could communicate with a deity, he would receive unique items. He had to cling to her whether she wanted it or not.
"I will probably teach you so that you will be as good as me and with your personality you can surpass me." Lily praised herself, smiling with pride.
"Miss, where do you want to go now?" Fergus asked humbly.