I could see the astonishment of High Priest Tianle as he repeatedly looked back at me and then at the records. As much as I wanted to hide the fact that I knew beforehand what was the meaning behind the undecipherable text in Alkef's records, I may not be able to control my facial expressions enough to hide the devastation I feel.

The Church of Hure values [The True Pacifist] to such a degree that they would offer anyone anything as long as long as they could convince the person who carries such a [Blessing] to join the Church. The last known instance of this was around two centuries ago where the Church of Hure was made to abandon the Fort City Mollienus as long as the then invading Macuo Empire would allow their second prince, who was born with [The True Pacifist], to become part of the Church of Hure.

"Terpet... your nephew, he-"

High Priest Tianle was about to say something, but seeing the expression in my face, he may now know that I actually knew all along.

"So, you were aware?"

I kept silent, but then I heard a deep sigh, which made me look firmly at the High Priest.

"I can understand where your reservations come from."

He then approached me and placed the [Sphere of Truth] in my hands.

"My time as an apprentice in the Church of Hure was not kind as well."

Indeed. This may be a church devoted to healing the sick and injured, but it's no longer the welcoming and kind church it was known back then. Decades of unfit leaders of this church had slowly corroded and corrupted it. Although this corruption may not be seen in the perspective of outsiders, any of the more involved members of the church could see the problems within it. One of such problem is its monopoly in high-tier [Support Arcana]. The Church of Hure actively sought to acquire all high-tier [Support Arcana] tomes scattered all across the world.

Offering various riches to those who previously possessed them, the church successfully now owns all known high-tier [Support Arcana] tomes, and those who would want to learn them are required to become a high-level members of the Church of Hure. With this monopoly, demand for priests and priestesses of the Church of Hure sky-rocketed, and without a competition, the cost for hiring them was incosistently burdensome; with an exorbitant amount of donations from the followers of Goddess Hure, as well as the profits due to services provided by the priests and priestesses of the church, corruption grew. This kind of situation also brewed a competitive atmosphere within the academies owned by the Church of Hure; creating factions within the academies and internal strifes that shouldn't even exist.

The church had slowly molded from the virtuous symbol of health and prosperity into a symbol of greed and bureaucracy. Although the church continues to perform charitable healing services, their overall operation is more of a business now.

Noticing my silence, High Priest Tianle continued.

"But Terpet, you may not have considered this as well. Alkef could be the salvation of the Church of Hure."

I was surprised by what the High Priest said.

"What do you mean, High Priest?"

"Have you forgotten the rise of Saint Exconde Macuo?"

The Second Prince of Macuo Emprire, Exconde Macuo, had a kind disposition and was originally intended to join the Church of Hure, but his father, Emperor Macuo, used this as an opportunity to force the Church of Hure to abandon Fort City Mollienus that heavily relied on the church's aid to heal those injured in battle. Although that incident casted a great shadow over the reputation of the Church of Hure, the former prince that then became known as Saint Exconde Macuo took it upon himself to oppose his father's tyranny. He led the Church of Hure to the next targets of Emperor Macuo's conquest and assisted his father's enemies by healing their injured soldiers and boosting them with high-tier [Support Arcana] of various kinds. This led to the eventual annihilation of Macuo Empire's grand army, and, unexpectedly, Macuo Empire's downfall.

When Saint Exconde's critics spread the word of his direct assistance to the downfall of the Macuo Empire, he proudly faced these criticisms. When they called him an unfilial son and the true murderer of his own entire family, he did not deny these words and embraced them. He said that he would do anything so long as he could stop the further deaths of the innocent. He did not care what the people thought of him, and all that mattered to him were the people who could breathe once again and calm their hearts now that the looming fear of war and death was no more. Eventually, those who criticized him were called warmongers and rumors spread that they were actually in alliance with demons; the very beings that the Church of Hure would do anything to eradicate. The reputation of the Church of Hure was elevated once more despite its temporary fall from grace, and with the saint subsequent achievements, it even grew higher; leading the Church of Hure back then once known only as one of the many churches of faith in Daxtrion Kingdom to the now prominent church it is today.

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"Do you mean for Alkef to become the second Saint Exconde?"

"Possible, or he might even be better and become the second Saint Lecina Solanious. He might be the one who can cure the corruption in this church."

"You expect too much from my nephew, High Priest. He is just a child."

"A child with unlimited potential! Ten Blessings! Who knows what those nine other blessings are? [The True Pacifist] is enough for him to become the most desired person of the Church of Hure and having nine other [Blessings] would possibly make the church go crazy to acquire him. Alkef eventually having to deal with the church is inevitable and it would be best for his future to have a good relationship with the church."

"That may be true, sir. But we can't just force this upon Alkef or his parents."

"That is also true, Terpet. In fact, I also have my reservations on suggesting this as well. But you must also think about what Alkef could do as a saint of the Church of Hure. Saint Exconde died exactly two hundred and seven years ago. Although he left a glorious legacy for the Church of Hure, no one had managed to meet the standard he had set since. No one has been appointed as a saint of the Church of Hure for almost two centuries."

The saint is technically not the leader of the Church of Hure but rather the duly appointed 'leader' is the Grand Bishop of the Church of Hure, Elisha Ariel Octapenia.

Although Grand Bishop Octapenia sought to fix the internal issues of the church, she could not do so due to the corruption already having deeply embedded itself within the system of the church. To attempt to eradicate the corruption would lead to the implication of various nations, the death of many innocents, and the destruction of the Church of Hure. Thus at most, the only thing Grand Bishop Ocatapenia could do is to find ways to mitigate the harm that the corruption of the church could bring as well as punish offending members of the church that are caught in the act by the public, or so the rumors say.

That is why the Church of Hure needs a saint. A saint that can create a miracle even if the church's reputation plummets. A saint that could unite, not only the members of the church but as well as the followers. A figure and leader that does not need the physical church to carry and guide the followers of Hure. Ever since those damnable mortal supremacists started to actively hunt down beings from a higher realm, Goddess Hure no longer attempted to descend despite our requests. Thus, only a saint could help the church now.

"I also share the same concerns as you, sir. As a priest of the church myself, I am aware and have witnessed these problems, and I may even support you on your suggestion. But this is my sister's son. My nephew. I fear that he may face danger when becomes too involved with the church..."

I would've also wanted the church to become truly righteous once again, but I will not endanger a member of the family to achieve it.

"Terpet... you might be underestimating your nephew too much. Think about his current condition. In the future, surely the church won't be the only organization that would be chasing after him. He has ten [Blessings] and if any of the currently locked ones are revealed to be an important [Blessing] for a particular faction or organization, then even more problems may befall him."

"That is..."

High Priest Tianle does have a point. Alkef's physique alone is a marvel enough that those radicals who want to claim the superiority of the human race would do anything to obtain him. In fact, Alkef may be the beginning of a new species of elf or human, depending on which faction he may end up affiliating with. Also, not only the Church of Hure would seek him for [The True Pacifist] but other nations and churches who want to make use of him. And his still locked [Blessings]... the possibilities are indeed limitless. My earlier stance started to waver as I start to realize the various circumstances involving Alkef.

"So you understand now, right? The Church of Hure is the best choice, and it's the safest choice. Because not only does he have a relative that is affiliated with it, but also that he will certainly be cherished and protected by the church. By establishing his affiliations early, those who later discover him will be reluctant to do anything to him."

"Now that you say that... I have no choice but to concede."

I really did not consider that possibility. By delaying the church's discovery of Alkef, I may have also endangered him in the future. Although I may have my misgivings with the current state of church, it would certainly be not as worrying if compared to another organization, where not a single one of his relatives are affiliated with, suddenly discovering Alkef and desiring to take him. The High Priest then grabbed me by my right shoulder, snapping me from my thoughts.

"Then you know what you must do."

"Indeed, I have to convince Alkef and his parents to consider making Alkef an apprentice."

"Correct. But do it discreetly. It's also a blessing in disguise that only I was able to read Alkef's records. If someone else who was actually an agent of another organization were to have learned of this, then they would certainly try and kidnap Alkef."

"Truthfully sir, I actually intended to report Alkef's [Sphere of Truth] as malfunctioning to somehow prevent his immediate discovery."

"And it's a good thing I was curious enough to check on his records before you succeeded in doing so. Maybe this was all through the guidance of Goddess Hure."

"It might as well be."

I could've made a grave mistake, but it seems that Goddess Hure still watches over us. Now, I have to wait for sister to call me through the [Comco] and request for my visit. Forgive me sister for thinking this, but I hope and pray to Goddess Hure that Alkef collapses soon, for his sake.