The Pope seemed to expect the receptionist words, placing the raw egg into his mouth, he said, “If it was that simple, then why would someone fear death?”

The receptionist stared blankly at the Pope, covering her eyes, she inquired, “You fear death?”

The Pope looked outside the small inn, as his youthful features became emphasize under the sun, the Pope said solemnly, “Unless they are someone insane, who doesn’t fear death.”

The receptionist pointed her finger to herself in a nonchalant manner.

The Pope covered the sunlight touching his face with the sleeves of his white robe and said, “Then you must have gone insane after so many years living in this inn.”

The receptionist did not become offended, her apathetic face remaining unchanged.

The Pope suddenly grew bitter, lifting himself off the seat, he exclaimed, “See, eight thousand years ago, you would have become outraged over these words, but now, you’ve become so aloof.”

The receptionist supported her head with one of her arms, becoming confused as she asked, “I have not changed much over eight thousand years ago, at most I’ve become calmer.”

The Pope sat down once more into his chair, his face, despite still retaining it childlike characteristics, aged many years. “We need to be more vigorous, without any energy, I can only sit in the Holy See and wait for my death.”

The receptionist said emotionless, “Then making yourself appear younger will not do much good.”

The Pope rubbed his face vigorously, after regaining his vibrant personality, he felt a subtle change in mana in the area surrounding the inn.

Those who have an affinity with magic would unconsciously manipulate the mana surrounding them, becoming more concealed as their level increases, finally becoming undetectable when one which the level of a saint, and internalised the mana within themselves.

“Though I’m still injured, you are still acting out of line.”

“Bishop Catherine, please consider this as me giving you my connection, even if the person here seems ordinary, she is one of the few people that has lived for over a thousand years.”

The voice scoffed and said, “With my talent, wouldn’t I also live over a thousand years?”

The wooden door creaked open.

Zoe’s face turned incredibly frightful as she saw the youthful figure, turning back, she attempted to block Catherine’s line of sight.

Although Catherine could not sense the Pope’s presence, she was still naturally prideful. Seeing Zoe’s actions, she became more intrigued.

The first thing Catherine noticed was a puppy lying comfortably on the wooden floor, feeling it quite cute, she pushed aside Zoe and approached it. Using her smooth hands, Catherine picked up the small animal, finding it exceptionally clean, she thought that it’s owner must have treated it quite well.

The Juliana empire had quite a number of laws that only Julia and dragons could not abide by, thus, Catherine could not simply seize the dog.

At this time, the receptionist had taken the plate on the table and retreated the counter. She put away the various items displayed on the counter.

The puppy was unfazed by Catherine’s action, though the Pope suddenly said, “It’s cute, isn’t it?”

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Catherine was still focused on the dog, she asked, “Indeed, in all my knowledge, I’ve never seen such a kind of dog that is so adorable.”

The Pope laughed and said, “It came from the North of the continent (not the Northern continent), naturally, you would not recognise it.”

Catherine nodded her head, feeling that the words from the puppy’s owner was reasonable and asked, “How much for the dog?”

The Pope replied frankly, “Unfortunately, it is not on sale.”

Catherine’s brows lifted as she stated, “Five hundred thousand hyperpyron.”

These words were truly arrogant, if the owner of the puppy was a normal person, it would be impossible to refuse such an offer.

“Five trillion hyperpyron.”

A dent suddenly appeared on the wooden boards beneath Catherine as she said, “That’s more than fifty years of tax revenue, surely you’re joking.”

The Pope suddenly said, “This girl’s talent is not bad, but she is too naive.” He was the strongest human in this continent, to receive a ‘not bad’, is a rare honour that even kings would desire.

Reaching out his childlike fingers that were still a little chubby, the Pope shifted Catherine’s face toward him without resistance.

Even before Catherine could see the Pope’s appearance, her heart turned frightful. Biting down her lips, Catherine managed to retain a calm exterior.

It was rather simple for the Pope to understand Catherine’s internal emotions, though her front has caused the Pope to nod in admiration. Stretching out two of his fingers that had not touched the egg, the Pope placed it on Catherine’s forehead and said, “May the gods bless you.”

Catherine’s eyes widened like a small defensive mammal, yet her entire body was unable to move, causing her expression to reveal the immense fear in her heart.

A faint light emerged from the end of his two fingers, condensing into a small drop of liquid.

The liquid was especially clean, like the dew that formed on the earliest moment of the day. Giving off a pleasant scent, it splashed onto Catherine’s forehead, giving her an odd sensation.

The Pope, after seeing the liquid vanish into the air, sighed and said, “It is a shame that her talent is only not bad.”

Catherine, who had regained control over her body, respectfully asked, “What do you mean my talent is not bad?”

The Pope replied as if a matter of fact, “Although you have reached the level of a bishop at an early age, the balance of the various mana’s in your body is quite bad, though that should be expected of someone coming from the Southern Sect.”

Catherine placed down the puppy with great detail as she asked, “What does that mean?”

“The Sect developed by Julia always emphasised on controlling fire, since that is what Julia is most familiar with, and could easily control in the case of rebellion. Regardless, the body needs the balance of the four humors elements to become a saint,” the Pope said.

“Moreover, Julia is terrible at the precision required for mana to be properly manipulated, always relying on her strong control over her constellation, she is really unfit to write any manual.”

“For you to have become a bishop at all is an achieve many few can achieve under these conditions. Compared to the Papacy, there is a great disparity between the numbers of bishops.”

The Pope’s intent was rather obvious and though Catherine had been raised in a rather ignorant manner, she could easily understand the Pope’s meaning.

Catherine moved her fingers from one ear to another to signal her humbleness.

The Pope said after some thought, “The only way to become a saint in your case is to start from grassroots, releasing the mana current storage within your body, and cultivate with another manual. Considering you’re barely over twenty, it would not be too harmful to your future.”

Having studied under Zoe since she gained consciousness, it would be far too much of an understatement to speak of how unreasonable this option was. To destroy the sole thing she had focused on for her entire life so that she can continue her path toward sainthood, how difficult would this choice be for someone as obsessed as Zoe.

Before Catherine could respond, the Pope said, “You’re meant to be a part of the North anyway, if it weren’t for the treaty between Julia and me, you would be working under the clergy of the North, with countless resources available to the masses, unlike Julia, who hoards all her belongings.”

Zoe asked in a fearful tone, “If I may not offend your Holiness. If one could not become a saint through manuals given out by the clergy, how could there be a matriarch.”

The Pope replied simply, “Have you seen the matriarch?”

He then scoffed and said, “Obviously, she doesn’t exist, and serve as nothing more than a goal that no human can possibly reach.”

There was silence for a long time, before Catherine asked very firmly, “If humans can’t become saint, then why are there saints already in the Empire? People like Lady Irene and Lady Martha are both saint figures.”

The Pope opened his mouth, preparing to deliver the illusion cast by Julia.

Of course, he did not expect Catherine to immediately change alignments, as the typical response one would respond with after having their worldview shaken so many times in one day, would be a string of reasoning to preserve her previous worldview, even if it were from a prestigious individual such as himself. Catherine would not accept the new world as simply as Anna, who was essentially a blank slate.

Even then, it would sow a seed of doubt in Catherine.

Then, a troubled expression emerged on the Pope’s face.

There was no fluctuation of mana, yet not many miles away from the city, a certain individual’s presence could still be felt by the Pope.

Here, he did not as easily utilise the strength the worshippers provided him and thus, have no chance to defeat Julia.

She should have exhausted much of the mana within her after their confrontation. The melted snow and scorched stone that now defines the North’s landscape would be burdensome even to someone like Julia.

Dragon’s natural aptitude was too troublesome, the Pope thought.

After saying goodbye to the receptionist, the Pope picked up the puppy and disappeared.