Vol 4. Chapter 30: Hypocritical Words

"Mengxi?"

Upon hearing the guard's shout from outside the door, White Yama immediately pulled her attention away from her thoughts and revealed a shocked expression.

After the shock came delight.

A radiant smile instantly blossomed across the white-haired girl's face.

"Mengxi is back?! That's great. Looks like she's all right."

In response to White Yama's words, Nick once again gave the Heavenly Apostle a cold, disdainful eye roll.

"If something had happened to her, I wouldn't be stopping at merely yelling at you a couple of times! You abandoned your post to go after that Demon King-class creature, leaving both the Child of Destiny and me behind. You're really something, Bai Xiaozou!"

"S-Sorry, I... I didn't mean to..."

"Hmph..."

Nick snorted coldly.

Nick had long since become speechless over Bai Xiaozou's tendency to act recklessly and even lose herself to momentary impulses.

Although he had lectured her countless times before, unfortunately, the results had always been minimal.

Thus,

The mentally exhausted Archbishop couldn't even be bothered to continue scolding his subordinate.

Instead, he slowly turned toward the door and frowned slightly.

"That damned girl Mengxi finally remembered to come back..."

Early that morning,

Mengxi had slipped out of the residence without anyone noticing, once again throwing the members of the Asumos Church into chaos as they searched everywhere for her.

Although her return had finally lifted the enormous weight hanging over everyone's hearts, Nick still couldn't help frowning deeply.

'Not a single one of them knows how to stay out of trouble! Whether it's Bai Xiaozou or this Child of Destiny!'

Grumbling inwardly,

Nick stopped paying attention to White Yama, who was trembling on the bed, put on his Archbishop's cloak, and walked out of the room.

As he walked, the anger inside Nick continued accumulating.

Although Mengxi was the Child of Destiny, no matter how one looked at it, she had now been assigned under his command!

She was his subordinate!

Yet this subordinate treated his orders with such disregard and repeatedly acted on her own?!

Sure enough,

Letting this girl hang around with Bai Xiaozou had been a mistake! She hadn't learned anything good and had instead been fucking corrupted by Bai Xiaozou?!

Previously, Nick had always turned a blind eye to it.

But after the Skyvault incident, Archbishop Nick had no intention of tolerating it any longer!

He intended to properly educate this arrogant Child of Destiny.

With such thoughts in mind, Nick wore a fierce expression. His eyes were filled with unprecedented solemnity and severity, while his powerful presence made the nearby Asumos Church guards feel increasingly uneasy.

This time,

Nick intended to have a serious talk with Mengxi.

He couldn't keep allowing the Child of Destiny to do whatever she pleased.

This time, the girl had dared to run off alone to deal with Abyss Demons. Who knew? Next time, she might even bring an entire group of Abyss Demons back with her?!

...

...

However,

The attitude Nick had brought with him completely collapsed the moment he saw Mengxi and cursed at her a few times.

At this moment,

Inside the residence's main hall,

"I'm sorry, Archbishop Nick. I was far too reckless this time. I shouldn't have left the main group on my own initiative."

Under everyone's incredulous gazes, the Child of Destiny, who had always been aloof and even somewhat accustomed to doing whatever she pleased, not only refrained from arguing back against Nick's scolding as she normally would, but even gave Nick a proper bow and apologized?!

"Because of my unauthorized actions, I made you and all the others worry about me, Archbishop. I'm truly very sorry..."

As she spoke,

A deep sense of guilt even emerged within the silver-haired girl's eyes. Combined with the obvious dejection on her beautiful face and the small hands clutching the corners of her skirt, Mengxi suddenly possessed the tragic charm of a sorrowful beauty.

Her pitiful appearance made the nearby Asumos Church guards watching the scene involuntarily tremble inwardly.

Their heartbeats suddenly began accelerating...

And it wasn't only the Church members.

Even Archbishop Nick himself couldn't help swallowing when he saw Mengxi displaying such an uncharacteristically vulnerable expression.

And as he swallowed,

He also swallowed all the reprimands he had prepared earlier.

Faced with such a pitiful silver-haired girl and listening to her apologetic words, the anger inside Nick was gradually soothed by Mengxi's words until he completely lost any desire to curse at her.

It seemed,

The Abyss Demons at Skyvault had successfully knocked some of the arrogance out of this girl,

To the point that she actually knew how to yield now?

Nick couldn't help sighing inwardly.

Still, since Mengxi had already admitted her mistake and so many people were watching nearby, continuing to reprimand her truly wouldn't be appropriate for the Church's image.

Thinking this, Nick restrained the displeasure and anger on his face, once again putting on his false mask of 'benevolence.'

Then, the smiling white-haired Archbishop casually waved his hand.

"It's all right, it's all right. Mengxi, as long as you understand that what you did was inappropriate. Remember, you absolutely must not act like this again. Before taking action, you need to inform me first. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Archbishop."

"Mm, as long as you understand."

As he spoke,

Nick pretentiously reached out and pulled the silver-haired girl before him into his arms, gently patting her back like a kindly old man.

"But most importantly, I'm glad you're safe. You're the Child of Destiny. If anything happened to you, I would feel incredibly guilty. The only reason I was so harsh with you just now was because I was afraid something might happen to you. I hope you won't take it to heart."

"..."

Faced with Nick's actions, the silver-haired girl's brows imperceptibly furrowed.

But under Mengxi's conscious control, her expression quickly returned to the previous appearance of someone who intended to 'sincerely repent and mend her ways.'

"No, I won't take it to heart, Archbishop."

"Mm, what a sensible girl. As expected of the Child of Destiny."

"Speaking of which, where exactly did you run off to so early this morning?"

"I went to the Black Rose Family's camp."

Mengxi answered truthfully without hesitation.

Upon hearing this answer, Nick frowned slightly.

Perhaps because relations between the Crimson Leaf Empire and the Sadik Empire had recently become tense, Nick had absolutely no favorable feelings toward the Black Rose Family from the Sadik Empire.

Naturally, he was displeased to hear that Mengxi had gone to the Black Rose Family's camp.

"Why did you suddenly go there?"

"Archbishop... when we encountered the Abyss Demons before, Miss Yu of the Black Rose Family saved me. She was even injured because of it. I felt that I needed to go and apologize."

"Hm? Is that so?"

Nick's eyes narrowed slightly.

At this moment, the Archbishop couldn't help recalling some of the things his son Felik had previously told him.

Then, with a somewhat suspicious expression, he asked,

"Mengxi, you don't happen to have... any inappropriate thoughts toward that Miss Yu, do you?"

"Thoughts? What kind of thoughts?"

"I mean something like... forming some kind of forbidden emotional relationship with her."

As these words left his mouth, a trace of solemnity gradually emerged within Nick's eyes.

He couldn't help worrying that Mengxi might truly harbor inappropriate feelings toward that young lady.

That girl was the young lady of an opposing faction!

If she somehow seduced their Child of Destiny away, wouldn't His Holiness the Pope reduce Nick to dust?!

Moreover,

If the Child of Destiny fell in love with that woman, how was Nick supposed to match Mengxi up with his own son in the future?

Although the other party was a girl just like Mengxi, considering that Mengxi had someone with unusual sexual preferences like Bai Xiaozou constantly hanging around her, Nick couldn't help feeling worried.

However,

Nick's worries quickly vanished because of Mengxi's innocent and puzzled response.

"Hm? Archbishop? What are you talking about? We're both girls, aren't we? What kind of thoughts could I possibly have toward Miss Yu?"

"You don't?"

"No. I only think of her as a good older sister. What's wrong, Archbishop? Why did you suddenly ask me something like that?"

Sensing the sincerity in the silver-haired girl's words, Nick narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Hehe, it's nothing. Just consider it me overthinking things. Don't worry about it, don't worry about it~"

Nick laughed and waved his hand.

In response, Mengxi also gave him a faintly meaningful smile.

After a brief silence, Mengxi looked at the white-haired old man before her with an expression of 'seeking advice.'

"Speaking of which, Archbishop, what are we going to do next? Are we returning to Church headquarters?"

"Hm?"

Hearing this, Nick slowly shook his head.

"No. There's no need to rush back. We'll wait a little longer."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the silver-haired girl's eyebrow rose slightly.

Before Mengxi could say anything, Felik, who had escorted her inside from behind, immediately revealed a puzzled expression.

The rather handsome blond man slowly stepped forward and came to Nick's side.

"Father, our diplomatic mission is already over, isn't it? Shouldn't we return home as soon as we've finished recuperating? Why would you..."

The moment those words left his mouth,

Nick abruptly turned an 'angry' glare toward his son. Raising his hand, he pointed righteously toward the chaotic streets outside.

"Return home?! The Snow Night Empire has just suffered an unprecedented catastrophe, and so many refugees have no guarantee of even the most basic necessities! How could we simply abandon them when they need help?! The Goddess loves all people. As followers of the Asumos Church, we should be helping these refugees! How could we simply return home?! Have you forgotten the teachings of the Church, you brat..."

...

As he lectured his son,

The Archbishop's eyes were even filled with profound sympathy, as though he genuinely felt heartfelt pity for the suffering refugees outside.

However,

Nick had barely spoken a few sentences,

When a sharp female voice, tinged with madness and utterly devoid of respect, suddenly descended from above and entered everyone's ears.

"Archbishop Nick! Cut the bullshit! You obviously just want to use this opportunity to expand the Church's influence inside the Snow Night Empire! Why make yourself sound so righteous?! You damned old man, you're seriously fucking hypocritical!"

?!!

The instant those words entered his ears, Nick's expression visibly darkened at an astonishing speed.

Even Mengxi, who had originally intended to silently enjoy the show from the sidelines, couldn't help raising an eyebrow and thoughtfully looking toward the sky.

That voice?

'Moran?'

In other words, that Heavenly Apostle serving under Archbishop Mokaluo...