Pastor's Tantra

The Candlestick Cathedral in the Red Queen is the most orthodox nine-pillar church in Avalon, and it is also the church with the highest status.

The coronation ceremonies of the kings and queens of Avalon have been held here, and this is also where the royal mausoleum is located. Other people who can be called "great" in the Kingdom of Avalon will also be buried here after the state funeral ceremony.

The fact that it dares to be named after "Si Zhu", the guardian pillar god who dedicated the road, is enough to prove its sacredness.

"Please come over here."

An old man wearing a religious crown and a solemn floor-length red robe turned around and spoke to Aiwass politely and gently.

Judging from his skin and eyebrows, this man with a beard and glasses is only in his forties, and his temperament gives off the impression of a stern class teacher. But he gives people an "old" feeling inexplicably, which makes people instinctively think that he should be an old man. Perhaps it's because his beard and hair are unnaturally pale. It's not natural white hair, but fading caused by aging.

The old man raised his head and warned Oswald, who was pushing the wheelchair behind Aiwass: "Be careful, the road ahead is downhill."

The shape of the religious crown on his head resembles some kind of complexly designed, ornate and sacred candlestick.

You can even insert candles on them - but they won't actually insert candles and light them outside of important occasions.

With the design of this tiara, it can accommodate up to three candles. The large candle in front and the two small candles on the left and right sides represent that the old man in front of him has a very high Holy Order level.

Even counting the pope of the Eternal Theocracy, it can be regarded as the third level from top to bottom.

Strictly speaking, all high-ranking clergy, including the pope, are considered "bishops." All bishops have three candles on their crowns, and only bishops can wear red robes. Among them, the pope's crown can accommodate three large candles, while the lowest bishop can only insert three small candles.

The next lower priest has two, while the lowest deacon has only one.

Although the churches in this world all worship the nine-pillar gods at the same time, the churches themselves also have their own preferences. The vast majority of clergymen are on the path of devotion, so the Church of Nine Pillars itself regards the "candle bearer" as its honor, and the red candle that "burns itself to illuminate others" is the sacred symbol of the Church of Nine Pillars.

Although Aiwass is also a priest, he has not yet graduated and therefore has not been awarded his own religious crown. This means that he is not counted as a member of the religious system, does not receive church wages, and is not bound by church rules.

"Thank you, Bishop Mathers."

Aiwass said politely and gratefully: "Please come and teach me the sacred skills in person."

"What's the trouble? I was able to be elected as a spiritual councillor, thanks to Professor Moriarty."

Bishop Mathers put his hands in front of him and clasped his fingers. He walked parallel to Aiwass on the east side path of the Candlestick Cathedral.

He smiled cheerfully: "I read this morning's newspaper - I did a good job yesterday.

"That group of demonologists have done many evil things. They sacrificed an entire village not long ago. Everyone, including more than a dozen old people and more than 40 children, were made into ritual materials. Their crimes were heinous and even shocking. His Majesty the Pope. Now they are not only wanted here in the Kingdom, but are even listed in the Punishment Hall in the Theocracy.

"You relied on your own wisdom to find them and defeated them with a pistol before you officially obtained the power of the path... It was good to defeat the strong with the weak. His Majesty the Pope has not got the newspaper yet. But I I believe that if he saw the newspaper, he would also praise you and say, 'A hero emerges from a boy'."

"It's not that powerful," Aiwass smiled gently, "Without the protection of Senior Sister Haina, I might have been killed even if I found them."

"Well, that little girl is pretty good too."

Bishop Mathers agreed: “Have courage and resourcefulness – and most importantly, be willing to trust others.

"She is so much stronger than you and older than you, but she does not blindly believe in her own strength, and is willing to trust your judgment... When she cannot handle the problem in front of her, she is willing to pass the ball to someone who can handle it. People who have problems. I think this is probably also a kind of wisdom."

"You also watch football?"

The person who suddenly asked the question was Oswald behind Aiwass.

The old elf asked with interest: "Which team do you support?"

"The Mistletoe Club, of course."

The bishop replied without hesitation: "I think the new guy they introduced this year should have something to say."

"What about unicorns? What do you think of unicorns' results this year?"

"I am an Avalonian, so of course I support Avalon's team. You are an elf, so you support the Theocracy's team. This is normal."

The bishop said cheerfully and ignored the topic lightly.

He looked at Aiwass and said seriously: "Although you have proven that you can defeat the strong with the weak - without acquiring any extraordinary power, you have defeated the enemy who is about to touch the third energy level. But what if this is the case? It would be remiss of us elders to safely put you aside.

"Although it may be against the rules...according to the regulations issued by Her Majesty the Queen forty years ago, citizens of Avalon need to obtain excellent or above results in cultural examinations after reaching adulthood, and have excellent moral evaluations, no bad habits and no criminal records Only under this condition can we formally come into contact with the Tao and embark on the extraordinary road.

"But there is actually only one month left before your final exam for this year. You have proven your integrity and rationality. I will talk to Her Majesty the Queen later."

Hearing this, the housekeeper Oswald who was pushing the wheelchair suddenly coughed lightly.

"Master Bishop," the old but still elegant elf butler asked seriously, "Did something happen?"

Bishop Mathers still folded his hands cheerfully, but did not immediately reply to Oswald's words.

Until the three of them arrived at the chapel on the east side of the cathedral, Bishop Mathers took out a huge key that looked longer than Haina's dagger and opened the closed door. ...The old bishop spoke slowly:

"——Today, St. Guinevere's Chapel is opened only for you.

"In addition to teaching you the three sacred skills of 'Fire Sacrifice', 'Illumination', and 'Blessing', I will also help you complete the first advancement. Don't be too nervous. You don't need to enter the dream world for the first advancement. The situation in Avalon is not very good now, I think you need some self-protection ability."

"So, what happened?"

Oswald demanded.

Bishop Mathers closed the chapel door and flipped on the light switch.

The next moment, the chapel, whose structure and floor space looked like a university lecture hall, suddenly became brightly lit.

On the left and right sides, countless one-to-one proportion statues stored in niches suddenly became brighter behind them. As if awakened by the light, the statues in the niches slowly began to move silently, and gradually turned their gaze towards them.

Bishop Mathers stretched out his hand to lightly light the three candles on his ecclesiastical crown, and respectfully greeted the statues of the saints: "Seventy-three pioneers.

"May Si Zhu take care of your candlelight."

Aiwass and Oswald also bowed their heads slightly to show respect.

These seventy-three icons are all the pioneers, including the monarchs of all generations, who have received burial ceremonies with state funeral standards and were buried here since the founding of the Kingdom of Avalon. Each one of them has his or her name engraved in the history books of Avalon.

When Queen Sofia dies, she will become the seventy-fourth.

Aiwass has already seen that there is an extra niche in the corner of St. Guinevere's Chapel that does not contain the icon.

Noticing Aiwass' gaze, Bishop Mathers explained to him thoughtfully: "This is the position Her Majesty the Queen has prepared for herself. Her old man's icon had been carved five years ago and finished two years ago. It has been prepared. The image is now kept in the Temple of Silver and Tin."

Then, he turned back to look at Oswald.

"The people in the Round Table Hall probably don't know about this yet, but I have already reported it to Her Majesty the Queen."

Bishop Mathers said seriously: "Important information came from the Theocracy.

"We caught a Star Antimony spy over there and asked about something.

"——It is said that a traitor has appeared in the top leadership of the kingdom. They plan to cause a continuous chaos of unknown time, scale, and location on the Glass Island. The ultimate goal is to "obtain or get close to some kind of sacred entity."

“I’m afraid the capital will soon fall into chaos, so I don’t think it’s necessary for Aiwass to wait for the final exam to be over.

"Just in case, he must immediately embark on the extraordinary path."