The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 611: When you just want a hint and got sit on a history course

Chapter 611: When you just want a hint and got sit on a history course

With how abrupt this plan was, I knew Jin wouldn’t have the time to tell the Templars this. And while this was supposed to be their utmost goal, I didn’t want to spend a lot of time dancing with glib and play of words. In the first place, I hadn’t trusted them for the most part--I had yet to know what they had been doing to free the Goddess.

So, I didn’t want to waste time probing.

I only had seventy days left to look for the Goddess, and I better get a hint before dinner.

So I put my serious no bullshit face on and stared at him. "I reckoned that Val...my father was the last priest who received Her blessing--aside from the Hero, of course."

"Yes, that is so."

"I would like to know if there’s anything that could help us locate the Goddess."

For a few seconds, we were only staring at each other, probing intentions. I didn’t give her any reason for my sudden decision to search for the Goddess, and he made it mandatory for me to go all the way here for information about my supposed parents. Both of us were openly not trusting each other, but we did have the same goal, so we better cooperate--was what I wanted to convey through my eyes.

"In that case..." he smiled and spent a few seconds sipping on the fragrant tea. "Perhaps I should start with how we lost our Goddess."

I mean...if you have to...I guess?

He placed his cup back on the table. "I understand that you live in the Demon Realm."

"It turned out like that," I shrugged.

"And that you’ve already awakened your druid trait," his eyes observed me for two seconds; especially my facial features, which had turned more delicate and druid-like, except for my ears. "Have you visited the Realm of Nature, perchance?"

"Several times, yes."

"Good place! Jade’s favorite after our first home!"

Fortunately, Jade didn’t say ’Lair’ or it would become harder to explain. Not that I didn’t want them to know about my husband, but it would be better for them to know only after I got every hint they had. What if they knew I was married to a Demon Lord and refused to tell me anything about the Goddess, then?

Even now, there might be a small part inside him that thought I might be searching for the Goddess with a bad intention.

Fortunately, it was a pass this time. The Bishop smiled at the little boy sneakily dragging the plate of dried fruit toward himself, before shifting his gaze back at me. "Then, you might already realize it during your journey: the Human Realm was bigger in population--much, much bigger."

"I haven’t visited many places, but..."

From what I saw in Fatia’s kingdom, as well as what I got from Valmeier’s memory, there were indeed more humans per city, even if I compared it to the Demon Realm’s metropolis like L’Anaak Eed. Comparing it to the Realm of Nature was even more silly, where one small tribe could have authority over a whole forest a hundred times bigger than their settlement.

"Yes, I think so," I nodded. My study with Zia and Eruha did say that humanity’s power was in their numbers and versatility.

Humans had a shorter life span, but a higher birth rate. Their bodily function was not affected by magic like the children of nature, and they could freely mix between sub-races unlike demons, who needed high compatibility despite a lower conceiving rate.

With humans, it was always quantity over quality, which wasn’t bad in terms of war and resource mining.

In the middle of my pondering, the Bishop leaned back and spoke profoundly. "This is what I learned after living for almost seven decades in this world; conflict is inevitable."

Hoo...that wasn’t something I expected to hear from a priest, to be honest. Although...well, Valmeier also only studied about handling light magic and spear art instead of theology.

"As long as there is more than one person, there will always be conflict in this world," the Bishop said with a dry cynicism.

"Because people have desires," I muttered.

"Yes," he nodded seriously. "People have interest, and interest birthed conflict. The interests could be equally great and have good intentions, but it is different still. If those interests align, or the people can achieve a compromise, then further conflict could be avoided."

Okay? I agreed with that, but...where was this priest going with the political story? I tilted my head in confusion, but also curiosity.

"The problem arises when there are too many people with too many different interests," he continued, raising his fingers and folding them one by one. "Different goals, different perspectives, different ways of achieving the same goal...so many things could lead to conflict with so many people gathered. Even just to decide on one thing, many people would try to come up with different methods based on their own interests, and fights would break out, or a bad decision was birthed while trying to accommodate everyone’s wishes."

Hmm...what was the saying again? Ah...

"Too many cooks spoiled the pot," I remarked.

"That’s it," the Bishop nodded. "That’s what happened with the faith."

Oh, we’re going somewhere! I straightened my back slightly as the Bishop’s expression became more and more solemn.

"Too many people interpreted the Goddess’s teaching differently, and some even turned it into something that would benefit them," he frowned, voices filled with disappointment. "As you said, Lord Valen...people have desires."

"And when that desire was blocked by the Goddess’s presence, they decided to get rid of her?"

"That was so."

I was reminded then, of a conversation I had with Fatia; about how her mother, the regent, had faith in the Goddess, not the church. I wasn’t religious in my past life, but I heard things and cases in media that made me believe those so-called ’devouts’ were misunderstanding their God’s teaching big time.

I guessed, even when the deities were more communicative in this world, such a thing could still happen.

"It was hard to prevent misconceptions about the relationship we needed to have with the other races because wars had been happening even before the three Gods’ reign," the Bishop shook his head while letting out a sigh. "Even with the Goddess sending Her decree and voices to the High Priests, only some true Her words."

"Well...the other two Gods also barely did anything," I shrugged.

He looked at me with a startled gaze. "You seemed to know Them well."

"Ah, I talked with them several times."

The Bishop stared at me blankly before replying in a tapered voice. "I...I see..."

Oh, oops--it happened to me so frequently that I forgot not everyone experienced it. Perhaps if the Goddess wasn’t trapped somewhere, these devoted clergies would have more chance of talking to her.

I cleared my throat and drank the tea again to get rid of the slight awkwardness slipping in from that last remark. "And then, someone finally did the unthinkable?"

The Bishop sighed, suddenly looking as if he was aging on the spot. His eyes were unfocused for a few seconds, perhaps reviewing some bitter memories.

"Even before She disappeared, we, the conservatives--had been pushed into a corner," he said with a controlled resentment that only showed in his hardening eyes. "We, who stayed true to the faith instead of the soiled church were getting prosecuted one by one."

A purging. And yet, it was done by the blasphemous side.

"This place..." he looked up, and I just realized that the ceiling of this particular spot was painted with the scenery of the courtyard and the village we first arrived at. "This was the place that the Goddess showed to the High Priest before your father. Perhaps...She had sensed the danger," he lowered his head again and his frown went deeper. "When that High Priest was killed, the rest of the Templars fleed to this place."

"When was this?"

The Bishop’s reply came a few seconds later after much hesitation. "...during the war between the Empire and the Kingdom of Druid."

My hand, which was about to reach for the teacup, stopped. I reached out to stroke my boy’s head instead, as a stress reliever.

"Haa...so they didn’t want their evil deeds to be condemned."

And more likely, the hunt of the conservatives was their way to distract the Goddess from the war and the attempt to...seal her? Imprison her? Banishing her from the Human Realm? Whatever it was that the church was doing to her.

"Yes, we believe so," the Bishop confirmed.

Which also meant that those people--be it the Empire, the kingdom that sacrificed maiden for power, and Lenaar--did what they did knowing full well it wasn’t right. They knew what they were doing was wrong and not what the Goddess wanted.

Which made it way, way worse than it already was.

Doing it while thinking it was righteous was bad enough, but doing it even while knowing it was wrong? Wicked! These people were wicked! And they led their clueless citizens to believe that it was a mandate from heaven.

Evil, this lot was beyond evil.

"Papa?"

Jade held my tensing hand, and I quickly managed my slipping emotions. Phew--I couldn’t have Jade running out and calling the party in concern just because I was pissed about people who weren’t even there.

"I’m okay," I stroked his cheeks softly and smiled until he smiled back, before returning my attention to the Bishop. "And when...my father, umm, received the ’mandate’..." I asked what I had been curious about earlier, which got Jade worried about me in the first place. "Was it to find the druid princess?"