Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 20 Bishop Mathers

The Candlemaster's 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 will be held here, and this is also the tomb of the royal family.Other people who can be called "great" in the Kingdom of Avalon will also be buried here after the state funeral.

It dares to take the name of the guardian pillar god "Sizhu" who dedicated the way, which is enough to prove its sanctity.

"Please come this way."

An old man wearing a crown and a solemn and solemn red robe turned around and said to Aiwass politely and gently.

Judging from his skin and eyebrows, this man with beard and glasses is only in his 40s, and his temperament will give people the feeling of a strict class teacher.But he inexplicably gives people an "old" feeling, which makes people instinctively think that he should be an old man.Perhaps it was because of the unnatural paleness of his beard and hair, not natural white hair but a fading of age.

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

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

Candles can even be inserted into it—it's just that they won't really insert candles and light them up except for important occasions.

With the design of this tiara, it can accommodate up to three candles.The big 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 rank.

Even counting the Pope of the Eternal Church, counting from top to bottom can be regarded as the third level.

Strictly speaking, all high-level 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-lowest priest has two, while the lowest-level deacon has only one.

Although the churches in this world all worship the Nine Pillars God at the same time, the church itself also has its own emphasis.The vast majority of clergymen are on the path of dedication, so the Nine Pillars Church itself regards the "candlemaker" as its honor, and the red candle that "burns itself to illuminate others" is the sacred symbol of the Nine Pillars Church.

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

"Thank you, Bishop Mathers."

Aiwass thanked politely: "Please also come and teach me the sacred skills yourself."

"What's the trouble with that? I was elected a spiritual councilor thanks to Professor Moriarty."

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

He smiled cheerfully: "I read the papers this morning—good job yesterday.

"The group of demon scholars did a lot of evil. Not long ago, they sacrificed an entire village. All of them, including a dozen old people and more than 40 children, were made into ritual materials by them. Their crimes were heinous and even alarmed. Your Majesty the Pope. Now they are not only wanted in the Kingdom, they are even listed in the punishment hall in the Theocracy.

"You found them with your own wisdom and defeated them with a pistol before you officially obtained the power of the way... It's good to defeat the strong with the weak. His Majesty the Pope hasn't got the newspaper yet. But I I believe that if he reads the newspaper, he will also praise you and say, 'Hero is a boy'."

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

"Well, that little girl is also very nice."

Bishop Mathers agreed: "Be courageous and resourceful - most importantly, be willing to trust others.

"She is so much stronger than you and older than you, but she doesn't blindly believe in her own strength, and she is willing to trust your judgment... When she can't 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 a kind of wisdom.”

"You watch football too?"

The person who suddenly asked 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: "The newcomer they introduced this year, I think there should be something to say."

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

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

The bishop said cheerfully, skipping the topic lightly.

He looked at Aiwass and said seriously: "Although you have proved that you can defeat the strong with the weak - without gaining any extraordinary power, you have defeated the enemy who is about to touch the third energy level. But if this is the case Rest assured to put you aside, that is the dereliction of duty of us elders.

"Although it may be against the rules to do so...According to the regulations issued by Her Majesty the Queen 40 years ago, citizens of Avalon need to obtain excellent grades or above in the cultural examination after adulthood, and have excellent moral examinations, no bad habits, and no criminal records. Only under these circumstances can one formally contact the Dao and embark on the path of transcendence.

"But it's actually only one month away from your final assessment for this year. You have proved your integrity and rationality, and I will talk about it with Her Majesty the Queen later."

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

"My lord," the old but still elegant elf steward asked earnestly, "Is something wrong?"

Bishop Mathers still happily moved his hands, 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 said slowly:

"—Today, Saint Guinevere's Chapel is only open for you.

"In addition to teaching you the three sacred skills of 'sacrificing fire', 'illumination', and 'blessing', I will also help you complete the first step. Don't be too nervous. You don't need to enter the dream world for the first step Yes. The situation in Avalon is not very good now, I think you need a little self-preservation ability."

"So, what happened?"

Oswald asked.

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

The next moment, the chapel, which looked like a university lecture hall in terms of structure and floor area, was suddenly brightly lit.

On the left and right sides, countless statues stored in niches with a one-to-one ratio suddenly become brighter.As if awakened by the light, the statues in the alcoves slowly began to move silently and slightly, and gradually cast their eyes on them.

Bishop Mathers reached out and lighted the three candles on his crown, respectfully greeted all the saints: "73 leaders.

"May Sizhu watch over your candlelight."

And Aiwass and Oswald lowered their heads slightly to show their respect.

These 73 icons are the forerunners of the Avalon Kingdom since its founding, including the monarchs of all dynasties, who have accepted the burial ceremony of the state funeral standard and were buried here.Each of them has his name engraved in the history books of Avalon.

After Queen Sophia passes away, she will become the No.70 four.

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 place Her Majesty has prepared for herself. Her old man's icon was carved five years ago, and two years ago It has been prepared. Now the icon resides in the Temple of Silver and Tin."

Then, he turned his head to look at Oswald.

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

Bishop Mathers said solemnly: "Important information has come from the Theocracy.

"A Starbone spy was caught over there, and he came up with something.

"—It is said that traitors have appeared in the high-level kingdom. They plan to cause a continuous chaos in Glass Island whose time, scale, and location are unknown. The ultimate goal is to 'get or get close to some kind of sacred entity'.

"I'm afraid the royal capital will be thrown into chaos soon, so I don't think it's necessary to make Aiwass wait until the final exam is over.

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

(End of this chapter)