Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 227 “Faith Remains”

There are usually two points at which a devout waver. The first when questioning their beliefs, and the second when they questioned their faith and the gods still blessed them with power.

Right now, a densely overlapping static noise had begun to ring within Vanna’s mind. Like a distant recorder in disrepair, the inquisitor no longer accepted the goddess’s message without questioning them. For example, the weird words she received during the ritual in her room. She’s wondering what they meant at the moment, or were they even words to begin with. The more she thought about it, the more pronounced the static noise in her head became, making it difficult for her to concentrate.

Then suddenly, all the noise snapped away, allowing her to escape that trance.

“Are you okay?” The old bishop asked with concern and worry after seeing his peer in a daze.

“I think so… ” Vanna tapped her forehead lightly and then looked at the elder with some strangeness, “You too…”

“When the last bell rang, I faltered… There is nothing to hide; after all, I do not have the immaculate will of those saints who have been installed in the temple,” Valentine shook his head and said calmly to Vanna. “I wondered why the pollution and penetration of those Ender managed to reach such an extent, why the shelter of the cathedral still cannot stop the sacrifices of those Suntists, why the goddess has not warned us even once after the crisis spread for more than ten years…”

He listed his woes, then turned around and stared quietly at the statue of Gomona. It’s as cold and quiet as ever despite the divine glow coming down from the ceiling glass.

“When I woke up again, I was ashamed. I knew I had made the biggest mistake in the Storm Codex, using the gods’ protection as an omnipotent medicine, thus shaking my will. But even so, these doubts still took root within me.”

“…… The enemy has infiltrated and broken through the barrier from within. They planned this for many years, making this sneak attack difficult to resist,” Vanna calmly countered after a moment of silence. “Heresy will always take advantage of an opening, but that does not mean the authority of the goddess can be easily overthrown.”

“I understand this truth,” Valentine laughed, “that’s why I’m still faithful even if I wavered a little. Because the goddess’s blessing is still sheltering our world. We know this, and we know their love is real, but… on top of that, I have some extra thoughts.”

“Questioning is heresy, Bishop Valentine,” said Vanna with a serious look. But then sighed as if to herself, “The same is true for me.”

“Then consider this a test upon us,” Valentine said softly.

Vanna added nothing more, only stepping over to stare at the statue and praying with her peer.

But the tranquility here didn’t last for long. A series of footsteps had entered the great hall only minutes later, causing Vanna to look back at the source, finding a middle-aged priest in civilian robes walking over.

“Head Bishop, this is the report you wanted.” The person quickly handed some sort of document to Valentine.

Nodding to give his thanks, the old bishop took the document, and after quickly flipping through a few pages, the expression on his face became visibly weirder.

“What’s that?” Vanna grew slightly intrigued and asked, “What is written on it?”

“…… It is an initial investigation of the current events after what happened to the city. The civil department sent it over from City Hall.” Valentine frowned after explaining, seemingly unsure of what to make of it. “See for yourself.”

Vanna took the document and warily read the title. Immediately, she understood why her peer would make such a face. The preliminary damage report has all been included in this document. Everything had been reset to the moment before the disaster struck, the only exception being a select few merchants near the docks.

“…… There are merchants in the dock area reporting a large number of potatoes and fries have mysteriously disappeared from their stocks. There are also reports of ketchup losses…” The young inquisitor raised her head with a wooden expression at Valentine, who also had a wooden expression in return, “… Serious?”

“How about you personally lead the team over and ask?” The corners of Valentine’s mouth twitched, “Theoretically, no one would dare falsify such a report.”

Vanna held the document in her hand and remained quiet for a good while. Finally, she heaved a long sigh and said: “Why did this kind of content appear on such a serious report…”

Valentine remained unemotional: “A whole squadron of guardians have been monitoring the fries at the pier. What is their opinion?”

Vanna: “…”

“…… All in all, the ‘thing’ mentioned in the report is the only known loss in the city-state thus far.” Valentine sighed and then hesitated again before looking into Vanna’s eyes, “If not, why don’t you ask him directly next time you meet?”

Vanna was stunned: “Ask? Ask who?”

“…… You tell me?”

Vanna: “…”

After a while, the young inquisitor finally couldn’t help but rub her forehead as a throbbing pain struck: “I feel like my thoughts are getting more and more difficult to sort. Are you sure we should be discussing such matters here?”

“I don’t know. At least I can’t connect this to anything other than him,” Valentine grimaced.

Suddenly, another priest had barged in through the front gate, rushing over with a frantic face.

“Head Bishop! Inquisitor! News from the port area…”

“It’s okay. We already know about the fries, so there’s no need to report it twice!” Vanna quickly shut the guy down, thinking it’s a repeat of the document when she heard the word “port”.

“…… French fries?” The priest was a little stunned as he glanced around, unsure of what she meant. “What fries?”

“Ah… You’re not here to report about the fries?” Vanna awkwardly coughed after realizing she had jumped the gun. “I thought it was another report about… Never mind, please go on. What’s the matter with the port area?”

The priest who came to report nodded and looked serious: “There is news from the port area that the Sea Mist is applying to enter the harbor. Tyrian Abnomar requests contact with the church as soon as possible. He brings news related to the Vanished.”

Vanna immediately burst into an earth-shattering coughing fit, catching the unaware priest by surprise as he jumped back from the sudden movement.

“Inquisitor…?”

“I’m okay,” it took Vanna a long while to finally get herself under control. Then, as if to play off her antics, she huffed and puffed up her chest to look imposing and strong in order to hide the embarrassment inside. “The Sea Mist? I know we did send a letter to its owner, but we never got a reply…”

“The Sea Mist did come, and it seems to have arrived in the surrounding waters before the disaster struck,” the priest nodded and explained what he knew. “According to the Sea Mist’s message, they encountered the Vanished in the eastern waters, where a vicious batter broke out. As a result, they suffered immense damage and requested docking permission for repairs.”

“A battle broke out with the Vanished?!” Try as she might, Vanna instantly lost her composure again and dropped her jaw as she turned to face Valentine, “I have to go there myself.”

“Yes, that would be good,” Valentine nodded immediately, “the Sea Mist is a special ship after all. Although it belongs to our people, the members of that ship are still likely to cause a stir on the dock. You personally lead the team to greet them. That should keep things calm.”

Vanna agreed and quickly left the cathedral.

The Sea Mist arrived without incident. Although a little later than expected, the huge warship, shrouded in legendary auras and fearful curses, arrived at the city-state of Pland as promised. Now, the formidable steel warship was slowly approaching the pier for mooring large ships under the instructions of the docking guide. While some people who received the news gathered near the pier to get a closer look at this legendary warship, more were showing nervous glances at the steel behemoth.

But soon, the people near the pier realized that the majestic steel warship didn’t come with malicious intent but came after a vicious battle.

It was scarred, with three of the six main guns destroyed, the side of the ship dug out with holes, and the bridge damaged up to two-thirds of its body. Under such conditions, most normal ships would’ve sunk by now since the seeping water would’ve kept the hull below the waterline.

However, the Sea Mist was no ordinary warship. It was still stubbornly lugging along the sea, and there seemed to be life in its belly, constantly pumping out the seawater through its structure regardless of a pump nearby.

Soon enough, the arrival of Vanna and her team with the spiderwalkers silenced the nosy crowd.