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Editor's note: guys, please take caution for yourself when reading this novel. I'm not that knowledgeable about all the content warnings so I might've missed some. I should remind you that this novel is not suitable for children and have heavy themes (suicide, sexual acts, slavery, sexual trafficking, etc).
CW: Human Trafficking
Being led by the pandering cleric in front of him, Paladin went up to the second floor. He immediately saw a man dressed in a purple robe sitting at a long square table. He was nonchalantly eating roasted meat, pickled asparagus, and creamy pumpkin. Paladin sniffed the tasty aroma while squinting his eyes to get a better look at the rumored archbishop.
His bloated body was wrapped in a bishop’s purple coat. A shawl scarf draped around his neck, the symbol of a bishop. His long snow-white hair was strewn across the back of his head, exposing his wrinkled face. Even so, Paladin couldn't ignore the sharpness shining from the corner of his sunken eyes.
"May the Great God protect you, The Reverend Lord Bishop."
Paladin gently put down the sack and clasped his hands respectfully. The cleric took a glance and knew that there was nothing else for him. Immediately, he closed the door with the back of his hand. Leaving the two of them, the bishop and Paladin, inside the dining room. The sharpness in the bishop's eyes dissipated for just a moment.
The bishop observed Paladin and felt that there was nothing out of the ordinary. He cut a corner of the roast meat with a knife, picked it up with a fork, and popped it into his mouth. After chewing contentedly, he picked up a glass of red wine on the table that was as bright as blood. Sipping a little of the wine, the bishop said, "What Bishop? Everyone is a servant of God. That is too much, just call me Andrew."
"Yes, Lord Bishop Andrew."
Andrew did not get angry at Paladin still calling him bishop. On the contrary, he simply gave an audible ‘hmmm’. The roast meat on the plate was once again in his hand. In his mind, he thought, ‘At the very least, he's not a moron who believes he can call me by my real name without a single honorifics. I heard the cleric said his name was Paladin, as written on the data. It's been a month or two before he finally came to see me. He’s quite arrogant.’
Thinking so, Andrew brandished his dinner knife and fork again. He had no plans to look after Paladin. Paladin stood quietly to the side, watching Andrew's ring-adorned hands. The rings were either adorned by beautiful rubies or dazzling gold. For a moment, the shiny jewelries dazzled Paladin. Paladin used his strong-will to forcibly suppress his ugly gaze. He stood there, obediently waiting for Andrew to finish eating. At this point, a strange atmosphere enveloped them. Paladin stood still and did not speak, Andrew was also busy eating and did not speak. Just like this, time flew by.
After a long time, there was a clinking sound. Andrew threw the cutleries onto the clean plate, took the cloth on his chest, and wiped his mouth. When he stood up, he turned around and walked into his own room, treating Paladin as air.
"My Lord, please stay here."
"Oh? Paladin, right? Sorry, lunch is not served here. If you are hungry and haven't eaten yet, there is a restaurant outside."
Andrew teased the young man in front of him. A smug smile appeared on the old man's face. Who knew that Paladin would take the time to pat off the non-existent dust on his clothes, and say with a mysterious smile on his face, "I heard that the Bishop likes women. Not only prostitutes and some innocent believers and civilians, but also the mercenaries who were captured. My lord, their families are all very angry."
"What, are you threatening me?"
Andrew frowned, he stopped walking and turned around to glare at Paladin. But Paladin remained indifferent and continued, "If these things are exposed and spread to the Holy City of Kasmi, it will have a very bad influence on adults."
Andrew snorted, stepped forward, and stared at Paladin disdainfully.
"It's up to you. Paladin, you are not the first person to threaten me like this. I have been through decades of storms, what do you think you can do to me?"
Paladin suddenly laughed strangely, squatted down, and opened the sack. He swept away the gravel, revealing a very weak and powerless Lucia. Andrew had been tossing around with women all year round. What kind of woman had he never seen? However, the woman brought by Paladin made him stare. Saliva flowed from the corner of his mouth unconsciously. God! Leaving aside the appearance, just her tender skin was much better than those rough civilians!
"This is…." Andrew couldn't speak directly, but he looked at Lucia greedily. He began to form a deal in his mind.
Paladin chuckled and said piously, "This is Luna, a believer. She really wants to meet the pious bishop to help her learn about God's grace and mercy."
"Oh? Oh! Yes, she is a believer. Hahaha Paladin, I know you are a good person. Don’t take what I just said seriously, just treat it as an old man talking nonsense!”
Andrew was about to come over when he said that. Intending to squat down and stroke Lucia's face. However, he was stopped by Paladin, which made the former frown unhappily. He said, "Paladin, what else do you want?!" Andrew snorted, He looked at Paladin contemptuously and added, “For exchange of a woman, what more do you want? My position?”
"I want the position of assistant bishop.
When Andrew heard it, he looked astonished. After confirming that he had heard it correctly, he immediately couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha, I, Andrew, have been a bishop of the diocese for so long. Yet, this bishop of the diocese has never heard of such an ignorant and shameless request in the past 25 years. Assistant bishop? A priest who has only been serving for less than half a year wants to be an assistant bishop? Hahahaha!"
Andrew's laughter was full of ridicule. It was true that in the Holy See’s system, there could be an auxiliary bishop and an assistant bishop under the diocesan bishop. These two positions were supposedly equivalent, they both had great power. However, the assistant bishop was a tad more powerful because this position was held by the successor of the diocesan bishop, not just anyone could get this position. So, one could imagine how excessive Paladin's request was.
The laughter stopped abruptly. Andrew stared at Paladin with disdainful eyes and cursed, "Paladin, do you think I'm old-fashioned? You want to be an assistant bishop? What achievements and backings do you have? You don't even have the right to be an assistant bishop in this diocese. You don't even know how many priests there are in this diocese, but you want to be an assistant bishop? Don’t be ridiculous!”
In response, Paladin stated calmly and gently, "Then I would like to be the auxiliary bishop. I will offer you five hundred gold coins in order to spread the glory of God."
"Huh?"
Andrew looked at Paladin in disbelief. Although the auxiliary bishop was equivalent to the assistant bishop, it was a thankless job. All trivial matters and troubles were all handled by the auxiliary bishop while the benefits might not necessarily go to them. Andrew was so busy with work that he hardly had any spare time. So, although the position was attractive, Andrew hadn’t found a suitable candidate until now. This position could share his worries while also serving as a scapegoat if necessary. He couldn't figure out why this young priest had set his sights on the position of an auxiliary bishop.