CH. 4 ALTHOUGH IT’S DIRTY, BUT I DON’T MIND
Loka felt confused.
She had only wanted to persuade Arlen to abandon his evil ways, but somehow she had ended up fulfilling her mission beyond expectations and recruiting him into the church. As she pondered this, Arlen glanced at her with a barely noticeable smile.
The Holy Light Church had a very strict screening process, and secular nobles who wished to join the church needed the recommendation and endorsement of relevant clergy.
Who could provide a more convincing guarantee than the prospective saintess before him? The last and most important reason why Arlen had asked Loka to recommend him was –
No matter what he did in the future, Loka could not expose him.
When he was imprisoned, the oath that Arlen had made Loka swear to the goddess had contained a word trap.
‘After you get out, you can’t report Arlen, you can’t hurt Arlen.’
The key was the half sentence that said you can’t report Arlen after you get out.
It didn’t specify what you couldn’t report.
The complete oath without the trap should have been, ‘After you get out, you can’t report Arlen for what he did now and on the altar.’
By omitting the time and place at the end, the meaning had completely changed.
Without specifying anything, it didn’t refer to his sacrifice of the cultists, so anything that happened in the future, Loka couldn’t report Arlen.
And she couldn’t hurt Arlen.
This plan was brilliant.
Arlen’s mouth curled up with an imperceptible smile.
As for what he had just said to Loka, they were all true.
The Mother of Life Goddess Chruch was fragmented, divided, and even lacked a high priest. And because their goddess loved dark life, the cultists were enemies of each other, fighting and killing each other, wishing to sacrifice their fellow men to their goddess.
According to Arlen’s memory, there were nearly ten opposing church hideouts in this borderland alone.
They were torn apart internally, and hunted and attacked by the church externally.
Only a fool would join this bandit organization now.
He, Arlen, such a sunny and cheerful boy, of course had decisively chosen to be a soldier. What Mother of Life? He didn’t know her at all.
Getting a position in the church was the most important thing!
And, Arlen joining the Holy Light Church had another purpose.
“But,” Loka opened her mouth slightly, as if hesitating about something. She swallowed, with a bit of hesitation. “You are not suitable for the church’s path.”
This was a fact that the entire Morningstar family knew.
Arlen had scarce holy light elements in his body, and if he wanted to study light magic, the effort he had to spend would be several times that of others.
Loka had put it nicely, but the blunt way of saying it was, we don’t accept the cursed child.
Hmph.
She hesitated, her heart wavering.
Arlen observed the girl’s expression in front of him, knowing that he had secured the deal.
He subconsciously clenched the prepared cheat sheet in his pocket, “Three Steps to Trick Loka into Recruiting Arlen into the Church.”
He had already completed the first step, reasoning with her.
Next was the second step, appealing to her emotions!
“Loka.”
Arlen looked at the girl earnestly, his pale blue eyes drooping. The sunlight filtered by the ivy lost its fiery hue, and the light took on a dark green filter, falling on the boy’s pupils, sparkling with a bright sadness.
“I know, I am an unblessed child. I have been imprisoned in this gray tower since I was born. People say I am the cursed child, they say I killed my mother. But even though I am like this, even though I was born in darkness, I also long for the light in the depths of my heart.”
“Even if the road ahead is difficult, even if I was not blessed from birth, even if I was rejected, I still want to try to get out of this gray tower, I still want to try to enter that sunlight.”
Arlen did not lie. He longed for the benefits of the Holy Light Church. Who would want to be a dark rat in the underground tunnel?
On the other hand, Loka’s face turned sour. The little saintess had soft ears and could not stand it when others played the emotional card.
This guy actually started to be sentimental!
He was using all her tricks!
She was afraid that if she listened any longer, she would not be able to resist agreeing.
After all, he was still her lifesaver.
Saving a life and exchanging it for a recommendation was not too much to ask.
Since she stepped into the mansion, everything she saw and experienced was vivid in her mind.
The maids who were afraid and terrified of Arlen, their attitude of avoiding him at all costs, the splendid castle and the rundown gray tower, and the lonely fourteen-year-old boy reading by the window sill.
‘This master is a cursed monster.’
‘From the moment he was born, he killed his own mother. He came to this world with his mother’s blood.’
‘Don’t deceive me, you are definitely not his friend. No child would want to be friends with him – let alone a nun of the Holy Light Church.’
Loka lightly bit her thin lips.
“And think about it,”
Arlen’s last sentence was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“If even the cursed child can be redeemed, if even the cursed child can become a priest of the church, doesn’t that prove the greatness and tolerance of the church? Isn’t this the beacon of the world?”
The third step of the plan, the church added another story of salvation!
It was a perfect match.
Tsk.
Loka finally nodded. “I can recommend you to the church, but you have to pass the entrance test of the Holy Light Church yourself.”
“But,” she changed her tone, staring at Arlen expressionlessly. Loka had already seen his novice mage level. “With your current level, you have no chance of passing.”
According to the process, being recommended was just getting a fair chance to compete. But such a fair chance was enough to eliminate ninety percent of the commoners and even nobles. God loved everyone equally – but God loved the recommended ones more.
If it were not for the family’s deep relationship with the Holy Light Church, plus the proper handling, it would be very difficult to get a quota.
After being recommended, you could become a preparatory believer.
But it was not over yet. To become a formal priest, you had to take the entrance test afterwards.
The entrance test of the Holy Light Church was also the most difficult among the seven orthodox churches of the Abyss. It tested not only the magic level, but also the cultural exam, the history of the church, and the understanding of the holy light. Thousands of young talents competed for one quota in the town of test-takers.
“I just need a chance.” Arlen said earnestly to Loka.
A chance to cheat!
“There will be an entrance test in a month. Don’t forget!”
After sending Loka away, Arlen continued to read his book.
Soon after, there was a knock on the door.
“Master.”
“It’s Enya. Come in.” He said without lifting his head.
The door was slowly opened, and to his surprise, the visitor was the maid who had received Loka before.
She wore a pure white skirt with deer skin boots. Her lips were thin as the cherry blossoms of early spring.
Enya bent her knees slightly, her slender fingers lifting the edge of her skirt, and gracefully performed a curtsy.
She had clearly not wanted to step in before, and had not wanted to say another word to Arlen.
“The nun lady has left.”
Enya said calmly to Arlen, her face showing no trace of disgust or fear.
“According to your instructions earlier, I played the role of ‘the dark maid who talks behind the master’s back’ perfectly. Do you like this kind of special play? Is it time to punish me for being ignorant?”
“I’m not that perverted.” Arlen raised his head and looked at her.
“So you still want to stay in this abandoned warehouse? Do you like to play in the wild?” She tilted her head and said calmly, “I don’t mind if it’s a bit dirty.”
“I said I’m not perverted.”
