Werewolf Hunting Rules.

Chapter 473 The Priest's Perspective

“Dear friends, the fact that you think of us means you have seized an opportunity for self-redemption.”

Father Tom of the Huang Guanghui priesthood spoke happily to Clayton.

They were at his home at the moment. Clayton Bello had come to him on his own initiative. He had just come home from get off work and was taking off his black clothes to prepare dinner.

Upon opening the door, Tom immediately recognized that the guest was not human and that his demeanor resembled that of the werewolves of Bodalabike. So he asked the guest about his race, and the guest frankly admitted it and gave his name.

A werewolf from out of town intervenes in Weaudi's chaotic situation during this turbulent time. Tom doesn't know whether to call him unlucky or question the werewolf's motives.

However, Tom's subtle inner thoughts would not be outwardly revealed.

Clayton clapped his hands, which were resting on the armrest, as if trying to relax with the atmosphere, but he still felt a little stiff. He didn't continue, and his gaze shifted from the pot of fish soup on the table to Father Tom.
“I am not here seeking salvation, Father. I am simply puzzled by what is happening in Weiod. People like me are always caught in a dilemma when faced with conflicts caused by hostility towards the Darkin. We do not want to be involved, but we also worry that our concessions will only embolden the perpetrators and escalate the persecution. So I would like to know the views of the bishops of this city on the changing situation.”

“I’m not a local and I don’t plan to stay here long. All I need is some advice and suggestions.”

Without mentioning payment, and despite not knowing Father Tom at all, Clayton simply took it for granted that the other man would give him some advice.

The priest did not feel offended.

As a priest who frequently interacts with believers, he is very sensitive to human nature—and accents as well.

Although the guest in front of me looks like a Mansis, he is clearly a typical South Brigadier at heart. He will naturally ask others for what he needs, and he will also be generous when others ask for help.

However, he was unable to give the other party a satisfactory answer.

"A suggestion?" Tom said regretfully. "I'd love to say there's something that my brothers and I can agree on, but there isn't. You're a straightforward person, so I'll be frank. Not all brothers sympathize with you."

"The brothers who have consistently refused donations from non-humans are already quite frank and endearing, while some of my brothers will accept donations from the Darkin, listen to their prayers and repentance, but when you suffer, they will choose to stand idly by."

"However, not intervening in non-faith struggles between believers has always been the church's principle, so we cannot criticize this behavior."

“A significant number of people remain neutral, while the number of brothers who hope to mediate is roughly the same as the number of brothers who oppose the idea, so the situation is somewhat deadlocked, especially since a scandal recently broke out because of this opposition. We need to resolve this issue before we can start the vote.”

At this point, the priest paused, scooped a spoonful of porridge from the bowl, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Clayton nodded; he wasn't surprised by the church's reaction.

Getting such a behemoth moving is extremely difficult; the internal forces pulling against each other are enough to make it sluggish, but anyone who underestimates it will suffer a great loss.

"So what do you think of Conionai? Is he the same as the other Darkborn?"

“Conionne. They are special.” The priest paused. “In the current situation, we do not consider them as Darkin. They are competing with the three families as secular beings—although they use some Darkin power.”

"Huang Guanghui has no contact with them? As far as I know, you are very tolerant of our existence." Clayton glanced at the fish soup in the pot again.

He didn't take Conionai and his ilk as ordinary people; they must have more cards up their sleeves, and more than one.

Conionne was once the Duke of Weaudi's black glove in handling the "real world," and all the Dark Ones in the territories were under their jurisdiction. Many old guys were acquaintances of theirs, and with this relationship, their allies must be more numerous than those on the surface.

But so far, no one has seen those Darkborn appear in the open.

The priest stood up and served himself a bowl of fish soup in front of the werewolf: "No. They are very indifferent to the Yellow Light Society. I heard that they have been like this for a century. Moreover, they have a clear bias towards the Holy Grail Movement. The bishop of the Diocese of Bedarubicus was appointed by the Archbishop of Weiod, and they wrote a letter saying that they only want priests, not priests. Do you understand what that means?"

Clayton nodded silently.

The difference between a pastor and a priest lies in whether or not they give up the right to marry and have children.

Only monks who have practiced lifelong asceticism and are dressed in black can be called priests after sitting in a chapel, like Tom before me and Louis of Gévaud.

Conionai may not have been a Grailist, but they believed in the theory that all things are sacred, and advocated that all living beings should be free to use their natural abilities because they are given by the Father, and that the benevolent God would certainly not give evil abilities.

In this theory, fertility is naturally considered an innate ability, while abstinence is seen as an evil practice.

Therefore, Conionne was unwilling to accept a black-robed monk into the Bodalabich.

Although Huang Guanghui also had similar theories about the sanctity of all things, they would never regard asceticism as taboo. Instead, they stood on the same side as the general understanding and regarded it as a "sacred and extraordinary dedication" made for the sake of faith.

The concept of the black-clad figures is to bear the darkness for everyone, but this is not the meaning of their existence in the theory of the Yellow Light Society.

Their logic is very simple.

If the male form of the Creator is served by virgin women who remain chaste for life (i.e., nuns), then the female form of the Creator in the Huang Guang faith must also require virgin men to serve him.

The black-robed monk was the virgin who was positioned opposite the nun.

Perhaps because of this difference in understanding, Kong Lionei never joined forces with Huang Guanghui.

Some unbelievers may find it ridiculous and question its authenticity, but the struggle for faith is so intense that it allows no deviation whatsoever.

Even the choice between leavened and unleavened bread for communion was a subject of endless debate among monks, even splitting the church into two opposing factions. Compared to that, whether monks who renounced their right to procreate were qualified to hold clergy seemed like a serious and complex issue. Thinking of bread, Clayton's gaze drifted back to the priest's dinner.

Since Conionai did not even contact the most tolerant Huang Guanghui, it was even less likely that he would contact other sects.

Perhaps the Holy Grail Society was willing to help them, and some of its powerful members even traveled from north to south. However, upon arriving in Sasha City, this group was wiped out by a combined force of Clayton, the Elders, and the Doomsday Seekers hired by the Friendship Society, leaving them little opportunity to contact Conionne.

This seems like a huge disadvantage, but the fact that the leadership of the Friendship Association has actually lost its commander and all mutual aid orders are severely delayed is also a huge disadvantage.

“We care for every believer with a spirit of universal love, but there are some situations that cannot be resolved by faith alone.”

“Conrionais has a bad reputation, but the Brotherhood of Friendships has similar rumors. Whether they have committed crimes is not for the Church to judge. Even if we intervene out of a sense of justice, we may be seen as using any means necessary for personal gain,” Tom said worriedly. “My only worry now is that things will get too heated and become irreparable. Even if some of my brothers disagree with me, the Church does not want to hear cannon fire in Weodie.”

Clayton nodded slightly: "Are you worried that Weaudi's garrison will try to attack the castle in Bodarabik?"

"Yes, I've heard there are some ancient beings among them who have lived for centuries. Although no one has ever seen them, I believe they must exist. If the shells release them and the public sees these ancient figures who have long been considered dead, the situation will spiral out of control."

"What will happen then?" Clayton pressed.

The priest gave a wry smile: "Considering Conionne's dual identity, the Knights and the Heraldry will definitely intervene and turn an economic issue into a political one. It's hard to say which side will suffer in the war, but we servants of the gods will certainly be demoted."

"You still think this is an economic issue, Father? Isn't this already a political issue?"

"That's true." The priest sighed and took a sip of fish soup to replenish his spiritual strength.

"Alright, let's not talk about the possibility of winning or losing now, but rather what will happen to Wei Odi if they win."

Clayton leaned forward slightly, his right hand resting on the table in front of him: "Since the Friendship Society has decided to use the Darkin as a target, their success will not benefit me, but I don't think they can really wipe out all the Darkin in all their territories. Father, do you know where the line between our existence and our disappearance lies?"

“In the church, in us,” Father Tom said without hesitation.

“But I heard about what happened at the Severnbusch Cathedral. It doesn’t seem easy to get the protection of the Yellow Light Society. And having to hide behind you all the time is no different from being imprisoned. I don’t really need that kind of security.”

"That's precisely because the Friendship Society hasn't won yet. The beasts are only dangerous when they're starving. Once they've filled their bellies, they'll naturally become sluggish."

Tom paused for a moment after he finished speaking.

"Mr. Bello, haven't you had dinner yet?"

Clayton nodded in agreement.

The priest immediately got up, went to the kitchen, and brought over another set of cutlery to serve him.

"This fish soup is really good. It's not made with local river fish, but with fish from the Bolai River. You have to try it."

Clayton didn't say much and immediately began to enjoy his meal.

The priest's dinner consisted of buttered toast, fish soup, and some dried figs. This was rather simple as a main meal, but considering the price of river fish in Weaudi, the cost was not less than that of a proper meal.

After the meal, they returned to their conversation.

"Will the Friendship Society affect the development of secular people?" Clayton asked.

“I think it should be the same as it is now, since the Society of Friendship is in power now,” the priest replied.

That means nothing has improved.

Clayton wiped his mouth with a napkin and then set it aside.

"What if it were Conionai instead?"

“Even if Conionai comes to power, the situation of the Darkin may not necessarily improve.” The priest said, clutching his stomach. “However, this is not a well-founded speculation, but it is hard not to think of the First Empire when a government controlled by werewolves is akin to the First Empire, which eventually collapsed.”

"This conclusion deviates somewhat from a neutral stance," Clayton commented.

“Maybe. Well, I admit I’m a bit prejudiced against them, but not because of Conionne’s identity, but because they failed once before.”

Clayton watched the priest, waiting for him to recount the story.

The priest looked on with a look of reminiscence: “I did not live through the period of the Duke’s downfall, but the previous priest of this parish did, and he told me about that history. At that time, Conionne had actually taken over the whole of Weodia. They had seized all the power, and everyone in Weodia had to bow down to them. Even if the situation was a little chaotic, it seemed that it should be quelled quickly.”

"But Conionne made a mistake that caused the situation, which was about to recover, to collapse again."

"Perhaps to compensate for the environmental damage suffered by Bodalabich, they issued new regulations that severely restricted equipment that could pollute the environment and shut down many factories. Then, they supported merchants in transporting cheap cotton and wool from the south to the city, invested heavily in building a long string of water-powered textile mills along the river, and invested in many garment factories, hoping to turn Weodia into the kingdom's new center for the production of cloth and clothing."

"This was possible, but unfortunately, just a year later, an insect infestation broke out in the cotton-producing areas, and an epidemic occurred in the wool-supplying areas, affecting all costs."

The priest didn't need to say anything more; Clayton could easily guess what was going to happen next.