Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 355 Initial Contact with the "He Xing School" (Check-in)
"The chosen ones?"

Upon hearing this, Fulla Jenkins instinctively showed a look of surprise.

"What does Ince want with the 'Church of the Earth Mother'?"

"The Church of the Earth Mother possesses a sealed artifact corresponding to the Sequence 3 'Fear Bishop' of the 'Sleepless' pathway. Ince wants to use his influence over that 'Chosen One' to steal it through her, and then seek to advance to Sequence 3."

"As you know, this is extremely fatal. The 'Church of the Earth Mother Goddess' generally has two systems: 'Graceful Ones' and 'Chosen Ones.' Without at least one 'Chosen One' countersignature, any order or decision can be considered invalid."

"Therefore, the 'Church of the Earth Mother' can be seen as the last bulwark for the security of the 'Church of the Earth Mother' with a certain degree of discretion. If a 'Church of the Earth Mother' is controlled, the consequences will be very serious."

The reason for this design is that the two pathways controlled by the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess are easily corrupted by external gods such as the primordial moon. Therefore, the church is divided into two major systems: those who are blessed by God and those who are favored by God.

Those favored by Goddess are clergy who receive the grace of the Mother Goddess through the two pathways of 'Earth' and 'Moon', while those favored by Goddess are those who receive her favor from external sources or through other pathways. Under these circumstances, even decrees issued by the Apostolic Nuncio must be countersigned by at least one of the favored by Goddess; otherwise, they can be considered invalid.

After hearing Roger's words, Flaherty Jenkins frowned:
"According to you, that chosen one must also be an extraordinary being with divinity, otherwise it would be impossible for Ince to see the opportunity to steal that Sequence 3 sealed artifact."

Roger nodded slightly:

"Of course, her name is Selena Strauss, an 'Undead' of the 'Corpse Collector' pathway Sequence 4."

"It is worth noting that this saint was promoted to Sequence 4 a long time ago, but has fallen into a deep slumber."

"Shortly after her most recent awakening, before she had fully regained her memory, she was unfortunately seized upon by Ince Zangwell."

"It is worth noting that the 'Church of the Earth Mother Goddess' who collaborates with her is His Excellency Mattiada, one of the archbishops of the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess. She is not the only 'Church of the Goddess' who collaborates with His Excellency Mattiada, but her discretion and countersignature authority are in no way less than those of the other 'Church of the Goddess'."

Upon hearing this, Vella Jenkins said:
"'The Undead'? I'm not quite sure about that."

"She has been asleep for 60 years. It's normal that you don't know because so much time has passed."

Roger smiled.

"Your Excellency Abraham, I must say that we need to communicate with the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess before we can confirm this matter, because the Night Watchers are not an official law enforcement force in the Kingdom of Feneport."

"In other words, without the approval of the Church of the Mother Goddess, we will not have law enforcement authority, and even if they do approve it, our law enforcement authority will be very limited."

Roger shook his head upon hearing Jenkins' concerns:
"It's alright. If it's convenient, you can first communicate with the Church of the Mother Goddess and listen to their opinions on the general direction."

"In any case, I believe this will not be a problem."

"You seem very confident?"

Fula Jenkins raised an eyebrow as she refilled Roger's empty teacup with black tea and asked curiously.

"It's all up to people. After all, there's no conflict between the Goddess's Church and the Mother Goddess's Church. The latter is the only foreign orthodox church allowed to preach in the homeland, besides the three major local orthodox churches of Rune. It's normal for the two sides to cooperate with each other."

Roger shrugged noncommittally, then took the teacup and said thank you.

In fact, he could clearly see that this Selena Strauss was very likely related to a goddess.

Although the goddess and the Earth Mother are allies, it is not surprising that Lilith would choose an 'undead' as her chosen one. The only strange thing is that, in theory, an 'undead' who has just awakened would not be very clear-headed. This is certainly not news to the Church of the Earth Mother.

However, it is indeed quite unusual that she is still listed as a "favored one" with full rights under such circumstances.

Roger had a strong feeling that the Church of the Mother Goddess was also waiting for this moment, which was why it hadn't dealt with the problem of Selena Strauss immediately.

But Roger had no idea what they were thinking.

"Yes, that's true."

"I will report this matter to the Holy Church for a decision, and I will inform you as soon as I have any news."

Fula Jenkins glanced at Roger with a smile. The archbishop of the Church of the Night could also tell that the current head of the Abraham family seemed to know something, but he just couldn't say it outright.

"Yes, thank you for your help, Mr. Jenkins."

Roger nodded politely and agreed.

After three rounds of tea, Roger stood up, took off his top hat, and placed it in front of his chest:

"Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Jenkins. I await your news."

"You're too kind, Your Excellency Abraham."

Fula Jenkins nodded, meaning there was no problem.

Roger nodded slightly, turned around and left the room where Jenkins was, closing the door behind him.

Once he reached the corridor, he bowed politely to the "Goddess of Night" on the stained glass, praising this "Lord of Sleep and Silence," before leaving the Church of Deep Sleep via "teleportation."

Roger didn't rush back to "Underground Midnight City" afterward, but instead went to St. George's District in Backlund.

He changed his appearance, transforming himself into a Western male movie star surnamed Li from his previous life, and then wandered around until he arrived at a somewhat dilapidated neighborhood.

Here, Roger found a fortune-telling hut with a wooden sign that read "Natalie's Astrology Hut," and then pushed open the door and went inside.

Good afternoon, sir.

Behind the shop counter sat a young woman dressed in a black astrologer's robe, staring blankly at a half-open deck of Small Arcana cards in front of her.

The woman had long red hair, a high nose bridge and brow bone, and a pair of brown eyes in deep-set eye sockets. Although she wasn't particularly beautiful, she was still considered above average in terms of looks.

Hearing Roger enter, she snapped out of her daze and greeted him.

"Hello, Ms. Natalie."

Roger, whose appearance had changed, smiled slightly at the girl before him, and then said:
“I heard that you have an astrology enthusiasts club that is recruiting new members, so I’d like to give it a try.”

"I see."

Natalie stood up and pointed to a small table with four chairs next to her:
"Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

"Dishie coffee, one extra sugar cube."

Then Roger laughed and said:

"Ideally, it should be freshly baked at noon today; I'm sure you have some here."

"How did you know? Was it a result of divination?"

Natalie paused for a moment, then instinctively asked, "As I just said, I know a little about astrology, and the divination results told me that I would get my favorite drink here."

Roger answered.

"I see."

Natalie felt a strange unease, and then she asked him suspiciously:
Are you serious?

"fake."

Roger laughed:

"There's a strong smell of Dixi coffee near your counter. Considering the poor ventilation here, it must be the aroma of coffee that was recently brewed."

"On the other hand, there is no coffee or milk stain on the spout of the coffee pot on your table, which means you just washed the coffee pot, filled it with coffee, and haven't had a chance to drink it yet."

"I see."

Natalie also chuckled, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, she had no idea that divination and astrology could predict whether someone had just brewed coffee; at least, that wasn't the case in her understanding.

If someone could actually do such a thing in front of her, it would make her seem rather foolish.

Regardless, the man in front of her was quite handsome, which made Natalie not mind that he had made such a small joke. She poured Roger a cup of Dipsy coffee and poured herself a cup without sugar, then sat down opposite Roger with her coffee cup.

How long have you been studying astrology?

Natalie asked curiously.

"To be honest, it's been a year."

Roger looked sincere. In fact, although the Abraham family had always had basic astrology courses, they were almost all based on the original owner's memories. He himself had only been practicing them personally for about a year.

"One year is only enough to be considered a beginner in this field."

Natalie nodded:
"However, our astrology club doesn't mind taking in beginners—in fact, training more excellent astrologers is one of our missions."

"I see."

Roger nodded. In fact, he knew that this so-called astrology club was just a window for the "Hertz School" to promote itself. They would screen people who were interested in astrology and then recruit them as members.

He glanced discreetly around the outside of the glass display window before lowering his head and speaking mysteriously:
"In fact, I've heard that organizations like yours... usually have some extraordinary individuals, or what they're called, right?"

"To be honest, I want to become an extraordinary person, but unfortunately I don't know how."

"Who told you that? That's pure rumor."

Natalie's eyes showed wariness, but she quickly shook her head, feigning calmness.

“It’s Balde Rivera, he’s my friend, but unfortunately he’s been… sigh.”

Roger didn't actually know the person he was talking about; he only knew that the other person was a "Level 1" member of the "Hercules School".

He had heard the other person pray before, but he never responded.

Recently, the rust-colored star representing Baldr Rivera inexplicably turned black, leading Roger to realize that he must be dead.

Because Baldr is not a local and his family ties in Backlund are simple, but he often goes to bars or underground casinos, which makes his actual social relationships very complicated.

So Roger's claim that he was his friend is impossible to verify. Anyway, a dead person can't speak, and no one cares where a Level 1 member is.

"I see. I know about Balde. It's such a pity. He was so young, and all he did was have a few drinks..."

Natalie sighed.

Although some doubts remained, I felt much more relaxed at this point.

Baldr was a notorious gossip, and his superior happened to be a "secret spy."

When the "Hercules School" was first established, Bald was already a member of the organization. This allowed him to talk a lot about extraordinary people while drinking outside, before various confidentiality clauses and accountability systems were perfected.

For most people, this is just gossip, but for those who are truly extraordinary, it contains a great deal of information.

Therefore, Roger even suspected that Bald Rivera was secretly eliminated by some members of the "Hercules School" because of a leak, but in any case, such a thing was still too secretive for a low-ranking member like Natalie.

"However, I still have to tell you that we only impart knowledge here, and do not transmit those... supernatural powers, nor do we have those so-called extraordinary individuals."

"While it may be disrespectful to the deceased to say this, if you were truly a friend of Baldr, you should know that he often liked to exaggerate... We only welcome those who are eager for astrological knowledge. If you are looking for so-called supernatural powers, you may have to look elsewhere."

Natalie spoke very cautiously, and Roger immediately made a judgment in his mind after hearing it.

He realized that this must be part of the "Hercules School's" secrecy mechanism; unless introduced directly by an extraordinary member of a certain level, they would only recruit new members who were eager for astrological knowledge.

Only in this way can the purity of the "He Xing" faith and the safety of the organization be guaranteed to the greatest extent.

"It doesn't matter."

Roger waved his hand dismissively:
"In any case, becoming an extraordinary being is just a side effect for me; exploring astrological knowledge is the core of my life."

"I believe that as long as I work hard enough on this path, I will definitely be able to gain knowledge and abilities that surpass those of ordinary people."

Natalie nodded:
"Although you say that, I still have to tell you that new members must go through two tests to join."

"The first test is my initial test for you today. If you answer 80% correctly, we will conduct an internal review. Once the review is passed, we will officially accept you."

"Of course, you may think these conditions are too demanding, but I can assure you that our club possesses a level of astrological knowledge that cannot be found anywhere else in Backlund... no, not even anywhere else in Loen."

“If you can join the organization, I believe your academic ability in this area will definitely make great progress.”

"Understood, I look forward to it and am willing to accept the assessment."

Roger nodded, then spoke to Natalie:
"Please begin, Ms. Natalie."

Natalie nodded, then took out a paper astrological chart and placed a pocket watch on Roger's left.

(End of this chapter)