I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha.

Catherine asked, "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Considering that Joan and Helena had made quite a stir during their investigation, the school would find out sooner or later. So Roland told them about Diana's situation.

Catherine's face lit up. She said, "How did this happen in just a few hours? Should we also check on Theresa and the others' family situation?"

Roland thought for a moment and said, "No need, they are from the South."

Catherine: “???”

Roland then recounted the story of 'Priestess Mary and Her servants'. After listening, Catherine rubbed her forehead for a long time, and after a moment, she didn't say a word and simply turned off the communication.

Roland used the crystal ball to check on the situation of Diana's family reunion. Then, he put the crystal ball away, slumped into a chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

"Let's summon them with the Hall of Sanctuary once we get to the Holy Court. Finally, we can have some peace and quiet."

A moment later, the crystal ball flashed, and a magical rune appeared.

Roland glanced at the runes and knew that several holy servants were returning to pack their belongings. He touched the serpent ring, and then three beams of light descended from the sky, transforming into Maria and two other holy servants.

Seeing that the boss was resting with his eyes closed, the three of them did not disturb him. They went to carriage number 1, found the priests, and helped everyone pack their things and prepare to get off the train.

The train is currently floating about ten meters above the ground, moving at a low speed. Judging from its location, it is now only a few dozen kilometers from the Holy See.

Roland opened his eyes and stared blankly at the scenery outside the window.

On the vast plains, many farmers were busy in the golden fields, and various groups could occasionally be seen on the distant official road.

A steel flying snake sped across the fields, and farmers, merchants, nobles, soldiers, and commoners prostrated themselves in excitement, singing songs of heaven.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this place, over a hundred kilometers away, is the outskirts of the Holy See. It's incredibly prosperous, as evidenced by the people's clothing and the fabrics hanging like fences along the roads.

The farmers in the fields were dressed in luxurious silk, and even the refugees on the road were dressed in fine fabrics.

These fabrics were no worse than those worn by the nobles and soldiers who were hastily distributing clothes by the roadside, except that their clothes were not colorful.

This was not because the Holy Empire lacked the wealth to dye everyone's cloth—over a hundred kilometers outward from the Holy Court, colorful silks hung everywhere. They were predominantly purple, blue, and gold, and the dyes for these three colors were more expensive than gold.

The wealth of the South could make the whole world wear silk and silver, but as the bishops of the Holy See said, the empire should not be allowed to become too rich and disrupt order.

People are born with sin, and naturally they are divided into different classes. Therefore, even if the lower classes are very wealthy, it would be considered unreasonable by the northerners to wear colored clothes.

Therefore, after much deliberation, the bishops of the Holy See and the officials of the Empire decided to have all the beggars and refugees who could be seen everywhere wear expensive, but undyed, silk.

They also painted the unripe wheat in the fields gold with dye mixed with gold.

The farmers in the fields were busy with this. Meanwhile, the nobles traveling along the official road were busy distributing clothes to everyone and hanging silk along the road.

Many soldiers were busy applying gold powder to the faces of the refugees to cover up their sallow complexion.

It's not that the refugees have no food; at least two days ago, various parishes began to find ways to distribute food to the people.

The Papacy is very wealthy and has abundant food supplies. It also allocates a large amount of food funds.

But everyone only received less than a tenth of it. It was simply not enough to fill their stomachs.

Prolonged hunger cannot be satisfied by a short period of hearty eating.

Fortunately, the bishops of the Papacy had anticipated this 'fire loss'. So they made two preparations—the gold powder smeared on their faces was enough to cover up people's poverty and to showcase the wealth of the priests and silver fox nobles.

In just two days, this massive project was completed within a hundred-mile radius of the Holy Court. Such coordination and mobilization could not be overstated; it was a miracle.

Fortunately, there were few trees in the mountains and fields near the holy city, otherwise it would have taken two days to finish this kind of work.

Looking around, the distant hills were all bare. Many of the trees along the official road, which had been magically brought to life yesterday, had also been cut down.

Although the Vatican has repeatedly issued decrees prohibiting tree cutting, some people still secretly cut down trees because people need firewood. More importantly, the officials in the holy city also need firewood.

Therefore, although the trees belonged to the gods and their people, the common people dared to cut them down because the people living in the city were the gods who used this firewood.

After selling all the firewood, everyone would buy more from the gods at a higher price to take home and use it themselves. In this way, they would not offend the gods.

"The people over there at Seaburg are dressed just as well. Have something to eat, sir."

A priestess approached; it was Maria. She brought milk, snacks, and fruit. It seemed she knew Roland hadn't eaten and wanted to offer him something to eat before he got off the carriage.

Roland looked at Maria with a strange expression on his face.

Roland was a little uncomfortable with Maria's use of the word "Master".

Yesterday, when they were discussing the drugging, Maria was still addressing them as "Your Highness." But after the "Archangel" incident, Maria started addressing Maria the same way.

After placing the milk and pastries on the table, Maria looked out the window and said, "There are many silks hanging on the trees and buildings over there, which are very beautiful."

Roland said, "Those are advertisements and slogans."

Maria was slightly speechless. Roland, like herself, hadn't been to the Eastern Territory for over twenty years. He'd only glimpsed it through a crystal ball, while she'd gone there in person.

I thought Roland was like me, out of touch with the times, but he seemed to know a lot about things.

Maria asked, "What are advertisements and slogans?"

Roland shook his head without answering. Instead, he asked, "There seem to be many cars in the city. Are there cars in the countryside too?"

"car?"

Maria paused, then suddenly remembered something. She said, "Yes, yes. I saw two cars in Vermeek. There are far more cars there than in Vermeek."

Roland asked, "Do you have any trucks? You mean those that are much bigger than a normal vintage car, with the back full of cargo?"

Maria shook her head and said, "No, but I have seen quite a few 'flying cars' in the city."

Roland suddenly remembered the "gold and silver chests" that he had seen flying around in the sky in the "Sun City" by the river.

Roland remarked, "It seems that these kinds of military equipment are gradually being used by civilians in developed coastal cities. There must be a lot of changes there, right?"

"Yes, it's only been a little over twenty years, but it feels like two different worlds."

Maria said with some emotion, "The Holy City hasn't changed at all."

After a pause, Maria asked with some curiosity, "Sir, aren't you curious?"

Roland asked, "What are you curious about?"

Maria looked out the window and said, "I remember when I was a child, the White Queen visited the Holy City. Back then, just like now, the priests and ministers redecorated the roads inside and outside the city with gold, silver and silk."

I asked my mother why, even though the empire was so wealthy, most people still couldn't afford to eat.

Despite having divine powers to make trees grow, people still end up traveling dozens of miles to cut firewood.
My mother told me that God loves all people. But we are born with sin. Therefore, we must atone for our sins.

"Sir, these wheat crops in the field won't survive long."

Roland said, “Mary, God does love the world. But you are not men, you are sheep.”

"To be born a sheep is the greatest sin." Mary was stunned for a long time. She asked, "We all look the same, so why are those born in the south sheep, while those born in the north are people?"

Roland said, “Maria, have you seen the sleepless tree? It’s everywhere along the riverbank. But outside the riverbank, it blooms with sunflowers.”

In the South, there is only a sun god, but no sun. The gods here are so dazzling that their brilliance surpasses that of the sun, moon, and stars.

Those born here receive the glory of God, and thus they grow into sheep.

People born in the north can see clear skies, and thus they grow into adults.

Maria said, "My lord, will the northern sky remain clear forever?"

Roland shook his head and said, "Nowhere is the sky always clear. So are dynasties."

When a dynasty reaches its end and the annexation of wealth reaches its limit, holy cities will emerge.

Three hundred years from now, when we can no longer maintain our current purity, we may also fall into depravity like the Orbis. History moves forward in a tortuous manner; it cannot be smooth sailing all the way. This is the law of nature.

However, there are no gods in our sky, so no giant hand can reach down from the sky to interfere with the changes in the natural order.

Therefore, the new wizard will overthrow our decay and pierce the clouds in the sky, allowing the sunlight to shine down on the earth once more.

At that time, new seeds will thrive in the decaying soil and bloom into even more beautiful flowers.

Maria felt that the master was too pessimistic about the future of the wizards of the East. She believed that as long as the King of a Thousand Eyes and many other determined reformers were still around, the East would not become as corrupt as the Church.

It won't be that fast, at least not that soon.

Three hundred years is just a nap for the King of a Thousand Eyes and others.

As long as that sword of Damocles still hangs over everyone's heads, many, many people will do their utmost to move forward.

Roland and Maria, one of them held an objective view of the outside world, believing that their civilization would move forward in a tortuous way.

One held an optimistic view, believing they would move straight forward.

But whatever their opinion, they all believed that the future of the East would not be like that of the Church.

Because the South has never changed in thousands of years.

The reformers of the church tried countless times to bring change and light to this dark world. But those sparks of hope were ultimately extinguished by powerful forces.

This giant hand doesn't exist in the Eastern Territory, and everyone, including the Thousand-Eyed King, is trying to prevent its appearance.

As long as the overall development of civilization outpaces the individual development of top wizards, then there will never be an invincible god in the Eastern Realm.

Roland asked, "Maria, what exactly is the purpose of the Vatican collecting those old scriptures?"

Maria said, "We're studying the god of madness."

Roland asked, "Why study the god of madness?"

"I do not know."

Maria shook her head in confusion, recalling the words of her godfather: "Perhaps it's to bring a little light to this world shrouded in dark clouds."

Maria's words reinforced Roland's belief in one thing once again: there must be a group of "their own people" within the Papacy.

The train ultimately did not make its way into the holy city.

When the train was about 20 kilometers from the holy city, a group of winged knights flew in from a nearby town. They followed the train, trying to communicate with the people inside.

Richard and Maria communicated with them.

It turned out that the Papacy had already sent people to wait for Prince Alaye in that small town. But Brianna was not among them; she would wait at the city gate.

At the same time, Catherine's image also flickered in Roland's crystal ball.

It turns out that the Papacy had just held consultations with the Eastern Territory. The prince and his entourage's visit was so sudden that it caught the Papacy completely off guard.

They hoped that Prince Alaye and his entourage would enter the city discreetly and not be too conspicuous.

The group of knights we just encountered on the train must have come specifically for this matter.

Catherine had originally planned for Roland and his group to enter the city in a grand and ostentatious manner, but after learning in the morning that Roland wished to keep a low profile, she decided to communicate with him. So she contacted Roland.

After hearing these words, Maria interjected, "My lord, madam, this is not surprising. According to the usual practice of the Vatican, the people of the entire south probably still believe that the Church has won a victory. Therefore, they would not want Prince Alaye and his entourage to enter the city in a too high-profile manner."

"It doesn't matter, it's better to keep a low profile. It's best not to hold any ceremonies or meet with the Pope."

Roland said, "It would be even better if we were received by very few people."

Maria muttered under her breath, "It's better to keep a low profile; Diana is very shy."

Upon hearing this, Roland and Catherine's expressions stiffened slightly. They had almost forgotten about this lively character.

Catherine said, "Then I agree. Well, let's go in through the side door. The people of the Holy City are prejudiced against wizards, and Prince Alaye doesn't want to be too conspicuous."

Roland nodded hurriedly.

Catherine added, "By the way, Roland, it seems the church originally didn't intend to communicate this matter with us, after all, the relationship between Alaye and the Thousand-Eyed King's faction is somewhat complicated right now."

But after they contacted Diana, Diana seemed to tell them to find 'the lady'. So the church contacted our diplomats through the original communication channels.

Therefore, Roland, you'd better keep Diana by your side and watch over her during this time."

Maria muttered under her breath, "I almost forgot about that. Luckily, it was just the church that contacted her. But we should still keep an eye on things, sir and madam."

As far as I know, Olivia is someone who can communicate with Heaven through prayer. I wonder if the gods have any way to speak directly with 'Olivia'.

Roland and Catherine's expressions immediately became quite interesting.

After the communication was lost, Roland hurriedly contacted Joan and Helena, telling them to quickly prepare to bring Diana, this little rascal, back.

When Roland summoned everyone back with the Sanctuary, the train had already stopped and was unloading cargo in the fields.

After unloading the supplies, horses, and other cargo, the train returned to the riverbank, while Roland and his companions rode on horseback, escorted by the knights of the Papacy, to the Holy City.

Looking at the Papal knights who were so respectful to her, Diana trembled and looked extremely nervous.

"Sir, do I really have to play that goddess?"

"It's not an act, you cough. I mean, from now on, you'd better play your role well. And stop calling me 'Master'!"

Roland is now even more guilty than Diana.

He prayed to Lady Luck once again, hoping that the bunch of clowns around him wouldn't cause any more trouble.

Teresa and the others were also praying; in their eyes, Roland was the real clown. (End of Chapter)