A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 272 "The Goddess's Favor is Like a Fleeting Butterfly, Elusive and Unpredictable"

"Decreed by the Divine Court—"

In the afternoon, a gentle sea breeze blows across the pristine white island of Polignano. As the wind rustles through the branches of the Holy Spirit Tree, the melodious sound blends with the ebb and flow of the sea foam, creating a melody like wind chimes. This is Polignano, the most beautiful island in the United States of the Eastern Islands.

Outside the church's white stained-glass windows, the pristine white buildings of the town stretched along the coastline like snow-capped mountain ridges. A sergeant major in a white robe, holding a document, read aloud to an elderly noblewoman who sat on a bench, wiping away tears:
"Although he died suddenly in his sleep, Belmont Hansen was employed by the White Church Arbitration Confidential Office at the time of his death, and therefore his death can be ruled as a work-related death. In accordance with Article 9800 of the Universal Law of the Church of Order and the Holy Spirit, the judgment is as follows."

"The application by Clock Tower Bank to refuse to pay workers' compensation is rejected. Within fifteen days from the date of this judgment, the bank shall pay a total of £400 in workers' compensation to Belmont Hansen's widow, Nona Hansen."

"Belmont Hansen is recognized as a martyr and can be buried in the Holy Spirit Cemetery of Polignano, so that his soul may rest under the wings of the goddess."

"Ms. Nona Hansen will enjoy the same treatment as the widows and family members of a White Church sergeant, and will retire in Polignano with all her living expenses covered by the White Church for the rest of her life."

"This judgment is the final ruling of the Divine Court. Any objection or dissent will be considered a defiance of order and the Holy Spirit. The White Cult has the right to enforce this judgment throughout Temuran by deploying bailiffs in accordance with the 'Heretical Treatment Law,' and may use extreme force, including methods that could result in death."

Upon hearing the verdict, the old woman pressed her hands together to her forehead, bowed her body, and wept, saying, "Praise the goddess. Praise the goddess."

The sergeant stepped aside slightly, and the faceless statue of the Holy Spirit looked down mercifully upon the believers.

A man dressed in an arcane robe sat in the back seat. He had black hair and brown eyes, and it was easy to tell that he came from a noble family in the Eastern Kingdom.

The clock tower's "insurance agent" shook his head helplessly, saying in a tone that was both resentful and resigned, "I'm telling you, although the clock tower's insurance business is shady, we wouldn't stoop to refusing a white bailiff's widow's compensation for a mere four hundred gold pounds."

Holding the verdict, the sergeant major said expressionlessly, "Strictly speaking, Belmont Hansen is not a bailiff. He is not a member of the White Cult, nor is he a registered member. He was merely employed by the Arbitration Confidential Division, and in accordance with the universal values ​​of Goddess's mercy, the Divine Court exceptionally granted him clergy treatment; this is not unprecedented."

The man in the clock tower rolled his eyes and laughed.

"A temporary worker, huh? Fine, fine, it's not that we're unwilling to pay compensation, but the problem is they won't even let us examine the body. How are we supposed to know how he died?"

"If it's a revenge killing, an overdose, or suicide, those aren't covered by insurance. Ha, maybe he believed in some evil god and killed himself through a cult ritual," he joked.

But the sergeant major didn't want to joke around.

"We have already performed an autopsy."

"What were the results of the autopsy?"

"It meets the criteria for work-related injury," the sergeant major said briefly.

"Oh~"

The man at the clock tower stood up, took out a checkbook and pen from the inside pocket of his coat, and quickly wrote down '4000'. The checkbook was in silver coins, exactly 400 gold pounds.

"Isn't it enough that I'll compensate you? Anyway, it's the company's money to compensate you. Here you go, ma'am. May your husband rest in peace under the wings of the goddess."

He handed the check to Hansen's widow, raising both hands: "See? You've fulfilled the judgment, now don't come looking for trouble."

After saying that, the man put his hands in his pockets and left the small church.

The sergeant solemnly folded the verdict and handed it to the old woman as well. The old woman looked up, her voice choked with sobs, and asked, "Father, when can I see my husband's body? I need to hold a funeral for him."

"You don't need to worry about that. The White Church will take care of his cremation, burying his ashes in the cemetery, and erecting a monument for him."

"Thank you, Your Honor, praise be to the goddess—"

Polignano, an autonomous island belonging to the White Church, is home to the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Pre-Holy Court. Although it, like the Church of Light, chose an island as its headquarters, Polignano is far smaller than San Camelot. Apart from the hundred-meter-high statue of the goddess standing on the island's cliffs, the island has no extravagant buildings or churches.

As a theocracy, San Camelot is off-limits even to ordinary believers of the sun; only those invited can witness the splendor of the City of Eternal Day. Polignano, however, is different. This island boasts a town renowned as a luxury paradise, offering retirement options to the world's wealthiest select few, and is also a premier vacation destination.

Tourists come and go. After reading the verdict, the sergeant major walks along the street built during the Fourth Hero's era. He climbs the white marble steps, passes through the towering archway, and continues upwards until he reaches the highest cliff of this snow-white island.

The cliff plunges straight into the sea, its entire surface made of milky-white Salzsen stone, like a giant white sail plunging into the ocean. At the top of the cliff, rows of pristine white houses stand in a pleasing arrangement, while a magnificent statue of a goddess stands at the edge of the cliff, her outstretched wings blocking out much of the sunlight, yet the path ahead is not dim at all, as if illuminated by a divine light.

Here you'll find the clearest, bluest waters in the Dongguk Islands, pristine white mountains, and an elegant romance celebrated in poetry. Brightly dressed tourists stroll by; they may not all be followers of the Kagyu religion, but their demeanor and attire clearly indicate they are wealthy individuals and nobles from various regions. The shops on either side don't display any goods priced in 'silver coins' or 'penny'; even a bottle of drinking water costs a gold pound—a veritable paradise of capital.

In front of the statue of the goddess, the sergeant major encountered a rather unusual pair of tourists.

They were an exceptionally young couple, whose appearances immediately caught the sergeant's eye. While most tourists on the island were quite good-looking, these two stood out like two pearls reflecting light. The man had white hair and black eyes, dressed impeccably, and his overly long bangs covered half of his face, but even so, the remaining half of his unique and handsome face drew frequent glances from the surrounding women.

The girl following behind him was even more striking, with her brilliant blonde hair standing out against the white background, emerald green eyes, and wearing a gorgeous peacock blue dress, exuding an unbelievably noble air.

Unlike the newlyweds or wealthy children on vacation around them, they seemed to possess a subtle distance. The sergeant's gaze lingered on the two for a moment, especially on the girl—he seemed to recognize her.

As a sergeant major in the White Sect Arbitration Secret Service, he had seen countless beautiful women with outstanding looks and temperament, but one who stood out like this should have left a deep impression on him. For a moment, he couldn't quite recall her, guessing that he had mistaken her for someone else.

He looked away and brushed past the two people, just in time to overhear their conversation—

"Jacob, was the letter of introduction you presented when you entered the Pre-God Court from the Academy?"

"No, it's not at a friend's house."

"A friend? Strange?"

"Another friend with whom I have a terrible relationship."

Contrary to her elegant and sophisticated appearance, the girl possessed an extremely cute and sweet baby voice. The man answered her gently, but when he mentioned "friends," he couldn't help but reveal a hint of his inherent coldness and disgust.

College?

There are so many colleges, which university in the East are you from?
Did these two just come out of the Court of God?

The sergeant major was curious and turned around, only to find his eyes meeting the man's.

Instantly separate.

Upon reaching the back of the goddess statue, this area is now a forbidden zone on the cliff, where soldiers in white armor stop tourists. Behind the goddess statue stands an inconspicuous statue, only about the height of a person.

He had his back to the goddess, faced the sea, and looked directly into the sunlight.

Somewhat peculiarly, the statue is not white, but carved from ordinary rock. It has been worn down by hundreds of years of wind and rain, and only the outline of a slightly chubby man can be discerned.

Inscribed beneath the statue is a line of text: "The Fourth Hero, Tetsuya Amamiya, in the year 900 of the Divine Calendar, here declared the Church of Order and the Holy Spirit as the state religion of the United States of the Eastern Islands. He was also baptized by Grand Judge Noah."

Below this inscription are several lines of neatly arranged characters. These characters were left by later heroes, and their meaning remains unknown, though they are speculated to be a memorial to the fourth hero.

Not far from Amamiya Tetsu stands a small church. If not told, probably no one would know that the highest institution of the White Sect, the Divine Court, is this unassuming little church. It sits at the end of a cliff and was built 600 years ago. Its plain white exterior walls don't even have a sign.

The sergeant major walked over, and the sergeant stationed at the courthouse entrance bowed and saluted him. He nodded in response, but stopped just as he was about to enter, remembering something, and asked, "Was a young couple just here?"

“That’s right. He has a letter of introduction from Archbishop Cavendish.”

"Lord Amamiya Yu?"

The sergeant became increasingly curious; it had been a full five years since Amamiya Yu had last returned to Polignano to work.
The sergeant major pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the chapel was only a small, seemingly ordinary courtroom with an ash wood floor and a raised platform. On the platform were ten ordinary high-backed wooden chairs, except for the one in the very center, which had a platform in front of it for sentencing, with white scales and a gavel on it.

There wasn't even a statue of a goddess inside the courtroom.

An elderly man, who looked rather old, sat on a bench in the audience, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he were dozing off.

He wore a spotless white robe, without any patterns, as if he were simply draped in a white cloth, yet it exuded an indescribable sense of majesty.

"Your Excellency, Chief Justice."

The sergeant major, with his hand on his chest and a slight bow, calmly stated, "The verdict has been delivered."

The old man opened his eyes; his eyes were somewhat cloudy, revealing that he was blind.

He nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

The act of reading out a verdict is a trivial matter that should be performed by the most ordinary priest.

As a high-ranking superhuman in the Arbitration Secrets Department, the sergeant major's primary duties are to combat heretics, search for Abyss superhumans or containment objects, and handle anomalous events, among other things.

But for some reason, it was his turn to do this, and he even had to report to the highest leader of the White Sect.

The sergeant major did not show any particular expression.

He knew he could leave after reporting his work.

But recalling what had happened earlier, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Excellency, were those two people that Lord Amamiya Yuu sent just now related to the Hero?"

Unlike the Vatican and other religious sects' active search for heroes, the White Cult seems to have little interest in the Seventh Hero. This is because the Divine Court entrusted the search for the hero to a single cardinal—Cavendish de Amamiya Yu.

Although it seems to be taken very seriously, those who know the upper echelons of the White Church know that Amamiya Yu is notorious for not working. She doesn't even participate in the year-end meeting that concerns the replacement of the cardinals. She sends a subordinate to the meeting, and the subordinate abstains from voting on any issue. Her presence is extremely transparent.

Many archbishops of the White Church were very dissatisfied with him, but for some reason, Amamiya Yu's position as cardinal has been retained to this day, which is very strange.

"Brave."

The Chief Justice pondered those two words.

He then showed a slightly wistful expression.

"It is related to the hero, but not to the Seventh Hero."

"What?" the sergeant couldn't help but say, "Your Excellency, please forgive my overstepping—whether it's the Doomsday Clock of the Papacy, the prophecies of the Eternal Church, or the civil war in Britain, all of these indicate that the day when the hero appears is just around the corner."

"The hero is very likely in the Southern Continent. As a duke of Ron, Lady Amamiya should have a great advantage in the search for the hero, but there has been no news of him for the past few years. Although this is disrespectful, I think she has not taken this matter to heart at all."

"If we don't strive for the Seventh Hero, the White Sect may very well lose its voice in the new era. Should we have the Arbitration Confidential Division assemble a team to go to the Southern Continent?"

The judge's hoarse voice interrupted him: "The decision to have Amamiya Yu handle this matter is an arbitration decision made by the Divine Court."

The sergeant major shut his mouth and said no more.

In the White Sect, the decisions of the divine court are equivalent to divine pronouncements from the goddess.

"Sending more people won't help. The Eternal Sect has staked everything on the Seventh Hero, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should succeed."

A hint of regret flashed in the sergeant's eyes.

“Those two children just now.” The chief judge stood up, and the sergeant quickly stepped forward to help him, accompanying the elderly man with mobility issues to the outside.

"Over the years, my only complaint about Amamiya Yu was that she didn't take the position of Grand Justice. But seeing that girl just now, I'm at peace with it. Isn't the Holy See the same? Heh."

"So they're here?" the sergeant asked cautiously.

"Find some old judgments."

"What about the Seventh Hero? Are we just going to do nothing?"

The two walked out of the chapel.

Facing the back of the goddess statue, the Grand Justice clasped his hands together and said piously, "It's alright, the Eternal Church will not succeed."

"We just need to wait with hope, and the goddess will take care of her destiny."

Meanwhile, in the casino of Aiswell, a southern continent thousands of miles away.

The girl took the chips Quinn gave her and sat down at the poker table.

She didn't really understand gambling; she was just imitating others. Under the dealer's amused gaze, she pushed her chips forward without even looking at her cards.

"All in." She rested her chin on her hand, feeling utterly bored, and waited for the scoundrel to return.

(End of this chapter)