The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 180 Preparations for the Tour
Whether it's the Pope, a saint, or a highly respected cardinal in the College of Cardinals, it's quite common to receive invitations to visit from the emperor, king, high-ranking nobles, or local monasteries. After all, inviting someone is one thing, and accepting an invitation is another; most invitations are just superficial formalities.

Holding a large number of invitations, Eric looked at the names on the map to find their locations while trying to distinguish whether they were genuine invitations or just polite attempts to build a relationship with him.

"Hmm? An invitation from Archbishop Scott? I haven't seen it before... This old man seems sincere, but I don't plan to go south for the time being."

He put down the invitation, but Sophie, who was standing outside the desk, picked it up again.

"So where should we put this invitation letter? 'To be observed'?"

Eric responded, and Sophie placed the invitation on a small stack on her left. The other stack of invitations was seven or eight times thicker—that was the "purely polite" section.

"Why do I feel like I've never read any of these invitations?"

Eric picked up another one. "Is it Alena or Gabi who doesn't want me to see this?"

Sophie looked up at him. "Your Highness, have you forgotten? The week you first ascended the throne, you said that the invitation letter didn't need to be brought up again, because you didn't have time to leave the Holy Capital for the time being."

"I said it?"

"I already said so."

“Alright.” Eric glanced at the invitation without even looking up. “Sophie stopped me from wrongly accusing a conscientious and responsible senior nun or deacon, and I want to reward you. Knowledge is the most precious treasure, and those nuns who used to teach me are now yours.”

Sophie emitted a sharp, explosive sound.

"hiss……"

Eric covered one ear with the invitation and said, "Stop, stop, don't shout."

Why is Your Highness treating me like this?

"Because I need to find you something serious to do, so you won't only think about inappropriate things."

Sophie blushed, "I could only continue if His Highness responded."

“That’s right.” Eric looked at her. “However, resisting temptation is not an easy thing, so I’ve decided to address it at its source.”

"..."

Sophie wanted to scream again.

"I don't want to go to class..."

"So, which king or nobleman would you like me to accept an invitation to go on a tour, so that you, as their theological advisor, are of no use and I have to take other nuns with me?" Eric asked.

Sophie fell silent.

Her role as a theological advisor was a legitimate clerical position officially recognized by the saint, and she was obligated to act as an advisor whenever the saint needed her.

Eric tore open two more invitations, scanned them, and tossed them to her right.

When she opened the third copy, Sophie asked, "Will Your Highness attend class with me?"

"What are you thinking? Of course not. But if you want a companion, I can arrange it for you."

“Then I want Elise.” She said almost without hesitation.

"..."

Eric looked up from the invitation. "Then I'll ask her opinion."

"His Highness didn't even ask for my opinion!"

"Fool, I'm afraid she'll strangle you if she finds out."

His gaze fell on the invitation letter again, quickly scanning the entire page of text.

"You have no idea how wicked Elise is. When we were adventuring in the ancient battlefield, she would personally break the bones of any easy-to-bully skeletons she encountered, bit by bit, like the bones in their fingers, crack, crack, crack!"

Sophie got goosebumps when she heard this. "Your Highness actually keeps someone like that by your side!"

"Because she's dealing with all my enemies."

"I'm not His Highness's enemy..."

"If you try to take advantage of her, you'll become her own enemy, and she won't hold back."

Sophie asked suspiciously, "Your Highness is actually just trying to scare me, isn't he?"

Eric smiled and placed the invitation on her left.

"In short, you shouldn't even think about her. And don't worry, Elise won't come to replace you. Go to the seminary and find a junior nun to take classes with. It'll be half a day of classes each day, which will be easier than before. You can still come here in the afternoon."

Sophie sighed deeply. She didn't want to attend class, but she didn't want to be eliminated and be useless when he really needed her.

Having to attend classes for only half a day each day is already much better than she expected.

"Ok."

Eric continued flipping through the invitations, picking and choosing, and soon the stack in his hand was empty, leaving Sophie with two stacks of significantly different heights.

He picked up the stack on her left again, counted it, and there were about ten sheets.

Sophie wasn't in high spirits. After looking at him for a while, she asked, "Has Your Highness found a place you want to go?"

“No.” Eric flipped through the invitations in his hand. These were all invitations from people who sincerely wanted to invite him, but none of them were the places he wanted. They were either the southern part of the empire, which he had just visited last year, or even further south—the southern countries—where there was no need to go right now, or simply the Ramal Monastery in his hometown of Oren.

Sophie picked him up again after he put him down and flipped through them one by one. "Where does Your Highness wish to go?"

"The north of the empire, the further north the better."

"Can't you go by yourself?" Sophie asked, "Make up an excuse or something."

"It's precisely because it's hard to find a reason that we can only rely on them, especially now that the Pope has proposed focusing on the Church itself and would love for everyone to stay in the Holy City."

Eric leaned back. "And there's a big difference between going there voluntarily and going by invitation. For such a large group, the expenses that the monastery has to cover are quite different."

This is also why the monasteries or nobles who invited him to the past were mostly from the south—wealthier than the north, with enough spare money to fund their faith.

He went back to the bookshelf and looked through the letters Princess Natalia had sent him during this time, then opened and read them again.

Princess Eldest sent a letter of greeting immediately after he became the Holy Maiden, but she didn't mention inviting him over at all. This was partly because the border was dangerous, and partly because the Black Ice Wall didn't have the capacity to receive the Holy Maiden. In their correspondence before his ascension, Natalia had often invited him to come and see for himself.

Sophie walked over to him, rearranged the invitations on the table, and temporarily placed them on the bookshelf behind him.

"If that's the case, why does Your Highness still want to go out?"

“Because my power here is very small—what are you laughing at? In the Holy City, I can only manage you nuns, but outside, the farther away from the Holy City, the greater the influence that the title of ‘Saintess’ brings me.”

Eric looked at Sophie, who had a blank expression, and said, "Before the demons move south, I want as many people as possible to prepare. If they are from the church, I want them to abandon the Pope's so-called conservative ideas of focusing on the church."

He sighed deeply. "The demons have been gone from this continent for far too long, leading many in the Holy See to believe that if they could drive them out under the harsh conditions of over five hundred years ago, it would be even easier now, requiring only some sacrifices. The problem is, this isn't something that can be solved with a few sacrifices. Only by uniting like they did five hundred years ago can humanity and all races possibly drive out the demons. Waiting and watching will only result in being gradually devoured and completely losing the ability to resist... Only by leaving the Holy Capital can I do what I want to do."

Sophie stared at him blankly for a while.

"I'm probably one of the types of people Your Highness is talking about... Demons who come out of those icy and snowy places, what's the difference between them and savages? Are they really that hard to drive away?"

"Not to mention that the individual strength of demons far exceeds human imagination..."

Eric looked at her and said, “The rage that has been suppressed in that bitter land for over five hundred years will not stop until it is completely vented. There is a sentence in the Holy Scripture that is very accurate: Demons are born from destruction, and sooner or later they will drag all the living beings on this continent down with them to destruction.”

Judging from Sophie's expression, she still doesn't have a concrete understanding of this.

You can't blame her for that, after all, she's never actually seen a demon before, and most of the humans on the continent haven't seen one for over five hundred years.

By the time they realize the terror of the demons, it will already be the time when the demons' iron hooves are trampling on them.

Eric stared out the window for a while, then stood up, looked down at the continental map spread out on the table, and began to actively search for his target.

"If all else fails, we'll pay for it ourselves and just let them show their sincerity by extending an invitation..."

He examined the map carefully. "Sophie, find the invitation letter from the Saint-Zelor Monastery. It's in that thick stack."

Saint Zelor Monastery, the northernmost monastery in the Empire, is about a day's journey from the Black Ice Wall.

"Oh!" Sophie rummaged around for a while and quickly found the invitation letter, which was overly polite but lacked sincerity.

"Look at what's written between the lines."

Sophie glanced at the letter, then looked at him. "Devotion to the gods, and loyalty to Her Highness the Saint?"

"Don't actually come."

"..."

Eric took the letter and looked at it for a while. "Go and call up the lady-in-waiting of the St. Mary's House who is best at writing letters. I want her to write me a reply."

"Yes, Your Highness." Sophie went down and returned a while later with a young female official.

"What took you so long?"

"They were all being modest with each other... saying they weren't very good at it."

Eric pursed his lips, looking at the trembling female official. "Don't be nervous, it's just writing a reply. How many replies have you written for me and the previous Holy Maiden? On average, seven or eight a day, right?"

"It's...it's because..." She couldn't even speak clearly.

Eric looked at Sophie.

She pulled the lady-in-waiting aside, then looked at him again after a while: "She said it's because she has so many letters to reply to, and the content is basically the same, that she only knows how to write one type of letter..."

Eric was speechless. It seemed that he could only use one template.

He was too lazy to make things difficult for her. She was too young and didn't seem like she could come up with anything. So he waved his hand and told Sophie to take her away. "Find someone else, someone older and more experienced... Never mind, let Alena find someone."

“I can find the right one!” Sophie suddenly raised her voice.

"..."

Their eyes met, and she immediately lowered her head again. "I'm sorry, Your Highness..."

Eric didn't say anything, but waved his hand again.

The two went down together.

A moment later, Alena came up with a lady-in-waiting in her forties or fifties, and the two of them bowed to him together.

"Your Highness, the person you requested has arrived."

Eric pointed to the invitation letter from the Saint Zelor Monastery on the table. “I want you to write a reply based on the contents of this letter, indicating that I am willing to accept the invitation to visit their monastery, and that the Saint Zelor Monastery will cover all expenses for the journey and the stay there. But you can’t express this too directly. You have to emphasize that it is because they invited me that I plan to go… Do you understand what I mean?”

The female official pondered briefly, then quickly nodded.

“You can write here. I’ll take a look when you’re done,” Eric said, pointing to his desk.

The lady-in-waiting stood by the desk, picked up a quill pen, but remained standing.

"Where's Sophie?" Eric then looked at Alena.

She lowered her head. "Sophie said she offended His Highness and accepted her punishment by being put in solitary confinement."

Eric grinned, but didn't say anything for a moment.

The lady-in-waiting's reply was quickly written, and Eric, after reviewing it, found the first draft to be exactly what he wanted.

"Okay, that's it. Let's optimize the details a bit more, and give me the most satisfactory result by noon tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The lady-in-waiting acknowledged the order and left. Alena then looked at the letter from the Saint Zelor Monastery. "Your Highness intends to go here?"

“Okay.” Eric sat back down at his desk. “You can start discussing and arranging the schedule with Gabi now.”

"Yes." Alena already knew his plans after returning from the Papal Palace, so she didn't say anything more.

Eric continued, "I want to take the entire Order of the Guards with me. Take fewer nuns, and none of the noble ladies. I want real nuns like you, recommended from the local area."

Alena smiled, then, as if remembering something, "Then Sophie..."

"Take it with you."

"Yes."

She looked at the map in front of him. "Does Your Highness have any requirements regarding the route?"

“Go as quickly as possible, taking straight routes and main roads to the Saint-Rozelle Monastery. Stay there for half a month, and then stop at several more places on the way back. Oh, and we'll have to go through Lutia on the way back.” Eric traced a circle on the map with his fingertip.

Alena listened and nodded, indicating that she had remembered everything.

Eric looked at her. "You must stay at the monastery."

Alena lowered her head and looked down. "This is my duty."

Over the next few days, communications with Saint Rosell and arrangements for the Saintess's itinerary continued to proceed under Alena's guidance.

After several exchanges of letters, confirming that Her Highness was indeed willing to spend half a month in their icy wilderness at her own expense, the Saint Rosell Monastery naturally had no reason to refuse and extended a more formal invitation.

Meanwhile, the convent of the Virgin Mary has begun to openly make various preparations for the Virgin Mary's journey.

When Eric went to the Cardinals for meetings, people would chat with him about this topic.

"Your Highness is about to embark on your first tour... Back when the previous Holy Maiden toured Lutia, I was just a child about the same age as Your Highness."

"Let's go north and take a look first."

"It's time to go out for a walk soon, otherwise, according to His Holiness the Pope... hehe, I won't say any more."

In the monastery, some nuns of noble birth subtly expressed their dissatisfaction at not being able to accompany them.

“…Grace said that she has been cultivating here for four years, and if she fails to go out with His Highness this time, she will never have another chance.”

"Then ask her if she'd like to be a nun for life. If she does, take her with you next time."

“…Of course not,” Sophie said.

“Then there’s nothing more to say. Did you think this was a publicly funded trip?” Eric closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair to rest. “This time, I’m only bringing lifelong nuns who can endure the hardships of travel.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "Your noble ladies friends aren't just saying this to you casually; they're trying to convey it to me through you."

“I know.” Sophie massaged his arm. “I’ve told them several times that His Highness won’t budge.”

"No need to say anything else, just say goodbye to them properly." Hearing the sound of the magic elevator rising, Eric opened his eyes. "This time, I'll be gone for at least two or three months, and maybe half a year. I won't see them for a while."

"Um……"

Soon, Elise appeared at the top of the tower.

"get out of class is over?" she greeted Sophie warmly.

Sophie looked at her and responded.

"Why did you come here?" Eric, who had just sat up straight, lay back down, thinking that Alena had come up with work.

Elise rarely comes here.

She was now the most carefree person in the entire convent. As a guest, she didn't attend morning services or recite scriptures, and spiritual practice was completely foreign to her. The rules of the nuns didn't apply to her at all, making her more relaxed and carefree than those eighty- or ninety-year-old nuns who were determined to die in the convent.

“Molly and Eileen wrote to me.” She pulled two letters from her nun’s habit and held them to his nose. “They asked when I would be passing through Lutia.”

Eric closed his eyes and sniffed the envelope; it smelled of her body. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sophie pouting beside him.

He smiled, opened the letter and read it. "The return journey will only pass through Lutia. If they start waiting now, they'll be waiting for a long time."

“Eileen wants to celebrate her birthday with you,” Elise said.

Eric paused for a moment, then said, "It's already past April. Unless we head north and pass through Lutia, we won't make it."

"So, should I just reply like this?" Elise leaned on his shoulder, smiling as Sophie looked over from the other side.

"Why don't you take some gifts to Eileen for me beforehand?" Eric asked, looking at her.

Elise thought for a moment, "She'll still be disappointed, won't she?"

"There's nothing I can do about that. Either you cut off one of my little fingers and give it to Eileen, telling her I miss her."

Sophie screamed, while Eric and Elise smiled at the same time.

"..."

She pinched his arm hard.

Elise then asked, "When can we set off?"

"Soon." Eric tucked the letter back into her collar. "Preparations are almost complete, and we can set off in three to five days."

"I see."

Elise kissed him on the cheek, smiled at Sophie, and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)