The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 232 Harbor and Church

Before heading to the South District to visit the harbor, Eric and Natalia returned to the Governor's Palace and called upon Miss Liliana, who had planned to show them around the day before.

The latter agreed without hesitation.

"Huh? Miss Kasha isn't here?" Liliana noticed immediately that someone was missing when she got into the car.

“She went out to play by herself,” Eric said.

"Alone? Being alone is too..."

"She can fly."

"Ok."

The carriage headed towards the harbor in the southern part of the city.

Eric and Natalia sat on one side, watching the noble lady on the other side. At first, she was full of excitement, but after staring out the car window for a while, her true feelings gradually showed on her face.

The two exchanged a glance, their feelings differing.

Eric saw this as an opportunity to delve into the widow's heart and probe for other information, while Natalia felt both sympathy and an indescribable sense of unease at the sight of such a sorrowful expression on the face of a girl who was not even as old as her.

“Miss Austin doesn’t seem to be in a good mood,” Eric said.

"...I apologize for spoiling the mood of Your Highnesses."

Liliana quickly suppressed her true emotions and put on a smile. "It's just... I've encountered some problems."

Eric leaned forward, looking at her with genuine sincerity. "We've come all the way from Oren, aren't we friends? You can tell me and Princess Natalia."

"Your Highness..."

Liliana looked at him for a while, somewhat moved, completely unaware of the complex emotion that flashed across Natalia's face beside him.

She took a breath before saying, "Father seems to have made a decision."

"Should I send you back to Marquis Rodney's territory?" Eric asked.

Liliana nodded. "But not now, but after I give birth. If it's a boy, I'll have to go back south with him. If it's a girl... Mom said Dad might allow me to stay in Sunset City with the child."

Natalia looked at her. "So, you would have preferred that it was a girl born."

"I have no idea……"

A look of confusion and unease crossed Liliana's face.

"I hope to leave a son for my deceased husband, as a continuation of his short life, or rather, to give his father, Marquis Rodney, some closure... but I also hope it's a girl, so that I can stay in Sunset City with her, at home, and my parents will surely like her."

She leaned against the carriage, her body slumped down.

"I don't even know what kind of outcome I should expect."

Eric frowned, and Natalia guessed that he wasn't thinking about how to comfort her, but rather how to steer the conversation back to the governor.

"Then let's not expect anything from either side, and just wait for that inevitable new life," she said.

Eric looked up at her, then at Liliana, who looked at him for a moment and nodded.

"I hope I can do it."

Eric didn't say anything until the topic ended, turning his head to look outside the carriage.

Natalia got up and sat down next to Liliana, whispering something to her. He had no intention of eavesdropping; he simply breathed in the increasingly rich seawater scent in the air and listened to the sound of the waves that seemed to be right next to his ears.

Wow - Wow -

The carriage stopped before entering the crowded harbor.

The three got out of the car and looked at the bustling dock in the distance.

The harbor was wide and filled with ships on both sides, with crew members and sailors loading and unloading all kinds of goods.

“That’s an enormous daily throughput. Austin must be incredibly wealthy…” Eric muttered unconsciously, drawing a sidelong glance from Liliana.

Sunset City, as the largest city in Rennes, is quite large, and the terrain varies greatly from west to east. To the west are towering cliffs, while in the southern part of the city, the sea is almost in sight.

They would then have a journey that required a boat trip, and Eric suggested going into the harbor to get a closer look at the various ships, large and small, moored there.

The ships in this world are still wooden sailboats, but their size is not limited by this. The larger ships are fifty or sixty meters long from front to back. Eric had some basic knowledge of this and knew that magic and alchemy were used extensively in shipbuilding.

"Okay, but be careful not to block the sailors' way. Some of them have quite a bad temper."

Liliana offered a reminder, "Although I could have the person who offended us arrested directly, there's no need to get scolded; just avoid them."

“These sailors have been at sea for so long, they’re probably eager to get home,” Natalia guessed.

"They have no home here."

Liliana shook her head with a smile, "Well, you can't say that. Most of them didn't. Those who were walking in a hurry were rushing to the tavern or the brothel."

"..."

Natalia fell silent, then inexplicably glared at Eric, who hadn't uttered a word.

Eric was bewildered by the stares, but said nothing and walked in front of the two to make way for them.

As he walked onto the dock, his gaze was quickly drawn to the sailors, or more precisely, to the fish-men, who were carrying cargo on a nearby three-masted sailing ship.

Fishmen who can go ashore all have fish heads and human bodies, meaning they have two legs; this is a characteristic of male fishmen.

Female fish-men are the opposite. Their upper bodies are almost indistinguishable from humans, while their lower bodies are fish tails. They cannot go ashore, but they often appear on the shore to trade with humans using special products from the seabed.

One special type of female merfolk, who can temporarily grow legs through their racial talent, are called sirens. They usually also have beautiful singing voices and enjoy eating human brains.

The prevalence of fishmen on the mainland is entirely determined by region—they are more common along the coast and very rare inland; they are more common in the south and less common further north.

Eileen had told him that a small group of merfolk also lived in Lake Elf's Tear on the western outskirts of Lutia, but he had never seen them.

Fish-people don't necessarily live without water, but they prefer to live in water, or at least in places closer to water.

"Is Your Highness interested in murlocs?" Liliana asked as he stopped and stared at a murloc carrying goods.

“I haven’t seen it much,” Eric replied, continuing to walk forward.

“There’s a group of murlocs at Lake Elf’s Tears outside Lutia,” Natalia said from the other side. “They often sunbathe by the lake. Hasn’t Your Highness seen them?”

"Is it really true?"

"Ok?"

Eric shook his head. "I can only say I was unlucky."

As the three walked and looked around, Eric was initially drawn to the fishmen, but his attention soon shifted to the huge sailing ships.

"This is the Queen Vermeer, a super-large ship that is quite rare to see on the entire continent."

Vimer is a small country in the southernmost part of the continent named after a port. It is one of the southern countries and has a highly developed maritime shipping industry. The current ruler is a woman.

Eric looked up at the giant sailboat docked at the pier; its towering masts seemed thicker than a person. The flowing light and shadow on the hull were not merely reflections of the sky and waves, but rather the result of some kind of alchemical material acting as corrosion protectant and to stabilize the ship.

“I heard that the Queen Vermeer has been staying here for quite some time and will soon set sail again, heading south along the coastline back to Vermeer Port,” Liliana continued, explaining to the two of them. “Your Highnesses are still heading south, so taking a ship would be a good option.”

“We’ll see how it goes,” Eric said. “If we’re lucky, we could consider taking a boat to Kus. The Queen Vermeer should dock in Kus, right?”

"Yes."

Eric nodded, and Natalia looked up at the giant ship in front of her, seemingly also considering boarding it.

And the ship won't leave at least today; Liliana revealed her identity, and they could even board it for a tour.

The three men stepped onto the sailboat on sturdy planks. The first mate, who rushed over to greet them, explained with a mix of confusion and nervousness that the captain was not on board at the moment, but he could relay any instructions the governor might have.

“It’s nothing, I just came up to take a look. It has nothing to do with Dad… or my father,” Liliana said, glancing back at Eric and Natalia with a hint of smugness on her face.

Eric asked the first mate, "When are you departing?"

“The specific date has not yet been determined, sir.” The first mate clearly did not recognize him and glanced at the governor’s daughter before answering.

"I heard we can hitch a ride on your ship south?" Eric asked again.

“This requires advance booking, sir… However, if you are Miss Liliana’s friend, we can arrange one or two seats for you on the fly.” Natalia also had a question, “Is this the northernmost point of your voyage?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the first mate replied.

“Why not go to Hotdan? I remember there’s a big port there too,” Natalia asked.

The first mate bowed slightly. "That would make our voyage too long, madam. We need to get back to Port Villers before the New Year to hear the Queen's New Year's greetings."

Natalia paused, then fell silent.

“It seems you’ll be stopping several times on your way south,” Eric interjected. “And it’s only September.”

"Yes, sir."

These sailors are maritime merchants, only they trade in larger quantities each time, but they all do the same thing: buy low here and sell high there. This reminded Eric of some maritime-themed games he played in his previous life.

Led by the first mate, the three of them took a long walk around the cabin and looked at various places.

“The cabin looks pretty good; I thought it would be smaller,” Natalia whispered.

"Your Highness might not feel that way when we can only stay in the cabin."

Eric looked at the simple but tidy cabin rooms, each with a small glass window that offered a glimpse of the outside world, though the view was quite limited.

Natalia's interest waned somewhat. "It's hard to say whether we'll be able to catch this ship."

Liliana, who had already walked ahead with the first mate, turned around and looked back. "Your Highness...would you like to go in and give it a try?"

"Just look at it." Natalia gently nudged Eric's lower back, urging him to move forward.

Following the two people in front, they toured the boat once, but there was no need to go down to the lower levels to visit.

Back on deck, Eric went to the bow and peered out. The bow resembled a goddess-like woman, and the only thing he was certain of was that it was not Yera's image.

“Is this the sea goddess Nancy?” Natalia asked, and Liliana looked at her with surprise.

“No, this is our Queen Vermeer,” the first mate replied.

"That's right, your ship is called the 'Queen Vermeer'."

After the three of them disembarked under the first mate's respectful gaze, Liliana said, "Your Highness seems completely unfamiliar with the Ocean Goddess."

Eric spoke first: "We're all from the inland. Do you see any statues of the sea goddess outside of the coast? I don't recognize any of them."

Natalia nodded.

“I see…” Liliana muttered.

“Speaking of which, Your Highness rarely comes here, shouldn’t you go to the Cathedral of Sunset City to say hello?” Natalia asked.

"I've been out of contact for so long that I almost forgot I'm a member of the church."

Eric slapped his forehead. "Let's go take a look. I think I saw a church on the way here. It should be there."

“No, that’s the Ocean Goddess Church in the south of the city,” Liliana said. “The cathedral is right next to the Governor’s Mansion, didn’t Your Highness notice?”

"Then I definitely need to go and see it. I've never seen a church dedicated to any other god before."

Eric vaguely remembered that Sunset City in "The Crown of Thorns" seemed to have two churches, but before becoming a clergyman, who would care about the specific religious affiliation of a church in a remote city?

After leaving the port, the three of them went to the nearby Ocean Goddess Church.

The architectural style of the church is not much different from that of ordinary churches, except that the decorations on the building are mostly wave-shaped, symbolizing the power of the sea goddess. Once inside the church, the differences are even smaller.

Liliana seemed more devout to the sea goddess, and immediately began praying before the goddess's statue upon entering.

Eric glanced at her sideways and suddenly understood why this widow had been grateful and trusting towards him all along, but not very respectful. No wonder she grew up by the sea.

During their brief visit, many people went in and out of the church, praying devoutly before the statue. Although most of them were sailors, it shows that the sea goddess has a wide audience.

“I feel that Yera’s authority is being challenged here,” Eric whispered to Natalia.

She simply glanced at him and smiled.

"Aren't you going to offer a prayer? It's very effective, you know?" Liliana looked at the two people who were just standing to the side after she finished praying.

"Is she provoking me?" Eric asked.

Natalia continued to smile.

After walking around the church, Eric secretly compared the differences between the Oceanic Church clergy and the Yela Church, and found that they were almost identical.

The biggest difference between the two lies in their prayer gestures. When the followers of the Oceanic Sect pray, they make a wave-like motion with their hands from top to bottom, which is quite strange, and then clasp their hands together closer to their abdomen.

However, the core of the Ocean Goddess's followers is still mainly sailors in the harbor, and they are still far from matching the almost universal influence of the Jela Church.

Leaving the church of the sea goddess, Liliana told the two that because of the large number of outsiders, Sunset City has always maintained an inclusive and open attitude towards faith; one can believe in anyone, or even all of them.

“It’s the same in other places, but it hasn’t reached the point where churches can be built for other gods,” Eric said.

"So your Yela sect's tolerance of other sects is just a facade?"

"You're saying something very dangerous."

"...Please forget about it, Your Highness."

After her slip of the tongue, Liliana became much more obedient, especially when she came to the Jera Church in the city. However, she prayed very devoutly there as well. Eric guessed that she was a believer who would pray first regardless of whether it would work or not.

Of course, he didn't come here to observe her; more importantly, he wanted to establish connections with the local church.

"Your Highness—"

"Long time no see, Archbishop Belmont."

Thanks to the old saintess forcing him to stay in the holy city for two years, he had met almost all the archbishops of various dioceses, including the archbishop of Rentani in front of him.

"Your perseverance in Lutia is now known to everyone. Are you well?"

“I’m fine,” Eric laughed. “I’m healthier than most people in Lesser.”

The archbishop raised an eyebrow, ignored his words, and then invited him to take a tour of the cathedral and the monastery behind it.

When they were alone together, Eric spoke up: "I haven't been in contact with the Vatican for a long time. What's their attitude now? Do they still recognize me as a saint?"

"...Your Highness is quite the joker."

The archbishop wiped his sweat. "Just as Your Highness always stands on the side of the Holy See, the Holy See will always be Your Highness's solid support."

Eric smiled. "If it weren't for the fact that I was the one who waited in Lutia for two months without receiving any support from the Vatican, I would have actually believed it."

"...Your Highness, you can't say that. The nuns you have at the St. Mary's Convent were also escorted to Lutia by people sent by the Vatican."

"Thank you so much, you've been a great help."

"..."

Seeing the archbishop's troubled expression, Eric didn't dwell on the topic. "Does the Vatican have any more proactive plans now?"

"Lesser is the land of the gods. The Holy See will not allow the demons to set foot in the Holy City, or even the surrounding lands. The Holy See's army will hold Tebniz," the Archbishop said.

It's still the same as always...

Although the battle between the demons and the Papacy's army has not yet broken out, the situation is unlikely to change much. It's probable that only a significant advantage on the main battlefield will allow the Papacy's army to break out of Tebuni.

Eric pondered for a moment, then asked, "Has the Vatican given me any instructions?"

“If there were any, they would be directly transmitted to His Highness. How would I know?” the archbishop retorted.

"Ok."

Eric didn't have any other serious topics to discuss.

"By the way, I heard that one of the great-nephews of the previous saintess is a bishop in Rentani. Is he here? I would like to meet him."

"You mean Bishop Toulouse?" The archbishop smiled. "He just returned from inspecting the diocese a couple of days ago, and I took His Highness to see him."

(End of this chapter)