Mercenary Wars

Chapter 145 The Ring of Fabian's Emblem
After some time, Fabian finished his sermon and got up to leave.

Gaucano quickly called out, "Lord Fabian, here is a letter for you!"

Before he finished speaking, the red dwarf's letter, guided by a few swift breezes, flew through the crowded throng and directly to Fabian.

Fabien seemed to hesitate for a moment before accepting the letter and opening it to read.

After a while, he closed the letter, glanced at Gaucano, and turned to walk toward the church.

At the same time, a voice rang in Gaucano's ears: "Come find me in the Left Diagonal Hall later."

The transepts are the buildings on either side of the nave of a church. There are left and right transepts, which usually correspond to the west and east sides.

At that time, the main function of the two side halls of the South Sea Town Church was to provide a place for the pastors of the two major religious orders to rest and gather. The Penitent Order was on the left and the Salvation Order was on the right.

After the crowd gradually dispersed, Gaucano, led by a young, dark-haired priest, entered the left transept and met Bishop Fabian, who was holding a letter and seemed lost in thought.

“Lord Fabian,” he greeted politely.

“Sit down,” Fabian gestured for him to sit, then said, “If I remember correctly, we should have met before.”

“Yes, in Presto, you also gave me three bottles of tonics.” Gaucano sat down and immediately smelled a terrible body odor.

The sock-like smell was clearly coming from Fabian, but Gaugano dared not say anything, pretending he was deaf.

Fabian nodded, then suddenly asked out of the blue, "Do you have a white name?"

White names are the holy names revered by the church, such as those of various saints.

Correspondingly, there are also "Black Holy Name" and "Gray Holy Name".

Black names are names of demons, evil gods, Yemen, etc., which are absolutely intolerable to the Mosaic Church. Anyone who is associated with even one of these names is doomed.

The "gray holy name" lies between black and white, and is discriminated against by the church, but not to the point of causing sin.

Faced with Fabian's question, Gaugano remained silent for a second.

Ultimately, he decided to tell the truth because he was certain that if Fabian wanted to, he could find several ways to determine whether he was lying, and possibly even without Fabian's knowledge.

So he said, "No."

Not even one section?

"Yes."

Fabian's dark, gaunt face showed surprise. He stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "I know that mercenaries' holy names are usually all over the place, but it's really rare to see a level five mercenary with a white holy name... You don't have a black holy name, do you?"

“Absolutely not.” Gao Jiano quickly shook his head.

He had already carefully checked various materials and confirmed that all five of his holy names were gray holy names, and the two elemental holy names were light gray holy names.

“If I had a Black Saint’s name, I wouldn’t dare come to see you,” he added.

Fabian nodded in agreement, but still remarked, "Rare."

Then he said, "I have read the contents of the letter. I would like to know how you made contact with the Red Dwarfs in Dibto?"

Gaucano gave a general account of what happened in the Underdark.

“I see.” Fabian thought for a moment. “Hmm, this is a good thing. I will pass it on to the Pope.”

He continued, "Of course, the Church cannot directly contact the Red Dwarfs—unless they are willing to convert to Mosa. If nothing unexpected happens, the Pope should arrange for the dwarves of the Kingdom of Saen to communicate with the Red Dwarfs, and we may need your help then."

“It is my honor,” Gaugano said.

Fabian took out a gray ring: "This ring has my emblem on it. You can use it to find me or other high-ranking clergy members of the Penitentiary Order in the future."

Gaucano reached out to take it, but Fabian suddenly pulled his hand back: "Wait, let me clean up."

As he spoke, he pointed with his finger.

Then, to Gao Jiano's astonishment, a flash of light appeared, and the dull gray ring turned white!
“It’s clean now, here you go.” Fabian handed the ring back to him.

Gaucano accepted the ring, his gaze lingering briefly on Fabian's dark skin.

He had initially assumed Fabian's skin was naturally dark, but after witnessing the astonishing change in the ring's color, he was starting to have doubts...

Gaucano looked at the ring.

[Item: Fabien's Emblem Ring]

[Level: Level 7]

[Enchantment - Exorcism: Keeps evil creatures away]

A level 7 ring with an exorcising effect, it's quite practical.

Of course, perhaps even more important is the Fabian emblem engraved on the ring, a triangle made of thorns.

With it, Gaucano will be able to see Bishop Fabian more easily, at least he won't have to get up early every day to wait like he did this time.

He put the ring away.

Fabian added, "Try not to mention this to anyone else."

Gao Jianuo nodded.

The two then chatted for a while.

Fabian was very approachable, so the whole process was relatively easy.

He couldn't put on airs either; after all, his appearance was what it was—dark-skinned and thin, dressed in rags, with a strong body odor and grime on his skin—he couldn't possibly maintain a composed demeanor. He couldn't help but connect with this earthy atmosphere; perhaps that's the meaning of ascetic practice.

After the conversation, Fabian prepared to leave.

Before leaving the room, he seemed to suddenly remember something: "Gaucano, do you never give alms?"

“Yes…” Gao Jiano’s expression was somewhat embarrassed.

After all, Fabian first appeared before him as a beggar, and he didn't even give him a single copper coin.

"Can you tell me why?" Fabian asked.

Gaucano truthfully replied: "I think charity usually doesn't change anything. Its meaning is perhaps the same as asceticism, only to make people aware of the suffering of the world. But frankly, I don't have your level of awareness."

Fabian remained silent for a moment.

"Lord Fabien," Gaucano asked, "I have a question that I hope you can answer for me..."

Fabian seemed to give a wry smile and interrupted, "Are you trying to ask why Mosa created suffering in the world?"

Gaucano paused for a moment, then nodded: "As the scriptures say, Mosa created everything in the world and is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good. If that's the case, why did He create so much suffering? I've asked some people, including some clergy, but none of them could give a clear answer. You are a cardinal, so I think you might know the answer."

“You have been honest with me, and I will be honest with you in return. Regarding this question—” Fabian paused for a moment, “I cannot give a clear answer either.”

After saying that, he left the inner hall.

Gao Jiano pondered for a moment.

Unable to give a clear answer... Is it because you don't know, or because you can't say?
(End of this chapter)