I! Cleaner!

“This is Lord Lyon, a Prince.”

Seeming to not notice the abnormality of the two clerics at all, after casually introducing Lyon's name and identity, "Prince Vernon" led him through a special passage and quickly walked towards the main building of the Anointing Chapel.

Although the two clerics wanted to stop him, they looked at the guards who followed Prince Vernon and ultimately did not speak. Instead, they stamped their feet and followed, hinting:

“Your Highness! The anointing ceremony is about to begin, and there are many people inside the chapel, so you see…”

“I think it's fine.”

“No… what we mean is that the Abyssal Sanctuary is currently 'purifying colors' in advance for the ceremony. Should some people whose hair color is not pure enough stay outside first…”

“What do you mean by not pure enough?”

Hearing the two clerics' anxious dissuasion, "Prince Vernon" stopped, glanced at the two white-haired clerics, and then asked expressionlessly:

“In the entire Lily City, are there still people with completely 'pure' hair color?”

“Your Highness, that's not what we meant…”

“Then what do you mean?”

Suddenly raising his right hand, he roughly pulled off the hoods of the two clerics, revealing their equally mixed black and white hair. "Prince Vernon" snorted and said:

“If we follow your requirements, and anyone whose hair color is 'impure' cannot enter, then what about you two? Does that mean the Abyssal Grand Shepherd would also have to be driven out of the Sanctuary by you?”

“……”

“Prince Vernon.”

While the two clerics were silenced, Lyon, who seemed thoughtful, first looked at Prince Vernon with a displeased expression, and then calmly dissuaded him:

“I don't necessarily have to go in for a visit. Since the Abyssal Church has a requirement for 'pure colors,' I can wait for you outside.”

“No need, just come with me.”

“It's still not necessary, is it?”

Unconsciously blinking his eyes, Lyon stared at the "Prince Vernon" in front of him, without blinking, and said:

“There's no need to make an exception for me. Isn't the most important thing in your Carlein Kingdom rules?”

“Heh, you don't have to worry about that.”

Prince Vernon smiled upon hearing this, and then replied as he walked forward:

“The rules of the church are set by themselves, and they are only effective for believers who are willing to abide by them. They are not laws recognized by the kingdom's official. Their only power is to expel those who are unwilling to abide by the rules… Are you going to kick me out?”

“……”

“Since they didn't say anything, that means they won't kick people out.”

After glancing at the two clerics who didn't know what to say, "Prince Vernon" completely ignored them, and instead continued to pull Lyon towards the central Anointing Chapel, enthusiastically introducing as he walked:

“Lord Lyon, this Anointing Chapel is one of the few buildings in Lily City that has colors other than pure white… Look here!”

Leading Lyon a little to the side, standing below the spire on the left side of the chapel's main entrance, "Prince Vernon" reached out and rubbed the joints of the white stone, revealing a large amount of gold leaf inlaid horizontally within.

“As for those at the top of the chapel, they are rose windows made of cobalt blue, gilt, and pearl white glass nested together, cast in layers like rose petals. During heavy rain, a small portion of the rainwater will accumulate inside the glass, condensing the core scriptures of the Abyssal Church and the Luminary Church.”

“And the flying buttresses corresponding to each other under the windows, the reliefs under the columns of these flying buttresses record the scene of our Carlein Kingdom's ancestors, relying on the support of certain 'friendly forces,' establishing the two Carlein Kingdoms on both sides of the Carlein River… You should know about this, right?”

Huh? Not going to pretend anymore?

Looking at Prince Vernon, who suddenly changed his aura and turned to ask him directly, Lyon had to sigh and stopped hanging illusions around him, preparing to block his senses at any time.

And in addition to that, even the actions of secretly invading "Prince Vernon's" mind, setting up marks to send him directly to the realm of the dead around his soul, and preparing to activate the Crimson Heart for a sneak attack, were all suspended.

“I know a little.”

Secretly commanding the Lamb Chops to arrange the [Crimson Heart] in the mirror world, ready to activate it immediately if anything went wrong, directly draining all the blood from "Prince Vernon's" body, Lyon said without changing his expression:

“Initially, the two ancestors of your Eastern and Western Carlein Kingdoms, upholding the desire to watch over the entire human race, became the Sitting Palace Keepers of the [Watching Palace].

And the Clearance Bureau also followed their wishes as promised, helping their descendants gather the nearby city-states and settlements, establishing a kingdom on each side of the Carlein River… But now there's only one left.”

“It's not just one left, but both are gone.”

Correcting Lyon's statement, "Prince Vernon" tilted his head slightly, avoiding the [False Illusion] authority that was trying to erode his hearing, and said coldly:

“The heroic country and the just country that the ancestors looked forward to did exist for a few hundred years, but later they gradually grew rotten flesh, and finally even festered and turned into pus, slowly becoming what they are today.”

“Oh…”

Regretfully glancing at his ear, Lyon blinked and asked:

“So? What do you want to do? Cut out the rotten flesh in your mouth?”

“It's meaningless to just cut out the rotten flesh.”

Shaking his head to deny Lyon's statement, "Prince Vernon" said with burning eyes:

“If I have learned anything in the process of trying to change all of this… it is that everything related to humans, as long as it exists for too long, will inevitably slowly lead to decay!”

“So?”

Lyon raised his eyebrows in surprise upon hearing this.

“Humans have limits? You're not planning on staying human?”

“???”

No… how did you come to that conclusion?

Being stretched hard by Lyon's offbeat thinking, "Prince Vernon", who had just raised his momentum and then withered, choked for a while, and then could only forcibly pretend not to hear, continuing to keep a straight face and said:

“The Thirteen Kingdoms are like this, and so is the Clearance Bureau that created the Thirteen Kingdoms!

They should have quietly passed away when they were too rotten to be saved, but they relied on their own power to escape all of this, forcibly preserving their long-rotten corpses… This is wrong!”