Timeline Player

"I see." Chi Que was also slightly surprised, but upon closer thought, how could an ordinary person possibly produce a small silver coin?

"Ancient Religious Kingdom?" He tapped the table. "I don't know much about it. Can any of you explain it to me?"

"Let this priest do it," Vincent said, stepping aside. "He is, after all, a member of the Vatican, and knows more about these things than I do."

"I am not yet a priest, but I am honored by your praise." Reed cleared his throat and began to speak.

"The ancient Holy Land, the predecessor of the current Papacy, a nation bathed in divine grace, with pure faith, kind hearts, no hunger or strife, and everyone enjoying peace and happiness," Reed said reminiscingly.

Chi Que selectively forgot this part of the story; this record, which clearly stands on the side of the Vatican, is not as credible as the Double Color Ball lottery.

"Later, the Demon King descended upon the world, wreaking havoc on the continent." Reid's voice gradually became heavy: "Faced with annihilation, His Holiness the Pope at the time lured the Demon King to the capital of the ancient theocracy, gathered his last strength, and sealed the Demon King at the cost of his life."

What a classic RPG setting! Will the story follow with the Demon King breaking the seal and the hero saving the world with the holy sword?

And isn't your god a bit too shameful?

Chi Que complained inwardly.

In orthodox religions, aren't the leaders of the evil side always the ones who are casually flattered by the second-in-command of the righteous side?

For example, the famous Lucifer, the bright star, the son of the morning, is almost portrayed in various modern literary and artistic works as a character who can rival God, but he is nothing more than a roadside figure in front of Michael.

After all, religion requires a single divinity. Even if the leader fights the demon king to the death, it still falls within the realm of a nature god.

For example, a certain early stallion king.

Reid continued, "However, in his final moments, the Demon King unleashed pure malice, instantly engulfing the entire Holy City and rapidly spreading to every inch of the Ancient Kingdom..."

"God's earthly kingdom has been destroyed," Reed sighed. "Most of the church's scriptures have been lost, and God no longer responds to the world, leaving only us worthless descendants."

This must be your god and the demon king perishing together, right?!

Although he was inwardly cursing, on the surface, Chi Que maintained a solemn expression: "I see, it really is a tragic story." (Read in a flat tone)

However, he gleaned at least one important piece of information from this story: in this era, supernatural powers were likely extremely rare, perhaps even beyond the control of the Holy See.

After all, the Vatican can still cast holy light spells or something, so it's not like "God no longer responds to humanity."

After listening to Reid's story, Chi Que became even more interested in Vincent's antiques.

It seems that some nobles in the future duchy are collecting antiques. Is it simply for collection purposes?

Originally, he thought that might be true, but after hearing the story, he no longer thought so.

"I'm quite interested in these antiques. Why don't we take a look at them?" he said to Vincent.

"It's wonderful that you're interested!" Vincent said with a smile. "However, it's getting late, and it would be quite a hassle to find my treasures today. Perhaps I should come back tomorrow for you to take a look."

Chi Que wasn't in a hurry; he still needed to find funding. So he nodded and said, "Okay."

"Thank you for your understanding!" Vincent quickly bowed and said cautiously, "Then... I'll come to bother you again tomorrow."

"Mm," Chi Que responded.

The merchant's smile was almost overflowing as he respectfully left the shop with two well-fed attendants.

Chi Que suddenly discovered a very serious problem: since the beginning, no customers have come to the shop...

Left with no other option, he looked at the customer who remained in the shop: "Speaking of which, does the church have the custom of distributing communion?"

The apprentice seemed a little confused, but nodded nonetheless and said, "The church regularly distributes communion, and today is one of those days. I have half an hour to go, and I need to get back before then."

"Alright." Chi Que nodded, turned around and went back to the kitchen, putting the remaining stew into a thermos.

He came out carrying the soup bucket and placed it in front of Reed: "In that case, you can take the rest of the stew with you."

Consider it a way to level up my skills.

The apprentice was clearly startled and stammered, "Shop...shop manager? Is this possible?"

"What? Doesn't the church accept donations from outside?" Chi Que retorted. "Even if we can't sell them, we can't let them go to waste."

After hesitating for a moment, considering the church's tight financial situation, he finally accepted the gift, repeatedly expressing his gratitude: "Shopkeeper, you are so generous, God will surely bless you."

Chi Que waved his hand and said, "If you really want to thank me, then help me spread the word. Also, be careful not to get into a fight on the way."

"I'll be careful," Reed readily agreed, and he carefully carried the soup bucket on his back.

Watching Reid disappear into the crowd, Chi Que turned back into the shop to prepare for a rest.

On the other side, although the soup pot isolated the stew, the rich aroma still seeped out through the cracks and wafted through the streets at dusk.

At first, the fragrance was faint, but as time went on, it gradually spread and caught the noses of every passerby.

It was dinnertime, and pedestrians were hurrying home to have a hot dinner.

Now, smelling the strong aroma, people quickly became unable to move and the crowd gradually gathered towards Reed.

"What's that smell? It smells so good!" "Oh my god, this aroma..." "What are you carrying? Where did you buy it?"

Reed was already struggling with the heavy soup bucket on his back, and now that he was surrounded by a group of passersby, he was even more at a loss.

He could clearly see the longing and yearning on everyone's faces, and even a few children were staring at him expectantly.

Faced with this critical situation, Red wanted to stop it, but extreme tension prevented him from saying a word.

Just as the situation was spiraling out of control and escalating into a robbery, a group of guards passed by and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

In an instant, the crowd dispersed, making way for the guards, but they still lingered around, reluctant to leave.

The captain of the guard took a deep sniff, inhaling the rich aroma in the air, a hint of greed flickering in his eyes.

Sensing that the atmosphere had become strange again, Reed carefully took a few steps back, only to bump into another guard.

"It smells so good! It smells just like the castle kitchen!" The soldier, who had also smelled the stew, immediately looked at his captain: "The brothers haven't eaten yet, Captain, should we..."

His eyes gradually turned fierce.