Absolutely not to be burned at the stake

Looking at the young priest, who spoke these words with neither arrogance nor servility.

Mayor Fogg felt a slight chill. He hadn't expected Li Wei to be so meticulous, and even gave him a task in return: to display the majesty of the new priest.

He immediately nodded and said, "Father, rest assured, I will arrange this immediately and ensure that Shadow Town is in good order so as not to disturb His Holiness the Bishop's meditation."

The Levi before him was composed and measured in his words and actions, and knew everything about church affairs. He could even truly control the amplification power of the church's sanctuary. He didn't seem like a temporary imposter at all, but rather someone who had truly received full authorization from Hansen.

"In that case, we will not disturb the priest's meditation any longer."

Mayor Fogg bowed again, seemingly even more respectful, "If there is any need, please send someone to inform the town hall at any time."

"May my Lord protect you all." Li Wei raised his hand and drew a holy symbol on his chest.

Watching the three figures disappear into the distance, a faint glint of light flashed in Li Wei's eyes.

The first time I presided over a service, it was a success.

The sanctuary gradually quieted down, leaving only Li Wei standing before the pulpit. Sunlight still shone on the holy emblem, casting shimmering spots of light. Li Wei raised his hand and touched the hidden holy emblem between his brows, feeling the faint divine power within it, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He took the first step very steadily: he would never allow himself to be burned at the stake.

What he needs to do next is to improve his strength as soon as possible, figure out all the undercurrents in Shadow Town, protect this church, and truly survive in this strange world.

In the mayor's office, the dark green curtains were drawn tightly shut.

The crackling sound of burning wood in the fireplace occasionally disrupted the tranquility of the otherwise silent office.

"This Li Wei is fucking weird!"

Barton tilted his head back and downed the drink in one gulp, making the long scar on his face look even more ferocious, and he let out a long, heavy breath.

Fogg, who had been silently drinking, looked at Barton across from him, a dark glint in his eyes. "It's not just Levi; we can't even be sure of Hansen's current situation."

Recalling the scene in the church, Barton frowned, reached for the wine bottle on his desk, and poured himself another glass of wine: "Could this Levi really be a God-giver? And... Hansen hasn't shown up at all, to be honest... that's not like the old man's style."

Fogg, holding his wine glass, glanced at Barton, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He took a sip of his wine before saying, "It certainly doesn't seem like Hansen's style."

"Logically speaking, if he hadn't died, he should have shown up at this scene. At the very least... even if he had let Li Wei take over the church, he should have given us an explanation beforehand. But this time, not only did he not show up, he didn't even send a letter."

Barton nodded in agreement: "Now that the Sacred Heart Cathedral is practically his private property, he can't possibly not show up for something this big, unless he's dead, or... he really doesn't have time..."

"but..."

Fogg hesitated, a rare occurrence, his fingers tapping absently on the desk. After a while, he looked at Barton and said in a deep voice, "This Levi, is your investigation really without problems?"

"no problem."

Barton shook his head firmly. "Everyone in Shadowtown knows this Levi. Many people have watched him grow up. Two years ago, Hansen fired his previous maid and picked Levi instead. Everything is normal."

"And...that little vixen, do you think if Li Wei had any problems, he could have escaped her notice? If she wasn't confident, would she have dared to agree to us coaxing this kid into killing Hansen?"

"So, that's strange."

Fogg fell silent, took another sip of his wine, and suddenly chuckled, "Could it be that old man Hansen had long since angered the goddess? So, this kid killed Hansen and then received divine favor in return?"

Barton thought for a moment, then looked hesitantly at Fogg and said, "That old man Hansen is mean, lecherous, and stingy. These past few years, aside from Sunday, hardly anyone in Shadowtown goes to church. Who knows... he might have really angered the goddess?"

"Hehe...to be honest...the chances are slim." Fogg chuckled and shook his head.

"The gods have been absent for a century. The last divinely favored one should be the spirit under the command of the God of Nature fifty years ago. Besides this one, have you heard of any other divinely favored ones appearing?"

Fogg chuckled, slowly shook his head, and reached out to smooth the hem of his shirt over his large belly.

"Furthermore, as far as I know, those who have received divine favor on record are either monks who have served the gods since childhood and are exceptionally talented, or magicians who have performed great deeds for the gods and the Holy See and have pleased the gods, and only then will they receive divine favor."

"Hansen is, after all, a bishop of the Holy See, and he has guarded Shadow Town for the Goddess for over twenty years. Even if he hasn't done anything particularly meritorious, he has certainly put in a lot of hard work... Otherwise, the Cardinal Order wouldn't be so lenient towards him. If killing Hansen would please the Goddess? Heh..." Fogg snorted.

Barton reached for the bottle again, poured himself a drink, then glanced at Fogg's glass and gestured, "But... if he's not a God-giver, then... how do you explain killing that evil spirit with a single word today?"

"Even you and I cannot easily deal with such an evil spirit... Although this kid must have used the power of the divine sanctuary, he could be killed with a single word... He is no ordinary person."

Fogg pushed his cup over, watching Barton fill his own cup before saying, "That's the strangest thing. Not to mention the goddess, as far as I know, the gods rarely manifest themselves these days, especially the Alchemist Goddess, who hasn't manifested herself for at least sixty or seventy years. Otherwise, the Alchemist Holy Court wouldn't have fallen from being the head of the four religions to its current state so quickly."

"Li Wei has only been working at the church for two years, and... he's just an ordinary maid. He's never even studied formal divine magic before..."

"What's even stranger is that you said this kid is timid, shy, and naive... and Alice managed to coax him into even daring to kill Hansen in no time..."

At this point, Fogg looked at Barton and said, "Even if he received divine grace, at most he would only know some divine magic. Could it be that his personality and way of handling things could become so flawless? Unless... a god descends!"

"A divine intervention?"

Barton reached up and touched his bald head, grumbling, "You said it yourself, the gods rarely even bestow divine grace, so why would a god descend? And even descend upon our Shadow Town, where the gods are powerless?"

Fogg tilted his head back and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp. He frowned and pondered for a long time before finally shaking his head helplessly: "Forget it. Anyway, Hansen isn't showing his face right now. Have people keep an eye on the church and that kid. As long as he doesn't show his face, it won't have much impact on our plans."

"good!"

Barton nodded, picked up his glass, tilted his head back, and downed the contents in one gulp. He said gruffly, "As for that kid Levi... who cares if it's divine grace or divine intervention? As long as he doesn't interfere with our affairs, let him be, okay?"

"Yes. Until we understand the specifics, this is the only way!"

Fogg slowly nodded, a burning glint in his eyes: "If...there is indeed a discovery at the mine, Lord Fox and the Mage Association will definitely not stand idly by. At that time, neither you nor I will need to worry about these things..."

"Yes, if we find anything..." Barton's eyes lit up as well.

While the two bigwigs of Shadowtown were enjoying their drinks, Levi was sitting in the kitchen's dining room, eating half a fried chicken with a can of beer, his mouth greasy from the food.

These are the items stored in the refrigerator.

These past few days, because we are still in a life-or-death situation, I have been eating white bread and honey haphazardly every day just to fill my stomach.

But today, having finally escaped the possibility of being burned at the stake, Li Wei finally had some ideas for trying something different.

Although white bread and honey were a delicacy that most residents of Shadowtown could only afford on Grace Day, for Li Wei, eating it every day would be terrible, even if it was only for a couple of days.

Fortunately, there was still half a fried chicken in the refrigerator. Although it had been there for a few days, it shouldn't have gone bad yet. Li Wei couldn't care less about that now.

A Budweiser and a bite of fried chicken—he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Half a fried chicken was barely enough to fill me up, but it made Li Wei extremely satisfied after eating bread and cream soup for several days. He even ate a slice of white bread instead, and it didn't taste so bad.

He took a pack of tissues, pulled out one to wipe his mouth, and was about to reach for another to wipe his hands when he hesitated for a moment, then sighed, put it back, and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands.

To be honest, the conditions in this world are quite poor; even the toilet paper is made of extremely rough toilet paper.

Although he still had some tissues in his house, Li Wei felt he should still be more frugal...