Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Can you tell it's Verka just by looking at her outfit?

In any case, Isaac couldn't tell the difference. All the clergy of the Golden Bough Church wore the same masks, and the nuns' robes were the same too. From their appearance, it was impossible to tell who was who.

Or does Carlo have some special way of recognizing her, such as remembering her figure and gait, or simply sensing her through some extraordinary means?

Carlo lowered his hand and glanced at Isaac: "Guess whether she's here to have tea with you, or to settle a score?"

Isaac was taken aback: "You want to settle scores with me?"

"Look at you, you don't even believe in that goddess, yet you use her prayers and borrow her power, and then you just leave after you're done." Carlo shrugged. "Isn't that a huge blasphemy? Look, the cardinal himself came to have tea with you."

Isaac smirked. Although this was theoretically a serious matter, it sounded so casual coming from Carlo…

Verca crossed the street and stopped in front of the two: "Good morning, you two."

Carlo raised an eyebrow: "Cardinal Verca seems to have a lot of free time lately, spending 1 pound to ride in a dog-cart and then blocking people in the high street."

Verca didn't respond, seemingly ignoring Carlo's words, and tilted her head towards the street corner: "Let's talk somewhere else."

Carlo didn't object, and the three of them turned into an alley.

Verca stopped and turned to Isaac: "Just now I sensed the power of Vikania descending upon this place."

They came looking for him not long after he finished his prayer… Isaac carefully chose his words.

Considering that mercenary Finn is Verca's subordinate, and that Verca may already know about his use of the Golden Bough Church's prayers to dispel the vengeful spirits at the Palmer Amolin Mansion, it would be difficult for him to fool her by pretending to be unaware.

However, before Isaac could figure out how to explain, Carlo interrupted, "So, this is a big problem."

Isaac and Verca looked over, and Carlo shook his head: "It's obvious that Vicania has absolutely no principles."

Isaac: "...?"

Verka: "..."

"Other clergy members spend years in arduous training to finally gain the qualification to request a blessing, and Asa just casually recites a few prayers, and He lends them His power." Carlo's tone was tinged with righteous indignation. "Isn't this a slap in the face to the other clergy?"

"If you ask me, Vikania might be a sucker for good looks. She covers up the others' faces with masks to avoid being an eyesore, but she's exceptionally generous to Asa because he's a handsome young man. Tsk tsk, with my face, could I ask the goddess for a blessing or something?"

Isaac's gaze darted back and forth between Carlo and Verca. Was it really alright to slander the deity of a cardinal like that? Could he be wanted by the entire city and burned at the stake any second now?

Verca was silent for a moment, her mask concealing her expression, but she seemed to exude a low-pressure atmosphere.

Then, Isaac heard Verca say, "Carlo Schuster."

"Suddenly giving me my full name..."

"If you make another statement that displeases me, I'll have no choice but to shoot you in the head."

The tone was flat, but the wording was harsh.

But... is this really a statement that a cardinal should make?

Isaac began to seriously consider whether he should pretend he hadn't heard or show a shocked expression.

Carlo, however, didn't seem to care: "Getting impatient."

Verca swiftly and decisively pulled out her revolver and pressed it against Carlo's chin.

Carlo raised his hands in surrender, clicked his tongue, and said, "Hey, calm down. If you blow my head off, I'll be in a lot of trouble. After all, it's a pain to put my head back together piece by piece."

"It's okay, I can chop it up and feed it to the dog."

"You're a cardinal, after all. Don't be so violent. If the Pope sees this, he'll nag you again."

"The Holy See will not see it."

"Should I go and complain?"

"..."

"And even disregarding the Pope, the impact would be terrible if the faithful saw this. Look, Asa is terrified by you."

Isaac, standing to the side, stared at the scene in disbelief, unsure of what to think.

Is it that you, boss, can still laugh and talk even with a gun pointed at your chin? You're truly an amazing person, or is Cardinal Verca, really this kind of person...?

He tried to smooth things over by saying, "Um..."

Neither of them paid him any attention. Verka's gun remained firmly planted: "In terms of the impact on believers, your blasphemous words are a hundred times worse. If believers heard what you just said, what do you think they would think?"

"So you admit that your behavior has a very bad impact?"

"You verbally abused Vicania first."

"I was just stating a possibility. If Vicania really cares, then she's not only obsessed with looks, but also petty."

Isaac tried again to ease the tension: "Cardinal Verca, regarding the borrowing of Vicania's power just now—"

Verca snorted coldly, put the revolver away, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe the gun, and glanced at Carlo: "If I hear similar remarks again, I will shoot directly and will not waste words with you."

"Don't worry, next time I'll say it when you're not around." Carlo straightened his collar with his raised hands and lowered them. "Tsk, but look how scary you are, you scared Asa so much that he changed the subject by talking about what he did."

Isaac: "..."

To be honest, in front of these two people, he suddenly felt that his "blasphemy" was nothing.

Verka turned to Isaac: "Isaac Lessing."

"Yes," Isaac replied instinctively.

"You, as a faithless person, have twice acted in Vicania's name without authorization."

Isaac hesitated before speaking, "Cardinal Verca, although I am not a member of the Golden Bough Church, those two times..."

“I know you are not a believer,” Verca interrupted. “To assume a holy office without being consecrated is treason, and for an unbeliever to use the name of a deity is blasphemy. But Vicania answered your prayer, which means she approves of you. Since the goddess has granted your request, the Church will not pursue the matter.”

Isaac breathed a sigh of relief.

"I knew it was Vicania..." Carlo said from the side.

Verca raised her revolver and swayed it again. Carlo shrugged, and Verca smoothly holstered the revolver back inside her nun's habit.

The holster was positioned very carefully; its outline was almost invisible under the loose nun's habit, but the speed with which Verca drew her gun just now clearly showed that she had received professional training.

"Your actions will not be punished, but you must remember this," she said to Isaac. "You must not overstep your bounds within the sanctuary of Vicania, nor preside over ceremonies that require the use of divine power in the presence of clergy. Your lack of faith, yet your use of divine grace, is a contempt for the clergy present."

Isaac nodded, meaning that it was a reasonable request not to display this in front of clergy in churches or monasteries.

Moreover, behind this requirement was actually permission: as long as it was not in a formal church setting or in the presence of clergy, he was tacitly permitted to ask Vicania for divine grace at other times.

This is quite a tolerant attitude from the perspective of the church.