"You want to return that thing to the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun?" Cattleya looked at Hastur with an unfriendly expression.
Although she did not believe that thing was truly a god's eye, she had absolutely no goodwill toward the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. Forget returning it, she would rather throw it to a dog.
Back then, it was precisely the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun joining forces with the Sauron family that led to Emperor Roselle's fall at the White Maple Palace. This major event had already been proven by history.
Without the support of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun from behind the scenes, the Sauron family alone could never have assassinated Emperor Roselle.
The Gustav family would not have suffered persecution at the hands of the Sauron family either, and Bernadette would not have been reduced to being merely a pirate who roamed the seas.
She should have been the most noble princess of the entire Intis Republic! A royal princess!
"Mm. This thing contains something ominous. Keeping it in our hands will only bring disaster."
"I disagree!" Cattleya flatly refused with a cold expression. There was absolutely no room for negotiation on this matter.
Hastur was in no hurry. He poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and then asked, "How do you want to deal with it?"
"Throw it to a dog!"
"That's a good idea." Hastur's eyes brightened slightly. "Let's do that."
Throwing the Eternal Blazing Sun's eye to a dog, what an interesting thing that would be.
If the Eternal Blazing Sun just happened to be observing something through this eye, it would be even more interesting.
He would personally witness His own eye being swallowed into a dog's stomach.
Cattleya was visibly stunned for a moment. "You... you can't seriously mean that, can you?"
"Don't you think your suggestion is quite good?" Hastur blinked. "The sacred relic that the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun has been desperately searching for gets fed to a dog just like that. What an exciting act of blasphemy that would be."
"..." Cattleya's pupils widened slightly. In the end, she gave Hastur a complicated look. "You're even crazier and bolder than I imagined."
"Miss Cattleya, this was your suggestion."
"..."
Cattleya did not try to argue further. What she had said earlier was merely out of anger, but Hastur genuinely intended to do it.
Upon hearing their conversation, even Sharon, who had always been uninterested in such matters, turned her gaze toward them, confusion similarly visible in her eyes.
She knew Hastur must have his own considerations for choosing to do this, but feeding a suspected god's eye to a dog was simply too insane an idea.
"First, find a suitable dog on the street, then notify members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun to come witness this historic moment."
"You're going?" Cattleya had an expression that said since it was his proposal, he should be the one to carry it out.
"I'm not going."
"?"
"Let Ulrich do it. In the eyes of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, he's already a blasphemer. It wouldn't be strange for him to do something else outrageous."
Hastur had no intention of gambling on whether the Eternal Blazing Sun would descend because of this incident.
Since Ulrich had brought the thing here, he should be the one to bring this matter to a close.
Mm, perfectly reasonable.
"Me? I'm not going!" Ulrich, who had just woken up and was still clutching his blanket, turned deathly pale upon hearing Hastur's arrangement. He desperately shook his head and cried, "I'll die! They'll definitely hang me on a stake and burn me for three days and three nights!"
"With your current charge of blasphemy, wouldn't you be burned at the stake if they caught you anyway?" Hastur crouched down and patiently persuaded him.
"B-But I haven't been caught yet, have I?" Ulrich's expression changed slightly before he quickly shouted again, "You promised you would safely get me out of Trier! Are you planning to go back on your word?"
"Having you do this is one part of the plan to get you out of the city." Hastur wore a kindly smile. "Think about it. The entire city is under such strict security right now. Only if you appear within their sight will their vigilance loosen elsewhere, giving you a chance to leave Trier."
"No. What if I get caught?" Ulrich was somewhat persuaded, but he still shook his head vigorously.
"That's why you'll throw the thing away to attract their attention." Hastur looked as if he had already arranged everything perfectly.
"No! It's too dangerous!"
"Then there's nothing I can do. How about I simply deliver both you and the item straight to the entrance of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun? After all, I wasn't the one who promised last night to help you leave."
After a round of cordial and friendly discussion, Ulrich finally agreed to the task with tears in his eyes.
Cattleya, who had been listening from the side, watched Ulrich's back as he departed like a man resolutely marching toward his death and sighed. "You really shouldn't have chosen the Black Emperor pathway."
Hastur clicked his tongue. "You know nothing about a Lawyer's eloquence."
...
Ulrich set off.
In order to complete this task, he fled for his life, quickly attracting the attention and pursuit of patrolling soldiers and members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
Eventually, he fled to a bustling part of the streets, where people coming to capture him approached from every direction.
Looking at so many people and so many pairs of eyes, Ulrich couldn't help shivering. The situation was truly terrible.
But now that things had reached this point, he could only choose to trust that young man.
Huh? He had actually forgotten to ask that young man's name!
If he ended up in hell later, wouldn't he not even know whom he should hate?
Damn it! How could he have forgotten something so important?
Ulrich's expression shifted several times, but at this moment, there was no room for him to entertain any other thoughts.
Looking at the members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, including several priests he had once befriended and even a bishop, he slowly took the inconspicuous round stone from his coat pocket. Steeling his heart, he shouted, "Don't come any closer! Otherwise, I-I'll destroy it!"
A slight commotion and murmuring broke out among the members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. Then, a priest who had once been on fairly good terms with Ulrich stepped forward with a smile plastered across his face.
"Ulrich, you are one of the most devout believers in God. I believe all of this must be a misunderstanding. As long as you return to the church with us and explain everything clearly, you can still remain a respected priest in the future."
"You believe me? Well, I don't believe you! You were the first one to lead people into my home!"
Ulrich sneered and raised the Eternal Blazing Sun's eye high in his right hand, making as if to smash it against the ground.
"What do you want?" The priest who had been pushed forward to negotiate dropped his forced smile and looked coldly at Ulrich.
"Prepare a carriage for me and let me leave this place. Then I'll return the item to you." Ulrich seized the opportunity to state his demand.
"Fine. We'll satisfy that request."
Soon, a luxurious carriage pulled by two horses appeared within sight.
"You stay back! Don't come any closer!" Ulrich warned them to maintain their distance as he slowly backed toward the carriage. The taut string in his heart finally loosened somewhat.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed the surrounding space becoming frozen. His entire body stiffened, leaving him completely unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as the priest approached to take the item from his hand.
"We have far too many ways to take something from your hands. Did you really think you could escape?"
"You don't keep your word!"
For some unknown reason, Ulrich suddenly regained the ability to move. Enraged, he immediately hurled the round stone in his hand into the distance.
Then, while everyone's attention was drawn toward it, he quickly climbed aboard the carriage and entered the compartment. At the same time, the coachman drove the carriage toward the street occupied by ordinary soldiers, recklessly charging through them and forcing open a path to survival.
"Damn it! Wasn't that coachman someone we arranged? Why is he obeying that blasphemer's orders?"
Inside the carriage, Ulrich listened to the furious shouts rapidly fading behind him as the carriage left them far behind.
He was equally curious. Wasn't this coachman being a little too cooperative?
"Sit tight. I'll fulfill my promise now and get you out of the city."
"It's you!" The anxious Ulrich recognized the voice, and his mood immediately turned from sorrow to joy.
Meanwhile, the members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun did not pay much attention to Ulrich's escape. Their gazes were all drawn toward the round stone that had been thrown away.
When they reached the area where the round stone had landed, they collectively fell silent.
The round stone had barely touched the ground before it was eaten by a dog.
Yes, a mangy stray dog that had appeared from who knew where had actually swallowed this suspected eye of a god!
That was a god's eye! A sacred relic of their Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun!
And it had actually been blasphemed by a dog!
After only a brief silence, they reached an unspoken agreement and cut open the belly of the outrageously audacious mangy dog, finally retrieving the sacred relic they had been searching for all this time.
It even carried a nauseating, bloody stench.
This sacred relic, which should have been enshrined within a temple and revered and worshiped by all believers, now seemed covered in a layer of filth, its former sanctity nowhere to be seen.
The elderly bishop held the round stone in his palm and sternly declared, "Once we return, forget this ever happened. All you need to remember is that God's eye will forever remain sacred and glorious!"
"Praise the Sun!"
The other members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun began praising the Sun in unison.
Then they respectfully escorted the god's eye back to the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
Cattleya, who had secretly witnessed the entire scene, scoffed at them.
Praise the Sun? God's eye?
It was nothing more than a lousy stone that had been fed to a dog.
What sacredness? What glory? It was nothing more than a farce of self-deception.
Now, Cattleya instead hoped that round stone truly was an eye the Eternal Blazing Sun had lost in the mortal world.
Now this was true blasphemy!