Chapter 121
This is exactly the type of talent the Church is missing!
Suddenly finding himself the owner of a fish pond, Henry was montarily unable to process it.
Looking at the fish jumping and splashing in the pond, they took on a completely different appearance in Henry’s eyes.
What fish pond? This was all money!
Once he opened this place up as a fishing spot, who knew how many fishing enthusiasts would co rushing over.
Not to ntion, the people coming to the church were all drawn by Lilith.
In an instant, Henry’s mind was filled with nothing but the shape of money.
anwhile, Lilith, seeing that Henry was already imrsed in his own fantasies, silently turned and left.
She still had to go to the confession booth to listen to those n’s boring stories.
Oh well. Money doesn’t grow on trees.
****
Henry sat leisurely by the pond, fishing and humming a little tune.
He’d heard that the confession booth with Lilith was packed; n were even willing to queue up just to talk to Lilith.
Soone had even tried to barge into Lilith’s room and had been thrown out.
Yet, every man who ca out of Lilith’s room seed liberated, floating away blissfully.
According to them, being scolded by Lilith was a truly enjoyable process.
Enjoyable?
Henry found it very difficult to understand their thought process.
“Hey, there’s actually soone fishing here! Aren’t you going to attend Sister Lilith’s confession ti?”
A man dressed plainly, yet with an extraordinary aura, walked up to Henry.
Henry only needed one look to know this man was the one Lilith was looking for.
See? Fishing was just this simple. All you had to do was wait quietly for the fish to take the bait.
Speaking of which, were people from the Church always this rigid?
The cross pendant wasn’t removed from his neck, he routinely carried a holy book in his hand, and he had an aura of sanctity about him… it was hard not to recognize him.
“It’s too crowded. I’ll go later,” Henry said, gesturing for the man to sit down.
The man sat and extended his hand in a friendly manner. “Hello, I’m Jikes.”
“Henry.”
After a brief handshake with Jikes, Henry turned his attention back to the water’s surface.
Seeing Henry’s deanor, Jikes imdiately judged that Henry was different from the fanatical believers inside. At the very least, he wasn’t influenced by that Sister Lilith.
Perhaps he could get a proper assessnt from him.
“Speaking of which, the Church actually allows people to fish here? Are there usually many people here?” Jikes feigned surprise, actually trying to inquire about the real situation.
Henry, however, appeared completely at ease, responding calmly.
“There are quite a few. The parishioners are very devout in attending mass, and they’re all very satisfied with Sister Lilith. Furthermore, to foster closer ties with the parishioners, this pond is open to the public.”
‘Wasn’t that obvious? This fishpond is mine now. I can open it to whoever I want.’
Jikes secretly cast a magic spell to detect if Henry was lying.
This was his magical ability, and the reason his superiors had sent him to investigate.
Under his magical detection, no one could lie to his face.
A golden light flickered in his palm.
Jikes was sowhat surprised. The other party wasn’t lying.
It seed that Sister Lilith was genuinely very popular among the local parishioners.
But those parishioners seed… not entirely proper. Was this truly beneficial for the Church?
Jikes had his doubts.
“I noticed that group of parishioners seems to have rather… different feelings towards Sister Lilith. It seems they’re all drawn to Lilith’s figure,” Jikes ventured.
Upon hearing this, Henry looked at Jikes with a puzzled expression, his face seeming to say that Jikes was an idiot.
Jikes, suddenly stared at like this by Henry, montarily didn’t know what he had said wrong.
“W-What is it?”
“I find your question rather strange. Is it Lilith’s fault that she has a good figure?”
“I… I didn’t say that. I just think the parishioners’ focus is a bit odd, that’s all.”
“You don’t get out much, do you? Always holed up at ho reading books?” Henry’s words struck Jikes like a sharp blade.
Aside from following the Bishop on outings, he usually did spend most of his ti at ho reading holy texts, rarely going out.
But how could the other person tell?
Was he that obvious?
“W-What’s the problem with that?”
“The problem is huge! If you don’t even understand the needs of your parishioners, how can you expect them to trust you? Does that logic make sense to you?”
Jikes froze on the spot, montarily unable to retort.
Indeed, if the Church ignored the requests of its parishioners, why should the parishioners believe in the Church?
If one had to say, the relationship between the Church and its parishioners should be a mutual endeavor.
“Those people co to the Church because of Lilith; that’s their business. But Lilith is a mber of the Church, right? So aren’t her words the ssage the Church wants to convey? What’s the difference between believing in Lilith and believing in the Church?”
“Th-That… seems to make sense too.”
Jikes was befuddled by Henry’s reasoning, seemingly failing to notice the flaws in the argunt.
Henry, familiar and chummy, put his arm around Jikes’s shoulder and said earnestly, “I’m telling you folks, you’ve just been cooped up at ho for too long. Parishioners need fulfillnt not only materially but also spiritually.”
“Only when they are spiritually satisfied will they have stronger faith in the Church! By that ti, the Church’s Faith Power will flourish all the more! You wouldn’t want the parishioners to be led astray by cultist temptations, would you?”
Henry’s final sentence echoed in Jikes’s mind like a hypnotic suggestion.
The Church had always been thinking about how to prevent parishioners from going astray.
But they seed to have consistently overlooked one thing.
If the parishioners’ material and spiritual needs were t, how could they possibly go astray!
Henry’s words were an epiphany for Jikes!
He excitedly grabbed Henry’s hand, his tone brimming with enthusiasm.
“This… friend! You are absolutely right. This is exactly what the Church has been missing! But if we are to put it into practice, I… how should the Church go about satisfying the parishioners?”
Jikes nearly revealed his identity, unaware that in Henry’s eyes, he might as well have been standing there naked.
“Well… that’s a matter for the Church. It’s not really my place, as an outsider, to interfere,” Henry said, waving his hand as if unwilling to continue.
“Eh? You’re not a believer? Shouldn’t helping the Church solve its problems also be part of a believer’s responsibility?” Jikes grew anxious.
“Of course not. I’m just an ordinary fishing enthusiast.”
He had always stayed at ho, his head full of theoretical knowledge, completely unfamiliar with the ways of the world outside.
It was rare to encounter soone with such profound insight into the Church, and yet the other party wasn’t even a believer!
What was this?
This was definitely the Church’s loss!
He absolutely had to recruit this talent into the Church. He couldn’t let The Alliance or those cultists get their hands on him!
Thinking this, he suddenly grabbed Henry’s arm, his eyes filled with sincerity.
“Mr. Henry, I now sincerely invite you to join the Church!”
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