Led by two nuns in white, Silas ascended a relatively narrow staircase to the second-floor meeting room, where he found quite a few people.
There were some acquaintances: first, Logan, Marx, and Bobby, the three Night Watchers; then Father Hank, and Father Walter who guarded the library.
These five people sat on the left side of the round conference table.
The right side was much more imposing. Judging by their attire, there were five bishop-level figures, and not the few bishop-priests from a few days ago, but bishops who had just arrived today.
In the front center, Archbishop Emilia had already removed her hat. A smile played on her lips, and her expression was kind and peaceful as she looked at Silas.
After walking in, Silas was the first to bow, his tone filled with reverence and respect. "Bayne Holy Blood Church, Purple Moon Agent, Silas Sotos, greets the Archbishop. May the Goddess's blessing always be with you."
Hearing Silas's respectful tone and standard posture, the five bishops nodded slightly and wrote something down in their notebooks.
Emilia spoke in her uniquely pleasant voice, "Rise and sit, good child of the Goddess."
"Thank you for your grace, thank you for the Goddess's blessing." Silas placed his hands crossed on his chest, spoke with a devout expression, bowed slightly, took three precise steps forward, and sat on the relatively simple wooden chair.
Emilia said softly, "Regarding this matter, Mr. Logan and Father Hank have already spoken to me, and I have also confirmed with Father Walter. However, I would still like you to recount the events in detail, and how you met Luke Sains."
"Luke Sains? Do you mean Mr. Luke?" Silas asked tentatively.
"Yes," Emilia nodded.
Silas sat up straight, his expression solemn. "Alright, I will try my best to recount this matter from beginning to end in detail."
As soon as Silas finished speaking, the five bishops on the left simultaneously waved their hands, and five invisible rays of light enveloped Silas's body.
Silas knew this was a small spell used for lie detection.
"The origin of this matter dates back to the ghost ship incident a few months ago."
"Speak slowly. We have reserved ample time for this matter," Emilia's voice grew softer.
Silas nodded and began his explanation.
"After the ghost ship incident, I coincidentally met a merchant from the Allied Empire named Bart Inbas. At that time, he had a dispute with the owner of a bakery. Since I understood some of the Allied Empire's language, I helped him out of the predicament. He was very happy and asked me to be his temporary guide. When I took him to his residence, a man named Jick came out to meet him."
"And coincidentally, during the previous major crackdown on the Death Cult, this Jick had been kidnapped by three people claiming to be from the Green Flame Brotherhood and was rescued by us. Because of this, I felt that this matter seemed somewhat unusual, but I couldn't be sure."
"Hmm, and then?"
"Later, I kept an eye on this matter, right up until the subsequent circus murder case…"
Silas recounted the entire process truthfully, though he omitted some "irrelevant" details.
For example, matters concerning the Demoness, the assembly, and the Evening Bell Church.
Regarding the mad painter, Silas combined the two incidents into one. After discovering the problem, Silas was attacked while fleeing. Bart rescued him and briefly explained the split within the Green Flame Brotherhood. Afterward, Silas returned and reported this matter to Master Jeros.
"I'm not entirely clear on how things developed afterward, but that night, while pursuing the Cold Church ghouls, I happened to overhear some voices. You should know, I have some innate talent when it comes to sound. Through the conversation, I learned that they had been invited by a mysterious person, and the ghost ship incident was merely to attract attention. And that mysterious person was very powerful; he could easily mobilize the police and even easily transfer away priests investigating matters. Finally, even at a critical moment, Master Jeros was transferred away. This made me very afraid. At that time, I began to distrust everyone and kept this secret tightly guarded."
The five priests nodded upon hearing this. The process described was completely consistent with what everyone, including Jeros who was far away in the central Holy See, had said.
"Afterward, I joined the Church with trepidation and studied diligently. Later, I discovered Markok's problem and, together with Mr. Logan, solved the issue of the corpse infant. There, we found the larvae of the Great Devouring Wyrm. I began to suspect even more, especially Markok's suicide in the church, which made me even more fearful and cautious."
"After that, during my first mission to kill a nest of blood bats, I heard there was a madman in the mountains. While carrying out the mission, I encountered that madman. At that time, the madman was covered in long red hair and initially attacked me somewhat crazily. But then, because of a bell sound, he suddenly returned to normal. He was Mr. Luke."
"Stop! You said a bell sound made him return to normal?" Emilia's silver eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Yes."
"Where did the bell sound come from?"
"Not quite sure," Silas said, spreading his hands with a bewildered expression.
"I'm indeed not quite sure about the principle of that bell sound," Silas added in his mind.
The five bishops nodded slightly and continued to write in their notes.
This matter was completely consistent with what the village chief of Laihua Village had said.
"Afterward, I met the missionary…"
Silas then recounted everything that followed without any concealment, speaking plainly.
Because everything here was normal, there was nothing worth hiding.
"When Roland and I were investigating, most of those who committed suicide were godchildren of either Bishop Ron or Mayor Arnold."
"Knowing such important information, why didn't you report it?" a middle-aged bishop asked in a low voice.
Silas asked with a grave expression, "Who would you have me report to? All clues pointed to the two most powerful people in the entire city. Who among those around them were his subordinates, and who weren't, how would I know? If I rashly reported it and they found out, I would only have a dead end!"
The middle-aged bishop was silent for a moment after hearing this and did not refute.
"After returning to the Church, they placed me under house arrest. They seemed to know of Mr. Luke's existence. Although they didn't kill me, they tormented my spirit in the name of study."
"A month later, when they wanted to kill me, I was rescued by Mr. Logan. While escaping, I met Mr. Luke again."
"Hmm, and then?"
Silas continued, "I told Mr. Luke everything, and Mr. Luke also seemed to know the truth. And he seemed to have found a group of mysterious people I didn't know. After that, I kept following Luke, wanting to break the magic circle. But there wasn't enough time, and the magic circle was still successfully summoned. Afterward, to help Mr. Luke and that group complete a summoning circle to fight the monster, I was sent flying. When Mr. Logan found me in the ruins, everything was over."
"I heard that your sister with whom you lived, Ada Newton, was abducted?"
Silas's face darkened, and he nodded. "Yes, by the time we arrived, she had already been captured by the Radiant Church, used as a bargaining chip by Ron!"