“What do you want to ask?”
The Bishop, seeing that the monks had mostly left, shifted his gaze to Ed.
“Let me say first, if it involves some highly confidential issues, I won’t answer you.”
The Bishop’s request was reasonable.
Rather, as a high-ranking figure in the church, it was already fortunate that he was willing to accept Ed’s proposal.
After all, in the Nordvian Kingdom, Ed’s identity was just an obscure mage; he wouldn’t be surprised if the monks directly drove him out.
“First question.”
Time was precious; Ed didn’t hesitate at all and spoke directly.
“I’ve reviewed some history from the past thousand years and found that the church seems to have always deeply loathed witches, so I’d like you to inform me of the reason. Of course, this is just out of curiosity, with no other purpose.”
The Bishop’s fingers holding the scepter moved imperceptibly.
“Because witches are such evil, hateful monsters.” He answered coldly but affirmatively.
Ed shook his head.
“You should know that what I want to ask isn’t these superficial things that people can learn about.”
“…”
Seeing the Bishop remain silent, Ed decided to go further, asking more boldly and aggressively.
“Bishop, any hatred cannot arise out of thin air.
I think the Holy Father wouldn’t allow believers to harbor baseless resentment toward someone, or a group.”
These words were quite bold, no different from directly questioning the firmness of the believers’ faith.
The Bishop suddenly gripped the scepter tightly, his expression visibly becoming quite stern.
“Do you know what you’re saying! Young man!”
“Of course I do, Bishop Frederick.” Ed stared directly into those eyes.
“But I believe the Holy Father hasn’t forbidden the pursuit of truth; we should also have the right to know the truth.”
“Even if after knowing the truth, reality still won’t change?” The Bishop countered in a deep voice.
Ed nodded slightly.
The man holding the scepter closed his eyes, seeming to hesitate for a moment.
“Alright.” In the long silence, he suddenly opened his eyes and spoke faintly.
“This is the first time in all these years I’ve been in position that someone has asked me such a strange question.”
The Bishop looked Ed up and down with those gray eyes.
“When you fought the witch, did you encounter any strange situations?
For example, the witch suddenly becoming much stronger, or using inconceivable means?”
He suddenly asked something seemingly unrelated.
Ed thought carefully and shook his head.
“No.”
The man nodded as if he had expected it.
“As expected. No wonder a young man your age could deal with those terrifying witches.”
Seeing Ed show a puzzled expression, the Bishop continued to explain:
“This witch should still be in her juvenile stage, not yet truly awakening the ‘Key of Authority’ in her body, so her strength might be relatively weak.”
“Key of Authority?”
“That’s the key point.” The Bishop suddenly changed the subject.
“Young man, I think you should know about the grand expedition over a thousand years ago.”
“The history books record this part in great detail, Bishop.” Ed said in a low voice.
“In the year 0 of the Radiant Calendar, the human allied forces drove the demons to the lands south of the Samuel Mountains and used this mountain range as the boundary between demon and human territories.”
“Correct.” The Bishop nodded.
“Then do you know who the leader of the demons was at that time?”
Ed was stunned.
“Leader?”
“It’s normal that you don’t know.” The Bishop sighed.
“To avoid certain bad things from happening, this part of history has been deliberately hidden by us.”
He continued: “The leader of the demons at that time was respectfully called the Demon King by those demons.
To defeat him, the human allied forces paid a heavy price of nearly half their numbers dead.”
“But even so, what does that have to do with the so-called ‘Key of Authority’?
And why do we need to conceal his information?” Ed asked doubtfully.
“Of course it does.” The Bishop took a few steps forward, and as he brushed past Ed, he spoke lowly beside him: “Because that Demon King didn’t completely die.”
“This… this is impossible?”
The shock this news brought to Ed was no less than hearing that the war-torn northern countries had restored peace.
But soon, through the connections in the Bishop’s words, he quickly thought of an extremely absurd guess.
“You don’t mean to say that the Demon King reincarnated as witches, do you.” He tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Even the benevolent Holy Father would get angry hearing this joke, Bishop.”
“Not exactly, but…” The Bishop paused, his voice echoing in the empty room, “it’s very close to the truth.”
“Before the Demon King fell, he divided his power into countless ‘Keys of Authority,’ and these fragments will unconsciously seek hosts among human females.
Once they encounter a suitable target, they will invade the host’s body, slowly transforming their bodies…”
The Bishop turned to look at Ed.
“And the result after that, I believe you already know.”
Ed thoughtfully stroked his chin.
“Is this perhaps the process of witches being born?”
“Correct.” The Bishop nodded.
“And the most important reason we hunt witches across all human territories is to prevent that powerful Demon King from resurrecting through the Keys of Authority in the witches’ bodies.”
The boy’s blue pupils suddenly contracted.
“He can resurrect through witches?”
“Rest assured, it’s not as simple as you think.” The Bishop finally smiled.
“The Demon King’s resurrection requires extremely harsh conditions; otherwise, those demons in the south would have attacked long ago, and wouldn’t wait until…”
He suddenly closed his mouth.
“Bishop Frederick?”
“No, nothing.” The Bishop shook his head.
“Continue.
We still don’t know the necessary conditions for the Demon King’s resurrection, but without a doubt, those witches are definitely a link in his plan, and a quite important one.”
“So, this is the true reason for the witch hunts that have lasted over a thousand years?” Ed murmured.
“It seems you’ve learned the truth, young man.
Now, are you a bit happier?”
The muscles on Ed’s face twitched slightly.
“This really doesn’t make one happy, Bishop.”
“That’s right; this is a serious matter concerning the safety of all humanity and must be treated seriously.”
Bishop Frederick sighed, his expression suddenly becoming solemn.
“For this matter, please try not to let others know; we need to control the information within as small a range as possible. Once too many people know the truth, it’s inevitable that some leaks will occur, giving that Demon King an opportunity.”
“I understand.” Ed nodded solemnly.
He felt it necessary to re-examine that little witch.
“Are there any other questions?” The Bishop asked.
“One more.”
“Speak.” The Bishop rubbed his forehead.
“I hope your question this time doesn’t make me so conflicted.”
Ed smiled awkwardly but still voiced the second question:
“Bishop Frederick, since witches are so important, why not dispatch knights to slay her this time?”
“Actually, we originally wanted to send a few Holy Knights to eliminate this hidden danger.” The Bishop said, his face unable to hide the embarrassment.
“But recently, the church’s manpower is really insufficient; weaker knights are easily defeated by witches, so we had no choice but to resort to this…”
“Manpower insufficient?”
“Yes.” The Bishop nodded lightly.
“Priests and knights have mostly been ordered by His Holiness the Pope to rush to aid the south; the war with the demons there is quite tight, and even the kingdom seems quite tense because of it recently.”
“Demons? South? War?”
Ed was stunned; an unbelievable guess emerged in his mind.
His voice trembled lightly: “Bishop, the place you’re talking about… where is it?”
“The Nolan Empire… Hmm? What’s wrong with you?”
Under the Bishop’s surprised gaze, the boy’s face instantly turned deathly pale.