Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 279: Chapter 283 “Official Document

Every day, before noon, Fenna would traverse the atrium of Prand Cathedral, walking the path between flower beds to the sanctuary, a journey of one hundred and three steps, and then twenty-seven more from the entrance to the statue of the goddess—since becoming the city’s Judge, these steps had become a part of her life.

She knew everything in this cathedral, familiar with every tile on the floor from the atrium to the sanctuary as well as she knew her own hands.

In many past days and nights, she had never imagined that this short path could feel so… arduous and long.

The doors of the sanctuary opened, the overly bright sunlight cast behind, and after adjusting to the slightly dim interior, Fenna saw two figures standing before the statue of the goddess in the center of the room.

Sky Light filtered through the tall stained-glass windows, casting a layer of radiance on the statue, Archbishop Valentin and Female Pope Helena turned their gaze to the Judge entering the room in the sunlight.

“You have arrived,” Helena nodded gently, “one minute later than planned.”

“Sorry,” Fenna approached and gave a slight bow before the statue of the goddess, then looked at the Female Pope, “handing over responsibilities with my subordinate took a few more minutes.”

“It’s alright,” Helena nodded gently, glanced at Valentin beside her, “I’ve discussed your situation with Archbishop Valentin, he will help you with the handover and arrangements later, you don’t need to worry about the affairs here. Your uncle has also received word, he understands the church’s arrangements—but I still hope you’ll discuss this with him later, to ease some of his concerns about the future.”

Despite feeling mentally prepared, Fenna’s heart still skipped a beat upon hearing the Female Pope’s words.

A sense of blurring between Dreamscape and reality surged, leaving her somewhat dazed; she tried to grasp precisely this sentiment, but eventually, she found that all her emotions were encapsulated in one sigh—Ah, it really happened.

But suddenly, she was confused and even found it ridiculous, she looked at the Female Pope and couldn’t help but say, “You really intend to send me to the Homeloss—of course, I’m not doubting your decision, it just suddenly seems… this is no trivial matter, we should at least understand Captain Duncan’s stance, would he really allow a high-ranking clergy to board his ship so casually?”

Fenna felt her wording was a bit chaotic, but she still tried to clarify her thoughts, continuing, “Things happened rather suddenly yesterday, I only felt something was off after I got back, Homeloss is not just any ‘open area’ you can casually enter, how do you plan to…”

“Ah, you’ve finally come to realize this issue,” Helena laughed and shook her head, “I thought you would only think to ‘ask for directions’ when it was time to depart.”

Fenna widened her eyes in surprise, then Helena reached beside her and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment, handing it over with a smile.

Fenna accepted the scroll with bewilderment, carefully unrolled it, and scanned the text, her expression gradually turning intriguing—

“Deep Sea Church, acknowledged by servant Gomona… Now receiving one personnel due to work relocation, temporarily assigned to battle position aboard this vessel… Onboard privileges equal to those of a First-Class Crew Member, with salary and all expenses still covered by your institution, payment methods are…

Captain of Homeloss, Duncan Ebnomal, signed in Visions-Prand, December 19, 1900.”

Besides the handwritten signature, there was also a conspicuous red seal at the end of the document.

Fenna: “…”

The young Judge looked a bit stupefied; she looked down at the personnel transfer acceptance letter in her hands, then up again at the Female Pope before her eyes settled on Archbishop Valentin.

“Don’t look at me,” Valentin’s face was expressionless, “I didn’t expect this either.”

Fenna felt her lips quiver slightly: “This signature on here…”

“Is genuine,” Helena stated calmly, “the seal is authentic as well, if you go to the City-State’s archives, you can even find an old file from a century ago when Homeloss was resupplied at the port of Prand, bearing the same seal and signature.”

Listening in disbelief, Fenna opened her mouth as if she had a lot to say, but Helena interjected first, “You have to admit, this is very logical.”

“I…” Fenna raised a finger to herself, then lifted the parchment in her hand, finally blurting out, “But isn’t this a bit too logical?! And when did you…”

“Just yesterday,” Helena said seriously, a pleasant smile lurking in her eyes, “I discussed your employment process in detail with Captain Duncan, we always believed this should be a formal and contractually bound personnel transfer, thus requiring official documentation.”

The Female Pope paused and looked at Fenna, who still had a troubled expression on her face, then she couldn’t help but smile and spread her hands, “What else, Fenna? How did you think we were going to send you to the Homeloss? By lighting bonfires and drawing blasphemous symbols on the ground, then tying you to a stake and sacrificing you? Just like how the dark heretics sacrifice kidnapped girls to Subspace in damp caves?

“Fenna, we are the true faith, we follow formal procedures.”

Fenna’s lips quivered, and she thought to herself that she hadn’t originally considered the details of this personnel “handover.” Now that it had been pointed out, she realized the reasonableness of the document before her, yet the very rationality of the process made the whole thing seem eerie.

All of the uneasy speculations about her future were shattered in an instant—she even doubted whether she would find a hearty staff meal on board the Homeloss, or perhaps a deck barbecue after an official dinner…

That was the Homeloss!

Helena saw the odd look in Fenna’s eyes.

“Now that you’ve seen the document, I presume it has dispelled your last reservations,” the Female Pope said with a smile, “Go and rest now, take some time to prepare for departure—there’s more detailed content on the back of this document, including specific handover times and methods, you might want to check it out.”

Fenna was thus confusedly sent out of the cathedral.

After the young Judge left, the cathedral became quiet for a moment. Two minutes passed, and Valentin’s voice finally broke the silence, “I’m actually very curious.”

Helena turned slightly, “Curious about what?”

“What exactly happened that you suddenly decided to send Fenna to the Homeloss,” Valentin’s expression turned serious, “I know your reasons, they are indeed solid, but to me, the whole affair seems… too hasty. You seem eager to establish contact with ‘Captain Duncan,’ without adequate preparation. What happened?”

“You’re a sharp person, Valentin, always have been,” Helena looked quietly at this Archbishop who had dedicated many years to the church, then sighed, “Actually, this will soon be no secret at all, telling you now makes no difference.”

She paused then slowly started, “Do you remember the ‘warning’ Captain Duncan conveyed through Fenna not long ago?”

“Warning?” Valentin frowned slightly, then quickly thought of something, “You mean, about Phenomenon 001…”

“Recent unsettling news came from the elven City-State ‘Light Breeze Harbor’ near the border,” Helena nodded, “The ‘Sea Witch’ Lucricia sent them a gift. Guess what it was?”

Valentin was stunned, recalling the details revealed in the Pope’s words and vaguely grasped the truth, his expression becoming expressive, “Could it be… something really fell from the sky?”

“A glowing fragment that fell from the sky, light golden in color, a geometric body larger than the Storm Cathedral,” Helena stated, “Although there is no definitive evidence yet proving it is a fragment from Phenomenon 001, but…”

Helena didn’t finish, only shaking her head.

Valentin listened, dumbfounded, and after who knows how long, he managed to squeeze a few syllables out of his throat, “…God.”

“Our world is having problems, the situation is more serious than imagined, and the Homeloss is so far the only one that has given a warning to the civilized world—and this warning has been confirmed,” Helena slowly said, “This is Captain Duncan showing goodwill, no matter how dreadful that ship had been in the past, we must now respond, for… this time it’s not just a City-State at stake, but the sun above our heads.”

“…Can Fenna truly fulfill this mission?” Valentin dispelled his previous doubts but began worrying about another matter, “She’s actually a bit reckless and not very skilled at… meticulous and careful interpersonal interactions, if we were to send a special envoy ‘aboard,’ she may not be the best candidate.”

“The best candidate is not for us to decide, Valentin.” Helena shook her head.

She turned around, silently gazing at the statue of the Storm Goddess Gomona.

“The positions of the pieces were decided by the players at the very beginning.”