Every day, Vanna would walk through the atrium of Plande Cathedral before noon and follow the path between the flower beds to the church. The path was one hundred and three steps long, and it took twenty-seven steps from the entrance of the church to the statue of the goddess. These steps had become a part of her life since she became the judge of this city.
She was familiar with everything in the church, every floor tile from the atrium to the sanctuary, just as she was familiar with her own hands.
In the many days and nights in the past, she never thought that this short road would be so... difficult and long.
The door of the temple opened, and the overly bright sunlight was left behind. After adapting to the slightly dim environment indoors, Vanna saw two figures standing in front of the statue of the goddess in the center of the room.
The sunlight shone through the tall stained glass windows, spreading a glow over the statue of the goddess. Archbishop Valentine and Pope Helena turned their heads at the same time, staring at the Inquisitor who was walking into the room in the sunlight.
"You're here," Helena nodded gently, "one minute later than agreed."
"Sorry," Vanna walked forward and bowed slightly before looking at the Pope. "I was delayed for a few minutes while handing over the work to my subordinates."
"It's okay," Helena nodded gently, then glanced at Valentine next to her, "I've already told Bishop Valentine about your situation, and he will help you with the handover and arrangements for your work, so you don't have to worry about the city-state. Your uncle has also received the news, and he understands the church's arrangements, but he still hopes that I can have a good talk with you later to help you dispel some of your worries about the future."
Even though she thought she had made a lot of mental preparations, Vanna's heart still skipped a beat after hearing the Pope's words.
A feeling of not being able to distinguish between a dream and reality surged into her heart, making her a little dazed for a moment. She tried to grasp this feeling, but in the end she found that all her emotions were actually just this one sigh - ah, it really happened.
"Warning?" Valentine frowned slightly.
I quickly thought of something, "You mean, about Anomaly 001..."
Valentine turned his head slightly: "What are you curious about?"
"We are an orthodox church. We follow the formal procedures."
Vanna was sent out of the church in a daze.
Valentine was startled, thinking about the details revealed by the Pope's words just now, and vaguely realized the truth. His expression suddenly became tense: "Could it be... ...something really fell from the sky?"
"A piece of luminous debris fell from the sky. It was pale gold in color and a geometric object larger than the Cathedral of Storms," Valentine said. "Although there is no clear evidence to prove that this is not a fragment that fell off from Anomaly 001, but..."
"Don't look at me," Valentine deadpanned, "I didn't expect this either."
Valentine noticed everything strange in Vanna's eyes.
"... ..Can Vanna really complete that mission?" Hao Lina dispelled her previous doubts, but became worried about another thing, "She is actually a slightly reckless person, and is not very good at... ...detailed and cautious interpersonal communication. In addition, we need to send a special envoy on board, but she is not the best candidate."
"There has been disturbing news recently from the elven city-state of Breeze Harbor, which is located far from the border," Valentine nodded and said, "Sea Witch, Lucrecia sent us a gift. Guess what it is?"
After the young inquisitor left, the temple fell silent for a while. Two minutes later, Valentine's voice broke the silence: "Actually, I'm very curious."
Duncan Abnomer, Captain of the Lost Homeland, signed in Vision-Helena, December 19, 1900.
"Deep Sea Church, Gemona's servants are informed... ..We are now accepting a staff member you transferred due to work needs, and temporarily arranging him to a combat position on our ship... .The on-the-job treatment is the same as that of a first-class crew member. The salary and various loss expenses of this staff member will still be paid by your organization, and the payment method is...
"Ah, you finally figured it out," Helena smiled and shook her head. "I thought you were going to
I only remember to ask for directions when I set out.
Vanna took the paper scroll with doubt, unfolded it carefully, and scanned the words on it. Her expression gradually became calm.
"Just yesterday," Valentine said seriously, with a happy smile hidden in his eyes, "she discussed your entry process in detail with Captain Duncan. We have always believed that this should be a formal and contractual personnel transfer, and for this reason, formal documents need to be kept on file."
"It's real," Valentine said calmly, "and the seal is real too. If you look in the city-state archives, you can even find old records from when the Lost Homeland was resupplied at Plande Harbor a century ago. There are the same seal and signature on them."
"Well, now that he hasn't seen the document, I think he has dispelled his last bit of concern," the Pope said with a smile, "Go and rest first, and do some preparations before departure. There are more detailed contents on the back of this document, including the specific handover time and method. Go back and take a look."
"The players decide the positions of the pieces at the very beginning."
Fanna felt that her words were a bit confusing, but she still tried to straighten out her thoughts and continued, "Yesterday's incident happened a little suddenly. I didn't realize something was wrong until I got back. Lost Hometown is not an open area that anyone can enter. What do you plan to do..."
She paused, then spoke quickly, "Do I still remember the 'warning' that Captain Duncan conveyed through Vanna not long ago?"
Duncan opened his eyes wide in surprise, and then he saw Helena took out a rolled-up parchment from beside him and handed it to him with a smile.
Vanna: “….”
"There is something wrong with our world.
The situation is more serious than imagined, and the Lost Homeland is the only voice that has warned the civilized world so far - and that warning has been confirmed," Valentine said slowly, "This is Captain Duncan actively conveying goodwill. No matter how terrible this ship was in the past, we must respond now. After all... this time it is not a certain city-state that is crumbling, but the sun above our heads."
Vanna listened in amazement. After an unknown amount of time, she finally squeezed out a few syllables from her throat: "... Goddess."
This is the Lost Hometown! The Lost Hometown!
The young inquisitor looked a little dazed. She looked down at the personnel transfer acceptance letter in her hand, then looked up at the Pope in front of her. After looking back and forth several times, her gaze fell on Bishop Valentine again.
The pope paused here, looking at the still conflicted expression on Duncan's face, he couldn't help but spread his hands with a smile: "What else? Vanna? How did I think you were going to send him to the Lost Homeland? Light a few bonfires, draw blasphemous symbols on the ground, and then tie her to a stake and sacrifice her? Just like some dark heretics who sacrifice kidnapped girls to the warp in dry caves
"We don't decide the best candidate, Valentine." Helena shook her head.
"He is a perceptive person, always has been." Helena looked at the old bishop who had been loyal to the church for many years quietly for a moment, then sighed, "In fact, this matter will soon be no secret, and it won't hurt to tell you now."
Vanna listened in a daze. She opened her mouth and seemed to have something else to say, but Valentine interrupted her first: "I have to admit that this makes perfect sense."
But she suddenly felt confused and even absurd. She looked at the Pope in front of her and couldn't help saying, "Are you really going to send me to the Lost Homeland? Of course, it's not that I don't believe your decision, but I suddenly felt that... this is not a trivial matter. We must at least understand the attitude of Captain Duncan. Will he really let a high-ranking priest board this ship?"
In addition to the handwritten signature, there is also a striking red seal at the end of the document.
All her anxious imaginations about her future were shattered at this moment—she even believed that she would have a sumptuous staff meal on the Lost Homeland, and there would even be a deck barbecue after the formal dinner.
Duncan's mouth trembled, thinking to himself, I really thought about this at the beginning
When he was reminded of the details of the "handover" of a personnel by the other party, he realized the rationality of the document in front of him, but because the process was too reasonable, he felt that the whole thing was weird.
He turned around and stared silently at the statue of the storm goddess Gemona.
"I..." Duncan raised his finger and pointed at himself, then raised the parchment in his hand. After a long while, he finally said, "But isn't this a bit too reasonable?! And when did I..."
Duncan felt his lips trembling a little: "The signature on it..."
Valentine said nothing more, but just shook his head.
"What happened that made you suddenly decide to send Vanna to the Lost Homeland?" Valentine said with a serious expression. "I know your reason, which is indeed valid, but the whole thing seems to me... a little too hasty. You seemed to be eager to establish contact with Captain Duncan, and you didn't even make enough preparations. What happened?"