The Candlemas Cathedral in the Red Queen District is the most orthodox Ennead Church in Avalon and also the church with the highest status.
The coronation ceremonies of the kings and queens of Avalon were held here, and this is also the location of the royal mausoleum. Other people who can be called "great" in the Kingdom of Avalon will also be buried here after the state funeral ceremony.
The fact that it dares to be named after "Sizhu", the guardian pillar god of the path of devotion, is enough to prove its sacredness.
"Come over here, please."
An old man wearing a mitre and a solemn floor-length red robe turned around and spoke to Aiwass politely and gently.
Judging from his skin and eyes, this man with a beard and glasses is only in his forties. His temperament gives people the feeling of a strict class teacher. But he inexplicably gives people a feeling of "oldness", which makes people instinctively think that he should be an old man. Perhaps it is because his hair and beard are unnaturally pale, not natural white hair, but faded due to aging.
The old man looked up and warned Oswald, who was pushing the wheelchair behind Aiwass, "Be careful, the road ahead is downhill."
The mitre on his head resembled some intricately designed, ornate, sacred candlestick.
You can even insert candles into it - but except for important occasions, they will not actually insert candles and light them.
The design of this mitre can hold up to three candles. The large candle in the front and two small candles on the left and right sides represent the high level of the holy order of the old man in front of him.
Even if the Pope of the Eternal Theocracy is included, it can be considered the third level from top to bottom.
Strictly speaking, all high-ranking clergy, including the Pope, are considered "bishops". All bishops have three candles on their miter and only bishops can wear red robes. The Pope's miter can hold three large candles, while the lowest-ranking bishops can only hold three small candles.
The next lower priest had two, and the lowest deacon had only one.
Although all churches in this world worship the Nine Pillars, the churches themselves have their own preferences. The vast majority of clergymen are on the path of dedication, so the Nine Pillars Church itself respects the "candleholder" and the red candle that "burns itself to illuminate others" is the sacred symbol of the Nine Pillars Church.
Although Aiwass is also a pastor, he has not yet graduated and therefore has not been awarded his own canon, which means that he is not considered a member of the religious system, does not receive the church's salary, and is not bound by the church's rules.
"Thank you, Bishop Mathers."
Aiwass thanked politely, "I am so sorry for bothering you to come and teach me the sacred art in person."
"That's no problem. I was elected as a spiritual councillor thanks to Professor Moriarty."
Bishop Mathers placed his hands in front of him, clasping his fingers together. He and Aiwass walked parallel to each other on the path on the east side of the Candlelight Cathedral.
He smiled cheerfully, “I read this morning’s paper—you did a good job yesterday.
"That group of demonologists has committed many evil deeds. Not long ago, they sacrificed an entire village. Including more than a dozen elderly people and more than 40 children, all of them were made into ritual materials by them. Their crimes are so heinous that they even alarmed His Holiness the Pope. Now they are not only wanted in the Kingdom, but also listed in the Punishment Hall of the Theocracy.
"You relied on your wisdom to find them and defeated them with a pistol before you officially obtained the power of the Tao... You defeated the strong with the weak, which is great. His Holiness the Pope hasn't received the newspaper yet. But I believe that if he sees the newspaper, he will praise you as a 'hero in his youth'."
"It's not that serious," Aiwass smiled gently, "Without Senior Haina's protection, I might have been killed even if I found them."
"Well, that little girl is pretty good too."
Bishop Mathers agreed: “Be courageous and resourceful—and most importantly, be willing to trust others.
"She is much stronger than you and older than you, but she does not blindly believe in her own strength. She is willing to trust your judgment... When she cannot handle the problem at hand, she is willing to pass the ball to someone who can handle it. I think this is probably a kind of wisdom."
"You watch the game, too?"
The person who suddenly asked the question was Oswald behind Aiwass.
The old elf asked with interest: "Which team do you support?"
"The Mistletoe Club, of course."
The bishop answered without hesitation: "I think there should be an explanation for the new guy they brought in this year."
"What about Unicorn? What do you think of Unicorn's performance this year?"
"I am from Avalon, so of course I support the Avalon team. You are an elf, so you support the Theocracy team. This is normal."
The bishop spoke cheerfully, lightly passing over the topic.
He looked at Aiwass and said seriously, "Although you have proved that you can defeat the strong with the weak - without obtaining any extraordinary power, you have defeated the enemy who is about to reach the third energy level. But if we put you aside so easily, it would be a dereliction of duty for us elders.
“Although this may be against the rules... According to the regulations issued by Her Majesty the Queen forty years ago, Avalon citizens need to reach adulthood, obtain excellent grades in cultural courses, have good moral evaluations, and have no bad habits or criminal records before they can officially contact the Tao and embark on the path of transcendence.
"But there is only one month left until your final exams. You have proven your integrity and rationality. I will talk to Her Majesty the Queen later."
Hearing this, Butler Oswald, who was pushing the wheelchair, suddenly coughed lightly.
"My Lord Bishop," the old but still elegant elf butler asked seriously, "has something happened?"
Bishop Mathers still stood with his hands folded in a cheerful manner, but did not immediately respond to Oswald's words.
It was not until the three of them arrived at the chapel on the east side of the cathedral, and Bishop Mathers took out a huge key that looked longer than Haina's dagger and opened the tightly closed door... that the old bishop slowly spoke:
“—Today, the Chapel of Saint Guinevere is open only to you.
"In addition to teaching you the three sacred skills of 'Fire Worship', 'Illumination', and 'Blessing', I will also help you complete your first advancement. Don't be too nervous, you don't need to enter the dream world for the first advancement. The situation in Avalon is not good right now, and I think you need some self-protection skills."
"So, what happened?"
Oswald demanded.
Bishop Mathers closed the chapel door and flipped on the light switch.
The next moment, the chapel, whose structure and floor space looked like a university lecture hall, suddenly lit up brightly.
On both sides, countless statues in one-to-one proportions stored in niches suddenly became brighter. As if awakened by the light, the statues in the niches slowly began to move slightly and silently, and gradually turned their eyes towards them.
Bishop Mathers reached out and lightly tapped the three candles on his mitre, and respectfully greeted the statues of the saints: “Seventy-three pioneers.
"May the candlekeeper watch over your candles."
And Aiwass and Oswald also bowed their heads slightly to show respect.
These seventy-three holy statues are all the leaders of the Kingdom of Avalon since its founding, including all the monarchs who have received a state funeral and are buried here. Each of them has his or her name engraved in the history book of Avalon.
When Queen Sofia dies, she will become the 74th.
Aiwass had already noticed that there was a niche without an image in the corner of the Chapel of Saint Guinevere.
Noticing Aiwas's gaze, Bishop Mathers explained to him considerately, "This is the place Her Majesty the Queen prepared for herself. The statue of her was carved five years ago and prepared two years ago. Now the statue is stored in the Hall of Silver and Tin."
Then he turned around and looked at Oswald.
"The Round Table Hall probably doesn't know about this yet, but I have already reported it to Her Majesty the Queen."
Bishop Mathers said solemnly: "Important information has been received from the Theocracy.
"We caught a spy from the Star People over there and got some information from him.
"- It is said that there are traitors among the high-ranking officials of the kingdom. They plan to cause a continuous chaos on the Glass Island with an unknown time, scale and location. The ultimate goal is to "obtain or approach some kind of sacred entity."
“The capital will probably be thrown into chaos soon, and I don’t think it’s necessary to make Aiwas wait until the final exams are over.
"Just in case, he must embark on the path of transcendence immediately."