After the conclave, Cardinal Varian again found Innocent on the balcony of the Lateran Palace.
"I feel like Bishop Chino seems to be planning something." Varian said seriously, "Your Majesty, do you remember the cardinals' meeting before the Spirit Tree's main body appeared?"
"Bishop Chino claimed that he could hire extraordinary people to solve the problem of polluters in the city. As a result, we eliminated a large number of extraordinary people, but it led to the emergence of the Spirit Tree in advance, causing the sudden change... Now he proposes that my sister's mercenary group should resist the Normans."
"Your Majesty, I suspect he might be planning something."
"You're worried that he's in league with Bishop Langdon," Innocent said slowly. "You suspect he's also a member of the Human Purity movement."
"I can only say that this possibility cannot be ruled out, Your Majesty," Varian corrected. He certainly refused to admit that he would rashly accuse a fellow cardinal without evidence.
Innocent stared at him meaningfully for a long while, until Varian began to flinch. The old pope then said calmly again:
"If so, what would you do with him?"
"We should not agree to his proposal easily, but we should not reject it directly to alert him. We can temporarily delay it with various reasons." Varian said calmly, "At the same time, send people to search his residence and his usual social tracks."
"And then?" Innocent asked, "Can we arrest all the extreme purists who come into contact with him?"
"We may not be able to catch them all, but if we operate properly, we may be able to catch most of them," said Bishop Varian.
“But there are bound to be some that slip through the net.”
"That can't be helped, Your Majesty."
"Since the Fifth Epoch, the Church has conducted three similar purges. The purpose was to eliminate extremists, capitulationists, and degenerates, and to purify our clergy." Innocent shook his head. "Each purge was apparently successful and dealt a heavy blow to the heretical forces within us. However, it didn't take long for them to make a comeback."
"Why? Your Excellency Bishop Varian, please answer me: Those who can reach the position of cardinal are basically the smartest people in the world. Why do so many people still choose the path of heresy?"
"Because..." Bishop Varian groaned, "Because they don't believe we are on the right track."
"Then why can we say that our route is correct?" Innocent laughed.
Varian: ...
Every time His Holiness made heretical remarks, he was always frightened and didn't know what to say.
"In the final analysis, humans are intelligent creatures who are always pursuing the truth. Of course, we will go astray in the process, because no one knows what the right future will look like, and what path we need to take to reach it."
Innocent said frankly: "The only way to verify is to take a small tentative step in the direction you think is right."
“If the feedback is OK, continue taking one more small step. Those who take the wrong path will soon get hurt, while we have walked a long distance without encountering any obstacles, so more and more people will start to join us.”