Chapter 133
133: What Kind of Person Do You Think She Is?
In this situation, collecting valid, concrete evidence in such a short time would likely only be possible if the Pope personally ordered it and applied pressure.
Or perhaps... Jasmine had some other means to accomplish it?
Evelia shook her head. Regardless, even if Jasmine couldn't gather enough evidence today, Victor would absolutely not live past today.
Because she had said so.
In fact, if not for giving Jasmine and the Church some face, giving them a chance to handle this matter themselves, Evelia would have gone to find an opportunity to directly take out Victor the moment she confirmed the truth of this matter.
This kind of scum who sold children for personal profit. Even if he was a bishop, even if he was an Archbishop or a Cardinal! Evelia would definitely make him receive the punishment he deserved.
"Yo! Miss Evelia, Miss Amya, so you're here? Bishop Sauron asked me to call the practitioners who are still busy working to come over to the venue for some afternoon tea and a rest. Would you like to come?"
Just then, Father Harrison walked in from outside. He looked at Evelia and Amya, who had been watching children for most of the day and now finally had a chance to sit down and rest for a while. Then he glanced around with some puzzlement and asked in confusion:
"By the way, where is the Lady Saint? Shouldn't she be with you?"
"You mean Jasmine? She had some matters to attend to and stepped out temporarily. She'll be back soon."
Evelia blinked, making an excuse for Jasmine.
"Ha, is that so? The Lady Saint really is busy. She's so dedicated and responsible, and usually so kind too. No wonder so many young practitioners admire her."
"Hm? Is Jasmine really popular in the Church?"
Evelia realized this was a rare opportunity to probe Jasmine's reputation from someone else's mouth. Although she now had a fairly good impression of Jasmine in her heart, it was also an indisputable fact that Jasmine was intentionally concealing some things. Perhaps from others, she could dig up some valuable inside information.
"Does that even need to be asked? Lady Jasmine is the Saint! The second symbol of our Holy Church after only the Pope himself! Of course she's very popular!"
"Then... Father Harrison, what kind of person do you think Jasmine is? I'd like to hear your personal thoughts~"
"Hah? Me?"
Facing Evelia's small question, Harrison pointed at himself, momentarily confused. But since it was a question from such a cute young lady as Evelia, he had no reason not to answer. After briefly lowering his head to collect his thoughts, he raised his head and spoke seriously to Evelia.
"In my eyes, the Lady Saint is someone truly worthy of admiration. If I remember correctly, Lady Jasmine inherited the position of Saint about two years ago, when she was sixteen. That is the minimum age for inheriting the Saint position under the Church's contemporary regulations. Miss Evelia, do you know what this means?"
Evelia shook her head.
"For the Church, the minimum age requirement is merely a hard rule set to adapt to the laws of the new era. Even the number sixteen was likely just something the Pope filled in casually back then to cope with public opinion in the mortal world. Among the Church's successive Saints, apart from Lady Jasmine, the youngest Saint was twenty-two years old. Most Saints assumed the position between twenty-five and twenty-six. A sixteen-year-old Saint, whether in the present era or in ancient times, is absolutely unheard of!"
"The reason this situation exists is because the position of Saint represents not just power, but also incomparably heavy responsibilities and duties! When the Pope basically doesn't make public appearances, the Saint is the face of our Holy Church! Under these conditions, what's needed to inherit the Saint position is not just excellent character and outstanding talent. More importantly, it requires excellent psychological resilience and ability to withstand pressure!"
At this point, Harrison paused briefly. He slowly raised his head, sighed, and continued with considerable emotion:
"This is exactly why I admire the Lady Saint! Sixteen years old. At that age, I was probably still studying at a monastery, right? Yet the Lady Saint was already shouldering such a heavy burden! Nowadays I'm just a small Father, and the trivial matters I have to worry about daily are already piled high like a mountain. As someone whose status and power in the Church is second only to the Pope, how terrifying must the things the Lady Saint has to labor over and worry about be? I sometimes even suspect whether the Lady Saint and I are even the same species. Why is the gap between people so huge?"
From Harrison's words, Evelia could genuinely feel his admiration for Jasmine. Indeed, a sixteen-year-old girl who could bear the heavy responsibility of representing the world's largest religion. How awe-inspiring and humbling.
This wasn't some anime or game where someone could stand at the world's peak at sixteen or seventeen just based on talent alone. Sixteen years old. While other peers her age were still worrying about whose homework to copy today, Jasmine had already silently shouldered such a heavy burden all on her own! The gap between them truly was exaggerated to the point of being like a chasm. It made one sigh with emotion.
"By the way, since most of the practitioners are resting at the venue right now, quite a few of them are the Lady Saint's loyal fans. If Miss Evelia wants to know more about the Lady Saint, you could go ask them! Let me tell you, the young people in the Church nowadays, when they worship the Lady Saint, it's just like those fans chasing celebrities outside. Usually when they see the Lady Saint, their eyes light up! The way they look, they're just short of running over to ask her for an autograph!"
"Oh? Thank you for the suggestion, Father Harrison. Then we'll head over there first!"
"Don't thank me! It's just a small favor. Wait, you want to go along too? Get over here!"
Harrison smiled and waved at Evelia and the others, while simultaneously grabbing Zhang Anran, who had wanted to sneak along with Evelia and Amya.
"What do you mean, Uncle? Why can't I go over?"
Zhang Anran shook with dissatisfaction, but his gaze remained fixed on Evelia's gradually receding figure.
"That's the Church section. Everyone going there is a practitioner. The rest area for external personnel is on the other side! Why are you following them?"
"But Amya is going over there too, isn't she?"
"She has special status... Little An, tell your uncle honestly. Do you like Miss Evelia?"
"..."
Zhang Anran remained silent, but this basically counted as an admission.