The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 617: What’s the use of having strength if people kept you from using it?

Chapter 617: What’s the use of having strength if people kept you from using it?

The church...yeah. Our biggest enemies in rescuing the Goddess.

How ironic, wasn’t it? No--not because the enemy was the one who should serve the Goddess the most. What was ironic was the fact that I was trying to rescue the Goddess from Her people so I could fight against my husband’s God.

Funny, wasn’t it? Life.

"Hey, why are you starting without me?"

As we were feeling a bit sullen about fighting a highly authoritative international organization, the door opened and a sweaty young paladin came inside with a jutted lower lip.

"Because you’re slow," Zarfa rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. "We’ll explain later."

While the poor paladin shuffled dejectedly to receive Jade’s consolation pat, Aina raised her hand. "Umm...is it difficult if the beads are in the church’s hands?"

Ian raised his head in confusion. "Huh? The church?"

"Sush!"

"Well..."

Let’s ask our master spy. I looked back and Ian flinched when he realized Heraz was there. Some defender you were, Illian.

"It is, Young Master," our shapeshifter answered readily. "Infiltrating the church should never be done--that’s the rule."

There was a rule for spying? Well, I mean...of course there was, but I didn’t think they had this ’places we shouldn’t infiltrate’ kind of thing. "Why?"

"Because it’s impossible."

I turned around and asked curiously--also for Renna’s sake, who already took out a notebook and a pencil as if we were in a lecture hall. "Elaborate."

"Is it harder than infiltrating the palace?" Jin asked--yes, a perfect introductory course!

"There’s a clear difference between the two," Heraz answered, and while he was still looking down and kneeling, his voice was clear. "The point of infiltration is to blend with the surroundings and become invisible. With the palace, a lot of people work there that it’s impossible for someone to know all the staff by name or face--not even the royal butler or staff manager knows that without consulting the list."

"I see," I nodded; even our Castle could be infiltrated, so a bigger palace would be even easier, huh? The church management, on the other hand, was a close-knit community. "With the church, everyone knows everyone in that branch."

"That it so," Heraz nodded and continued. Honestly, I was amazed by how much he could speak. "The only way to infiltrate the place is by starting as a prospect acolyte, or kidnapping a member and disguising ourselves as that person. However..."

"However?"

"It is impossible," Heraz shook his head. He did not sound disappointed or defeated, however. "We can disguise our outer appearance, even reading memories to some extent. But there’s something only a priest has."

I looked down at my solar plexus, and the Bishop provided the answer. "The mark."

"That it so," Heraz nodded. "Not even the clan head can fake a deity’s mark."

"Not even Opti? Whew..."

Well, it was a mark obtained through an acceptance ceremony given by high-ranking senior priests and only worked if the body had acquired some form of light magic, be it healing, divine physical reinforcement, or holy protection. Naturally, only those who practiced the church’s teaching had it too.

Well, the Templars had the mark too although they were separated from the church because, at the end of the day, the mark came from the Goddess.

Zarfa scrunched her nose while mulling about the matter. "But do you have to infiltrate as a priest? I mean...what about the workers? Cleaners?"

"All menial jobs are done by acolytes and prospects," once again, the Bishop provided an answer.

"Ah," Zarfa snapped her fingers. "Then, what about what you have been doing? You know, being invisible?"

"It is possible if all I have to do is infiltrate the place the general public could go to," the shapeshifter replied dryly. "But I don’t think they will keep a relic in that kind of place."

"...something like detection formation?" Jin asked.

"Yes," the Bishop nodded. "Only those with marked cores can enter the inner circle of the church. An alert would immediately light up if someone else crossed the boundary. Even the aristocrats can’t bypass this system."

"Ah..."

Was this why Natha only picked me up when I was in the palace? After all, I stayed around the church before then, to take care of my debt and employ some minor healings to offset the pain.

Zarfa nudged me. "You didn’t know?."

"I’m not a church boy," I shrugged before she elbowed me again, and I realized the blunder. Quickly, I added with an awkward smile. "I mean...Father Damian never explained such a thing to me. What about you, Ian?"

"I didn’t know too," Ian shook his head. Phew. Friends! "There’s nothing like that in our church, and I never spend time in another church except when I become a paladin," he tilted his head to recall the past. "But since I pledge to be a wanderer, they don’t bother to explain the inner workings of the church."

"There’s that," I snapped my fingers and clasped my hands together in relief. "They never saw me as one of them, anyway. I was just a mere slave, remember?"

The room fell silent then. Uhh...I should have just stopped talking the first time.

Zarfa hugged my arm and bowed her lips. "I’m sorry..."

"What for? It’s not your fault," I laughed and flicked her forehead. Hadn’t we established already that what she wrote was a mere vision shown by the Goddess? She should stop feeling guilty about it. "Anyway, is there nothing we can do about the church?"

I looked around, and everyone shifted to contemplative mode again. The one who spoke first this time was the Bishop. "Going from the bottom would take too long, so the only thing we can do is send our own member as a replacement."

Did he mean sending a real priest?

"Oh--" I straightened my back and opened my mouth, but their energetic discussion snuffed my voice.

"But who can master such a disguise in a short time?" another priest asked. "Not to mention...how are we going to kidnap one?"

"Umm--"

Jin beat me to respond. "Hmm...I can go since I have the mark too, but..."

"No, it’s better to be someone from our side, since we at least learned about the church’s teaching too."

"Yeah, is there no one good at acting here?"

Zarfa clasped her hands and slammed the table. "Oh, oh! We can have some sort of audition, and then choose a priest with the closest build to be kidnapped!"

"Oh, that’s a good idea!"

"You sound awfully excited about kidnapping someone," Fatia muttered.

"It’s for the greater good! For the Goddess!" Zarfa raised her fist.

And the Bishop chimed in with a nod. "Yes, for the Goddess."

"Woohoo!"

I looked around and pursed my lips. "Umm...you know that I’m technically a priest too, ri--"

"No!"

My mouth closed again as at least four people shouted at me. Zarfa even glared and pointed at me like a scolding governess.

"What? You’re going to say you can infiltrate the church?"

"I mean...no one will recognize my face anyway, like Jin," I shrugged.

Jin coughed apologetically, but that didn’t mean he would support me. In fact, no one there did.

"Besides, can you act?" Zarfa scoffed, hitting me where it hurt. I had to admit that I had no confidence in my acting with how I could easily get flustered.

But it wasn’t like there was no way around it.

"...I can act like I have amnesia somehow?" I offered an alternative. It was a trope, anyway. We could say I got robbed, hit in the head, and forgotten stuff--as long as we could enter the pries-only area. "It’s not like we have to spend a long time there."

"Tsk--this boy," Zarfa shook her head exasperatedly and nudged my shoulder with her finger. "I told you I’m not going to risk inter-realm war."

The Bishop widened his eyes in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"W-what are you even--"

"Jade, your Papa wants to do something dangerous!" Zarfa turned to the drowsy little boy, who instantly woke up with a gasp.

Hey, that was unfair!

"What? What Papa want to do?" the little boy looked around, eyes widened in shock at the word danger.

And Ceci, this little shit...

"He wants to go to the enemy’s place alone," she told the boy as dramatically as possible.

I mean...it wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t have to make it as if I was going to jump into a poisonous snake nest.

...or was it?

The little boy grabbed my sleeve, looking completely shocked and broken-hearted. "Alone? No Jade?"

"No Jade," Zarfa shook her head firmly.

Little shit.

"Papa can’t!" Jade gripped my waist, shaking his head against my stomach. "Jade will tell on Papa if Papa do that!"

"That’s unfair!"

Zarfa grinned in victory and ruffled the green head, raising her thumb while arching her brow at me. "Good job, Jade!"

"Hey!"

"I also don’t recommend it, Young Master."

Even Heraz?! Wasn’t this unfair? I mean...it was a mission that I started, and I had the biggest stake here. I had to find those beads in seventy days!

I threw myself to one of the chairs and crossed my arms, pursing my lips in annoyance. I thought I had already proven myself to everyone, but why was it that they kept on babying me? Treating me like a fragile piece of glass...

"Come, come," Zarfa sat on my armrest and stroked my shoulder to appease me, grinning as if she hadn’t glared at me and manipulated my kid earlier. "It’s not like we know for sure that the beads are in the church."

"R-right! It’s just one of the possibilities," Fatia clasped her hands and chimed in quickly. "We’ll still have to check the other places, so I think it’s better to leave the church to the Templars!"

The Bishop nodded. "Yes, I agree."

"Hmm..."

"We have some ruins to explore, so it’ll be hard without you, Val~" Zarfa stroked my shoulder further. "And you won’t be able to go back home to visit Shwa if you’re trapped in the church."

"Papa won’t leave Jade, right? Papa?"

Tsk--this girl really knew how to handle me. I let out a sigh and picked Jade onto my lap. "Fine, whatever."

"Phew..." Zarfa grinned and blew me a kiss before skipping toward the others. "Now--what about dinner?"