Chapter 009: Joshua

The man seemed to smile slightly as he slowly reached out and removed the hood from his head. He had a heroic appearance, with golden hair emitting a faint glow, along with a mysterious aura of radiant combat energy—none other than Joshua, one of the four leaders of the Temple Knights. Having spent so much time in the Holy See, Du Fan naturally recognized this great knight commander. He was shocked inwardly but kept a calm expression, saying, “So it’s Lord Great Knight Commander. I just don’t know what brings you here in person—what orders do you have?”
Joshua smiled faintly, his face illuminated by holy light. Compared to Du Fan’s hypocritical piety, his seemed far more noble. This genuine holiness demonstrated the deep sincerity of this knight commander’s faith.
“Didn’t I say before? Lord Anthony ordered me to protect your safety,” Joshua said calmly. “Never mind. Let’s not talk about that for now. Didn’t you want to know about the relationship between Roland Academy and the Holy See? It’s not a secret even among the high ranks of our Holy See. What harm would it do if I told you?”
Du Fan smiled and said, “Then I’ll have to trouble Lord Joshua.”
Joshua tilted his head and thought for a moment, seemingly deciding how to explain things briefly. After a while, he said, “Du Fan, you should know that our Holy See was established at the beginning of the Gavin Empire’s founding, right?”
Du Fan replied, “I do know that. Our Holy See has always claimed to stay out of any political conflicts. Aside from fighting against heretics, we never intervene in disputes. So, although the predecessor of the Gavin Empire, the Bauhinia Dynasty, also made the Holy See its state religion, the Holy See didn’t get involved in the war between the Gavin Empire and the Bauhinia Dynasty. If we trace history back, it seems our Holy See has always had good relations with past rulers.”
“That’s true,” Joshua sighed. “Changes in times and nations are inevitable, but our faith must remain unchanged. So, every time there are conflicts on the Roland Continent, the Holy See always sides with the victors—correct?”
Du Fan touched his nose and said, “For the victors, that’s true. But for the losers, the Holy See might as well be betraying them.”

“Maybe,” Joshua said, giving Du Fan a deep look. “It might be that within the Holy See, there are also those who consider such actions wrong. That’s probably why the Roland Academy came into existence.”
Du Fan asked, “How so?”
“The predecessor of the Roland Academy was actually the Holy See’s priesthood academy, used to train holy light mages and temple knights. But during the war between the Azalea Dynasty and the Gavin Empire hundreds of years ago, the head of that priesthood academy believed the Azalea Dynasty was far more qualified to rule that country, which inevitably led to a conflict with the pope at the time. In the end, the two sides broke apart. The head of the priesthood academy left the Holy See with a group of people who opposed the pope’s policies and established the Roland Academy on the Roland Continent. Over time, it gradually evolved into what it is today,” Joshua explained.
Du Fan smiled and said, “In that case, the Roland Academy could be considered a ‘traitor’ to our Holy See, right? If so, why haven’t past popes attacked it?”
Joshua gave Du Fan another deep look before continuing, “How do you know past popes haven’t done such things? But just like past popes, every head of the Roland Academy has been one of the greatest figures on the Roland Continent. Seriously, in front of such people, would they use ordinary methods when dealing with their opponents? In my opinion, if they knew they couldn’t defeat each other, their relationship wouldn’t remain so tense.”
“Is their relationship that tense?” Du Fan smiled faintly. “I don’t think so. It seems quite good between them.”
Joshua sighed. “Du Fan, you need to understand that every pope has wanted the Roland Academy to return to the Holy See. After generations of efforts, their relationship has now become relatively harmonious. That’s why today…”
Du Fan snorted, knowing what Joshua meant by this.
From the Holy See’s perspective, its relationship with the Roland Academy was countless times more important than one person like him. Moreover, the fact that the Holy See sent Joshua to explain this to him carried a certain soothing effect. If he were too arrogant at this moment, he might not be able to stay in the Holy See in the future.

The relationships here are incredibly complex, involving various aspects. If the Holy See truly wanted to be friendly toward Roland Academy, it certainly wouldn’t stand up for Du Fan. Du Fan had no choice but to accept the losses he suffered in this exam.

However, Du Fan was someone who always sought revenge and refused to suffer losses. By now, he already had plans to deal a heavy blow to Roland Academy, so he didn’t want to get entangled in this matter any further.

Du Fan nodded slightly and said, “Lord Joshua, when it comes to status and position, I’m such a minor figure that even flattery can’t compare to yours. I naturally understand why you came to explain these things to me today. Let’s put it this way—our acquaintance is not deep, but I’ve taken what you said to heart and definitely won’t reveal it. As for the matter with Roland Academy, you don’t need to worry too much. I think they’ve already salvaged their face through me. As long as I swallow this grievance, the matter will be settled.”

Joshua smiled faintly and said, “If that’s how Priest Du Fan thinks, it couldn’t be better. By the way, I saw today that Priest Du Fan enjoys extremely high popularity in the square. It seems the position of White-Clothed Priest no longer suits you. I’ll talk to Lord Anthony on your behalf—you should get promoted soon. After all, there have long been rumors in the capital that you’ll become the youngest cardinal in the Holy See. How about we turn those rumors into reality?”

In other words, you’re smart enough to avoid getting entangled in today’s matter, but we won’t let you suffer losses either. Promoting you should be enough compensation, right?

Normally, Du Fan would definitely accept such a good opportunity, but this time his goal wasn’t that. Instead, he smiled faintly and said, “Lord Joshua, I think we’re not in a hurry to discuss this now. I have some matters I need to discuss face-to-face with Lord Anthony. Let me ask you to convey this message: shall I visit Lord Anthony in person tomorrow morning?”

Joshua frowned slightly and stared at Du Fan for a moment before saying, “Alright, I’ll pass your message on to Lord Anthony. But whether he has time to see you, I’m not sure.”

“He definitely will,” Du Fan said with a grin. “As long as you tell Lord Anthony that the matter I want to discuss with him is related to the ‘Divine Palace,’ then… I think he’ll definitely see me.”

Joshua’s body trembled violently. He stared at Du Fan in surprise, taking him in from head to toe before saying, “In that case, I think Lord Anthony will indeed meet with you. Well then, let’s wait until tomorrow to see each other.”
Du Fan replied calmly, “Then please go. I won’t see you off.”
Joshua nodded and stood up. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back and said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Lord Anthony said that if Elvis falls into your hands, it’s best to spare his life.”
Du Fan smiled self-mockingly and said, “Lord Anthony is joking. Someone like me could never be Elvis’s match. I think you should give Bruce a message too. If I fall into Elvis’s hands, please ask him to be merciful.”
Joshua’s eyes flickered. After letting out a low sigh, he said, “That would indeed be best. Then I’ll wait for you at the church, Du Fan.”
Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “There’s nothing special about me. I just feel it’s necessary to report certain things to Lord Anthony. Don’t overthink it, Lord Joshua.”
Joshua nodded slightly and said nothing more. Instead, he put on his hood again to cover his golden hair, then walked slowly out of the hall with his hands clasped.
Staring at his retreating figure, Du Fan suddenly sighed bitterly, “Not simple at all.”
Chenchen poked her head out from Du Fan’s collar and asked, “Du Fan, what’s not simple?”
Du Fan replied, “I’m saying that old bastard Anthony is by no means simple. It seems he’s already seen through my plans. Fortunately, he can only guess that Elvis isn’t my match, not that we’ve already dealt with Elvis. It seems I’ll need to be more careful when dealing with that old guy in the future.”
Chenchen raised her head worriedly, “But we’ve already killed Elvis. Won’t that cause any problems?”
“There won’t be any problems. If we reveal that secret to that old fox tomorrow, even if he doesn’t want to offend Roland Academy, he’ll still kill him. What we need to be most wary of is that old bastard Anthony trying to take care of us as well. But huh, Anthony, Anthony, I hope you’re not too hasty. Haven’t I already proven to you today, Du Fan, that I’m by no means easy to manipulate?”