In late October, Dreyne left for the Inverted World’s Mirror Space.
Before leaving, she instructed Chris and Philomena to work diligently, rewarding each with a Dragon Tooth Sword for their devout faith and outstanding contributions to the Moonlight Church.
The two felt guilty accepting the gifts, as their dedication was merely a public facade—they hadn’t thought much about it at the time, being too busy falling in love.
If you had to think of any outstanding contributions, well, Wayne was quite prominent.
Dreyne’s departure was a relief to many; her immense power was a great deterrent wherever she was, both to enemies and allies alike.
Without Dreyne in the game, Philomena finally managed to get back to office overtime.
Wayne Manor, High Priest Manor, Lando Manor, and the Battlefront Alliance formed, a large and three small, creating an encirclement to fend off the ill-intended Anastasia.
The purity of the Dark Church’s Holy Maiden was their responsibility to protect!
Soon, Wayne learned of this news through Viley and couldn’t stop laughing, rewarding Viley for her deceit nine times in one night due to the merits of the sneaky.
Following her counsel, the Battlefront Alliance was established, and Secretary Mona was invited to join.
Wayne Manor, High Priest Manor, Lando Manor, and the Detective Agency—defense as solid as a metal barrier.
This seemed foolproof!
As November approached, the temperature in Lundan turned cooler.
Wayne caught the tail end of the cooling trend and organized a trip to the beach, where he saw the oceanic expanses once more.
Dreyne was there that day as well, uninterested in swimming, she set up a card table on the beach and pulled Wayne into another game.
Lando Manor hosted a family dinner.
Wayne, who had lost count of how many family dinners he had attended, was accustomed to these occasions but maintained his habit of teasing Veronica; whenever their eyes met, she would blush unexpectedly.
Veronica had no answer for that face, each look made her fists itch, and she glared ferociously at him, signaling him to come collect a beating after dinner.
But flight was not an option today; there were important matters at hand.
Wayne looked at Austin, motioning him to speak, slowly picking up his napkin as the dinner neared its end, calling the family to the study for a meeting.
Megan stood in the study, establishing a Soundproof Barrier.
"The delegation from the Papal State has arrived to discuss with the Queen the division of faith within the Heavenly Father’s Court, under my suggestion, the Queen has allowed the Heavenly Father’s Court to spread the glory of the Father..."
"The expansion of the Sun Church has also been scheduled, and soon we will be in contact with the Sun Church."
"Since declaring war, Prussia has not expanded further, maintaining a delicate balance with the Ross Federation, each respecting each other’s boundaries while also forcing the surrounding smaller nations to choose sides."
"After dealing with the surrounding small countries, Prussia will likely make a move on Frank..."
"Windsor, the maritime routes of Frank have recently been targeted by unidentified submarine objects, likely Prussian submarines—they’re quite adept at that..."
"Next year, war is certain to break out!"
Austin informed Wayne of the political affairs at Buckingham Palace and also communicated with Hefei, who was the High Priest of the Naturalism Church. This upcoming war could very well bring about conflicts between the churches, and Hefei needed to comprehend the current world situation.
However, more consequential than the international dynamics, internal conflicts between the churches were paramount. With two knights of Darkness and Death at home, Austin hoped that, considering his son was a Death Knight, Hefei would resign soon.
The result was mediocre at best. Austin believed Wayne to be a Death Knight, while Hefei was convinced he was a Naturalist Knight; in this question, there was no wrong answer.
Wayne nodded as he listened, the arrival of the Papal State’s delegation meant Archibald and Kel had left Lundan. He hadn’t paid attention to how Kel was managing in the Papal State.
Kel’s journey there mustn’t be easy; given The Pope’s method of operation, who knows if the nuns were lining up outside for the baptism of the Holy Spear.
It’s true, Kel owned a Holy Spear, stamped with the mark of Heaven, an angel-made product, guaranteed quality.
Concerning Kel’s peculiar tastes, it would be hard for the Papal State to find him a dream lover—no need to worry about that; with The Pope’s capabilities, they could certainly find someone if they wanted.
As the family absorbed the latest intelligence, Austin continued, "Now, let’s talk about family matters. Hefei, you’ve been preparing to ascend as a Legendary Mage, correct?"
"What, you have an opinion?"
"No, I’m just concerned about the Dragon Blood Curse."
The heavily salted sentiment made it hard for Wayne to swallow; he took over the conversation, "Master, when Saina left, she explained the Dragon Blood Curse to me, indicating it’s not without a solution. Austin and I have been researching, with solid theoretical groundwork and promising clinical data—it’s time to proceed."
The clinical data was mainly from Juno.
After the fall of the Royal Family, Juno cut off contact with Wayne, not even a phone call to check in.
This connection was unilateral; through the Pale Nest, Wayne confirmed Juno’s condition was stable, with no post-treatment symptoms.
Cushing and Anastasia provided some data; the latter was emotionally stable, free from restless thoughts as long as they didn’t meet, while the former, even upon meeting, felt only brotherly affection toward her.
Juno and Cushing’s cases proved that as long as they were unaware of who their true faith lay with, their thoughts remained under control.
It also demonstrated that Saina and Anastasia’s voluntary degradation was somewhat influenced by Wayne’s own will.