Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 693 Are you finally back?

Unlike other churches, since they hold greater political power, the churches built by the Seven Great Orthodox Churches are not only places for believers to pray and confess on a daily basis, but also offices directly under the Union of Churches. The tribunes, general leaders and believers' representatives of the parish committee, the captain of the night watch of the Night's Roost, the arbitrators and judges of the Scales of Order, the technicians of the Scourge Mission, the general officers of the Crimson Prayer Society... all handle daily affairs in the churches belonging to their respective gods. The decrees and permits issued by these non-government parish offices are also legally binding, and it can even be said that they are more legally binding, because the bureaucrats of the Kingdom of Great Britta have no right to manage the internal affairs of the White City Republic, but the churches of the Seven Great Orthodox Gods are spread all over the Western Continent.

Different levels of parishes correspond to different levels of churches, and different levels of churches are equipped with personnel of different specifications. Parishes, churches and church members at all levels constitute the political capital of the church union, which enables this behemoth to compete with the king, nobles, parliament or elected government in every country. If it is described as an impenetrable network, then the center where all the grids and lines intersect is undoubtedly the sacred and magnificent palace we see before our eyes.

Its scale is comparable to the symbol of the kingdom's traditional political power, the Crimea Palace. When the well-dressed gentlemen of the House of Commons and the House of Lords make decisions on state affairs in the palace's council hall, the members of the Gospel United Council make decisions on important affairs of the entire Western Continent in the round table hall of the cathedral. Except for the seven saints who are fixed, the members of this joint council are always circulating and selected according to certain standards, but you can't tell the standards by just looking at their resumes: the tribune of a remote city, the archbishop of a prosperous parish, a scholar who believes in the mentor of the end, an officer who has never appeared in the eyes of the world but has made many military achievements, a scientist who would rather stay in the laboratory than attend meetings, and even a well-known writer who has just published a new book... Apart from being believers of the seven great gods, they have nothing in common.

Therefore, some people often remain noncommittal about the "fair, just, and open decision-making mechanism" claimed by the United Church of God, believing that they are just better at acting and know how to hide their corrupt side under a glamorous surface to deceive ignorant believers. The United Church of God has always remained silent on such claims, neither angry nor pursuing them, which is seen by critics as a sign of guilt.

Only a very few people know what the members who are qualified to participate in the Evangelical United Council have in common. There is no need to pay attention to the appearances such as class, resume, place of origin or merit. It can be summarized in one simple sentence: they are all members of the association, and the most core members.

Therefore, it is meaningless to criticize the cult for its nepotism. If you cannot see the huge shadow looming in the fog, it proves that you have never really understood them. In fact, there are very few people in the world who can do this.

……

The time is two o'clock in the morning.

The location is the Palace of Peace at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Westminster, London.

The Holy Radiant Cathedral of the Blessed Gospel is nominally the only "papal temple" established by the church union in the Holy Diocese of Siglia, but in fact it is a concept formed by the union of seven different churches, corresponding to seven supreme gods, namely the Dragon Palace of the Crimson Prayer Society, the Silent Night Palace of the Night's Habitat, the Judgment Palace of the Inquisition Church, the Sage Palace of the Initial Sect, the Dead Palace of the Death Prayer Society, the Emerald Palace of the Grass and Wood Garden, and the Calamity Palace of the Scourge Mission. The central area surrounded by these seven churches is the Round Table Hall, which is extremely simple in name and appearance. Every six months, members of the Evangelical United Council hold meetings here to discuss and decide on various matters from faith to politics.

Within the Witch Society, these two meetings are called the mid-year and year-end routine meetings, which are second only to the Witch Conference, which requires more than half of the witches to attend and witness. Therefore, the matters to be decided are probably not as simple as they seem on the surface. They at least include the latest battle reports of the East Continent Colonial War, the elimination of aliens and pseudo-cultists, the latest scientific research results of the Construction Management Bureau, and some plans that are so secret that they need to be discussed behind closed doors and are not known to outsiders. However, in this entire process, the discussions or quarrels in the round table hall often only last for a short time. What really requires patience is the time before the meeting starts, waiting for the participants to arrive in Lenwitting City one after another. Usually, the meeting is notified two months before it starts, but depending on factors such as distance, position, and whether the work at hand is urgent, it is very likely that some people will not arrive on time after two months.

Therefore, the chief technician of the Scourge Mission and the philosopher Heng of the Witch Society was so anxious to solve the problem of the city of Lothdana, and then boarded the ship back to the Kingdom of Greater Britta without waiting for the dust to settle.

On the same night when the travelers from afar landed in the Three Mountains, a man who looked exhausted but not tired, carrying a black suitcase full of documents, walked into the Palace of Calamity Restoration of the Holy Glory Cathedral and found his boss in the second office in the corridor of the side hall. He was the Saint of the Scourge Mission and also the Witch of Disaster from the Witch Society.

"Your Majesty Eve."

In this surprisingly large office that can accommodate twenty-eight desks, twenty filing cabinets, three safes, and twelve rows of bookshelves, Heng walked forward through the empty aisle in the middle, nodding to the staff who were still sorting out files and materials late at night. It took him three full minutes to reach the desk at the end. He put the black suitcase that he always carried with him on a chair beside him, stretched out his right hand and gently stroked his chest, and lowered his head to the girl behind the desk: "I'm back. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."

"what."

On the large and soft velvet chair, the girl who was treated with such respect by him seemed to have no reaction. She blinked blankly and the subconscious voice sounded a little dull. She was squatting rather than sitting on the chair. Under the hem of the starry sky pattern skirt, her two bare feet were restlessly sticking out half a foot from the chair surface, and her small toes were scratching the air in the void. In front of her were piles of official documents and a fountain pen with obvious signs of wear and tear. Some of the documents were already filled with comments. Even after the comment of "not passing", there would be a long list of words patiently explaining the reason. Some were still blank, waiting for someone to fill them in.

After a long silence, the girl came back to her senses and finally realized that this was not her hallucination, but reality. She pursed her lips tightly to prevent herself from making such a dull sound, then silently opened the nearest drawer on her left hand side and took out a furry bear doll with a patch on its head. She put it on her hand very skillfully and manipulated it with her fingers deftly. The mouth of the bear doll opened and closed, and the sound it uttered would make people feel cold and rigid at first, but only those who were familiar with her personality could hear a hint of happiness hidden deep inside:
"Welcome back, Heng."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)