The golden warhammer was lifted by Laine in his hand, and considering the pile of troublesome matters earlier, Laine finally unveiled his cloak, allowing everyone to immediately see the White Wolf Knight Badge on his chest.
Sure enough, the townspeople who were originally quite hostile to outsiders lost their animosity upon seeing the badge on Laine's chest, instead casting eyes of awe and reverence. Laine noticed a man around thirty years old doing woodworking at the doorway and asked, "Hello, could you tell me where the blacksmith's shop in this town is?"
"Ah! It's Lord Knight!" The man looked up and saw he was speaking to a knight, so he quickly said, "The blacksmith's shop is at the next intersection, turn right, and you'll see it after a few shops."
"Okay, then... Is there a church here?" Laine continued to ask.
"Are you referring to the Life Church, sir? Wulan Town only has a Life Church. If you are looking for the Justice Church or Magic Church, you need to go to Glansstad, about eighty miles from here. There are many churches there. Every ten days, Lord arranges a guarded caravan in the town square specifically for us to go to Glansstad. The next trip to Glansstad is in seven days... Do you have any other questions, sir?" The man's response was quite detailed, and Laine nodded, continuing to ask, "How many priests and paladins are there at the Life Church here in Wulan Town?"
"There is one priest and three paladins, sir. The priest is a good person and often provides us with free treatment, and on holidays sends us some baked goods and apple cider." The man paused his woodworking, smiling: "The priest also often heals us and casts divine art for adventurers, so people around here mostly believe in the Lord of Dawn or the Earth Mother Goddess."
"Understood, thank you!"
"You're welcome, sir. May fortune be with you."
Walking toward the Life Church, the town's Life Church is not large, merely a building akin to a small mansion, with white walls and a wooden door. There were two warriors at the entrance guarding the door. Laine glanced at them and felt a bit disappointed. With his experience traveling the Continent, one could gauge the strength of a church from the attendants at the door. These two warriors were at best ordinary soldiers. Laine thought to himself that with one warhammer blow, they would go meet the Lord of Dawn and the Earth Goddess.
After death, followers' souls always head to the divine kingdom of their deity.
So, the church's own strength in this town must be very weak, Laine thought, considering the priest in charge of the church probably wouldn't be above the Third Ring level.
A Third Ring priest would contribute little to Laine's planned team — a single Third-Ring divine art per day, like the Recovery Technique, wouldn't solve any of Laine's problems.
He entered the Life Church, which had a clean little courtyard inside. Although it was very small, it still had all the essential functions a church should possess. The Lord of Dawn and the Earth Mother Goddess were a pair of deities married to each other. Because sunlight grants life to the earth, their connection is very close. Both deities are of the neutral-good alignment, and the Life Church is a popular church on the Continent. They often aid the poor and heal the injured and sick, host regular events, experiment with improving crops, reclaim wasteland, and teach people how to live better. Therefore, the vast majority of self-sustaining farmers and tenant farmers on the Continent believe in these two deities. The Life Church is one of the three major churches on the Continent, alongside the Justice Church and Magic Church.
Life Church wields substantial influence among commoners, but Laine didn't resonate with their ideologies of selfless giving and being kind to others, so he got along better with the Justice Church but had an average relationship with the Life Church.
As for the Magic Church, their immense power couldn't be helped. It's well known that casters need to access the Demon Net to cast spells, which is controlled by the Magic Goddess, so technically all casters must gain permission from the Magic Goddess to access the Demon Net.
Thus, the Magic Church is very strong; when necessary, all casters must heed the oracles of the Magic Goddess, except deities generally shouldn't meddle in the affairs of the Prime Material Plane.
"The divine belongs to the gods, and the mundane belongs to mortals," Laine recited, tightening his cloak as he entered the Life Church. The paladin at the door saw the knight badge on the young man's chest and didn't stop him, just asked, "Lord Knight, is there anything you need?"
"Nothing in particular, just taking a look around, here for a visit, and to buy some things." Laine waved his hand to indicate he was just looking around. The paladin didn't stop him further but said, "The priest is inside, just speak your mind."
"Understood."
Inside the church was a small courtyard filled with children playing, having snowball fights, and their joyous voices were endless. A female priest in her thirties stood in the corridor within the courtyard, smiling at the happy scene. Hearing footsteps from the entrance, she turned and was slightly surprised to see Laine: "A knight, sir? Is there something you need?"
The female priest had nearly white blond hair, her eyes had many crow's feet, her appearance was average, and she had an eagle hook nose, but her warm smile greatly made up for her looks.
"Are these the next batch to undergo baptism?" Laine looked ahead, showing neither humility nor arrogance, his tone was flat, making it hard for others to read him.
"...These are some children left by hunters and soldiers, taken in by the church." The female priest shook her head, her face somewhat somber: "After losing their fathers, their mothers are busy making a living, so during the day, they come to the church, managed by me."
"So this is a nursery too?" The kingdom knight suddenly laughed and tossed the remark, though he used Celestial Dynasty language for the words 'nursery'.
"Torsor? Who is that? Is he a friend of Lord Knight?" The female priest hadn't caught the term 'nursery', but she didn't intend to understand and continued asking, "May I ask why Lord Knight is visiting the Life Church?"
"Well, I have something to ask. Four days ago, was there a tall, thin man..." Laine inquired if the female priest had sensed any approach of Chaos Power.
Priests are clergy, and after Emperor Charlemagne's rise during the Great Calamity over a thousand years ago and his deity-blessed coronation, churches and the empire reached an agreement on responsibilities, with obligations of this kind. Priests, who pray daily, are most sensitive to Chaos Energy.
"Well... it's overshadowed by the overwhelming scent of blood on Lord Knight which sweeps away all traces. Did Lord Knight experience a fierce battle before arriving in this town?" The female priest closed her eyes, sensing the intense blood aroma from Laine.
"Yes, I've been dealing with vampire beasts in the field before arriving here yesterday." Laine shook his head, the trip to the Life Church ending fruitlessly, the embarrassing reason being himself.
"Enough, can you make Divine Art Scrolls here?" Seeing he hadn't gained any valuable information, Laine asked further.
"What? What sort of scrolls do you need, sir knight? I'm only at the level of the Second Ring, as for scroll making..." The priest hesitated.
"Not that kind, I mean the technique you must have as a Life Church priest, can you make scrolls of that Divine Art?"
"Oh! I understand, for those I have many here, five Silver Dinars each."
"I'll take two sheets."
"Thank you for your patronage."
As he exited the Life Church, Laine's bracelet suddenly started to emit light. Seeing this, the kingdom knight found a deserted corner and pressed the gemstone on his bracelet: "Archbishop?"
"Laine, there's a new development, according to reports from paladins involved in the capture. Belte was sighted near the Mien Forest, thirty miles from Wulan Town. He most likely hid in the deep forest. Be cautious, don't rush." A commanding voice continued.
"Mien Forest? Alright, understood!"