Mystery: But the Witch's Path

Chapter 33 Harvest Church

Once everything had calmed down, the priest introduced himself, saying, "My name is Utravsky, and I am the only clergyman in the Harvest Church of the Earth Mother in Backlund."

You may call me 'Father Utravsky' or 'Bishop Utravsky', either is fine.

After hearing this, the two introduced themselves, saying, "Good day, Bishop Utravsky, my name is Altair Sheffield."

"Good day, Bishop Utravsky. My name is Vera, and I am Count Altair's personal maid."

Upon hearing Vera's introduction, Utravsky immediately turned around and began to scrutinize Altair again.

Through observation, Altair also discovered that when the priest looked at him, he clearly had some thoughts about him, perhaps wanting to recruit him as a believer.

When Utravsky realized his behavior had been impolite, he quickly looked away and asked, "May I ask what brings you two to the Harvest Church? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"You're too kind, Bishop."

Altair replied politely and explained his purpose: "I came here mainly because I heard there is a church called 'Church of the Earth Mother' nearby, and I came out of curiosity to take a look."

"We were rude in coming out of curiosity. We hope the Mother Goddess will not be offended."

After hearing the explanation, Utravsky calmly said, "I don't think the Mother Goddess will punish me for this."

"The core doctrine of my church is 'Life is precious, and harvest is joyful.' And now is the time for the church to receive believers. It's just that the number of believers of the Mother Goddess is small in the Kingdom of Rune, which is why I am temporarily leaving the church."

...........

As the sun was about to set, Altair and Vera left the Harvest Church and boarded a carriage to go home.

Vera, who had a lot to say, asked curiously, "Count Altair, is the 'Church of the Earth Mother' really as Bishop Utravsky described?"

"I feel something's strange. If what he said is true, why are there so few believers in the Kingdom of Rune?"

Vera's words received no response from Altair. He, meanwhile, was pondering the information he had gained from his conversation with Utravsky.

Utravsky initially considered making himself a believer in the "Earth Mother Goddess," but for some reason, he gave up on the idea.

It must be because of his identity; if normal methods were used, it might not be possible to persuade him to become a believer, and it might even have the opposite effect.

Using extraordinary means, yet fearing violation and being caught red-handed, they could cause the "Church of Mother Earth" to completely lose its missionary rights in Backlund.

But Vera still cared a lot, after all, she was a person without faith, and he was a clergyman, so he kept persuading Vera to become a believer of the "Earth Mother Goddess".

..........

Through conversation, it was learned that Frank Lee had long since left the Church of Mother Earth and gone overseas.

Altair actually really wanted to meet this Mushroom King.

After all, this person's reputation is by no means low. They are said to be able to awaken within the Mother Goddess, and to defy authority.

Actually, I'd like to give it a try, teach him relevant knowledge in botany, biology, genetics, etc., and see what he can make.

Unfortunately, we arrived too late; they had already left. We'll have to wait for another opportunity.

When Altair came to his senses, he looked at Vera, who was still staring at him with her big, round eyes, and said helplessly.

"I don't know much about the 'Church of the Earth Mother Goddess' either, since the church's headquarters are not in the Kingdom of Rune, so I can't learn more about it."

"But if you want to have faith in 'He,' that's also a good option."

Upon hearing this, Vera immediately turned her head, facing Altair sideways, and said, "I don't believe in 'them'."

.........

When the sun had completely set, the carriage returned home. Upon entering the house, they found that Hahn, Freya, and Irene had also already returned home.

After a simple dinner, Vera took out the small cakes she had bought that afternoon. Altair kept only one slice of lemon cake and then let her take the rest to share with the others.

A layer of sweet and sour lemon frosting is drizzled on a soft butter cake base. The sweetness of the cake and the refreshing acidity of the lemon create a perfect balance, resulting in a light and melt-in-your-mouth texture.

After observing the diet during this period, Altair understood why so many girls in his previous life loved to eat all kinds of small cakes.

When you have nothing to do, having a bite of this can both pass the time and allow you to enjoy delicious food—it's a win-win situation.

But maybe it's just my taste; the cake tasted good, but after eating one slice, I didn't want to eat any more. Eating too much would make it feel cloyingly sweet. It's also possible that too much sugar was added.

.........

After finishing dinner, Altair went to his study to listen to Hahn and Freya's work reports for the day.

First, Hahn said, "The arrangements for the banquet at the suburban manor have been made, and some of the servants have remained there to be directed by the commissioner to ensure that the banquet can proceed as planned tomorrow."

"I have already taken those special items to the manor and hidden them, and I have left Simon and his team to guard them."

"Count Altair, isn't this too hasty? Although those items have already been tested, according to the factory's feedback, they can still be optimized. After optimization, they should be able to generate higher profits."

Hahn's words put Altair completely at ease, since it concerned future plans.

He then said, "Although the time was indeed very tight, which inevitably caused some flaws in the product, this is also one of its selling points. After all, an item that will never break is not a good product."

"The hasty forging now will leave room for future product updates, as long as its safety is guaranteed."

........

Freya found their conversation baffling; wasn't a banquet being held tomorrow?

How does this relate to selling goods? Are these two things necessarily connected? Does Count Altair intend to promote his products through tomorrow's banquet?

After Freya heard no more conversation outside, she looked at the two of them, and realizing she could speak, she said...

"As you requested, this afternoon when I went to deliver invitations to the other nobles, I personally watched them read the invitations. They all gave the same reply, saying that they would definitely attend on time tomorrow."

"But I always felt that they were overly enthusiastic. From my arrival to after reading the letter, I must say, I always felt that they were not in good control of their emotions."

Hearing Freya's words, Hahn, who knew the truth about the banquet, naturally understood why they were so enthusiastic. He couldn't help but think to himself, "They're giving you money, and you're not even welcoming them? Then the others will find a reason to kick you out, since there are too many participants and they'll only get a small share."

..........