"Pope, what should we do now? It seems that there really is a new birth of another Saintess. Did our Goddess just give us another hope?" One of the bishops asked the pope who was sitting in the highest seat.
The Pope is treated as a god, a messenger and the one who had personally seen the Goddess in his dreams. The Pope's position is equivalent to those who have the highest position in the entire country, equivalent to an Emperor.
Therefore all decisions and choices must be approved by the Pope as he holds the power in the church. Every bishop, priest, clergy, and personnel of the church must obey and respect the Pope. That's how powerful a Pope's position is.
"For now, silence those who had witnessed that the Goddess cried. I am still unsure as to why the Goddess cried when I should have been able to receive a vision about the new Saintess that the Goddess gifted us. Until we are able to search for the Saintess, we must never let anyone know about its existence." The pope said as he stared at them with cold eyes.
"But sir... We should announce the new birth of a Saintess to celebrate that the Goddess hasn't abandoned us!" One of the bishops said, strongly wanted to look for the Saint. Although they already have a saint that was known already, the birth of a new Saintess means that another powerful being has arrived.
If they could grab the Saintess and own it, their position as the next Pope would be guaranteed already. Just having the Saintess by your side means that you get to borrow the full authority of the Saintess, which is more exclusive than to have the Pope's authority. Having the position of the Pope while owning the Saintess means unlimited power, much more stronger than the position of a feeble emperor.
"Haven't you heard the Pope's order, Bishop Heronnis?" One of the bishops that is a follower of the pope said, arguing with the bishop who was named Bishop Heronnis.
Heronnis smirked, whenever he would try to raise up a concern, one of the Pope's followers would try to attack him as he is the leader of another faction that doesn't belong to the faction of the Pope. The bishops are divided into 3 factions, just like the nobility has 3 factions, the Church is also divided.
The first faction belongs to the Pope, his supporters that would constantly support him and would heed his every word. They strongly believe that a Pope must be noble and dignified, filled with an enormous amount of faith in the Goddess but to the second faction led by Bishop Heronnis heronnis, everything sounds fake.
The second faction is composed of those who are unwanted by the nobilities, yet almost as powerful as the nobles. Every bishop, priest, clergy and worker are treated fairly yet there is also a biased movement wherein one is favoured, that is why they made the second faction, to oppose the Pope and raise democracy amongst the bishops.
"Calm down, everyone. We still don't know who is the person who is blessed by the Goddess. We haven't received a vision after all. What would the common folks tell us if we were searching for this mysterious Saintess? We do not have the clue to search for her. That would only result in multiple cases of fraud and identity theft." Another bishop has expressed his opinion, the leader of the third faction, Bishop Satrovish.
The third faction is all about to be not part of any political advances. They only focus on one goal, and that is to not meddle with those who wanted to raise their authority. They only want to serve the Goddess and would only focus on the path that they chose.
Whoever, the third faction is only composed of little people who are truly devoted to serving the Goddess. Some are snarky and full of pride just because they're serving the Goddess and staying true to themselves. In short, self-centred people.
"Exactly. What Bishop Satrovish said is true, since we don't have anything that would lead us to identify the Saintess that means we can't actively open a search. What's more, if the pope hasn't received visions about the Saintess' appearance, then the Goddess must have pulled a prank on us." Bishop Baroque said the leader of the first faction.
"Are you saying that the Goddess' tears are nothing but a sham? What preposterous words! Your Holiness, we believe in no one else but the Goddess Kartara herself and we do not let anyone say such words to our Saviour! That man deserves a beating!" Bishop Heronnis said, pointing at Bishop Baroque who was taken aback because of his brazen words.
"What are you saying, Bishop Heronnis? I am only intending to tell you that the Goddess is being playful—"
"Silence." The pope uttered, making the two stop bickering with each other. The pope's eyes suddenly looked at Bishop Baroque, making him feel immensely pressed by his heavenly aura.
He was starting to sweat while looking down, avoiding the Pope's eyes. "Bishop Baroque must be whipped 10 times, kneel down in front of the gate of our church with salt spread on the ground. He will then write transcriptions of the Holy Bible and must reflect on his words. The Goddess is not a joke and must never be treated as a joke, Bishop Baroque. May that brain of yours understand this lesson." The pope said, staring at the bishop who was now kneeling on the floor.
"Forgive me, My Eminence, I made a big mistake. I shall reflect and ask for forgiveness from the Goddess." Bishop Baroque said, biting his lips as he couldn't accept that he was being punished instead of that bastard.
Meanwhile, Bishop Heronnis smirked at how his rival ended up. With some twisted words, he was able to pin the blame on him. What a shame, yet very satisfying. "But since what you said is write, I shall heed your advice and reduce the punishments I instructed into an only reflection of what you said. You may transcribe the ancient texts from the Bible and contribute to our research while reflecting on your mistakes." The pope said.
With his command, Bishop Heronnis frowned at the Pope's decision while Bishop Baroque smiled as he was granted favour by the Pope. "As for Bishop Heronnis, he shall receive the punishment of kneeling in front of the Goddess with his knees covered in salt. He shall ask for forgiveness in front of the Goddess for his intention of not grasping my command." He added.
Bishop Baroque froze in his place as his smile faltered, turning into a sour expression as everyone from the first faction looked at him with a mocking smile. "But your Holiness! I didn't do anything wrong—"
He tried to fight for his rights yet the pope refused to hear him as he raised his hand, stopping him from further talking. "What you did is already evident, Bishop Heronnis. It is an act of disrespect and disobedience therefore I must punish you in the name of the Goddess Kartara. You're already lucky that I didn't tell them to imprison you." The pope said with a cold expression towards the Bishop who was getting pale.
"Yes... Your Holiness... I shall heed your command." Bishop Heronnis said as he kneeled in front of the Pope and bowed his head. He was gritting his teeth, feeling mad about his situation. As always, they were favoured while they suffered from unfair treatment.
This is why they always oppose those Popes who belong to the first faction. They think everything is within their reach.
"Get out." The pope said and the Bishop obliged with his command, left the room with his hands turning into fists. Just so they wait, if he ever finds the new Saintess, his position will rival the pope.
And once that happens, he will do anything just so that he will become the next Pope.
After the Bishop left, the Pope turned to his knight and whispered something from the knife that made everyone curious as to why the Pope is whispering about something that is not for their ears to hear.
After the Pope whispered something, he then told the knight to go, leaving him and the Bishops alone in this room. "Just like what Bishop Baroque said, we shall wait until my visions about the new Saintess have arrived. Only by then will we be able to identify if it is a hoax or not. As for now, let us all just focus on spreading the Goddess' will and nurture our Saintess Helena's talent." The Pope said, looking at his subject.
"Yes, Your Holiness." They replied, kneeling in front of him. The Pope then smiled as he stood up and began to walk out of the room, leaving the Bishops alone. As the pope left the room, his smile faltered, lips facing downward.
His brows furrowed while his eyes turned sharp. He knew and his vision about the new Saintess had already arrived before the Goddess had cried. The person he saw in his vision was blurry that he couldn't figure it out.
One thing for sure is that those green eyes of the new Saintess will surely make their plan turn into ashes and he can't just simply wait for the moment to watch how his plan will start to get destroyed. Curse the new Saintess, everything will be ruined because of her!