The office of the Municipal Diocese Committee is located at No. 24, St. Ande Street. It is a three-story red brick building with green courtyards, gables covered with green vines and exquisite and grand exterior corridors, which jointly create the solemnity and elegance of the classical era. It is also one of the few old-fashioned buildings on this street.

The city was so fast that creations in the previous century had to give in to business, and more and more hotels, office buildings and apartment buildings replaced the original narrow alley bungalows, using exquisite limestone, polished bricks and terracotta. Only the sectarian union still adheres to their traditions and treats past memories with caution.

But in fact, they are the ones who drive the most change.

Linger had no intention of exploring the profound meaning of this contradiction. He explained his purpose to the reception clerk in the lobby on the first floor. Because he did not make an appointment in advance, he waited in the reception room for about ten minutes before he received a clear reply: Mr. Langning happened to be free, and he would wait for you in the sixth office on the left corridor on the third floor.

After drinking the last sip of black tea in the cup, Linge thanked the clerk in charge, he followed his instructions to the outside of Mr. Langning's office on the third floor, and gently knocked on the door of the empty room.

"Please come in." A low and majestic voice came from the room.

When Linger pushed the door open and found that the furnishings in the office were extremely simple. Except for the area where the guests were receiving, there were woven carpets, high-leg round tables and soft leather sofas, the rest were occupied by cabinets filled with documents. In addition, there was a desk in front of the window, and there were also stacks of documents on the table, all of which had been stamped.

I don’t know how many of the documents involved in the supplementary doctrine. The non-orthodox churches in Linwell not only include the Holy Goddess Church believed in by Linger, but also the Red Prayer, the Catholic Clan, the New Cross, etc. The scale of any one is larger than that of the Holy Goddess Church. Will they obediently accept the restrictions of the decree? I’m afraid it’s not optimistic.

But this had nothing to do with Ringer, so his eyes swept over these documents and then fell on the owner of the room, Mr. Langning. He was walking towards Ringer, a powerful middle-aged gentleman, about thirties, with slightly curly brown hair on the edge, straight and broad nose, dark majestic eyes, wearing a black uniform made of the robe of the church priest, which was also the unified uniform of the kingdom's civil servants, and at the same time had religious solemnity and worldly authority.

The sects jointly divided the range of faith radiation into dioceses of different sizes. Each diocese has a committee, a clergy, a sacrificial official and a diocese representative jointly managed the various affairs of the diocese. The sacrificial official is appointed by the Religious Administration Bureau of the Kingdom Religious Faith Ministry. He has an official identity and is mainly responsible for secular affairs of the diocese, such as fund management, public services and even believers' disputes.

Linwell City belongs to the fourth-level Union Diocese, and there are also the fifth-level Patriarchal Diocese, which are based on villages, towns or streets. As a guarantor of the municipal parish committee, Mr. Langning has the right to inquire and interfere with all secular affairs in these dozens of Patriarchal Dioceses, and naturally, including the implementation of the Religious Ordinance.

In other words, he is one of the three most powerful people in the religious circle of Linwell.

But the big man had no airs and took the initiative to extend his hand to show kindness to Linge, saying in a calm voice: "Hello, Mr. Linge, I have been looking forward to this meeting for a long time."

"I know." Linger replied politely: "Mr. Patton has described your passion to me, and I am honored."

"I hope you won't get bored of it."

The two of them gently shook their hands and let go of their hands. Langning pointed to the sofa in the hospitality area and said, "I already know what you are going to do, so let's sit and chat?"

Linge naturally would not refuse, so the two of them sat down on the sofa, exchanged a few greetings, and then got to the point after the maid presented black tea and then closed the door and left.

"I have been thinking for a long time and finally decided to abide by the provisions of the Religious Act and close the Tianxin Church." Linger broke down and did not mention that his sister hid the notice and said, "However, this will cause great trouble to my daily life. I think the Kingdom should have relevant policies to compensate for this?"

The so-called trouble is actually very simple, it is money.

The Holy Goddess Church is not a big church, but it still has a certain influence in the Holy Cross and Baishi District. In addition to the spontaneous donations from believers, as a resident pastor, Ringer can also earn income by presiding over weddings, baptism of newborns, and even being invited to attend various community competitions. Most of them are used to purchase food and help the poor, and the remaining small part is enough for Ringer to support herself and her sister, and even to keep her at home to prepare for the exam.

If the church is closed, these incomes will definitely be gone. How to maintain future life is what Linger cares about most, especially the survival of Tianxin Church.

"Please rest assured." Perhaps satisfied with Linger's straight-forward attitude, a smile appeared on Mr. Langning's face, which slightly eased his serious expression: "The Kingdom will naturally praise good citizens who abide by the law. According to the relevant policies, churches willing to obey the Religious Ordinance will receive a subsidy of 2 gold pounds per week; at the same time, we will introduce new jobs to these clergy. If I remember correctly, Mr. Linger seems to be a graduate of the history department? He also has a certificate of priesthood. What a young and promising young man. Since that's the case, we are willing to give you two choices."

He paused a moment and continued: "The first choice is the position of history teacher at St. Lowu German School. Haha, that is a charitable school jointly funded by our church. Any child of appropriate age can enter the study at low tuition or even free tuition. The weekly salary of this position is also 2 pounds. The second choice is to join our Linwell Municipal Diocese Committee as a civilian. You have a certificate of priesthood. This aspect should be familiar with it. Of course, it would be even better if you are willing to understand the teachings of our seven gods. Well, I have no intention of offending your faith, but I just feel it. The weekly salary of this position is 3 pounds and 10 pence."

It is 1 pound and 10 pence higher than the weekly salary of a history teacher, which is equivalent to the weekly salary of a senior worker. The united church team is really rich.

No matter which job he accepts, the subsidies and salary he receives will make Ringer not have to worry about his future life, and it will even be easier. After all, he does not need to take out most of his money to buy food and help the poor. When he is no longer the resident pastor of Tianxin Church, he does not have to bear the corresponding responsibilities.

"I personally hope you can accept my invitation. The Municipal Diocese Council is just inviting a young and sensible guy like you to join." Longing smiled and said, "Of course, I respect your choice more."

Young and... rational.

It is indeed sensible to give up hope and accept reality.

Linge was speechless, as if he was deeply thinking. But at this moment, for some reason, what came to his mind was not the advantages and disadvantages of the two choices, but the girl he met in the Municipal Square who called himself St. Charlie.

And what she said—

Those who accidentally eat golden apples will be involved in a fate that does not belong to him.

***

"O my God in heaven."

“I pray with my heart.”

"I hope to get your guidance to reflect the confusion and sin."

"Embroider all pain and anxiety in my heart."

"There is no joy, no sorrow."

"May you and the sinless live in that worry-free country."

The girl lowered her head, put her fingers together, and tapped her eyebrows, lips and chest to embrace the sky, the earth and life—

"We are the people of the earth, with the goddess."

But the stone carved statue was as silent as time itself, and did not respond to her.

After a while, a faint sigh echoed in the chapel.

Metien felt that he had never prayed so devoutly.

But what's the use? In the 19th century when steam roared, there was an insurmountable gap between the hope defined by God and the cruel real world. Therefore, even the goddess could not come to the earth and save her pious believers in the world from suffering.

Do you really have to learn to accept reality as your brother said?

When Metien was feeling melancholy, a "dong" sound suddenly came from outside the house, as if something heavy fell to the ground, followed by a faint voice: "Ah, it hurts... my butt hurts so much..."

A thief is in the family!?

Metien's ears suddenly rose and he heard that the direction of the sound was in the backyard, where there was nothing valuable. Only a few vegetable fields that his brother had cultivated by himself were planting vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and small vetiver.

It was so bold that she dared to steal from the goddess' church. Metien couldn't bear it and rushed to the backyard without hesitation, preparing to catch the thief. The main reason was that she vaguely heard the thief's voice was a woman, and she felt that she would not encounter any danger, so she made such a bold decision. However, after thinking about it, she was still worried. She went around to the kitchen first, took a rolling pin and held it in her hand. She felt more confident, so she pushed open the back door and came to the backyard with great enthusiasm.

It is said that it is a backyard, but it is actually just a small open space surrounded by simple wooden fences. In order not to make it look too deserted, Linge once planted several Baicheng sycamore trees with his own hands, but now they are lush and full of vitality. The sunlight shines on the ground through the gaps of the leaves, forming flashing spots, which are extremely beautiful.

But Metien had no intention of enjoying the scenery. He held the rolling pin tightly with both hands, walked around the corner of the wall step by step, and decided to act cautiously, first find out the other party's background before acting. She poked her head out from behind the wall, preparing to see what kind of thief dared to cause trouble at the Goddess Church. When she was caught, she must hand it over to the patrol police for good treatment.

He was stunned after just a glance at her.

Because she was getting up from the ground and rubbing her butt and crying pain, she was actually a girl who looked seventeen or eighteen years old. She had long golden hair that was hanging down to her waist, but it was very messy, and she was tied into a ponytail on her neck. Several hairs were stubbornly raised from the forehead and both sides. Obviously, she hadn't taken care of it very carefully. She wore a pair of silver-white rabbit ears on her head, with clear edges and lines, which looked more like a mechanical creation rather than a body part. This pair of rabbit ears with doubts was supported by a semicircle ring device with unknown material. At the end of the ring were two metal discs close to the ears. Could it be that they played a fixed role? But wouldn't she not hear the sound outside?

Whether it is the rabbit ear, semi-ring device or the surface of the metal disc, there are mysterious blue arcs of light flashing from time to time, bright and unstable, full of technological sense that is not in line with the times.

Going down there is the exquisite and pretty face, without words, just knowing that even Metien, who is a girl, feels amazing. Especially the pair of ruby-like clear and transparent eyes, like artworks carefully crafted by the master's hands, allows all the light that is invested to condense into a crimson star cluster under the refraction of the cut surface.

In addition, her dress was extremely strange, and it was obvious that it was not the style of the Great Britta Kingdom at a glance: the silver-gray hoodie was printed with some inexplicable patterns, and the sleeves were so long that it covered half of the palm; the leather shorts of the same color exposed their fair thighs, which was an indecent custom; a pair of white shoes on her feet looked extremely light and suitable for sports, and the ankles were covered by a black and white striped sock ring.

There are also various fancy but unknown decorations: the sword-shaped pendant on the neck, the fire-patterned ring on the index finger of the right hand, the silver bracelet used to tie the ponytail, and two belts hanging obliquely on the slender waist, each with a silver-white cube and a silver-gray metal box. When it collides with the iron buttons on the belt, it makes a crisp clash.

It is difficult to describe the girl's dress and unique temperament in words. Whether it is weird, mysterious, lively, and agile, it seems too shallow. The only thing Metien can be sure of is that if a girl like this is a thief, even the goddess will not believe it.

So, she held the rolling pin's hand and relaxed a little. At the same time, she fell into thinking, not knowing how she would communicate with this weird girl who fell from the sky.

When Metien was stunned, the girl found her hiding behind the corner. She was not panicked, but waved her hand happily and showed a bright smile: "It's great, it turns out that someone is there. Hi, hello, who are you?"

Mettyn ​​was stunned for a moment because of her familiar tone, and somehow replied: "My name is Mettyn."

"What's Mei?" She took off the rabbit ears on her head and hung them around her neck, and scratched the back of her head embarrassedly: "Sorry, I forgot to take off my headphones just now, and I didn't hear it clearly."

It turns out that thing is called headphones.

Metien thought silently, and repeated: "Hello, I'm Metien."

"Oh, Metien, hello, I'm Alice." She looked around and smacked her lips: "Speak out you may not believe it, but I'm from another world, a world called Earth."

"I seem to have traveled through time, and..."

“I traveled through time while playing games.”
Chapter completed!