Chapter 498 — Public Trial
Blade of Dawn · Page 4 of 5
Gaoyang accepted the clergyman's assessment without embarrassment, then turned and looked at the forest of pointed spires rising throughout the cathedral district. "We will be leaving soon. Xuanyue City... will remain a city of the Holy Light. Wright and I have already discussed it: Xuanyue City is to serve as a training and research facility for the Reformed Church of the Holy Light, for it holds the greatest store of Holy Light scriptures and the finest mana environment—a ready-made holy city. Since Wright will spend most of his time in Xuanyao City, he hopes you will administer the church here on his behalf. Of course, the way Xuanyue City is governed will change considerably. The cathedral will no longer be the city's highest authority. I will send men to establish a civil administration here, responsible for the city's operation and construction. Your purview will be limited to church affairs and the corresponding facilities."
Severn Terry nodded. "So long as the Holy Light may continue to be spread, I have no objections."
"Good," Gaoyang breathed a sigh of relief. "I will gradually transfer the White Knights' training facilities here, and I hope you and your colleagues will cooperate fully. As for that great cathedral..."
Gaodai paused there. He gazed at the distant spire of the great cathedral gleaming in the sunlight, and after a moment spoke slowly: "Give it a new name... call it the Holy Light Academy, to spread the new doctrine to all the people and popularize knowledge of the Holy Light. From now on, every institution that studies or teaches knowledge of the Holy Light shall be called a Holy Light Academy, and must be distinguished from churches, which spread doctrine and provide services to communities and neighborhoods."
Severn Terry's eyes shifted slightly, and he unconsciously repeated the word Gaoyang had used: "...Academy..."
Gaoyi smiled and regarded the priest quietly. "Exactly. Since it is a place for spreading knowledge, it should of course be called an academy."
Severn Terry met Gaosong's gaze, and in those eyes he seemed to glimpse the deeper meaning behind all of this—
Deconsecration.
The Holy Light was a body of knowledge; faith in the Holy Light was a culture; the cathedral would become a purely service-oriented facility—and as for faith in the God of Holy Light...
Would it become a history course taught in the academy?
After several seconds, Severn Terry's expression grew calm. He seemed at last to have set down some burden, or perhaps to have made a momentous decision about his life. He bowed his head once more. "As you have arranged."
The tall, lean priest departed. For a time only Gaoyang and Amber remained on the city wall, while below it the public trial of Luan's priests continued.
Gaoyang did not take Amber to task for "slandering" him behind his back, yet the half-elf lady herself was plainly somewhat preoccupied. After several false starts, Amber finally could not hold back: "By the way... that priest said you have your own code of morality!"
Hearing this transparent attempt to fill the silence, Gaoyang could not help the corner of his mouth curling upward. He glanced at her. "That's stating the obvious—who doesn't have a code of morality?"
Amber scratched her head—unfortunately she was not Rebecca, and no amount of scratching would strike a spark of wisdom from her skull, so she could only confess what was on her mind: "You once told me that so-called 'noble spirit' is all hypocritical, outdated nonsense, that the knight's code has fallen behind the times, and that the 'doctrinal virtues' every church promotes are soaked in the stench of money and power... You've cast all of that aside, so the justice in your heart... what does it actually look like?"