Chapter 83: Going with the Flow
While the two Archbishops were arguing, William had already thought of a way to respond.
He bowed slightly and said calmly:
"I teamed up with a lady demon hunter to go to..."
To figure out which side the slick-haired Archbishop leaned towards, William selectively narrated the content.
He first inadvertently mentioned that he had inquired about Sasha's whereabouts from a worker near the factory.
But he limited it to this and didn't explain the specific content of the inquiry.
In this way, if Archbishop Jolan asked for details.
William could judge this Archbishop's opinion of Sasha based on his expression, movements, and the content he wanted to know.
If the content of the question emphasized "compliance," such as whether the danger was clearly informed or whether all ritual implements were brought, then the situation would naturally be unfavorable to Sasha's side.
And vice versa.
But William gave several opportunities in a row, and Jolan didn't respond at all.
Instead, he looked like he was listening casually, seeming not to care about this matter.
Seeing this, William decided to change his thinking.
"In the dense forest, we encountered monster corpses..."
He talked directly about the dead monsters.
If Jolan leaned more towards Sasha.
He would naturally ask about the impact caused by the monsters and whether anyone was injured.
Sure enough.
As soon as this remark came out, Fabio's eyes lit up beside him, looking like he wanted to say something but stopped.
But he looked at the person beside him and finally didn't speak.
Unlike him, Jolan beside him was still listless.
Seeing this, William narrowed his eyes.
Did he encounter the worst situation?
This slick-haired Archbishop doesn't show his emotions and has rich "official experience"?
It can't be that the other party is really not interested...
William decided to push this Archbishop. He no longer talked about Sasha, and even skipped over the monsters encountered.
Instead, he changed the subject and focused on the story of the three Vincent brothers.
Facing such a "digression," someone should have stopped him immediately.
But unexpectedly.
This time Jolan reacted.
After hearing that "many young men and women were lured into the dense forest," Jolan interrupted William for the first time.
"Wait, are you saying the three Vincent brothers have fixed kidnapping targets?"
William nodded: "Most of the victims are college students under the age of thirty."
This information was obtained from his interrogation of Vincent.
Jolan sat up straight upon hearing this, a sharp look bursting from his eyes.
Completely different from his previous lazy appearance.
"Specifically how many people, and have you seen what they looked like when they were victimized..."
Jolan asked several questions in a row.
"Doesn't care about Sasha at all, but interested in the kidnapping case itself..."
William thought to himself.
He guessed that this Archbishop might not care about the "missing holy artifact" case itself, but had other tasks.
The victims in the town of Ambrose were involved with a mysterious organization.
The other party seemed to be conducting some kind of sacrifice.
Plus Vincent deliberately kidnapped Sasha, trying to use the latter's Church identity.
(During the interrogation, Vincent didn't fully confess the reason for kidnapping Sasha.)
Therefore, William quickly deduced a possibility—
That organization seemed to be targeting clergy members, and the Church was dealing with it.
And Jolan was the investigator sent here.
Clarifying this thought, William understood the reason for Jolan's appearance here.
Nothing more than the checks and balances of power; the Church's high-level officials didn't want the two factions to make too much noise.
In that case, he knew what to do.
William stopped probing and instead detailed the information about the victims.
"At first, the three brothers only focused on human wax figures, but starting from a certain day, they began to actively lure people from outside the town."
"Without exception, the victims had their arms chopped off..."
"Lester mentioned that his brother suddenly specified kidnapping personnel with Church identities."
"Under the leadership of Sister Sasha, we rescued a young woman named 'Jennifer'."
William specifically picked content that the other party might be interested in, and there were truths and falsehoods mixed in.
He deliberately interspersed Sasha's "credit" inadvertently, trying to make it less obvious.
As for the part about "using holy artifacts himself," he rarely talked about it.
Although William had processed the scene after the ritual was completed and cleaned it extremely cleanly.
Even the final trap was arranged with corresponding means.
But it's better to keep a low profile if possible.
And that was indeed the case.
Unless a Cardinal from the Vatican came, it would be difficult to detect traces of holy artifacts in Ambrose.
Azazel could discover it purely because of his special identity.
As for whether others would expose him, William wasn't worried.
Sadie needed his help, and based on their time together, this female demon hunter wasn't a gossip.
Even if she did tell, an outsider's words could be treated as "rumors."
It was even less likely for Sasha; Fabio wouldn't let her do that.
The same went for Gisele.
William's only risk was the possibility of exposing part of his strength to Archbishop Fabio.
However, he had prepared a plan for this situation long ago.
William had been preparing a "reasonable excuse" from a very early time.
When the former priest of the West District was still alive, he often collected some Church classics.
He even encouraged the old priest to actively participate in Church activities and contribute to the Church.
The holy water at the exhibition was also obtained at that time.
These things could withstand investigation.
Now, the old priest had gone up to accompany the True Lord.
With no witness, William could push all "abnormalities" onto the old priest.
At most, it would only expose his "talent" in theology.
Under the premise of just "making a contribution," Fabio had no reason to suppress him.
It just wronged the old priest, having to carry a pot (take the blame) in heaven.
Saying so much was just to explain one thing—yes, William had decided to lend a hand to Bishop Julius.
The main purpose, of course, was for the reward he deserved.
Secondly, from the perspective of the Vatican, they certainly didn't want the people below to be too stiff with each other.
Plus there were external enemies surrounding them, so "maintaining the status quo" was the best situation.
He believed the Vatican would be happy to see this scene, and the Sacred Society naturally wouldn't refuse.
Thus, a world where only the Exorcism Academy was hurt was achieved.
But they didn't lose anything either, just made a trip in vain.
As for whether William would be hated by this faction.
Since he had to offend people anyway, it was better to offend the side beneficial to him.
Moreover, he was explicitly standing on Archbishop Fabio's side now.
Out of explicit maintenance of the Sacred Society, William believed this Archbishop wouldn't ignore him.
Seeing the situation leaning towards his side, Archbishop Fabio raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
He was very satisfied with this young man!
Neither humble nor arrogant, able to understand the situation; this was a smart person!
Some were happy, so naturally, some were dissatisfied.
Archbishop Levi looked gloomy, staring at the young priest opposite.
Just now he saw the other party digress and wanted to interfere.
But out of respect for the Holy See, he remained silent.
At this moment, seeing the situation develop in a direction unfavorable to the Exorcism Academy, this Archbishop could no longer sit idly by.
So he spoke to stop it:
"Young man, we are talking about 'Sasha stealing holy artifacts'; please don't drag other things into this..."
He was interrupted as soon as he spoke.
"Archbishop Levi, I have my own judgment." Jolan's voice was a bit cold.
"Hmph."
In the end, Levi only dared to snort coldly.
He knew the guys from the Holy See were not weak. If he really angered them, he might be the one getting beaten up.
For such things, the higher-ups would definitely be happy to see it happen.
Levi also understood that the recent expansion of the Exorcism Academy was somewhat eye-catching, and some people were already dissatisfied.
After dismissing this Archbishop, Jolan spoke again.
"What is your judgment on these matters?"
"Reporting to Archbishop Jolan, I do have a guess."
"This group of people is likely to hold some kind of ritual, and the sacrifices needed, besides 'Arms,' should also include a certain part of the body of Church personnel."
William replied calmly.
Jolan looked surprised upon hearing this, sizing up the priest in front of him carefully.
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