"Leave?" The Weaver of Fate hesitated slightly; he raised his head to look at the Inquisitor: "Mr. Manager, this matter..."
As the only level four existence currently in the Dune diocese, the Inquisitor Manager was still the person primarily responsible for all extraordinary events occurring in Dune; his words carried the most weight. Even if The Weaver of Fate was very rarely seen and possessed special abilities, and even if The Sun Believer was a believer of the Sun—the first angel of the Goddess—here, the right to decide still belonged to the Inquisitor.
"You cannot leave." The Inquisitor said, his voice hard: "As for the subsidy, that is not important right now compared to your safety and the will of God."
"Why?" Elias's mark gave Alex confidence; the heat on his forehead reminded Alex that he was not alone. Alex raised his head, questioning the Manager: "I fear the Church of Light has no right to detain me; I am a free citizen. Moreover, it is not a subsidy for you, so on what basis do you say it is not important? I feel it is very important; it is my living money."
Alex spoke extremely seriously, his reasoning clear, causing the Inquisitor Manager to be momentarily speechless, choking on his words as he stared blankly at Alex.
The teenage boy before his eyes was exactly like a barbarian, understanding no etiquette; Alex fundamentally did not realize what a God's Favored One represented, or how noble the status was. Just one gold coin, a trivial amount of money, could actually give Alex the courage to raise his voice at a level four extraordinary person, a person whom even the mayor had to respect.
The Manager felt a bit helpless, rubbing his temples, but to make a kid who had not experienced the world understand the significance of his actions right now, explaining the political and religious importance, was clearly a bit difficult and a waste of time.
A level four extraordinary person was considered an extremely rare existence even looking across the entire continent, a pillar of the nation. Thinking of this, the Manager's train of thought broke. He was not used to explaining things to those weaker than himself.
Rare as they were, they still existed, but a Favored One of the Angel of War, this ignorant and fearless boy before his eyes, was truly the first in history, unique and unmatched.
The Manager's face sank, deciding to use slightly stronger measures.
"The matter of the subsidy is not under my management. But today you cannot leave the Church; this matter is extremely serious. I must ask for instructions from the Sanctuary to have a plan for protecting and fostering you."
"What does your Sanctuary have to do with me?" Alex frowned, his tone beginning to lose patience. He did not want to stay here, this place full of rules and pressure. Today was not a holiday; the Church school was still teaching. If he met old classmates, it would certainly be very awkward; he did not want to face their scrutinizing or mocking gazes.
Although Alex could manage to ignore their comments and treat them as air, this did not mean Alex had to walk into a trap to hear insults, making himself suffer.
"I don't want to." Alex refused bluntly. He still had to go back to find Elias, to share what just happened with him. Alex still had to secretly practice his extraordinary person abilities; he had no desire to stay in this hateful Church of Light. Breathing here made him extremely uncomfortable, suffocating as if being strangled: "I want to go home, I still have to go to work, I still have my life."
The Manager frowned deeper; he really did not want to continue tangling with this teenage boy anymore, and his head began to ache. At this moment, the Manager only wanted to return to his room, bathe clean, and change into decent clothes, not stand shirtless with that scorched shirt in front of his long-time good friend and student to bicker with a stubborn brat.
"You can go back if you want." The Manager said, his tone a compromise full of reluctance: "But you must accept the protection of a guard squad dispatched by the Church of Light, an elite squad; not a single person can be missing!"
"How many people is a squad?" Alex asked, looking at the Manager warily.
"The standard for a squad is six people." The Manager said, his voice firm.
Hearing this number, the teenage boy hesitated, his brows furrowed tight. Saying it was protection, in reality, it was also a variation of surveillance and house arrest. One person was still easy to deceive and shake off, but six people trained methodically all at once—how was Alex supposed to hide Elias?
"Don't worry, they won't enter the house; they will guard outside." The Manager hmphed, flicking his sleeves, turning to prepare to leave. The Manager walked two steps then stopped, as if remembering something, turning his head to look towards Wood and Hughes who were standing dazed: "James, you go arrange this, choose the best people. Also, tell Simon to settle the subsidy matter, give it to him immediately."
Seeing the Manager prepare to leave, The Sun Believer and The Weaver of Fate naturally had no reason to continue lingering, and also followed the Inquisitor Manager preparing to leave. When passing by Alex, the youth wearing the rough robe was momentarily stunned. In his eyes, he saw many dense threads, intricately crisscrossing and extending from Alex's body towards an indefinite direction, more brilliant and complex than anyone the youth had ever met. The youth was just about to look closely when those threads vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
The youth paused his steps, turned around, and appraised Alex from top to bottom with curious and profound eyes; when he turned back to continue walking, his expression was already full of seriousness and contemplation.