The Third Book of the Northern Country Wind and Snow 009. Joshua

  The man seemed to smile slightly, slowly stretched out his hand, and took off the hood on his head.

  All that can be seen is the man's face with a hint of English spirit, his golden hair emitting a faint glow, and on top of that, an aura of profound light, it was Joshua Knight, one of the four great team leaders of the Holy Temple Knights.

  Du Fan, having been in the Sacred Court for so long, naturally recognized this Grand Knight Commander. He was startled in his heart, but his face remained calm and expressionless as he said: "So it's the Grand Knight Commander himself, I just don't know what orders you have brought with your personal visit?"

  Joshua smiled faintly, with a holy glow on his face, which looked much more noble compared to Dufan's hypocritical sanctity. This obvious inner holiness proved how devout the knight's faith was.

  "I didn't say so earlier? Lord Anthony ordered me to come and protect your safety," Joshua said calmly. "Forget it, you wanted to know about the relationship between Roland Academy and the Holy See, right? It's not a secret among the high-ranking officials of our Holy See anyway, what's the harm in telling you?"

  Du Fan smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Lord Joshua."

  Joshua tilted his head, considering for a moment how to explain things briefly. After a pause, he said: "Du Fan, you should know that our Sacred Tribunal was established at the beginning of the founding of the Gavin Empire, right?"

  Du Fan said, "This I do know. Our Sacred See has always claimed not to intervene in any political struggles, except for fighting against heretics. We will not take the initiative to intervene in any disputes. So although the predecessor of the Gavin Empire, the Violet Flower Dynasty, also revered the Sacred See as the state religion, during the war between the Gavin Empire and the Violet Flower Dynasty, the Sacred See did not intervene. If we must trace back history, it seems that our Sacred See has always had a good relationship with the rulers of each generation."

  "It's indeed the case," Joshua sighed, "the changes of times and nations are unavoidable, but our beliefs can't change in the slightest. So every time there is a dispute within the Holy See on the Roland continent, we always stand on the side of the victor, isn't that right?"

  Du Fan rubbed his nose and said: "For the victor, this is indeed true, but for the defeated, perhaps the Sacred Court has betrayed them?"

  "Perhaps," Joshua gazed deeply at Du Fan, "there are also people within the Holy See who think this behavior is wrong, which is why Roland Academy appeared."

  "What did you say?"

  "The precursor to Roland Academy was actually the Divine Temple's Seminary, which was only used to train Holy Light Mages and Temple Knights. However, during the war between the Violet Flower Dynasty and the Gavin Empire hundreds of years ago, the Dean of the Seminary at that time believed that the Violet Flower Dynasty was more qualified to rule the country than the Gavin Empire, so a conflict with the Pope at that time was inevitable. In the end, both sides broke off due to this. The Dean of the Seminary at that time brought a group of people who opposed the Pope's policies and left the Divine Temple, and established Roland Academy on the continent of Roland. Over time, Roland Academy gradually became what it is today." Joshua said.

  Du Fan smiled and said, "In that case, shouldn't Roland Academy be considered a 'traitor' to our Holy See? If so, why haven't the popes of each generation attacked Roland Academy?"

  Joshua looked at Dufan deeply and said, "How do you know that the popes of all generations have not done such things? However, like the popes of all generations, the principals of Roland Academy are all top figures on the continent of Roland at that time. When they face their opponents, will they use ordinary means to deal with them? In my personal estimation, if it weren't for knowing that they couldn't do anything about each other, the relationship between the two sides wouldn't have been so tense all the time."

  "Is the relationship between them very tense?" Du Fan smiled faintly, "I think their relationship is actually pretty good."

  Joshua smiled wryly and said, "Du Fan, you should know that every generation of popes has wanted to bring the Roland Academy back under the Holy See, so after generations of effort, the relationship between the two sides is now harmonious. That's why... today..."

  Du Fan hummed and also knew in his heart what Joshua's words represented.

  From the perspective of the Sacred Court's interests, the relationship with Roland Academy is many times more important than one's own. Moreover, the fact that the Sacred Court sent Joshua to explain things to oneself also has a certain comforting quality to it; if oneself were too ignorant of the heights and depths at this moment, then perhaps in the future, oneself would not be able to mix in with the Sacred Court.

  The relationship inside is incredibly complicated, involving all aspects of things. If the Holy See always wants to show favor to Roland Academy, then it will definitely not help Du Fan get out of this trouble. This time, Du Fan had no choice but to admit defeat in the exam.

  But Du Fan has always been a person who must retaliate and never suffers losses, so he already had a plan to make Roland Academy suffer a great loss in his heart, so he didn't want to get entangled in this matter either.

  "Joshua, sir, when it comes to social status, I'm just a small fry who can't even compare to you. You've come all the way here to explain things to me, so I naturally understand. To put it simply, we two have a shallow relationship but deep words. The things you said earlier, I took them to heart and will absolutely not leak them out. As for the matter with Roland Academy, don't worry too much about it either. I think they've already saved face by putting me in this situation. If I swallow my pride, then that's how things will pass."

  Joshua smiled faintly and said, "If Du Fan thought so, that would be great. By the way, I saw Du Fan's popularity on the square today, it seems that the position of White Robe is not suitable for you anymore. I'll go talk to Lord Anthony about it, you should also get a promotion soon. Anyway, the Imperial City has been spreading rumors that you will become the youngest Red Robe in the Sacred Court, why don't we make this rumor come true?"

  What this means is that you're a clever kid, knowing not to dwell on today's matters, but we won't let you lose out either. If we let you advance to the next level, it should make up for your losses, right?

  Originally, this was something Du Fan would have wanted no matter what, but this time his purpose wasn't that. Instead, he smiled faintly and said: "Lord Joshua, I think we're not in a hurry to discuss this now. To be honest, I have some matters that need to be discussed with Lord Anthony. Would you mind passing on the message? I'll go visit him personally tomorrow morning."

  Joshua furrowed his brow slightly, staring at Du Fan for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll help you inform Lord Anthony, but whether he has time to see you, I'm not sure."

  "It's bound to be," Du Fan chuckled, "As long as you tell Lord Anthony that the matter I want to discuss with him is related to the 'Temple of God', then...I think he will definitely see me."

  Joshua's body shook violently, he stared at Dufan in surprise, sizing him up and down for a few moments before saying: "In that case, I think Lord Anthony will indeed see you. Alright then, let's meet again tomorrow."

  Du Fan said lightly: "Then please, I won't see you off."

  Joshua nodded and stood up, walked out a few steps before suddenly turning back to say: "Also, I forgot to tell you, Lord Anthony said that if Elvis falls into your hands, it's best to spare his life."

  Du Fan smiled and said, "Lord Anthony is joking. A person like me, how can I be an opponent of that Elvis? I think you should go and greet Bruce instead. If I fall into Elvis' hands, please ask him to spare my life."

  Joshua's eyes flickered, and after a low sigh, he said: "In that case, it would be best. I'll wait for your arrival at the church."

  Du Fan smiled faintly and said: "What's the big deal, it's just that there are some things I think shouldn't be reported to Mr. Anthony, so Joshua, don't think too much about it."

  Joshua nodded slightly, said nothing more, and instead put the hood back on, covering his golden hair, then walked slowly out of the hall with his hands clasped together.

  Staring at his background, Du Fan suddenly sighed and said: "Not simple, not simple."

  Chen Chen's head poked out from Du Fan's collar and said, "Du Fan, what's going on?"

  Du Fan said, "What I'm saying is that Anthony, that old codger, is absolutely not simple. He's like he's seen through my actions from the very beginning. Fortunately, he can only guess that Elvis isn't my opponent, but he can't guess that we've already taken care of Elvis. It seems that in the future when dealing with this old guy, I'll have to be even more careful."

  Chen Chen raised her head anxiously: "But we've already killed Elvis, so isn't there a problem with that?"

  "There won't be any problem, if we tell that secret to that old fox tomorrow, even if he doesn't want to offend Roland Academy, he will definitely have us killed. What we need to guard against is that Anthony, that old guy, wants to take care of us as well. But humph, Anthony, Anthony, I hope you don't get too impatient. Didn't I, Du Fan, prove it to you today? I am absolutely not a soft persimmon that can be easily pinched."