Wei Yenwu had not expected the Laterano authorities to be so easygoing this time. They had actually brushed off the incident of Jeanne being pursued and endangered with surprising ease. He had spent a considerable amount of time worrying that Laterano might hold him, the Chief Executive, accountable for poor management and for allowing such a high-ranking figure to fall into peril.
Looking at it now, the Laterano crowd was actually quite reasonable. They hadn't even breathed a word about the blatant internal issues within Lungmen that the incident exposed. The Lateran messenger hadn't brought the matter up again before departing, and the meeting had been so successful it was almost hard to believe.
Wei Yenwu stared into the empty room, contemplating for a moment before deciding not to dwell on it. Rather than overthinking, he needed to focus on how to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
On the other side, Fiametta, having returned to her base, placed a call to the "old man" she secretly longed to crush. Having to act the part of a respectful subordinate to this elder was perhaps the greatest agony in the world!
"Your Holiness, the meeting with the ruler of Lungmen has concluded. It seems the other party takes this incident very seriously; we had a relatively friendly discussion."
"Friendly" was an understatement—the scene had been positively harmonious. If she and Wei Yenwu had been any closer, they might have become sworn siblings on the spot. While that was perhaps an unfitting way to describe the Chief Executive, it accurately captured the atmosphere. She had never seen an accident post-mortem handled with such tranquility.
"That is sufficient. After all, how this matter is handled must defer to the Saintess's wishes. It would be inappropriate for us to intervene rashly..."
The old man listened to the report. He was somewhat displeased that the Saintess had been attacked, but considering the relationship between Jeanne and Talulah, he decided not to press the matter for now. Since the Saintess seemed disinclined to pursue it, his best course of action was to state his position and assist her from the sidelines.
"I just heard that the Sankta within Lungmen experienced a moment of trance, and their halos suddenly brightened. I wonder what the situation is like in Laterano?"
Fiammetta suddenly recalled the news from Wei Yenwu. All Sankta had fallen into a peculiar state—a scene strikingly similar to a previous incident. According to what she had heard, that event, known as the "Apocalypse," was a unique phenomenon affecting the race, triggered by this Saintess named Jeanne.
Unfortunately, she didn't know exactly what was happening to those Sankta. The one she usually met with was a Fallen Sankta who didn't seem to perceive these changes.
"Hmm... I didn't expect such a thing occurred there as well. To be honest, I would very much like to see the visions others are seeing, but unfortunately, there were no such reports here in Laterano."
Upon hearing Fiammetta's report, the Pope realized that the Sankta in Lungmen had experienced another "Apocalypse"—or rather, a miracle similar to it. However, it seemed Jeanne's power this time didn't have the same range as before. At the very least, he, currently acting as Pope in Chernobog, felt nothing.
Similarly, he hadn't heard anything from the people back in Laterano. It seemed that even though he had "resigned," his life was like a vacation, and his actual authority remained intact.
"You can go online and check the latest Lungmen news. The Lungmen internet is abuzz with discussions about what happened."
As she spoke, Fiammetta looked at the trending news on her phone. It was filled with debates over these two incidents. Some even suspected it was a new symptom of Oripathy among Sankta. However, before Fiammetta could click on the user's profile, she saw the account had been permanently muted by administrators, who exposed the user as a paid shill.
It appeared someone wanted to exploit the Sankta's abnormal behavior to stir up trouble and confuse the residents of Lungmen. They likely hoped to incite ostracization or even violent looting against the Sankta.
As for the motive? Perhaps a hidden agenda, or more likely, simple jealousy and a dislike of the Sankta race. Life in Lungmen wasn't easy for everyone, and many had seen their lives shattered by misfortune.
Contrast that with the Sankta: though bound by Laterano Law, they enjoyed excellent civil rights and a safety net. To those whose lives were failing, a race that always had someone to "catch" them naturally provoked a fragile envy, leading them to slander those living better than themselves.
"Oh, I see... Connecting to the Lungmen network is a bit of a struggle from here. Do the news reports mention any accidents involving our brothers and sisters during their abnormal behavior?"
The Pope didn't care much for the media spin or public opinion. No city administrator would be foolish enough to framed the Sankta so baselessly. Well, perhaps some among the Sarkaz might be that bored, but they were currently too busy fighting among themselves to engage in a war of words with Laterano.
The Sarkaz nobles likely wouldn't cause trouble now; resources were tight during internal conflicts. If anyone dared to conspire with outside forces and reignite age-old feuds with their arch-rivals, they'd likely be slaughtered by both sides like a prize hog for New Year's. Whether it was Kazdel or Babel, no one turned down extra funding—at the very least, they could hire more mercenaries.
His real concern was whether those who suddenly stopped in their tracks had been hurt—for instance, being hit by a speeding vehicle. While experience suggested such accidents almost never happened—as if coincidences always steered danger away—it was better to ask.
"There are no reports of such things. There was even a Sankta who was about to be hit by a falling flowerpot, but it veered off course due to some kind of interference."
Fiammetta spoke of these strange events. You could call it abnormal, but the probability was just too low; normally, such things were impossible.
"There was only one car accident that might involve a Sankta, though the cause is still up for debate..."
Fiammetta's assessment was that the crash had nothing to do with the miracle! The vehicle involved was a "regular guest" on the traffic news.
At that moment, a heavily fined Exusiai was driving the accident-prone vehicle toward their residence with a dejected expression. Yes, the Sankta who hit the wall in the news was her!
"Exusiai, you really gave us a scare! If it weren't for the fact that all the Sankta were acting strange today, we would've thought you'd eaten something bad..."
In the back seat, Croissant watched the unrepentant Exusiai continue to drive. She had a mouth full of complaints she didn't know how to vent. She couldn't believe Exusiai had pulled this again!
Furthermore, she was driving without a license! That alone was enough for a massive fine. Add to that the cost of slamming into a wall and the repairs—this entire trip was likely a financial loss. If the Lungmen Guard Department hadn't been busy with a major case and lacked the time to deal with their "frequent flier," they would have spent quite a while in a holding cell.
"I don't know either! Honestly, in that moment, it felt like I wasn't even in the car! These last two times were just accidents. You know my driving skills!"