Chapter 331: The Holy Relic

"They've gone far. Are you really preparing a late-night snack?"

"Of course. I have to thank the generous Baron Lei Mengde for providing fresh ingredients not cooked by local exotic methods." Kraft brushed the dust off his cloak, once again grateful for his habit of carrying gloves.

Some say dust is the accumulated snow of time; then this place, Wendeng Port, belongs to the realm of time. Move a bit further, and it would fall off the edge of the civilized world, buried by snow.

In just one generation's absence, the sturdy nests humans had painstakingly built became ghostly realms that made them tremble with fear.

"Hurry and check if there's anything special. Let's finish early; I'm feeling a bit hungry too."

This place is only the size of a standard bedroom. The small miscellaneous items were long since emptied out. If we finish checking quickly, we might still catch the hot soup.

"What do you think we're looking for?" Brother Lei Mengde glanced at the corridor, now silent once more.

"I'm not sure. If it has already left or simply dissipated, that would be best. But if not, you might feel a sudden realization upon seeing it, like suddenly solving a difficult problem or reading a text you didn't recognize."

"I guess you mean words like 'illumination,' 'revelation,' or 'enlightenment.' The holy scriptures have ready-made terms for those."

"Thanks for the reminder. There is actually a difference. Unlike something you figure out yourself, afterward you cannot accurately convey that feeling to others." Kraft put down the ledger and pulled the relic cabinet drawer open with both hands; the mechanism seemed rusted somewhere.

"But there is another possibility: you feel nothing at all until much later, when you connect it to a new clue."

"Then do I really have any purpose here?"

"Of course, you can help me keep the accounts." Kraft shook the drawer up and down vigorously until he finally pulled it out. As expected, there was nothing inside. "Oh, well, don't look at me like that. I was joking."

"Actually, I need you to identify specific symbols. I don't recognize these flashy decorations. What if there's something inside that requires a theology degree to understand?"

"There are many people here with a theological background, but currently, only one is suitable to know the inside story. There is no second option."

"The young people don't yet know what they will face. Is this appropriate?" After speaking, Lei Mengde realized he had smoothly excluded the other person from the category of "young people," placing him in Green's generation.

"In fact, we are also unsure what we will encounter, and we will remain in this state of ignorance for a long time. Explaining storms to an inlander seeing the sea for the first time is too difficult. We must wait for the thunder to roar and point to the approaching wall of clouds to tell them: that is what they will face."

"What if someone is scared out of their wits?"

"Then at least there is still time to send them back to shore." Kraft examined every side of the drawer in his hands, then tossed it to the brother, who was stroking his short beard thoughtfully.

"Help me finish checking these first. Have some confidence in the young fellows. If it really doesn't work out, they can go to the farm down the mountain to collect rent for the Knightly Order. At least they know how to count."

"You absolutely must not say anything beforehand, or you'll be waiting to harvest twelve farm owners."

"Why? Don't they want to become true Church Knights?"

"What is the ultimate goal of a Knight?"

"A fiefdom."

"What is a fiefdom used for?"

"Collecting rent..." Oh no, now they had skipped the process and gone straight to the goal, saving half a lifetime of detours.

They absolutely could not place the most comfortable option directly in plain sight. Both silently agreed on this point and continued their work of inventorying the Knightly Order's property.

As the inventory proceeded, Kraft initially abandoned the plan to sell the precious metal parts directly. Partly because the Knightly Order's financial situation was currently good, but more importantly, these items had considerable artistic value. The more complete ones were worth more, though selling them was difficult.

He rummaged through every place that could be opened, feeling the backs of drawers, tapping structures that might be hollow, searching for hidden objects.

The design of these things was quite ingenious. Several drawers of the relic cabinet could be removed and assembled in preset slots on top to form a small display stand for close-up viewing and worship.

The walnut cabinet body had a deep, warm color, with edges wrapped in precious metal foil and outlining raised cloud patterns inlaid with polished mother-of-pearl, making the tabletop seem as if it were suspended in the high sky amidst churning clouds.

The decoration on the rest was relatively simple. Graceful, light serifs flowing like rain lines or silk merged downwards with the legs, forming a claw-ball style between a bird's talons and a primate's hand, gripping the spherical bottom of the leg.

The relics inside were, of course, no longer there, but judging by the drawer's volume, the objects should not exceed the size of a fist, with at least three or four pieces.

Lei Mengde seemed to have some questions about this object. "They actually have a relic cabinet."

"Is there anything strange about that? I thought every monastery or church had one. Even the church in Wendeng Port had one. I went to see it when I was a child. They said it belonged to Saint Simon." At that time, the distance was too great, and there was no guide, so I only saw a far-off, ornately decorated cabinet and couldn't make out what was inside.

A certain professor had unconsciously revealed his frequency of visiting churches.

"At least it's not that common." Lei Mengde examined the object from near and far, trying to reconstruct the items once stored within.

"Generally, only places of some scale and history possess relics, and there are standards. The most glorious are, of course, relics that had direct contact with the Heavenly Father. The Cathedral of the Holy Mother houses the cup used when the Heavenly Father incarnated and descended to the mortal world, occasionally brought out during festivals."

"I heard the Holy City still preserves the Crown of Thorns, but I estimate I will never have the chance to set foot in the continental nations and thus never have the opportunity to see it with my own eyes."

"Getting too far away. Most collections are actually the remains of famous figures or certain 'miraculous' items, but these generally require an association with a religious order."

"They must be important relics of the order's founder or even a patron saint who was canonized. At the very least, they must align with the order's function and mission, such as education, missionary work, or relieving poverty. For example, our Knightly Order is suitable for collecting relics related to healing deeds. You might consider relevant matters."

While explaining, Lei Mengde did not forget to discipline the new Grand Master, who lacked any sense of urgency. It was time to acquire some things with little practical use to decorate the facade.

"Or sometimes items linked to the order's history or major achievements are also preserved as relics. But these items generally share one common trait: fame."

The brother leaned close to the assembled display stand, hoping to find traces of placement like pedestals or shadows. "Not just famous, but extremely famous. The churches and monasteries holding them would actively promote them to bring more people on pilgrimage."

"Moreover, these relics all require specialized verification and review before receiving certification and the issuance of a certificate with an official seal. That is to say, they will be notarized and archived in Dunling."

As important items for the Church's operations, the certification standards are far stricter than outsiders imagine. It must be reported by the regional bishop, reviewed by the Canonization Department, consulted with historians and theologians, publicly reviewed by cardinals, and finally confirmed for legal compliance. Every step has documentary records and handlers.

"But you haven't seen one?" Kraft guessed the problem.

"No."

"Could it be that the bishops have wholesale-issued too many relics in recent years, leaving you with no impression?"

"This monastery was the original diocesan center. Before being abandoned, it was used for only a dozen years. Where would the surrounding area have a long-standing order that produced famous figures?" Logically, this clearly made no sense.

"There is another question: where did they take the relics? Relocation requires reporting and approval, and informing the worshipping believers. Even in emergencies, an explanation must be given afterward. These are not private items..."

"Unless they never submitted them to Dunling for certification from the start, so no archives exist, meaning there is no relocation application or destination." Kraft actively supplied the second half of the sentence.

"In other words, there is now an item, highly likely closely related to the local order and extremely important, that was illegally transferred to an unknown location?"

Lei Mengde nodded heavily.

"Is there any way to find out?" This seemed to be a more definite breakthrough.

"They cannot erase the entire diocese's past records. If you sift through carefully, you will surely find some traces somewhere. If we are lucky, perhaps it is among that pile of books that haven't completely rotted."