The Charlatan in the Cabinet

Norlent Castle, Rose Courtyard.

The earth-shattering air cannon on the training grounds yesterday had blasted away the annoying Young Master Ice Wolf, but it had also sent a ripple through the otherwise tranquil skies of the Northern Territory.

Coupled with the fact that this small courtyard had been far too lively over the past few days: the shadow coercion Felsy occasionally leaked, the holy light blessing Lokina sneakily cast to snatch food, the elemental rampages when Aria practiced her wind blades, and Lynch's pot of ghost pepper hotpot base that was pungent enough to choke half the town to death...

These chaotic energies, all mixed together, had finally attracted the attention of certain individuals with a keen sense of smell.

Inside the study.

Lynch was stretching as he faced the setting sun outside the window, toying with a surveillance crystal he had just finished carving with runes.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door was rapped, and the old butler Sebas pushed it open and entered. Unlike his usual composure, the old agent who had been undercover for years now had a slight frown on his face, and he spoke half a beat faster than normal:

"Mr. Lynch, we have a problem."

"Bishop Simon of the Broken Gold Town parish has just arrived at the castle gates with two Heresy Inquisitors. They claim to have sensed intense heretical energy fluctuations coming from the direction of Norlent Castle and are demanding an immediate routine inspection."

"The Church?"

Lynch's fingers paused for a moment. "They got here pretty fast."

In this world, although the Church did not directly interfere with a lord's internal affairs, they possessed absolute law enforcement authority when it came to matters involving heretics and demons. Even Count Gael wouldn't dare to openly block a bishop at his gates.

"Sir, do you need this old servant to do anything?"

Sebas lowered his eyes, his tone calm, but Lynch distinctly felt a wave of cold intent.

Lynch quickly waved his hand: "Don't! Whatever you do, don't be rash! We are a proper household, don't make us look like some evil syndicate. Go, brew some good tea. I'll head down and take a look."

...

On the first floor, in the living room.

As soon as Lynch walked down the stairs, he saw a scene that left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Our theology teacher, Lokina, who usually did nothing but eat and sleep, occasionally spouting a couple of profound-sounding charlatan quotes, was now pacing around the living room like an ant on a hot pan.

She was still clutching a half-eaten butter cookie in her hand, her face deathly pale, and her beautiful golden eyes were filled with terror.

"A bishop... Inquisitors... I'm doomed, I'm doomed!"

Lokina muttered incessantly, her voice trembling. "They must be here to catch me! Those stuffy old geezers have the sharpest noses! If I get dragged back... my braised pork! My sleep-ins! My freedom! All gone!"

The mere thought of being dragged back to that freezing church, forced back into a corset, staring blankly at statues all day, and eating vegetarian meals so bland that even birds wouldn't touch them...

Lokina felt that was a punishment worse than death!

"Teacher Lokina?" Lynch called out. "Why are you spinning in circles?"

"Lynch!"

Lokina looked as if she had seen her savior, but then immediately shook her head. "No, you won't be able to stop them! I've heard of that Bishop Simon, he's notoriously stubborn! If he sees me..."

Although her current disguise could fool ordinary people, in such close proximity, it would be difficult to completely conceal her holy aura of the same origin. Especially since she was an undocumented immigrant from Lynch's perspective.

"I need to hide! I have to hide!"

Lokina looked around, her gaze finally locking onto the massive oak wardrobe in the corner used for storing spare bedding.

Whoosh!

A golden blur flashed by.

This theology teacher, who usually panted after running just two steps, now erupted with agility rivaling that of an assassin and dived headfirst into the wardrobe.

Bang!

The wardrobe doors shut tight.

Lynch stood at the bottom of the stairs, the corner of his mouth twitching wildly.

"...Is that really necessary?"

Lynch shook his head helplessly. In his eyes, Lokina's reaction was the typical guilty conscience of an unlicensed cleric or a street charlatan running into the regular army.

"Whatever, let her hide. It'll save us from blowing her cover."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room.

Felsy was sitting on a single sofa, holding a copy of the General History of the Northern Territory. She appeared to be reading, but the pages hadn't been turned for quite a while.

Upon hearing the word bishop, an extremely dangerous, cold gleam flashed through her purple eyes.

"Lapdogs of the Church?"

Felsy closed the book, her fingertips gently tapping the armrest, emitting a rhythmic tapping sound.

The surrounding temperature seemed to instantly drop by several degrees.

She silently thought to herself:

"Where there is the smell of meat, there are flies. To think they dare disturb my peaceful life... If that bishop dares to cause trouble for Lynch, or shows disrespect to me..."

An extremely faint but highly pure strand of destructive magic quietly coalesced at her fingertips.

"Then don't blame me for going on a killing spree. As long as I move fast enough and directly annihilate their souls, there won't be any evidence left behind."

...

Five minutes later.

The main doors of the living room were pushed open.

Led by Sebas, a middle-aged man wearing a crimson bishop's robe and holding a silver scepter strode inside. He had a gaunt face with deep nasolabial folds; at a glance, he was clearly the stern, rigid, and unsmiling type.

Behind him, two Inquisitors clad in silver armor rested their hands on their sword hilts, their vigilant gazes sweeping across the surroundings.

"I am Simon, the Bishop of the Broken Gold Town parish."

The middle-aged man got straight to the point, his voice resonant and carrying an interrogative authority. "Yesterday, someone reported an intense and chaotic energy eruption coming from the direction of Norlent Castle. To prevent the breeding of heretics and to protect the safety of the territory, I have been ordered to conduct a routine inspection."

His nose twitched constantly, as if trying to catch some scent in the air that disgusted him.

"Are you the new private tutor? Lynch?"

Bishop Simon's gaze locked onto Lynch like a falcon.

"That would be me."

Lynch adjusted his collar, sporting a standard smile full of innocence and trepidation. "Lord Bishop, you must be mistaken. This is a proper Count's estate, how could there be any heretics here? We are all exemplary, law-abiding citizens."

"Mistaken?"

Bishop Simon scoffed coldly. "The energy fluctuations I sensed were absolutely unmistakable! That kind of fluctuation, a mixture of volatile elements, holy aura, and even a trace of... a dark scent, can never be explained by ordinary magic!"

"Speak! What kind of evil ritual are you conducting here?!"

Following the bishop's barked question, the two Inquisitors behind him took a step forward, their auras erupting.

The atmosphere instantly became tense and volatile.

Lynch, however, did not panic in the slightest.

"Oh my, Lord Bishop, you are wrongly accusing a good person."

Lynch spread his hands with a look of helplessness, beginning his performance. "To tell you the truth, those fluctuations you sensed... were actually all because of me."

"Because of you?"

"That's right. As you know, Lady Aria is a genius of this generation. In order to teach her, I have recently been experimenting with a brand-new, cutting-edge teaching method—Chaotic Alchemical Assisted Spellcasting."

Lynch spouted nonsense with a straight face. "This method, you see, requires mixing various elemental materials to create a violent reaction that stimulates magic growth. That commotion yesterday was actually because I didn't control the dosage well, and the alchemy furnace... exploded."

"The alchemy furnace exploded?"

Bishop Simon frowned, clearly half-skeptical of this explanation.

"Then how do you explain the dark aura?"

"Oh, that was to neutralize the medicinal properties. I added a little bit of Night Bat guano." Lynch didn't even blink.

"And the holy aura?"

"That was... uh, to pray for the success of the experiment, I lit a Holy Light candle nearby."

This excuse was so terrible that even Lynch himself didn't believe it.

Bishop Simon obviously didn't believe it either. His gaze bypassed Lynch and fell upon Felsy, who was sitting on the sofa, looking down and fiddling with a teacup.

The woman was too beautiful.

Even just sitting there quietly, her aloof and noble temperament was completely out of place with this mundane alchemy excuse.

"And this is?" Bishop Simon narrowed his eyes.

"This is my wife, Felsy."

Lynch quickly winked at her. "Honey, hurry up and serve tea to the Lord Bishop."

Felsy took a deep breath.

"Hold it in... Felsy, you must hold it in." "For the sake of massages, for a peaceful life, isn't it just pouring tea for an ant?"

She stood up and walked over holding a tea tray.

"Lord Bishop, please have some tea."

She softened her voice as much as possible, trying hard to play the role of a "shy little wife."

However.

Just as Bishop Simon reached out to take the teacup, his hand, which wore a holy ring, suddenly trembled.

Because the distance was too close.

As a veteran bishop who had dealt with dark creatures for years, in that instant, he felt a chilling aura from the beautiful woman in front of him... a chill that made his very soul tremble.

That wasn't ordinary killing intent.

It was a kind of extreme indifference from a being of an incredibly high order, one who viewed all living things as nothing but weeds.

"Hmm?!"

Bishop Simon's pupils shrank violently. Almost instinctively, the Holy Light power within his body surged.

"What... is that on you?!"

The bishop shouted sternly. The top of the scepter in his hand instantly lit up with a blinding white light, pointing straight at Felsy's forehead. "Heretic?! Reveal your true form!"

"Crack."

The teacup in Felsy's hand developed a crack from her grip.

"I gave you face, but you don't want it, huh?"

The anger she had been suppressing completely erupted at this moment.

"I pour tea for you, and you actually dare to point a stick at me?!"

She slightly raised her eyelids, and her purple eyes finally stopped hiding that monstrous demonic might.

It would only take an instant.

She only needed to move a finger to turn this reckless bishop into a pile of ashes.

"You're courting death..."

Felsy's lips moved slightly, and the spell of destruction was about to leave her mouth.

Right at this critical moment.

The oak wardrobe hiding in the corner, which had not dared to make a sound, suddenly trembled violently.

Lokina, who was hiding inside, saw this scene through the crack in the door and was scared out of her wits.

"That crazy woman! She's really going to do it!" "If she kills the bishop, she will definitely level this place to the ground! Then what about me? I've only just had two full meals!" "And if the Church finds out I'm here too... then I'm an accomplice! A fallen Holy Child!"

"No! I absolutely cannot let her make a move!"

Lokina clasped her hands together in the dark wardrobe, tearing up as she burst with an intense desire to survive.

"Goddess of the Radiant Moon! I'm sorry! Let me borrow your power for a bit! Not to exorcise demons, but to... to smooth things over!"

"Holy Light: Grand Neutralization Spell—Suppress it for me!!!"

Buzz—!!!

A holy aura, purer and ten times more massive than the light on Bishop Simon's scepter, surged out from the cracks of that dilapidated wardrobe without any warning!

This Holy Light came too fast, too fierce, and too suddenly.

It was like a gentle torrent that instantly swept through the entire living room.

It didn't attack anyone.

Instead, it accurately wrapped around the dark magic that had just erupted from Felsy's body, clinging to it like glue.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The air emitted a sound like cold water being splashed into a pot of hot oil.

On the left was Felsy's purplish-black destructive magic, and on the right was Lokina's golden Holy Light.

These two completely opposing forces, which should have fought to the death, were now entangling, colliding, and swirling in the center of the living room. Finally...

Finally, because their power levels were so close, they achieved a bizarre dynamic equilibrium!

The entire living room was instantly filled with colorful light spots. The air twisted, and turbulent magical currents darted everywhere. It was cold one moment and hot the next, making people want to cry one second and laugh the next.

"What... what is this?!"

Bishop Simon was completely dumbfounded.

Holding his scepter, he looked at the energy currents darting all over the room, his worldview taking a massive hit.

If it were a demon, the Holy Light should have burned it. If it were a miracle, the shadows should have dissipated.

But now... these two forces were actually "fighting"? And they were fighting to a standstill, even giving off an inexplicable sense of harmony?

"Lynch! What in the world is going on?!"

Bishop Simon roared. "Is this also your alchemy experiment?!"

Lynch was also shocked by the scene. He glanced at the still-glowing wardrobe and instantly understood that Lokina had made a move.

Good heavens, she wasn't just a theology teacher; she was an absolute god-tier support!

"Ah! Right, right, right!"

Lynch reacted extremely fast, immediately putting on a terrified expression of "Oh no, it's out of control," and pulled Bishop Simon back. "Careful, Lord Bishop! This is the side effect of the 'Chaos Alchemy' I mentioned!"

"The ley line here... exploded!"

"Ley line?" Bishop Simon was taken aback.

"Exactly!"

Lynch started spouting nonsense again. "Look at this chaotic energy! This is clearly a disruption in the underground magic nodes! My experiment yesterday accidentally opened up the underground magic corridors, causing the light and dark elements to converge and clash here!"

"This isn't heresy! This is a geological disaster, my lord!"

To cooperate with Lynch, Felsy also quickly concealed her aura, pretending to be terrified as she hid behind Lynch (although her hand was still secretly pinching his waist).

Bishop Simon looked at the phenomenon before him, which completely defied common sense (and theology).

As a well-traveled veteran who had also been an adventurer in his youth, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

He had once read in an ancient tome that certain special geographical environments could indeed produce a natural phenomenon known as "Elemental Tides."

The characteristics of that phenomenon were chaotic energy, interwoven light and dark, and the inability to be locked onto by detection magic.

Could it be...

That beneath Norent Castle, there was a mutated ley line?

"So that's how it is..."

Bishop Simon put away his scepter, the vigilance on his face gradually shifting into a look of sudden realization—or at least, his own self-righteous version of it. "I knew it! If it were a heretic, my divine spells would have detected them ages ago. This chaotic, disorderly energy field definitely seems more like a ley line issue."

He sighed, adopting the tone of an elder lecturing a junior.

"Lynch, my boy. It is good that you young people have a spirit of inquiry, but you must prioritize your safety."

"Are ley lines something you can just tamper with? You are lucky it was only an energy turbulence today. If you had triggered a tectonic shift, this entire castle would have collapsed!"

"Yes, yes, yes! You are absolutely right, Bishop!"

Lynch hastily nodded and bowed with exaggerated deference. "I will definitely be more careful from now on! I absolutely will not mess around like this again!"

"Alright then."

Bishop Simon glanced around the room at the sizzling, crackling visual effects of light and shadow. He decided this was not a place to linger—what if it actually exploded? "Since we have confirmed this is a ley line disruption, it is no longer our jurisdiction. That is a job for the Mage Association."

"Remember to find someone to repair the node as soon as possible. We are leaving!"

With those parting words, the grand bishop took his two equally bewildered inquisitors and strode briskly out of the danger zone.