Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Father Solje had been waiting in the hall for a long time.

Standing still, the Pope's figure arrived in the hall surrounded by the crowd.

Seeing the Pope's figure appear, Father Solje's originally calm mood suddenly became a little nervous.

The Pope took two steps, and a servant ran ahead to Father Solje and stood still to introduce him.

"You are the Archbishop from Fica?" the Pope said, somewhat lost in thought.

The guy in front of him was dirty, as if he hadn't taken a bath in ten days, and hadn't changed his clothes, looking every bit like a beggar.

No one had ever appeared before him in this image.

"Are you here to take a bath or to receive a second baptism?"

Faced with this absurd scene, the Pope felt a sense of amusement.

Father Solje bowed slightly: "Solje greets Your Holiness." He paused and continued, "I am not here to be baptized, but to ask Your Holiness a few questions that have puzzled me for a long time."

The Pope's face darkened, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart: "What do you want to ask?"

Father Solje looked up and stared directly at the Pope, his eyes firm: "There are a large number of poor people in the Holy City, why are they separated by walls, and why are they not allowed to enter during the day? The inner city of the Holy City is built with unparalleled luxury, why do you still forcibly take donations from the poor?"

"Since I entered the Holy City, I have been extorted twice by the guards outside the city and under the Temple Mount. I wonder if Your Holiness is aware of this situation?"

As soon as these words came out, the surroundings fell silent, and gazes were cast over.

The High Judge was even more astonished, looking at Father Solje in disbelief.

This is... courting death, running over to ask the Pope such questions?

The Pope's eyes gradually widened, and the air began to tense: "Did you come here specifically to question me?"

Father Solje clenched his fists: "Yes! I came here specifically to question you! Why do cardinals openly drink alcohol within the Temple! The priests in the Holy City should be the cornerstone of the Taifu Church, but everyone I see is digging at the foundation of the church!"

"I lived in the slums for a while. Those poor people are clearly being oppressed by the church, but they always believe that it's just a small group of bad people. But what I heard from them was that the Vatican has no sense of propriety, justice, or shame, and that prostitutes and catamites are in power! When the people have something to ask of the Vatican, they must bribe and pull strings. Those clergy are not only greedy and lustful, but also a bunch of useless drunkards who never let go of their wine bottles!"

"I don't believe that Your Holiness can't see all of this. Why is the church so corrupt and yet still growing stronger? Could it be that the Holy Father and the Holy Spirit I believe in are supporting it as pillars and cornerstones? What makes such a church worthy of being called righteous and holy! ?"

"Please give me an answer, Your Holiness!" Father Solje almost shouted the last sentence.

Memories flashed through his mind.

Beneath his seemingly calm mood, there was actually a turbulent storm.

And after more than ten days of experience, the anger in his heart finally erupted at this moment.

Archbishop? It doesn't matter anymore... He didn't come for this.

With a clang.

Not far away, a cardinal holding a wine bottle was already呆滞, and the wine bottle in his hand quietly slipped.

Facing Father Solje's burning gaze, the Pope couldn't help but roar in anger: "You're crazy, daring to say such things in front of me!"

"Guards! This man is bewitched by heresy and has apostatized! Throw him into prison and burn him at the stake in the square at noon tomorrow!"

Two Temple Knights immediately stepped forward and押走 Father Solje.

The Pope's anger had not subsided, and he looked at the High Judge and said: "Go and interrogate him yourself to see what's wrong with his brain, or who has bewitched him!"

The High Judge nodded.

.....

Inside the stone prison, Solje leaned against the wall expressionlessly.

After venting his emotions, he only felt emptiness in his heart.

In an instant, he had fallen from heaven to hell.

But this was all within his imagination, and he was not disappointed.

The priest looked up at the skylight, wondering what he was thinking.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the corridor.

The High Judge opened the prison door, drove away the others, and stood in front of Father Solje.

Seeing that the priest had no reaction, the High Judge examined him for a while and said, "Your name is Solje, right? Although I don't know who bewitched you, I admire your courage. I have lived in the Holy City for most of my life, and this is the first time I have seen someone dare to be so arrogant in front of the Pope."

"Just tell me about your situation. Anyway, you are going to die. Save me some time. I don't want to use torture."

Father Solje raised his head and slowly said: "Was there a single lie in what I asked the Pope before?"

The High Judge shook his head: "So you came to be a martyr?"

Father Solje smiled bitterly: "Martyr... perhaps. I have seen many things during my time in the Holy City. This world is full of lies, disasters, and oppression. I have discovered that the only one who can save the world is oneself."

"I think my Holy Father is dead. He died a martyr... My diligent evangelism is only helping to fuel the church's evil. No one can help me wash away the blood on my body."

"......"

"Presumptuous!" The High Judge scolded: "There are not a few people like you who come to the Holy City, although you are the only one who has gone this far. But in fact, people like you seem pious and pure, but you don't understand the world, the operation of the church, or the good intentions of the church. The world no longer needs people like you."

"You don't understand. Weak humans are simply unable to accept the right to freely choose that God has given them. They only need to learn to blindly obey."

"You hope that the world will live piously and truthfully, which is too difficult for mortals. Out of compassion, the church no longer requires believers to become perfect people, but allows them to seek liberation in later generations after simple acts of kindness. The church has spent hundreds of years working towards this goal!"

"Now you want to turn it back to its original state. What the church least wants to see is the person who demands that humans take responsibility return to the world! Your behavior is to drag people back into pain and chaos!"

Father Solje listened quietly, silently chanting something.

"2, 3, 5, 7, 11..."

The High Judge looked puzzled: "What are you saying?"

Father Solje stopped counting and said softly: "I went to the East to preach. There I met a magical Easterner who taught me a lot of knowledge. At the time, I stubbornly believed that he was a heretic, but later he made me realize what is real."

"He said that counting when I'm anxious can help me calm down. I wasn't anxious just now, I was just surprised. The church has done so many selfish and self-serving things, why do you still dare to speak these principles with such confidence? I think I underestimated the extent of your shamelessness."

The High Judge's heart revealed hidden anger: "You think what I said is wrong?"

"Of course it's wrong." Father Solje's eyes were as calm as water, "Because I have seen that country where people can be responsible for themselves."

......