The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 694: Always trust a baby if they don’t like something

"Waah!"

Shwa moved his arms as flames spread in the air to show us miniature humans, like a theatre. Because it showed us Ignis’s point of view from someone’s shoulder, the stage was limited and oval-shaped--but it gave us an even more theatre vibe.

"You can’t touch that, Shwa," I held the baby’s excited hands. "Ignis doesn’t want you to touch the flame until you’re big enough."

"Aah?"

"I don’t know when--Ignis will be the one to decide, okay?"

"Aahwaah!"

"I know, baby, I know...just be patient, okay?"

I laughed and patted his chest gently before propping him securely against my chest. Jade came into the bedroom a moment later, holding a bowl bigger than his head.

"Papa, Jade bring the popcorn!"

"Alright, let’s watch!" I clapped with Shwa’s hands, and Jade plopped down beside me.

In front of us, Ignis had started the projection the moment the group alighted from the carriage. Unsurprisingly, they were not entering through the main gate, where the plaza was. I heard there was a huge statue of the Goddess there, and was rather curious about how it looked--but oh, well...we weren’t there for sightseeing after all.

[They said the main gate is too crowded] Ignis told me. [Oh, private carriage is not allowed inside the church]

Mm...they did all suspicious things, huh?

Anyway, they were in, and I had nothing to say other than it was a beautiful building complex that was probably built by devotees’ money. Lush garden, huge yard--it was perfect for battle. Couldn’t swing my spear if the paths were narrow, could I?

The next part was totally boring. They were brought to the annex to have afternoon tea with the bishop in charge of churchkeeping, as well as several apparently famous holy knights--you know, kind of like local celebrities.

Anyway, it was a round of pointless talking about nothing, which was why only Fatia and Zarfa talked a lot--and Jin, sometimes, if he was the one being asked. The rest of the kids were being actively ignored, since they weren’t from renowned families.

Eh--at least they still had seats. I was half-expecting that Aina, Ian, and Reena would have to stay in the corner or even stand. You know--Drama stuff.

Well, it was only a prelude anyway. Even from Ignis’s eyes, I could tell that the ’priests’ wanted it to end quickly. They kept exchanging glances and drank their tea in one gulp.

Pfft--I thought they were supposed to be good actors for lying to the masses all the time. But I guess...they had been too comfortable in their own turf. Eventually, they would think whatever they said would be believable to the general public.

Ah, so sad. It was like when someone fell in love and couldn’t see their lovers abusing them. Blind love, blind faith...I felt like those were worse than physical blindness.

But I also got so bored watching it that I turned to play with my children in the middle of the pointless afternoon tea streaming. However, hearing the high-society talks in my current getup made me feel not over-dressed.

Chii!

"Oh, Papa--they’re moving!"

"Finally?"

We returned to the couch after a round of a Monopoly-like board game, watching the people stand up.

[Once again, I’m sorry that not all of you can go] the Bishop said with a smile--you know, the kind that a store manager would give a customer? The one with only his lips and none reflected in the eyes.

It seemed like they asked the Hero to personally see the Pope, saying that the Pope’s health was not very good, and thus he couldn’t see too many people.

Wow...they really did what we thought they would do.

[We would gladly escort Mister Jin directly to the auction later, so--]

[Can we have a tour of the church while we’re waiting for Jin?] Zarfa cut off the bishop before he could chase the other away. [It’s my first time here, and oh--I always wanted to see the grandiose of the House of Light]

[Oh, that’s--]

[Indeed, my mother would be thrilled if I told her about it] Fatia let out an aristocratic smile. [She sounded so happy when I told her this morning that she said she’ll make a donation to our local church right away]

[Umm...]

[Oh, that’s a great idea! I’m sure the House of Light wouldn’t need it, but Midas would happily make a little donation to the Seed of Light]

Oh, was that the charity foundation that the church managed? It was kind of like a company CSR program with this church, but since it was managed by devotees instead of the priests--who only acted as a supervisor--the charity worked well.

I had no idea how much getting siphoned from the real donation, but at least some people did receive some benefits.

[This is not much, but please withdraw this from the bank] Zarfa handed over a piece of paper, which I presumed to be a cheque, and the priests were silent for a while.

How much did you spend, girl?

[She used your operating funds] Ignis told me secretly.

Pfft--no wonder she could give it away so cheerfully like it was nothing. The holy knights almost parted their lips in shock, and even the Bishop was stunned. I was sure they already received a bigger donation than what was written on the cheque, but those donations were made for something in return.

No one had probably donated this big on the spot just to have a casual tour of the church, right?

[Ah, I did not realize that your passion for the Goddess’s teaching is this great] The Bishop’s smile suddenly reached his eyes. [Of course, we will gladly give you a tour. Our holy knights will personally guide you around--won’t you?]

[Of course!]

Some of the holy knights, who looked almost as listless as zombies earlier, suddenly looked as if they were ready for a party.

[Oh, how wonderful! Even the stunning holy knights--how lucky!]

[Hahaha! What is this Miss talking about--shall we go now?]

As expected of a merchant; she could spout bullshit as long as it was beneficial. She even looked at the camera--I mean Ignis--and wiggled her brow.

[Then, see you later, Jin!]

They made a show of bidding farewell to the Hero, simply so Ignis could slip behind Jin’s cloak without getting too noticeable. The flame became blurry and swayed without a shape for a while, probably because Ignis had to crawl inside Jin’s cloak before popping out of his hood.

When the projection came again, all we could see was the Bishop and the priest’s back. Naturally, since they were walking to the Grand Church’s inner courtyard. Previously, the afternoon tea was held in the pavilion, between the outer building that was accessible to the public and the inner sanctum only for the priests.

The floorplan we obtained before was for this inner sanctum and the buffer area. Zarfa asking for the tour wasn’t only so they could stay as close as possible to Jin, but also to determine if the floor plan was still relevant.

After all, it was made more than eighty years ago.

At the garden where the pavilion was located, there was a sparkling gate coated in gold, being guarded by half a dozen paladins. Only the priests and the members of the Holy Order--you know, the VIPs--were allowed past this gate.

Haa...damn. Even if we didn’t have any suspicion, it was truly too intimidating for someone to walk past that gate by themselves. The outer part of the church looked very calm, harmonizing well with the environment from the many gardens and parks that brought about a relaxing atmosphere.

But past that, there was a shiny yet tall gate. The sanctum itself could be seen from the outside, but there was a thick barrier around it. Anyone who was sensitive to mana would be able to feel its oppressive pressure. Including Jin.

It was basically a lavish, shining fortress.

"Gaah!"

"Yeah, I don’t like it too, Shwa."

"Jade don’t like it too!"

Chii!

[Do you think this barrier will repel me?] Ignis asked.

"Let’s see," I replied and took a deep breath, holding it as the gate swung open slowly and Jin stepped past the threshold.

One second, two seconds...when nothing happened even after five seconds, I exhaled harshly.

"Oh, it seems like you’re in the clear, Ignis."

[Seems so] Ignis sounded a bit tense--even the mighty Salamander got nervous too, huh? But anyway, we passed the first hurdle. [So far, this part is not different from the floor plan you gave us]

"That’s a relief," I nodded, clapping with my drowsy baby’s hands. "Even if the interior changed, as long as you remember the escape path, it should be alright."

But honestly, I didn’t think it would change much--if not at all. The function of the rooms might change, the wallpaper and the decor might get upgraded, but it was not easy changing the layout of an old, huge building complex like this. Especially because the Grand Church was considered a historical landmark for religious pilgrimage.

Yeah--I was betting on this.

[But escape plan, huh?] Ignis muttered with a dubious tone. [Now that I think about it, we’ve never talked about any escape pla--]

"Ignis, Ignis--focus! Look at those people--can you make their faces clearer?"

I squinted my eyes and leaned forward as the field of vision caught several people standing in front of the inner sanctum door. One of them wore a lavish cloak I had no idea if I should call him a priest or a king.

As I thought about this, the Bishop and the other Holy Knights bowed deeply toward the man.

[Your Holiness]

Ah. So that was the head of our enemy.