"I’m here to take Meiyin away."

This was the first thing Fang Zheng said after meeting the High Priest.

No pleasantries, no self-introduction, just straightforwardly demanding the person.

"May I ask who you are...?"

"A friend of Meiyin."

"Friend?"

Facing Fang Zheng’s reply, the High Priest was somewhat surprised. He was aware of Meiyin’s situation, but to the High Priest, she was just an odd civilian girl, not someone worth troubling a Knight over. A Knight, after all, belongs to the nobility class. Although the High Priest hadn’t heard of Fang Zheng’s name, he could tell from his demeanor that this man was clearly not simple.

However, the High Priest obviously wasn’t going to be easily swayed by the other party’s words.

"I’m very sorry, Sir Knight, Meiyin attacked the High Priest of the Temple, which is a very serious crime. Given the current situation, we cannot simply let her leave..."

"Heh heh."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng chuckled. Before coming here, he had consulted the Priestess of the Goddess and understood why the Temple wanted to keep Meiyin. The so-called attack on the High Priest was merely an excuse; in fact, the Temple had its eyes on Meiyin’s powerful magic power.

Believers of various deities like the Priestess of the Goddess and Ais have their own powers. For instance, the Priestess of the Goddess’s divine arts come from the Earth Mother Goddess, and Ais’s "gift" is a reward from Loki. But this particular Temple is different. Frankly speaking, as an intermediary organization, it lacks the protection of a deity. Thus, the clerics here are more like mages than clerics.

And the targets this Temple recruits are quite different from other temples as well. They mainly recruit orphans and then select those children who have magic power, training them to become clerics.

However, the clerics here are not for serving a deity—after all, this Temple has no deity to serve.

In reality, the clerics here serve the nobility.

While other temples have the backing of deities, this Temple’s backing is the state, so it naturally needs to maintain good relations with the higher nobility.

The clerics in the Temple are generally divided into two types: Blue Robes and Grey Robes. Most Grey Robes are orphans and people without magic power. Blue Robe clerics are mostly sent by noble families due to political struggles or other reasons. Therefore, Blue Robes hold a higher status than Grey Robe clerics in this Temple, while Grey Robe clerics live a miserable life.

Especially female clerics, who have no right to refuse. Whether spotted by a noble or a Blue Robe cleric, they must entertain them.

Because, after all, that’s their job.

According to the Priestess of the Goddess’s speculation, the Temple likely wanted to train Meiyin as a Blue Robe cleric and then gift her to a noble as a concubine. After all, such things weren’t even considered secrets in that Temple; it’s just part of their standard "workflow." Girls with magic power are more likely to bear offspring with magic power for the nobility, which is another reason the Temple was interested in Meiyin.

Unlike the supposedly glamorous but internally dark settings often depicted in fiction, here, it’s all blatantly out in the open. After all, the civilization in this world is only at a medieval level, with commoners having no human rights, much less women’s rights. To these people, it doesn’t even count as a matter. It’s like going out to buy a twisted dough stick; there’s no need to do it in secret.

"Then what must I do to take Meiyin away?"

"I can’t decide this; you’ll have to discuss it with the High Priest of the Temple..."

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng murmured an "oh," then reached out, took out the "Ratziel," wrote something on it casually, and then closed it. Afterwards, Fang Zheng shut his eyes and leaned back on the sofa as if taking a nap.

"........?"

Seeing Fang Zheng’s inexplicable action, the High Priest was rather surprised. But just as he was about to speak, suddenly, the door was pushed open, and an attendant staggered in, shouting.

"High Priest, something’s wrong, the High Priest of the Temple is dead!"

"What?"

At this, the High Priest was shocked. He didn’t even have time to respond further; after glancing deeply at Fang Zheng, he hurriedly left the conference room to head to the Temple High Priest’s chamber.

When the High Priest returned again, Fang Zheng was idly sipping on tea and raised his cup in acknowledgment.

"Now, I can take Meiyin away, right?"

"........Of course."

This time, the High Priest didn’t say anything, just nodded and waved over his attendant.

"Take him to find the girl named Meiyin."

"Yes."

Hearing the High Priest’s order, the attendant nodded, glanced at the High Priest in confusion, then led Fang Zheng out of the meeting room. The High Priest stared darkly at Fang Zheng’s back until the door closed behind them.

The High Priest of the Temple was indeed dead.

But not from poisoning or assassination; he simply died in the middle of summoning a Grey Robe cleric for entertainment. Not considering his own age, he succumbed to the exertion.

It was that simple, and everyone could testify that the High Priest of the Temple had summoned the Grey Robe cleric before Fang Zheng arrived. That Grey Robe cleric was known to have never left the Temple since birth, having no connections with outside people.

Yet...the High Priest was certain that the death of the High Priest of the Temple was related to this man.

He could even confidently state that the other party killed the High Priest of the Temple; otherwise, he wouldn’t have performed such an odd action.

But how did this man do it?

What exactly did he do?

Why couldn’t he find any clue at all?

The High Priest thought for a moment, then shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it. Regardless, the High Priest of the Temple was dead, and without any evidence to prove it was murder, it could only be dealt with as an accident.

At this moment, Fang Zheng followed the attendant to the entrance of a secluded room in the temple, then Fang Zheng pushed open the door.

"Hey, little girl, let’s go."

"Mr. Fang Zheng!"

Seeing Fang Zheng appear, Meiyin, who was sitting idly on the bed, jumped up happily.

"You seem to be doing well, you have food and drink, what’s wrong with staying here?"

"Of course it’s bad! Do you think I want to be here? I certainly don’t want to be a noble’s mistress!"

As she said this, Meiyin seemed to think of something, and couldn’t help but shiver.

"You know? The day before yesterday I met a gray-robed cleric. She’s only eight years old, can you guess what she told me her dream was?"

"What?"

"She said she wants to become the lover of the High Priest of the Temple! I was dumbfounded at the time!"

"Hmm... that is quite shocking."

Hearing this, Fang Zheng nodded. The level of civilization here is low, and Meiyin, as a rebirth transmigrator from modern times, would naturally be unable to adapt to this environment. This is quite normal; if any modern person were reborn in the Middle Ages, they would probably want to die.

"Alright, you don’t have to worry now, let’s go, I’ll take you home. By the way, I’ve already bought a house here, how do you plan to persuade your parents and sister to come over?"

"Well... I haven’t thought about that yet."

"Then think about it on the way."

Fang Zheng said a few more words, then turned to leave the room with Meiyin, heading out of the temple. Meiyin followed silently behind Fang Zheng, frowning and looking troubled.

It was just as they were about to leave the temple that Meiyin suddenly made up her mind.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, I have a request... please save those children."

"Which ones?"

"This... follow me!"

As she said this, Meiyin suddenly turned and ran towards the other side of the temple, while Fang Zheng shrugged and casually followed her, as they left the main building of the temple and arrived at a secluded courtyard nearby.

"Where is this?"

"This seems to be... the orphanage."

"Orphanage... oh..."

Hearing Meiyin’s reply, Fang Zheng nodded. It wasn’t unusual for a temple to also serve as an orphanage; this was quite normal in many worlds. But what intrigued Fang Zheng was...

"How did you end up here?"

"Well... initially, I wanted to find a way to escape, so... I came here, originally thinking there would be a passage leading outside..."

"... you certainly have guts."

Looking at the girl in front of him, Fang Zheng shook his head helplessly.

Well then, recklessness is also part of being a transmigrator.

"... it’s here."

However, after leading Fang Zheng to a corner, Meiyin stopped, her expression complicated as she stared at the door in front of her, even with some fear, as if it were the gateway to hell.

"Here?"

Fang Zheng glanced at Meiyin, then stepped forward, reached out, and pushed open the door.

What greeted him first was an indescribable stench.

Fang Zheng squinted his eyes, the first thing he saw was the straw covered in excrement, already decaying, and the naked young children lying on it. These children looked just like the African children Fang Zheng had seen on television, each one skin and bones, with large heads and small bodies, looking as if they were close to death.

Or rather, they indeed were.

"What’s going on?"

Fang Zheng quietly closed the door, looking back at Meiyin, who was pale and trembling all over.

"I-I don’t know... but when I opened the door, this is what I saw, and then I fainted... although after that, the High Priest sent me back to my room, but I can’t forget these children... I-I never thought something like this would happen... I can’t even sleep well at night..."

For someone who has lived in peaceful times, this scene is indeed too overwhelming.

"I understand."

Hearing this, Fang Zheng nodded.

"Anyway, let’s go back and talk."

Then he said.