Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 883 - 43: I’m Back

Chapter 883: Chapter 43: I’m Back

As they passed through several doors and saw the Archbishop of The Church of the Earth Goddess, who was legendarily considered the embodiment of the Deity on earth and the closest in spirit to the divine, Pannis wore a very strange expression. When he had heard the Archbishop’s loud snoring from a distance, Pannis had already sensed something amiss about the formidable volume. Now, seeing him in person, he understood why the snores were so thunderous. He felt he was not looking at a church dignitary but rather a mountain of flesh.

The Archbishop was over two meters tall and imposing even among men. His physique, though not as exaggerated as Freya’s in her prime, was likely due to his height; he probably weighed no less than Freya back then. With a body like that, it’s no wonder he produced such grand snores. This mountain of flesh—no, rather, this Archbishop—barely resembled a clergyman at all. Not only was his physique massive, but his plate-like face bore a fierce look. Judging by his appearance alone, he seemed less a bishop and more a butcher. With just his looks, he could make half the children in the Holy City cry, and the other half were not crying simply because they were too petrified. It was hard to imagine why such an ancient and mighty deity would choose such a person as their spokesperson, but it does explain why, when Denia borrowed Lina’s body, she issued an oracle commanding Freya to lose weight, as even the Deity herself must have been deeply troubled over the years.

The Archbishop was still napping, his corpulent body lying on the bedroom bed, his silver hair and beard trembling with each snore. Seemingly disturbed by the sound of their voices, the old man stopped snoring, struggled to turn over in bed, and in doing so, elicited a pitiful creak from the unfortunate bed. Seeing this extraordinary yet ordinary-looking old man, Lina grimaced and walked over to gently push the Archbishop, "Archbishop Grandpa, Archbishop Grandpa, wake up now."

The old man continued to sleep; Lina’s pushing making him quite uncomfortable. He waved his hand in his sleep to shoo away the sinful hand that was disturbing his rest, then contentedly slurped his lips, muttered something incomprehensible, and covered his head with the blanket, falling back into a deeper sleep. Lina turned around to look at Pannis, her face full of helplessness. Seeing Pannis’s amused look as he covered his mouth and laughed heartily, she could only glare at him irritably and increased the intensity of her pushing, raising her voice, "Archbishop Grandpa, Archbishop Grandpa, someone is here for a prayer."

"Let them find someone else," the old man finally responded, still half asleep and unconsciously, "I’m not responsible for prayers, ahh yum, delicious, smacking sounds."

Pannis laughed even harder, his body shaking with laughter though he made no sound. Annoyed, Lina stomped her foot, bit her lip and after a few seconds of thought, suddenly wore a sly expression, shouting at the old man, "Archbishop Grandpa, there’s trouble! The abbess found the two bottles of wine from 3610 that you had hidden; she’s looking for you now."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. I clearly stored them in the Secret Chamber of Holy Relics and even hid them in a secret compartment; how could she have found them?" As soon as Lina finished shouting, the old man jumped out of bed with a speed that belied his age and physique, shaking the entire room when he landed. The Archbishop, still not fully conscious, relied entirely on instinct to look for a place to hide in the room. Finding nowhere else, he lifted the bedsheet and was about to crawl under the bed, saying in panic, "Quick, go tell her I’m not here. Say I went out to help someone confess, no, say I went on a tour to preach at different temples and wouldn’t be back for three to five years. Wait... no that’s wrong..."

"Archbishop Grandpa, you really did hide the wine again." After noticing that the old man was slowly regaining his senses from waking up, Lina placed her hands on her hips, glaring and asserting, "I’m going to tell the abbess, and she’s going to have a proper talk with you."

"I certainly haven’t hidden any alcohol; as the Archbishop of the Earth Goddess, how could I possibly lead by secretly drinking in the church." The Church of the Earth Goddess does not ban alcohol outright, but out of respect for the Earth Goddess, except during certain special celebrations, drinking within the temple’s boundaries is prohibited. However, it was quite clear that the venerable Archbishop was not exactly perfect. After arguing back a few sentences with his back turned, he finally gave up the idea of hiding under the bed. Although it was unclear whether it was because the danger had passed, or because he realized he couldn’t fit, at least he abandoned that idea and finally turned around. The moment he saw Lina, the old man was utterly stunned.

Lina stood quietly in front of the old man, her white priest’s robe untouched by any dust, her silver hair smoothly cascading down her back. Her fair skin faintly blushed with healthy color, the force-power glistening on the hammer at her waist and the spellbook. The young woman seemed like a fairy stepped out of a painting, so beautiful that she hardly seemed of this earthly realm. The aged Archbishop watched the smiling young priest, his lips trembling slightly, unable to utter a single word.

Lina’s smile was natural, apparently having completely forgotten all that had happened before, as if she had returned to her childhood days over a decade ago. She tilted her head and cheerfully said, "Archbishop Grandpa, I’m back."

"You... you..." The old Archbishop seemed so moved that he choked up. He opened his mouth several times but couldn’t produce a complete sentence until, after more than ten seconds, the old man finally regained his ability to speak, and blankly said, "You... who are you?"

"Hey, Archbishop Grandpa." Lina’s eyebrows shot up immediately, and she fiercely retorted, "That’s too much! Is that really your reaction?"

"Hahahaha, who made you just trick me by saying the head priest was looking for me? This is an old man’s revenge, hahaha." Clearly delighted by Lina’s reaction, the old man’s silver beard quivered as he opened his arms wide and laughed, saying, "Lina, my child, after so many years, you’ve finally come home."

"Yes, yes." Tears filled Lina’s eyes as she tried to rush into the old man’s embrace but ended up being pushed aside by the protruding belly of the Archbishop. She could only wipe her tears while feeling both annoyed and amused, saying, "I’ve come home."