Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 949 - 66: The Girls’ Argument

Chapter 949: Chapter 66: The Girls’ Argument

"So, regarding the future of the church, and the selection of successors and the way forward, I had actually planned it all out long ago. However, to protect them from being disturbed by too many mundane matters while they honed their skills, I kept this matter concealed and also strictly ordered those in the know to keep it a secret," Archbishop Cain said. Most of what he said was true, except for a few key points which, through the art of language, misled others so that those unaware thought everything was going according to the old man’s plan, believing that he had indeed arranged it like this years ago. Seeing the reactions of others, the old man smiled and said, "Therefore, when you, my fellow clergy, urged me to establish a successor sooner, I only gave vague responses, not because I distrusted you, but to create the best possible conditions for their training and to avoid placing too much mental burden on them. This might be considered a bit of an old man’s selfishness, as after all, these two are my only students, and naturally, I wish for my students to achieve the highest levels possible, haha, and I hope you, my old friends, can forgive this selfish behavior that disregards everyone’s feelings, after all, having grown old, one tends to change a bit."

The clergy around him let out a suppressed snicker at the old Archbishop’s self-deprecation, with nobody expressing any special objections. In the churches of the Yarran World, a pope establishing his successor is not done out of personal preference, but rather by recommending some candidates to the Deity, who then appoints the specific successor. Therefore, there is almost no issue of conflict over succession within the church unless someone is powerful enough to influence the decision of the Deity. If one were that powerful, there would be no need to contest for a successor. The only time a struggle for succession might occur is if the previous pope dies before establishing a successor, leading occasionally to qualified archbishops from different regions surreptitiously competing to stand out more and thus be chosen by the Deity. This vacuum of power often causes considerable chaos, which is why most religions make every effort to avoid it.

"I gathered everyone here today mainly to apologize to all the clergy for keeping this concealed for so many years. I truly feel very guilty about it," the old Archbishop said with a grave expression, bowing earnestly in all four directions: "To express my apology and make amends for my mistake, today I will introduce the two of them to everyone. Although Helen will continue to spread The Glory of the Lord in the mundane world of the Yarran Continent and might not meet you often, Betty will keep studying with me in the Holy Sanctuary until I am no longer able to serve Our Lord. At that time, she will take up The Lord’s scepter. So, I ask you all not to hold my concealment against me and to help her lead the church going forward, that The Lord’s holy name may spread to every corner of the Yarran World. I thank you all here."

"He sure knows how to speak after decades in the position of Archbishop," Freya said, resting her chin on her hand and listening to the old Archbishop’s speech with a somewhat mocking smile: "Not only twisting unreasonable things to appear reasonable but also jokingly using his age as an excuse, making it impossible for anyone to blame him, and finally even helping the successor win over the church’s middle and upper echelons, tsk tsk, such talents wasted on politics if not part of the nobility."

"What’s the difference between leading a large church and leading a city or even a country?" Catherine, a descendant of a former noble family of the Falar Empire, said calmly: "These high-level clerics are hardly lesser in their schemes than any noble, probably these ways of speaking and acting became their instinct. It’s likely because of this mindset that they addressed the problems between Lina and Betty sisters in this manner, which is exactly the method I dislike the most."

"But you have to admit, it’s indeed effective," Freya shrugged and said: "I can’t think of any other way that would so completely resolve their inner defects without leaving any lingering issues, allowing them to return to the right path. Although I don’t like it either, often their method is theoretically the best choice."

"However, this ’best’ that you mention doesn’t take personal feelings into account," Catherine and Freya always had significant differences in their views on these matters, often leading to debates like the current one: "The ’best’ you speak of only regards the outcome. Perhaps you think that achieving the best outcome justifies sacrificing personal feelings, but I don’t think so. I believe that the so-called outcome is constructed by individuals, and only a method that doesn’t cause harm to the person’s feelings can be considered the best method, even if the ultimate effectiveness of such a method is slightly inferior to your way."

"You two should stop arguing over something that’s already happened," Pannis, who had been listening in, couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head: "For thousands of years, countless scholars and politicians have debated this issue, but to this day, no standard answer has been reached. Essentially, these kinds of problems don’t have a standard answer, depending entirely on each person’s way of viewing and attitude towards the issue, so you’re doomed to not convince each other. Why bother wasting time on this?"

"What else should we do?" Catherine looked helplessly at Pannis, saying in a defeated voice, "Should we, like you, join them in playing the shuttlecock game?"

"It’s really fun." "Yes, yes, definitely a lot of fun, we’ve been playing it for over a hundred years." "When we used to ask Brother Kyle to play, he never would, this is the first time playing it with him." "I still prefer the current Brother Kyle, he doesn’t lecture us with a stern face." "Of course, the previous Brother Kyle was also great, but the current one is better." "Yes, yes, growing to like the current Brother Kyle more and more."

"You see," Pannis spread his hands, his smile holding a deeper meaning as he said, "Sometimes, by freeing yourself from the shackles binding your spirit, and facing the world with your most genuine self, you might find greater happiness."

"What you’re saying isn’t wrong," Catherine sighed, pressing her temple as she said, "But the problem is, your ’shackles of the spirit’ seem to be a bit too loosely undone, and it’s quite peculiar indeed. I can’t think of anyone else who would play the shuttlecock game at a party and end up crawling under the table."

"Hahaha, today’s dinner was really plentiful," Pannis looked up at the sky and chuckled dryly: "Tastes good, yeah, tastes really good." (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for it at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)