"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Seeing the approaching papal attendant, Matt asked with some confusion:
"I've already prepared the luggage for Dannock and the others. We can head to Sakura Country for exchanges tomorrow."
Ever since the last exchange with the Great Xia ghost exorcists, Matt had been temporarily appointed as the accompanying supervisor for the young priests like Dannock. Recently, Dannock and his group were going to Sakura Country for friendly exchanges, and Matt assumed the attendant was here to inquire about this matter.
Regarding this.
The papal attendant understood his meaning and stated directly:
"Matt, I'm not here to discuss that with you. His Holiness the Pope wishes to see you."
The moment he said this.
Let alone Matt, all the other priests and young priests present were stunned.
"Ah?"
Matt's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard:
"You said His Holiness the Pope wants to see me?"
Although he knew his family was wealthy and had funded a lot of ghost exorcism activities for the Vatican, which led to him being transferred from the church in the Beautiful Country and serving as the supervisor for the young priests along with his teammates from the Beautiful Country, he didn't think this was enough to warrant an audience with the Pope.
Involuntarily.
Matt asked curiously:
"Mr. Chas, why does His Holiness the Pope want to see me? It's not because I've said something wrong recently, is it?"
He thought about how after every exchange he led, he would promote the Jade Emperor of Great Xia and subtly talk about Great Xia mythology. Had this displeased the Pope?
Thinking of this.
Matt felt a little guilty. Would he be burned at the stake for heresy by His Holiness the Pope? How much money would he have to fund to be spared?
Not only him.
The young priests like Dannock thought the same. Upon hearing that the Pope summoned Matt, they looked at him and made the sign of the cross, saying:
"May God bless you, Amen~"
As they spoke.
Matt's mouth twitched, and he silently clutched the Bible signed by Zhang Wei in his hand.
Just then.
The attendant, unaware of the situation, thought Matt was nervous. After all, this was a summons from the highest authority in the Vatican, and many priests dreamed of meeting the Pope. He immediately smiled and said:
"Don't be nervous. His Holiness the Pope wants to see you about the matter of Zhang Wei, what happened in the Thief Country not long ago. Have you heard about it?"
"Of course, I know about this."
Matt said, adding mentally... I definitely know about Mr. Zhang Wei.
"Is His Holiness the Pope unhappy because Mr. Zhang Wei broke the seal on Abraham? This can't be blamed on Mr. Zhang Wei. After all, he is the Jade... Cough, after all, he is very powerful. I've seen it with my own eyes, right, Dannock?"
Dannock and the others nodded in agreement.
The papal attendant smiled:
"Of course, I know Zhang Wei is powerful, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to deal with Abraham. His Holiness the Pope isn't unhappy; what are you thinking? He wants to meet Zhang Wei and invite him to the Vatican to thank him for helping deal with Abraham and recovering the losses for the Holy See."
Before he finished speaking.
The papal attendant looked at Matt and said:
"So, His Holiness the Pope asked me to arrange an envoy to invite Zhang Wei, and I thought of you. I remember you've had contact with Zhang Wei and met him a few times. I heard you even have Zhang Wei's phone number. Other priests say you mention him frequently, so I thought your relationship with Zhang Wei should be quite good, and inviting him through you would surely be successful."
"So that's how it is."
Matt breathed a sigh of relief and immediately agreed to go with the papal attendant to see the Pope. He was even a little happy, as this was his first time seeing the Pope. Although his heart was with the Jade Emperor now, he was still part of the Holy See and admired the Pope.
...
Not long after.
Outside the Pope's room.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Your Holiness, it's me, Matt. I've arrived."
The attendant gently knocked on the door, and the Pope's leisurely voice immediately came from within:
"Come in."
"Yes."
Then, at the papal attendant's signal, Matt pushed the door open himself and entered the room. At a glance, he saw the highest authority of the Holy See, the Pope, and beside him were several cardinals.
"Greetings, Your Holiness, Your Eminences."
Matt bowed.
The Pope and the cardinals looked over. The Pope didn't waste time and beckoned Matt over:
"You are Matt, aren't you? Come, sit down. Don't be afraid. I just need you to do something. I believe Chas has already told you."
"Yes, I've heard from Chas. Your Holiness wants me to invite Mr. Zhang Wei to the Vatican, right? That's no problem. I can leave today to find Mr. Zhang Wei in the Thief Country. I believe Mr. Zhang Wei will be happy to come to the Vatican."
Matt was a little excited... Haha, I get to see Mr. Zhang Wei again. Mr. Zhang Wei probably hasn't been to the Vatican before. This is God's abode. The Jade Emperor coming to God's house, is this considered a visit between supreme deities?
At the same time.
Although Matt's expression was well-concealed, the Pope and the others still captured it. However, they didn't mind, thinking Matt was excited to see them, as many priests reacted this way upon seeing them.
Immediately.
The Pope said:
"If Zhang Wei is happy to come, that would be wonderful. By the way, Matt, I heard you are quite familiar with Zhang Wei?"
"Reasonably so. I've spoken with Mr. Zhang Wei a few times. Is something wrong, Your Holiness?"
"It's like this. Actually, besides inviting Zhang Wei to express our gratitude, we also want to know if Zhang Wei is a believer of God. You should also know that Zhang Wei not only broke the seal on my Staff of God but also disregarded Abraham's divine protection."
The Pope didn't intend to hide anything, as Matt was one of them. It was a good opportunity to learn about Zhang Wei from him.
At this moment.
Matt was stunned:
"Ah? Mr. Zhang Wei is a believer of God?"
"Yes, that's what we believe. His artifact is said to be from Great Xia, and Great Xia artifacts cannot disregard God's bestowed protection. Even if some powerful Great Xia artifacts are strong enough to harm those with God's protection, they cannot disregard it. Zhang Wei is likely a believer of God."
It was a cardinal who spoke, revealing their speculations.
As soon as he spoke.
Matt also understood their meaning. Indeed, Zhang Wei's artifact could disregard God's protection, and the only explanation they could think of was that his artifact also had God's faith as a blessing. But they didn't know Zhang Wei's identity. Involuntarily, Matt instinctively replied:
"Impossible, Mr. Zhang Wei is not a believer of God."
Matt said it aloud, but in his heart, he added... Mr. Zhang Wei is the Jade Emperor. They are of the same level, so he can definitely disregard God's protection.
"Hmm? Matt, why are you so sure?"
The Pope and the others looked at him with undisguised surprise:
"If Zhang Wei is not a believer of God, why can he disregard it? Do you know something?"
"Impossible, Zhang Wei is most likely a believer of God. However, we still need to confirm. Matt, why are you so sure that Mr. Zhang Wei is not a believer of God?"
Recalling Zhang Wei repeatedly saying he was not the Jade Emperor, Matt knew Zhang Wei didn't want to reveal his identity.
Thinking of this.
Matt scratched his head and said:
"I asked Mr. Zhang Wei before if he also believed in God, and he himself said no. Also, is it possible... that Mr. Zhang Wei can disregard God's protection because he is very powerful? I've seen Mr. Zhang Wei's power with my own eyes."
As soon as he finished speaking.
The next second.
The Pope and the cardinals unanimously said:
"Impossible. If he's not a believer of God, how can he disregard it? He must be. Otherwise, unless he's from the Dark Church and believes in Satan, how could he disregard it?"