The shop door opened and everyone saw a young man in knight armor striding in.
And upon seeing his appearance, the old man's expression instantly turned gloomy.
"What are you doing here?!"
Although he didn't chase him away directly, from his tone, it was clear that he didn't have a good impression of this young knight.
Facing the old man's questioning, the young man didn't seem to feel the old man's disgust at all.
On the contrary, he looked at the old man with a smile and didn't speak immediately. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and sized up Jenn and the others who stood beside him.
"I didn't expect you to be so lucky, Old Peter. There are still guests at this time."
"They aren't guests …"
Upon hearing the young knight's words, Old Peter's expression changed several times. In the end, he knitted his brows and said in a deep voice.
In the face of Old Peter's answer, the young knight only sneered and didn't say much.
He swept a glance at the girls standing beside him and retracted his gaze disinterestedly.
If it were Enoya or Elise standing before him now, perhaps he would judge them with glowing eyes.
But Irene and the others were still children, after all. Although they could be said to be cute, there was still a big gap between them and stunning beauties.
Not to mention, they were still wearing maid costumes and this young knight apparently wasn't interested in them.
On the contrary, he sized up Jenn with interest for a moment and shrugged.
"Alright, if you say no, then no, Old Peter. I didn't come here today to talk to you about such trivial matters.
By the way, this is the verdict of the temple. You can take a look at it. "
With that said, the young knight took out a scroll made of sheepskin from his arms and placed it on the counter.
Looking at the scroll, Old Peter couldn't help but tremble slightly. He stared at the scroll and after a few moments of hesitation, he reached for it and opened it slowly.
And when the old man saw the contents of the scroll, his face turned incomparably pale in an instant.
His hunched body trembled slightly and he slumped on the chair beside him as though he had lost all his strength. His eyes stared blankly at the ground.
"Alright, from the looks of it, you should already know your crimes."
Gazing at the old man's reaction, the young knight revealed a proud smile.
"If that's the case, you should know what to do. Of course, the great Holy Church will allow you to defend yourself. The time is set for tomorrow morning at ten o 'clock. You will go to the Harvest Shrine and receive justice there.
Old Peter, the gods will not forgive you for your deviant behavior. "
You should know that the only reason we haven't put you in jail yet is because of your daughter's plea.
If you dare to take half a step out of Violet City, you know what will happen to you. "
"…"
This time, the old man did not even have the strength to answer. He only nodded slightly in response.
After receiving the old man's response, the young knight turned around and left in satisfaction.
When he reached out to push open the door, he seemed to have thought of something and turned to look at Jenn.
"Oh, yes, sir.
I haven't seen you in Violet City. You must have just arrived in this city.
I advise you not to stay here for too long. You must know that the owner of this shop is now an apostate. "
After saying this, the young knight pushed open the door and left.
The crisp sound of the bell rang, and then disappeared in the silence of the shop.
"What the hell …!"
Lindy glared at the door. The Witch's Child was born to be at odds with clergies. Not to mention, Lindy was injured by the Holy Knight in battle. At this moment, in her heart, anyone who was related to the Holy Church was basically an enemy.
Therefore, she was very dissatisfied with the young knight's overbearing attitude.
Hearing Lindy's complaint, the old man smiled bitterly and waved his hand.
"Alright, young lady, don't speak nonsense.
That's the Holy Knight of the Holy Church. If he hears you, you will get into big trouble. "
"Holy Church?
Tsk, so what if it's the Holy Church? Isn't it still … "
Before Lindy could finish her sentence, Einster tugged at her sleeve. In the end, the little girl shut her mouth angrily and didn't say anything else.
On the other hand, Fafna put down the perfume bottle in her hand and asked curiously.
"Madam, what is an apostate?"
It was no wonder that Fafna was so puzzled. She was also a Priest of the Holy Church of Water, but she had never heard of the crime of an apostate.
At this moment, after listening to the conversation between the young knight and Old Peter, she vaguely understood the background of the matter. It was apparent that this old man had committed a serious crime and needed to be sentenced by the Holy Church.
But it was also due to this that Fafna became even more puzzled.
Logically speaking, if the old man had really violated the church's laws, the Holy Church should have arrested him long ago.
But now, it seemed that the Holy Church didn't arrest the old man and instead wanted him to be sentenced … It was no wonder that Fafna was puzzled.
"The so-called apostate refers to believers who have violated the teachings of the church."
In response to Fafna's question, Jenn quickly gave an answer.
"Of course, this crime can be serious or minor, and ordinary people don't need it.
After all, very few people will truly violate the teachings of the church, and those who do are basically treated as fallen and executed. "
"So, what is the use of this apostate?"
Hearing until here, not only Fafna, but even Irene and Lindy were confused.
Since violating the teachings of the church would result in being treated as fallen and executed, then what was the use of this apostate?
Facing their doubts, Zayen shrugged his shoulders.
"Simply put, it's a different degree. You see, it's just like where we come from. One must pay for murder with their life. That's the law, right?
But stealing from others doesn't need to pay with one's life. Instead, one needs to be sentenced to hard labor.
Right now, this old man is in such a state. He violated the teachings of the church, but the situation isn't too serious, which is why he's being treated as an apostate. "
Speaking until here, Jenn also looked at the old man.
"But to be honest, I'm also very curious. Although apostates can't be compared to fallen ones, they're still considered serious offenders.
It's really interesting that you're not locked up to await trial. "
"Haha …"
Hearing until here, the old man helplessly twitched the corners of his mouth and revealed a bitter smile.
"In fact, they aren't worried that I'll leave at all. What's the difference between me being here and in prison?!"
In the end, the old man's voice finally revealed some irrepressible anger.
He forcefully clenched his fists, revealing a deep pained expression.
But after a moment, the old man was like a deflated balloon, sighing once again. Then, he struggled to stand up and revealed a helpless smile to Jenn.
"I'm very sorry, customer, but … This is all for today.
I think you don't wish to buy goods from a sinner, right … "
"That's hard to say."
But to the old man's surprise, Jenn didn't turn around and leave in a hurry.
Instead, he casually pulled a chair, sat down, and leaned against the back of the chair leisurely.
"In fact, Sir, I'm quite curious about what happened to you. If it's possible, can you tell me the details?"
"This …"
Hearing Jenn's words, the old man was a little hesitant.
He originally didn't intend to say too much about himself. Besides, the other party was an outsider, so there was no need for him to get involved in his troubles.
Therefore, the old man instinctively wanted to reject. But just as he lifted his head to look at Jenn, he was about to reject.
But he realized that the young man's eyes flashed a trace of a strange red glow.
And at this moment, a thought suddenly emerged in the old man's mind.
Since things have already come to this, what's the point of hiding it?
I might as well say it and relax.
Anyway, no matter what, things have already come to this, right?
Thinking of this, the old man didn't hesitate anymore. He just sighed, sat down, and began to tell Jenn about his troubles.
Just as the owner of the wine barrel said, Old Peter was indeed the best perfumer in Violet City. The perfume he made was very popular and could almost be regarded as a business card of Violet City, so his business had always been good.
And Old Peter himself was also a devout believer of the God of Harvest. Not only did he actively participate in every offering, but he also went to the church every day to worship, regardless of the weather.
It could be said that if there was a way to give the residents of Violet City an excellent model citizen, Old Peter would definitely be at the top of the list.
But unfortunately, half a month ago, Old Peter's peaceful life was broken.
The reason was simple. The Violet Count's son took a fancy to his daughter.
And Old Peter didn't have a good impression of that lecherous prodigal, so he rejected him.
And because of this, he offended the Violet Family.
And it was not long after that that the Church of Saint sent someone to seize his shop.
For Old Peter, of course, he couldn't accept it.
But the reason given by the Church of Saint shocked Old Peter — they claimed that the old man violated the doctrine of the God of Harvest!
Originally, according to the rules, Old Peter should be taken to the prison of the Church of Saint by the Holy Knights and then await trial.
But Old Peter was after all old and couldn't bear such suffering and torture.
In the end, his daughter decided to stand up and use herself as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Violet Family.
No one knew what the two sides agreed on, but in the end, Old Peter was released.
His daughter, on the other hand, stayed with the Violet family.
Of course, in fact, what the two sides did was basically needless to say, everyone knew.
But …
"The Church of Saint arrested people without any evidence?"
Hearing this, Jenn expressed some disbelief. One must know that the Church of Saint wasn't those nobles who arrested people without evidence — wasn't that crazy?
And hearing this, the old man deeply lowered his head.
"In fact, they have evidence."
Then, he replied in a bitter tone.