Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 67: The Lumigale Church
Next, it was time to consult the church about the vampire incident and seek some assistance.
Bringing Mapel along, Owen immediately set off for the church without delay.
At the church entrance, a group of clergy members were busy transporting sacks of grain and heated magic stones, preparing for the weekly charity relief, which would likely be distributed to the public in the afternoon.
Noticing the arrival of the lord, a supervising priest quickly came forward to greet him.
“Marquis, what brings you here today?”
“I need to speak with Bishop Flynn.”
Owen said.
“No problem, I will go inform the bishop. Please wait in the reception room for a moment.”
With that, the priest turned and called over a trainee cleric.
“Ossie, come here and lead the marquis to the reception room to rest.”
“Right away!”
Having met before, Ossie quickly set aside his tasks and rushed over, gesturing politely for Owen to follow.
“This way, Marquis.”
Compared to their previous meeting, Ossie seemed much more composed this time—at least he didn’t look nervous at all. Under his guidance, Owen arrived at the reception room and soon met with Bishop Flynn.
“Let’s sit and talk, Marquis Eisen.”
Once they were seated face to face, Owen got straight to the point.
“Bishop Flynn, I received a report this morning from a civilian who encountered a vampire.”
“A vampire?! Is that true?”
As expected, Bishop Flynn was visibly shocked.
“I’m not sure yet, which is why I came to you for confirmation.”
Owen then described how the civilian had discovered a vampire in his cowshed.
“Hmm… I’ll send someone later to examine the bite marks on the cow to confirm whether it really was the work of a vampire.”
Bishop Flynn frowned, stroking his chin in thought.
“I never imagined there would be vampire activity in Bianshu Town. I haven’t heard anything about them in a long time.”
“When was the last time you did hear something related?”
Owen asked.
To be honest, Owen had only read about vampires in the sacred texts. But those stories were from long ago, and he had never heard of any recent vampire sightings.
If not for this sudden incident last night, he would’ve assumed the church had already wiped out all the vampires.
The founding of the Lumichael Church is closely tied to the history of vampires.
About six hundred years ago, a vampire progenitor suddenly emerged. She led an army of vampires and plunged the entire world into chaos. Even though nations united to resist them, they were pushed back time and again.
Just when it seemed like the world would fall under vampire rule, a saint named Laev appeared. He claimed to have received divine revelation in a dream and learned a way to combat vampires—faith magic.
That was the origin of faith-based magic. Compared to elemental magic, humans have only been practicing faith magic for a relatively short time.
To fight against the powerful vampire legion, many mages and magic knights began to devote themselves to the divine and successfully learned faith magic.
Vampires possess immense power and strong resistance to elemental spells, but faith magic alone can cause them great harm.
As a result, the kings of various nations placed great hope in Laev and appointed him supreme commander of the allied army, entrusting him with full command.
Under the power of faith-based magic, the vampire legion suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the allied army led by Laev, and the tide of battle quickly turned.
Eventually, Laev defeated the Vampire Progenitor on the Pass Plateau. He established a holy city there, founded the Lumichael Church, and became its first pope.
At the time, the primary mission of the Lumichael Church was to exterminate the remaining vampires. All the nations cooperated enthusiastically, and the church gained immense reverence from the masses.
It was during this time that religious unification was achieved.
Before that, various countries had their own diverse and numerous religions. After the vampire calamity, only the Lumichael Church won widespread trust and gathered a vast number of followers.
“About twenty years ago, there was a horrifying incident in the still-existent Kingdom of Gurman—an entire village was nearly wiped out. It was the Carn Village Massacre, and the perpetrator of this heinous crime was a vampire.”
Such a bloody tragedy had once occurred—Owen’s expression grew heavy.
Standing behind him to the right, Mapel also became solemn, her hand instinctively gripping her sword. If vampires were truly that dangerous, then she needed to stay alert and ensure Owen’s safety.
“Was that unforgivable vampire ever caught?”
Owen pressed further.
“Yes.”
Bishop Flynn nodded.
“At the time, the Holy Knights took three days to apprehend the culprit. The Inquisition sentenced him to punishment by Holy Light.”
As expected of the Holy Knights—their swift and decisive action clearly explained their popularity among the people.
“Oh, right—”
Owen suddenly recalled a question Winston had asked that morning: If a vampire bites a regular person, does that person automatically become a vampire?
The answer: Not necessarily.
According to the Holy Scriptures, in order to turn a normal person into a vampire, the vampire must deliberately inject their own blood into the human body through their fangs.
Even then, the transformation is not guaranteed. It’s said that only those with strong willpower can endure the pain of the process and successfully become a vampire.
In other words, some victims are innocent—they never intended to become vampires but were forcibly transformed.
After turning, they may never attack humans or commit serious crimes.
“If you find a vampire who hasn’t drunk human blood or done anything evil, how does your church usually deal with them?”
The vampire discovered last night had only been sucking cow blood and hadn’t attacked any civilians. It was very possible they were one of these innocents.
“We first conduct a trial.”
Bishop Flynn said.
“If they’re found not to have committed any major crimes, such vampires are sent to the Holy City of Caleb, where the Church provides sanctuary. While they do lose some freedoms, at least they have a safe place to stay.”
“What kind of trial is it?”
“There are two main types.”
The first is fairly straightforward: imprisonment. During this time, the vampire is only fed animal blood. This helps determine if they’ve consumed human blood.
Any vampire who has fed on humans will find non-human blood unappealing and, after prolonged deprivation, will enter a state of madness.
Of course, that’s just a basic method for distinguishing whether they’ve drunk human blood.
The more reliable method is the second: the Inquisition peeks into the vampire’s memories.
The Inquisition is a special Church division responsible for judging evildoers and vampires. Most of its members are dark-element mages, as dark magic includes a spell that allows one to view another’s memories.
If a vampire resists memory inspection, they are judged guilty by default.
“I see.”
Owen murmured.
Now understanding the procedures, he finally voiced his main purpose for the visit.
“Bishop Flynn, regarding this matter, I hope your side can offer some assistance.”
“I’m truly sorry, Marquis Eisen.”
The bishop replied apologetically.
“Without Holy Knights, we’re unable to help with the search. However, if you locate the vampire’s whereabouts and plan to capture them, I can send a few priests to assist. After all, faith magic is a vampire’s weakness.”
“That will be more than enough.”
Owen understood. After all, Bishop Flynn and his people already had many responsibilities this winter and were short-staffed.
The two then discussed a few other matters.
Not long after returning to the castle, Owen received a message from a trainee priest: the bite marks on the cow had been confirmed to be made by a vampire.