They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 197 is meaningful
Ah—Praise the rising sun!

[Eliminate the darkness and the unspeakable]

Only the rising sun endures.

【…】

The song, intended for religious purposes, is quite long. The awkward thing is that Ria can't sing it, but he can lip-sync, since no one is going to listen carefully to what everyone is singing anyway.

For example, the person next to him was actually reciting a restaurant menu, which made Liya feel a little gratified.

See, he's not the only one who can't sing the Sun Hymn.

"Everyone."

As the song ended, Madame Sicard began to speak slowly. Her voice was calm, yet no one dared to ignore it.

"First of all, on behalf of Viscount Sicar, my husband, I would like to thank you all for coming."

Not long ago, my husband passed away, and his younger brother, unable to bear the grief, followed him in death. We are deeply saddened by this.

Today is the festival of the sun, and I would also like to take this opportunity to hold a funeral for my husband and his younger brother. May the radiance of the distant sun forever protect them, sweep away the darkness before them, and allow them to ascend the ladder to heaven filled with light.

Now, please say His name.

Madame Sicard lowered her head, and everyone else closed their eyes.

"Praise the sun..."

"When the Viscount was alive, he did not disappoint the expectations of the citizens in the territory. Everyone loved him and everyone regretted his death, but he died from a contamination disease."

To handle this matter, we specially invited a plague doctor to transport their coffins, so that they may rest in peace.”

As she spoke, the lady walked to the side, and the cardinal also stood aside, though his expression was clearly not pleasant.

“This woman really knows how to twist the truth.” Ria watched their performance from a distance. “The country’s higher-ups do not prohibit women from succeeding to the throne, which means that Lady Sicar is the most likely person to inherit the position of viscount and become the new viscount.”

Her tone made me start to suspect that she might have orchestrated the Viscount's death.

The young man felt some pain in his face and eyes, a consequence of prolonged exposure to light in the eyes that had lost their sight.

He rubbed his eyes a few times and suddenly saw James walk in through the door.

His clothes, polished with black shoe polish, were so shiny they reflected light, making it hard for Ria to look away.

"Speaking of which, the former viscount's body seems to have been reduced to dust, and Leo's body is still in my hands. What did they do with the coffin? Did they put some of his belongings in it... But would belongings really warrant the plague doctor having to move them?"

"Come in."

James waved towards the door, where several quack doctors carried a huge frame with two stone coffins on it, and the tops of the coffins were piled with white flowers.

As the doctor walked around, some petals fell to the ground.

"boom--"

They went up to the stage, placed the stretcher steadily, and the plague doctors then tipped their hats to Madame Sicard, who in turn lifted her skirt and bowed.

James still had that smug look on his face. He turned to look at the cardinal, scoffed, and then looked towards the door. Ria didn't know what he saw, but she felt the doctor's anger had increased even more. "It's probably someone from the Order Society outside. We've never gotten along."

Ria shook her head, then suddenly noticed Ivand behind her: "What are you doing?"

“I can’t let Favrelin find out I’m here.”

"Aren't you very close to her?"

That happened a long time ago.

She might not recognize me now, but I still want to say that I just need to avoid her gaze and quietly watch her.

Ria didn't understand, nor did he want to understand. He looked at the universally praised Ms. Favreaulin. Her temperament was indeed impeccable, but not to the point of bewitching people.

So what was with James's meaningful expression at that moment...?

Moreover, the doctors were standing next to the coffin. Could there really be a corpse inside the coffin?
Ria's curiosity grew stronger, and sure enough, the investigators walked in from outside, including some of the young people Ria had chatted with by Lake Ega earlier.

That man looked much more composed now, and must have been through a lot. He stood in front of Favreaulin, shook hands with her, and then looked at the crowd below the stage.

"Now, everyone can offer their flowers before the coffin. Let us wish them a safe journey... Praise the sun."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone walked toward that direction in an orderly fashion. Ostensibly, they were there to present flowers, but in reality, they were there to place their own gifts and, while comforting Mrs. Sicard, to reveal the purpose of their visit.

Everyone who comes here is here to cooperate. Even if someone has ulterior motives, they dare not be too presumptuous in the presence of the Keeper of the Secrets, the Church, and Order.

Moreover, they were all afraid of the plague doctor, and under his oppressive gaze, they dared not say anything more or make any rash statements, except for Ria.

When it was Ria's turn to lay flowers, he took off his hat, a somber expression on his face, and stepped forward. As he passed James, he turned to look at him and whispered, "What's in the coffin?"

"You'll find out later."

"I'll just keep you in suspense."

Ria continued walking, and he saw the investigator he had met before looking at him, seemingly wanting to say something, but not speaking due to the situation.

Favlorine stood before him, and Ria handed her the briefcase: "As mentioned in the letter, madam, I am here with the utmost sincerity to conduct business with you."

It is worth noting that he did not mention "your family" but "you," which means that Ria is telling the other party that he knows what Favreaurin is going to do and will support her.

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of your loved one and hope you can recover from this grief as soon as possible. After all, South Adeline needs a new leader."

As he spoke, Ria gracefully gave the lady a gentlemanly bow, then walked to the front of the two coffins, took out a bouquet of pure white flowers from his hat, and placed it in the center.

Behind him was Ivand Charles. To be honest, Irving hoped he wouldn't cause any trouble, but he actually finished delivering the gift very quickly. The lady saw him open the box and accepted the ring without saying a word.

The man only let out a deep sigh when he turned the wheelchair back to Ria's side.

"She's so old."

"Wait a minute, didn't you just compliment her on how young she looked?"

“That was an exaggeration… Look at her now, her face covered in white powder, dark black eyeshadow, and blood red lips. How can such makeup make her look young?”

(End of this chapter)