Helena checked with Vanna several times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

"So, you're saying that Captain Duncan Abnomar, the Shadow of Subspace, the master of the Vanishing Hitchhiker, started rebuilding his 'Vanishing Fleet' after the Frostfall Incident, and his first act to accomplish this... was to have you exploit a loophole to get a permit for his new ship?"

Vanna, looking embarrassed and hesitant, had to give a stiff nod. "Yes... that's what he told me."

"And the purpose of this permit is to allow the new members of the Vanishing Fleet to continue running cargo business on the Boundless Sea?"

"......Yes, that's what he told me too."

Helena looked up at the direction where Anomaly 004 had sunk into the ground, then at Vanna standing before her, then back up again, her gaze sweeping back and forth several times before she finally couldn't help but say, "The Nameless King's Tomb even updated its anomaly list today! Because of Duncan Abnomar's actions, the world now has three more unnumbered anomalies! The Four Gods Church will be busy, and we may have to use a lot of manpower and time to figure out what those unnumbered anomalies mean—including that 'Vanishing Fleet'!"

"Yes," Vanna said, lowering her head, "But... he really hopes the Deep Sea Church can issue a special permit for the White Oak."

Helena tilted her head back, quietly gazing into Vanna's eyes.

Vanna lowered her head, trying to express her embarrassment and guilt through her posture. However, her efforts in posture were almost ineffective.

After all, the Pope was five-foot-seven, while she was nearly six-foot-three. Helena took two steps back without making a sound.

"Two things," the female Pope seemed to take a light breath, her expression calm, returning to her usual dignified and elegant demeanor, and said to Vanna, "First, you cannot issue this permit. Even if you still officially hold the titles of Inquisitor and Saint, you are also a member of the Vanishing Hitchhiker. This does not comply with the rules of recusal, Vanna, you should understand that."

Vanna's face immediately showed embarrassment and regret, and she subconsciously opened her mouth, "Then the second thing..."

Helena closed her eyes slightly, as if composing herself. "The second thing—I'll sign the permit."

Vanna seemed unable to react for a moment, staring at the female Pope in wide-eyed astonishment.

Helena didn't seem to notice Vanna's instantaneous astonishment and doubt. She just exhaled and said faintly, "So, what kind of permit do you think Duncan Abnomar would like?"

Vanna continued to stare blankly.

She only heard the Pope's voice continue, "The permit will be prepared soon. I will pray in the Storm Cathedral and listen to the Goddess's revelation. If there really are no problems, this permit will be delivered to you in a mystical way. Maintain the ritual site on your side and wait for news."

As the voice faded, Helena's figure gradually dimmed and disappeared from the gathering square.

Deep in the Boundless Sea, in a secret route twisted and hidden by transcendent power, the towering and solemn Cathedral Ark was slowly cruising in the civilized territories.

The steam core outputted surging power, and sacred steam condensed into persistent clouds in the sky above the Cathedral Ark. A melodious bell rang, announcing the successful conclusion of a psychic gathering.

In the "lower hold" of the Cathedral Ark, immersed in the Boundless Sea, braziers burned fiercely, their flames dispelling darkness and shadows. The female Pope, standing between the two braziers, slowly opened her eyes.

The dignified lady took a deep breath, a complex and tangled expression appearing on her face. Almost at the same time, an old and hoarse voice entered her ears, "Oh, you look like you have something on your mind, little girl."

Helena raised her head and glanced not far away. The flickering firelight illuminated the area, revealing a "pillar" formed from intertwined blood vessels and nerves standing in the dim depths. Various artificial pipes and electrodes connected to the thick nerve cords, with flashes of faint light, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

"You've been awake all along?" Helena composed herself and politely spoke to the mythical beast.

"Didn't want to be, but it's too noisy," the beast carrying the Cathedral Ark said, "Every time you use that psychic channel to gather, it's noisy, but today it's especially noisy."

"......I'm sorry, something happened, and I'm not very calm this time," Helena said. "Next, I need to pray and seek revelation from the Goddess."

"Something you want to discuss with the Queen?" the old, hoarse voice sounded. "Alright, I won't disturb you. I hope you can hear a clearer answer this time, and please say hello to the Queen for me."

Helena hummed in agreement and turned around, facing the brazier closest to her, closed her eyes, and began to concentrate on praying.

In the vast, dim space, silence enveloped the surroundings, and time seemed to stand still. Only the light and shadow in the brazier flickered, as if constructing a cross-veil communication invisibly. After an unknown amount of time, Helena finally finished praying and slowly opened her eyes.

She frowned, as if the feeling of this prayer was different from usual.

The revelation from the Goddess... was as vague as ever, but in the blurred "guidance," there seemed to be something mixed in, something like... emotions.

She couldn't distinguish what that vague and unfamiliar feeling was, but after thinking for a long time, she confirmed the main part of the revelation: it was permission and recognition.

So Helena took a breath, then turned her head to look at the nerve cord covered in pipes, cables, and electrodes: "The Goddess has given a revelation, and I also conveyed your greetings."

No response came from her ear—the leviathan beast carrying the ark seemed to have fallen asleep again.

Helena was used to this. After saying hello, she casually grabbed in the darkness beside her—a blank permit document appeared out of thin air in her hand.

After simply confirming that she hadn't taken the wrong document, the female Pope picked up a pen and quickly signed her name and some necessary information. Then, she walked to the brazier closest to her, bowed her head, silently recited the corresponding prayer, and threw the document into the fire.

In the blink of an eye, the documents and certificates with her name were consumed by the flames, turning into specks of light and dust, and dissipating into the real world.

Vanna opened her eyes in the cabin, and as soon as she regained consciousness, she subconsciously gasped for breath.

The roughly constructed ritual site was indeed inferior to the "Tidewater Chamber" in the church. When she returned, the feeling of being submerged in seawater was particularly strong, even making her, a Storm Saint, a little uncomfortable.

But at least this psychic gathering was successfully completed.

Vanna took a few breaths to calm herself, sorted out the process of the gathering in her mind, and prepared to patiently wait for Pope Helena's reply, and the "permit" that would most likely be delivered to her through "mystical means."

In theory, the Pope would need to perform a series of prayer rituals to prepare the permit—even if the "inspecting and certifying the ship" step was omitted for various reasons, the prayer to the Goddess could not be skipped.

However, the next second, when the corner of her eye swept over the hastily arranged temporary altar, Vanna's expression suddenly froze.

The few thick candles serving as ritual braziers had somehow burned out. The candlestick, which should have burned for an entire day in theory, now only had accumulated ashes and candle tears left. And in the last wisp of disappearing blue smoke, a "permit document" that still emitted a faint glow was quietly lying on the floor.

So fast?

Vanna frowned and picked up the documents with a puzzled expression, carefully flipping through the contents.

A standardized permit document, which recorded the basic information of the White Oak and the transcendent factors involved, as well as the Church's seal, an original permit and a copy of the permit for use during regular customs inspections.

All of them were signed with Pope Helena's name.

There was no problem with the documents—and there couldn't be any problem.

It was just too fast. She had just returned from the gathering place, and the documents had already been delivered.

Vanna held the documents and certificates and carefully checked them for a long time. After a while, she suddenly heard a voice in her mind, the voice of Pope Helena—

"What Captain Duncan wanted has been sent out through 'mystical means.'"

Vanna glanced at the things in her hand, dispelling the little doubt in her heart: "Yes, I have received it." Then she took a breath, thanked and bid farewell to the Pope, and hurriedly left the cabin.

Duncan was still waiting on the deck—when Vanna appeared on the deck in a hurry, he smiled: "You've been gone for a long time, was the gathering successful?"

"The gathering was... successful," Vanna hesitated, the first thing that came to her mind was the three "unnumbered anomalies" that appeared on the parchment she brought back from Anomaly 004. With a complicated mood, she glanced at the smiling "person involved" in front of her, and then handed over the permit document that had just been passed from the Storm Cathedral, "But you should look at this first, the permit you wanted."

"Permit?" Duncan was stunned for a moment. He had indeed told Vanna about this, but he didn't expect that she would bring out the permit after returning from the gathering. This incredible efficiency made him a little confused.

However, he still reached out and took the documents and certificates, casually scanning the documents while sighing: "Your efficiency is really something... Did you carry these things with you?"

"This... actually, things are a bit complicated," Vanna said with an embarrassed expression, "These things weren't signed by me, it was Her Eminence Helena, she heard about..."

She was suddenly interrupted by Duncan halfway through her words, who suddenly raised his head: "Wait, who did you say signed this?"

Vanna was stunned. She didn't know why the captain had such a big reaction: "It was... Her Eminence Helena, is there a problem?"

Duncan didn't answer. He just looked into Vanna's eyes, and after a long time, he lowered his head again, staring intently at the words on the permit documents.

His gaze fell on the seal at the end of the certificate. Signer - Gormona.

Documents, original certificates, copies, three signatures. All the same.