Chapter 196 – A Jewel in a DunghillConia Mercury the Blue Knight walked at a brisk pace. Servants were taken aback by her stern expression and quick steps, but no one could stop her. It was early in the morning, with not much people around.
「Lord Gilbert!」
Conia slammed the door to Gilbert Gabranth"s office open.
「Wh-Whoa!」
Surprised, Gilbert froze on the spot, a bag of coins in his hand. It looked like he was just about to head out.
「What"s the matter, Conia? It"s still too early.」Gilbert said as he quickly hid the bag.
Compared to Conia"s office, his was incredibly messy; doc.u.ments lay scattered about, even down on the floor. He awkwardly closed the door, locked it, and stepped out into the hallway.
「I have a question, Lord Gilbert.」
「We"re both Blue Knights. You don"t have to address me as “Lord”.」
「I cannot do that. You won twelve straight championships in the temple knights martial arts tournament, an unprecedented achievement. I do not think we"re of equal status. That"s what I always thought, at least. Until now.」
Gilbert"s eyebrows twitched, as she seemed to be implying something.
「I heard you a.s.saulted a bunch of kids yesterday together with a temple knight. Is this true?」
Troubled, Gilbert scratched his nape.
「I do not want to believe it, but the information came from a trusted source—」
「It"s true.」
「What?」
「I kicked a kid. So what?」
「How could you…?」Conia turned pale. She didn"t want to believe it.「Why?! I heard that when you were a temple knight, you were disciplined and kind to the weak—a model of the temple knights!」
「It was all so I could become a Blue Knight.」
「What do you mean…?」
「Unlike you, I didn"t have support from the regional churches, see. So I had to do things my own way. Anyway, there you have it..」
「W-Wait!」
「See ya! You should relax once in a while. Try not to be too stiff, okay?」Gilbert said as he walked away, waving his hand.
Stunned, Conia simply watched him go.
Agiapole, a city surrounded by a white wall. Outside of it lay several settlements. The walls weren"t exactly flawless either. With its huge size, it was bound to have a few tears.
「Hmm… Looks like we can go through here.」
Hikaru and the gang pa.s.sed through a tunnel dug underneath the walls and made it outside the city.
「We could escape through here in case of an emergency.」Lavia said.
「True. I wasn"t expecting to see this, though.」
Barracks made of wood sprawled along an area outside. The walls prevented the place from being seen from the Tower—from the Pope"s room.
「This place seems… lively.」
「You"re right, Hikaru-sama.」
Not one person noticed the three of them as Hikaru had Group Obfuscation on. Kids came out of the camps, running and shouting cheerfully. Women drew water from the well and did laundry. Men were carrying packages. The elderly, wearing rather shabby clothes, were enjoying a board game.
A town, Hikaru thought. A town with no white makeup applied.
Since the Tower was on high alert, many places were locked, so Hikaru couldn"t explore to his heart"s content. While checking out other places, they ended up here.
Hikaru had a lot of things on his mind. What would be his next move? What should he do about the underground laboratory and the holy items? What about the sealed cave? Should he unravel the mysteries or get a signature from the Foreign Minister and just leave?
「Breakfast is ready!」
A man arrived, pushing a cart with a steaming pot on it. Children quickly swarmed him.
『That soup looks delicious!』Drake said.
The drakon just wanted to try every food he could get his hands on. While it looked good, it was nothing more than stewed meat and vegetables.
「Wash your hands first.」the man said.「Also, the elder has an important story to tell you.」
「Oh, come on!」
「I"m hungry!」
The children were complaining, but the man simply held the ladle in his hand, not serving the soup. Then, a deeply-wrinkled old man with gray hair arrived. He wore a gray robe, though quite different from the ones the Gray Deacons donned. His was simpler, with nothing but a sash tied around his waist.
「Hmm? That robe he"s wearing…」Paula said, puzzled. Something seemed to be bothering her.
「Let"s see. What story should I tell? Since a new year is almost upon us, let"s go with The First Story.」the old man said.「Long, long ago, when the word “Saint” still did not exist, black clouds filled the skies, crops failed to bear fruit, waters were muddy, diseases spread, and demons plagued the lands. Those times were called the Dark Ages. Mankind could do nothing but pray to G.o.d, and He watched us, answered our prayers. As proof, He gave one young man a wonderful gift. Wisdom. A great amount of it. The man then created various things. Later on, he told the people that he was blessed with wisdom from G.o.d. He then pa.s.sed on early, sorely missed by the people.」
Blessing of Wisdom. In other words, blessing given by a one-character job cla.s.s in the soul card, the Wisdom G.o.d. Hikaru turned to Lavia and Paula, wondering if they knew about this story, but they both shook their heads.
「The people were able to lead easier lives because of the man, and mankind survived through the Dark Ages. Men came to believe in G.o.d, and soon people known as Saints started emerging.」
「The Saints gathered in Agiapole, right?!」one kid said.
「Exactly. So you remember. Good job. Believers then a.s.sembled and built the Church as a symbol of their faith.」
It was a story of how the Church was founded. Hikaru already knew about it, but the Wisdom part was new to him. This would mean that the man who created the soul card and therefore contributed to the establishment of the Adventurers Guild, was also related to the foundation of the Church.
「All right, then. Does anyone know the first Saint"s important teaching?」
The first Saint"s teaching? Hikaru listened carefully.
「「「Wash your hands before eating!」」」
「Exactly. Wash your hands and then have your breakfast.」
Ugh. Didn"t see that one coming. The story ended with a basic lesson. The old man watched children scamper towards the well before retiring to his little shed.
「Drake, did you know about that story just now?」
『The part about the Wisdom G.o.d imparting a gift to a human? Hmm, I don"t really listen to such stories.』
「There"s a story pa.s.sed down by the Church that goes like this: “When evil spreads, drakons die, and blade reaches the G.o.ds, the end will come. O" child of G.o.d, find heaven"s messenger, and purge evil.”」
Hikaru told Drake what he learned from Sarah. Apparently, it was the reason why Sophie was looking for someone with a Heaven"s Messenger related job cla.s.s.
『What did you just say?! Drakons don"t die!』
「But that"s a long time ago, right?」
『Ah, yes. I think I might"ve heard about a time when lots of drakons died and darkness covered this world.』
「That"s exactly it.」
The Dark Ages that they listened to just now. If the deaths of the drakons caused it, then the man who acquired Wisdom turned things around.
Well, in that case, shouldn"t the Church be searching for someone with a Wisdom G.o.d job cla.s.s, not Heaven"s Messenger? Did the man in the story have a messenger-type cla.s.s as well?
「I remember now!」Paula exclaimed.「The clothes that old man is wearing is a really old version of the robes the monks wear. No one wears it nowadays because it"s too warm for summer and too cold for winter.」
「I see. This old man intrigues me. I want to ask him a few questions. What do you think?」
「I want to listen to his stories too!」Paula said.
「Count me in, of course.」Lavia agreed.
They made their way to the old man"s shed and stopped at the entrance, which was nothing but a piece of cloth dangling down.
Now, then. I doubt he"ll attack us out of nowhere, but let"s check his Soul Board just in case.
「Young"uns. Please, come in. You were listening earlier, weren"t you?」the old man called to them from inside.
How?
Hikaru had his Group Obfuscation on at the moment. While it was not maxed out—still one point short—he still had four points on it. No one had sensed them before.
Must be because I summoned his Soul Board.
Checking someone"s Soul Board meant messing with someone"s soul. Perceptive people could tell when theirs was being manipulated. Right now, the old man"s Soul Board was displayed before Hikaru.