Chapter 210 – Decisions.
Early in the morning, as light penetrates from the east, the moon leaves and gives its place. The dark sky turned bluish as if the events of the night had been forgotten, and the stars that adorned the sky turned into dew and sat on the leaves.
“That cargo is this way!”
It was dawn when the sun had not yet risen, but Parzu was already buzzing with the busy voices of merchants preparing for business. Among them, the door connecting the outside and the inside stood out with more cargo than usual.
“Have no envoys or guilds ever come from other places besides the Holy Land? But why are there so many cargoes?”
Katsy, who was guarding the door, asked a curious question while checking the cargo passing by, and George, who was guarding the door with her, answered.
“I heard that the Holy Land took only what was necessary and organized the remaining items.”
“You were invited to the castle today? I’ve been putting off the invitation for a while, but it’s really like looking at your face.”
“Originally, the Holy Land guys are like that.”
The purpose of sending envoys from the Holy Land was not to exchange between countries, but rather to maintain and manage the churches that the Holy Land had built in various places for a long time. The owner of the Holy Land, which had not changed for nearly 500 years, suddenly changed and the expelled Harpies settled here, but even if the owner of the Holy Land changed, there were things that did not change.
“It’s disgusting that all the guys from the Holy Land act the same. What about the old building?”
The owner of the Holy Land is changed because of good talk, but the actions of those who occupied the Holy Land were always the same, to the extent that people outside wondered if the owner of the Holy Land had really changed. Whoever settles down once settles there, quietly guards the holy ground without any interaction with the outside world, and dispatches an envoy every 10 years to manage the church built by the holy ground elsewhere. Even though it probably has nothing to do with the person who built the cathedral in the distant past, always. There was minimal exchange to maintain the delegation, but that was enough. They went back as if their business was over once the maintenance of the cathedral was finished.
Those who felt suspicious about the actions of such a shrine also investigated the cathedral. In some places, they even entered the cathedral directly because they wanted to interact with the Holy Land, but there was no particular restriction on their behavior in the Holy Land, unless it was a serious matter. Therefore, it is a fact that all countries with cathedrals know that the cathedral itself is just an ordinary building.
“Watch your mouth. There are believers among us, and it’s going to be a big deal. And you know what happened with the cathedral, right?”
“Ah, that old story…”
In the old days, people always thought that a closed holy place would have something important in the church that needed to keep sending envoys. If not, I thought there would be no need to repeat the same actions even if the ruler of the Holy Land changed. It doesn’t exist now, but it is said that the king of a certain country had the same thought in the past. He coveted the magical tools that might be kept in the cathedral. Even so, he was disapproving of the cathedral built in his country.
The cathedral did not attract believers or engage in outside activities, but the power of priests who managed the cathedral was comparable to that of the king. Even without propagation, many people prayed to God at the church, and even those who did not have time to go to the church received baptized items from the priest and prayed. There was no way the greedy king would see this. He forbade prayer and belief in God and eventually had the cathedral torn down. However, no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find anything like a magic tool, only a pile of stones. And that was the root cause.
The king was disappointed and thought that the priests and followers had hidden the magic tools, so the moment he gave the order to blow them all and kill them, the ground suddenly shook and the sky turned black. When he raised his head in surprise, all sorts of monsters overflowed to the point of covering the land and sky. Just like waiting for the cathedral to collapse. Eventually, the country was destroyed. Because of this, those who doubted the existence of God or tried to destroy the cathedral did not appear. The country that didn’t believe the story and destroyed the cathedral was all destroyed by the same monsters.
“Still, I can’t believe that the old building prevents the monsters from attacking. We even have a cathedral built in the outskirts of town.”
“Then, are you going to try to destroy it yourself?”
“Crazy.”
“Look.”
They continued their inspection while chatting nonsensically.
“Actually, I can’t believe that Vargazzet fell more than that.”
“Well, he was famous for being like a monster.”
Bargazette was a popular name among Cattsy. After all, it was unusual for a beastman to live over 500 years, no matter how much longer lifespans than humans. Even the things he had done while ruling the Holy Land for a long time were especially notorious compared to those who had ruled the Holy Land until now, so he was feared enough to be called the Demon King.
“Then, how monstrous is the current owner who defeated that demon lord?”
“We don’t know. Because we don’t have anything to meet. That’s it.”
If the harpies hadn’t come to this place, the Catsy wouldn’t have believed that Vargazzet had fallen. Then, by the time the dawn had fully risen. A group appeared from afar.
“Hey, I’m here. I’m here.”
What they saw were knights riding Hildis beanies and white clowns walking behind them.
“Then check.”
“Stop it. Don’t you remember what I said before work today?”
“Oh right.”
The gatekeepers had already been told to cross the delegation’s checkpoint at the entrance. Was it the reason to keep the checks as low as possible so they wouldn’t get on their nerves? Fortunately, George forgot his colleague and stopped them from trying to interrogate them as usual and lets them in. I knew that nothing would happen to each other, but I was nervous for nothing. They weren’t just knights, they were paladins who could use powers similar to magic.
“Phew, the air is heavy.”
In the end, it was only after sending in the followers at the end that Katsy opened her mouth as if the tension was relieved.
“The woman in the front must be the representative of the delegation, right?”
“I guess. But why?”
“No, she’s really pretty. It’s a shame.”
“Are you going to cross the envoy of the Holy Land?”
“What should I do with my eyes closed?”
It was when they were chatting again. Found other ones. Normally, I would have thought they were just trying to enter the inner area, but their behavior was a problem. I couldn’t help but be suspicious of the appearance of a knight wearing a full body armor that seemed to have been put together from several pieces, and a girl wearing a protective plate that minimally protected her body over her one-piece skirt.
“Doesn’t that sound like someone should check it out?”
“Just let it go.”
I tried to set up the spear thinking that my colleagues were different, but George stopped first. When he turned around wondering why he was doing this, he pointed at the knight’s chest with a nod of his head.
“Look at me if you have eyes.”
“What? Didn’t the envoys from the Holy Land just pass by?”
Because there was a symbol that could be called the symbol of the Holy Land.
“Perhaps a paladin who received a separate order.”
“Still, it’s a bit strange. Aren’t you trying to avoid being checked secretly by camouflaging yourself?”
“Is the nose a decoration?”
Cathy, smelling his words, stopped trying to block her spear. It was because their noses were sensitive enough to be able to smell them even from a distance without direct contact. The gazes of the knight and George met briefly, but they passed without speaking to each other. Thanks to this, they were able to pass through the gate without being blocked by the checkpoint.
“Mister, are you really okay with this?”
While he was bewildered at the situation of passing the checkpoint more smoothly than expected, he wondered if Usher was really okay. They hid in a deserted place for now, but as they were looking around just in case, Krikaliev answered.
“Are we in a position to cover hot and cold meals?
As if playing a joke, he repeated attaching and detaching the plate covering the center of his chest, the red jewel, with a clicking sound.
“Come to think of it, that’s it. I don’t think I saw the pattern when I met that paladin sister.”
I wondered if it could be a magical tool that would disappear under certain circumstances.
“It was just swapped.”
“…Was that what it was for?”
He was speechless at the sight of Krikaliev, who quickly replaced it with an unmarked plate. He changes so quickly that he would not have known if he hadn’t helped put on his armor.
“Anyway, it’s going well so far, but going into the castle is a problem.”
“You said there was a way?”
“It’s me, it’s simple, but the problem is you.”
What he showed me was a wooden box with a hole in the handle that was hidden in the corner. The box, neither too big nor too small, was big enough for Usher to fit into when he sat down.
“You want to come in?”
“Well, maybe you can’t get into a narrow place, right?”
“It doesn’t matter. Then who will move it?”
“When you go in, there will be someone who will help you. Don’t worry. As long as you follow that person’s guidance, there won’t be any big problems.”
Usher wondered if there was such a person, but for now, he went inside the box as he told him to. It’s never too late to ask after saving the people you need to save. The lid closed as soon as he crouched down. And knock, knock, knock exactly three times, a slow repeated knocking sound was heard.
“If this kind of sound knocks on the box, knock the same. Until then, never come out and don’t make a sound.”
“Ugh, yes.”
It was painful to be confined in a narrow box, but somehow I managed to hold it in, so I felt like I was being lifted up as if the box was being moved. It was uncomfortable to be crouching in a narrow and dark space amidst the dim light coming through the hole in the box and the sounds coming from outside. At first glance, the smell of mangroves in his nose felt stronger than usual and gave him dizziness, but he had to endure it somehow. Because it was just something I had to endure. I was afraid of this situation where I didn’t know where I was headed in the dark, but I endured it nonetheless.
Krikaliev waited, hoping to put the box in the right place, until he felt the box stop moving. I couldn’t even see the light that had come in from outside the box, so only thick darkness filled my eyes. I heard people’s voices outside the box, but I couldn’t pay attention because I was dizzy and I was going to vomit if I did anything wrong. It was a big deal to do such a thing in such a narrow and stuffy place. He closed his mouth, thinking he might be caught, and exhaled as slowly as he could, listening to the sound.
But no sound was heard. A strangely still silence. Could it be a warehouse? The thick smell of dust seeped through the gaps between my fingers. I choked at the thought that I might not be able to get out of this box forever like that dust. I wanted to jump out of this box right away. However, Krikaliev’s words came to him, so he somehow endured. If he did something wrong, he might not have been able to save Belka. Even if I couldn’t help, I shouldn’t have bothered. If he did, he might not be able to save the girl forever.
Even breathing was painful and difficult, but he continued to hide in the box. It was a time when I was still waiting in a state where I couldn’t fathom how much time had passed. There was a squeak and the sound of the door opening. The sound of footsteps seemed to be coming towards him. Before long, knock, knock, knock exactly three times, the sound of knocking on the box. He calmly followed the knock and knocked on the box three times. At the same time, the lid of the box opened and Usher froze as he raised his head to catch a breath.
“Did you hide well in this narrow space?”
A catsy woman with black hair in a maid’s uniform was watching him there. She let out a sigh as she didn’t know what had happened to him.
“Didn’t he tell you about me?”
“If that person, is your sister by any chance?”
“If you know, follow me quickly. The envoys from the Holy Land are leaving soon, so you have to hurry.”
Usher was pushed out of the box at her urging. Outside the box was a dark warehouse with boxes stacked one on top of the other, just as he had thought. But what was surprising to her was that the place she followed her outside was a sunny hallway. Even though it was the lowest place, he was surprised that he had come here.
The sun was already approaching mid-heaven.
