A Lie – Part 03
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Translator: Kell
“I needed to vent,” the priest replied. “How’d you even get here so fast? You marched through hordes of monsters on schedule. That witch named Madia did tell us about a demon with eyes that can see the world.”
“There is your answer,” Zero said. “Thanks to him, we were able to fend off most of the demons that attacked without difficulty. You may see him later.”
“Excuse me.” Orlux cleared his throat, interrupting the conversation. “I don’t mind you celebrating your reunion, but there is a bit of a problem.” Orlux, with everyone’s attention on him, frowned a little, still wearing his fake smile. “A flying dragon is an extremely bad omen that heralds calamities. We, the Noble Guards, cannot let it and its rider, the Dragon Slayer King, into town. The same goes for the foul rat Beastfallen. Just looking at it makes me uncomfortable.”
“What did you say?” the priest said.
The priest was a man with a nasty mouth and a nasty personality, but he was respectful toward Church personnel and the Knights Templar. Still, Orlux remark ticked him off.
“Ah, excuse me,” the priest said. “If you’re the Captain of Knox’s Noble Guards, then you must be Lord Orlux Corr.”
“Well, what do you know? Even Dea Ignis know my name. What an honor. Corrupted as you are, you are still a Church staff. You may, of course, enter the town.”
“Dea Ignis have the right to see the Bishop directly even without your permission. The Knights Templar is a secular organization to begin with. You sit at the far end of the table, as it were. You don’t have the right to tell me, a member of the Church, what to do. You seem to be ignorant. I can understand how you don’t know that dragons are sacred creatures to the Church.”
It was both a fine and disgraceful battle of status. The priest’s full-frontal verbal attack caused Orlux’s face to tighten.
“And if I, a member of the Church, allow it,” the priest continued, “then of course the dragon, its rider, the Dragon Slayer King, and even the foul rat Beastfallen can set foot in the Church’s domain. Or is my memory serving me wrong? Oh, we have another high-ranking member of the Knights Templar here. Captain Gemma, am I wrong?”
“No,” Gemma said. “You are absolutely right. That’s why the Knights Templar could only watch bitterly as Dea Ignis did outrageous things.”
“Sorry for being outrageous. Otherwise, ignorant idiots will get in our way, preventing us from carrying out the Bishops’ missions as fast as possible.” The priest turned to Orlux. “Captain Orlux, sir?” He went from a full-frontal attack to countless body blows, not giving the knight any chance to breathe.
The underlings behind Orlux began whispering in hushed tones.
“What do we do, Captain? He’s Dea Ignis.”
“We didn’t actually expect a dragon to appear.”
“We must consult the Bishop.”
“If they came from Lutra Cathedral, they might have a message from the Bishop there.”
They were all disagreeing with Orlux’s decision.
The knight clenched his fists softly, a smile plastered on his face. “I’ll consult with the Bishop,” he said curtly and turned on his heel.
“Let me accompany you,” the priest said, not allowing the knight to go alone. “I want to give a detailed report on the situation down south. We are currently the only ones who have information south of Wenias.”
Orlux could not possibly turn him away. Skillfully, he made a deathly grim expression while still wearing a smile. “This way, then,” he said, walking in front of the priest.
I let out a sigh of relief as I watched them go.
“I don’t like him,” Lily said.
“The priest?” I asked.
“No.”
“I’m kidding. The Captain of the Noble Guards, right? I doubt anyone would like that guy.”
“I feel the same.” Gemma nodded. “He’s trying to protect the people, but the way he draws the line between those he’s supposed to protect and the rest is too radical.”
“Really, now? You’re from the same organization. You sure you can say that?”
“Of course. I don’t judge people by their status. We may belong in the same organization, and he may be Captain of the Noble Guards, favored by Knox Cathedral’s Bishop, but what’s wrong is wrong. He tried to drive you away while I wasn’t looking. That is nothing short of despicable. Even Vice Captain Leyland was appalled.” Gemma crossed her arms, puffed her chest, and snorted. She seemed to have a bigger issue with Orlux than we did.
“In any case, my dear friends have gathered before me once more,” Zero said. “You two must be tired. I have converted the carriage into a sleeping quarters, so you may rest there for a bit.”
“Thanks,” Gouda said. “Oh, I want to give Heath some food and water.”
Gemma straightened up. “I-I see. I suppose dragons drink and eat too.”
I know how you feel, girl. For some reason, I thought dragons had an inexhaustible supply of power.
“Heath, was it? What does it eat? I can have it prepared right away.”
“Anything but meat. Fruits and plants. Minerals and gems, even, if you have them.”
“It eats rocks?” Gemma asked in surprise.
Gouda picked up a stone that was buried under the snow and tossed it into Heath’s mouth. The creature happily chewed it into pieces.
“Heath says the rocks here are delicious,” Lily said.
“I see.” Gouda’s expression softened. “Then we don’t have to worry about depleting the people’s supplies. Also, and I learned this on this trip, if you feed him coal and oil, he can make sparks with his teeth and spew fire. It’s not much, but if you want a big fire, just let me know.”
“No need for modesty, Dragon Slayer King,” Gemma said. “There’s nothing more reassuring than having a dragon join you in defending the town. Anyway, I’ll try to gather food for it.”
“Thank you.”
Gouda finally felt relieved. He let out a deep sigh and fainted like an unsupported stick.
He sensed a lie.
Secrecy was walking behind Orlux, deep in thought. Zero said that she had forgotten about the Witch Letter, but was that really true? What if she chose to ignore Albus’s instruction to turn back?
She must have her reasons.
Zero was headed for the Altar in the first place, independent of the Knights Templar’s own objectives. She thought that the knights would be useful on her journey, so she agreed to escort them.
Perhaps she did not inform anyone of the contents of the letter because it would be inconvenient for her to turn back in the middle of the journey.
No. I’m overthinking it.
Even if the knights retreated, Zero could still head north on her own. Then perhaps she did not want to waste time escorting the knights back?
The Knights Templar would not be able to turn back safely without Zero. She could simply ignore them and press on, but Mercenary would not allow that.
“I would’ve appreciated a little heads-up,” Secrecy muttered.
“Did you say something?” Orlux turned his head.
“I was saying that trust comes from dialogue. You should try your best not to lose the Bishop’s favor by acting too much on your own.”
“I appreciate the concern.”
“Yes. If things go too far, even a noble’s bastard will pay the consequences.”
Orlux stopped and turned his whole body around to face Secrecy. The priest stopped as well, facing the knight.
“What did you say?”
“My main task is to gather information, so I hear a lot of rumors. For example, the King of Luxtella, the northern nation that houses Knox Cathedral, is a womanizer and has illegitimate children all over the kingdom. Apparently a knight of the Knights Templar became the king’s mistress and bore his child—a scandalous matter. To protect the knights’ honor, the child was raised in the Church as an orphan.”
“The child then followed in his mother’s footsteps and joined the Knights Templar, rising to the rank of Captain of the Noble Guards?”
“What a moving tale.”
“Right?”
“But make no mistake. The Church loves pitiful children. It loves to see the child strive and aim for greater heights. But the Church doesn’t like it when they deviate from that path. My advice, Captain Orlux, is to stay pitiful. If you do, the Bishop will excuse a bit of violent behavior.”
“Is that all you have to say? Good. I despise idle talk.” Orlux turned his back to Secrecy and resumed walking. But then he stopped, as if remembering something. “You seem to know everything. Do you know how the knight who abandoned her child is doing these days?”
“I don’t know that much.”
Orlux snickered. “It’s fine, then. I am still looking for my mother, who suddenly disappeared one day. I would have loved some information about her, but alas, it’s unfortunate that you don’t have any. How truly unfortunate.”
Sensing a chilling lie, Secrecy’s mouth drew a thin line. “A moving tale, indeed.”
“Right?”
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