East Road Quest

Chapter 60: Assassins

Deolon galloped across the southern meadows of Fairbang. He rode aimlessly until he was unsure where to go to meet them and stopped. It was then that a mysterious figure, hood and robe thrown back, appeared on horseback.

“I am Deolon from the Cathedral of Achilia. I’ve come to meet Alisa.”

Deolon said, forcing a smile.

When the stranger only stared in response, Deolon added,

“It seems the party you requested has appeared at my cathedral.”

At last, the figure nodded.

“Stay here.”

With that, he rode off and disappeared. Deolon dismounted and waited anxiously.

About an hour later, Alisa appeared.

“Tell me the situation.”

“A man named Jaden has just appeared at my cathedral. I couldn’t believe it when Duke Drake said a party would come searching for the Holy Grail.”

Deolon briefly summarized the events at the cathedral for her.

After listening, Alisa nodded and said,

“You’ve kept your end of the bargain, so I’ll prepare your reward as promised. Is Father Jaden still at the cathedral?”

“Unless he acted impulsively, he wouldn’t have left.”

Alisa signaled her subordinates with a gesture. Nearly ten of them mounted their horses as if they were one.

Alisa also mounted her horse and said,

“Please, come with us, Father.”

“Ah, yes, of course.”

As Deolon got on his horse, she rode closer and asked,

“But how did you realize Father Jaden was going after the Grail without him mentioning it?”

Deolon hesitated for a moment.

‘Ah, I’ve spoken without thinking.’

He knew about Jade’s quest for the Grail from a letter he received from Lorenzo. But he got confused after receiving several letters in a row.

‘Should I just say Jade talked about the Grail and I forgot to mention it? No, that would be unnatural considering the detailed account I just gave, including the part about the lamb’s milk. Besides, it would be odd for Jade to blurt out that he’s going after the Grail.’

Despite his inner panic, Deolon answered calmly,

“It’s simple. I saw in his eyes that his soul was lying.”

Deolon continued slowly,

“And I have my own methods of deduction. There’s no need to explain the entire process. After all, it’s just a guess, and whether Jaden is truly part of the party seeking the Grail is for you to find out. If my guess is wrong, I won’t accept the reward.”

“Understood.”

Alisa agreed and spurred her horse forward.

‘I must be careful with my words. She’s sharper than she looks.’

Deolon followed her and said,

“There’s an innocent woman among Jaden’s party. Could you perhaps show mercy and spare her?”

“We’re not going to kill them.”

“It’s just a precaution, given the murderous intent you’re showing.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“If you’re not going to kill them, I’d like to take the woman into my care. It seems she’s unaware of any wrongdoing and has been misled by Jaden’s words. She appears to be a nun. As a fellow clergyman, I feel it’s my duty to save her from the path of evil.”

Alisa turned her head to look at Deolon quietly.

Deolon waited for her answer with the gaze of a selfless priest.

“We’ll decide that after we’ve caught the three.”

She replied curtly and turned her gaze forward again.

“As you should.”

Deolon responded as if it were obvious, but he was inwardly anxious.

‘If these people intend to kill that woman too, I’ll have no choice but to serve them a warm cup of tea.’

“I’ve finished reading.”

Ruby closed the Bible with a satisfied smile.

“How was it?”

Saph asked.

“It’s something I’ve read before.”

Ruby answered as if it were a matter of fact, and

Saph was ‘expressionlessly’ taken aback.

“You’ve read the Bible before?”

Jade knew the answer before Ruby spoke.

“You saw it in the Library of Roxandria, didn’t you?”

“Actually, it had much more content than what I’ve just read.”

Ruby tapped her forehead with her finger as she continued,

“But it was good to read. Thanks to it, I’ve figured out how to recover my lost memories.”

“How?”

Jade asked eagerly.

“There was a time before.”

Ruby rose from her seat and walked to the window, narrating her tale. “It was a small village, Heiton or Peyton, I can’t quite recall, but suddenly it was swarming with elders from the outskirts. It was such an odd sight that I went to see. The cathedral where the elders gathered was off-limits to non-members, but I found a spot on a ceiling beam where I could see everything they were doing.”

Ruby cracked open the wooden window and peered outside. Jade joined her, looking out as well, but aside from the darkened village scenery, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“The people began to unroll scrolls piled up like a mountain and started reciting them. It was a dreadfully dull affair. After reading one scroll, they would engage in lengthy discussions followed by a vote. Then they would read another and repeat the process.”

“What were they voting on?”

“Whether to include the contents of the scrolls in the holy scriptures.”

Jade asked in shock, “Good heavens, Ruby, you were at the Aiten Council?”

“What does the name of the village matter?”

“Do you say that often?”

“I’ve traveled to so many places that I can’t afford to remember every single village. Anyway!”

Ruby continued, raising her voice slightly as if to prevent any interruptions. “I had read those books too, so I voted in my head each time. I mostly voted ‘yes,’ but the actual council mostly voted ‘no,’ which was quite frustrating. Especially during the vote to discard a scripture that contained a line about pigs being unclean animals not to be eaten—I couldn’t help but jeer from the ceiling! ‘Boo, fraud, fraud!’ The meeting was briefly halted as they demanded, ‘Who dares to interrupt this sacred assembly with such insolence?’ Ha!”

Ruby laughed with a not-so-amused expression and went on. “Of course, I’m not fond of the line about not eating pork. But to discard an entire book with many good lines just because of that one sentence seemed too extreme!”

Jade nodded in agreement. “That’s a well-known story. It’s the scripture written by Saint Kaisan, and it’s still a controversial topic. Some argued that only the pork line should be removed, but the prevailing view at the time was that a person’s writings are one entity, so it’s either all in or all out.”

“And yet, some scriptures were heavily revised and approved, weren’t they? I almost missed that part because it was near the end of the meeting…

“That’s why the current scriptures contain varied content, and the ‘Holy War’ books were published to explain them. But even those books became controversial and entangled in all sorts of conspiracies. This magic book of light is called the fourth ‘Holy War’ because of that.”

Jade patted the book tucked in his arms.

Ruby moved away from the window, remarking, “If I had a vote, the scriptures would have been much more interesting.”

Jade concluded, “Yes, yes. But we don’t need to continue the centuries-old Ketolic controversy now. Let’s drop it.”

“Do you think I, who knows how many have died because of such disputes, would start one? You know, when I was young, reading this book was heresy punishable by burning. And now, not reading it is heresy? What are they expecting?”

Ruby tossed the scripture to Saph, who barely caught it. In truth, she had easily caught the thrown book with her remarkable reflexes, only to feign panic afterward.

“But why were you looking out the window just now?”

Jade inquired.

Ruby replied nonchalantly, “This village is under siege.”

Jade flinched and asked, “Another band of thieves?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s a small group. They’re just guarding the entrance. And about ten of them will be coming this way. I think Deolon is leading them. I’d have to go out to confirm, but for the reasons I mentioned earlier, I’m not too keen on leaving.”

Crossing her arms, Ruby inquired, “What will you do? There are two ways: wait here and I’ll annihilate them when they arrive, or we could flee before they get here.”

“Is our opponent human?” Jade asked.

“We’ll only know once we clash. They feel human, but demons like Baishufer can disguise themselves as humans easily.”

“And their purpose?”

“We’d have to ask to find out.”

Ruby waited with her arms still crossed. Jade asked again, “If we decide to flee, can we?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s flee.”

“Agreed.”

Ruby walked towards the sacristy where Deolon first brought bread.

Jade followed, asking, “You’re in favor of fleeing? I thought you’d insist on fighting.”

“Why?”

“You enjoy a fight.”

“After a few high-stake gambles, ones with fake stakes just aren’t fun.”

“What does that mean?”

“Having faced someone like Kraoukx, fighting humans just isn’t thrilling. Besides, we can’t kill them.”

Ruby pulled at the sacristy door, which was locked. Without hesitation, she pulled harder.

The doorknob broke, and the door swung open.

“Weren’t we supposed to be polite?” Jade questioned.

“I said I’d be polite where it’s efficient. Against foes, this is more efficient.”

“I don’t understand your definition of efficiency. But why here?”

The sacristy was neatly arranged with various liturgical tools, books, and rolled-up documents.

Ruby rummaged through the priestly garments hanging on a coat rack and pulled one out.

“Give this to Saph.”

“Hmm, strictly speaking, it’s stolen. I wonder if Saph would wear it.”

“Let Saph weigh shame and morality. It’s not for me to decide.”

Jade handed the garment to Saph, saying, “That’s what Ruby thinks, Saph. I believe it’s better to wear it.”

Saph pondered as if on trial, then nodded.

“Ruby, let’s leave so Saph can change.”

“I’m busy. The one who’s reluctant should leave.”

The sacristy also had dry bread, hard biscuits, and cheese on the shelves. Ruby began stuffing them into a cloth bag nearby.

“Are you going to steal those too?” Saph asked, holding the priestly garment.

“Let’s see, the scripture says, ‘Do not steal from your neighbor,’ right?”

Ruby pretended to ponder and continued, “But is the one bringing assassins to kill us my neighbor? In a broad sense, all humans are neighbors, so stealing this would violate scripture. Then, I’m about to break the scripture’s teachings! So, don’t worry and just get dressed.”

Jade shook his head. “Maybe reading the scripture was a mistake.”

Saph looked around and opened the door to the adjacent room.

“I can change in here…

Saph hesitated and stopped as he was about to enter.

Jade peered into the room Saph had opened. It was a reliquary with a five-tier shelf fixed to the wall, displaying various items neatly.

“This is the reliquary,” Jade noted.

“Ho, this brings back another memory.”

Ruby slung the bag of food over her shoulder and entered. The light from Ruby’s chains and shackles naturally illuminated the items on the shelf more clearly.

Jade followed in and closed the door.

“Saph, we’ll be here, so you change out there.”

Saph responded from outside the door, “Yes, Father.”

On the shelf in the reliquary were several golden chalices, human bones, ancient parchments, and a pewter star cross.

Ruby held up a bone about two spans long.

“Ha, look at this.”

Jade checked the label in front of the bone.

“It says it’s the bone of Saint Theodomar. Never heard of him?”

Jade tilted his head.

“Do the bones of saints emanate holiness?”

Ruby held up another bone, resembling a pelvis, and asked, “Well, that’s debatable. Should we regard this as holy or not?”

“Isn’t it true that at least this has to be genuine to be of any value? I once saw a ‘Holy Bone Merchant’ in some country on the eastern continent, selling about a hundred thigh bones of the same saint in a day. If assembled, they would make a giant about 30 cubits tall.”

Ruby burst into laughter.

Jade also laughed, albeit with a sense of defeat.

Ruby stomped on the wooden floor with her foot and then slipped her fingers into a crevice.

“Huh? There’s something here.”

Ruby opened a lid attached to the floor.

Beneath the lid, a secret compartment held two wooden boxes and two jewel cases.

Without hesitation, Ruby pried open the locked jewel case. Inside were gold coins and a plethora of jewels.

“Ah, I thought there might be something more remarkable.”

Ruby was disappointed.

Jade, on the other hand, felt a growing unease.

“This is more than a single priest could possess.”

Ruby plucked a gold coin from the jewel case and tossed it to Jade.

“Keep it for a rainy day.”

It was a Goldhas from Rome. Jade caught it reflexively but shook his head.

“Bread and cheese might be for your efficiency or whatever, but this isn’t.”

“Oh, still hung up on that, are you? Then look at this.”

The second box contained a bottle made of glass.

Ruby sniffed the bottle and immediately grimaced, setting it down.

“This is poison. Humans can’t smell it, but my nose is different. I don’t know why you didn’t put this poison in the goat milk you brought out earlier, but if you had used it, the two of you would now be lying side by side as corpses under the starry cross at the Achillia Cathedral. And you want to maintain moral values against such a person?”

Just then, Sapp spoke from outside the door.

“I’m all dressed.”

Stepping outside, they saw Sapp in a pristine white priest’s robe, standing with hands clasped in a composed posture. The robe even had a priest’s hat attached, allowing him to cover his head.

“Let’s go, Ruby.”

Jade set the Goldhas on a nearby table and urged Ruby.

Ruby was insistently prying open the second jewel case.

“Look here. This is the Holy Grail. We don’t even need to go to the eastern continent. Hahaha.”

Ruby continued as she pulled out a golden chalice from the jewel case.

“I wonder how much offering they’ve extorted from the believers with this chalice?”

When Jade just stared silently, Ruby glared back at him.

“Getting all serious over a joke. Who knows? Maybe when we finally reach the eastern continent, a clergyman there will say, ‘The Holy Grail you seek was kept in a secret box in the Achillia Cathedral!’ Then you’ll regret it.”

Ruby put the chalice back inside and loudly closed the secret lid on the floor.