The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 118 Kiraya

In this setting, there is only one person who can be addressed as "Your Majesty".

Eric looked down at the platform below the high platform, where Emperor Chik Utu was also looking in his direction, nodding to him from afar.

If it were any other young nobleman, he would probably be dizzy and confused by now, but Eric just felt more troubled.

Although it was an honor, if the emperor wanted to see him, it would probably just be to say some nonsense like "What's your name? How old are you? You're not bad. You should step down," and he would have to act all grateful.

The problem is that I still can't refuse.

Eric sighed inwardly, bowed, and said, "Please lead the way."

Eileen naturally followed along.

The brother and sister walked along the sidelines, passing nobles of all ranks, and finally stopped in front of the emperor's family, where they bowed respectfully.

The emperor probably learned that he was a member of the Chimino family from other nobles. After all, Eileen had been staying in Lutia for almost two years, and many people knew her—although she was only a descendant of an earl, the Chimino family had a truly glorious past.

As expected, the emperor's first question was to ask him his name, age, and when he came to Lutia.

Eric answered in turn, and the emperor casually asked about his work and marriage—what he was doing now, and whether he was married.

At this moment, a nobleman leaned over and whispered a few words in the emperor's ear. The emperor's eyes widened immediately, and he looked Eric over again.

"So you're actually a prospective saint of the Holy See... Interesting."

It seems that His Majesty the Emperor doesn't usually pay attention to these things.

Eric bowed and said, "I am the empire's future saintess, and will also be His Majesty's saintess in the future."

The emperor was very satisfied with his answer and liked him even more, but the more he liked him, the more he felt it was a pity.

"Hmm... How did you come up with the idea of ​​taking your sister's place as the saintess?"

“This is the will of the gods,” Eric replied.

"Well……"

The emperor seemed to want to say something to express his dissatisfaction with the gods' arrangement, but he ultimately held back.

“I was actually thinking of introducing Natalia to him,” he said to the nobleman beside him. “Although he’s a bit young, if she’s interested…”

The emperor's voice was not low, but Eric let it go in one ear and out the other, pretending not to hear it.

Princess Natalia, the posthumous daughter of the late emperor and the youngest sister of the current emperor, is about twenty-four or twenty-five years old this year. She is also the banner that unites the human camp after the demons invaded the south. During the Battle of Lutia, the royal family abandoned the city and fled. As soon as they left the city, they were all smashed into mincemeat by stones thrown by the attacking trolls. Only Natalia, who resolutely defended the city, survived.

The emperor then asked him about his time in the Holy City and why he had come to Lutia.

“Her Highness the Holy Maiden has sent me out to travel and broaden my horizons,” Eric replied.

The emperor then spoke of his earlier performance, saying that although he had not become the victor, he had performed admirably. He wanted to reward him with a gift and asked him what he wanted.

Eric glanced at the emperor, and on a sudden thought, respectfully expressed his desire to take his sister to his high platform to enjoy the view.

He had just seen some nobles go up to the platform, which shouldn't be considered offensive.

The emperor readily agreed, saying that he and his sister could come and go as they pleased in the venue.

Eric expressed his gratitude again, chatted with the emperor for a few more minutes, and then took Eileen up to the high platform with a wide view.

As soon as he went up, he picked up the monocular telescope that the alchemist had made for the emperor and looked at the area he had been paying attention to earlier.

Due to technological limitations, the telescope's magnification was not very high, and its accuracy was also relatively average. However, it could not see very far places. He squinted and searched for a while when suddenly a huge head popped out of the lens.

“…Stop it.”

"Let me see too." Eileen reached out for the binoculars.

Eric let her play for a while, while he continued to look around with his naked eyes.

While you can see very far from the high platform, it's still quite difficult to spot people, since there are many people and trees below, which obstructs the view.

After Eileen got tired of playing, he continued searching with the telescope for a while, but still couldn't find the dark elf or the demon princess he had only caught a glimpse of earlier.

He still has to go and take a look himself.

"Eileen, I have something to do. I'll come find you later."

He told Eileen to stay there, so it would be easier for him to find her later, since she also had some noble friends here to greet.

"If I don't come looking for you, you should go back to the academy by yourself."

"Okay." Although she would rather continue exploring with him, Eileen chose to listen to him and stay there obediently.

Leaving the venue alone, Eric plunged into the crowd, looking around as he searched for the spot he had memorized during his horse race.

If that gray-skinned girl is indeed the demon princess Kiraya, then she is of great value.

Putting aside the information she possesses about the demon race, the demons haven't yet moved south, so she wouldn't appear here for no reason. Eric strongly suspects that she is the demon envoy who first came into contact with Sinmag in the original timeline.

However, Xinma Gu did not leave the city today. What is she doing here?
Surely it wasn't to assassinate Chik Utu?
Some individuals among the demons do possess the talent for remote curses. He remembered that Kiraya seemed to have such an ability in the story, but it was never mentioned that she had used this talent against anyone, let alone the emperor of the empire.

Eric couldn't guess the answer, so he could only find her and confirm her identity first.

After walking for a while, he returned to the place he had just been, slowed down, and looked around.

After searching for a short while, he spotted the figure standing in front of a stall, seemingly having a conflict with someone.

Eric took a breath, quickly walked around her, and looked at her face first.

"..."

It really is Kiraya!

Although his face was a bit more youthful than the one he remembered, there was almost no difference in general.

Eric's heart pounded, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

He looked around carefully but didn't see any other faces that resembled dark elves.

Is she all alone?

Eric didn't know how she got to Lutia, but he understood that she shouldn't be alone in any way.

Is there some kind of hidden guard lurking in the shadows?
He approached Kiraya discreetly, observing his surroundings as he listened to the sounds of her arguing with the person in front of her.

"I already told you, I don't have any gold coins."

“Dark Elf, I don’t know where you came from, but in your place, if you want something from someone else, you always have to give something in return, right?”

"I can get whatever I want."

"Heh, your approach won't work among us humans. You either pay up or put the thing down. If you really don't have money, just become a prostitute like your people, and you'll have enough after a few times."

"What bitch?"

"Ha, there are still such innocent dark elves these days..."

Kiraya frowned. "Are you going to give it to me or not?"

"go away."

Seeing that she really didn't intend to pay, the human stall owner's smile suddenly turned cold. "I don't know where this dark elf bastard came from, running around causing trouble here. Even that boar that just walked by was more polite than you."

Even though Kiraya doesn't fully understand the vocabulary of the common language, she still understood this sentence.

"I kill you!"

"Come on, if you don't kill me, I'm not doing business today, I'll kill you too. You don't know anything, do you? I'll teach you."

Kiraya raised her hand towards the stall owner, about to unleash a curse, when her body was suddenly knocked off balance by a bump.

She turned her head and glared, but could only see the other person's back. When she looked up again, her gaze froze.

"Sorry." The man seemed to have bumped into her unintentionally while backing away. He turned around and sincerely apologized to her.

Kiraya's gaze swept over his face a few times, then she lowered her head and glanced to the side. "Hmph, consider yourself lucky..."

"What's the price of this? I'll take it." Eric asked the stall owner. Kiraya had her eye on a very ordinary little trinket that a ten-year-old human child probably wouldn't be interested in, but she was willing to kill for it.

“Half a charen will suffice, sir,” the stall owner said to him much more politely.

Looking at the whimsical little junk in Kiraya's hand that cost no more than ten copper coins, Eric suddenly thought it wouldn't be bad to let her cast a death curse on this person.

However, to avoid any unforeseen complications, he still paid the money.

The stall owner beamed, "I'll take one chiren from you and give you half a chiren in change!"

“This is my apology,” he said to Kiraya.

Kiraya wasn't oblivious to the fact that he had gotten her out of a predicament. She looked at his face again and suddenly said, "If you become my bodyguard, I can spare your life in the future."

This witch...

Eric glanced at the stall owner inside who was sneer, neither agreeing nor refusing. He led Kiraya to the side and then asked, "What do you mean by being your bodyguard?"

He was just wondering what excuse he could come up with to continue following her.

“Just follow me.” Kiraya looked up at him. “If there’s anything I want, just get it for me. I won’t treat you badly in the future.”

So, I'm just using her as a wallet.

Eric smiled and said, "Okay, but only for today."

Kiraya frowned. He continued, "I happen to be out alone, so strolling through the festival with a uniquely elegant dark elf like you won't be boring. I haven't even asked your name yet."

“I am…” Kiraya paused for a moment, then gave her name directly, “Kiraya.”

It seems she thinks no one here could possibly know her.

“Miss Kiraya.” Eric bent down, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. “I am Eric, and I am happy to serve as your bodyguard for a day.”

Kiraya immediately pulled her hand back. "What are you doing?"

"This is just normal human etiquette, Miss Dark Elf."

"Y-really?"

Kiraya glanced at the back of her hand that had been kissed, and deliberately rubbed it a few times in front of him. "You humans are so strange."

“It seems you haven’t been in human territory for very long,” Eric said, looking at her. “Did you come all by yourself?”

“Of course not, I have guards,” Kiraya said immediately. “But they were too noisy, they wouldn’t let me go here or there, so I shook them off.”

As she spoke, a hint of pride appeared on her face, and her emotional changes were as easily understood as a child's.

It turned out she had shaken off the guards herself...

The idea of ​​kidnapping her immediately popped into Eric's mind.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kiraya frowned at him. "And what did you mean when you said you'd only be a guard for one day?"

He quickly tried to conceal the criminal aura he had inadvertently exuded.

"Because I only have some free time today, so I can accompany Miss Kiraya shopping. Tomorrow, I will have to take care of other things."

Kiraya looked at him again and asked, "Do you live here?"

"You mean Lutia? Yes."

"Hmph, wait until next time we meet..." Kiraya said, then suddenly smiled, "One day is fine, when you see me again you'll know who I am."

Eric forced a smile, knowing better than she did what the next meeting meant.

"We'll talk about next time later. Miss Kiraya, where would you like to go for a stroll now? I'll accompany you."

Kiraya was pleased with his attitude. She looked around, pointed ahead, and said, "Take me over there."

“Okay.” Eric took her hand and pulled her forward.

This was clearly unexpected. She tried to pull her hand away, but not with force. Eric tightened his grip slightly, and she stopped moving.

Looking down, he saw that the witch was also looking at him, but as soon as their eyes met, she looked away again.

This is roughly the process of child abduction...

It's alright... He kidnapped a demon child.

Eric silently comforted himself, keeping a straight face, and led Kira on a stroll through the bustling festival.

Even if they did kidnap her, where to put her afterward would be a problem.

But before that, he had something more important to get answers to from her.

"It's very lively today. Did Miss Kiraya come specifically for today's celebration?"

"Hmph...who would come to a celebration like this on purpose?"

Although the Demon Extermination Anniversary is lively, it is clear that the festival's purpose is unlikely to win the favor of the demons.

"It seems Miss Kiraya just happened to be passing by?" Eric continued to probe.

The demon princess snorted in response.

"Where were you originally going? If it's on the same route, we might be able to travel together for the next few days."

Kiraya immediately looked up at him, "Where are you going?"

“I asked you first, lovely Miss Kiraya,” Eric said with a smile.

The gray-skinned demons rarely show emotional changes through facial expressions like humans do, but he could still sense her momentary shyness.

"I'll be staying here for a few days. I need to see someone... Once I see him, I can go back."

Click.

Eric felt as if two gears in his heart had meshed together and were slowly turning.

That's for sure, she's here to see Xinmagu; she's the demon envoy.

Eric couldn't help but be even more curious: how could such an innocent yet wicked demon girl meet Xinmagu and bewitch him to go north to the Demon Realm to see the Demon King?
He glanced at the hood covering Kiraya's horns.

Such disguise is only somewhat effective when no one is paying attention. If she were to enter the cathedral where Sinmaggu is located, she would inevitably be questioned by the guards, who would immediately discover that she is not a dark elf.

"I might know who you're looking for."

Kiraya frowned and thought for a moment, "I don't remember the name, but it was someone who held a very high position in your human empire."

Eric gave a forced smile. "So how are you going to see him?"

“They said there would be a way… Why are you asking so many questions?” Kiraya couldn’t answer any more, so she retorted.

“I apologize, as I rarely interact with you dark elves, I couldn’t help but ask a few questions.” Eric bent down to look directly at her, speaking softly, “Please forgive me.”

"..."

Kiraya opened her mouth, but hesitated, feeling very uncomfortable.

Eric figured that if he teased her a few more times, she might not be able to resist revealing her identity.

"Just don't ask so many questions..."

"Okay, Miss Kiraya."

Eric got up, glanced around, and looked for any other children's toys he could use to amuse the demon princess.

Stalls were everywhere, and Kiraya was interested in quite a few of them. At first, Eric was pulling her along, but soon she was the one pulling Eric forward, and she wanted to go over and look at every stall and every merchant's carriage.

“One Charon is enough, Miss Dark Elf.”

Kiraya turned to look at Eric.

He immediately took out his money, glancing at the unfashionable little piece of junk she had just received.

It's worth at most one silver coin.

Whether they assumed that every Lutia person traveling outside the city was a nobleman or a wealthy man, every merchant at the festival ripped off every customer, acting as if this was the last day of their business.

You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Eric wasn't short of money, and the effect of giving him whatever he wanted was remarkable. Kiraya's trust in him grew steadily, and her smile became more and more frequent.

When she could barely carry any more things, she stared at him for a while, hesitated slightly, and then, as if she had made up her mind, said, "Come with me. I can tell you a big secret today that will definitely surprise you."

Eric's heart skipped a beat. "Where is Miss Kiraya going?"

“I need to take these things back,” Kiraya said. “My guards should still be waiting for me over there. I’ll take you to see them, and then we’ll come back later.”

Eric pursed his lips.

It seems our fairly pleasant time together is coming to an end.

If the demon princess's guards were to find her, he would certainly have no chance to strike.

Eric thought for a moment and said, "Before that, I'd like to take Miss Kiraya somewhere."

"Where?" Kiraya asked, puzzled.

He smiled and said, "There won't be any surprises if I tell you now."

"Hmm... alright, take me there." Kiraya trusted him completely and agreed after a little consideration.

"Come this way." Eric walked towards where he had tied his horse.

I wonder if Leslie is still there...

With such a distinguished nobleman as him leading the way, getting Kiraya into the city won't be a problem. But does Leslie's house have a basement?
Or should we lock her up somewhere else?

She doesn't seem to be a power-type demon; he should be able to tie her up with a regular rope... He hasn't interrogated anyone else yet.

Eric was already considering the details of carrying out the kidnapping, and he walked faster and faster. Kiraya followed behind, but slowly she could not keep up with his pace.

"Wait a minute... Ah!"

He turned around and saw that Kiraya had tripped over something, and the little trinkets she was holding were scattered everywhere.

Eric quickly went to help him up, but the latter glared at him, his face full of anger, but even more so, embarrassment.

"I'm not going!"

“…I’m sorry, Ms. Kiraya.”

Eric quickly reassured him and then went to pick up the things that had been smashed on the ground.

"Here you go." Someone passing by picked up a small windmill for him.

“Thank you…” Eric took it, looked up, and his gaze sharpened.

Princess Natalia?
(End of this chapter)