The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 126 The established path
The continuous downpour lasted from the afternoon until midnight, not only drenching the pearl of the Breeze Plain but also washing away all traces on the ground with the rainwater.

Lutia, in the countryside.

Just as dawn was breaking, the demon guards who had been sent out to scout the situation quietly returned to the inn where they were hiding. They had changed inns, and to prevent the people sent out from not being able to find them, they had moved to an inn that was not too far from their previous lodgings, so that someone could keep an eye on the area at all times.

Luca, who sent him out, hadn't had a good rest in the past few days and was still fast asleep.

Even though demons have strong bodies and much more energy than ordinary humans, they still need rest, especially since he had just spent the whole night in the wild.

He had barely lain down when he was woken up.

He thought Luca had woken up, but it turned out to be Princess Kiraya's intention.

"How's it going outside?"

"Princess, the knights and guards who were searching for us have all retreated back into the city. It seems that the search is over."

"Hmph, I told you it wasn't that dangerous." Kiraya glanced at Luca's door. "Weren't they looking for that High Priest? That person didn't listen to Luca, so he must have already gone back. We're fine now."

The guard disagreed, "Princess, Chancellor Luca said that person is only still considering it, and will eventually side with us..."

“Idiots! Either agree or refuse, what’s there to think about? You’ve all been fooled by that human,” Kiraya said. “There aren’t many good people among humans anyway.”

The guard was not good with words, so he simply kept quiet.

Kiraya then made a request, "When it gets light, take me outside the city to take another look."

The guards were shocked, "Princess?!"

"Don't make a sound." Kiraya frowned. She knew this was a rather risky move, and if Luca found out, he definitely wouldn't agree.

But they were about to return to the Demon Realm, and she was somewhat unwilling to go back like this.

She couldn't wait to follow the army south; she wanted to kidnap the man who had promised to be her bodyguard for a day and take him back right now...

“I’ll just go over there and take a look, I won’t do anything,” Kiraya said to the guard. “When we return to the North, I’ll have my father reward you with a small tribe…”

"Such a promise cannot be counted by the princess."

Kiraya immediately clicked her tongue and turned around. Sure enough, Luca pushed the door open and came out.

He looked exhausted, and his eyes were bloodshot. Kiraya couldn't understand how he could still have the energy to meddle in her affairs when he was in such a state.

"We are still in great danger. Please, even if it's just for your own sake, calm down a bit."

Luca, forcing himself to speak, looked at the guard and asked, "What's the situation outside?"

The guard repeated what he had just told Kiraya.

Luca pondered for a moment, then smiled. "It seems Sinmaggu has already gone back and hasn't mentioned a word about our matter."

"What's there to be happy about?" Kiraya said abruptly.

Having confirmed Sinmag's attitude to some extent, Luca was in a good mood and willing to explain for her, "If he really had no intention of doing this, then the guards wouldn't have stopped searching."

"Since it's already stopped, what danger is there left?" Kiraya countered.

“Given our status, especially Princess Kiraya’s, being here is inherently dangerous,” Luca said helplessly. “I’d like to know why you insisted on going. Yesterday, you had no guards with you for most of the day. Haven’t you had enough?”

“You have someone you want to take away, and so do I,” Kiraya said.

"Who is it?" Luca asked casually.

The two were busy with their own things yesterday. Apart from helping to lure Sinmaggu away with the curse mark, Kiraya didn't have any other interaction with him.

“A human nobleman named Eric.” Kiraya still remembered the man’s name. “Only if he is truly willing to listen to me will I make him my bodyguard.”

"..."

Luca initially thought he was still half asleep and had misheard.

Once he confirmed that the Eric she was referring to was the blond nobleman who had shown murderous intent towards him yesterday, he immediately began to ask for more details, and then a chill ran down his spine.

—This capricious demon princess was almost actually kidnapped yesterday!

And she is still completely unaware of this.

Just how well does that kid named Eric know about them, that he even took the initiative to attack them?
“Princess Kiraya, I must tell you, you have been deceived by that human.”

When it was fully light and everyone else had woken up, they gathered in Luca's room, where he solemnly gave his orders:
"We have two things to do before we leave Lutia."

"Firstly, the intelligence we collected before was left in the place where those Arans live. They may not remember it, and we can't contact them now. We need to find a way to bring it out."

"Secondly, investigate that nobleman named Eric thoroughly, and find an opportunity to bring him here alive."

"Yes!"

However, with the situation tense, entering the city was too risky. Luca ordered his men to continue monitoring the city from the outside, and wait for the Arans they had sent out to return, ascertain the situation, and then make further plans.

He didn't know that none of them would ever come back.

One of the people in the know had just woken up.

After staring at the unfamiliar ceiling for a while, Elise sat up, looking at the somewhat shabby room and the blood-stained clothes she had changed out of on the floor, and was speechless for a moment.

Just one day later, her situation was completely different from before.

Even though her identity couldn't be more completely exposed, she felt more at ease than ever before.

Aran was killed by the Arans yesterday.

The one who survived was Iris, who was saved by the quasi-saintess.

No longer needing to live in fear, the Aran people's dream of restoring their kingdom, the demons' coercion and spying, are all irrelevant to her... No, not quite completely irrelevant yet, but she is no longer a participant, just an observer.

This was the liberation she had always longed for, yet dared not even dream of...

Elise was lost in thought for a while when she heard noises coming downstairs outside.

She got up to open the door, and Eric outside was raising his hand, about to knock as well.

"Good morning, Miss Elise."

Elise bowed her head in greeting, then looked up and lingered on his face for a moment before looking down again. "Good morning, Your Highness."

Eric looked at her for a moment and said, "Before this, I really couldn't imagine that there would be a day when I would need to tell Miss Elise not to be so reserved."

Elise paused for a moment, then felt a little embarrassed as she recalled her previous attitude towards him. "I was very rude to Your Highness before."

"There was nothing rude about it; that kind of interaction was quite interesting."

Eric still preferred the way she acted when she was pretentious yet undisguised in certain ways, rather than the way she acted as if he had become her boss.

He thought it was probably because she hadn't gotten used to the change in her status yet.

"Do you have any money on you?" Eric asked.

Elise paused, glanced at the clothes she had changed out of on the floor, and then shook her head.

“Then take it.” He took out a handful of gold coins and gave them to her. “Go buy some women’s clothes for yourself. When I come back, I will take you to see the emperor, and you can tell him everything you know.”

She tensed up immediately, but quickly nodded. "I understand, Your Highness."

This was something they had agreed on last night; it was where he needed her.

She looked at the gold coins in her hand again.

With that much money, you could buy a whole room full of clothes...

Eric quickly left, taking Leslie with him, and headed straight for the cathedral in the East District.

Sinmagu returned last night, but Eric doesn't know his current state—whether he's in a dark or light state, or somewhere in between. He can only meet him in person.

“I heard from the people at the church that the archbishop returned on his own,” Leslie said. “Because many people were sent out to look for him, and it took a while before someone discovered that he had returned to the church on his own.”

Eric listened silently, as if he were completely unaware of what was happening outside...

It could also be intentional.

Upon arriving at the cathedral, the knights outside quickly recognized Eric and bowed to him in unison.

"Your Highness!"

Leslie followed behind, experiencing his imposing presence for the first time.

"Young Master is truly remarkable..."

Eric just smiled and wasn't really in the mood to join in his sentimentality.

Upon entering the church, someone quickly came to guide him and, after learning his purpose, led him to the archbishop's office.

Leslie stopped at the door and stood to the side waiting.

Eric knocked and entered, looking at the gaunt middle-aged man behind the desk. "High Priest Simago." Simago stood up and nodded. "Your Highness Eric."

The two looked at each other for a while.

Eric remained calm and composed. "Yesterday, demons were spotted in the suburbs, and the High Priest suddenly disappeared for most of the afternoon. I was really worried about your condition, so I came to ask the church knights and palace guards to go out of the city to search for you. I hope I haven't caused you any trouble."

Xinmagu shook his head, sat down again, and asked him to make himself at home. "At that time, I sensed the same curse aura as the one that afflicted the Queen. I couldn't stand idly by, so I followed it."

Eric, who was dragging the stool, paused for a moment.

No wonder he suddenly turned around then...

He sat down, looked at Simagu across the desk, and asked, "So, what have you discovered?"

“His Highness Eric’s intuition may be right,” Sinmag said. “I followed the scent of the curse and found that the curse mark was not on people, but on trees. It must have been a trap to lure me there.”

Eric leaned forward, waiting for what was to come.

“And there are more than a dozen such marks.” Xinmagu’s withered face showed no expression. “But even when I found the last mark next to a forest ranger’s hut, I still didn’t find any trace of the demons. That’s when I realized that this might be a trap to lure me away from the emperor and have other plans. When I rushed back to the meeting place by the lake, I learned that His Majesty had already returned to the palace after Prince Eric’s reminder.”

He paused, then looked at Eric, "It was all thanks to His Highness Eric yesterday."

Eric smiled. "Not at all. Even if I didn't remind him, Princess Natalia would probably have reminded His Majesty the Emperor to return to the city as soon as possible."

It is logically sound, substantial, and without any flaws.

After discovering Luca yesterday, he was wary of the terrifyingly powerful demon guards and immediately returned to the city to seek help, unaware of the situation outside. Elise, on the other hand, was terrified by him and fled back to the city early, equally clueless.

No one saw what exactly happened to Simagu yesterday.

Is it really as he said?

Eric pondered for a moment, then took a breath. "High Priest, what do you think is the reason the demons infiltrated Lutia?"

“Assassination of the emperor, or intelligence gathering.” Xinmagu seemed to have already made a judgment, but then said, “That was my initial judgment. But if the purpose was to assassinate the emperor, the empress should not have been chosen as the target in the first place. If it was to gather intelligence, then such a commotion should not have been made to attract attention.”

He slowly shook his head. "I cannot understand the mindset of the demon race."

That's because the demons got all the information they wanted, and yesterday's commotion was aimed at you... Eric thought to himself, but he was scared away by the people he summoned, so he didn't run into them.

“But since the demons have become more active, they must have some ulterior motives. The demon realm in the far north may not be as peaceful as it seems on the surface.” Xinmagu continued, “We must get the emperor's attention to this matter.”

Eric paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

Upon hearing the high priest's words, he was already somewhat inclined to believe him, and his mood lightened considerably.

"I inadvertently discovered that the Aran people have close ties with the demons, and are even gathering intelligence for them. The Aran person delivered to the cathedral yesterday was one of them. Is the High Priest aware of this?"

Simagu frowned. "The Arameans?"

He paused, seemingly quickly connecting the dots to the Aran people beside him, "Aran?"

Eric nodded. "But Alan has already parted ways with them and joined me."

Xinmagu stared at him for a while.

Eric belatedly felt somewhat embarrassed.

She was a spy by his side one minute, and then she defected to him the next. What kind of behavior is that?
Fortunately, Simagu didn't say anything, just shook his head, his face still expressionless, "I see."

“The Aramean Zachary who was sent over yesterday knows quite a bit. High Priest, would you like to come with me to see him?”

Xinma Gu nodded and stood up. "When did Your Highness send it?"

“I had my family guards deliver it around midnight last night,” Eric briefly explained Elise’s ordeal and his and Leslie’s actions.

Xinmagu shook his head and sighed softly, "Yalan..."

Eric mentioned that he still needed her, and Simmagu simply told him to do as he pleased, but if the emperor investigated, it would be his responsibility to have initially adopted Alan.

Even if there's responsibility, I'll take it on for you, Eric thought.

The two men went downstairs and stopped a church monk to inquire about the Aramean. The monk said that the Aramean was being held in a room at the back, guarded by two church knights.

“Lead the way,” Xinmagu said.

"Yes, Archbishop."

The monk led the two over, and the knight at the door bowed to them.

"Open the door."

One of the knights turned to open the door, but suddenly stopped, slowly turned back to look at the two men, and looked surprised.

Eric sensed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward, only to find Zakari lying on the ground, his body twisted in agony, his face contorted in a grimace, and he was no longer breathing.

He went over and touched her; she was already cold.

"..."

Eric's expression twisted for a moment, his initial sense of relief vanishing and replaced by a heavier one.

“Your Highness Eric, this is…” Sinmag followed into the small room, his gaze falling on Zachary.

“Dead.” Eric examined Zakari’s body. The only remaining scar was on his palm. His skin was bluish-purple, and his wide-open eyes were bloodshot. His death was extremely gruesome, clearly unrelated to the wound, and more likely caused by suffocation.

He glanced at the small room again. There were no prisons in the cathedral; this was actually more like a guest room. Not to mention the ventilation, the room was furnished better than where he was currently staying.

Both church knights said they had kept watch there all night, and no one had gone in until now. Around midnight, they could still hear the Aramean's weeping and cursing.

Eric's mood fluctuated wildly, and he became quite depressed for a time.

Zachary is dead, and his condition yesterday indicates that he couldn't have revealed much information about the demons or the Arans.

Last night I heard that Sinmaggu had returned to the church. He originally planned to have Leslie take him away, but in the end he didn't say anything. He wanted to use Zachary as bait to test him.

And now, Zachary is really dead.

Unless there are others in the cathedral colluding with the demons, who else besides Simmagu could kill Zachary without the two church knights noticing?

From the way he died, Eric could even guess how Sinmag killed him—he simply controlled a ball of water elemental to wrap around his head, and he died instantly without leaving any trace.

The reason for the murder is easy to guess: he witnessed Sinmag and Luca meeting.

Of course, it's also possible that someone outside the church did it. After all, there are far more people in Lutia City than Sinmag who could kill Zachary silently. If you really want to talk about it, Eileen's moon elf teacher could easily do the same.

But if we think like that, then there are countless people who might be colluding with the demons...

Eric can only speculate on the worst-case scenario at this point.

"Can the high priest tell how he died?"

Xinma Gu glanced at the corpse a few times without expression. "It looks like he died of suffocation."

"Water magic?" Eric turned to look at him.

Xinmagu closed his eyes slightly, as if sensing something. "The water element is quite concentrated here, but it could also be because of yesterday's heavy rain."

Eric smiled, but only his mouth moved. "This is troublesome."

The two church knights looked at each other, both somewhat uneasy, while the quasi-saint and the archbishop stayed there for a while before returning to their rooms upstairs.

They both remained silent for a while.

When Eric spoke again, he asked about Simmagu's recent situation as if it were a casual conversation.

"Your Highness should know that the Pope has sent two Apostolic Administrators here, and I won't be able to stay here for much longer. Your Highness will probably not see me next time you come."

"Hmm... I know some of it... but the High Priest can also look at the problem from a different perspective."

Despite preparing for the worst, Eric made a last-ditch effort to persuade Simagu, who might have already betrayed them, not to take extreme measures.

"Since this path is blocked, we might as well take another one. Based on what I know about the archbishop's experiences over the years, there's nothing good about staying here. He'll be humiliated by both sides. It would be better to go back and continue studying magic. With the high priest's talent, he will surely achieve something no less than that of the moon elves. He won't need to rely on anyone; that's true status and strength."

Xinmagu remained silent for a while, then suddenly smiled.

He really should take a different path, one he never dared to even consider before.

"Your Highness is absolutely right."

His hesitation was nothing but self-deception; it had already lost its meaning when he killed that Aramean.

"Perhaps this is what I've been waiting for all along."

Eric was stunned.

“I will resign from my position as Archbishop of Lutia. If the Emperor agrees, the Imperial High Priest may also break with tradition and choose someone else. It is time for me to return to my original path.”

(End of this chapter)