The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 131 Long Distance

By mid-May, the weather in Lessier gradually became hot and dry.

Having lived in Lessée for four or five years, Sophie had grown accustomed to the climate changes here, but this year felt particularly unbearable.

Especially during the drowsy afternoons, she still had to follow Alena to organize and categorize information gathered from all over the continent at the St. Mary's College.

This was not her responsibility, but Alena said that she needed to have at least a basic understanding of the affairs of the St. Mary's, and hands-on experience was the fastest way to become familiar with something.

Who told her to be the advisor to the future saintess?

Although Her Highness the Saintess was not in the monastery at the time...

Information transmission is delayed, and the further away from Lesser, the greater the delay. Therefore, what they received were messages from several days or even more than half a month ago.

The Convent has dedicated female officials who screen information, and important information is then forwarded to the Convent. That is another function of the Convent, something Sophie had already experienced a few days ago.

"Look at this."

Alena picked up a piece of information, glanced at it, and thought it could be used as an illustrative case. She turned and handed it to Sophie, only to find her eyes closed and her body swaying.

She shook her head, didn't say much, and simply woke her up.

It's indeed easy to fall asleep at this time of day in the afternoon.

"what!"

Sophie shuddered, snapped back to reality, opened her eyes, looked around, and sighed deeply.

"I just dreamt that I was already back in my room resting..."

“We’ve only been here for half an hour,” Alena said, handing her the things she was holding.

Sophie took it, didn't even look at it, and casually put it down. "His Highness said it's best to take a two-hour nap at noon."

Alena glanced at her, then picked up the message again and stuffed it into her hand. "His Highness said half an hour. Sleeping too much will make you drowsy."

“I didn’t get a single minute of sleep,” Sophie said.

“Because that’s His Highness’s privilege.” Alena said with some helplessness. Sophie had gotten used to the nuns’ routine in the convent two years ago, but after spending two years with His Highness, she had become spoiled again.

Sophie looked around and whispered, "Don't we have this kind of privilege now, given our current status?"

“In the Convent of Saints, only the saint has special privileges. Now that both the saint and the prospective saint are present, the privileges belong solely to the two of them,” Alena said.

“Alright.” Sophie then turned her attention to the intelligence report in her hand. “'An alchemist from the Warren Parish of Gradia was killed near Heroes’s Avenue'... What’s wrong with that?”

Alena looked at her. "Using the classification method I taught you this morning, where should this information be classified?"

Sophie thought for a moment, "Hmm... Empire - Gradia - Warren Parish - 730... Hmm... Murder case?"

“There is no category for ‘homicide’,” Alena pointed out.

"Well……"

Sophie frowned and began to ponder.

Before she could recall the classification criteria, a female official approached her.

"Sophie, I have a letter for you."

Those were the nuns in the monastery who were in charge of distributing mail. The inner city was sacred, and only church messengers could land there; ordinary private mail could only be sent to the outer city. Her job was to go out of the city every day to collect the mail and then distribute it to the corresponding nuns.

Sophie's eyes lit up immediately. "Where did it come from?"

"Lutia, see for yourself." The young lady smiled at her, bowed to Alena, and turned to leave.

Sophie took the letter, glanced at the sender, and her anticipation vanished almost entirely.

It was sent from home...

“You take a look first,” Alena said.

Sophie opened the letter; it was signed by her mother, but it was indeed written by her father. In it, he questioned her insistence on staying at the convent, because he had heard that the quasi-saintess she was supposed to serve had already arrived in Lutia, and that she had nothing to do with it.

When Sophie saw Eric's name in her family's letters, her first reaction was to feel a little shy.

Then, she realized something was wrong.

Your Highness said to keep a low profile, so how come even Father knows that he went to Lutia?

Just then, another nun came over.

"So you were here."

Both of them knew her; she was one of the nuns serving the Holy Maiden in the Holy Maiden's Abode. "The Holy Maiden wants you to go there now."

"Yes."

Alena and Sophie lowered their heads together and looked at each other.

"What could it be?"

"I don't know. Let's go."

Following the nun, Sophie asked her the same question again.

"I don't know either, but a church messenger just landed."

Leaving the Saintess Palace and returning to the Saintess's Abode, the two went to the Saintess's room. The old man pointed to the side, "That boy wrote you letters. I thought he missed me so much; he'd been gone for half a month and sent three letters at once..."

The two had nothing to say to each other.

Sophie was bolder. She glanced at the saintess, then picked up the letter, gave Alena's to her, and began to read it.

Alena looked at the saintess, and the old man was also looking at them. He waved his hand and said, "See? It was originally meant for you."

She then opened the letter and began to read it.

"What did they say?" the saintess asked.

"Aside from Your Highness's recent experiences, I just wanted to offer my greetings," Alena replied.

"that's it?"

“Yes,” Alena nodded, as did Sophie.

The saintess snorted, "As soon as this kid arrived in Lutia, he ran into the demons who had infiltrated the empire, and even led a team of knights to confront them and kill them. He didn't mention a single word about such a dangerous thing in his letter! Now he's saying he's going to the south for training, who knows what he might do next."

Alena was startled, "Demons?"

"You didn't know about the huge commotion in Lutia?... Oh, the message came over, and I told Gabi not to make a fuss about it yet." The saintess quickly remembered.

"Is Your Highness safe?" Alena asked hurriedly.

"He's lucky he only suffered minor injuries... He didn't listen to a single word I said!"

The saintess looked annoyed. "Is his sister studying magic in Lutia? Write her a letter and ask her if she would be willing to become the saintess again if Eric died in the south. If not, then choose another family."

There was no way to respond to that.

But as Eric's person, Alena still had to say a few words in his defense.

“His Highness said he wouldn’t take risks lightly… like this time, he must have been fully prepared before getting involved.”

"So you think there's nothing wrong with what he did?" the saintess asked in return.

Alena paused for a moment, then followed her lead and replied, "If I were by His Highness's side, I would dissuade him."

“You’d better pray he comes back alive, otherwise whatever he said to you will all be for nothing.” The saint looked at her, then glanced at Sophie, “and you too.”

The two nodded silently.

The saintess glanced at the letters in their hands and casually remarked, "It's one thing to write to you, but to send them along with mine is another. Does that kid not know how to avoid suspicion, or is he trying to emphasize to me that you're his people?"

Alena remained silent, while Sophie's face quickly turned red.

Eric's letter to her did indeed contain some intimate greetings...

The saintess didn't bother asking any more questions and quickly dismissed them.

Shortly after, Sister Gabi, who had been informed by Alena, arrived at the St. Mary's Abode.

"Eric asked me to keep a close eye on Simmagu from the perspective of the Vatican, which means there are things he can't arrange. Go to the Apostolic Palace and find out how His Holiness the Pope is considering Simmagu's resignation as Archbishop of Lutia."

“If they have already agreed, then we don’t need to worry about Archbishop Lutia’s feelings. In my name, I will propose to the College of Cardinals that they grant Sinmagu an honorary title and allow the Church Knights to keep a close watch on him under the guise of protection. I believe they will be happy to arrange this.”

Jia Bi lowered her head and replied, "Yes."

The saint sneered again, "Now that she knows she's been pushed too far, she's hesitant and trying to maintain her image of benevolence... What kind of logic is it to send an acting papacy while the archbishop is still in office! How can this mentality compare to that of the old pope?"

Thinking of the old pope who had returned to the Kingdom of God, the saintess couldn't help but sigh again.

Jia Bi offered a few words of comfort, and the saintess murmured, "Now I only hope that the boy doesn't take his life so lightly and end up killing me..."

At this moment, Eric had been away from Lutia for two days and was on his way south.

Two Lille warhorses, one black and the other brown-red, galloped down the road at a moderate speed.

Even a warrior like Eric would find riding a horse for a long time tiring, let alone an ordinary person like Elise. Although he was eager to improve his strength, he wasn't in a rush. He kept pace with Elise, following behind her. Since they were going on a long journey, she had changed her clothes; her silver hair was tied up, and she was traveling light, which also flattered her figure.

Eric followed a little behind, and for most of the journey, his eyes were fixed on her.

At one point, she tilted her head slightly and glanced back.

There was an intersection ahead, and Eric sped up to catch up.

"Just go straight."

Elise nodded and said, "Your Highness, why don't you lead the way?"

“I’m afraid you’ll get lost if you keep going,” Eric said.

She smiled. "Then His Highness should be able to sense it too."

Eric glanced around and said, "There aren't many vehicles on the main road right now, let's just keep going like this for now."

Elise nodded. Feeling drowsy in the afternoon, she wanted to chat with him about something to perk herself up.

“I heard from Leslie that His Highness’s combat skills have been honed to an excellent level.”

Eric grinned. "It's alright."

"Could one get better combat training on an ancient battlefield than with the Knights of the Holy See?" Elise was also aware of his combat training at the Saintess Monastery.

“No,” Eric shook his head, “but it can increase the stats.”

Elise frowned. "Numbers?"

“It’s about strength, speed, endurance, and things like that,” Eric explained. “I’m a little different from them. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had enough time. Direct training in these areas hasn’t helped me much. Only real combat can help me grow quickly.”

He is currently in a state where he has mastered all his skills, but his stats are quite ordinary. He has many skills, but low stats. He can handle enemies with little defense, but if he encounters a tough opponent like a demon warrior, he might not even be able to break through their defenses.

However, because the [Devoted Person] class level is limited, it is not yet time for them to learn powerful buffs.

"Yeah."

Elise only had a vague understanding of this.

She had received some combat training, but only a little, enough to deal with ordinary people at most. Her only real combat experience was killing two of her own clansmen who had received the same training.

Eric also considered her question, "If Miss Elise needs it, I can help you train some combat skills."

Elise lowered her head. "I can learn as long as Your Highness needs me."

After she said that, Eric had no intention of continuing.

"I don't need you to fight for me..."

He only wanted to teach her some self-defense techniques. When he needed an ordinary person like her to fight for him, the fight itself was probably meaningless.

A bell rang from behind, indicating that a carriage was approaching.

Eric sped up, rode in front of Elise, and made way for her.

The road was wide, so there was no need to make way, but it was much easier for him to give way than for the carriage to turn, so he did.

The carriage quickly passed by the two men, and the driver rang the bell again, nodding and smiling as Eric looked over.

Eric nodded and glanced at the carriage behind him.

Inside the window, a little girl of seven or eight years old was also looking at him. She wasn't shy at all when facing his gaze; instead, she raised her face and smiled, revealing her teeth.

Eric smiled back.

Judging from the size of the carriages, they were probably country nobles who had come to Lutia to join in the festivities. The May exorcism commemoration Golden Week had ended, and it was currently the peak of the return journey.

To the other people on the main road, he probably looked like one of them.

The carriage passed by, and Elise followed.

"Your Highness looks like a young nobleman who has just finished his trip to Lutia and is heading home, full of vigor and having had a great time."

"If the harvest refers to the heads of those demons, then I'm ashamed to boast about it, since all I did was show my face," Eric said.

She looked at him and said, "Not everyone has the courage to fight against demons."

Eric laughed, "I only have a little more courage than the average person."

"Your Highness is too modest."

The two cycled along, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, covering quite a distance in a day.

As evening fell, the two did not travel at night but instead found a hotel by the roadside to stay in.

"We are still in Gradia."

Eric took a sip of mead, savoring its subtle sweetness. "At this rate, it should take another two or three days to get to Dorn."

He only had a concept of the southern part of the empire in reality, having never been there in person. He could only estimate the actual distance based on relatively accurate maps. The ancient battlefield they were going to was located on the border between the province of Dorne and the Kingdom of Arsha, and it would probably take them a day or two to get there.

Dorne was originally the heartland of the Empire, but after the Kingdom of Arsha gained independence, it became a border region. On the other side of the border lies the chaotic land of Casterfel, so you can imagine how "lively" the border is.

“I can go even faster.” Elise sat opposite him, holding a glass of mead. “After riding for a few days, I’m starting to get used to it.”

"You can decide based on your own situation." Eric put down his wine glass, picked up a piece of steak, and started tearing into it. "If you neglect one thing for another, it will be a loss."

His main purpose for this trip was to grind monsters and level up in the ancient battlefield, but it wasn't the only one. He planned to explore any dungeon areas he might pass through if given the chance.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Elise lowered her head as if receiving a command, and when she looked up, she saw him give her a cryptic look.

"Your Highness?"

"It's nothing... I just meant to suggest you relax; you're not my subordinate."

Elise paused for a moment, indicating that she would try her best to be careful.

After drinking a large glass of mead, the slight intoxication made her more candid.

“I guess I’ve gotten used to that kind of dependence on someone before… Although Your Highness said we have an equal relationship, it actually makes me a little… uneasy.”

Eric thought for a moment, "You're worried that I might not actually protect you."

Elise remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"Although it's not the right thing to say, I'm at least more reliable than you Aran people. Staying with me is safer than the previous situation."

She paused, "That's right..."

Eric picked up his nearly empty glass and clinked it against hers. "Then you should be able to relax more than before: it can't be any worse than it was before."

Elise frowned and pondered for a moment, then gave a somewhat helpless smile. "I think I just haven't really gotten used to Your Highness's way of interacting with people yet."

"You'll get used to it gradually."

After they had eaten their fill, Eric used a Charon gold coin to inquire about the surrounding area from the tavern waiter.

“I heard that there is an abandoned elven settlement in the mountains nearby, and there is a cave nearby with a forest bear inside. Many people have died at the hands of that bear.”

The waiter was surprised. "Who told you this? This happened more than ten years ago. Basically, only people who have lived here for a long time know about it."

Eric frowned. "Hmm?"

"The bear you mentioned hasn't been seen for a long time; it should be dead by now."

"Has no hunter gone up the mountain to check?"

The waiter shook his head. "There are no hunters here. They can survive on this main road. Why bother?"

Eric thought about it and realized it made sense; otherwise, that small dungeon would have been completely explored long ago.

Do you know the approximate location of that cave?

"Are you planning to go on an adventure?" the waiter asked.

"Just browsing." Eric patted his sword. "I was actually hoping to rid you of this menace."

The waiter smiled and said, "Even if you're brave, I can't let you take that risk so late at night. Come find me again tomorrow during the day, and I'll give you directions."

"no problem."

On the way back to the inn after leaving the tavern, Elise asked, "Is what you're looking for in that cave Your Highness mentioned?"

"Hmm. If I remember correctly, there's a pretty good elven short sword inside, as well as a complete set of elven-designed armor blueprints. With a skilled craftsman, you can forge a complete set of magic-grade armor."

Before setting off this morning, he specifically checked the map to confirm that the instance was nearby.

“However, what the waiter said was different from what I knew…” Eric thought to himself. In the later timeline of the game, that cave instance was guarded by a giant forest bear.

"I'll go check it out during the day tomorrow. You can wait for me at the hotel."

(End of this chapter)