The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 170 Return

Escorted by a whole squad of church knights, Eric and his two companions rushed out of the ancient battlefield along the shortest route and returned to North Town the next morning.

The knight commander bowed to Eric. "Your Highness, we have prepared the carriage. You may depart now and rest in the carriage. Fast horses are also ready in Tallinn."

Eric didn't speak, his gaze fixed on the side, seemingly looking somewhere.

Elise raised her arm and gently nudged him.

He snapped out of his reverie, and she whispered the knight commander's words.

"...Okay, let's set off now. But I have some things to take with me, so I need to go back to the hotel first."

"Yes, Your Highness." The knight commander bowed his head.

Eric then gave him the parchment scrolls and notes of the ancients found in the underground cathedral, instructing him to hand them over to the cathedral in Dorne.

There are no forbidden zones or restrictions in front of the quasi-saintess.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The three returned to the hotel, where Eric quickly packed his things, as did Molly and Elise.

"almost……"

Molly peeked out the window and saw that the carriage was already in place, followed by a whole group of church knights. It seemed that these knights would at least escort them to Tallinn.

She still feels like something was wrong.

How could Eric be a quasi-saint?
After a while, Eric came and knocked on the door. Seeing that she had almost finished tidying up, he didn't say anything and went to knock on Elise's door.

The three of them went downstairs and, under the watchful eyes of many adventurers, boarded the carriage driven and escorted by the church knights, leaving North Town and heading towards Tallinn City.

Two church knights led the way on fast horses, and the carriage never slowed down.

Eric lay on the floor covered with a sleeping mat and closed his eyes to rest. The carriage was moving smoothly. They had spent the whole night fighting their way out of the ancient battlefield and were already very tired. However, even though they had been away from North Town for quite some time, he still couldn't fall asleep.

He opened his eyes, and Elise and Molly were both looking at him.

The two sat on either side of him, not wanting to disturb his rest, and didn't say a word for a long time.

"Your Highness," Elise knelt down, "can't you sleep?"

Eric closed his eyes and nodded in response.

"You can sleep on top."

“It’s not about where we sleep…” Eric sat up, rubbed his face with his hands, “It’s just that I can’t stop thinking about what’s going to happen next.”

Elise glanced at the small window in front of her; it was closed, and the church knights driving the carriage could only hear a few words of conversation.

She knelt on the sleeping mat, hugged Eric, nestled on his shoulder, and whispered, "You will become a saint sooner or later."

“I know…” Eric took a breath, “I know.”

His small reputation on the ancient battlefield was not enough to reach the Holy Capital. The fact that the Holy Maiden sent an edict ordering him to return to Lessier as soon as possible left only one possibility: the old man had already sensed that death was truly coming.

He was going back to witness her death.

Although in the timeline Eric knew, the saintess could only survive until this year, he still subconsciously resisted the idea.

When he first awakened his memories of his past life, he listed various future events on a timeline, and not long after the [Saintess's Passing], the [Demon Clan's Southward March] occurred.

But his resistance at this moment was not only because of the impending chaos that would sweep across the entire continent, but also because of the very fact that he was going to die.

—That was the old woman he had spent two years with, who taught him by example, and who was both strict and loving. He had come to regard her as his grandmother.

Elise nestled against his shoulder for a while, and Eric felt someone else leaning against him from the other side.

Molly clung to his arm, "I still don't quite understand what's going on..."

“Iris has already explained most of it to you.” Eric raised his hand and lifted her face. “You don’t need to understand it too clearly, it’s not very meaningful.”

Molly rubbed her hand against his palm. "Anyway, you're a great guy, right?"

Eric forced a smile. "Not entirely yet."

"They kept it from me for so long."

“I already told you,” Elise said from the other side. “More than half a year ago, His Highness told you about my and his identities.”

Molly paused for a moment, then looked up at her. "No way."

“When you first arrived in the Empire,” Elise reminded him.

Molly thought for a while longer.

"I am a cardinal of the Papacy, she is an Aramean agent..."

She remembered.

“…Who would take that seriously?” Molly leaned on Eric’s shoulder. “Besides, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Eric smiled, his body and mind unconsciously relaxing a little.

He lay back down, telling the two not to worry about him, to talk if they wanted, and to rest if they needed to.

“At this rate, we should be able to reach Tallinn by tonight,” Elise said, still kneeling beside him.

“Hmm.” Eric closed his eyes. “Once we get there, I’ll change horses and continue on my way. You can wait for my news in the city.”

"..."

Both of them were stunned.

“Can’t we go back with you?” Elise asked.

“It’s not that it’s impossible,” Eric said, taking her hand in his. “It’s just that it’s unnecessary. And I need to get back as soon as possible; I can’t accommodate your situation.”

Molly remained silent on the other side; to be precise, the only one who needed to be accommodated was this frail mage.

Elise had clearly thought of this as well. She glanced at Molly and said nothing. "I understand. We will wait for His Highness's news in Tallinn."

Eric opened his eyes. "Or I can have someone send you to Lutia. Molly hasn't been there yet, so you can get some rest there."

The two looked at each other and had no objections—Lutia was closer to Lesser.

"Just so you can bring some things for Eileen." Eric closed his eyes again. Over the past six months, he had acquired many things that were meant for Eileen, and he brought them along as well.

"Then shall Molly and I stay where Your Highness used to live?"

"There's only Leslie over there. If I'm not there, it might not be very convenient for you. You should stay at a hotel. You're not short of money anyway."

"I understand."

After a while, Eric fell silent.

Elise leaned down and listened carefully, and found that he had fallen asleep, but his brows were still furrowed in his sleep.

She reached out her hand to his face, then stopped, before sitting back down on her cushion.

“Let’s rest,” she said to Molly, looking up at the roof of the carriage.

"Mmm," the latter responded and lay down as well.

From day to night, the carriage traveled tirelessly, and sure enough, it only took a day to bring the three of them to the cathedral in Tallinn.

The fast horse was ready. After Eric got off the carriage, he gave some instructions and, in the name of the quasi-saint, ordered several knights to escort Molly and Elise to Lutia—this was considered a business trip, and the knights would receive a stipend.

After having a bite to eat together, Eric said goodbye to Molly and Elise, and the three parted ways for the time being.

"Take care on the road, Your Highness." Molly had also learned how to address him, Elise's way.

Eric glanced at the two men, nodded, and mounted his horse.

The escort knights sent by the Tallinn Cathedral were already in position. Eric flicked the reins, and his horse galloped off, with the knights immediately following, rushing into the night with him.

Molly and Elise, who remained where they were, looked at each other.

“Should we rest here for a few days?” Elise asked.

"I'll listen to you." Molly was unusually obedient.

Elise looked at her. "If you had listened to me sooner, you wouldn't be in this mess now."

"Which aspect are you referring to? Sleeping with Eric, mmm..." Molly was interrupted halfway through her sentence by Elise, who quickly covered her mouth and glanced at the reactions of the church knights around them.

The latter stared straight ahead, motionless, seemingly not having heard anything.

After glaring at Molly a few times, Elise finally let go of her hand. "Then let's rest in Tallinn for one night and set off for Lutia tomorrow."

Eric was in a hurry to get back to Lessier, which is why he risked taking the night road, while she and Molly had no such need.

Molly nodded, and as the two left the cathedral, she whispered, "Sleeping with women shouldn't be a big deal in the church, right...? Eric himself said the church is actually quite chaotic."

“When there’s nothing going on, of course there’s nothing going on, but when something goes on, it’s a big deal,” Elise said.

"Huh?" Molly was a little confused by her.

"In short, he is destined to become a saintess, and we cannot afford to leave any weaknesses." Elise stared at her, her gaze sharp. "I will not be his weakness, nor will I allow you to be his weakness."

"Don't glare at me... I know." The two of them were heading in the same direction as Eric when he left. Elise looked up and gazed into the distance, but the group of people was long gone.

Your Highness, please be careful on the road...

She thought silently in her mind.

Meanwhile, Eric and his group quickly left Tallinn.

The road was pitch black. Two church knights rode ahead to clear the way, using a fairly bright cold-flame lantern hanging from their horses' necks to light the way. Although it didn't illuminate very far, their strength was enough to allow them to react in advance to any unexpected situation. Seven or eight other knights followed behind, while Eric in the middle just had to keep running forward.

He had spent almost all his day sleeping in the carriage, and was not tired at all. He followed the knight in front of him all night without stopping, and finally found an inn by the roadside to rest at dawn.

"We rested until noon, and then continued our journey."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Lying on the hotel bed, Eric closed his eyes and felt the whole world shaking, as if he were still riding a horse, galloping endlessly on a dark road.

Onward, onward, at one point, Eric realized that he was indeed riding a galloping horse, but his body could no longer withstand the fatigue of traveling all night and gradually leaned to one side.

The knights in front and behind him were completely unaware, and he watched helplessly as he fell off his horse.

"..."

Eric, who had fallen onto the hotel floor, was startled awake and stared at the bed leg next to him. He lay there for a while before his mind came back to him.

Looking out the window again, it was already bright outside, but it shouldn't be noon yet.

Eric took a deep breath, climbed back onto the bed, and continued to lie there.

His body was still a little sore, but he was already awake. He lay there for a while, but found that he was not sleepy at all, so he had to get up.

As I left my room and went downstairs, the clock on the hotel wall showed that it was a little after 10 a.m.

Having said they would rest until noon, Eric did not disturb the knights and let them continue to rest.

He asked the hotel owner what place this was, and the owner gave him a name he had never heard of.

"I mean, which province of the empire is this?"

"This is the province of Dorne, sir, knight of the church." The innkeeper took out a worn-out map from a drawer, pointing to a place marked with a black dot. "You are here now, half a day's journey from Grandia."

"So that's where they all ended up." Looking at the map, Eric had a more intuitive understanding of where he was.

Are you heading to the Holy Capital?

Eric glanced at the innkeeper, who quickly explained, "It's rare to find a church knight who would stay here. I was just curious. If you don't want to talk about it, then just pretend I said something."

It's in these business owners' nature to be inquisitive—a little hearsay, plus a bit of free imagination, can get those who really care to open their wallets—Eric didn't care, just casually agreed, satisfying his most superficial curiosity, and leaving the rest to his own guessing.

After wandering around downstairs, he felt sleepy again. He went back upstairs to his room and lay down for a while, but couldn't fall asleep. When he left the room, the other knights had all gotten up.

After eating something, the group continued their journey during the day.

Around three or four o'clock in the afternoon, they left Dorne and arrived in Gradia.

After traveling for several more hours, when they passed through a relatively large city nearby, the knights signaled Eric to leave Hero's Avenue at the intersection and enter the city.

We arrived at the place to change horses and riders, and took the opportunity to rest and eat.

Once Eric had filled his stomach, new horses were ready, and another group of church knights awaited him to depart.

"Your Highness, you may rest for a while longer."

"It's alright, I've rested enough. Let's continue on our way."

Eric, dragging his aching body, mounted his horse and said to the lead rider, "Rest around midnight. Find a place to stop as needed."

"Yes, Your Highness."

They set off again, leaving the city Eric had never been to in reality, and returned to Heroes Avenue. After traveling for several more hours, they found a hotel by the roadside around midnight and rested until the next morning.

After leaving the ancient battlefield, Eric's journey was always eastward. After traveling for more than a day in Guradia, when the main direction of his journey turned north, he knew that he was not far from Tebuniti.

"Let's get to Tebuni before dark."

"No problem, Your Highness."

Once you enter Tebuniti, it's less than a day's journey to Lesser.

"Just like yesterday, we'll rest at midnight."

Eric gave these instructions as they stopped to rest at the border between Guradia and Tebni in the evening.

The knights had no objections.

They traveled until midnight, rested until the early hours of the next day, and set off again. The knights were all somewhat excited, because under normal circumstances, they did not have many opportunities to go to Lutia.

However, the person they were escorting this time didn't seem excited; instead, they appeared more tense and solemn.

By noon, the group could already see the two towers in the holy city of Lessir.

More and more pilgrims appeared on the main road. Fortunately, they were on horseback, so it was relatively easy to avoid them. Although their speed was affected, they were not blocked like carriages.

It was already past February, and there was hardly any snow left in Lesser, but the weather was still quite cold.

Eric had come all the way from the south and could clearly feel the change in temperature, but it wasn't until now that he suddenly felt cold all over, and his hands holding the reins couldn't help but tremble.

"Your Highness?" The knight beside him noticed his unusual behavior.

“It’s nothing…” Eric exhaled a breath of cold air. “I’m just a little cold. Don’t worry about me, let’s keep going.”

"Yes."

Around 3 p.m., when the sun had already moved to the western sky, the group arrived at the outer city of Lessier.

The Papal knights checking the road recognized Eric on horseback, quickly bowed and let him pass, their faces showing surprise that they couldn't quite hide.

When this quasi-saintess left Leslie'er last year, her strength had only reached the third rank. Now, it seems that she has already reached a level that they cannot fathom.

"Your Highness Eric, you're back."

"Well, long time no see."

Eric Lema gestured to the knights who had escorted him all the way, "Take them to rest."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Upon entering the outer city, Eric continued riding until he reached the inner city gate, where he stopped once more.

He was no longer the ordinary layman he had been when he first arrived in Lessér, and no longer needed to wait overnight in the outer city before he could enter.

"Your Highness Eric."

The inner city guards saluted him, and Eric nodded, finally feeling much relieved.

From entering the outer city to arriving at the entrance to the inner city, what he saw and heard along the way was enough to show that the Holy Maiden was still alive and well, and that he was not late.

Finally back in the inner city, Eric, on horseback, looked around the place that had confined him for two years with a sense of nostalgia. His gaze swept over the Apostolic Palace, the Place de la Santo, and the Cathedral of Santo, finally settling on the Convent of Sainte Virgin. He had already ridden to the Cathedral of Sainte Sagittarius.

"Your Highness—"

The monastery knights stationed outside the church bowed to him in unison.

Eric dismounted and strode over. "Long time no see. How is the Saintess?"

"Greetings, Your Highness," the leading knight replied.

Eric nodded and patted the other man's arm. "I'm going to see the saintess. We'll talk later."

"Yes, Your Highness."

As we passed through the church and entered the monastery, we were greeted with a constant stream of greetings. The nuns' eyes held both surprise and a slightly astonished look.

Eric then noticed that he was still dressed as an adventurer, armored and wielding a sword.

He didn't have time to change his clothes. He walked along the familiar road and arrived at the Saintess's Abode.

The nuns on either side bowed to him, "Your Highness."

"Is the saintess resting?" Eric asked as he walked.

“His Highness instructed that Prince Eric should go to see her upon his return,” the nun replied.

Eric nodded and went straight to where the saint was resting. The old woman was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, and several nuns were standing beside her. They all bowed to him when he entered.

It has only been a little over half a year since he left Lessier, but the old man's aging is already visible to the naked eye. His sparse, mottled silver hair seems to have become even less, and the age spots on his face have become more numerous. His cheeks have sunken and have lost their luster.

Eric sat down on the edge of the bed, took the old man's hand, and found it was terribly cold.

When he opened his mouth, he realized that he was choking up.

"...Your Highness, I'm back."

After a while, the saintess slowly opened her eyes and stared at him for a long time.

"Good...you came back before I died...good...looking at your outfit, I thought the demon army had reached outside the city."

(End of this chapter)