The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 188: Taking Money to Do Things
When Eric was awakened by the cold, he thought he was still inside the icy hole in the Great Wall of Black Ice.

Elise curled up tightly in his arms, her eyes closed, her body trembling uncontrollably.

He glanced around; the fire crystals that had been spread on the bed were now all on the floor. He vaguely remembered that he had indeed pulled some uncomfortable things off the bed in his sleep.

Eric reached out and picked up a few fire crystals that were nearby. Their energy had not been fully released and they were still warm. He then put them back into the blanket.

Looking at the brazier next to it, it had long since gone out.

He lost all desire to sleep and quickly became fully awake.

Eric got out of bed, stuffed the other fire crystals on the ground into the blankets and onto Elise, and went outside to take a look. He found that the campfire from last night had been completely buried by the wind and snow.

"They never stop..."

He borrowed some more planks from his neighbor, then went to another neighbor's house that was still relatively intact to take shelter from the wind and light a fire, thus rekindling the campfire.

After roasting for a while, he took a brazier, filled it with burning wood, and when he returned, he found that Elise had already woken up.

"It must be frozen."

She nodded blankly, rummaged under the covers, pulled out a fire crystal that had stopped dissipating heat and was instead absorbing her body heat, and threw it into the brazier.

"Did this stuff really work last night? I feel like I was frozen all night."

"You pushed me off the bed."

"Is that so?" Elise took out another fire crystal and looked at it for a while.

“I set another one of your neighbors’ houses on fire,” Eric said.

She turned her head to look in the direction where the fire was crackling, and stared blankly for a while. "It's okay, they're not coming back anyway."

She soon got out of bed, and the two of them used a neighbor's fire to roast some dried meat for breakfast before setting off back to the monastery.

When they passed the Sel Ice Lake, the wind and snow were heavy, so they did not cross the ice directly, but instead went around it.

Upon reaching the other side of the frozen lake, Elise stopped and turned to look back.

"The ice here will only get thicker in the future."

Eric stopped beside her. "Maybe."

Elise stared for a while.

"Let's go."

After spending most of the day, the two returned to the Saint-Rozelle Abbey, only to bump into the nuns feeding the horses in the stable.

"Your Highness, Holy Maiden!"

“I took a walk around your monastery. The environment is not bad. It would be even better if the wind was less, the snow was less, there were more people and more trees and it wasn’t so cold.”

"..."

Back at the monastery, Eric made occasional appearances over the next few days, meeting with monks, nuns, or the abbot, but otherwise did little else.

When it was finally time to leave, the Saint-Rozelle Abbey suddenly became lively again.

The farewell ceremony was just as solemn as the welcoming ceremony. Eric gave a speech, reaffirming the local clergy's piety and steadfastness in their practice, demonstrating his continued concern, and finally offering a vision for the future.

"Waaah, Your Highness—"

Amidst the monastery's reluctance to part, the saint and her entourage officially set off to return to the holy city of Lessier. Few noticed that the number of knights escorting them was somewhat reduced.

After the saint and her party left the monastery, a carriage followed them all the way.

The knights behind them weren't surprised, because Her Highness had already informed them that the man was a nobleman from Frostwind City who would be returning with them.

The route south was slightly different from the route north. After traveling for a day, the saint's procession stopped in the evening and chose a monastery that they had not passed on the way there.

“Your Highness.” As soon as Eric stepped off the carriage, Earl Donovan immediately came over to greet him.

"Earl Donovan."

He nodded. "I wonder how your people are doing? Have they set off yet?"

“That’s right.” Donovan leaned closer. “The first batch of grain purchased from Frostwind City has been prepared long ago, and the convoy is ready as well. We are just waiting for Your Highness to come over so you can announce our departure…”

Noticing that Her Highness's expression suddenly turned much more unpleasant, his voice also softened.

Should we wait for him to go?

Should we wait for him to go over, cut the ribbon, take a group photo, and then set off?

Eric took two deep breaths to hold back, "Didn't I say we should leave as soon as possible?"

Donovan was trembling with fear. "From Frostwind City to the Black Ice Wall, it won't take more than a few days, Your Highness..."

For such a great undertaking as delivering food to the border guards, Her Highness should be present, right?
The key is that he himself has to be present, right?
Shouldn't all citizens and nobles see and know this?
However, the Holy Maiden remained expressionless. "I cannot bear to see those loyal Imperial soldiers go hungry for another day, and I believe that Earl Donovan feels the same way deep down."

Donovan agreed immediately, saying he would write a letter right away to urge the grain convoy to set off.

Eric glanced at the sky; even if those people received the letter now, they wouldn't be able to set off until tomorrow.

"Thank you for your hard work, Earl Donovan. The gods will see your efforts."

"As long as Her Highness is satisfied..."

Eric managed a forced smile, then looked outside the monastery where a group of monks and nuns were waiting for him to come over.

Eric took the scepter from Sophie and strode over.

"Your Highness—"

They only stayed there for one night, had a meal, slept, and then left. Eric used the evening to meet with many monks and nuns who wanted to see him in the chapel, taking the opportunity to instill the church's overall strategic shift when a crisis came and to secretly instill a sense of resistance.

Just as dinner was ending, he chatted briefly with the abbot, casually inquiring whether the elite knights stationed at their monastery had set off for Lessier.

The abbot replied that they had already set off, and the knights sent by the Vatican for rotation were on their way.

Eric was somewhat disappointed, but he didn't say much.

After meeting with several more nuns, it was almost midnight, and he was already exhausted.

Before he went to rest, Count Donovan came up to him and said that the grain convoy had set off under cover of night and that if they hadn't gotten lost, they would meet them on the main road in a few days.

It's unknown how many times the winged man who delivered the message ran back and forth that night.

“Well done, Earl Donovan.” Eric patted him on the shoulder. “Get some rest. The gods will reward you in your dreams.”

"Yes, Your Highness..."

On his way back to his lodgings, Eric suddenly realized that this guy had specifically mentioned that he would meet him on the way. Could there be some other arrangement waiting for him?

"Go ahead and make things difficult for me... As long as the food gets there, that's fine." He sighed.

“His Highness will be very pleased,” said Elise, who was following behind him.

“His Highness has already done enough for him.” Sophie glanced at her from the other side.

“I was referring to another prince.”

"what?"

Elise didn't say much, but as Sophie was about to follow Eric into the room, she stopped her and pointed to another room next door, "This is where we rest."

"..."

Sophie glanced at the knight standing not far away and had no choice but to follow her inside.

After a good night's sleep, the saintess's procession continued its journey.

In the morning, Eric was still a little sleepy and lay in the carriage to catch up on sleep.

Elise sat by the opposite window, gazing out most of the time, occasionally turning her head to look at Eric lying down, and Sophie using her lap as a pillow for him.

After turning south, the snow and wind gradually subsided. Although Sophie didn't see much difference, she had lived in the North for a longer time and could sense the changes.

It's already May, the earth shouldn't still be covered in white...

Although she wouldn't have thought that way a long time ago.

Elise silently exhaled a long breath, looked up at the gray sky where snow was falling, and then noticed a conspicuous black dot in the sky.

"..."

She stared at it for a while, and the black dot that was spiraling down gradually grew larger.

He is a winged person.

The white wings indicate a church messenger, most likely here to deliver a message to the saint.

Sure enough, the winged people quickly landed at the front of the group.

The procession's progress was not affected, and the letter delivered by the winged man, after being checked by the knights in front, was quickly delivered to the window.

"A letter from the monastery to His Highness."

It is generally referred to as a monastery, which is only the place they came from.

Elise took the letter, and the knight returned to the front. When she turned her head, Eric, who was lying on Sophie's lap, had already opened his eyes.

"Look, is it a routine report, or is it something urgent?" She opened the letter and began to scan it.

“It’s a routine report, um… Alena said that the Cardinals’ House held four cardinal meetings last week.”

“It’s Deacon Alena.” Sophie glared at her.

Iris ignored him and looked at Eric. "Do you want to take a look?"

"have a look."

Eric sat up and took the letter.

Since he was not in Lessér, no one could attend the Cardinals' meeting in his place, but the content of the meeting and the results of the votes were still known—this was open to all the cardinals.

"Hmm... these are all old, tired topics, it doesn't matter whether you participate or not." After reading this part, Eric simply started skimming through the other reports himself.

“Your Highness used to attend every Cardinal Council meeting.” Sophie leaned on his arm, taking one letter after he finished reading it; these letters were all to be kept.

“Doesn’t this make me look professional?” Eric said casually, then glanced at Elise and pursed his lips dismissively.

The two looked at each other, and she looked out the window, silently uttering a name: Alena.

He ignored it and continued reading the letter.

His eyes were sore after reading through all the dozen or so letters.

“Luckily, I left most of the work to Alena and Gabi.” Eric handed the last sheet of paper to Sophie. “Just looking at all this gives me a headache.”

“Perhaps soon these things will become cherished happy troubles,” Elise said softly.

“I hope this moment comes later,” Eric added.

When the demons march south, their only concern is survival.

The carriage is still moving forward.

Two days later, the saintess's party encountered a grain transport convoy that had set off from Frostwind City on Hero's Avenue.

Before Eric could even stick his head out, he heard a loud shout coming from ahead:
"Count Donovan, the provisions Her Highness the Saintess requested you to send to the border guards are all here—"

The three people in the carriage exchanged glances. Sophie frowned, Elise remained calm, and Eric leaned out of the window, just in time to see Donovan hurrying up behind them.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

He stopped beside his carriage, his voice equally loud, "The grain you asked me to purchase has been delivered here!... Would you like to get down and take a look?"

Eric turned to look at the line ahead. "Take a look."

He got off the carriage, and Donovan tried to take his hand, but he quickly pulled away.

“Earl Donovan, who was that who just shouted? His voice was quite loud.”

"...That's my steward's son. He's quite smart and hardworking, so I put him in charge of delivering grain north."

When Eric arrived at the front of the procession, he realized that the grain transport team was quite long, with one wagon after another, which looked quite impressive at first glance.

Then he noticed someone at the very front of the procession hurriedly dismount and bow to him, "Your Highness—"

Eric glanced at his attire; he looked like a nobleman. "Who are you?"

“I am Gavin, assistant to Governor Forrest of Northria, Your Highness,” Gavin replied, bowing his head. “At the invitation of Earl Donovan and at the behest of Lord Forrest, I am responsible for overseeing the destination of these grains… specifically, the section of the road from Frostwind City to here.”

Eric thought that Donovan must have invited him to witness his relationship with the saint, especially with the food.

"That's all? Is there no need for further supervision?"

The man raised his head slightly and glanced at Donovan behind him. "I believe the devout Earl Donovan wouldn't stoop so low as to fabricate anything related to Her Highness's arrangements..."

Dono chuckled in agreement, "Of course, every grain will be delivered to the soldiers guarding the border."

Gavin didn't look at him much, and then said to Eric, "Your Highness, you must be tired from your journey. Lord Forrest and Archbishop Hugo sincerely invite you to rest for a few days at the Frostwind Cathedral."

“Alright.” Eric didn’t stand on ceremony; this was an arrangement that had already been made. “You can come back to Frostwind City with our team.”

"Yes, Your Highness the Saint."

Eric then looked at the grain transport team, randomly inspected one of the wagons, and had someone open one of the bags of grain to take a look.

The hulled rye grains are long and narrow, full, and still exude a natural aroma.

He grabbed a handful, held it in his palm, pressed it to his forehead, and offered a prayer in front of everyone:

“O Highest Yela, though you know everything in this world, I still pray to you: Donovan of Frostwind City is the most virtuous man, and I wish to share your blessings with him.”

The laborers carrying the grain and several knights in the saint's procession knelt down and uttered the same prayer.

Donovan burst into tears on the spot, just like a lover who had just learned that she had been officially recognized as his girlfriend.

Her Highness is being incredibly kind; he actually did the job after receiving the money—and the money wasn't even for his own use!

After Eric finished his performance, he patted him on the shoulder and got into the car.

Donovan cried for a while, then stopped even faster. He reiterated to the person in charge of transporting the food that it must be delivered to the border on time and intact. Then, he pulled Gavin, who had been sent by the governor, along with the saint's procession, which had already set off again, and they chatted privately.

"Gavin, you saw it all, the saint prayed for me in front of everyone!"

“I see.” Gavin glanced at him sideways. “Now you can have your wish, Lord Donovan.”

Donovan laughed, then sighed regretfully.

"It's a pity that the governor and the other nobles in the city didn't see that scene just now... I'll never forget it for the rest of my life."

Gavin didn't bother to reply.

"Hmm, I need to write to them and tell them to find a painter as soon as possible to paint what just happened..."

"Then you must describe it clearly in the letter, and don't write Her Highness as someone kneeling on the ground praying for you."

"of course not!"

Eric, already back in the carriage, was unaware of what was happening behind him, and even if he had, he wouldn't have bothered to care.

He sat by the carriage window, watching the horse-drawn carts carrying grain pass by one after another.

"This much grain should last us for quite a while."

Elise also looked outside, "It wasn't in vain that His Highness prayed so earnestly for that nobleman."

Eric responded, then shared Donovan's regret, "It's a pity that more nobles didn't see this, otherwise it could have served as a model for others."

Elise yawned. "That's what he planned to do. You were complaining a couple of days ago about how he hadn't left yet."

"I didn't think of that at the time. I should have let him send half first, and leave the other half for me to go over for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and photo before I set off."

"A ribbon-cutting ceremony and group photo?"

"It's just... organizing a celebration and then finding a painter to depict the scene."

Sophie leaned closer. "Could we wait until the grain from Grandia arrives before doing this?"

"When will that be?" The last grain wagon passed by the window, and Eric peeked out twice before looking away. "I think you're only saying this because you don't want to go back to Lesser."

"I thought we'd be out there for at least half a year..."

Eric gave a brief laugh.

"There's not much time left."

The St. Mary's caravan continued south.

After a three-night stay, the group gained seven or eight more elite knights who were returning to Lesser for rotation. Eric sincerely invited them to travel with him, and they were flattered and accepted without hesitation.

Shouldn't we launch the plan as soon as possible, before more and more knights join...?

The next day, as Eric was refining his assassination plan in the carriage, Sophie, who was leaning against the window, suddenly exclaimed, "We can see Frostwind City!"

He peeked out and saw a city standing on the snow-covered plain in the distance.

"It looks cold."

“It’s cold here.” Sophie turned to him and smiled, looking somewhat expectant. Frostwind City was the first major city they would stop in on this tour.

“That’s true.” Eric took a deep breath, stopping his wandering thoughts—there was a welcoming ceremony before he entered the city.

The convoy headed straight for Frostwind City, slowing down as it approached the city gates.

"Your Highness, look, there are so many people outside the city gate."

"They're waiting for me."

“There was even a red carpet laid out on the ground!”

"They're waiting for me."

"The person standing at the very front, dressed like a high-ranking nobleman... he must be the governor here, right?"

Eric adjusted his dress. "He was waiting for me too."

(End of this chapter)