The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 192 The Road of No Return

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the night before leaving Lutia, Eric went out late at night, wandering around the city with only Elise.

Compared to the bustling and chaotic southern district, the eastern and northern districts were largely quiet after nightfall, with hardly anyone to be seen on the streets. The two hadn't encountered a single person for quite some time after leaving the cathedral.

“I’ve never seen Lutia at this time of year before,” Elise whispered, following closely behind Eric.

He turned to look at her. "Was Miss Alan always this well-behaved?"

She rolled her eyes. "Back then, I was still very law-abiding. Even if I needed to pass on information, I couldn't go out late at night, wouldn't that be more suspicious?"

Eric gave a thumbs up. "Professional."

He wasn't wearing a saint's robe, and Elise wasn't wearing a nun's habit either, only a headscarf to cover her hair. After walking for a while, the first person they encountered was a city guard on night patrol, and as expected, they were stopped and questioned.

Eric produced an identification card he had casually obtained at the cathedral. The guard said "excuse me" and dared not ask any further questions.

"A year has passed. Is Your Highness certain that the nightingales are still in that place?"

"I don't know where the other Nightingale outposts are either, so I'll just have to go and see. If they're not there, so be it. I'll just ask around; I don't really expect them to know much."

As Eric traveled from the East District to the South District, the surroundings became familiar. He followed the city's canal, searching for the Old Gum Bridge and the Kingfisher Tavern near it.

"This river doesn't smell bad anymore."

"Perhaps the Alchemists' Guild poured purification powder into it last night," Elise guessed.

"Based on my understanding of those alchemists, it's impossible for purification powder to be without side effects. Imagine how much pollution it would cause if it were dumped every day."

"Anyway, this was originally a drainage ditch..."

A moment later, Eric found the Old Bridge.

After crossing the bridge, Eric followed the dimly lit alley to the Kingfisher Tavern. Before opening the door, he looked up at the window above.

"What's wrong?" Elise looked up.

"It's alright. Just hurry up and go in."

The two pushed open the door and quickly entered the tavern. Eric breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that the waiter at the door was still the same Nightingale member.

When the latter saw him, he was stunned for a moment, as if trying to remember. When he remembered who he was, his expression changed immediately.

“It’s been a long time. Is that dark elf ‘mother’ still here?” Eric greeted her first, then remembered that her name was Bennett.

Bennett was terrified and said that the dark elf was still there, but was currently entertaining guests, and that he could inform "Mother" to send the person away.

“No need,” Eric refused, not wanting to attract attention. “We can wait.”

"it is good……"

Bennett invited the two to sit at the table. It was nearly midnight, and the tavern was quieter than the last few times he had been there.

"It's a shame you didn't even move after you found out who I am."

"Your Highness is too kind... Even if it's just to make it easier for you to find us, we have to stay here."

"Did you stay here because you were afraid I wouldn't be able to find you and would search everywhere for you?"

"That's part of the reason too..."

After waiting for about half an hour, a middle-aged man came down from upstairs, glanced around a few times, and left the tavern furtively.

“Your Highness, you may go up now,” Bennett said, inviting him to come up.

Eric and Elise went up and met the familiar dark elf. The elf had also learned of Eric's arrival from Bennett, but instead of being flustered, she was incredibly enthusiastic.

"On the day Your Highness arrived, we even sent people to greet you outside the city."

"I really didn't notice."

The room was still filled with the strong smell of spices, but the windows were open for ventilation, and more than a dozen candles were lit as if they were free, making it very bright.

"What news does Your Highness wish to inquire about this time?" the dark elf asked.

Eric sat down opposite her, while Elise walked to the window and looked outside. "You should remember what I asked you to investigate before I left last year."

“Of course I remember, Your Highness,” the dark elf replied immediately. “You instructed us to keep an eye on the movements of High Priest Simmagu.”

"What about the result?"

"He's missing."

Eric looked at the dark elf.

"This is really not our fault, Your Highness."

The dark elf quickly explained, "Your church people are watching too closely; we can't get too close at all. Unlike His Highness, they won't show us any mercy; they'll take action as soon as they spot us."

She glanced at his expression before saying, "Even with those church knights following him closely, they didn't know where Simmagu was. You can't count on us either."

Her answer was pretty much what Eric had expected.

"The church told me that Simmagu was last seen disappearing in Lutia. Do you know the exact location?"

"He disappeared right there in the cathedral, Your Highness."

“Of course I know that.” Eric glanced at Elise, who was returning from the window, asking both her and the dark elf across the way, “Is there a secret passage beneath the Lutia Cathedral?”

Elise shook her head, indicating that she had never heard of such a thing, while the dark elf was more certain, "There is no secret passage that we dark elves cannot discover, Your Highness. There is only one possibility for Sinmag's disappearance: he disguised his escape with the help of someone within the church."

Eric knew that this dark elf liked to make wild associations and sell his conjectures as intelligence. Last year, he even made the unauthorized association of him with the church as someone sent to assassinate Sinmag. Therefore, he was very suspicious.

Do you have concrete evidence?

“There is no concrete evidence, but there is no other possibility, my lord. Having eliminated all other possibilities, this is what remains,” the dark elf said.

Eric then asked, "What if he possesses some kind of teleportation magic?"

The dark elf's face showed a hint of disdain. "Impossible, Your Highness. Even the moon elves couldn't do that."

Eric also felt that this possibility was very small, so he did not pursue it further. "Besides that, tell me what other findings you have made in your investigation."

Because the church itself was keeping a close watch on things, Nightingale had virtually no additional intelligence. All the information the Dark Elf had been secretly gathering for so long was already known to him.

"...Okay, I understand that too. I now believe that your investigation was indeed very difficult."

The dark elf sighed, "After all, no matter how bold we are, we wouldn't dare to lay our hands on the church."

Eric declined to comment.

"I heard that Your Highness is leaving Lutia tomorrow?"

"Hmm. You still have time to sell this information before dawn."

"Your Highness is joking..."

Eric got up to leave, but Bennett came in carrying a bag of gold coins and handed it to the dark elf, who then handed the coins back to him. "Your Highness, this is a small token of our appreciation."

"..."

He glanced at it twice but didn't take it. "Do I look like I'm trying to extort money from you?"

“Of course not, and I know you’re not that kind of person either. This is just a small token of our heartfelt wishes for Your Highness and the Holy Maiden Monastery.” The dark elf seemed genuinely sincere.

Eric took the gold coin, weighed it in his hand, and then put it down. "Go to Gradia and exchange it for grain, then send it to the Black Ice Wall in the North."

The dark elf was taken aback and blurted out, "That won't get you much food; the journey is too long."

“I know.” Eric had spent all the money he earned on the ancient battlefield either sending it back to his uncle back home or exchanging it for grain to transport to the North. Of course, he was aware of the enormous costs involved.

"Send as much as you can."

"I understand. We will definitely convey His Highness's wishes to the Northern Border."

Before leaving, Eric asked one last question: "What do you dark elves think about the demons' southward advance?"

The dark elf seemed stumped by the simple question, and after a while, he replied, "Our position may be better or worse, depending on whether you humans or demons win. But we will not get involved."

Eric shook his head and turned to leave.

"Try to do less illegal things."

With Elise by his side, the two left the tavern and headed back.

It was the rainy season in Lutia. After a day of rain, the sky cleared up considerably at night, with few clouds and the stars clearly visible.

“If it weren’t for this or that, I really wish I could live in Lutia forever,” Elise said, holding his hand.

Eric gazed at the starry sky and responded.

"It seems like it's past midnight."

"More or less, hopefully they're all asleep."

"Molly is definitely still waiting."

Eric looked down at her. "It seems like neither you nor Sophie really want to leave Lutia. Why don't you stay here with her for a while longer before catching up?"

Iris considered for a moment, "If Sophie and I stay, how will Your Highness spend the night?"

"...Do I not live without women?"

She thought for a moment, looked at him, and asked, "Then I'll stay here for a few more days?"

“Yes. We’ll have the cathedral send someone to take you there,” Eric said. “We’ll stop along the way, and we won’t go too fast, as I still have quite a few monasteries to visit.”

Elise nodded. The two walked back to the East Side Cathedral and then back to their lodgings, where Molly was indeed lying on his bed.

"Don't you know it's more dangerous for you to lie in my bed alone than to lie in bed with me?"

“As long as that little nun doesn’t complain, who would dare come to your room?” Molly yawned. “Why did you take so long?”

“We went to the South District, it’s quite far.” Elise also came in and closed the door.

"You're bothering us again," Molly glared at her.

Elise sneered, "Not just that little nun, I can also call someone to take you away."

“Elise will stay tomorrow,” Eric said. “She’ll stay with you for a few more days.”

"Why?" Molly asked, somewhat surprised.

"I'll miss you so much~" Elise smiled.

Molly gagged.

A moment later, she almost actually threw up.

"You're going to die..." She spat out the large foreign object in her mouth, her voice hoarse. She looked up and glared at Eric, then punched his thigh.

He loosened her hair and began to stroke it. "It felt so good... I couldn't help myself."

“It’s my turn to feel comfortable.” She stood up, pushed him back, and sat down facing him.

Eric returned to the monastery after midnight, and he barely got any rest during the rest of the night, instead working tirelessly until dawn.

"You're just sleeping in the carriage anyway..."

"Before leaving the city, I have to show my face; I can't go out with a listless, grumpy face."

After his final push, Eric was exhausted and turned to look out the window. It was just dawn; outside, it was still shrouded in gray.

"We won't be leaving so early, you can get some sleep. I'm going to take a shower."

The three of them were intimate in Elise's room last night. The probability of him being discovered leaving his room alone in the morning is much lower than the probability of Elise and Molly leaving his room together and being noticed.

Molly pulled him close and kissed him for almost half a minute before letting go.

"Say it again."

"what?"

"What you said to me when I was about to leave last time."

"Remember to contact me if your teacher comes back."

"..."

“I remember.” Eric smiled as he took her hand that she had hit. “I love you.”

Molly was satisfied. She hugged him tightly one last time, then let go.

Eric glanced at the sleeping Elise, then left the room, returned to his own quarters next door, changed his clothes, and took a shower.

When it was time to leave in the morning, Elise and Molly, who were yawning constantly, still got up to see him off.

Sophie, who remained, stood with the two women, looking at them suspiciously.

“It’s exactly what you think,” Elise said to her while yawning.

"You know perfectly well that His Highness is leaving today!"

"Don't be angry, you have to take me with you in a few days."

"..."

Eric said goodbye to Eileen and Leslie, who had rushed over, got into the carriage, waved goodbye to the window one last time, and fell asleep as soon as the carriage left the east gate of Lutia.

After traveling for several days, leaving Lutia and the Breeze Plains and entering Guradia, Eric looked at the woods beside the road and suddenly remembered the forester, Miss Kasha, whom he had met when he passed through here last year.

He opened the small window in front of him. "Where are we?"

"We just entered Grandia this morning, Your Highness," the knight driving the carriage replied immediately. The other knight beside him opened a map, glanced at it, and said, "Our exact location should be near South Dame County in Grandia."

Eric opened his mouth, "Okay."

He closed the small window, sat back down, and looked out the window again.

He couldn't even remember where on the road the forest where Kasha lived was.

However, if he passes by again, he might be able to recognize the exit of the forest path he left through, provided that he keeps his eyes on the outside the whole way.

After looking around for a while, Eric felt that it was probably more likely to wait for Kasha to come to him and for them to re-establish contact. He remembered that he had left her a way to find herself before he left.

After the carriage had been running all day, he realized why he had suddenly thought of Kasha.

"...Is it really true that one can't live without a woman?"

Eric muttered to himself, gripped the saint's scepter, jumped off the carriage, and arrived at yet another monastery.

They set off again the next day, and as evening approached, a winged man who had been searching for them for half the day descended from the sky and landed in front of their group.

A short while later, a letter was delivered to Eric in the carriage.

"Your Highness, a letter for you."

"Where did it come from?"

"They said they came from Northria."

"understood."

Eric opened the letter, glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically.

—Simmagu was spotted near the border between Northria and Holtdam.

"Stop the car!" Eric yelled.

The driver was surprised, but he quickly slowed down and brought the carriage to a stop.

"Your Highness?"

When he turned around, the Holy Maiden had already climbed out of the carriage and looked around a few times.

As the saint's carriage stopped, the knights and carriages in front and behind gradually came to a halt. The procession was long, and everyone's attention was focused on the saint's carriage or the saint herself in the middle.

Eric beckoned to the nearest guard knight, mounted his horse, and turned around.

“Greyling, Kendall, you take the nuns and continue back to Lessier. The rest of you, come with me back to Lutia.”

"..."

The nearest guard knights looked at each other blankly, but quickly responded.

Eric then gave his reasons:
“I received a letter that High Priest Simago has appeared in Lutia, and I have received reliable information that he has already sided with the Demon Clan! His appearance in the Empire at this time must be for some purpose, and I must stop him.”

He rode his horse back and forth beside the carriage, swaying back and forth, "Guardian Knight—"

A dozen or so knights dismounted together, "Your Highness!"

“Come back to Lutia with me.”

"Yes!"

Eric then looked at the other knights: "As for the knights who join us along the way, if you are not willing to take the risks with me, you can continue on your way to Lessier."

"..."

After a brief silence, a knight dismounted, knelt on one knee, and swore to follow him, saying, "Pollock is willing to return to Lutia with Your Highness and protect Your Highness's safety."

He set a precedent, and almost all the knights who joined halfway through dismounted and responded.

Eric breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the remaining seven or eight knights who hadn't dismounted, and didn't blame them.

"Please continue to escort our nuns back to Lessier."

"Yes, Your Highness the Saint."

Eric then went to the carriage behind and called down a nun. "Gwendolyn, these nuns and knights are now under your command. Minimize stops along the way and get back to Lessier as quickly as possible. Have Alena keep a close eye on Lutia's movements."

"Yes, Your Highness...but you..."

"I will return to the Holy City alive. You don't need to worry about anything else."

"I understand."

After stopping along the way, the saintess's party regrouped. A small portion of them continued back to Leslie, while Eric and his group of knights turned around and rushed towards Lutia.

Sinmagu has been missing for almost a year, and his sudden reappearance must mean his destination is Lutia.

Eric didn't know what his real objective was, and even if he had given instructions, the two cardinals certainly wouldn't kill Sinmag. That's why he had to go back in person.

The sound of hooves echoed as the horse galloped across the road, drawing surprised glances from passersby.

Looking at the approaching dusk, Eric took a deep breath.

Hopefully, we won't be a step behind this time.

"Continue our journey into the night and return to Lutia within three days!"

"Yes, Your Highness—"

(End of this chapter)