The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 218 Likes to Chat
It was already dark when we left Count Barnabas's mansion.

Count Barnabas sincerely invited the Grand Princess and Her Highness the Saintess to stay for the dinner party. The two acknowledged his invitation but left in their carriages.

Because they had something to say, Natalia and Eric sat in the same carriage.

“I’d heard Barnabas was a tough opponent, but after meeting him in person, I realized just how difficult he really is,” Natalia said, her face full of frustration. “We’ve wasted the whole afternoon here!”

Eric was much calmer than she was.

After realizing that Barnabas was unyielding, he had already given up on trying to persuade him. However, Natalia seemed to think that failing to reach an agreement with the two nobles she visited in the afternoon would be a major failure, so she persisted until evening before finally giving up.

Barnabas was the third nobleman they had visited that day. The old marquis who had angrily denounced Eric as a regicide and had been mocked by Barnabas for abandoning the emperor that afternoon had almost died of anger at his own doorstep and hadn't even let Natalia in.

On the way to the third house, Eric sent his knights to the cathedral to call for reinforcements to cause trouble for that family.

“Your Highness need not take it to heart,” Eric reassured him. “If everyone were so easily persuaded, we wouldn’t have needed to make this trip.”

Natalia looked at him.

Eric continued, "And Your Highness, did you notice that he went around in circles all afternoon, never saying a single word that was completely definitive? His current refusals don't mean he'll maintain that attitude later."

"Shall we come again tomorrow?" Natalia asked for his opinion.

"He is not worthy of Her Highness Natalia making two trips..."

Eric had barely finished speaking when he saw Natalia's lips curve into a smile, so he smiled back, "Let's leave him for now. We'll see how His Highness feels when we're ready to leave Historia and decide whether we should come back again."

Natalia's smile widened, but it didn't last long before turning into a soft sigh.

She knew Eric was just saying that to comfort her.

"I'll come again."

The carriage continued towards the Governor's residence.

Natalia had been talking all afternoon and was now quite tired. Leaning against the carriage, she avoided looking at Eric sitting opposite her and began to daydream.

Eric didn't try to start a conversation. He lifted the curtain, looked at the gradually darkening sky outside, and felt the long-lost lively atmosphere.

The carriage returned smoothly to the Governor's Palace.

As the two stepped down from the same carriage, Elise, who came out to greet them, raised an eyebrow.

"Your Highness, you have worked hard."

After Eric alighted from the carriage, she continued, "The church personnel His Highness sent to cause trouble came by in the evening, saying that the eldest son of the old marquis wanted to come in person to apologize to you and Princess Natalia."

"Whatever," Eric said, not caring at all.

“We can meet,” Natalia said.

“Then let’s meet.” Eric changed his mind quickly. “However, Your Highness, don’t have too high hopes. That young marquis may not necessarily disagree with his father. He probably just doesn’t want to be accused by the church of disrespecting the saint.”

Natalia smiled. "Let's meet him. We'll know once we meet him."

Eric didn't say much, but asked Iris to convey Natalia's message to the church people if they came again.

After dinner, Natalia went to rest.

Eric wandered around the vast governor's mansion, discovering many strange and unusual rooms, and could only sigh inwardly at how extravagant the former governor had been.

He found Eileen in the study. He didn't see her during dinner; he only heard from Elise that she had already eaten.

"What book are you reading so intently?"

"Wow!...You scared me." Eileen wanted to hit him with the book, but stopped halfway through, not because she felt sorry for him, but because she felt sorry for the book in her hand.

She showed him the cover, “Some ancient legends. The books on this shelf are all very old, they seem to be originals passed down from that era.”

Eric glanced at it and then looked away, scanning the entire library. "Any skill books?"

“There’s no such thing here.” Eileen immediately extinguished his fantasy. “I’ve already looked at them; they’re all just books for reading.”

"What you're saying... skill books are just for looking at."

Eileen ignored him.

Eric wandered around the library again, but found nothing. Just as he was about to leave, his sister called him back.

"How was your harvest today? Is anyone willing to offer assistance?"

Eric paused. "We reached an agreement on one, broke off negotiations on another, and were practically played for a fool all afternoon."

"tease?"

"It's like keeping them hanging on, not agreeing, but not directly refusing either," Eric explained.

"That's really bad," Eileen said. "What about the one whose negotiations broke down?"

"Haha," Eric laughed first.

He recounted his day to his sister, and he felt much better.

Before leaving again, he glanced at the cold flames that lit up every corner of the library and released a charged Super Illumination spell.

“You’ve come all this way, so don’t just stay in your room all day. Go out for a walk.”

“We’re going to be here for several more days,” Eileen said, squinting at the luminous orb above her head, then hesitated, “…No rush.”

“If you really like reading these books, take them back to Orion,” Eric said.

"That's too much trouble. Eric, you read in this book that the moon elves are actually a race of gods from ancient times who failed to ascend to the divine realm. Does that mean we have the blood of gods flowing through our veins?"

Eric glanced back at the book in Eileen's hand. "If that's the case, then I hope that when I wake up tomorrow, I can kill ten thousand demons with a single sneeze."

"fool!"

Eileen glared at him, then continued reading, ignoring him.

Back in his room, Eric found Elise and Molly waiting for him.

Are you in a hurry?

"...It's not that rushed."

Eric didn't rush to take off his clothes, but asked the two of them what they had done that day.

Molly said she spent the morning with Eileen in the library, flipping through many books. In the afternoon, feeling bored, she wandered around the city.

Elise went with her.

“We also passed by the mansion of that nobleman you were picking on,” Molly said with a smile.

"Really? Did the people sent by the church hurl insults at us?" Eric asked.

“I felt okay about it. But Elise said that if someone insulted her like that, she wouldn’t be able to sleep all night.”

Eric looked at Elise, "There's someone who can actually talk you into submission? I never would have guessed."

“I’ve lived in Lutia Cathedral for nearly ten years, after all,” Elise said without changing her expression. “Through what I’ve seen and heard, I’ve developed some genuine piety in my heart.”

"Yeah, that's pretty good."

"..."

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m serious.” Eric sat down on the edge of his large bed. “With a little piety, you can know what you can and cannot do, but you don’t have to be too bound by doctrine. I think that’s the best state.”

"Does this mean that piety is necessary, but not too much?" Elise asked.

Eric nodded.

"Others may say that, but is it appropriate for Your Highness to say it like this?"

“That’s not appropriate.” Eric smiled and leaned back. “That’s why I’m only telling you this.”

“We’re here to chat!” Molly said, looking at Elise walking towards him. “What are you doing? Don’t take your clothes off!”

Elise glanced at her, walked over to Eric, and helped him up.

“If Your Highness lies down like this, you won’t be able to wear this robe for long. There are only two robes left that we brought from the monastery.”

"I'd completely forgotten I was wearing this..."

Eric stood up, opened his arms, and Elise helped him remove his tuxedo.

“Once we separate, there will be no one to take care of Your Highness.” She seemed to be implying.

"Don't talk like I can't live without you guys." With his suit jacket loosened, Eric felt more relaxed.

“But Your Highness is traveling as a saintess now, so it’s different.”

"Do you think the people I'm about to meet value my status as a saintess, or the reputation I built during the defense of Lutia?"

Elise glanced at him, then pulled off his tuxedo and knelt down.

"Both. You just don't want me to follow you, do you?

"That's not true..."

Eric looked down at her, and through the last layer of restraint, she swiftly and gently grasped his vitals, making his heart skip a beat.

“We’re all gone, who will take care of ‘this place’? That prince?” As soon as Iris finished speaking, she felt the object in her hand rapidly expand.

"..."

She looked up and glared at him.

Eric said awkwardly, "It's not because of her, it's because of you... all of you."

Molly walked over and glared at Elise. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist."

"Are you really here to chat?" Elise sneered.

“Is that not allowed? If you don’t do anything reckless, I certainly won’t do anything reckless either.” Molly also reached out and grabbed the other part.

"Don't use any force..." Eric said nervously.

She knocked Molly's hand away, and Elise removed the last layer of restraint for him, allowing him to face Anger directly.

When she looked up again, she found that the two of them were kissing her on the head.

"..."

She rolled her eyes, then skillfully opened her mouth and swallowed most of it in one gulp.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

"Your Highness."

The three people in the room were startled and stopped moving.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

"Your Highness Eric, are you asleep?"

Natalia's voice came from outside the room, "I heard from the maids that His Highness has already returned to his room."

"...I'm not asleep yet."

As soon as Eric spoke, Elise and Molly both glared at him.

He glared back at the two of them, lowering his voice, "Something must have happened."

"What could it be? I just wanted to chat with you," Elise said in a low voice, continuing her actions with her hands and her tongue swirling around, maintaining his state with malice.

“Does Your Highness have some free time now? It’s still early, and I’d like to take a stroll around the city,” Natalia continued from outside.

"it is good……"

Eric responded, then immediately added, "I'll change my clothes. Please wait a moment, Your Highness."

"Okay." Natalia responded and then fell silent, seemingly standing right at the door.

Eric grabbed Elise's wrist to stop her from continuing, glared at her, and pulled his other hand out from under Molly's robes.

"Hide yourselves and don't make a sound."

Thanks to Elise, even something as simple as pulling up one's trousers became extremely difficult.

Eric cast a few calming spells on himself, forcibly eliminating his desires. He changed into some lighter clothes and turned around. Molly and Elise were still standing and kneeling by the bed, with the latter holding onto the former, preventing him from leaving.

"Stop it……"

Eric was at his wit's end. He pulled the two of them behind the curtains, took a couple of steps, then turned back to warn Elise: "Behave yourselves, we can continue when you come back."

She rolled her eyes, jumped out the window, and hid outside.

“Eh…” Molly was startled.

"It's okay, you're better off hiding by yourself." Eric told her to stay hidden and not move, looked down at her, and then went to open the door.

Natalia stood outside the door, smiling when she saw him, showing no impatience whatsoever.

"Awaited."

"No, it was I who disturbed Your Highness's rest."

Eric stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. "Let's go, Your Highness."

The two left the governor's mansion not on foot, but on horseback, without any guards.

Natalia said she wanted to wander around the city. Eric guessed that she wanted to go out and explore because she hadn't seen the bustling night view of a big city in a long time—she often left the palace when she was still a carefree princess.

"Lutia is ten times more lively than here."

The road was wide, and Natalia rode alongside him on horseback. "No, more than ten times as much. But that lively Lutia now seems like a distant memory, like something from a past life."

Eric felt the same way, even more deeply—he had witnessed firsthand how Lutia's prosperity was gradually destroyed by the demons.

"The city is dead, but people are alive. As long as people are still here, one day we can rebuild an even more prosperous land kingdom."

Natalia nodded in agreement, took a deep breath to clear her mind of the pent-up emotions.

"What was it like for Your Highness when you lived here before?"

Eric looked at her. "I've never been here before, Your Highness. I grew up in Oren."

"what……"

Natalia paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered.

“…I’m sorry.” Her face flushed slightly. “By the way, His Highness did mention it when we first entered the city. Because the guards in the Governor’s Mansion are all His Highness’s family knights, I always subconsciously felt that this was the place where His Highness grew up…”

Eric didn't care. "Your Highness is just too busy to care about such trivial matters."

Natalia shook her head. "One thing at a time."

The city of Hiss is not as large as Lutia, and it is also smaller than Tallinn, which Eric visited in the south, but it is still much larger than his hometown of Oren.

The city is divided into four districts: east, south, west, and north. The governor's mansion is in the center. The two of them spent the day in the northern district, where nobles and the wealthy gathered. So when they went out for a stroll at night, they deliberately avoided that area and headed towards the west of the city first.

“Because of the fall of Lutia, this place has actually gained a second chance for development,” Eric said as the two turned to the bustling East District and walked through the city center.

"Although we lost Lutia, our largest market, trade cannot stop here. Merchants have to turn their attention to other cities..."

As Natalia rode on her horse, looking at the various enthusiastic faces on both sides, she said, “Last year, on my way north to the Black Ice Wall, I met many merchants. Their travels only went as far as Frostwind City, but that was far enough… At that time, I thought that perhaps these merchants who traveled all over the country understood the situation of the entire empire better than the winged people who could fly.”

Eric looked at her. "Does Your Highness wish to speak with the merchants here?"

Natalia hesitated for a moment, "I don't know what to say right now."

Eric pulled on the reins, dismounted, and reached out his hand to her.

"Merchants, especially itinerant merchants, are far more enthusiastic than Your Highness imagines. Your Highness only needs to throw out a topic, and they will talk endlessly about it. That's their ability."

Natalia looked at him, then at his outstretched hand, and decided to take it before dismounting.

The two men led their horses to one of the merchants' carriages with its carriage open to the street. Eric glanced at the contents of the carriage and asked, "From Dorn?"

"Wow, you're really knowledgeable. You figured that out from this little gadget, didn't you?"

The merchant picked up a Dornish specialty from the shelf with one hand and held up two fingers with the other, saying, "One Charon, you can take two."

“This isn’t Lutia, how can you sell it for this price?” Eric said immediately.

The merchant's smile remained unchanged. "Look at what you're saying. To bring these things over, I've traveled just as far as I did to Lutia."

"Really? You traveled so far. How was the journey?"

The merchant then recounted his experiences traveling from the Duchy of Stud in the southern kingdoms to Dorne, and then from Tallinn.

Natalia joined the conversation midway through and quickly took control of the direction of the rest of the discussion.

Eric listened while looking at the items on the cart, then took out a few gold coins and bought them, making the traveling merchant even more enthusiastic.

As the conversation was drawing to a close, Natalia hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you think the current situation is the responsibility of the Imperial Family?"

The merchant thought for a while and said, “If you ask me, your emperor has never truly held power, so it’s really unfair to criticize him… And now that he’s dead outside his own capital, even if it’s the royal family’s responsibility, it should end here.”

Natalia remained silent, then nodded, ending the conversation.

Walking a little further away, Eric asked, "Would Your Highness like to talk to someone else?"

Natalia shook her head first, then looked at him, "I've talked enough with other people today, let's come again tomorrow."

Eric paused for a moment, then quickly nodded.

"Alright. I'll accompany Your Highness again tomorrow."

She smiled faintly, "Let's go back."

As the two mounted their horses, Natalia seemed a little distracted, as if she was reliving the stories she had heard from the merchants, and she only snapped back to reality when they reached the gates of the governor's mansion.

"By the way, what were those little things Your Highness just bought for?"

"I'm not doing anything special, just looking for something new... and maybe showing it to my sister so she won't spend all her time in the library."

(End of this chapter)