The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 226: The Journey to the West
Because Natalia refused his invitation to watch the sunrise the previous night, Eric climbed the low city walls of Oren alone the next morning. He looked around and deeply imprinted the familiar scenery, both inside and outside the city, into his mind as if taking a photograph.

"I hope I can return here alive..."

"—Say such unlucky things so early in the morning, your journey today is sure to be unpleasant. Stay another day."

Eric turned around and looked at Elise and Molly, who came up one after the other.

"Didn't you say you couldn't get up?"

“I thought it wasn’t just us,” Elise said. “Turns out it really is just you.”

Eric glanced at her. "Thanks to you, His Highness refused quickly."

“That’s wonderful,” Elise said from the bottom of her heart.

"..."

The two walked to his side, looked at the magnificent eastern horizon, and gazed at it together for a moment.

Eric is leaving today for Rennes. We've said what we needed to say before parting more than once or twice, and now all that's left is the silence of watching the sunrise side by side.

As dawn broke, the three of them descended from the city wall, mounted their horses, and returned to the city lord's mansion.

"Will the druid lady who just arrived be leaving with you in the end?"

"Hmm. I'm not entirely comfortable leaving you by my side."

Elise sneered, then abruptly swung the reins, and galloped off amidst Molly's shouts, heading back to the city lord's mansion.

Eric didn't give chase. He strolled around the familiar streets again before returning to the city lord's mansion.

After breakfast, the carriage and luggage were all prepared, and even the widow from the other side had been brought over and was sitting in the carriage waiting.

When Eileen first met her, she asked, "And who is that young lady?"

“I heard she’s Eric’s kept woman, a pretty widow in the west of the city,” Elise said.

"Ok?"

"She is pregnant."

"Um--?"

Elise was about to say something when she suddenly saw Eric in the courtyard pointing at her from afar.

He probably couldn't hear what she was saying, but he could guess it wasn't anything nice.

“You saw it, he wouldn’t let me say the rest,” she told Eileen.

"I'll ask."

Eileen in the past.

Eileen was dismissed.

Eileen is back.

"Elise!"

"Never mind me, just say goodbye to him properly."

After giving a few final instructions to the butler, Eric mounted his horse, glanced at Natalia and Miss Austin sitting in the carriage, then at the owl on his shoulder, and finally looked at Eileen, Elise, and Molly standing together, waving to everyone.

"gone."

As they left the city, many nobles saw them off along their route. Eric didn't stop, waving back from his horse until he left Oren.

flutter--

The flame that had been floating in front of Eileen suddenly went out.

“We’ve lost contact.” Eileen looked at a place she couldn’t see. “They’ve gone beyond the range of the spell’s tracking. They’ve left the city.”

Molly remained silent, and Elise nodded without saying a word. After a while, she asked, "So, when do you plan to go back to Lutia?"

“No rush.” Eileen shrugged. “Eric told me to stay a little longer before heading north. I also have something I need to find, but I haven’t found it yet.”

“What is it?” Elise asked. “Eric told me too, and said you wouldn’t tell him.”

“Things related to magic are too complicated to explain,” Eileen said.

“We can help you find out what that thing looks like,” Elise said, nudging Molly, who was lost in thought.

"What?... Oh, if you can sense it with magic, I'll help too."

"Hmm...it's probably a ball?" Eileen seemed unsure as well. "You can't sense it unless you see it."

"A ball?" Molly asked, puzzled.

“‘Probably’?” Elise frowned.

Eileen was troubled. "Because I've never seen it before, I don't know what it looks like. I only know that it should still be in the city lord's mansion... As long as I can see it, I can sense it."

Elise and Molly exchanged a glance.

"What the hell is that?"

"My mother's belongings."

"The relics...what do you want with them?"

"The teacher said that it belonged to the moon spirit and should be returned."

Outside the city of Oren, Eric suddenly turned his head and glanced around.

As the city wall receded into the distance, it seemed even shorter than his horse.

Although the addition of a carriage slowed their pace compared to their arrival, they still covered a considerable distance in just a short time.

After staring at the receding city of Ori for a while, Eric looked away, still unsure of the source of his inexplicable unease.

Did he leave something behind?
"Cuckoo-"

The owl on his shoulder flapped its wings and stared at him with its bright yellow eyes, as if asking him what he was looking at.

"It's nothing, it's just that I'm a little reluctant to leave my hometown."

Eric found an excuse to turn around again, but this time he wasn't looking into the distance; instead, he was looking at the carriage behind him.

His sister and two girlfriends stayed in the city. Natalia chose to take a carriage instead of riding a horse. Kasha, the only one accompanying him, turned into an owl that could only coo. He suddenly felt that the journey had become much more lonely.

He guessed that Natalia was keeping her distance from him because of what she had seen and heard yesterday.

Let's take it one step at a time...

A moment later, the group entered Hero Avenue and sped up a bit.

Rentani is the westernmost province of the Delan Empire, surrounded by the sea on three sides, bordering Otville and Kus to the east. It is not very large in area, but Sunset City, its economic and political center, is located on the westernmost edge of the sea. Therefore, to get there from Oren, one has to cross most of Otville and the entire Rentani, which will take at least six or seven days.

We traveled all day without anyone to chat with, so our efficiency in getting there was quite high.

In the evening, Eric checked into a hotel by the main road. Before it got dark, he looked out the window and gazed at the setting sun for a while.

After breaking through the mountains between Lutia and Otville, the terrain becomes much flatter, with no major mountains to the west, and one can see very far from the flat ground.

With a creak, the window of the next room opened as well.

Eric turned around; he remembered that the room next door seemed to be Natalia's...

She is a widow.

"The sunset is beautiful. But it's still far inferior to the sunset over the sea in our Sunset City."

After embarking on her journey home, the widow seemed to have emerged from the shadow of her husband's death, and her mood gradually improved. She was even able to smile at him at this point.

Eric smiled at her and said, "Then I definitely can't miss it."

"Your Highness, please stay in Sunset City a little longer. I hope you can baptize my child."

"..."

That means we'll have to wait.

The widow's unborn child was only one or two months old at most.

Eric smiled and shook his head. "I can wait, but the soldiers on the front lines can't. Miss Austin, if you pass through here on your way back and can make it in time, I won't refuse."

"Alright." The widow sighed regretfully, then looked forward to his return.

Bathed in the setting sun, the two chatted for a few more minutes by their respective windows. Then, with a creak, the window on the other side was lifted up.

"..."

Natalia glanced at the two of them, her gaze lingering on Eric's face for half a second longer. She nodded to them, then looked away from the sunset on the other side and retreated back into the room.

Eric didn't chat with the widow for long and went to get something to eat.

They called upon Kasha and Natalia, along with the knights who accompanied them, and found a tavern next to the inn, where they each ordered some food.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, and since it wasn't too late, Eric didn't want to go back to his room so early. So he invited Kasha and Natalia to take a stroll around the small service area by the avenue.

The widow, clearly unwilling to be left behind, followed along.

The four of them wandered around this place, which was no bigger than an ordinary village, and saw quite a bit of excitement, including a tavern that was surrounded by a large crowd.

Eric went over to take a closer look and discovered that the tavern owner had specially set aside a section of his tavern and hired a winged person to broadcast the news there.

"How's it going north of Lutia?" someone asked. "You haven't ordered a drink yet, sir," the tavern owner said before the winged man could speak.

"It's just a matter of saying a few words!"

"A cup of mead doesn't cost much."

Natalia had somehow squeezed next to him. "It seems that listening in is free, but asking questions costs money."

Eric glanced at her, responded, and then said, "Does Your Highness have any questions?"

After leaving the city, it became much harder for the winged people who had to return to the front lines every day to find them. They were now in a state of semi-disconnection from the Lutia front.

Natalia thought for a moment, "The movements on the main battlefield."

Eric then asked loudly from outside the crowd.

"You're a little late; someone just asked that question, but you'll still have to pay a small fee..."

The tavern owner looked toward the source of the sound and saw a glittering gold coin flying toward him. He instinctively raised his hand and caught it.

"The Supreme God!"

The tavern owner wiped the gold coins in his hand, overjoyed, and then raised his voice: "Carson, answer whatever that gentleman asks until he is satisfied!"

Many eyes in the tavern turned to him, but some were quickly drawn to Natalia beside him. Eric remained calm, took a step to the side, and used his tall figure to block those rude gazes.

"Say it, I'm listening."

Then the winged man recounted what he had personally witnessed in Lutia.

Standing behind Eric, Natalia lowered her head slightly, listening carefully to the winged man's answer.

"The fighting has stopped... not completely stopped, but there aren't the large-scale attacks like a few days ago. It seems the demons have sent envoys, carrying something to the human army's positions..."

Eric was also listening, occasionally throwing out new questions, which the winged man answered one by one, but he didn't know everything.

"That's the situation over there, sir."

"Ah."

Eric responded and tilted his head slightly. "Your Highness... Natalia, is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Natalia looked up at his profile, then shook her head.

"No, that's all. You've already asked me everything I wanted to know."

Eric gestured to the tavern owner inside, "Alright, I'm satisfied."

"Thank you for your generosity, sir. Have a safe journey tomorrow."

The two squeezed out of the larger crowd. Kasha and the widow stood outside, and the latter asked about the situation inside.

Eric explained that she wasn't really interested; she had just been waiting outside for a while and asked casually.

On the way back to the hotel, Eric had an idea: "Perhaps we should hire a winged person who doesn't go anywhere but just follows us in the sky, so that the winged people coming from the north can find us accurately."

Natalia glanced back at the tavern where she had just stopped. There was still a considerable crowd gathered there, and the winged people inside were nowhere to be seen.

"Given the current situation, it would probably cost a considerable amount to get a winged person to just follow us and do nothing else."

“Money is not a problem,” Eric said.

Natalia thought for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, please make the arrangements."

After escorting the three back to the hotel, Eric turned around and wandered around the neighborhood again. He saw a winged man and was about to call out to him when the man flew into the air.

Just then, an owl suddenly flew out from behind him and blocked the winged man in mid-air.

"Wow, what's going on... an owl?"

The owl stretched out its wing and slapped him across the face, making him look at the noble youth catching gold coins on the ground.

After glancing at the human-like owl again, the winged man covered his face and landed back on the ground.

"Thank you." Kasha landed on Eric's shoulder, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed to face the winged man she had just slapped, and did not immediately revert to human form.

"Is there anything you'd like to know?" the winged man asked.

Eric stated his needs directly, but quoted a relatively low price, asking if Eric could take the job, and if not, if there were any elderly or frail winged people nearby who couldn't fly very far.

“Then you’ve come to the right person. My uncle was shot when he flew to Lutia last time, and he’s recovering now… Don’t worry, he can still fly, just not as far as before, but that’s just what you need.”

Eric nodded. "So where is he now?"

“The city of Sakan in the northwest. If you wish to see him, I will go there now and return in two hours at most,” the winged man said.

Eric handed him the gold coins in his hand. "Thank you for your trouble. We're staying at that hotel over there. Come find me there. My name is Eric."

“Yes, Mr. Eric.” The winged man accepted the gold coins with a beaming smile and flew back into the night sky.

Before flying away, he looked down and saw the owl on the noble youth's shoulder suddenly transform into human form and land on the ground.

"As expected, it's a Druid..."

"Alright." Watching the winged man fly away, Eric smiled at Kasha. "We can just go back to the inn and wait."

"Ah."

Back at the hotel, Eric spoke a few words to the receptionist before going upstairs.

He waited in the room until midnight when a middle-aged winged man came to him and soon approached him again.

“Are you Mr. Eric? I’m Tuttle’s uncle. He said you need…”

"That's right. Let's have a proper talk."

Although winged messengers have generally increased in price significantly, it is still relatively easy to negotiate a price with a winged person who is traumatized by being nearly shot and is afraid to fly to Lutia again.

Eric didn't push the price too low; he was able to accept the final price, and the winged man was quite grateful.

When it comes to discussing specific needs, it's natural to reveal one's identity.

The winged man was shocked. "Your Highness Eric?! I saw you once before, from afar, when I was in Lutia!"

That must be hundreds or thousands of meters away, both in the sky and on the ground... Eric muttered to himself, otherwise he would have recognized him long ago.

After agreeing on their needs, the winged man settled in for the night, as it was already late.

The next day, they set off again, and the winged people flew into the sky holding a white banner that looked like a banner, following their caravan.

Eric's name was written on the white cloth. It was not very clear from the ground, but it was easily visible to the winged people flying in the air.

"..."

Turning his gaze away from the sky, Eric looked back at the road ahead, finding it hard to suppress his complaints.

"White cloth with black characters... a funeral couplet? It's like I'm dead."

“Why do you say that?” Kasha asked, riding on another horse.

Yesterday, she rode on his shoulders the whole way, and he was the one talking while she could only murmur. She was so uncomfortable with that that she decided to ride along on horseback today.

"Hmm... There was a similar sacrificial ceremony in ancient times, which was quite complicated."

"Oh." Kasha didn't ask any further questions.

Continuing their journey, by evening, thanks to the conspicuous markers in the sky, the messenger from Lutia successfully located Eric and his party, who had stopped at a service area—they would begin their search along Heroes' Avenue from the city where Eric had last stayed.

There are two groups of winged people who maintain long-term contact with them. One group is hired by Eric himself to relay changes in the situation in Lutia and the surrounding area, while the other group comes from the Military Council and is specifically responsible for delivering more detailed battle reports.

Now the former has arrived, bringing them news that the fighting on the Lutia front has basically ceased.

"Any other moves by the demons?" Eric asked.

“A portion of the demons are retreating north,” the winged man replied.

Eric looked at Natalia, who was pondering, and had no questions for the moment.

"Go on."

"Yes."

After reporting the situation, the winged man paused for a moment and then left.

Even after nightfall, the winged man Eric had hired the day before was still hovering in mid-air, holding a cold flame lamp in his hand, which was exceptionally conspicuous in the darkness.

Eric glanced at the other travelers looking down, then looked up at the sky. It was almost midnight when the winged men sent by the Military Commission finally found them.

Natalia came to his room, and together they read the battle reports from the front.

The demons did indeed propose a ceasefire, and to show their sincerity, they even put the royal family, who had been hanging on the city walls for who knows how many days, into coffins and sent them to the human side.

Natalia's hands trembled as she held the letter, her eyes fixed on the words on the paper, tears streaming down her face.

"I must annihilate all demons... I must..."

Eric waited until she calmed down before speaking, "Your Highness, we should now agree to the demons' request for a ceasefire."

Natalia looked at him after a long while, nodded, and handed the battle report back to him.

"They've already made their decision, haven't they?"

(End of this chapter)