The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 263 Division of Labor

Chapter 263 Division of Labor
Suspicious of Governor Sterling's motives, Eric and Natalia had to stay in Whitehorse for a few more days, subtly hinting and suggesting that he should act in the way he himself had said.

On the other hand, the two men also became more frequently in contact with Lutia, and in a private letter Eric wrote to Edgar, he directly expressed his doubts. Edgar replied that Memphis had never lessened his suspicions about Sterling.

“Memphis will be keeping a close eye on him,” Eric told Natalia.

"Hopefully, the actions we've taken these past few days will serve as a warning," Natalia sighed. "And hopefully, we're just being overly cautious."

"Trust his reasoning; after all, it seems we've promised him more benefits."

Eric collected his uncle's letter along with the others, then looked out at the dusky sky. "We didn't see many nobles in White Horse City, yet we wasted the same amount of time. We should leave."

Unless they follow Sterling and even join Cogano's army on their way to Guradia, there is no need for them to stay any longer.

Natalia had no objection. "Say goodbye to Sterling at the dinner party."

"Ah."

The next morning, the saintess and the grand princess's entourage left the governor's mansion. At their request, there was no grand farewell in the city, but Governor Sterling personally escorted them outside the city.

“That’s enough for now.” Eric Lema looked back and bowed slightly to Sterling from his horse. “Thank you, Governor Sterling, for your hospitality these past few days. I will remember it forever.”

Sterling also bowed to him and Natalia, saying, "Your Highnesses, please take care on your journey."

“Our travels and visits to the southern countries will last at least a few months. I hope that while we are in the south, we will hear good news from the governor in Guradia,” Natalia said, looking at him. “The future prosperity of Cogano is in the hands of Governor Sterling himself.”

Sterling's expression was solemn. "I will do my utmost to drive out the demons and live up to the expectations of Your Highness and Her Majesty the Queen."

After saying goodbye once more, the expanded group of about twenty people set off from the east gate of White Horse City, heading towards the border between Kogano and the Kingdom of Arsha.

When Eric turned back, he could still see the walls of White Horse City, but the view outside the city gates was no longer clear.

“Your Highness?” Natalia asked, noticing him staring back for a long time.

Eric looked away. "I think Sterling has already made a decision."

Natalia looked at him: "Is this the kind we're hoping for?"

“I think so,” Eric said.

Natalia responded.

After running for a while longer, she suddenly asked, "Your Highness, are you saying this to put my mind at ease?"

“What?...Oh, Your Highness is only just realizing it?” Eric chuckled.

Natalia gazed at the road ahead, "Because I've been thinking back to the farewell earlier, I can't figure out where Your Highness got that judgment from."

Eric looked ahead, thought for a moment, and said, "If I had to explain it, I'd say it's a kind of intuition."

Natalia turned to look at him, then looked away after a while.

"Your Highness's intuition is usually quite accurate... I hope it will be the same this time."

"Can Your Highness feel a little more at ease now?"

Natalia chuckled.

"I feel more at ease with more practical things, such as the preparations for dealing with Memphis."

More than twenty horses galloped together, their hooves creating a sense of order amidst the chaos.

Eric glanced back at the church knights following behind him, thinking that the armed forces Memphis had sent back to Kilan City were probably also marching on the Hero's Road from Lutia to Guradia, and their numbers were definitely more than just the dozen or so military advisors he had mentioned earlier.

"I feel the same way."

Of the nine provinces of the empire, Kogano is the smallest in area. It takes less than two days to travel from its capital, White Horse City, to the border with the Kingdom of Arsha.

On the afternoon of the second day after their departure, they were not far from the border, and Eric had a more real understanding of Sterling's fears—once the army of the Kingdom of Arsha broke through the border, they would appear outside White Horse City in the blink of an eye.

The situation on the other side of the border was still unclear, and the group was quite tired after a day's journey. Eric and Natalia decided to rest on the border for the night and cross over the next day.

At the last service area along the main road, the group stopped to spend the night, but they almost couldn't find a place to stay.

“Although tensions are high at the border, these merchants seem completely unaffected,” Natalia said, looking at yet another packed tavern in front of her.

"Perhaps for them, the biggest risk is having goods rot in their hands."

Eric glanced around, made sure there were no seats, and then led her and Kasha to the next tavern.

After searching through several taverns and walking quite deep into the area, the three finally found a tavern with an empty table. Eric went to order, while Natalia and Kasha quickly reserved the table.

"It's really lively."

Eric glanced at the menu, ordered a few meat dishes according to the three of them's individual tastes, and then each ordered a glass of fruit wine.

"Isn't there going to be war on the border? Aren't these merchants afraid?"

The tavern owner shook his head. "There won't be a fight, sir. The old king is a spineless coward, and so is the young king. We've seen plenty of things like this, so don't worry. Have a few more drinks, sleep soundly until dawn, and you'll be on your way tomorrow without any problems."

Eric smiled and declined, then said, "The bigwigs up there don't seem to think that way. Aren't the troops already brought to the border?"

"I heard from well-informed people that the governor's army is here for training, and I heard they'll be sent to Grandia later," the tavern owner continued.

Eric nodded, asked no further questions, and did not request any more food or drinks before returning to the table.

"I ordered a glass of fruit wine."

“One glass… shouldn’t be a problem.” Natalia glanced at the sizes of the wine glasses on the other tables.

“This is our last dinner in the Empire this year,” Eric added.

Natalia paused for a moment, "Isn't it a bit too simplistic to say it like that?"

“If we’re not in a hurry tomorrow, I can have a few more drinks,” Eric said.

She still refused, saying, "It's not like I can't come back."

Eric was about to say something when he saw Kasha's ears twitch, and then she looked towards the tavern entrance.

He looked over as well, and after a short while, a winged person walked in, probably having just landed from the sky.

"The evening news is about to start..." Eric muttered.

Natalia glanced at him, refrained from asking what the news was, and then looked at the winged man.

The latter walked to the front desk of the tavern, said a few words to the owner, who gave him a handful of coins. He weighed them in his hand, seemed to complain, but still walked to the simple platform in the middle of the tavern and began to broadcast the news.

The once noisy tavern fell silent instantly. Even if someone laughed or screamed at a certain message, they would quickly shut up in front of the other guests.

"...The murlocs marching from Westwind City to Lutia have already begun training in the suburbs, and it is said that a steady stream of murlocs will be sent to Lutia afterward... Well, that's all there is to Lutia."

"Next is Guradia. Governor Memphis sent a cavalry unit back, and they're still on their way. That's all for now."

"Then there's Tebunet. The demon army surrounding the Holy City is still actively attacking, but without any success. In addition, two demon cavalry units are plundering throughout Tebunet, so gentlemen who want to do business there should be careful."

Except for making a Yera prayer gesture when mentioning the Holy City, the winged man remained expressionless and his voice was flat, as if the long flight had brought him great fatigue.

However, this was only how he performed during the free segment. When it came to the paid Q&A segment, the winged man's energy was completely restored. He was beaming with joy, and every feature on his face was moving wildly.

"Do any of you guests have any other questions?" The winged man looked around.

Soon someone chimed in, "You just said that Memphis sent a cavalry unit back to Gradia, what was it for?"

He then looked at the tavern owner, "A glass of fruit wine."

The winged man raised a hand to stop the tavern owner from pouring the drink, then looked at the questioner and said, "I know very little about this. Are you sure you still want to ask?"

The man thought for a moment, then waved his hand, "It's just one glass of wine. I was planning to have a few more anyway. Just say what you know."

The winged man nodded and said, "I heard that the demons who besieged the Holy Capital will target Gradia next, so Memphis sent people back to defend it."

"What can a cavalryman defend against?" the man asked again.

The winged man shrugged and spread his hands. "That's all I know."

"Ok."

At this moment, another person spoke up: "Is it reliable that the Demon Race's next target is Gradia?"

The winged man simply looked at him without saying a word.

The man paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "I want two glasses of fruit wine. Go ahead." "It's very likely," the winged man finally spoke, "My intelligence sources in Lutia tell me that the bigwigs on the Military Council all believe that the Demons' next target will inevitably be Grandia. Regardless of whether the Demons succeed or not, the price of food on the continent will probably rise significantly."

The merchants in the tavern quickly began to discuss it.

Eric and Natalia looked at each other.

"Memphis needs to do something about this. How do these winged people manage to find out everything?"

Natalia complained in a low voice, "If another fight breaks out, the demon spies might be able to overhear military secrets from the front lines right here in the tavern."

Eric shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't be easy. Selling all sorts of information from the front lines has rapidly developed into a huge business in the past six months. There are plenty of people trying to find out information, and orders need to be carried out once they are issued. How can it be kept secret?"

He paused for a moment and then smiled, "And for the time being, we shouldn't have to worry about the demon spies finding out anything. I heard that after the war broke out, even the dark elves suffered a great blow and were besieged as soon as they showed their faces, not to mention the orthodox demons."

Natalia could only sigh.

“However, the premature leak of some information will inevitably have an impact… Grain prices in Graia may rise ahead of schedule,” Eric said.

Natalia picked up her glass, took a sip, and found it empty. She put it down dejectedly. "So I think these leakers should be held accountable."

Eric smiled. "Would you like another one?"

Natalia licked her lips, then shook her head. "We have to travel tomorrow."

Kasha pushed the cup toward her, "You can have some more."

The three ate and drank for quite a while in the tavern, listening to the winged man answer a lot of questions about various aspects of life.

Natalia's initial dissatisfaction gradually turned into amazement.

"He knows this too?... It's amazing that he can remember so much information."

“For the winged people, this is probably their only chance to make a fortune in their lifetime. The farther they fly, the more information they gather, the more money they can earn. Everyone will risk everything,” Eric said, glancing at the empty bowls of food and drink in front of him. “Your Highness, would you like to listen a little longer?”

Natalia glanced at him. "Is Your Highness already tired?"

“No. I want to go out and see if my brothers have eaten yet,” Eric said.

Natalia knew he was referring to the church knights, so she said she wanted to hear more.

Kasha stayed behind as well. Eric walked out of the tavern alone, looked around, and found that the knights were scattered in various taverns. At this time, no tavern could accommodate such a large group of people at the same time.

Someone noticed him and, thinking something was wrong, immediately got up to come out. Eric waved them off, telling them to continue eating and drinking, and then walked to an open space to stand.

The night grew colder and colder, and every breath he exhaled turned into white mist, which dissipated the moment it took shape.

wow-

Eric heard the sound of flapping wings overhead. He looked up and saw a winged being swooping down and landing in his direction.

So this is a helipad?

As Eric was thinking, the winged man nodded to him. "Good evening, sir."

"good evening."

"Is there anything you'd like to know? For just ten silver coins, I'll tell you everything I know," the winged man asked again.

Eric shook his head.

The winged man didn't take it to heart, nodded at him again, and then began to wander among the various taverns in this service area.

Eric followed him as he walked through tavern after tavern, and eventually he felt a little sorry for him.

He arrived too late; every tavern here was already occupied by his own kind and fellow patrons.

Before he took off again, Eric called him back and quickly lifted his spirits with a gold coin.

"What would you like to know?" The winged man's enthusiasm was no different from a few minutes ago.

“The magic academy outside Lutia,” Eric exhaled a puff of white mist, “Do you know the current situation there?”

"Yes, sir."

The winged man quickly replied, "Since it was enveloped by an unknown crystal more than a month ago, the situation hasn't changed. However, people go there to check every day, so if you're asking about the Moon Elf Archmage who appeared there, I happen to know."

"Are there many moon elves appearing over there?" Eric asked.

“Quite a few. I suspect that all the moon elves on the continent have gathered there,” the winged man replied. “Many high-ranking human mages have also returned to Lutia and are gathering outside the academy. However, the moon elves are basically ignoring people and are focused on the situation at the academy itself.”

Eric named a few moon elf archmages he remembered, and the winged people nodded in agreement.

"All of the people you mentioned are here."

"Aside from observing, have they taken any other action?"

"Yes."

Eric let out a breath.

Even the latest news is no different from what he has received over the past month.

“I understand. Thank you,” Eric said to the winged man. “That’s all.”

"Are you really not going to ask anything else?" After receiving a gold coin and only saying some trivial things, the winged man became somewhat uneasy.

Eric smiled, then thought for a moment and asked, "Tell me about your winged people."

The winged man paused for a moment, then said, "Your question is a bit too general... Please ask something more specific."

Eric then asked, "A friend of mine wants to know how you winged people manage to gather so much information every day and remember it so clearly."

The winged man smiled and then replied:

"It's long past the time to gather information on your own. After the war broke out and lasted for a while, various divisions of labor emerged within us Winged People. Some, like me, moved information from one place to another, while others specialized in collecting information in a certain region."

“Like me, what I do every day is not to inquire about information myself, but to find a clansman who specializes in collecting information and buy the summarized information from him. This is much more efficient... You don’t need to worry about any errors. There are many clansmen who do this, and those who would cause problems have long been eliminated by us.”

"As for your question about why we can remember so much information, I can only say that a winged person who can't remember wouldn't appear before you."

“Oh.” Eric nodded, “Survivorship bias…”

"Survivors... what?" The winged man was momentarily confused.

“It’s nothing.” Eric waved his hand. “What you said was very helpful, definitely worth a gold coin. I have no other questions.”

The winged man bowed to him in gratitude for his generosity, then spread his wings again and flew into the sky.

Back at the tavern, it was still bustling.

As he passed the tavern owner, he told Eric that the winged people would stay until at least midnight, and the commotion would continue until then.

Natalia and Kasha remained in their original seats, but Natalia's glass contained significantly more wine than when he left.

"I asked a question..."

Noticing his gaze, Natalia unconsciously moved her wine glass closer to herself.

“Really?” Eric smiled. “Did you find anything?”

"I guess so..." she replied.

Eric also shared with her and Kasha what he had found outside.