The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

The ship and restaurant in front of us, which were smashed to a pulp, were just isolated cases from that riot...

"what--"

Although Yonglin knew in her heart that her background was in civil engineering and that her future job would be building treehouses by grafting other trees, she could still cast a few Rejuvenation spells to heal the wounded, which was a basic skill she was born with as a druid. With a little effort, she could even cast a few Bloom spells. If she were even more selfless, she could risk being bedridden for a week and cast a Tranquil Rain spell. In addition, the natural affinity between the priesthood and the race meant that if an individual's ether reserves were depleted, they could still use them to cast some herbs to save lives.

However, last night's rescue operation did not actually require much effort from the practitioners; it was mostly physical in nature.

All the crew members were enveloped in a force that made Yonglin uneasy, and as a result, no one was injured. He was also familiar with that force, which was the root cause of his conflict with Joshua and their eventual parting of ways.

The miracle of that long-lost god of light.

Why are the saints of the Lord of Light appearing among the dark creatures of Thranheim? Why are the dragonkin fleets protected by that long-fallen god? What exactly happened to the Gozan Empire in the Far East, beyond the vast waves?

A series of questions emanating from the black panther named Joshua filled the young Rosetta's mind, leaving her completely bewildered.

The only solution is to find Joshua, the person involved, and then...

"Sir, you've been standing in front of our shop for quite some time now. Are you here for lunch?"

A young dragon girl, dressed rather scantily, reached out and waved her fingertips in front of the pretty white fox, displaying a mischievousness typical of a young woman in her late teens, making it difficult for the opposite sex to feel any offense. This might also be a marketing strategy, and it was very successful.

Yonglin, who had been busy until late at night and hadn't been able to fall asleep until dawn, was indeed starving after neglecting his meals while searching for the black panther. Before his mind could process it, his stomach made the decision for him.

“Okay.” He nodded, yielding to his instincts.

"Alright, please follow me, sir."

"Ah, oh!" Yonglin then followed the girl into the precarious shop, transforming from an observer into a subject of distant observation.

Come to think of it, he seemed to have been brought in before he even figured out what kind of cuisine the restaurant served.

Yonglin began to peek around cautiously.

"Sir, as you can see, our shop was under renovation last night, so we had very limited seating. And now it's almost noon, and the three tables that are available were all booked yesterday, so we can't accommodate walk-in customers, therefore..."

"Uh……"

To be honest, this industry has already become somewhat of a forced consumption business. If he were to share a table with a few rude diners, Yonglin would feel genuinely wronged. His cold-hearted life over the past eighteen years has shaped his somewhat introverted personality, and coupled with his appearance, he is often mistaken for a woman and rudely offended by others...

"The gentleman at table number 13 said before being seated that he didn't mind sharing a table, but only accepted diners who preferred a quieter setting. I think you two are a good match, so what do you think?"

Oh, no problem. I'd rather sit with a quieter diners.

Yonglin's slightly displeased mood suddenly brightened. His gaze drifted in that direction, following the direction pointed out by the shop assistant girl. When the figure of his classmate appeared in his field of vision, the last bit of unhappiness in his heart vanished into thin air.

“I can! Uh… I mean, I’m fine.”

"Please wait a moment while I speak with that guest."

……

……

"Alright! Please come in and take a seat, sir. I'll fetch you the menu right away."

A moment later, the dragon girl returned and, after giving her instructions, headed towards the counter.

Eirin Yagokoro, eighteen years old this year, a pureblood Rosetta fox, strolled forward on a sunny winter afternoon, stopped at a spot, and smiled at the person sitting at the table.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Hearn.”

"Hey, want some? Is rabbit meat the only option for now?"

The believer, Hearn, looked up and returned the same gentle smile to the white fox in front of the table. He gestured for Eirin to sit down and then answered the question that had been on Eirin's mind.

Ah, this is a barbecue restaurant that specializes in rabbit meat dishes.

……

As the many obscure shadows dissipated and consciousness regained control of her body, she awoke from a dazed dream, but could not move.

Unidentified restraints bound her to a bed draped in sheer curtains, thankfully not cold metal or a prison floor; she had a change of clothes, not the ones soaked by seawater; the room was still lit, not pitch black, and the faint sound of the sea could be heard nearby… All these signs indicated that she was still within the territory of Silver Harbor and was not in an inexplicable predicament.

Her gaze shifted to the right, and through the sheer curtains, she could see a figure hidden beneath grey clothing not far from the bed. The grey cloak was large and heavy, and the limited field of vision made it difficult for her to determine the person's appearance or gender.

However, she soon heard a faint female voice coming from inside the room.

“Mr. Hearn, I’m sorry to interrupt your simulated carbon-based organism’s feeding process. Yes, Salome Reinhardt, she’s awake.”

……

Chapter 92 The Righteous

The midday sun was shining brightly, and the atmosphere at the casual dinner party was harmonious.

Yonglin was filled with questions about the Rosetta man named Joshua, but out of politeness, and without knowing whether the other party had the custom of not speaking while eating, the young and sensible white fox wisely chose to remain silent.

It wasn't until another diner at the table briefly finished eating, pulled out a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth, and gave him a friendly and understanding smile.

If you have something to say, just say it.

"Mr. Hearn, do you know where Mr. Joshua went?"

Eirin Yagokoro stopped making excuses and chose to get straight to the point.

"I know, he was detained by the coastal defense forces of Silver City and is currently in a dark cell."

Mr. Hearn seemed unsurprised by his doubts.

"Yeah……"

Was it unexpected or expected? Yonglin hesitated for a moment.

Admittedly, that saint possessed extraordinary personal power, but after several days of contact, Eirin knew that Joshua was not a superhuman who would resort to violence against the innocent, but a saint of consistent character who, like his holy calling, followed the chivalric code and the seven virtues.

However, in Thranheim during the Fourth Age, openly revealing one's faith in that radiant Lord and displaying holy light as a saint was itself an unforgivable atrocity.

The inhabitants of this continent have shed enough blood because of the past deeds of the Sons of Earth. So much so that in the more than two hundred years since their return to the surface, no divinely created species has taken the lead in starting a war against other races.

The so-called divinely created species are a collective term for the fifteen native inhabitants of Thranheim who have lived and multiplied since the beginning of the First Age—the Dawn Age, including the Rosetta, Gozanlong, and the Sons of Earth. In the records left by the ancestors of each race, without exception, the origin of these fifteen intelligent races is mentioned, with an astonishing degree of consistency. The sacrificial documents of the ancestors clearly record that all divinely created species are the origin history of the fifteen supreme gods who jointly created them. Each race worships its own creator, spreads His teachings, establishes His earthly divine kingdom, attacks and fights with each other, and then merges with each other. Over the long years, many subspecies have evolved due to the fusion of living environments or bloodlines. The Rosetta people and wood elves, who originated from the Rosetta Forest, are representative of this. The former have subspecies with beast-like characteristics that are found throughout the world of Thranheim, while the latter have distant relatives with similar but different appearances in various geographical environments.

Of course, this does not exclude the subjective driving factor that both were sought-after commodities in the transcontinental slave trade market.

Recalling her experience of almost being captured and put up for auction right after leaving the forest, Yonglin couldn't really feel much resentment towards her savior, Mr. Joshua, even though he was a saint.

“Mr. Hearn, you are a friend of Mr. Joshua, regarding his ordination…”

Yonglin asked tentatively.

"Do you mean he is a saint, or a paladin, a holy knight, or some other profession?"

The believer asked indifferently.

“Mr. Hern, you do know this, so you should also understand how absurd this is: that one of our own people, a chosen one of the Lord of Light, Mr. Joshua, has turned away from the teachings of Rosetta.”

“Joshua will naturally have someone to bail him out. His release from prison is only a matter of time. As for what we are discussing now, it is actually meaningless, Mr. Yagokoro Eirin.”

The woman poured a cup of barley tea for the other diner at the table, then gestured for him to look around.

“Look around you and tell me what you see?”

Winter in the Southern Continent was not unbearable. In the warm winter wind, the young white fox twitched his ears slightly. He picked up the teacup in his hand and looked around as the other party gestured.

Amidst the ruins of the restaurant, the view was incredibly expansive. They were in a corner of the bustling city, surrounded by a constant stream of foreigners. They conversed in the common language of the continent, which had been established before the Third Age, and occasionally switched back to their own languages ​​to whisper among themselves. Dragonmen, Rosetta people, and children who were probably sea elves, dressed in similar clothes made of Far Eastern silk, chased and played as they darted out from the street and quickly disappeared into the alleyways.

The scantily clad young female staff bustled between the tables in the food court, skillfully handling the playful teasing from regular customers, as if they were already used to it.

Following last night's riot, more dragonkin faces appeared in this port city named Silver, but this did not cause panic among the locals. The native dragonkin who have lived here for generations and the original inhabitants of Thranheim have built a basic relationship of trust over two hundred years. Meanwhile, those friends from the Far East, with the relief and indulgence of surviving the disaster, spent lavishly and easily integrated into the local market economy of Silver City, making outstanding contributions to stimulating consumption.

A hand gently pressed on Yonglin's shoulder, and she came back to her senses, only to find that the other diners at the table had already gotten up and left.

"Mr. Yagokoro Eirin, if I remember correctly, that's his name, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

“Mr. Yonglin, I think you just saw that the topic we were discussing has no real meaning. It is too far removed from reality, so far removed that most of the residents of Thranheim, including you and me, have neither the heart nor the ability to think about it.”

"Mr. Hearn..."

"The so-called divine form, divine grace, and divine virtue are all things that mortals try to imitate. More than 90% of mortal beings only wish for food and clothing, family reunion and harmony, freedom from illness and disaster, favorable weather, lovers to be united, brothers and sisters to never betray each other, and a peaceful world without war. If any god can promise these things, then we will believe in that god. Apart from that, any attempt to guess the will of the gods with human hearts is, in my opinion, nothing but needless worry and unnecessary trouble. Don't you think so, Yonglin?"

"……you're right."

Enduring the force of the hand on his shoulder, Eirin was amazed by the unusual nature beneath the other's delicate appearance, despite the pain. However, before he could exceed the limit of his rational tolerance, he withdrew the hand from his shoulder.

"This meal is on me. To be honest, I think you're a good match for me. You were very polite during the meal. Let's go somewhere else to get together sometime."

"Oh well!"

Upon receiving the compliment, Yonglin was initially flattered, but then realized that there was something slightly off about the other person's words. After careful consideration, she felt that the tone was as if the words were being spoken to a dog or cat, not a person.

By the time he realized what had happened, the young man from another land, dressed in flowing white robes, was nowhere to be seen in the shop.

"Excuse me, sir/madam, would you like to order some more food?"

The young shop assistant who had led the way noticed Eirin's gaze as she looked around.

"No, not for now! Thank you!"

Yonglin shook her head repeatedly in denial, then looked back at the large table of dishes yet to be roasted. She secretly cast a healing spell on herself to improve the blood circulation in her shoulder, and then buried herself in the "clean plate" campaign.

……

In the dimly lit room, a distorted and bizarre light and shadow, and a terrifying rift, bloomed out of the space without warning. A dark aura that made people feel uneasy, restless, fearful, and trembling flowed continuously from the rift. It was mixed with the aroma of many Far Eastern spices roasted and the unique smoky smell of meat fat, which made people's hearts race and their mouths itch.

A figure in white slowly emerged from the crack, carrying a carefully packaged lunchbox in his hand.

“I rushed back as soon as I got the news, and I also brought some roasted meat and soup from ‘Rabbit House’, as well as braised rabbit heads and rabbit legs. Pandora, would you like some? Miss Salome should also try some if you don’t mind. You must be hungry.”

The devout woman smoothly placed the bags of food back on the table in the room.

“Mr. Hern, I’m curious how you so confidently judged that the princess of the Son of Earth would lower her guard to the bare minimum.”

A familiar female voice asked a question from behind, as cold and aloof as ever, like the unchanging cold wind and moonlight of the North.

"Because throughout history, effective measures have far outweighed pale testimonies, and royalty who are willing to give their lives for their subjects are not mere ornaments clinging to courtly etiquette."

After settling everything in, the believer Hearn turned around, as if everything had gone according to plan.

"Am I right? Your Highness, Princess of the Far East?"

Salome Reinhardt turned her gaze away from the unforgettable warp rift and looked at the man who had emerged from it, a young man with the appearance of a Gozan from the Far East, her eyes darting around.

A moment later, having already regained her freedom, she bowed to the other party.

“You are absolutely right. Salome is truly grateful for your kindness last night. You saved tens of thousands of innocent lives, and a noble person like you needs no further action to prove your character.”

……

Chapter 93 Secrets

Even though Mr. Hearn's invitation to a barbecue was hard to refuse, the princess from the Far East was in dire straits and had not yet recovered. She politely declined his invitation and promised to meet again another day. Hearn, being very understanding, informed Jiang Xue to come and pick her up.

To these hardened, bloodthirsty people, the seemingly ordinary Gozan Dragon Girl was like a gentle and generous innkeeper in the clouds. But what was her identity to this fleet from the Far East? Xin Nu understood, and naturally didn't bother to investigate further.

The next morning, when I saw Salome Reinhard again, Yunzhong had temporarily suspended its business to receive refugees from the Far East fleet. Under the watchful and grateful gaze of a group of armored guards, the imposter, dressed in dragon skin, knocked on the door of the Far East princess's lodging, led by a maid.

“When I first arrived at the store, you didn’t mention to me that the top-floor rooms would be so spacious.”

The believer smiled and joked with the only familiar face in the room, the landlady in the clouds.

"This was originally intended as a backup meeting place and has never been open to the public. Please forgive me, Mr. Hern."

The dragon maiden with black hair and red clothes smiled gently, as always, her words and actions exuding an aura that brought peace to the mind.

The believer had wanted to ask her about the incense recipe she used, but now was clearly not the time.

"Your Excellency, the Righteous One, you have arrived."

The beaded curtain rustled, and the believer turned her head to see a jet-black rose slowly walking out from behind the curtain. Salome Reinhardt was wearing a black dress rarely seen on classical noblewomen from Western Europe. Her long, flowing hair, somewhere between platinum and silver, was tied back for ease of movement. She wore a jet-black, thin veil, through which her face was vaguely visible. Her sea-blue eyes revealed humility, yet also a hidden sadness.

A beautiful woman who is hard to resist, ideal in both appearance and personality, is the ideal for most men.

This was the initial impression the princess gave to the novices, but now, that impression has been given a different meaning.

For example, something that seems familiar.

"Your Highness flatters me. That noble title is not suitable for someone like me. Even Miss Jiang Xue knows that I am just a desperate man who lives on the edge of a knife, just like most of my fellow mercenaries in the Southern Continent. I was only doing this for her sake, and besides..."

The believer's gaze swept over the other woman's slender and shapely figure once more, without any lustful intent, simply stating the facts.

"I don't think I've done enough, and I've caused you to lose loved ones."

That jet-black dress was clearly not the kind of thing a girl of that age should wear; it carried a deeper metaphor about death.