Chapter 136 – Star Fall (19)

“Oh my, Ro Haram. What is…”

“It’s an ill omen. We must call a priest at—”

Whisper whisper, murmur murmur!

“Hey, Notum. Can you, uh… do something about your new friends? Maybe make them calm down a little…”

“Grwur? Vuitum and Wotcha was always calm. Look. They are calm as shy newlywed. The other ones following the two of them are also cute and calm.”

“No, I’m not talking about their personality—it’s that light! The ominous glow they’re letting off stands out too much in the dark! Look at all of the people staring! Do you know how many priests me and Borka stopped from using the [Turn Undead] spell?”

“Professor! Do not blame Notum for that! It is not her fault that her potential is beyond normal standards. Mmm… One chunk of Moonstone, a bottle of Crystal Drop, and what was it…? And where to find a soul powerful enough to handle that talent…? Maybe… if it is the elves…”

Aldrich continued to mumble to himself, and Notum followed behind him without much thought. And behind that was a crowd of spirits that followed Notum like a comet’s tail.

After deep contemplation and a majority vote to choose their next destination, the party is currently walking through the streets to the Light’s Order’s cathedral.

Tap!

“I’ve talked to the ones over there. When I told them we were part of the Light’s Warrior’s party, they were praising us that there must be a powerful priest among us.”

“Good work, Borka.”

“It is my duty. I need to do at least this to feel less sorry for you. Technically speaking, the choice Captain made was also related to family, which you gave up for me.”

“It’s not family! I was just thinking of the strategic value the Eastern Desert Nations have and that we can use the relations with a person within those forces to make an easier arrangement with them…!”

“Hahahah! Of course they are family once you promised faithful love to them! It was beautiful watching you hold back your urges and make your decision.”

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– Soygaybar : I agree. Almost cried when he pursed his lips and said ‘T, Then…. Let’s go to the west.“

– Noru_is_druig : Rakshasha! Charlotte! When are the female Hero Units coming out! I want to see them now! Show us the women!

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“That… I… #@(*$&(*(!!!!”

I shouldn’t bother. In what right mind did I think that voting East in front of those people was a good idea?

To start with the results, the vote ended with 1 for the Eastern Desert region (Professor), 2 for the Southern Great Forest (Ottman, Borka), and 2 for the Western Elven Forest, which tied the Southern and Western regions. Just when I was debating which of the two would take a shorter trip to get to, Borka collected the attention of the party.

“I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“My children. The informants from the church visited me to tell me that they found my children’s traces.”

“What? The ones that disappeared after getting kidnapped?”

“Indeed. They confirmed that the children did, in fact, come to Rodrick. Tracking them through the underground noble auction and other sources, they claimed that the traces were cut off after they were sold to someone passing over the Blue Line. I’m sorry… But may I ask this favor?”

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Ding ding ding. End of conversation.

Because of Borka’s desperate pleas, the group all agreed to go westward from Rodrick past the mountain range called the Blue Line to enter the Elven Forest, and were currently on their way to the cathedral to obtain supplies.

Clang—!

“Halt! Apologies, but there is currently an important meeting being held inside of the cathedral, hence an order to deny all entrance from outside— Warrior, sir?!”

“Huh?”

“A large man with sharp eyes and an outfit that boasts his scarred body! It is Warrior Professor! I sincerely apologize for not recognizing you sooner. I heard you left on a mission as the ambassador for the church. What brings you here…?”

“Ah, mmm. You are fine. I came to see if there were any supplies we could get for our journey to the Elven Forest.”

The guards seemed to be more on alert than during the day, but Professor, who had been rummaging around to take his relic out again, was a bit surprised by the difference in their attitude. The decision was made around this afternoon, but not only the news about Warrior Professor’s official appointment as ambassador, but the description of his appearance was also thoroughly delivered among the church’s members.

“By Elven Forest, you mean… are you going to persuade those Sharp Ears?”

“Well, yes.”

“Goodness… We heard the news through messenger magic, but to think we are actually reaching out to those corrupt species that failed to become human…”

“Oh my, Ro Haram! How horrifying. We cannot understand this decision, but as this was the Archbishop’s decision, this must be the Light’s will that our blind eyes cannot see. We merely follow the decision.”

“It will be a long and harsh journey, so you must prepare well. Come in! The cathedral’s storage building is this way.”

The two paladins that had been protecting the gates quickly shifted to the side and volunteered to guide them. Although they did say they would follow the Archbishop’s decision, they must have still been questioning why they were bothering to send ambassadors as the two continued to badmouth the elves and other species while they guided the group.

“We say this just in case, but do not trust a thing they say! Those Sharp Ears were born devious and cannot speak anything other than lies!”

“The priests explained that they have especially long life spans because Ro Haram wishes to keep them away for as long as possible. Please, we will hope that you return safely without suffering from those vile elves. It is more fitting to rule beasts like those with a mace than with a gentle hand.”

“Oh… I see. I will make sure to keep that in mind.”

“Make sure of it! All other species are those who failed to become hum— mmph!”

“I said I got it! Go back to the gates now and stand guard! How long do you plan to keep them vacant? You shall piss o… return to your positions this instant! Or else I will personally report to Paladin Gregorio of your laziness!”

“No! N-not Captain!”

“Y-yessir!”

Clank clank clank clank clank!

Only after threatening the two paladins to leave were they able to escape their uncomfortable comments.

Hahhhh.

Behind him, he heard Borka let out a deep breath he had been holding in.

“Sorry Borka. That must have been hard to listen to.”

“You don’t need to worry. I have heard comments like those far too many times after coming out of the forest into the human’s territory.”

“How can I not worry? You weren’t even breathing back there. I know you say that, but it’s still infuriating to hear that. You were holding your breath so you wouldn’t growl, weren’t you?”

“…”

“Let me apologize instead. Not all humans are like that, so don’t hate them too much.”

Clump, clump, clump, clump.

Looking at the Light’s Order’s buildings still glowing brightly like it’s day, Borka closed his eyes as he spoke.

“I know. Though ones like them exist, there are also humans like Captain, Aldrich, and Ottman who treat us as equals. I do not feel hatred for humans from this much. However…”

Even now, the illusions etched into his mind play every single time he closes his eyes. His children, playing in the green fields, wearing the leather clothing that he made for them.

‘Dalia, Tushan, Marka. Please, just be alive.’

“I cannot guarantee that for my children. From their homeland to Rodrick and the several slave merchants they passed through until they were sold to the west. All of the humans that those children experienced would have treated them as those people did. And depending on their state… I may also become that way.”

“Hey…”

“You do not need to comfort me. There is not yet a reason to comfort me, nor is it the time to.”

Professor could say nothing as he watched Borka suppress the anger simmering inside of him.

“Huh— ap!”

“W-Warrior, sir! Please calm down and listen to me! I have thought wrongly! Now that I think about it, with the bright power that you hold, the journey to the west might not be that difficult…”

“Aww, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Supply Priest, sir! We should not leave even a single fraction of a chance for failure when we are going to deliver the word of Light! Do not worry if it’s because of the weight. Physical strength is my forte, so, ah, this looks useful as well. [Rope Dipped in Blessed Oil]… I’ll be taking this, too.”

Clunk—

“Captain. There are more sacks filled with incense over here.”

“Oh! You’re the best, Borka! Bring them over!”

“Y-you cannot! I must ask you to leave now! Please!”

Just 10 minutes after Professor’s group entered the Light’s Order’s storage room, the face of the priest who managed the place turned darker as time passed. He had already cried out Ro Haram’s name dozens of times internally. Ah, how could he have greeted that insane Warrior with a smile? He should have instantly locked the doors and called for the paladins and monks!

Of course, regardless of whether the priest’s face turned gray or blue, Professor and Borka concentrated on dodging the priest, who was chasing them like an eel and sucking out the sweet nectar of the massive storage room.

“Ah, give us a moment. Why’d you need to make the place so complicated? All of the goodies are hidden all the way in the back. Oh? There’s a box inside of the hay bales for the horses?”

“I told you to get out! Out! Do you really plan to make the church go bankrupt? You warrior who knows no satisfaction!”

“Woah! If you swing that near all of these hay bales…”

Flwoosh!

“N-no! The church’s supplies are on fire!”

“Hope you can deal with that! And say hello to the Archbishop for me!”

“F-fire! There’s a fire! Heeeelp!”

In the end, a small flame flew out of the torch the priest swung onto the hay bales, and watching the fire spread in an instant through the well-dried hay, Professor turned away coldly.

“Well, we got everything that we need!”

“Y-you are just going to leave them like that?”

“We don’t need to worry about that. This is the main cathedral of the Light’s Order, is it not? They’ll put out a fire like that in no time. And real valuable items won’t burn in a small fire like that anyway.”

“Uh… are you sure about that? Even I can tell that those flames do not look easy to put out…”

“Then… oh well. If they can’t even handle a small incident like that, then we’ve already lost this war.”

“You are correct, Captain. The one managing that storage needs to know how to take better care of their supplies.”

After filling the bag he obtained from Tobrune all the way to the brim, Borka looked incredibly satisfied. As if he had released all of the stress he had gained from the church until now, Borka had participated very enthusiastically in Professor’s ‘resupplication’.

“Exactly. They swung around their torch in a building full of precious objects. That’s why things like that happen.”

“Mmm… [Hydroball], [Hydroball], [Hydroball]. That should be enough.”

“Ottman! Hurry up! We’ll get caught!”

“Hey Ottman. Were we not here to ‘request’ supplies from the church as a Warrior party?”

“I do not know, Aldrich. I… After that friend buried me inside the forest at Pelas, I have given up on understanding him… [Hydroball].”

Sending one last large ball of water toward the storage house and confirming that the fire was completely doused, Ottman painfully turned away from the sight of the priest walking out of the doors with eyes devoid of hope. All he could do was let out a deep sigh as he looked at Professor in the distance, sneaking over the walls while carrying an entire carriage that had supplies ballooning out of it with only ropes to keep them secure.

“Oh, Ro Haram! Why? For what reason have you put me through such sufferingggggg—?”

From behind them rang out the anguished wail of prayers from the priest that kneeled in front of the storage building, wisps of smoke still floating out of it.

– Speedwagon : Don’t have anything to say about that. Man’s crazy.

– Jokass : Dare I say that this was what a person from the Wastelands would do.

– Undam_undam : Dunno, I don’t think prof did anything wrong, did he? It was that priest that told him ‘Oh! Please take anything you need for the mission! Money means nothing to Ro Haram! These occasions are what the church is here for!’ And that’s what erased the itty bitty smudge of conscience left in Professor. It’s kinda his fault.

– Holli : But…. Isn’t there some sort of common sense? It’s like how you don’t take too many drinks from the beverage fountain just because the restaurant gives out free drinks. They said something about that in the ‘Morals of the Past’ lecture video we saw.

– Noru_is_druig : Am I the only one hearing this dogs**t?

– Numb3rtree : Free drinks? Then you’re supposed to bring in a drum can after putting in your order, why just leave it?

– Nutriagena : frfr. is the Dome making people into idiots?

– Holli : T, That’s so terrible!

–Korekorekorekore : I’ll apologize for them. All of the people that survived are guys like them.

– Holli : But… I’m sure mister Gyosu will understand! Mister Gyosu! You had a reason for doing that, right? Right??

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“Heheheheh… Of cooourse… It’s because I have a deep, intricate reason that I looted out their supplies, everyone…”

Professor didn’t feel like addressing the chat’s conversation right now. Because at the moment, there was a carriage full of all sorts of glowing, shiny supplies from the Light’s Order right in front of his eyes.

Schlurrrp!

“Heheheh… How much is all of this? Just what you’d expect from the Light’s main cathedral’s storage building! Not a single thing here isn’t high quality!”

This all has meaning. Mhm, of course it does! He has gained so much profit from this, and what bigger meaning is there than that?

Hurriedly carrying the carriage out, Professor basically rubbed his relic against the castle guard’s face to leave Kingsland, and inside the deep, dark forest, he spread out all of the supplies he was ‘given’ and fell into a joyful bliss similar to that of a bank robber.

The item list was so long that he almost couldn’t read it all. What he just checked were the ones with yellow names, expressing that they were more valuable than normal items. There was still stuff in the carriage, and he didn’t even check the bag that Borka stuffed out of anger, so there’s probably still that much more stuff left to check.

“Hahh! Hahhh! Wait! For! Us!”

“Hm? Ah, sorry, Ottman… Aldrich. That was a little too far of a jog for a mage.”

“Greugh. I carried them. They both shook like wet towels.”

“Blerughhhhh!”

“Ghost oldie teacher. Is that ectoplasm? Correct?”

“Ughhhh… You crazy thieving bastard… Just why did you need to take so much when you could take it in moderation…?”

Checking that his members were now rejoining, Professor responded with a big, knowing smile.

“Oh, about that. They would have given it to us if we asked, but since we’re preparing for war and everything, they would have only given us the essentials and food, then tried their best to not give us anything useful. I don’t even need to see it to know that they would have asked us to do all sorts of procedures and paperwork. They usually pick the strictest priest in the church when choosing who manages the storage.”

Take everything I want? As if. The moment I revealed that I was a Warrior for the church, he put on the eyes of a soldier going out to battle. It felt like if I tried to talk it out with them, then I would have needed to bicker for at least a week with them regarding supplies, so I just went on and did this. I don’t care. The Archbishop will probably handle it. It’s not like the church is dirt-poor, either. And besides, we really needed those supplies too.

Taking out one of the delicately packaged ‘Handful of Light’ from its luxurious box, Professor smiled as he played with it in his hands. If nothing else, this one was essential for them to pass through the Blue Line. If they had this much, then passing through the Blue Line crawling with undead would be like a walk in the park.