CH 29: Invasive Forces, or...?
(A/N: For old readers, the names of the introduced side characters have been changed for certain reasons by the way. It's easy to remember since there were just a few anyway.
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Captain of the Guards, Nidifn -> Hesekiel (scarred face) {CH 7}
Adventurers' Guild Receptionist, Xuvuk -> Jaylin (muscle lady) {CH 8}
Adventurers' Guild Receptionist, Adelphia -> Shyann (brown hair) {CH 8}
Boar Bear Inn Owner, Rashar -> Devyn (Boar Bear Inn's owner) {CH 11}
Boar Bear Inn Worker, Narnas -> Nicoline (Devyn's daughter) {CH 11}
Raining Stars Captain, Jareth -> Ignatz (D-Class Adventurer) {CH 9}
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Along with the names of some places.
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Human County, Welron -> Edostin {CH 26}
The city they are in, Wadence -> Crussas {CH 7}
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"Alright, let's go eat, because I'm starving!" Leaving the room after dressing up, with Slathilia transformed back into his Hatchling Form for easier travel, she made her way downstairs. When Natasha had told him to transform using his Self-Size Manipulation, he was confused.
Wasn't it easier to move around with him now able to walk by himself? It was definitely easier since now she didn't need to be careful of how she walked for fear of making him fall to the ground. But her reasoning made sense.
"A dragon in other continents is not a common thing, more so a young one. Although it doesn't seem like it, I can guarantee that many people have already started paying attention to you. Even if just a child, the body and Mana Core of an SS-Class monster will still bring a huge amount of profit. If some weird people find out about your growth speed, they might try to kidnap you for research and experiment on you. We need to be careful while in a city or place with a large number of civilians. Better safe than sorry."
'Tsk, how troublesome.' He thought to himself, sitting on her shoulder. But he wasn't really complaining, he was hatching a free ride after all. And she was telling the truth. Who knows what kind of weirdos he'll encounter if he wasn't being careful. As she said, better safe than sorry.
"Oh, hey, Nico." Downstairs, Natasha saw Nicoline diligently helping her father. "Oh, hey, Natasha! Hello, Slathilia!" The little girl smiled brightly, making the two smile. Slathilia waved :"Gauw."
Nicoline :"Good afternoon. Are you going out?"
Natasha :"Yeah, just going out to stroll around and have some fun."
Nicoline :"Oh, okay then, please be careful."
Natasha :"Huh? Why, is something the matter?"
Nicoline :"Well, there's been this group of thugs who like to cause trouble here and there."
Natasha, frowning :"Have they caused trouble here too?"
Nicoline, smirking :"They tried to, but my dad beat the heck out of them! After that, they don't dare to mess around here! But with how pretty you are, I feel like they'll try to bother you, so be careful, okay?"
Natasha, chuckling :"Thanks, sweety. And don't worry, even if anybody tries something, they'll find out their family jewels are nowhere to be found?"
Slathilia, shivering :'Good lord, this woman is crueler than I thought... she goes straight for the cock and balls...'
He wasn't the only one disturbed. All the men around, who were paying attention to the gorgeous girl and the dragon, shivered at the words. Sure enough, the more beautiful the rose, the sharper its thorns. Heck, this one even had lifetime lasting poison, talk about adding salt to the insult.
Remembering her fight with Ignatz of Raining Stars the first day they got here, he couldn't help but slightly close the space between his legs. An action that made Natasha smirk in amusement :'I guess even if he is just a child, a man's instinct runs deep, huh? Well, maybe not as deep as the kicks I've shoved up some people's pelvises.'
Nicoline, clueless :"Huh, what does that mean? Are you going to steal their family's treasure or something?"
Natasha :"Kekeke, no, you won't get it, so just forget about it. By the way, hasn't anybody reported these thugs to Church's Knights then? If they're really troublesome, then the Knights wouldn't sit still. They're tasked with protecting the law and safety of the people after all."
Nicoline :"Hmm, I don't know. I think I heard it's because since they haven't done anything illegal, just cause some small problems, the Church's Knights haven't done anything to them. I don't know though."
Natasha :"Hmm, I see. Alright, thanks for telling me. We'll be off, and you don't need to worry. Goodbye."
"Bye bye!" Nicoline waved as they left. As they walked around the busy streets, Slathilia asked :"(Church's Knights, who are they?)"
"They are the knights of the Church of Eventuality who have been dispatched to other cities and counties to protect the law and innocent people for several years now."
"(But aren't the regular knights and guards of the city already doing that?)"
"It's because they're not strong enough. In case of a major crisis, many will die since the guards aren't that strong. So the Church's Knights have been sent to other cities to keep the innocent lives safe. There are several reasons, honestly, as to why they've been sent around.
1) As I've said, strength. The Church's Knights are not jokes. Even the weakest of Church's Knights are at the 7th Sacred Level. And those Knights are sent to small and medium sized cities. For cities of this scale, who are the gathering point for various Adventurers and mercenaries, and capitals, the dispatched Knights are at the 8th Sacred Level!"
"(Holy hell... isn't that seriously strong?)"
"Extremely strong. They're so strong so that the lives and safety of the innocents are ensured. The Pope of the Church of Eventuality is famous for her righteousness of protecting and helping the weak while punishing evil. She has created numerous orphanages for orphaned children, shelters for homeless people who need them, and hospitals with completely free healthcare who use Holy Magic to help the injured or sick.
If not for her going against the corrupted nobles at every turn and being completely against the social hierarchy of the nobles, she would definitely be hailed as a saint across the countries and common people who have received her help."
"(Oh, wow, that's amazing.)"
He wasn't lying, he was amazed. Although he had doubts, this Church of Eventuality truly sounded like a grand place. Which noble or royal family has bothered to help the ones in actual need of help? How many of them have spared some money to help the starving children and homeless people in the streets?
Very, very few of them. All of them just use the benefits of their titles to throw their weights around and take in as much money as possible just to satisfy their greed. It's sickening how they don't fulfill their responsibilities as nobles while taking advantage of their authority to take and even monopolize all the benefits.
But hearing how somebody was willing to use so much money to help the ones who actually need felt quite good. It was admirable. He had doubts, but still admired the Pope. Even if it was for benefits she would obtain herself, he still admired her. But what was better, letting someone gain something and save countless lives in return, or not doing anything and letting numerous lives disappear without anybody's care instructions?
No treasure was as important as life.
He just hoped that it was actually out of kindness instead of ulterior motives, which is what happens with churches in fantasy worlds. He really wanted to see a trustworthy and truthful church instead of one that fooled people into believing in a false god.
'Goddamn it, please don't let them be some disgusting villains, okay? Churches are always overpowered as heck when they're the villains. I seriously want them to be kind folks instead of cult members under disguise.'
Finishing his mini rant, he looked at Natasha with suspicion :"(By the way, is it just me, or do you act weird when talking about this Church of Eventuality?)" He didn't see the twitch of her hand :"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"(I don't know, it's like you're proud of them or something?)"
"Well, isn't it natural for me to idolize and respect the people who have saved so many lives? Believe me, you'll find it weird if someone doesn't respect and appreciate the things the Church of Eventuality has done."
"(Is that so...?)"
"Yes, you'll see for yourself. Ahem ahem, anyway, as I was saying."
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but didn't question any further.
"2) Corruption. Believe me, the cases of nobles, merchants and criminals bribing the guards or knights is not a rare thing. There have been many cases of nobles manipulating the guards and using their authority to steal, kidnap and perform all kinds of crimes just because the guards were corrupt and bribed. Some merchants meanwhile bribe them to transport illegal items and such, and criminals bribe them so they won't be arrested.
The Church's Knights are around so none of those cases can happen. They're not just strong, they're also trustworthy. People who have become Church's Knights have to be approved of by the Church of Eventuality and sometimes even by the Pope herself. And I've heard that every member of the Church of Eventuality learns a Skill which enables them to see if someone is evil and a criminal, or a normal person who's bad or evil, or a benevolent person who's kind-hearted. So, yeah, they're really good at catching rats.
3) Safety of the innocents. I've said it already, but the Pope pays great attention to innocent people who just want to live their lives and the people who are truly in need of help. The Church's Knights don't just protect the city and people from monsters, they also protect them from people.
If, say, someone wants to take advantage of an innocent person using laws, the Church's Knights have the authority to step in if the person who's being taken advantage of is seriously an innocent person. And forget about using violence to threaten someone, the Knights even have the right to kill at that point."
"(Ooh, I see. But wait, do the other countries just allow these? From what I've learned, won't other countries disagree to another country doing this?)"
"That's a reasonable thought. After all, having such strength inside of the country would make any country nervous. Especially when it's the forces of the country that hates social hierarchy like nobility and such. If a war were to break out, the losses of this country would be tremendous. And with such a force, the country may even be completely taken over.
After all, the strength of people at the 7th and 8th Sacred Level is no joke. Just the number of Knights in this single city is enough to take over a small country. So why would any country allow something like this to happen?
1) They're doing it for free. The Pope has promised that the Church of Eventuality or the Church's Knights won't ask for any payments, and all of their earnings will be from the Church of Eventuality itself. All they want to do is protect the innocents after all. But the Pope isn't stupid either. Do you know what was one of the conditions that were set?"
"(What?)"
"*Smirking* Any treasures, mines or anything of the sorts that was found by the Knights would rightfully and completely belong to the Church of Eventuality. And believe me, when I say they're found fortunes upon fortunes in all kinds of cities and counties, I'm not joking. There was a huge fuss over the Knights being kicked out and the ownership of the found fortune places being returned to the countries like how they originally did."
"(Oh, damn, that would definitely make those greedy nobles mad. To see the treasures hiding right below their feet being taken by others, the people who hate and oppose them at that, must've stung like hell. So what happened?)"
"Simple, they didn't succeed."
"(I kinda figured, but why? Didn't a huge political war happen of something?)"
"No, and it was because they were scared of the strength of the Pope."