Conspire

"When Cross returned along the same "path" he had come in on, he saw a different scene. Surrounding the shallow water where he had entered were a group of knights dressed in silver armor, each bearing a badge on their right arm that identified them as members of the "Holy Knights," an order dedicated to protecting high-ranking officials of the church. Unlike the "Holy Sword Knights," who focused on combat, the Holy Knights were skilled in defense.

In front of the knights stood a man with a furrowed brow and an unhappy expression, eyeing the golden-haired man, Cross. The man, who seemed to be the captain, had half of his face covered by a silver mask etched with intricate designs. He had a noble bearing, a lean and strong build, and a handsome face visible on the other side of the mask. He was Sein Alicia, a man who had risen to the rank of captain through relentless effort despite his humble background.

"Halt! What are you doing here at this time?" Sein immediately drew his sword and pointed it at Cross, reprimanding him.

He had no intention of currying favor with the privileged judges; for him, fulfilling his duty was everything. And at this moment, his duty was to ensure that the purification ceremony of the Saintess was not disturbed.

-He was a man who strictly adhered to the "knight's code."

"Oh? I don't remember that a knight captain alone has the authority to question a judge within the church."

Judges were a rare rank within the church who held the power of "execution." A judge's whimsical remark could lead to the total destruction of a small city, which was why even high-ranking officials within the church did not dare to provoke the judges directly.

However, the man before him was different. He fulfilled his duty without any status or backing, questioning the judge.

"Identity has nothing to do with it. No one is allowed to approach this area during this time, let alone someone who came out of it..."

He took a step forward and held his knight's sword against Cross's neck, a move that surprised the knights behind him.

"You're a really unique person. If you weren't, I bet you'd be a 'Holy Knight' by now."

Just from the simple movements of the blond man, Cyan, earlier, it was clear that his fundamentals were extremely solid with no unnecessary actions or flaws. Even Cross was unable to perform the basic sword stance as perfectly as Cyan did. If it weren't for his strict adherence to the "code of chivalry," he might have been promoted long ago.

"Answer my question! What are you doing here? Don't try to evade, as a judge, can't you even handle this basic conversation?"

Cross simply smiled insincerely in response. He didn't have much time to waste with this man, so he placed Eve, whom he had been holding, on the ground and pressed his finger against Cyan's sword blade.

"Sorry, I've never been much of a talker."

Suddenly, a crisp cracking sound echoed as Cyan's knight sword snapped off at the hilt in his hand.

"What..."

Before the man could react, Cross led Eve past him, holding her hand.

"A warrior should take good care of his weapon... As for why I'm here, you should ask Eda. I'm sure she'll give you a satisfactory answer."

As Cross passed by Cyan, the surrounding knights instinctively moved aside, not wanting to be executed for blocking the judge's path.

Only Cyan, with a solemn expression, stood in place... The judge had even called out the name of the Holy Maiden.

...

Near the central sanctuary of the Holy See, there was an altar surrounded by twelve towers. Standing on the slightly soft ground and looking at the imposing statue around him, even though it was damaged, Cross couldn't help but marvel.

This was one of the three main altars, the "Prayer" altar, and the one used during the Rain Prayer ceremony.

The reason this location was chosen was that no one came here on ordinary days, and because it was an important altar, there were no tools or personnel for "monitoring" here- the best place for things that could not be known by others.

Sure enough, "Saint" Harlan, who was waiting for Cross, was alone, and even the naked girl who had been following him was nowhere to be seen.

"He's really an annoying guy, Cross. I told him to come here at noon, but I didn't ask him to come exactly at twelve o'clock, couldn't he have come earlier..."

Sitting casually on a giant statue fragment, Harlan sighed as he looked at his pocket watch. It seemed he had been sitting here for a long time.

"Is there anything important you came here for? Did you want to defect?"

Without saying a word, Cross understood the reason for choosing this place to talk. Harlan nodded in agreement, indicating that Cross was not wrong.

"How could I defect? I never said I wanted to join the church. Both the title of 'Saint' and this power were arbitrarily given to me by them. But it seems like this title is useful, so I reluctantly accepted it. Anyway...enough about that. I called you here to tell you three things on the surface..."

"On the surface...so there's at least one thing you want to say in secret?"

Cross pulled Eve, who was beside him, to his front and let her lean against him. He could clearly feel the fatigue in the young girl.

"Well, then I'll cut to the chase. First, you are directly under my jurisdiction as a judge. The church will not assign you any missions, and even if they do, you can choose not to accept them."

Harlan tossed his pocket watch up and caught it repeatedly, passing the time. "Secondly, you'll have to figure out the matter of the Philosopher's Stone on your own. I've been blacklisted by the Second Church, so I'm powerless in this regard."

"Thirdly, when you go out to the street later, you'll see a nun. She's someone I arranged for you. You'll be living with her in a church from now on. The old priest there just passed away, and no one is taking care of the place. It's quite troublesome."

After quickly mentioning all these trivial matters, the Saint jumped down from the giant statue fragment and walked to Cross's side.

"Does this artificial person matter?"

He reached out to Eve, seemingly wanting to pinch her cute cheeks, but was stopped by Cross.

"She doesn't matter. Eve won't say anything unnecessary."

Cross protected Eve with his hand as he and the Saint distanced themselves from each other.

"The things I'm about to say, only the two of us know. From now on, I will regularly assign you some tasks, and if you encounter any strange things, don't report them to the Vatican. Just tell me the details."

He spoke in a language encrypted with magic that only he and the black-haired man in front of him could hear.

"Strange things?"

Cross replied using the same method.

"Yes, it's about the 'Society'. As a magician, you'll also be interested in them."

Upon hearing the word 'Society', Cross understood Harlan's meaning completely.

The so-called 'Society' refers to a group of people who continue to inherit the will of the tyrant even after the end of the Dark Age. Their methods of action are almost identical to those of the tyrant at that time, and most of the members are dangerous "magicians". They are also the most dangerous group of people in this era.

For Cross Asteros, who experienced the Dark Age and personally participated in the war against the tyrant, he has a strong interest in their actions.

"I knew you were interested in the 'Society'."

"Of course, not only the 'Society', but I'm also interested in the tyrant's actions..."

While the two were talking, a rumbling sound from the stomach interrupted their conversation.

"Haha, your android seems to be hungry, or should I say it's entered the 'growth phase'? Take her to eat, and let's talk about the details later when we have time."

Harlan didn't pay too much attention to it and clapped his hands, about to leave.

"In the end, do androids really have a growth phase? Even feeling hungry is a very rare thing."

Cross shook his head, picked up Eve, and realized that the two of them didn't even have a proper breakfast.