Task

A week had passed in a flash, and Cross had been busy the whole time studying the materials left by Harlan and dealing with the issues left behind due to the lack of management at the church. Although he had also taken some time to investigate materials for creating the "Holy Grail," as before, he had no clue.

However, something unexpected had succeeded, and that was manipulating "source mana." Originally, Cross thought it was impossible to learn the technique in a short period of time, but within this week, he had reached a level of "can use," which surprised him.

The reason he learned it was that there were no clothes that fit Eve's body type perfectly in the entire commercial district, so Cross himself took action and unexpectedly discovered the trick when helping Eve break down and rebuild those oversized clothes using magic. His original intention was to try to eliminate chanting for many clothes.

However, due to the triple difficulty of not wanting to use too much mana during the period of mana recovery and not being familiar with the structure of the clothes, he accidentally hit the edge of the "source mana" application.

However, the "research life," which the "magician" loved the most, ended here. Yesterday, he received a letter from Harlan, and the content of the letter was to summon Cross and two other judges. It meant that the "mission" had begun.

This time, they still didn't use the main hall of any temple, but continued to use the altar used for the rain prayer ceremony. After passing through several debris of giant statues, Cross and Eve arrived here. At this moment, the other two judges also arrived unexpectedly.

"You are...that one, what was your name again?" The judge girl with strange white hair tilted her head and tried to recall the name of this black-haired man. Although it was not the first time, she still had no clue as she was not good at remembering names.

Among the judges summoned together with Cross was the chief judge, Violet Higgins, whom he met in the "guild" that day.

She was still dressed in those bizarre costumes today, whether it was the tight-fitting clothes like underwear, the exaggerated wrist and leg armor, or the half-cloak of the judge's cloak on her head.

"Hello, Lady Violet. My name is Cross Asteros."

"Ah, yes. Cross Atataros..."

The young girl nodded to herself as she repeated Cross's name, making the same mistake as last time.

Meanwhile, the two judges who had logged in as "one person," Tiffany and Angela, the third-ranking "Twins," had arrived. They had the same hairstyle and face, and their figures and behavior were almost identical. Their "Holy Sword," the Twin Swords, was forged specifically for twins and was a sword that could only be fully utilized with both blades together.

"Hello, everyone. Lord Harlan, Lady Violet, Lord Asteros."

The twins greeted everyone present in unison, with a tone and expression very similar to Cross's companion Eve, with no change in expression like wearing a mask.

"Since you're all here, let's get started. First of all, everyone here can be considered my confidants. Our actions from here on out will not be in the name of the Holy See, but as my subordinates."

Harlan, the "Saint" with a youthful appearance, unlike the rigid "Holy King," walked over to the judges. Although he had the title of "Saint," he was still a magician who pursued the truth.

"First of all, the 'Holy King's' recent actions have been a bit strange, I don't know what that guy's up to, but you don't have to worry about it. The reason I brought you here today is to let you know about some situations."

The always smiling Harlan now had a serious expression, giving a different impression.

"Leaving aside the hostile Empire, 'humans' alone cannot match the Telvis Empire. What is important now is that the remnants of the 'Dark Age' tyrant, the 'Society,' have started to act. All the priests I sent to investigate have lost contact."

The Holy See's priests were not ordinary preachers, but experts in holy arts and various combat techniques, and groups of dozens of priests were not at a disadvantage even when encountering "Marquis"-level vampires.

Even so, those priests disappeared silently.

This kind of "power" that cannot be measured by common sense is extremely similar to the tyrant's subordinates in the "Dark Age."

"Due to the constraints of the 'Holy King' and our principle of operating covertly, I cannot dispatch too many personnel to assist you. However, I believe that the 'Society' alone is not your match... Therefore, this investigation is very suitable for you to undertake," Harlan said.

After listening to Harlan's words, Chief Adjudicator Violet patted her not-so-plump chest and said it was easy for her. "Violet, I am not worried about your combat ability, but... you must conduct an 'investigation' this time, and write a report that can be understood by 'people'..." Although the chief adjudicator's combat ability was reassuring, she was not good at writing, often returning from missions with no information. Obtaining relevant intelligence was often more meaningful than directly eliminating targets, both for the organization "Church" and for Harlan as a magician. Violet's actions were more like killing and erasing related clues, which troubled Harlan.

"Well, I'll do my best," Violet said.

After speaking, Harlan turned to the twin girls.

"Sera and Senna, just be careful not to kill the enemy without thinking. Capturing them alive would be more meaningful in this situation."

"Yes," the two girls answered in unison. It was clear that these twins had a similar history.

"The biggest problem is you, Cross. You don't trust me, and of course, I don't trust you either. But compared to those rigid adjudicators who believe in the 'Holy King,' as a 'magician,' you are trustworthy, and your power is strong enough for me to take this risk," Harlan said, looking at Cross. As Harlan looked at Cross, a suffocating magic pressure emanated from him, but Cross remained standing there, unfazed.

The Saint was very satisfied with this. In such a short time, he had learned to control the "Source Magic." He was truly worthy of being one of the "Seven Heroes" and a survivor of that brutal battle.

"This is the information my underling, a priest, left me with before he died, using a holy relic: a magician who manipulates fire possesses the 'Moonstone,' which can transform negative emotions into magic power. That magician is located in the north of the Telvis Empire, in the trade city of Seaton. The Moonstone is also one of the materials used to forge the 'Holy Grail' and is an infinite source of magic power."

Cross has no reason to reject or betray Harlan. "So what's the investigation about?" Being under the same interest makes them "allies", a fact that two magicians like them understand without having to express it in words. Cross doesn't need to care about what Harlan wants to do, and Harlan doesn't need to care about Cross's ultimate goal, as long as they have the same interests at this moment, they can act together.

There are no permanent friends, only eternal interests. Cross, who has been betrayed and set up countless times, understands this better than anyone else.

"I've said before that I don't have any evidence to prove my guess, and I don't know what the 'Organization' is doing or what kind of harm it may cause us, so I hope you can go and see if there are any abnormalities among the 'people' in that city."

When Harlan emphasized the word "people," it seemed that he had some clues but didn't explain them for some reason.

"I'll have my other priests bring you the detailed information, and the Holy Knights will also assist you this time. Cross, you can leave first, there's someone waiting for you at the north gate of the temple."

"Okay, then I'll take my leave."

Cross reluctantly performed a priestly ceremony and left with Eve. Although he didn't show it on his face, he was surprisingly excited. The "material" that he had been clueless about had found another lead, albeit uncertain information was better than no information at all.

Leo... the day when the girl is resurrected may not be far away.