Chapter 179: Investigation

"What do you want?" Muria stopped and turned to the High Priest.

"Attacking the temple is tantamount to provoking our Dawn Church," the High Priest said cheerfully, without a trace of anger, "You must pay for this act, or you will become an enemy of our church."

"You should guess why I attacked your temple," Muria responded indifferently. To him, the threat of a powerful deity-worshipping church was insignificant... well, for now.

"I understand that perhaps the guards' words or actions were inappropriate, angering you. But that's no reason for you to storm into the temple, knock down all the priests and guards, and drag me out."

Muria remained silent, acknowledging that perhaps he had acted rashly. The fault lay with the four temple guards, not the High Priest or other temple personnel.

"Golden dragon sorcerer, you must make amends for your mistake."

"How do you propose I do that?" Muria looked at the High Priest, who clearly had a plan in mind.

"Join our Dawn Church, and we can pretend today's incident never happened," the High Priest suggested with a smile, confident in his approach. "If you refuse and don't join, I will report this to the higher authorities of our church. From then on, you will be an enemy of the Dawn Church."

"Ha!" Muria laughed and walked away, "Then go ahead and report. I'll await your church's retribution."

Joining a deity's church as an enforcer? In his dreams.

"As expected, you refused." The High Priest wasn't surprised, given Muria's calm and indifferent demeanor and his equipment and manner of speaking.

The High Priest had reason to believe Muria came from a powerful faction, one not weaker than their Dawn Church. Otherwise, he couldn't imagine a powerless wanderer daring to attack the temple of the Dawn Lord, let alone remain calm after hearing his threats.

Was it purely out of a sense of justice? Unwilling to see a sibling pair wronged, he risked becoming an enemy of one of the world's most powerful forces to help them? That would be foolish.

Only those backed by a significant power could afford such bold actions. To them, what seemed like a life-threatening situation to ordinary people was trivial, as their backing would resolve everything.

"Wait." As Muria turned to leave, the High Priest called out again, "Since you're unwilling to join our church, let it be. If you do one thing for us, I'll consider today's incident as if it never happened and won't pursue it further. How about that?"

"What is it?" Muria eyed the High Priest suspiciously, noticing his constant attempts to probe him. Especially after confirming his alignment, the High Priest's probing became more blatant.

"A matter that is somewhat troublesome for our church in the Hundred Leaves Duchy but trivial for you."

"Speak."

"Wait a moment." The High Priest glanced around at the people kneeling due to Muria's dragon's might and the cavalry strewn across the streets, "Let me handle the mess you've made first, then I'll explain in detail. Please wait in the temple for a while."

Realizing that all the temple's somewhat capable clergy were incapacitated by Muria, the High Priest muttered "Bully!" before casting a Cat's Grace spell on himself and heading towards other temples for assistance. He needed to borrow manpower to clean up Muria's mess and explain what had happened.

The defensive barrier's rise and shattering, along with the cavalry's collapse, had plunged Redleaf City into panic. Some nobles were preparing to flee, and the sight of fleeing nobility, coupled with the temple's shattered barrier, spurred a mass exodus, spreading fear among the populace.

As Redleaf City descended into chaos, the High Priest, using his authority, needed to quell the unrest to prevent greater damage...

Seeing the High Priest depart to deal with the aftermath, Muria didn't immediately leave on the giant wolf.

Instead, he approached Zolong, examining his healed hand and slender fingers. Noting Zolong's nervous expression, he asked, "Are you skilled with a dagger?"

"Yes!" Zolong, puzzled by Muria's question, answered truthfully, "At seven, a thief took interest in me because of my hands, saying I was born to be a wanderer."

"Daggers are too delicate." Muria shook his head, "As a man, you shouldn't use such weapons. The thief who took you in said you had the potential to be a wanderer and use daggers. But I think you have a talent for using swords."

"A talent for swords?" Zolong was bewildered, unsure how Muria could know without seeing him in action.

"If you can use a dagger, you can definitely use a sword. Trust me, you have a talent in this area."

"I believe." Zolong nodded emphatically, placing his full trust in Muria...

"Now, take your sister and go home," Muria advised Zolong after their conversation. The temple district was no place to linger.

"Yes."

After Zolong left with his sister, Muria entered the Dawn Temple, casually touring the grand structure important to humans.

Then, finding a quiet room, he passed the time in meditation, waiting for the High Priest to return and explain the favor he needed.

If it was easy, Muria would casually help; if too difficult, he would simply leave. He wasn't afraid of the Dawn Church, but maintaining a friendly relationship was preferable.

...

As dusk approached, the High Priest, exhausted from quelling the city's unrest, returned to the temple and found Muria meditating.

"Investigate a person for us, and today's incident will be forgotten."

"Who?"

"The third-rank Marquis of the Hundred Leaves Duchy, the lord of Varianthi City, Mendoza."

"Varianthi." Muria's eyes narrowed slightly, recognizing the name from a commercial map he had obtained. Varianthi was one of the few cities marked on the map, a famous city in the Hundred Leaves Duchy.

"What's Marquis Mendoza's strength?"

"Golden peak. There are rumors he's advanced to the Soul Intent stage, but we're not sure."

"You can't even confirm that?" Muria frowned, "What do you want me to investigate?"

"We suspect he's consorted with demons from the abyss. This lord might have fallen and become a demon himself."

"Fallen into a demon?" Muria looked at the High Priest oddly, "If that's the case, why doesn't your church use force to purify him?"

"Cough, we can't be entirely sure he's fallen." The High Priest answered awkwardly.

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