Divine skill (part 2)

Confronted with Sian's sudden question, Charlotte's expression turned bitter.

It was a commonly known fact that whenever someone awakened a divine skill, the church would catch them. In her excitement, Charlotte seemed to have forgotten this.

Since the church has something that tracks the creator of the phenomenon, even if they hid Orion or took him away, it would only be a matter of time before the church found him.

It is uncertain when the church members would arrive, it could be the next day or even a week later, but it is certain that they will show up at some point.

"I'm not going with them!" Orion said in a firm tone. "I want to use my power to help Lady Charlotte!"

"Well, the church won't give you a choice," Sian said. "Whether you want it or not, they're going to take you away even if it has to be by force."

Clenching his fists in silence, Orion lowered his head.

Seeming to have had an idea, Charlotte said, "I'll ask my father to adopt Orion."

"Normally, since Poutis is a large kingdom and your father is a marquis, your plan would have a reasonable chance of working," Sian said.

Long when Charlotte seemed pleased, Sian poured a bucket of cold water on her hopes.

"Unfortunately, the current situation is anything but normal. Your plan won't work."

Even if the king adopts Orion, the church will monitor him closely to find out about his skill. In Orion's case, since he can already use it, the first thing they will do is a battery of tests.

The capabilities of his skill coupled with the fact that he is still young and can be easily indoctrinated will make them not give up so easily.

Despite Sian's words, Charlotte didn't seem convinced.

"Would they really go that far?"

"If I were in their position, I would go," Illianna said.

"Just because he can create clones?" Charlotte asked.

"If you put your feelings for the children aside and analyze the situation objectively, you will understand the overall scope of the situation," Illianna replied.

His skill presents no threat at the moment, however, if he becomes strong, the situation changes.

It is normal for kingdoms to have small armies of elite soldiers in addition to armies made up of common soldiers. These elite soldiers are powerful warriors who have trained hard and received a lot of support from their respective kingdoms.

"If you were the ruler of a kingdom and had the chance to get a one-man army, what would you do? Better yet, if you found that one person has the potential to match an elite army or something even better, what would you do?"

Confronted with Illianna's words, Charlotte remained silent.

"Like every powerful kingdom, the church also has an elite army, more accurately, an super elite army," Sian said. "From my experience, the church's army is the most versatile and powerful I've seen so far. The reason for that is simple, all the soldiers in that army are divine skill users."

With what they have discovered so far, Orion's divine skill is great, but that is not the limit yet. It is common for divine skills to grow stronger over time. Probably, his shadows might even be able to cast spells that he has learned.

"If I, with my meager knowledge of divine skills, know this, the church with millennia of knowledge should probably desire his skill even more," Sian said. "From what I know, in the Sacra kingdom there are institutions to train people with divine skills and make them stronger."

"How do you know that?" Illianna asked.

What Sian had just said was not common knowledge, as it was not allowed to enter the Sacra kingdom, the kingdom ruled by the church. In order to enter the kingdom, one needs the permission of the pope. But even if one gets a pass, that person will have their movements monitored and the places they can go are limited.

Besides this being to keep the secrets of the church, it is also for the simple reason that if the entrance is free, a plethora of people will want to move there.

"I paid them a little visit," Sian replied.

"Wait, so the little disagreement you said you had with the church was because you trespassed on their territory?"

"I was just curious," Sian shrugged. "Besides beating up some paladins, I didn't do anything major."

With the brief silence that took over the room, the stares on Sian made him feel as if he was a child who did something wrong.

"Ahem!" clearing his throat, Sian continued, "Anyway, the church will certainly be willing to invest a lot in Orion. During my time there, I haven't seen any skills similar to his, but I know they place more importance on people with combat-oriented skills. I believe they would put tons of resources into making him strong and developing his skill."

"I can easily imagine that happening," Illianna agreed. "Just imagine someone like Sian with a skill like that."

"In fact, Orion is a potential war machine," Sian stated.

Hearing about his possible future, Orion looked helpless. He wasn't the only one, overwhelmed by the amount of information she received, Charlotte remained silent as she stood with her head bowed.

"Don't worry!"

The one who broke the silence was none other than Agnes. Grabbing Sian's shirt from behind, she climbed on his back.

Reaching up to his head height, she supported one leg behind his back and slung the other over his right shoulder. Holding tightly to his hair, she pointed at Orion.

"Don't forget, Papa is a hero! He'll beat up anyone who comes to get us."

Nodding his head, Sian was about to confirm her words, but then he received a piercing look from Illianna that made him carefully rethink his words.

"Ahem, even though Orion is my student, he is still under Charlotte's guardianship. If she agrees to have the church take him, I'll stay out of it, but if she doesn't want to, as a friend, I'll naturally help."

"But that would bring trouble for you."

Although she wanted to help Orion, Charlotte seemed concerned about involving Sian.

"I have my means," Sian said with a confident look.

Bowing ninety degrees, Charlotte said, "Please lend me your help."

"You don't have to go that far," Sian held out his hand to her. "We're friends, right? Of course I will help you. Although we don't know how many days it will take for the church members to arrive, you will have my help at this time."

***

Back at the hotel terrace, even though the skill acquisition was already over, the dark clouds in the sky, though less dense, still remained. They would probably dissipate by dawn.

"Where's Emily?"

"She's inside the house, you can go play with her."

Before Sian had even finished speaking, Agnes had already rushed to find Emily.

"So, does that mean you're adopting another one?" Illianna asked.

"Nop," Sian denied.

As he was leaving the orphanage, Agnes clung to his leg and wanted follow to play with Emily who didn't go there this night. Since it wouldn't hurt to let her sleep one night, Sian got Charlotte's permission and took her with him.

"You shouldn't confront the church," Illianna warned. "I feel bad for Orion and Charlotte, but I don't think it's worth going against the church. Besides, it shouldn't be so bad if he goes to church. With his skill, I'm sure he'll have a good life."

"I know what I'm doing," Sian said nonchalantly. "Just relax and watch."

Sighing, Illianna seemed to have given up on convincing Sian and changed the subject.

"How was it with the cover-up of the disappearance of the slaves?"

"All went well and now they are slaves without a master."

"That's good, now let's work it out with them."

Following Illianna, Sian went to a waiting room with Illianna and there he found the redheaded woman from before. With her sitting on one side, the two of them sat on the opposite side of the coffee table.

Being the first to break the silence, Sian faced the woman and said, "If you and your companions want to live, then do as I say."

Probably not expecting those words, her expression stiffened.

"No, no, you stay out of it and I'll take care from here on," Illianna interjected before Sian could say anything else, "Forget what he said. My proposal is this, if you guys work well, you'll gain freedom. Obviously it won't be that easy, but while you are in the condition of slaves, you will get paid for your work. In the future, when you have enough money and meet the necessary requirements, you can buy your own freedom.

Although she heard Illianna's words, the woman seemed apprehensive.

"I know it sounds suspicious, but it is my intention. Of course, I still have one condition, you must throw away your current identity. To the federation, you are dead people."

Watching only as a spectator, Sian understood Illianna's intention. Even if they all buy their own freedom in the future, she isn't afraid of them leaving the hotel since if they are discovered, the federation is likely to come after them again. However, if they remain in the hotel of the person who dared to break into the federation and rob them, they will be safer.

Although Sian didn't find this method as effective and reliable as the way he used with the former mercenaries, he chose not to interrupt.

After receiving the proposal from Illianna, the woman, whose name is now Kristy, did not hesitate to accept the proposal.

With Kristy leaving the room to be led to her companions, Sian leaned back on the couch and asked Illianna, "Why go to all this trouble when we can just force them?"

"I believe it is better to have them on our side willingly. They will work harder if the right incentive is used."

"Alright then, I'll leave it to you, I will make you their master tomorrow morning."

"Me?" Illianna asked.

"Yeah, you offered to do that, remember?"

"Yes, but I thought they would be my slaves in name only."

"Honestly, I'm a terrible liar in front of Ophi, so I'll leave it entirely up to you."

Leaving Illianna behind, Sian went home and the first thing she saw was Emily and Agnes playing tag in the living room.

Seeing the smile on Emily's face, Sian thought again about Agnes' request. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring her to live with them.

That night, Sian also discovered another factor in favor of Agnes' request. With her there, Emily had the courage to go to sleep in her own room.

Thanks to that, Sian had more time to have fun with Ophi.