Arc 3 - Chapter 20A: Attack (1/3)

"After you entered the bathhouse, a man named Link Yachi Long came."

He came out of the bath and stood in front of the fireplace to dry his hair.

He liked the smell of the shampoo here. It had the aroma of forest fruits from his world. The shampoo was of much better quality than the ones they had used in Rolderhelm and perhaps comparable to the shampoos in Yu's world.

Sivina and Yurine were not where he left them, but he didn't think they would get lost here. He wasn't going to look like a control freak by panicking and looking for them.

His hair was longer than it used to be, so it took time to dry it. He stood by the fire and tried to dry it using the heat from the fireplace, but he had no idea how long it would take to dry it completely. He might have to attend dinner with wet hair.

"Tch," Yu clicked his tongue at Ana. "He's stuck, he won't let go."

If he saw him one more time he might throw up. He was with him half the day and he was uncomfortable with him following them around like this. Even now he was afraid that he would walk in the door of the room and say he was joining them for dinner.

"You don't have to make a big deal out of this maid thing, Ana. At least when it's just us, you can behave yourself." There were things he wanted to talk to her about. "Sit down."

When Ana sat down in the other armchair opposite the fireplace, Yu looked at her face. Her hair had grown a little longer and made her more beautiful, and her blue eyes were a nice match for her green hair.

"Is she mad at me?"

He thought she and Sivina liked each other. She seemed excited to talk today, but when she was alone with Yu, she became quiet.

"Is he here to pick up the prisoners?"

"Yes."

"Where's Yurine?"

"She gave him the prisoners and sent him away, now she supervises the other workers. Sivina is with her."

It was a relief that Link would no longer be after them. They had no quarrel with him, but he was uncomfortable with the way he suddenly latched onto them. He could have sworn, even proved it, that Link would have dived into the bathhouse in an instant if he had been allowed to.

"Good. Never leave Yurine alone while I'm gone. And be around her when I'm around. And tell Sivina that your current jobs are just an act. Your first job is to protect her, your second job is to listen to me."

"I see, that's what we'll do." She started combing his own hair while Yu continued to watch her. "So, what exactly is our job called?"

"Hmm... Good question." He hadn't thought of a clear job title for them. "Full-time multifunctional beautiful maids with eternal loyalty."

Ana covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled. That's what Yu had intended.

"What I'm saying is a joke, but it really is. That's why the word comrade is most appropriate for you. It's for a cause and I need your help."

He believed first in their loyalty and then in their strength.

"Tonight you and the roarons take turns on guard duty. Tomorrow we will bring more roaron warriors and give them the watch. Of course, you will have to stand guard over them from time to time, you can think of it as supervision. I assume you have gotten used to the watch in Rolderhelm."

Ana nodded, playing with her green hair.

"Get up early tomorrow morning and help Yurine get ready. In the morning there will be an honorary ceremony for her mother's funeral. In the evening Yurine will be made Cardinal of Virgo. At night we will be baptized, and when we are baptized we will become official members of the Virgo Cathedral."

"Is special preparation necessary for baptism?"

"No, we just kneel in front of her. Then Yurine will wash our face and hands."

The baptism ceremony was simple and involved washing one's face and hands and symbolically cleansing them of their past sins.

"From then on, Sivina will be a Knight of Virgo. The first of the Virgo Knights, sounds good." He thought it was a cool title. "How about you? My offer still stands."

"I still don't think I'm qualified to be a knight, but thank you for the honor."

"I am sure you can defeat most knights, not all of them are as strong as Sivina. Maybe with your wind magic you can even take on Sivina."

"I can't achieve such things with just a sword."

"Is the sword compulsory?"

In Rolderhelm it was not a requirement for people to be good with the sword to become knights.

One did not even need to be a warrior or a sorcerer to become a knight; proving oneself worthy in some way could be enough to become a knight.

"With your wind magic, you can defeat many sword-wielders. There is a possibility that you can also defeat the Roarons. I say possibility because I don't know your full power, but maybe you can defeat them easily."

Melee weapons against magic were like pistols against knives in Yu's eyes. Maybe warriors with superior skills could take on mages, and maybe some of them could defeat them easily, but usually the sword versus magic battle ended with the mages heavily favored.

"It's not the same for wizards around here, though."

Although mages were far more powerful than most warriors, it was rare to find anyone here who could use magic well.

Rolderhelm attracted mages from all over the world, but it was not every day that one encountered mages in other countries, and even when they did, they were usually weak.

One of the things that made Rolderhelm so powerful and untouchable, despite its small size, was the power of mages. While the armies of other countries would charge with spears in hand, Rolderhelm's army would finish off the enemy before they even got close. The enemy armies were frustrated, just as they would be if they ran with sword and spear against an army armed with cannon and musket.

Mages could change the fate of battles and therefore the fate of great wars, but it was usually Rolderhelm who was powerful enough to do so.

It wasn't just about being accepted into the Wizarding Academy, getting a better education and becoming more powerful.

Rolderhelm was a modern state and was constantly working to provide a better life for its citizens. The mages who went there wanted to stay and live a better and better quality of life after they finished their studies at the academy.

Powerful mages could become rich and respected anywhere, it was easy for them to settle for high status, but Rolderhelm was always more attractive.

Because Rolderhelm was not only rich, the people there made life more bearable. Almost all the people in Rolderhelm could read and write, and thanks to the schools in Rolderhelm, many of them had a certain level of culture.

Living with such people was a much preferable option to living with people who were superstitious and obsessed with Zodianism.

There were also rumors all over the world that the girls in Rolderhelm were beautiful, and one of the reasons why many men wanted to go there was to marry a girl from Rolderhelm and start a new life as a citizen there.

In the end, it was often the low-level mages who stayed in other countries, as the powerful or average mages with potential went to Rolderhelm.

This lowered and lowered the average power of mages and emphasized the sword. If Ana were to face a random mage in this country, he or she would probably think she was unjustifiably powerful and Yurine divinely powerful.

But they were both average compared to Rolderhelm's mages.

"And if you make me a knight, I'll think it's for the sake of our friendship. If I am to gain such status, I want to earn it."

"I love your honesty."

Ana averted her eyes at Yu's compliment and spoke quietly while scratching her cheek.

"Thank you."

Yu wiped his hair one last time with the towel, combed it again and put the comb and towel on the corner of the sofa, thinking that there was no need to play with his hair anymore.

"I wonder if Sivina has tried to draw the Morning Sword?"

"N-no... Why do you ask?"

"I tried today and failed. I thought it would be great for us if Sivina managed to shoot it. The cathedral would be famous."

The Morning Knight Sivina Ecues, coupled with her charisma, would have suited her well for this position.

"She wanted to try, but they wouldn't let her."

"Oh, we had to ask permission?"

The thought of it being taken by someone unwanted could have caused problems. So it was natural that not everyone was allowed to try it.

"But I don't want Sivina to try. Sivina must remain my Sivina."

Yu looked into her blue eyes, there was a possessive glint in them.

"If she becomes a Morning Knight, can't she be yours?"

"Morning Knights leave their names. That's why none of them have names, they are all called Morning Knights."

"I see."

He didn't want to come down on Ana and expose her yandere side. He was not going to interfere in their relationship. Still, if Sivina could draw that sword, he would want her to do it.

"Let me ask you something, what happened when you came here? What did you discuss with the Pontifex and Leoral?"

"When we arrived here, we first searched for the Virgo Cathedral, where Duke Vermilia and his entourage were staying."

"At the Virgo Cathedral?"

It was a small place for a duke. It was the center of the sect he supported, but he still didn't think he would stay here.

"Yes, in fact, when we arrived, it was the duke's men who greeted us, not the cathedral servants. We introduced ourselves and said we had news from Neko, as you said."

Yu had asked them to use the name Neko instead of Yurine. It would have been better for them to keep the name Yurine among themselves.

"And then?"

"We... We told Duke Vermilia that the old cardinal is dead."

She finished his sentence, fell silent and looked at the fire burning in the fireplace. The corners of her eyes softened, as if she regretted giving that news.

"He was not in a good condition when we came here." Ana forced herself to keep talking. "So it can't just be us."

"If you want, think about what you want to say and prepare yourself, I'll wait."

He would have preferred to receive his words in one go rather than in installments, such a report would have been more understandable. When she had gathered her main words, she continued speaking.

"When we came here we found out that Vermia had fallen. The Duke was already in a bad way, but we had to break the news, you know. We didn't know he would be like this when we broke the news."

"Vermia fell? How did we not hear about it?"

Vermia was the center of the region ruled by the Vermilia Family and was a large city in a strategically important location west of Jade Lake.

The Zodian lands were divided into two parts, the western and the eastern. As the kingdom stood between these two parts, communication was difficult and only the sea route was used to transfer goods and goods.

The Zodianists' next plan, to connect the Zodian lands and separate the northern and southern territories of the kingdom, was to use Vermia as their headquarters, but with the fall of this city, they could no longer carry out their plan.

The worst thing for Yu and Yurine was that the Virgo Cathedral's only supporter had lost his land. If Leoral lost his power, his support for the cathedral would lose its value, and the duke needed to get his land back, but he was too old to do so.

"This is being kept secret from the public," Ana said. "They don't want to demoralize the public."

"I see. The Germans thought they had won until the Russians entered Berlin."

Ana didn't understand Yu's example from her world and returned to the subject.

"So... When we broke the news that the Cardinal was dead, he couldn't stand any longer."

"I understand."

He had then moved to the Andromeda Church for the treatment of Leoral, that was the rest of the story and he didn't need to hear it to know it. He didn't see the need to force Ana, who was upset when he told it.

"While they were taking Leoral, we went with them to the Cathedral of Andromeda, where we were met at the entrance by the Pontifex himself."

"The Pontifex welcomed you? He didn't even let me in," he said and thought, "Does he favor the girls? Is he a womanizer?"

Why would the leader of the country welcome two foreign girls who had no status worth mentioning? It had to be just a coincidence.

"The Pontifex was waiting for us, he spoke to us after taking care of Leoral. We gave him the news and he gave us permission to stay here."

"He's been waiting for you. Hmm... I wonder if the Andromeda Blessing allows him to see the future."

If he had such an ability, the reason for the empty Andromeda Church would be his knowledge that he would not be assassinated. So why did Link say that the church wasn't like this before?

"How can I fight against someone who knows what will happen in the future if we make enemies with him?"

He made a mental note to make plans for it when he had free time to think about it.

"Leoral has a son, Cecilus. Have you ever seen him?"

Ana nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, he was here when we arrived, but the day after we arrived he left the city in a hurry."

"Did he run away?"

"With his father on his deathbed? He looks like a very good son."

"He went to Virgo, where his sister Cornelia was gathering an army. They must be in siege now."

Had Cecilus left the city to help his sister? Or had he really gotten scared and run away? What could he have been afraid of? It was just a girl and a butler.

"One last thing, where is the gold I gave you? If the Vermia family is in trouble, we need that gold, we can survive with it."

He hadn't asked since he arrived, he wanted to know where the gold was and if possible to see it.

"Don't worry, it's safe down to the last coin. It's all in the cathedral safe. I've come to invite you to dinner, I can take you there after dinner."

"I was sure they were safe, I trusted you. If I didn't, I wouldn't want to go on such a dangerous journey with you."