Chapter 17: Follow Up

"Let me take care of him now! It will be quick and clean!" Nicola said as she tried to attack again, but I held her back.

"Don't be rash. Let True Church handle this properly since they are professionals!" I said.

"But he..." Nicola looked at the landlord on the ground and hesitated before sighing reluctantly under my persuasion. She went back to sit next to Cyra.

"Take this blasphemer back to the church!" Selene waved to her followers. Two of them came forward and dragged the landlord out of the room.

The influence of True Church ran deep in Astralrealm Kingdom. With Selene's command, the landlord's fate was sealed.

"What will you do next? You shouldn't stay here anymore! Why not come stay at our Preston Cathedral for a few nights? As for the offender, I guarantee a satisfactory resolution tomorrow!" Selene said gently to the victims.

"Preston Cathedral?" Cyra's mood improved after letting off steam. She perked up at those words curiously.

"Of course, it is the headquarters of True Church in the capital Norvale. You angels will be completely safe there and receive VIP treatment," Selene tempted.

Given their status as victims, Selene spoke gently. But to us, her offer was completely unnecessary.

"It's fine, the landlord is gone. We can just sleep upstairs again. We're leaving town in a couple of days anyway," Nicola declined with a shake of her head. She didn't like churches much. Staying a night or two shouldn't be an issue.

"What, you're leaving again?" Selene was surprised and glanced at me, seeming reluctant.

"Yeah, we need to see the Sages' Alliance for something..." I hesitated, unsure how to explain the complicated developments with my wings turning blue.

Suddenly I felt Cyra's elbow nudge me. She was interested in Selene's offer.

"I don't want to sleep upstairs anymore. Let's go see what their True Church is like. We've been in the outside world for a while but haven't seen it yet!"

"Well..." I was conflicted about which side to take.

Nicola had already rejected the offer, but Cyra seemed interested. I felt conflicted about which side to take.

Although Cyra would be curious about such places eventually, it was very late into the night. Would it be appropriate to go so far away?

"Just accept her offer!" Selene was excited that an angel wanted to visit their church. She quickly persuaded me too.

"Our original purpose coming here was your cheap holy water sales. Without any witnesses, I can't report back," she added.

I rolled my eyes at her excuses. True Church just wanted to recruit angels. With me and Nicola uninterested, she was desperate for an opportunity.

"Holy water? What's that about?" Cyra asked, confused. Selene explained their mission again.

"Fine, she probably misses her lord. Let's accompany her this once. I don't feel comfortable sleeping upstairs after what happened anyway. We're leaving town in a few days," Nicola conceded, considering Cyra's circumstances.

"Upstairs?" I stared at the ceiling and realized our rented room was right above us. No wonder we couldn't find Cyra earlier.

"But don't mention recruitment or I'd rather come back here!" Nicola stated her terms firmly.

"No problem, absolutely won't bring it up again!" Selene readily agreed. She was experienced at this. Her smile at Cyra said it all.

Found a backup huh!

We packed up simply and prepared to leave. One follower discovered the three huge covered water tanks in the backyard that held the leftover holy water from today.

"Leave someone here to guard these. I'll discuss the disposal with the angels and decide later," Selene instructed after thinking about it.

"That's my property, don't you dare take it!" Cyra jumped in to claim ownership.

"Don't worry, True Church won't shortchange you. We'll come up with a plan satisfactory for all," Selene assured, amused by Cyra's greed.

"Even if you kept it all, you couldn't handle that much holy water alone right?" I rolled my eyes again. Her shady dealings with the landlord caused this mess tonight.

"I don't care! Don't forget you're involved too. There's at least a few hundred thousand silvers worth here!" Cyra shot back. Then she ignored me, spread her wings, and flew into the moonlit sky ahead of us.

I stared up at the direction she flew off in. Surprisingly she was going the right way!

"You know where Preston Cathedral is? Wait for me!" I said to Cyra before turning to the guard. "Listen, watch the holy water closely tonight. It's very valuable and might attract thieves. You'll be in big trouble if any goes missing!" I added seriously.

"And no pilfering!" Can't be too careful with the extra income from the landlord's share.

"Don't worry, angel, not a drop will be lost..." The poor follower smiled wryly as I flew off after Cyra.

Selene had Nicola carry her as they followed behind us.