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• [Adventurer] GrimV
• [Adventurer] The orc warrior 261
• [Mercenary] Tafadzwa Kungwengwe
I would also like to welcome "Logan Wayne" as a [Free Member].
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7:13 a.m.
Novus 1, 3023 A.M., day of Westar.
Splat, splat, splat…
Rain poured down on a cloudy morning while a person donned in a white cloak with a suitcase on their hand was trudging down a muddy road, their black boots making splatting noises with each step.
That person was none other than Vivian.
Ugh…
Why…?
Why did it suddenly rain…?
Just my fucking luck…
She looked at people and animals around her.
There was a long line of carriages, people riding land mounts and etc. At the front of the line was the south gate of the first wall or outer wall of the Holy City.
The Holy City was composed of 3 rings.
The first ring was the outer wall.
Between the first and second ring was for the general public.
Between the second and third ring was where the well-off Priest and non-Priest families lived.
And within the third ring was where the Temple of Priests Palace was located.
With each animal that Vivian passed by, they all unsurprisingly went into a frenzy. And although Vivian remained unfazed by the animals and the people trying to calm their animals, she was prepared in case on decided to attack her.
It followed me here…
The treasure, monster or whatever it is, followed me here…
What is happening to me…?
I already have to deal with my [Nemesis of Beasts]…
I'm also dealing with my blood turning blue if I don't eat a blueie every few days…
I also need to deal with my hair and nails growing like crazy…
And I now I can no longer run using my full speed because some treasure, monster or whatever goddamn thing is following me…
And those are just the personal, internal or secret problems that I have to deal with…
I have yet to count the external problems…
When Vivian finally reached the gate, there were several Guards and there was also a Priest and a Priestess, along with non-Priest employees sitting inside a booth.
Vivian calculated inside her mind.
Okay…
I'll play along for now…
The Priest and Priestess inside the booth were each busy entertaining a person and Vivian waited at the corner.
A Guard approached her.
"Excuse me, Honored Priestess Inquisitor."
Vivian turned to him.
"Tell the Brother and the Sister over there that I'm Sister Inquisitor Monad and I have been called to the Inquisitory Division Headquarters by the Chapter Master of the Inquisitory Division. And if they or anyone has a problem with it, tell them to report it to the Chapter Master of the Inquisitory Division," she said and then resumed walking.
Yeah…
I change my mind…
I don't have time for this shit…
I just want to take a bath and change into a fresh set of warm clothes as soon as possible…
***
9:01 a.m.
Main Office Building, Inquisitory Division Headquarters, Holy City.
Ka-cha!
An office door opened and Vivian stepped in.
Ku-chud.
As she closed the door behind her, she landed her gaze on Pen, who was sitting behind his desk. She made her way to his desk and then saluted.
"I'm here as you requested."
Pen nodded and then gestured with his hand to the two vacant chairs in front of his desk.
"May the God of Light always watch over you as well, Sister. And please, have a seat."
Vivian sat down. However, she didn't say anything.
"I believe that you have so many questions that you want to ask. But before we touch on those questions, allow me to say this first:
"Congratulations on a job well done in handling the case at She'kel Village and your reward is 1 Holy Crusade Point and 5,000 Holy platinum coins. The Holy Crusade Point has already been added to your records, while the 5,000 Holy platinum coins, you can claim it at the Treasury's Office."
Vivian's brows knitted behind her full-mask.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"What do you mean?"
"You sent me there and then you pull me out?"
"I've heard what happened. And if I let you continue being there, it would only be a matter of time before a war would erupt in the Village and you would also be slapped with multiple lawsuits, and most of them would be for violating the DG International Laws."
"Then what is the point of being an Inquisitor?" Vivian asked.
"During your time in She'kel Village, I believe you've finally realized how Inquisitors are treated. Those who are from lower-status backgrounds are compliant, while those from high-status backgrounds are not.
"And as I've already mentioned in the past, the reason why I made a pact with you to remain in the Inquisitory Division is to bring back the glory of the Inquisitory Division and to also fix the trajectory of where our Temple has been heading for a couple of generations now.
"You saw it, right? You've had a taste of it, right? That is what most of our Brothers and Sisters have become. Most of them have become no different from the Royals and the Aristocratic Nobles.
"Right now, with the current state of our Temple, there are only 2 ways if you want any of our Brothers and Sisters from the higher echelons of society to listen and comply with the rules and regulations: The person ordering them must have a higher status compared to them or be overwhelmingly powerful.
"That is the bitter and painful truth of the current state of our Temple."
"So you want me to be something like an executioner?" Vivian asked.
Pen leaned back on his chair.
"Not exactly. If my goal was simply to have an executioner, I would've recruited someone old from the Infantry Division. What I need is someone like you: young, intelligent and talented, but also decisive in implementing the rules and regulations of our Temple."
"Would it always be like this?"
"Like what?"
"You will send me to Field Mission, I will strictly implement the rules and regulations, and then when it gets too bloody, you will remove me?"
Pen shook his head.
"Of course not -- at least for the time being.
"It has been a very long time since an Inquisitor like you has appeared in our Temple. And right now, everyone is still in shock, unsure of what to do.
"If I let you continue being there until the very end, it would only create more problems. So right now, the best course of action is to let that short experience that the people of She'kel Village experienced to spread the story all over.
"It's like nursing a starving person. If you feed a starving person who hasn't eaten for days with a full meal, they would die. You need to feed them with soft food in the beginning, like soup. And as the days go by, you also start to slowly add solid food to their meals until they can finally eat a proper solid, full meal."
Vivian remained silent.
"You're not satisfied with the arrangement?" Pen asked.
"You want an honest answer? I feel nothing."
Pen nodded.
"I understand," he said and then paused for a moment. "I have a question, Sister. And feel free to ignore it if you don't feel comfortable answering it."
Vivian continued to remain silent.
"Is it really true that you defeated Brother Naaman?"
As far as Pen knows, Naaman had 3 True Magic Art Affinities. And at his age, he has already long mastered all of his Magic Art Affinities.
Vivian folded her arms.
"The families in She'kel Village are usually part of either the Infantry Division or the Exploratory Division. The Nummi family, in particular, is a High-Tier Noble Priest Family. And its members are usually part of the Exploratory Division.
"I don't know what age he retired from the Holy Crusade. However, if there's one thing I know, there's a huge difference between training experience and fighting experience.
"But even if he wasn't part of the Exploratory Division, and was instead part of the Infantry Division back in his youth, it has probably been a very long time since he's been in a real battle.
"That is why I was able to defeat him."
"You're constantly in battles, sister?" Pen asked.
Vivian's eyes turned to slits behind her mask.
This guy…
This old bastard…
Too sly…
She let out a snort as she turned her head to the side.
"I don't have any other questions to ask you, sister. But if you have other questions, you can ask me. However, if you also don't have, you're free to leave, submit a report of your Field Mission in She'kel Village and then claim your Field Mission reward before you can finally return to your station. You must also submit the unfinished investigative report and the Memory Crystal related to the True Death Murder Case of Sister Bithiah."
Can I ask him about the treasure, monster or whatever that has been following me…?
But this old bastard is too sly…
I'd be a complete fool to trust him…
She suddenly remembered something.
He got me…
He really got me…
Now that I think about it, the deal I made with him about asking any information I want from him is pointless…
With his brains, he could immediately piece things together whatever I was planning to do, currently doing, or have done…
Why didn't I think about that…?
How could I ever miss that…?
I mean, this is a Chapter Master of the Inquisitory Division…
That alone should've told me…
She clenched her jaw.
It was literally right under my nose…!
And then relaxed her jaw.
I totally lost on that deal without even realizing it…
She turned her gaze to him.
"I have no other questions."
Is it possible to renegotiate…?
Pen nodded.
"I see."
Vivian got up from her seat.
He'll only demand more…
And then saluted.
And I don't have anything new that I'm willing to reveal and present to the table…
***
9:40 a.m.
Vivian stepped out of the Main Office Building.
She swept her gaze around her surroundings for a moment, observing the masked people passing by, gold lamps illuminating the streets and buildings, and the jagged shadows on the ceiling of the cavern.
She returned her gaze to ground level and touched her full-mask.
I should've worn my half-mask…
I want to eat the pie that I usually order…
There was an eatery that Vivian frequented and orders from whenever she was here at the headquarters, and serves a couple of different pie recipes. But there was one particular pie recipe she favored the most, which was basically just a simple ground meat pie filled with lots of mushrooms and some spices.
Vivian began walking and let out a sigh.
The eatery didn't have any private rooms…
Well, I'll just buy order 3 large pies as usual, and then come back to pick them up after I'm done with my first business, and then eat them in my room…
I'll also need to pick up some water and wine later…
***
9:50 a.m.
Vivian stopped in front of a two-story building.
Sniff, sniff.
She sniffed and then her lips broke out into a small smile before her full-mask.
That familiar smell…
She stepped inside the building.
Given the very limited available space of the entire underground cavern where the Inquisitory Division's headquarters was located, the inhabitants, especially the non-Priest people, had to be creative.
The width of the two-story building was only a little over 4 meters. And outside of the building, there were 3 small round tables and chairs on the sidewalk for people to sit in and eat.
At the moment, 2 of the tables were occupied. The first table was occupied by a young couple between the ages of late teens and early 20s, drinking tea and eating pies. Meanwhile, the second table was occupied by an old man who was enjoying a cup of tea while watching his 5-year-old nephew playing in the middle of the street with what looked like a wooden carved bird and a wooden carved Draghorn.
Carriages, Karfaxes or any form of transportation wasn't allowed in the headquarters. Here, everyone walked, or carried things if they needed something to carry, so the streets were safe for children to play in.
And of course, everyone wore a mask. The young couple and the old man wore a half-mask. Meanwhile, the little boy wore a full-mask, but it was slightly moved over his head. Moreover, since they weren't part of the Temple of Priests or special visitors, their masks didn't have any sun symbol on their foreheads.
The young couple noticed Vivian and offered a slight bow.
"Honored Priestess Inquisitor."
Vivian turned to them and nodded before stepping inside the building.
On the first floor was the eatery, which was basically just a counter divided into two parts; the left side was where the owner could entertain customers, while on the right side was a shelf where the owner could showcase the pies and other food available. And beyond the counter was a small open door that was only covered with a curtain, where the kitchen and also the bedroom of the owner were located.
Further from the shelf of food to the right, there was a flight of stairs that led to the second floor, where a shop that specializes in repairing non-weapon and non-Magic Items was located.
The counter is empty…
Ding!
Vivian approached the counter and then pressed a bell.
"Coming!" a young female voice announced behind the curtain.
A few seconds later, the owner of the young female voice from earlier emerged from the curtain. It was a woman in her early 20s. And when she saw Vivian, she immediately fixed her mask and straightened her back before approaching the counter, and then lowered her head.
"Welcome back, Honored Priestess Inquisitor Monad," she said and then raised her head. "Would you be ordering the usual?"
Vivian raised an eyebrow behind her mask.
"You recognized me?"
The woman nodded.
"Of course! Even if you change your hair, your clothes is something I'll never forget!"
"I see. Yes, I'll be ordering 3 extra-large Ground Meat Mushroom Pies and add a lot of mushrooms as usual. I'll pick them up later once I'm done with my other errands. What time would they be ready?"
"They'll be ready in an hour, Honored Priestess Inquisitor."
"The place seems quiet right now. Is it just you here?"
The woman nodded.
"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor. My mother is currently helping with cooking for an engagement party."
"Oh, nice."
The woman nodded.
"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor."
Vivian didn't mind talking to the owners of the shop for 2 reasons. The first one, she liked their pies. And the second one, they don't throw in a sob story and they're also respectful enough not to make it a very big deal whenever she talks to them.
"I'll be back in an hour to pick up the pies," Vivian said and then casually waved her hand as she turned and walked away.
The woman lowered her head.
"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor Monad, and thank you!"
When Vivian stepped out of the building, she stood for a moment and let out a sigh of relief.
Now time to check the weapon shop…
She resumed walking.
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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