Page 142

Anlesa found their time to strike and escape over the wall, but now it was time for a hunt to begin.

[Why are they out so late...] (Luna)

[What are you musing about?] (Syrus)

[It is simply the case that leaving during the night is strange, and the fact that the process happened so easily means the guards were informed of it beforehand.] (Luna)

[Could be one of those secret mission things, or she just wants to get blackout drunk.] (Syrus)

[That's...] (Eva)

[There should be plenty of wine and a private room for her to do that in the church if she wished.] (Luna)

Private rooms and alcohol were something she knew the church had a good stockpile of.

The reasoning wasn’t just for drinking, as Luna quickly explained.

Many types of ceremonies were used where they either drank, burned, or poured on the ground.

They also kept a large supply in case the drinking water supply ever got contaminated again.

There were far from enough people with Water attributes to create a supply of drinking water to meet demands.

Although many people did take some of the supplies to enjoy themselves.

[Well, wine is good, but she could want a good beer instead.] (Syrus)

[Does this have to be alcohol related?] (Eva)

[Haha.] Syrus didn’t give a clear reply.

They followed Berlean throughout the city, staying far out of sight. Thanks to Syrus’s hearing, they could track her movements to an extent without being in sight range.

The city was mostly quiet, as people in Kelopan weren’t ones to stay up late due to the church’s teachings.

[Are we sure... that killing her now is the best option?] (Eva)

[Yes.] (Syrus)

[But what if she was supposed to return by a specific time? What are we supposed to do then?] (Eva)

[There is a minimum negative for us. The first thing they would need to do is find the body; next, they would have to investigate. Both those activities are mighty time-consuming.] (Syrus)

[Still... at the moment, they aren’t looking for anything, if we alert them, then they will be. It is already hard not to be suspicious around the priests, but what if the church’s knights get involved.] (Eva)

[That is what we call a calculated risk.] (Syrus)

[Huh..?] (Eva)

[It’s… probably for the best if we do this now. Even if it reduces our time in the city, we already don’t want to be here for long anyway.] (Luna)

[I… guess that’s true.] It was hard for Eva to stomach this risk; she felt it was too much up to chance and others' reactions. She was a stranger to probability, but she didn’t feel the odds were in their favour, and she trusted Syrus.

[If the worst does come to pass, then we just have to adapt.] (Syrus)

[Adapt…] (Eva)

Eventually, Berlean left the city, which made it harder for Anlesa to follow her. There was a great deal less cover, so being spotted became far more likely, and being spotted in the open was far more concerning than being spotted in the city.

What followed was a very slow stalk as Syrus manoeuvred after Berlean. She wasn’t wearing protective gear, just her standard robes.

[Sneaking is really not my forte…] (Syrus)

[You are skilled in it.] (Luna)

[That compliment doesn’t make me feel good.] (Syrus)

They reached a rock formation that Berlean took a seat at.

[It appears she is waiting for someone.] (Syrus)

[Do we go now…?] (Eva)

[No, best to see who is coming, as we might as well learn some information first.] (Luna)

They had managed to position themselves in shrubbery in the forest line near the rock formation. There was about a thirty-metre gap between them and their target, but it was close enough for Syrus to hear them and whoever decided to show up.

[Are we cursed?] (Eva)

After waiting for about twenty minutes, and nearly debating killing the person outright, the person the priest was waiting for arrived–Joseph Sunrise Dawn Starcaller.

[Likely.] (Syrus)

[...Really?] (Eva)

[She is just joking, don’t worry, Lilly.] (Luna)

Joseph waved and prayed as he walked to Berlean, and she responded with hand greetings.

[Doesn’t this complicate the situation?] (Eva)

Eva was worried. Killing one of them might be easy with a sneak attack, but both? Even after their victory over Joseph last time, Eva still believed he had to be strong to be a saint of the church.

[No… this is actually perfect…] (Luna)

[Huh..?] (Eva)

[Wait, do you want to kill Jose–oh I get it, yeah, no, that works well.] (Syrus)

[What am I missing?] (Eva)

[If we kill Berlean and keep Joseph alive, all while disguised as what’s the name?] (Syrus)

[Eliana.] (Luna)

[All while disguised as Eliana, what’s Joseph even supposed to do?] (Syrus)

[Tell his superiors that a ghost killed Berlean?] Eva responded with confidence, too much confidence.

[Eva… do you think ghosts are real?] (Syrus)

[There is not enough evidence to deny their existence, so I am open-minded to the topic.] (Eva)

[Okay… well most people don’t, and I bet they were already iffy on the whole Eliana back from the dead thing and haunting the church. So, what will happen is no matter what, the church is going to be in a right old mess.] (Syrus)

[Either they believe him and try to go on a ghost hunt, they don’t and believe Joseph killed Berlean, or Joseph keeps the information to himself in fear of the second possibility.] (Luna)

Joseph spoke first, “Thank thy for coming tonight.”

“How am I supposed to deny a request from my saint?”

He said, “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

As they spoke, there was a certain tension in the air. Not exactly hostile, but not far from it either.

[So… is this his girlfriend? (Syrus)

[I… don’t think so? Too much tension, but they certainly have history, not necessarily romantic.] (Luna)

[Yeah… I am going to agree. Certainly a history.] (Syrus)

[Isn’t it through tension that a relationship is made?] (Eva)

[Where did you learn that..?] (Syrus)

[Through the story times..?] Eva had no experience in any form of relationship outside the ones she read in Jen’s books.

[We… should find some time to talk about relationships at some point…] (Syrus)

“Though by thy being here, do you believe me?” He asked, pleading.

She said, her arms folded and looking rather exhausted. “I am willing to give you benefit rather than the doubt, but you need to understand that your ramblings sounded like reports of a madman.”

“I–I know that, but the truth is what I saw that day…”

“I get it, but there is not much you can do about it, is there?”

“No… that is correct.” He replied, looking down solemnly.

“Your sister is coming back?”

“That’s what the pope has decreed.”

“Then at least it will be moved off your back.”

He tightened his fist and looked up at Berlean. “Yes, that it will, but I need something to redeem the transgression.”

She sighed, “So you want a part in Alen’s project?”

“Yes, if I may.”

“At least you know you don’t have the right to demand it.”

[Alen…] (Eva)

Alen was the name of the blond priest, according to the children.

Berlean took a moment before continuing. “But I will put in a word for you, while you may not be up to your sister’s level, it would be a waste if this is what causes us to lose another saint.”

“Thank you.” He placed his hand over his heart and bowed.

“I don’t need that level of respect, save it for when needed. We are still a week out from when Alen wishes to go ahead with the showcase, so you will find out at most a day before.”

[I think we have enough information.] (Syrus)

“I understan–”

In a blitz, Anlesa flash-bombed the area with Luna’s Moonlight. Berlean pulled out a dagger from her uniform, and wind began to stir around her, but a Moonlit prism had burst through her chest.

As the purple light from the teleportation faded, a familiar woman to both of them appeared. Surrounded in a moonlight haze.

Luna spoke, “Hello, Joseph, I know it hasn’t been long, but it is good to see that you actually had a friend.”