Page 73

[Luna, you may’ve been right.] (Syrus)

[...] (Luna)

[Syrus…] (Eva)

[I’m adding humour. Otherwise, one of us will explode.] (Syrus)

“Woo…”

Syrus petted the small pup in her arms. “It’s okay, Cobalt.”

Anlesa was currently looking out of an alley at the unwelcome sight that had entered Arisea Station.

A pilgrim of priests for the Aurora Church was walking down the street. Apparently, they had been moving around different countries and cities; their journey began at the central church and was going to end at the main church in the Nevald Kingdom.

[Do… you think they came because of Cobalt?] (Eva)

[No.] (Syrus)

[No.] (Luna)

Syrus and Luna answered at the same time.

The pilgrim had two small splits from the main group, one of which went suspiciously near the area where Ethan lived.

Luna explained, [Based on the known facts, Arisea Station is simply another spot on their journey. Even a report from a commoner about a potentially suspicious or rare animal wouldn’t get them to send a whole pilgrim group out; at most, if it seemed credible, a priest would come. A blessed creature is important to the Aurora Church; it's great for faith marketing, but there is a process for it. Though Cobalt would be a good target for them, he is very marketable and friendly-looking, and when he is older, he would likely grow into a proud wolf look.]

[That’s… good at least…] (Eva)

[They were likely informed, however, so they are just doing a quick check.] (Luna)

[...I’m going to strengthen the barrier.] (Eva)

[Unneeded, but if you must, only by a little bit.] (Luna)

Eva did just that and increased the invisible bubble around Cobalt. This shield did not protect anything but blocked the ambit mana being emitted from Cobalt. It was faint, and normally no one would notice it, but in comparison, no normal creature would release that amount. Humans had to train to release that much mana from their bodies, but this small pup was doing it perfectly.

Instinctually, Cobalt knew this barrier was supposed to protect him. Through the trust he felt in Ethan about her, he stayed quiet and behaved while being carried around, but he really wanted to see Ethan badly.

But the good boy stayed.

Syrus moved into a new spot. It was lunch time, so they went to get something to eat. They went to a popular place on 3rd Street west side, Gery’s Well Grill, a place that specialised in quality meat. Due to that, it was a little pricey, as getting a constant supply of meat was hard, but for people, it was nice to treat themselves.

Syrus was going to enjoy the meat, but she also came here to get leftovers for the pup. The meat here was of good quality, and being a mythic creature meant it would need more energy to grow.

They calmly ordered from the main chef, while asking for a portion of leftovers for the pup to take home.

“Haha, of course.” The owner, Garry, was happy to oblige for a small price. He often sold any scrap meat for cheap after all, it was better than letting it rot.

The pup’s eyes sparkled at the heat and smoke of the meat grilling. “WOwwww Ooo.”

Syrus massaged the pup behind the ear. “Don’t get used to it.”

They sat down to eat, the plan was to be in and out in a reasonable timeframe.

Anna was going to keep Cobalt safe, but their plan wasn’t going to just be hiding in a corner until the trouble passed.

Besides the fact they didn’t have a good corner to hide in–their home being especially off-limits; if Gabby visited and they had Cobalt with them, a hurricane would spawn. Anlesa simply had things she needed to do today. She wasn’t rich enough where she could do nothing productive all day.

Of course, they would stay out of the church’s way regardless. There was no reason to poke the nest with a flaming fork.

While Eva was eating, a drunk man was rambling at one of the nearby tables.

“I heard they even successfully spread the church’s influence to the Magnusterras continent twenty years ago.”

He seemed to be a believer, a trait not shared by most here. People who settled in Arisea Station came here for one reason: money.

And to make the most money, one had to be flexible.

Competition was tight, a customer had multiple options for everything in this city. So an owner who’d turn away customers for malicious reasons was simply asking for a loss in profits. Not to mention rumours of bad attitudes spread, and people who would even pass a bad owner’s criteria might not come due to not wanting to deal with any problems.

In this city, monetary selfishness was also high. There were plenty of people willing to support one another physically and mentally, but financially, it was a different story. So, a service that required donations and didn’t offer anything substantial in the eyes of these people wasn’t going to do well.

Finally, being a trading post between a lot of different cultures, people were mostly friendly to different ideas but also more hesitant about ideologies that denied others.

[Laughable.] (Syrus)

[Syrus?] (Eva)

[Don’t worry, I just heard something funny.] (Syrus)

A heavily armoured hunter at the table across from the first man blabbed, “What are you on about?”

“I could say the same to you? What’s wrong with what I said?!”

“Well, I can say you have never been to the Magnusterras continent.”

“Huh?!”

“Crown Legacy has been the main church for Zoya for centuries, one the biggest countries on that damn continent, and that hasn’t changed.”

“How would you know that?!”

The man laughed, “Because I actually go places, money flows after all. Not to mention every other place has numerous small cliques that would never allow an organisation like Aurora Church to be set up…” The man paused, “Actually I might be wrong about that; they would allow them to set up, just so they could sit back and watch them fall apart.”

“You!” Before the drunkard said anything else, he noticed he was being glared at by everyone. People in Arisea Station didn’t like it when someone caused a ruckus. “...Tich…”

[Food and entertainment, let’s come here again.] (Syrus)

[Only if Cobalt is with us.] (Eva)

[‘Course.] (Syrus)

“Thanks for the food.” Said Eva.

The chief replied, “Paying customers are always appreciated.”

Before Syrus went to the forest to do some gathering, she had a final peek at the band of priests.

In most places, there would be more celebrations, but here there were just a lot of awkward stares considering the fact they decided to slowly walk down the central street. Being a pain for all types of traffic.

She even saw one of the paladins wanting to have a go at Mr Bony Boy but was stopped by one of the priests, who was smart enough to know that causing a fuss here would be a bad idea.

Arisea Station was closer to the collective group of countries that the Aurora Church dominated than the ones it didn’t, so the influence was still noticeable, but there was a night and day difference in comparison to countries like Cancole or especially the Nevald Kingdom.

[Let’s hope they are gone soon.] Eva did not want to keep looking at them.

[They are probably wishing the same.] (Syrus)