Chapter 139
Chapter 139: Traces
***
Theresa gave me a quick rundown of the situation.
Those heretics... it seemed like they'd caught wind of something. The merchants, who weren't supposed to arrive for another 4 or 5 days, had quietly picked up their pace on the road and gotten here ahead of schedule. To prevent them from quietly moving the guguo grass without a word, the Sword of Kanri had people keeping watch on them, but... Theresa wasn't entirely at ease.
"The Sword of Kanri, they haven't dealt with these people before." I followed close behind Theresa as we hurried downstairs, and heard her ask me, "Her Majesty the Queen mentioned you've crossed blades with them before?"
"Yeah, back in the Empire."
"The Empire... I think I've heard some rumors... Can they be killed?"
"They can. You just have to wait, until their strength runs out."
"Is that so." Theresa nodded thoughtfully, "Later on... just in case things come to blows, Sylvia... I'm counting on you."
"Got it."
I understood what she meant.
Looking at the monks following behind us, I could tell they were all on edge.
The Gate of Truth hadn't shown up in the Western Continent for a very long time. The Church had always painted them as extreme, bloodthirsty lunatics, which naturally left people with the kind of terrifying impression you'd get from something feral and savage. These monks were probably encountering them for the first time too, so feeling afraid was only natural. If it actually came to a fight, there wasn't much to count on from them.
She wanted me to understand that.
We walked out of the main building in silence, and at a turn along the path leading to the iron gate, I caught the faint sound of breathing coming from behind the wall... Someone was lying in ambush there!
I reached out and stopped Theresa in her tracks.
"What's—"
She'd barely gotten the words out in confusion before I immediately turned and gestured for her to keep quiet, then pointed toward the wall corner not far ahead. Theresa caught on at once, her brow furrowing slightly.
Was someone trying to block our way...
Whoosh—
The wind roared past my ears, the grass and trees on either side blurring as they flew back, a small figure shot around the corner in an instant, then twisted her body, grabbed hold of the figure hiding behind it, and slammed him against the wall with a thud.
"Urgh—"
"Who are you! ...Huh?"
Slowly making out the face wearing an expression of mild terror — it was Abel.
...This dumb little thief, what was he doing?
Wasn't he supposed to be off with the children doing the prayer ceremony? Why was he here?
I quickly let go and patted down the collar I'd messed up grabbing him: "Sorry, are you alright... What are you doing here?"
Abel didn't say anything, just shook his head on his own. His right hand stretched out toward me. His rough fingers were clenched so tight they'd gone a little pale, but he seemed to be holding something... Was he trying to give it to me?
I instinctively moved to take it, but Abel's hand hurriedly pulled back, and he shook his head at me again.
He seemed a little anxious, like he was holding something back, his blank eyes carrying a look of tension. Then, in a flash, he stuffed whatever it was into my small satchel.
"Don't let anyone see."
Abel whispered that to me, then turned and ran off without looking back.
Weirdo... what was that about?
"Did something happen?"
Theresa came over with a furrowed brow, and then she spotted Abel's retreating figure, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.
"That was... Abel? That child skipped the prayer ceremony, what was he doing around here?"
"He..."
I was about to answer Theresa's question when Abel's words suddenly echoed in my ears. I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head.
"I gave him some candy when I arrived. He just wanted to, say thank you."
"Is that right?" Theresa still looked puzzled even after hearing that, "The prayer ceremony is a ritual for washing away sins and purifying the soul, something that important... how could he just skip it? He's usually such a well-behaved child... Did something happen to him?"
She watched the now-distant figure, then turned her gaze to me, her beautiful blue eyes full of confusion.
"No idea." I shook my head, then urged her along, "Sister Theresa, let's hurry."
"Right, let's go."
She glanced once more in the direction Abel had left, and after a moment broke into a small smile: "That child really is... I'll have to give him a good scolding when he gets back."
............
The same old man opened the gate for us.
Two familiar Church horned carriages were parked outside the iron gate. Theresa and I boarded one of the passenger compartments, and the driver sent it racing at full speed, hurtling all the way to near the city gate. The moment it came to a stop, I saw a hook-nosed man in his 30s striding toward us quickly. From the emblem on his shoulder I recognized him as a member of the Sword of Kanri.
No time for pleasantries, the hook-nosed man got straight to it: "The merchants left not long ago, heading toward the eastern outskirts of the city."
"Did you notice how they got through the checkpoints?" Theresa asked, unable to hold back.
"There was no checkpoint at all." The hook-nosed man replied, his expression dark, "Those merchants didn't even open their cargo crates, they just exchanged a few words with the guards and were waved right through. A man in a top hat met them on the other side."
"A top hat..." I frowned slightly at his words, looking at the man before me, "Did the Sword of Kanri send someone to tail them?"
"The vice-captain took a team and went after them. They'll be leaving resin incense marks on the rooftops along the way, follow me."
With that, he turned and leapt up onto a nearby rooftop.
The horned carriage started moving again.
The hook-nosed man darted swiftly along in the direction of the marks, our carriage following close behind, rattling and jolting through streets and alleyways, until we finally stopped at the edge of an old, sparsely populated street.
The moment I stepped out of the compartment, I saw figures on the rooftop waving at us. Without a word to Theresa, I took 2 running steps, then used Moon Step to jump up onto the roof as well, landing not far from the hook-nosed man.
The uncanny speed of Moon Step clearly gave him a fright, he stared at me with brief astonishment. Crouching low nearby were 2 other people; from the emblems on their shoulders I could tell they were both members of the Sword of Kanri. One of them, a slender-waisted woman with a graceful air... she looked like she'd appeared that night at Victoria's mansion.
The woman saw me and a faint smile broke across her pretty face, her red lips curving into a gentle arc: "Hello there, Miss Sylvia."
I wasn't in the mood for small talk, so I crouched down beside her quickly and asked, "Where are they?"
The woman jutted her chin toward the deep alley in the distance: "Over there."
I followed the direction with my eyes.
The old alleyway wound its way ahead, deep, narrow, and winding. The bluestone pavement was uneven, with some stones jutting up, green grass poking out through the cracks, clearly neglected for a long time. On either side of the alley were old houses, cold and desolate, looking like barely anyone lived there anymore.
At the end of the deep alley, several wooden cargo carts were parked in front of an old building, completely blocking the narrow path. A good number of people in plain, simple clothes stood about in scattered groups chatting, I counted roughly, at least 15 or 16 people. Men made up the majority, but there were women among them too. I even spotted a woman cradling an infant, nursing the baby in her arms without a care for anyone around her.
That made me think back to those merchants who had been burned at the stake in Winter City. I remembered Valarr telling me, just before he died, that most of those people... hadn't even heard the name of the Gate of Truth.
He wouldn't have been lying to me back then.
I definitely need to make the situation clear to Theresa later.
"What about the top hat man?"
"He went inside the building."
"Anyone recognize a familiar face?"
"Not yet."
"Let the people on the other side know, don't make a move yet. Let's see what they're up to."
I heard the brief exchange beside me, and quietly asked her, "Victoria, what did she want?"
"Her Majesty the Queen ordered us to trace where the guguo grass ends up, and see whose hands it ultimately falls into... Her Majesty already has a suspect in mind."
"Who?"
The woman heard that and glanced at me with an amused look.
"Sorry, that I can't say."