Chapter 646: Volume Seventeen: Dark Descends on Earth - Seventeen: White Magic Priest
Boritz and Caru found nothing of value at Bruce Fortress, which seemed as controlled by the Homer as before, or perhaps even more prosperous. The river harbor docks outside the fortress had begun to resume operations, and while it hadn’t reached its peak, there was a noticeable, continuous increase in the number and frequency of ships arriving and departing. The flow of pedestrians and merchant caravans on the floating bridge connecting Leon and Bruce Fortress had clearly increased. Other than the Half-beast soldiers and Elf Clan archers on the fortress walls looking somewhat out of place, everything else appeared quite normal.
The reports of the Undead’s emergence from Homer Philip, by the time they reached the residents near Bruce Fortress, had transformed into ridiculous rumors that nobody believed. They’d never heard of the Undead in their own living space and, though they had a new master, they weren’t willing to let such gossip tarnish Bruce’s reputation. They all depended on the fortress and the fair for their livelihood, especially now that traffic from merchant convoys to and from Leon was on the rise, suggesting to the residents a sign of increasingly better times ahead. In their view, this must be slander and vilification coming from Homer, since they had lost control over Bruce Fortress and were unable to retake it through force of arms, so they wanted to undermine Bruce’s reputation with such despicable means.
"Boritz, what do you think?" After three days without any leads, both Boritz and Caru were somewhat disappointed, and Caru felt a hard-to-explain joy amidst his disappointment. He never believed this remote place had any reason to warrant the Court’s attention, suspecting that accursed Philip wanted to use the Court’s power to discipline a subordinated Lord who wouldn’t submit to his rule. Caru looked down on Philip’s schemes, considering him a fool unworthy of the Church of Light’s regard, despite still being one of the Four Great Lords of the Kingdom of Nicosia.
"Hmm, it looks normal. Our investigations, both overt and covert, have turned up no one who acknowledges that the Undead were ever here. Even if that Komer wanted to cover it up, it’s unlikely he could manage it so thoroughly. However, just because these residents are clueless, doesn’t mean the Undead have never appeared here. I’m beginning to suspect more and more that it was none other than Lord Komer himself who orchestrated the Undead attack on the Homer Army," Boritz’s eyes, dark grey in color, flickered with an odd light.
"Boritz, aren’t you exaggerating a bit? Are you implying Lord Komer is an Undead Mage? Although he’s not of direct noble descent, he comes from the Noble class, and his family, the Reese Family, is significant in Homer. His father, Ramla Reese, is even Philip’s Finance Officer. How could he possibly be an Undead Mage? Besides, it seems unlikely at his age, unless he’s a prodigy, to become an Undead Mage," Caru furrowed his brow in objection.
"That’s exactly the part I can’t figure out. Maybe it’s one of his friends? He was forcibly exiled by Philip years ago. During that time, could he have met..." Boritz also furrowed his brows in thought.
"Boritz, your imagination is running a bit too wild, don’t you think? Sure, it’s not impossible, but it’s highly improbable. How old was he a few years back, and why would he be able to befriend an Undead Mage? We’ve checked here and found no signs of Undead activity, not even a suspicious whiff, and while that’s not conclusive evidence, because they might have cleared any traces, we can’t just leap to assumptions, can we? Why don’t we look at this from another angle? Could it be a ruse by Philip, using someone else’s hand to deal us a blow? Or maybe he’s attributing a Beast or Dark creature attack from the Greenland Forest on his Army to the Undead?" Caru, somewhat dissatisfied with his partner’s wild guesswork, presented another perspective—subconsciously dismissing the possibility in favor of one that did not incriminate a colleague.
"Hmm, Caru, you make a point, but the truth remains elusive. I’ve interrogated several soldiers from the Storm Infantry Corps, and they all mentioned seeing skeletons and Zombies. I don’t think they were lying," Boritz stated firmly, a man not easily swayed in his beliefs.
"Since you think so, yet we can’t find any clues here, let’s head to Leon and Caucasus for a look. Caucasus is where that Lord’s base is. If he’s truly what you suspect, an Undead Mage or has friends who are, I’m confident that they won’t escape our discerning eyes," Caru paused before continuing, "However, Boritz, I think you’re approaching this with a certain prejudgment that might cloud our rationality. I think we should maintain an even-handed approach in our observations and analyses. This place may be remote and I may also find these lowly Half-beasts distasteful, but we represent the Church of Light. We wield significant power, and should we act, we must make it so they are convinced in heart and speech."
Boritz’s brows furrowed deeper in discontent, but he needed to respect his partner. His partner’s words, although not very pleasant, had some validity; he didn’t want to lose the trust and support over this matter.