[Vol. 8] Chapter 215: Strong People Always Talk in Riddles
The little girl didn’t seem very used to being treated with such respect. She glanced at the priestess and the Sword Saint walking a short distance ahead, and since they didn’t seem to react, she didn’t think too much about it. She simply nodded and said:
“Of course, you don’t need to be so polite, big brother. Just ask whatever you want. But Eudora doesn’t know that much, so I might not be able to answer everything.”
“Alright… Actually, I’ve been curious for a while, have you and Master met before?”
“Hmm…?”
Eudora rested her chin on her hand and thought seriously for a moment. She looked at the Sword Saint not far away, then quickly shook her head.
“I don’t know about Sister Violet and the others, but it’s Eudora’s first time meeting Mr. Bevis.”
“I see… Then, can I ask why all of you came to Saint Laos City?”
“Oh, that. Sister Violet said it’s to investigate a nearby ruin. But I don’t really know the details.”
Since her answer wasn’t much different from what his master had casually told him, Rowan could only nod helplessly.
So it really was just a chance meeting.
To be honest, he didn’t have any other reason for asking. He was just confused about what those two powerful people walking in front were trying to do. Ever since they left the Chaos Magic Valley together and came to Saint Laos City, everything had felt out of control to Rowan. He couldn’t make sense of any of it.
There had been such an intense battle in Chaos Magic Valley. In the center, several kilometers of stone and earth had vanished, leaving a crater hundreds of meters deep. Just thinking about the kind of power needed to cause that kind of destruction was terrifying. Logically, the entire valley should’ve been flattened by the shockwave and become a big news story.
But what Rowan saw was the exact opposite. The edges of the pit were clean and perfectly round, forming a giant ring. Inside and outside the circle, it was like two separate worlds, completely untouched. It was unbelievable.
Also, with such a large-scale battle, there’s no way the Holy Empire’s officials wouldn’t know. Even if they were blind or busy, they should’ve sent investigators or even the army. But during their whole journey, nothing happened. No soldiers, not even much gossip from travelers. That made Rowan feel like none of it was real.
If he hadn’t seen that terrifying pit with his own eyes, even he would have believed nothing had happened.
And that wasn’t the only strange thing.
After leaving the Chaos Magic Valley and arriving near Saint Laos City, Rowan thought that given how powerful those people were, even if they weren’t welcomed by the Church, they should at least enter the city through the proper gates…
But instead, Miss Violet just gave a few instructions, then waved her hand. Rowan didn’t feel anything strange, but in the blink of an eye, the scenery around them completely changed. They were now in a marketplace clearly inside Saint Laos City. Everyone else was gone. Only he, his master, Miss Violet, and the little girl in front of him remained.
It must’ve been some kind of powerful spatial teleportation magic. Rowan, who didn’t know much about magic, couldn’t understand it at all. He just wondered why they used such a method to enter the city, and where the others had gone.
What was even more confusing was that his master, the Swift Wind Sword Saint, didn’t seem surprised at all. It was like he and Miss Violet had some special way of communicating, and he had known in advance this would happen.
But judging from their conversations and attitudes, and from Eudora’s recent answers, that didn’t seem to be the case either.
“I really don’t get it… Is the world of powerful people always this complicated?”
Just as Rowan was planning to use this chance to ask more questions, a sudden commotion broke out in the market. It not only interrupted his conversation with Eudora, but even the two powerful figures ahead both turned their eyes in that direction at the same time, as if something had caught their attention.
Soon after, they both smiled.
“Oh my, it seems something interesting is happening.”
“Hehe~ Since the signs are already here, the rest will naturally follow. Some things that look like coincidences always have deeper reasons behind them. That’s the same no matter where you go.”
Great, these two are back to talking in riddles again.
The sword-carrying apprentice couldn’t help but roll his eyes in his heart. But then, he heard his master, Bevis Bernard, calling from the front.
“Where is Rowan?”
He quickly put away his thoughts and walked forward in a hurry.
“Here, Master. Do you have something for me to do?”
The Sword Saint’s young-looking, yet deeply experienced eyes fell on his student. At the same time, Rowan caught a glimpse of the priestess, who looked like she was only sixteen or seventeen years old. She was curling her lips into a teasing smile. Even though they had only traveled together for a few days, Rowan had already figured out some of her personality. His heart instantly tensed, something bad was probably coming.
Crap… this is definitely not going to be a fun task.
“I have a task for you.”
As expected, the Sword Saint spoke. His tone was calm and emotionless, completely different from how he spoke to Miss Violet, but this was his usual way when teaching his students.
“As swordsmen, we use the sword to train our hearts. Having a strong and righteous heart, a clear sword mind, is even more important than the basic skills. If someone weak is being bullied, we should step in and help, as long as it’s within our ability.”
After saying a few lines of big ideas, Bevis gave a slight smile and pointed to the place where the noise was coming from. A crowd had already started gathering there.
“Before the Holy Knights arrive, calm the situation down, find out what happened, and bring the people involved to us. Can you do that?”
Of course… I knew it…
Rowan felt bitter inside, but standing in front of his new master and with all these high-status people watching, there was no way he could say no and make himself look bad. Even if he didn’t feel ready, he could only nod and try to respond as politely as he could:
“I understand, Master. But... since this is within the Church’s territory, should I try to solve it in a peaceful way if possible? After all, the Holy Empire’s laws forbid private fighting. If I break the law and get hunted down by the Holy Knights, that might affect your plans later.”
His words were polite, but what he really meant was something like, “I can talk my way through things, but if the other side suddenly starts throwing punches, please make sure to come save me, Master…”
After all, Rowan had only been the Sword Saint’s student for a few days. Before that, he had no magic power and no training in fighting at all. No matter how amazing Bevis was, there was no way he could have turned Rowan into a real fighter in just a few days.
To put it simply… there had been some changes in him, but not much.