Chapter 108: Peiya’s Consideration
“Victoria, you’re done with what you wanted to say, right?”
Guild leader Maya stepped between them and spoke first.
Victoria looked at Maya with suspicion. “You… do you two have something going on?”
“The Ice Bear King incident still hasn’t been fully solved. Peiya and I are preparing to head to the Calamity Forest.”
“I’m coming too,” Victoria shouted. Then she quickly coughed and corrected herself after realizing she was being too emotional.
“There are church members in the Calamity Forest now. Miss Peiya’s identity is very sensitive. I have a way to avoid the church’s attention. Let me be your guide.”
“This…” Maya looked at Peiya. “What do you think?”
“Why is the church gathering in the Calamity Forest? Do you know?”
“I know a little.” Victoria touched her chin. “After the big incident in the Calamity Forest, the church can’t just ignore it. Also… do you know? A witch is about to be born.”
Peiya nodded. “I know.”
In fact, that “witch” is standing right in front of you.
“Also, I heard that Bishop Mosier went there too. He is one of the bishops in charge of the Holy Library nearby.”
“One of the bishops?” Peiya repeated, touching her chin. She didn’t know much about how the church’s power structure worked.
Victoria smiled gently. “Yes. I may have told you too much. Remember, don’t say I told you this outside, okay? Let me think… the people in charge of that Holy Library are actually quite a lot. Libraries close to the capital usually have several bishops, and also Holy Scholars. My teacher, Helen, is one of the Holy Scholars there. She is not only an administrator, but also one of the most respected scholars…”
“...When she was younger, she helped improve the system of sacred books. She has many students, and she even has some connections to the royal family by blood. Later, she was chosen as the head of the Holy Scholars. She is still teaching students now. That’s why I said you don’t need to refuse my offer so quickly. If you build a good relationship with my teacher, she still has feelings for the old kingdom. If anything happens, she can help you notice it early.”
“Thank you for your kindness. I will think about it.”
Peiya did not explain further. Putting aside her identity as a witch, building a better relationship with the church was not a good option for now.
The church was just as complicated as the kingdom. Once you were strong enough, they would naturally try to recruit you. There was no need to rush in and risk your life.
As for why she didn’t refuse directly, it was probably because Victoria was just a messenger. Peiya didn’t feel like making things difficult for her.
“Mm-mm, no need to be so tense. My teacher is actually quite easy to talk to. I’ll help you speak for her later. Let’s not waste time, let’s set off.”
“Alright.”
Peiya and Maya said at the same time.
They went downstairs. Maya went to prepare the carriage. Soon after, a carriage with the Adventurers’ Guild emblem was brought over by her.
“You’re making such a big show of this?” Peiya looked at the carriage, slightly surprised.
Maya covered her mouth and smiled. “The Adventurers’ Guild celebration is coming soon. Might as well bring this old thing out for a ride.”
“Are you sure it won’t break?” Victoria couldn’t help but complain.
“It won’t. I just serviced it recently. It was just a bit dusty from storage. I do use it sometimes. The main reason I brought it out today is because during the festival, we might not be able to rent any carriages. It’s more practical to use our own. The reins are ready. Let’s get on.”
“Okay.”
Peiya got into the carriage.
Victoria followed right behind. She placed a cushion near the door and sat down. As soon as she felt the soft seat, she let out a long sigh.
“Finally… I can escape teacher’s supervision.”
“What did you say?” Peiya looked at her with suspicion.
“Ah, this is because if I leave the city, my teacher won’t come looking for me. She’s very interested in you and keeps pushing me to find you. But I also can’t say I actually found you. Otherwise she would definitely ask why I didn’t bring you to her. That would be really annoying and hard to explain…”
“...Also, don’t feel uncomfortable because of what I’m saying. I’ve already talked about the Holy Academy with Guild Leader Maya before. It’s something as hard to explain as why the sun rises in the east. People inside the church argue with each other from time to time anyway, so don’t take it too seriously. If you ever want to go to the Holy Academy, just find me.”
Peiya nodded. She understood that what Victoria had done for her was not easy. They were basically strangers who had only just met, yet Victoria still helped her this much.
If it were someone more difficult to deal with, Peiya would probably be stuck dealing with church problems right now.
Thinking of this, Peiya placed a hand on her shoulder and slightly turned her body.
“Thank you, Victoria.”
“You’re welcome. Call me when we arrive. I’ll rest for a bit first.”
Victoria found a comfortable position and started to nap. Soon, soft breathing could be heard inside the carriage.
The guild leader Maya, who was still driving the carriage, tied the reins to her waist, then turned back and lifted the curtain. Through the small window, she looked at the focused Peiya inside and said gently,
“Aren’t you going to rest a bit, Miss Peiya? We still have a long way to go before the Calamity Forest.”
“Huh? Are you talking to me?” Peiya snapped out of her thoughts.
“Who else would I be talking to? Were you thinking about something? Sorry for disturbing you.”
“It’s fine. It’s not important. I was just thinking about what Elise told me. On her way back, she ran into that crazy tiger. It almost attacked her. Do you think the Red Tiger might have been affected by mineral poison? The Ice Bear King has already been defeated, so maybe it has already regained its senses?”
Guild leader Maya thought for a moment. She pulled the reins at her waist and lightly struck the horse, then sighed.
“I’m not sure. We’ll only know when we get there.”
“True. We don’t have much evidence right now. Since we’re on this topic, I’ll also explain why I plan to rescue the Red Tiger. I think that family that can control magical beasts probably won’t give up so easily.”
“You think the Beast Tamer Association has other goals?”
“Somewhat. Their sudden appearance in the Calamity Forest to train the Red Tiger is suspicious. Especially since news about the Ice Bear King was already spreading everywhere. If they really just wanted to test something, wouldn’t a safer place make more sense? So I suspect they were trying to use the Ice Bear King’s influence to test whether the Red Tiger could still obey them under a ruler-level beast’s pressure. From the results, they probably failed. That’s why they asked adventurers to rescue the Red Tiger. So I think if we just hand the Red Tiger back to them, we might actually be helping them.”
Guild leader Maya nodded. “That makes sense. So what do you plan to do? You can tell me. At least in the royal capital, I still have some influence.”
“If I speak honestly, would you become my enemy?”
Peiya looked directly into Maya’s eyes. Even though Maya had been kind to her, when it came to important matters, she still had to be careful.
“Haha… since you put it like that, do you think I’ll say I’m your enemy?” Maya laughed. “Don’t worry. The Adventurers’ Guild is neutral. I just hope everyone can peacefully attend the next celebration.”
“Alright, then I’ll be direct. The reason I asked you to come with me to find the Red Tiger is because I want you to block any trouble from the Beast Tamer Association later. After I find it, I plan to take it back myself for research…”
“...Once I understand it, I can share the information with you. Before we know what they’re really planning, I don’t want to return the Red Tiger. The quest didn’t clearly state the reward, so I don’t want to take unnecessary risks. If they really planned to give a big reward, then our research probably won’t reveal much anyway…”
“...And even if we find their weakness and still return it, they might not reward us properly. They might even become suspicious of us. From every angle, studying it ourselves brings more benefit. The only problem is whether they have some tracking method. That’s why I need your help to hold them off.”