Chapter 452: All Around Me Are Familiar Faces.

Chapter 452: All Around Me Are Familiar Faces.

C-Champion Hestia!

Both white-robes jerked back, instinctively moving behind their knights and grey-robe attendantswhich also meant they moved away from Amadeus, and that was all that mattered right now. From a quick scan without [Mana Eyes], the two white-robes and the four knights all looked pretty young, probably in their early twenties but not over thirty. They didnt look experienced, but they had this hostile look in their eyes that made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I stepped forward. Trying to use the gods as an excuse for your actions is rather irresponsible. You wanted to know more about me? Well, here I am. Do you have any questions, or do you just find joy in ganging up on a lone person?

G-ganging up? Nonsense! one of them tried to refute. We are white-robes, my lady! Former nobles who shed their name to serve our Goddess! As if we would do anything you just accused us of! Just ask him. We didnt do anything, right?

Amadeus turned his head around to the priests, silencing him as he continued staring. Letting out a small sigh as I couldnt believe they were trying to talk their way out of this, I decided to take the first move.

Hey, Amadeus, I called for him, drawing his attention, before smiling at him. His face had become slightly more masculine, but it still looked androgynous to me. Its been a while, right? You look well, pale, but definitely less thin.

His eyes widened, looking down as he shook his head. He then stood back up, nodding with tears welling up. It has, it has. Almost a year now. Happy new year to you, my lady.

He stood up all by himself?

Ellaine waved at him. You look stronger, Lord Amadeus. Even through the baggy robes, I can see youve been more physically active.

I have, Lady Ellaine. Also, there is no need for Lord. He shook his head with a wry smile. The bishop Im serving has been feeding me well, as well as putting me through some demanding tasks just to make sure I can grow some well-needed muscles, ehe. My arms were like sticks when I first arrived here.

I-Im surprised you still remember me Weve only met once at your fath Yes. Ellaine corrected her flabbergasted expression and nodded. She looked satisfied. I was afraid something might have happened to you here. It lifts a weight off my consciousness knowing you are doing well.

I do apologize, I havent been sending you any letters. Forgetting about him did sour my mood, especially with how energetic he looked. I had to correct that mistake. As such, if you need any help, I am here to do so this time. Would you like me to stand up for you?

Amadeus blinked, mouth slightly agape before he turned around, staring at the anxious-looking priests. He then turned back, smiling. They were pestering me, yes, but with you here, I think

Nothing happened, I swear! The priests shoved their knights forward, shivering to the point it looked like they were expecting me to hunt them. Like little scared rabbits.

The knights grimaced, mortified they were made to speak with me. Two let out louds gulps before they scrambled amongst themselves, trying to figure out who should go forward.

These are knights? Midirn scowled, looking embarrassed as he held a hand over one of his eyes and the other on his hips. He then growled, stepped forward and shouted. You!

All four were rattled, shrinking even further as the towering dragonewt walked up, casting his shadow upon two of them. Similar to the saurian warriors, Midirn was like a mountain of muscles, all hidden behind a layer of tough scales and armor. The only difference was that his wings made him seem even bulkier than a strongman, while his onyx scales made him naturally intimidating, similar to Neill in her full dragonewt form.

With his long snout, he huffed, showing off his teeth as he cringed from their behavior. He massaged his temples, looking furious.

Posture! he commanded, causing all four to straighten their backs. You call yourselves knights? Knights of Aurena? Bah, a mere 200 years and this is what the Knights of Aurena devolved into? Its to the point they let whelps like you four in? Ive read the tales of the dragoons of Loatryx and the Knights of Aurena have fought together in the past, vanquishing terrible beasts and criminals endangering our countries. You are the warriors of our gods god, and yet you dare defile the Pantheon of Light like this?

Oh right, Kramps is Aurenas subordinate god. Even Yorshka worships Aurena a bit. Didnt think Midirn would do the same to the point he felt second-hand embarrassment.

Tell me, lads. Are you soldiers and knights, or just grunts who think they can just smile as some priests act out of their station? Midirn then grabbed one of the knights and pulled him forward, smacking him on the back just enough to make him reel from the pain but to not fall down. I can see your emblems. You are knights of Aurena! Stand tall!

Sir, yes, sir! they screamed.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

You will address me as Sir Midirn, a dragoon of Loatryx, serving Champion Hestia as a guard and comrade-in-arms.

Yes, Sir Midirn!

Good! Now, quickly decide amongst yourself who will answer for those priests; otherwise, I will take command from your drill commander and begin a session! He grinned, showing off his fangs. One, twowho wants to sweat? Thre

Sir, yes, sir! All four shouted, before they all looked at each other, trembling so hard their armor rattled. Eventually, one of them pushed the other three back and held his head up while trying to avoid eye contact with Midirn. Sir! My fellow knights and I followed along the priests in order to question this grey-robe for information on Champion Hestia for the sake of our bishops and superiors! They have shown their suspicion

You fool! Both priests tried to shut the knight up, but Tasianna quickly moved forward. Keeping her hands together, she gave them the stink eye as her body began oozing icy, white mists.

My lord priests, the weather is cold and you are shivering. I would suggest we stop for today and return to our respective dwellings to warm up. Tasianna swallowed her anger and spoke with them calmly, like the ideal maid.

Mhm, I agree. Midirn nodded. Knights, you are dismissed. Return to your posts, and learn how to straighten your back and calm your muscles when you meet somebody.

Sir, yes, sir!

Seeing the situation spiral out of their control and me approaching Amadeus, the priests grit their teeth as they realized they were exposed. In a last ditch effort, they stepped forward despite Tasianna glaring at them. Please, there was nothing! Nothing happened here!

Why are they so desperate? I squinted my eyes, confused at their behavior. Sure, I caught them in the act, but the manner they were trying to shift the blame away from them, or even stopping us from finding the truth out was weirding me out. Were they that scared of me? Or was

What exactly is going on here?

I turned around at the sound of that voice, only for my face to sneer the moment I saw the three people in front of me. Disgust filled my throat as if I had eaten something weird, as I couldnt hold back the memories I had of these men in shining knight armor. I had expected to meet an acquaintance in Amadeus here but not three of my former assailants.

As this fact quickly dawned on the knights, all three scowled as they readied their hands on their swords. The four of us leered, clear to everybody in attendance that we had history together.

Hahaha! The first to break this silent standoff was me, unable to hold my laughter back as I remembered what happened to them the last time I met them. Karlst, Falamm, aaaand that Knight-Captain Royce, right? I see you three recovered pretty well from your injuries, aside from those scars on your face.

The guardian knights of the students on Franzs side. Along with a Hand of Heaven knight, they had accompanied the three other student parties to participate in the Event Quest, although their real reason had been to find and capture me, under the pretense that I had brainwashed Tatsuya and the others to my side. That I was an enemy.

The last time I met them, we had an initial scuffle inside the dungeons of Inkoran-Tazul where I defeated them with nothing but the martial arts skills Neill taught me, showcasing I outstatted them all by a fair bit. We had reached an armistice due to the situation inside the dungeon, until they backstabbed me, only to be stopped by King Fugnarus, his soldiers, and two elven rangers.

With the help of Franzs companion, or whoever that trickster was, they were transported out of the dungeon and escaped. Franz, even if I heavily disliked his choice, went back to the Empire, and I had expected these three to go with him, but it seemed like they had been dumped instead! Dumped and left here in Aureolis! How could I not laugh after realizing this fact!

You little Royce, the man standing in front of the trio, was about to draw his sword, only for Elliane, Tasianna, and Midirn to step in between us.

Even without our catalysts and weapons, we can still defeat you three. Tasiannas anger finally seeped out, twisting into chilly words and with clear killing intent.

Tasianna, threatening them will do us no good. Stop. Ellaine, on the other hand, tried to be a bit more diplomatic as these were the holy knights of her religion. Yet, despite her respect, her form suggested she was ready to lunge forward, ready for a tackle.

Midirn, on the other hand, couldnt help himself. He smiled widely, almost like Vifi whenever she was ready for a fight. Argh, come on! Tasianna got the right attitude. These thugs arent even

The audacity! All three unsheathed their weapons. We are no thugs! We are knights, you lizard abomination!

Ha! Thats the best you can think of to insult me? Heard worse from my levianewt buds after some drinks, and that can really get intense. Midirn lowered his head, pointing at his neck. Wanna try cutting down a dragoon? Ill give you the first strike! Try to make me bleed, you spoon-eared mayflies!

Oh gosh! I gasped a bit, instinctively touching my ears before I remembered I was a dragon now, not human. Similarly, Ellaine did the same, actually looking flustered, making me wonder if the insults stuck or not, especially that last one without her demonic phylactery.

Bastard! And just like that, Midirns provocation hit one of themKarlst, a Folscreckian.

Royce cried out for him to stop, but it was too late as a large smirk appeared on the dragoons face. His head snapped forwards the moment Karlst swung his sword, catching his weapon by the blade with his fangs, shattering over half of it into shards with a loud, growling crunch.

Swinging his jaw wide open, Midirn shook his head, throwing the bits of metal all over the snow-covered field like a sprinkler, causing each piece to cling and clang upon landing. Karlst stared in horror at his broken weapon, only to turn back to the manically laughing dragonewt, enjoying this mental victory.

May the Goddess light your path forward. Thank you very much. How may I address you, Lord Priest?

I am High Bishop Rasheid from Sarkarfiina. I had heard from a few grey-robes that you helped and accompanied one of my attendants, and considering the impression I got from your master, I presume it was all true?

Urgh, Sarkarfiina He probably knows about Eshe, then.

Ignoring that thought, I nodded, and, almost as if they had timed it, Tasianna and Amadeus exited the cellar and came back.

High Bishop! Amadeus gave a prayer bow to his master, before giving a quick summary of what happened, pleasing the middle-aged priest. This prompted the latter to invite us into his room for some tea.

As we entered the dormitory, I took this chance to ask Amadeus where his wolfkin maid was, as I had expected them to be together. Sadly, he revealed to me that Lily couldnt become a grey-robed in Aureolis, since only humans were allowed to join the clergy or the Knights of Aurena. In fact, beastmen werent allowed within the city at all!

Fortunately, Lily was allowed to stay within the walls by working at one of the farming villages surrounding the place, one made for beastmen only. This made me question why the grey-robe at the orphanage didnt tell me about this, only for High Bishop Rasheid to tell me he didnt want to anger me.

I personally believe every person should be given grace through serving the Goddess in her temples, whether as a grey- or white-robe. Faith should not discriminate between race or nationality, otherwise, how can we properly serve her? After all, dont we have non-human subordinate gods? Rasheid frowned. Many beastmen variants have blood that descended from humans. Should we not allow equal faith? Sadly, Aureolis follows the Empires view on beastmen priests, unlike that of Artorias.

At least somebody understands the problem of segregation Then again, up until now, I havent seen a single beastman holy priest, either grey or white, other than myself.

It was another point that had to change, in my opinion. Well, that was for the after party anyways, so I left that thought in the back of my mind and entered the bishops room.

Surprisingly, while there were a ton of rather exotic and curious trinkets and items inside his room, it still looked rather modest for a white-robe. I didnt let that thought appear on my face, of course, before we all took a seat, aside from Akast, who was staying outside with the saurians, once again.

So we met inside the library while Cardinal Theodore spoke with a few people about Akasts loggings. Sadly, he has to stay inside the equerochs shed or be inside the RV, Master explained.

That was the code word for our subspace.

That was when the both of us met when we wanted the same book! Fascinating, our minds thoughts alike, making me wonder if God Istari had guided us towards each other. What a surprise that one of your grey-robes was acquainted with my apprentice!

Hoho, pray, I would never presume anything about the gods. Even if some were once mortals, they are people I have only read about in books. To me, that was a pure coincidence, my friend. After all, unless one of us is a blessed of God Istari, I dont think he could guide us! Hohoho!

Rasheid sounded pretty jolly, like an old man happy to finally have somebody around his age to speak to. A weird thought, since most of the cardinals I saw in the basilica had greying hair. His smile was gentle as he drank his tea, taking a small moment to enjoy the music Amadeus was playing in the background after taking a moment to enjoy it myself; after all, it was my song, Till Morning Arrives.

What a beautiful rendition. A few changes were made though; transposing my more hopeful version in C minor down a semitone to B minor. More opera, grand? Hmm, a bit too deep for the higher notes or? Hold on.

Curious about the music, I activated [Aerokinesis] and imitated Amadeuss play by playing the song a bit lower on my air violin. Some of the happier notes turned a bit somber, as if hope was harder to achieve.

The approaching storm

Transforms our world into white and black

The falling snow

Will not shy, to bury us in it.

Yeah, yeah, I do have to go into mezzo a bit. But, at this point, I have to raise it back up to soprano, though? Or?

Dont fear the cold

My flames burn bright

Seek, now, my voice

As if, Ill let you freeze!

Stay close to me

Listen to my voice

To fight against the cold,

Till morning arrives. Hmm, hmm. Oh yeah, thats actually okay. Yeah.

Haha!

My attention was swiftly taken when I heard Amadeus laughing behind me, shocking me when I saw everybody looking at me with widened eyes. Tasianna and Ellaine were equally surprised, but immediately giggled when they realized I wasnt really paying attention.

My apprentice You really love music too much. Master shook his head with a wry smile.

See, Master? As I said, she was the original composer of the songs, Amadeus added. I wouldnt be able to play all of this without her. A musical genius and a wonderful singer, I must say.

My word Rasheid smiled.

Oh. I grimaced once I noticed I let my passion get the better of me, feeling the heat welling in my face. I want to die.

Hoho, no need, no need! Bravo, Lady Hestia! Bravo! Rasheid stood up to clap, before sitting back down with an impressed smile. If I remember correctly, the original was written higher, no? It did seem a bit unnatural when you sang it, as if you weren't practiced.

I nodded. Thats true. When I usually sing it, its usually with my sopr Wait, Ellaine, you never told me the Common words for the musical terms, or?

Considering Ive only been giving Ellaine and Tasianna the music sheets without really speaking too many technical terms with them, I guess I never really had learned what transposition, chords, and the rest were translated. Then again, people could read my music sheets here, so the terms should be mildly understandable to the residents.

Damn, cant believe I only now realized this fact.

Ahem, Ill try my best for now, you can tell me the terms later. When I usually sing, I use sopranothe highest female pitchbut I had to lower it down to mezzo-soprano right now, since Amadeus changed my C minor version of the song to B minor. I can sing deep, but I usually like hitting high notes since, well, I can do it pretty well.

Hmm, well, I wont say I understood every bit of what you said, but from one musician to the other, I get the overall meaning of it, Rasheid admitted. Curious, really. Hmm, but not surprising Now, I would love to continue talking like this, but I did invite everybody here for a reason, so I dont want to waste too much time. Champion Hestia, I, as you know, am from the Great Evida Desert. From Sarkafiina, and I presume you must know our former Saintess.

I furrowed my brows, sighed through my nose, before nodding.

Yes, news, as you know, has spread. Aureolis knows that Eshe had died and that our newest Champion, before Champion Renee, was there when the assassination happened. I do have mixed feelings towards you, as I was acquainted with Saintess when I returned home once to meet her. A bright, hopeful young woman. A tragedy that she was taken from us from a demonkin, as the many other blessed were in the Empire.

I dont really know what to say. That day

No, no, its fine. I do not blame you completely. You were, after all, our newest blessed, not to mention, from how you lookyoung, bright, full of potential. You might be a dragon, but you arent Kargryxmor. You arent a god; how can everybody put all the blame on your shoulders when we should be blaming the murderer. They took our Saintess away from us, not you. You might have failed that day, but I have heard what youve done since then. The news on the Siege of Elyonda was widespread. There was much written on the newspaper, but I also received direct information from the pupils of a friend.

Pupils?

Theyve mentioned most that happened at the end of the siege, talking about how the Archerudite had spoken to a few of his ministers about that story. I think I know the truth, but I would like to hear it from you. Not a third party. His eyes sharpened, sounding like he was ready for business. What happened that day? What about your journey up until now? Tell me, why are you here and why did you bring two other blessed with you to support your claim to revoke the papacy? What has our Goddess in plan?

Well, Theodore, I think its time for me to start our plan. Time to make allies here although, did I make him more willing to hear me out after I sang?