Chapter 16: Spy

 

 

 

Chapter 16: Spy

 

LEO parted ways with Johann for the Academy Branch, leaving him to make his way to the Sanctuary Branch—the Vestry—built in the center of the city square.

“…Hah, I set foot in here with a heavy heart every time I come.” Johann’s shoulders slumped as he gazed up at the towering Vestry.

The Vestry was an oblong building surrounded by brick walls with a narrow pointed steeple adorned by a cross on its roof. Stone steps led to a semicircle door decorated with opulent golden carvings of the sun and moon. The building enthralled all who saw it, subconsciously pulling them to its doors, but Johann wanted to avoid ever setting foot within it again. But as a Priest, he couldn’t shirk off his duty to report back.

Johann lifted his face and fixed his sharp gaze on the steps. I’ll quickly finish off this nasty business and make haste back to Elias and the others. I get to stay the night in this city with them. No doubt it will be a lively and fun time eating together and sharing the same room. I will use that as my motivation to get through this report I’m in no mood for.

He berated his heavy legs to carry him up the steep steps leading to the Vestry door, distracting himself with thoughts of later plans.

In order to assume the role of Priest, one had to live at the Seminary dorms under Sanctuary jurisdiction from early childhood and study a predetermined curriculum. Due to those unique circumstances, it was forbidden for anyone other than the young boys of chosen lineages and bloodlines to learn how to borrow power from the Creation Goddess to use Solar Magic.

Johann was no exception. Born to a high-ranked family in the Holy Kingdom, he was enrolled in the Seminary dorms from the day he became self-aware and worked his way through the curriculum to become a Priest. Seminary required them to learn a broad and multifarious set of subjects such as theology, philosophy, magic studies, linguistics, history, mathematics, music, painting, and much more.

The curriculum continued until the child turned eighteen years of age, and if they completed their course with excellent grades, they could formally work as the Adventurer Job known as Priest. There was no end to those who dropped out halfway, breaking under the pressures placed on them by the rigid curriculum, decreasing the number of student who reached the graduation exams to less than half of initial attendance.

With the sheer lack of graduates, those who successfully assumed the position of Priest were considered an elite class the average citizen aspired to become, but would never achieve. At the same time, there were those who, out of envy, slandered them as self-important and odious.

Once someone graduated from Seminary and became a bona fide Priest, they were assigned various tasks and missions by the Holy Kingdom’s administrative arm, the Sanctuary. All the missions directly corresponded to the Holy Kingdom’s political situation.

New Priests lacked experience and a decent level, leaving them to scrape up a livelihood by accepting quests from average citizens through the Adventurers’ Guild alongside the missions they were required to complete for the Sanctuary which they received separate wages for. By receiving rewards from the Guild and wages from the Holy Kingdom, Priests were guaranteed a more secure lifestyle than any other Job.

In return for a comfy life, Priests were obligated to report on their mission progress in minute detail to the Sanctuary—their every move was controlled and monitored, turning their benefits into constraints. The Holy Kingdom assigned different missions to Priests, having them work as spies to further their political ambitions. For this reason, they boasted an absolute authority other nations feared, saying they are, “a furtive, xenophobic, exclusive country that hoards the Creation Goddess blessings.”

And then there is the mission assigned by the Sanctuary to the Priest Johann—to monitor and report back on the Hero Elias’ journey to save the world.

***

JOHANN arrived at the top of the steps and took a deep breath to prepare himself before pushing open the wooden double-doors. The semicircle doors were several times his height and awfully heavy. The doors swung open with a jarring creak, revealing a lengthy nave extending straight to an altar.

The inside of the Vestry was crafted from antiquated wood. Large transom windows generously inlaid with stained glass at set intervals along the nave walls let in the main source of light. Sunlight filtered through the windows, raining multicolored sacred light into the nave.

The nave was enshrouded in such silence you could almost hear buzzing in your ears, engendering a slightly dusty and stagnant atmosphere.

The space he was grudgingly familiar with since a young age rapidly zapped Johann’s energy as he weakly stepped inside. He walked straight down the nave, the sound of his shoes clacking on the wooden floors obnoxiously loud in his ears, and called out to the Vicar praying in front of the altar with his back turned toward him.

“Pardon me. I am Johann Clarence, here to give my mission report.”

The thirty-something year old Vicar, clad in a loosely worn white robe, gleefully spun around at the sound of Johann’s youthful voice. He waddled quickly over to him and set his plump hands firmly on his shoulders.

“Ooh, Clarence. You look well. What a relief you are safe.” The Vicar narrowed his foxlike eyes and curled his lips in a wry smile. It was a repulsive smile that implied something deeper.

Johann casually removed the Vicar’s hands from his shoulders with an insincere smile. “…Thank you very much. As you may have already predicted, the Hero Elias Leland has successfully obtained the Hero’s Right-hand through Mage Leo Gaines’ summoning, and set off on his journey to defeat the Dark Lord. I have come here today to give my report for the journey thus far.”

The Vicar complacently rubbed his flabby chin. “I see. Sounds like things are on course. I’m glad he has had a promising start.”

Contrary to his words, the Vicar did not actually care about Elias. The truth was that the Sanctuary only viewed the Hero as a convenient pawn. He was nothing more than a doll set up as a heroic figure, born for the sole purpose of resupplying the world with Creation Energy and automatically going to war with the Dark Lord to save it with his life.

Once Johann answered the Vicar with a tepid smile, he turned his attention to the Vestry’s inner architecture to escape his burrowing stare. A colonnade was arranged inside the nave reaching several stories to a semicircle ceiling. Two goddess statues of a dull golden color were built on top of the altar surrounded by a sun and moon relief. Planar engravings of sacred motifs such as swords, daggers, spears, arrows, gowns, and crystals further adorned the altar.

A grandiose stained-glass round window with floral patterns sat above the altar, the sunlight shining through it illuminating the floor below in a mystical multicolored halo of light. The ceiling was painted decoratively to depict the legend of the Hero, Dark Lord, and Creation Goddess.

A gold lacquered bronze statue of a Priest was fastened to the center of the colonnade, looking down and watching all who entered the Vestry. This thorough enforcement of austere religious atmosphere impressed the incalculable enigma of the Sanctuary on those who set foot within its confines.

Feeling suffocated by the overpowering ambience, Johann took small breaths. The Sanctuary, by all means, was not a holy or righteous organization. Johann even believed they were an evil organization manipulating the world behind the scenes. He was chilled thinking how he was a member of that very organization, but as a Priest, he had no other choice but to follow the Sanctuary’s orders. Even if his orders were to pretend to be Elias’ ally and join his party in order to monitor and observe his every action and report back on it in detail to the Sanctuary.

Becoming more depressed as he thought about it, Johann turned on his heel to get out of there as quickly as he could. But, unaware of his mental anguish, the Vicar placed his hand on his back. He reluctantly turned back, too drained to deal with more of this farce.

“Johann, I want to confirm this just to be absolutely certain, but is the relationship between the Hero and his Right-hand favorable?” the Vicar asked in a jolly mood.

Johann was taken by surprise by the question he never expected to hear. Now that he thought about it, the Hero’s Right-hand had only just been summoned, so the Sanctuary didn’t have any information on Aki yet.

“Between Elias and the Hero’s Right-hand, Aki?” Johann repeated, recalling their intimacy.

Elias and Aki are compatible as partners working toward the same goal, and they also seem like a good match romantically. Aki’s cheerful, straightforward personality is well-suited for saving Elias from pushing himself too hard. As it currently stands, I can sense some romantic tension between them, so they may already have romantic feelings for each other.

Even if they do have feelings for each other, the Hero is forbidden from loving anyone… It will only end tragically should they actually fall in love. Besides, they are from two different worlds—all that awaits them in the future is separation. As much as I want them to be good partners for each other, I also want them to keep their relationship inside the bounds where no one will get hurt. I guess I am overthinking things when they are not even pursuing a relationship.

Johann smiled grimly and shook his head before turning toward the Vicar. “Yes. There are no visible issues between them. The woman chosen as the Hero’s Right-hand is a very cheerful and kind lady. I believe she will be a pillar of support for Elias.”

The Vicar smiled broadly at Johann’s satisfactory answer and stroked the bottom of his chin. “I see, I see. That is wonderful news. Especially since no failures can be allowed for this Hero’s journey… Clarence, we are counting on your continued patronage.”

Johann’s face clouded for a mere second, before quickly shifting into a formal smile. “…Yes...”

***

FINISHED with his report to the Sanctuary, Johann left the Vestry, a wave of fatigue hitting him after turning in that repulsive report. Wanting to rest somewhere without a lot of people, he entered the back streets behind the residential district at the outskirts of the city.

Unlike the boisterous main square, the Port City’s backstreets lacked people and activity. Johann stopped to lean his back against a stone wall on a side road with the canal on one side and residences on the other. He exhaled deeply and gazed up at the boundless sky where seagulls flew freely above Port City. The seagulls’ cries vaguely reached his ears as he replayed the conversation with the Vicar in his head.

…We’re counting on your continued patronage, huh? He ruminated, letting out a deep sigh. The truth is that I am betraying Elias and the others. I joined their Hero Party pretending to be an ally, when really what I call a report is actually me secretly informing the Sanctuary about their every move.

Why did the Sanctuary require the Hero to be monitored? Because someone needed to subtly watch over the Hero and guide him so he wouldn’t despair over his fate and give up on the journey to save the world halfway through. The Hero wasn’t indomitable. Not once had there been a Hero who didn’t despair after learning they were an artificial life made at the Goddess’ convenience to fight and defeat the Dark Lord, to fulfill their so-called destiny like a good little tool. They were humans with normal emotions like the rest.

However, the world would be destroyed if the Hero didn’t defeat the Dark Lord or vice versa. That alone was a profound problem, moreover if the Hero abandoned his duty, the faith and confidence in the Holy Kingdom responsible for cultivating him would decrease dramatically, ruining their reputation. Thus, the Holy Kingdom was desperate to control the Heroes and induce them to successfully defeat the Dark Lord.

Why, then, was the Holy Kingdom responsible for cultivating the Hero? First, the symbol of the Hero—the Holy Sword—was normally enshrined in the Holy Kingdom’s shrine, leaving it in the hands of the Pope to offer the sword up to the young Hero.

At the same time, it was customary for the Hero to receive the same education as a Priest at the Holy Kingdom’s Seminary until he was eighteen. Those various circumstances led to the Holy Kingdom’s unarguable position as the nation who raises the Hero.

For these reasons, the finely educated Hero who saved the world would drastically increase the reputation of the Holy Kingdom who granted him the Holy Sword and an education, granting them the ability to boast of an absolute power no other nation had the right to.

With those circumstances as the backdrop, the Sanctuary saw the Hero as nothing more than a useful tool to advance their political agenda. Johann was sickened over being a compatriot to the Sanctuary who saw Elias as a valuable commodity. But, because he couldn’t disobey the Sanctuary’s orders, he had to inform the Sanctuary Branch about his movements every time he was near one.

Furthermore, there was no way the wise and experienced Elias and Leo hadn’t noticed that Johann was a spy sent into their midst by the Sanctuary. They still put their trust in him as a fellow Party member despite knowing his purpose. To Johann, their trust meant everything, but it also riddled him with guilt. Especially since he and Elias were childhood friends.

The Hero was born into the world through a virgin birth. The Goddess informed a young virgin maiden of her inception, and soon after, the maiden was impregnated with a baby boy without ever having sexual intercourse. The fact the Hero was not born through the natural course was the grounds for him being called an artificial life created by the Goddess.

The baby Hero was born somewhere in the world by the chosen maiden and a divine revelation was handed down to the Holy Kingdom by the Goddess informing them of his birth. Several of the Sanctuary’s best Priests were then dispatched across the continent to search for the newly born Hero because the divine revelation doesn’t give away his location.

The current Hero, Elias, was born in a remote farming village not listed on any maps. The Sanctuary searched for the newly born Hero in a mad frenzy, finally locating him on his fifth birthday when they promptly attempted to drag him away. Elias’ mother strongly refused to hand him over to them and her entire village sided with her. Johann was told the Sanctuary burned down the village, slaughtering every witness before abducting Elias, but the details were lost in obscurity.

It appeared Elias had no memory of the time and was under the false belief he was born in the Holy Kingdom. Johann purposely avoided ever bringing up the dangerous topic.

Thus, Elias was enrolled in the Seminary and once he reached his eighth birthday, the three-year-old Johann was also enrolled, leading to their childhood friendship of studying and training together. Perhaps it was a natural outcome for Elias, whose position as Hero had the other students keep a wary distance from him, and Johann, who stood out awkwardly due to being born in a special family, to become friends.

Because of that childhood, Elias viewed Johann as a dear friend and placed an enormous amount of trust in him. And that was exactly why Johann rapidly came to despise himself for betraying him. If not for his mission to spy on him, he could’ve stayed friends with Elias like when they were children without the ugly ties of obligation distorting their relationship.

…But it’s exactly because I was childhood friends with Elias that they chose me as the Hero’s watchdog. There is a high chance the Sanctuary is using the friendship they know I have with Elias. They probably thought that Elias wouldn’t blame me even if he learned I was spying on him for them, because of our past.

Johann stopped thinking when he came to that conclusion and gazed up at the sky peeking through the narrow overhead space in the alleyway.

“…Your methods are truly filthy, Father.”

Johann’s father was the Pope—the man who reigned over the Holy Kingdom. He was the only son of the Pope. If they were a monarchy, he would be in a position of similar status to a crown prince. Nevertheless, the hierarchy in the Holy Kingdom was determined by the color of one’s vestments rather than the status of their family, meaning there was no excessive preferential treatment based on family status alone.

But in order to meet expectations as the Pope’s son, he eagerly pursued his studies, and because he inherited his father’s intelligence and magical power, he was able to claw his way up to a High Priest capable of wearing the white vestments despite his young age.

A part of his eagerness may have been due to a subconscious desire to be a suitable companion for his childhood friend and the Hero Elias. It was because of his background that he became school friends with Elias and was later chosen for the important task of monitoring him. The Sanctuary was convinced there was no way for the son of the Pope to be swayed by emotion for the Hero to risk betraying them.

“…I am so exhausted already…by various things.”

By betraying my friends. By pretending to be a loyal pet to the Sanctuary…by continuing to fool myself about these miserable feelings.

Johann sighed his nth sigh of the day, when he heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice from a nearby alley.

“I don’t want to! Please let go of me!”

His drifting thoughts instantly returned at the sound of a girl shouting for help.

What is going on? It does not sound very amicable. I do not believe this is a situation I want to stick my neck into, but I cannot let it pass unnoticed now that I have heard a girl scream for help.

Johann straightened and carefully proceeded down the alleyway with quiet steps. Toward the end of the alleyway he hid behind a wall and peered around the side at the intersection where he heard the girl’s voice. Several shadowy figures stood there. On closer inspection, several brutish men had cornered a petite woman against the stone wall.

I don’t know what circumstances led to this situation, but I fear leaving them to their own devices will lead to the girl’s harm. Unfortunately…it appears the best course of action would be to hasten her rescue.

The influx of all sorts of people traveling to and from the Port City lent to its public safety being easily disturbed. Groups of unsavory men hung out in the narrow, rarely trodden alleyways behind the homes. The city’s residents were aware of that, which is exactly why the alleyways were deserted in the first place—they knew better than to traverse them.

For a woman to be back here alone, she must be unfamiliar with this city. Otherwise, why else would a woman carelessly wander these backstreets? If she is a traveler, her current predicament is of her own making, but…I won’t get anywhere by just thinking about it. I guess I will rescue her first and ask questions later.

With that decided, Johann gallantly walked down the street without hiding the sound of his footsteps. One by one, the men surrounding the girl noticed Johann and scowled at him. They absolutely were not welcoming him.

But he didn’t flinch as he approached the men and called out to them with his usual composed expression, “Excuse me, what are you gentlemen doing over there?”

“Huuuh?”

The men giving off serious thug vibes raised their threatening voices in ire over the unwelcomed participation of an outsider.

Johann shrugged nonchalantly at the thugs’ token response. He deliberately ignored the men and turned his attention to the girl surrounded by them, pleading with him with her eyes. He gasped upon seeing her appearance.

She looks like someone I know?

The girl’s chestnut-brown hair spilled softly to her waist and her facial features had the vestiges of cherubic innocence of youth. The hints of light-brown in her round eyes and the strength in her honest gaze reminded him of a woman who had recently come into his life.

Aki? A coincidental resemblance? But the air about her is similar to Aki as well. How can that be?

The muscular leader of the thugs smacked his lips like he was livid with Johann for not making his move. “Don’t bother people by suddenly appearin’ outta nowhere and rainin’ on their parade. This girl’s ‘bout to go have a little fun with us.”

“I am not! I am looking for someone! I don’t know you people in the slightest!” the woman boldly shouted, looking to Johann for help.

Johann let out a short exhalation and reached for the cross-shaped staff fastened to his back. He pulled the staff out of its strap and nimbly swung it in front of him before striking the ground.

First things first, I will start by saving her. Now then, how should I proceed? They look easy enough to take down by force, but I do not want to get too violent here. I am a member of the Hero’s Party—it will be a disaster if my being involved in a brawl led to a bad reputation for Elias.

After pondering his options, he decided to have a go at persuasion first. “I believe you gentlemen have your own circumstances, but would you please release the lady? No matter the reason, you should not bring a reluctant lady into this kind of back alley. It brings your character into question.”

Ah, shoot, my last remark was unnecessary.

As soon as Johann thought that, the men got over their momentary surprise and began snickering. “Character! Our character, he says! The great and almighty Priests sure have a way with words!”

The thugs pointed jeeringly at his vestments as they bellied over with laughter. Apparently, they found Priests a Job worthy of ridicule and disgust.

…They are not the kind of people who will listen. Attempting to persuade them will only end as a fruitless endeavor. Johann decided to change his approach. He needed to meet up with Elias and the others soon—this was not the time or the place to be wasting his time. I will handle them with force then.

Johann struck the ground with his staff again as a final warning. The men flinched.

“Oi, this is bad,” they muttered among themselves.

But the leader and strongest of them showed no signs of backing down. Instead, he forcefully snatched up the girl’s arm.

“P-Please let go of me!”

Taking that as a sign there was no reason to drag things out any longer, Johann held his staff in front of him. The frightened thugs aside from the leader shrunk back, but Johann quickly began chanting his spell not to let them get away.

“O, Creation Goddess.” His clear voice rang loudly through the alleyway and a dull silver light began emitting from the tip of his staff where the Goddess’ power gathered.

The leader’s flunkies scrambled away in a frenzy, while he stood unmoving with his eyes wide and his hand still gripping the girl’s arm. The girl stared at Johann confounded. He continued his spell, locking his gaze on the pandemonium as if it didn’t faze him.

“Invite a gentle sleep on the little ones’ consciousness!” he declared in a sonorous voice and swung the tip of his brightly glowing staff toward the men.

One of the spells under Solar Magic was a sleep spell that put the target peacefully to sleep. This particular spell wasn’t offensive based, but a spell meant to put the target in a relaxing sleep. It was a curative based spell generally used as a stopgap cure for insomnia.

The thugs who tried to run away were caught up in the light and fell limply to the ground. The men landed face up, their expressions blissful as they slept. The leader trembled as he withstood the magic’s effect for a few moments, until it overwhelmed him and he let go of the girl’s arm as he slid to the ground. He dozed off, snoring loud enough Johann could hear from where he stood.

Hah…to think I had to use my magic for something like this… Johann felt like he had been needlessly drawn into an annoying situation, but at least there was some value to it because he saved someone.

He quickly confirmed there was no one left who hadn’t been spelled by him, before turning his gaze toward the girl anxiously staring at him. She may have thought he was going to criticize her for loitering around a dangerous alleyway alone. He shrugged, fastened the staff on his back, and walked over to the girl to offer her his hand.

“Are you hurt anywhere? We should leave this place while we can. Can you run?” he quickly asked.

He only put them under a light sleep spell—the magic’s effect wouldn’t last long. The thugs’ physical strength was the only thing they had going for them. He wanted to get to a place with lots of people before the effects wore off and the men woke up angrier than before.

The girl gave a firm nod without saying anything. She placed her hand on his without hesitation and gently squeezed it. His heart skipped a beat over her small hand as he ran pulling her behind him. It would be easier to meet up with Elias and the others if they went to the main square. They ran out of the alley hand in hand and exited to the open marketplace.

He let go of her hand and turned toward her. “We should be safe having come this far. Are you all right?”

He had run without looking back, forgetting to be considerate about the girl’s stamina. The girl bent over to catch her ragged breath, but jerked her head up at his question. She fixed her big brown eyes on Johann and quickly lowered her head to him.

“Y-Yes! I’m okay! Um, thank you very much for saving me!”

Johann narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at the sound of her girlish voice that sounded like bells.

As I thought, her voice sounds similar to Aki’s. It has a slightly higher pitch than hers. If my guess is correct, she is most likely Aki’s—

He intently assessed the girl to confirm his theory. “I did not do much. Please do not let it bother you. On another note, are you possibly related to Aki Konishi?”

“What?” Her eyes widened even more in mute amazement. Her reaction gave away her knowledge of the name. Johann was about to ask more, when the girl leaned forward with such speed she almost fell on top of him. “Um! Do you know my big sister? I came to this city to search for her!”

“Big sister? Then you really are Aki’s younger sister—let me see, Nako, was it?” he asked to make sure. The girl—Nako—earnestly nodded over and over again.

From what he had heard, Aki’s younger sister had been kidnapped from the parallel world by the Dark Lord and was the Dark Lord’s Right-hand. Why was such a person wandering alone in the mediocre Port City?

Is the Dark Lord somewhere nearby? Is this some kind of trap?

Icy chills suddenly ran up his spine as he warily looked around, but all he saw was people bustling about the main square. Nako patiently waited to hear what he had to say next.

He lowered his voice to ask her, “…I’m sorry, if you are truly Aki’s younger sister, where is the Dark Lord? Are you not with him?”

Was the dreaded Dark Lord the kind of person to leave his partner alone, putting her in the dangerous position she just experienced?

Nako awkwardly looked down and twiddled her fingers. “…Um, actually, I wanted to see my sister no matter what—so I kinda snuck out of the Dark Lord’s castle without telling him. I heard from the Dark Lord that my sister is in this world and in this city with the Hero…”

“You came alone?” Johann put his hand to his throbbing temple.

He understood Nako claimed to come here and see her sister after she learned she was in this world too. But was she truly capable of getting past the Dark Lord’s security to escape his castle alone? Johann didn’t know how the Dark Lord’s castle was constructed, but he doubted a weak little girl could trick the world’s strongest magic user to escape this far. In which case, was the Dark Lord pulling the strings from behind? Without Nako realizing it? If he was, this really was an intricate trap.

Should I bring Nako to Aki—to Elias—when I do not know if this is a trap? I feel like I should not easily trust her. I cannot allow my optimism to endanger Elias, Leo, and Aki. But…Aki’s greatest wish is to see her little sister again. She leapt blindly into this world with the earnest desire to reunite with her sister and save her from the hands of the Dark Lord. Now then, how should I play this out?

Nako uneasily watched Johann as he silently doubted her. The plea for help in her eyes didn’t look like an act as far as he could tell.

Aki is honest to a fault and Nako is her sister, which means she probably cannot deceive people easily either. Perhaps it is all right to believe her. Even if she is deceiving me, Aki would rejoice over being reunited with Nako. Is that not enough of an incentive to help her?

Decision made, Johann softened his expression with a smile to reassure her. “Nako, I am Johann Clarence. I am one of the Hero Party members traveling with your older sister. I am acquainted with your sister Aki, so please rest assured you have found the right person.”

Nako’s eyes sparkled as if an angel had come down from the heavens to help her. “Wow! Amazing! You are a member of the Hero Party?! I’m so relieved to have come across someone who knows Big Sis this soon!” She brought her fisted hand to her chest as tears misted her eyes.

She really is an honest girl who resembles Aki. Perhaps it was rude of me to doubt her so much without knowing her. At any rate, the best course of action now is to meet up with Elias and Aki and then ask Nako about her situation. Johann’s heart fluttered again as he imagined Aki’s joy upon being reunited with Nako.

With that settled, they needed to look for Elias and Aki as soon as they could. He surveyed the city square.

“Nako, I am presently acting separately from Elias—the current Hero—for personal reasons. I need to meet up with him now. Would you mind searching for them with me?”

They needed to start there first. Finding a specific person in the crowds of people was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack, but Aki and Elias stood out more than the average person.

Nako blinked in surprise before nodding with a beaming smile. “I would love to! Let’s find them together, Johann!”