I pushed open the heavy doors apart. I always dreaded coming here in the past, but things are different now. I no longer have to feast my eyes on the hated Queen's face, sitting on her throne looking at me with a disgusted expression. Now it had been repurposed into a meeting room where members of the New Order conduct their weekly meetings. And I am going to interrogate one of the members here.
"You're here, Zen. Let us begin," said John.
I glanced around at the members who were seated around the table. John and the Paladin Lord would be representing the guildmasters this time around. The remaining members were three elves and three humans. One of whom is the Father from the Church of Imperatrix. The six members were supposedly renowned beings who were voted by the people of the city to become members to lead this city. The members had already changed once before. Eight years is their limit, separated by two terms if the people decided they were worthy to lead. These members had only a year left before they had to give up their positions to new leaders.
"We heard you called for a meeting as you had something to discuss, Lord Zen. What is it pertaining to?" asked one of the elves.
I walked closer to the round table and placed both my hands on it. I needed them to understand the gravity of the situation.
"I was recently assigned to head to the Northern continent on an assignment to check on the humans that were living there. There were… questionable things that occurred throughout my journey that I'm certain anyone would find intriguing," I started.
"I'm sorry, Zen. But this topic should be discussed among us guildmasters rather than here," said John.
"I am not finished yet. I have met the humans that were residing there. Their claim that they were never attacked by demons or any other beings was… sceptical, which was why I decided to spend a night there to uncover what secrets they were hiding," I continued.
"But alas, it started snowing, which is something that had never occurred in that continent before. And I was forced to leave the settlement in the middle of the night as I was declared a non-believer for causing the strange weather problems. To claim that my being there tampered with the weather was beyond absurd, but I am a calm and reasonable person, so I decided to leave. But what was beyond my understanding was that the moment I sat foot on the dock of the Northern continent, the blizzard stopped immediately," I ended.
"I'm sorry, Master Zen. But what has any of this got to do with us, really?" said one of the human members.
"You're right. It only has to do with one of you. Before I left, I uncovered a note stating that the recipient should stop the monster assaults on this city. That letter was signed and stamped by none other than… you, Father. Do you have something you would like to say?" I glared at him, which made all the other members turn to stare at him.
"I beg your pardon, but do you happen to have the letter in question?" asked Father.
"I do not. Removing the letter would have aroused even more suspicion from Son, who was originally from your flock," I said.
"Are we to take your word at face value then? Am I supposed to sit here being accused with no solid evidence?" he chuckled.
"Why are you being so defensive? All I'm asking is whether you sent him a letter. Will you say the same if Peter were here?" I questioned him.
"You are not Peter," he spat.
"Gentleman, let's keep things civilised, shall we?" warned the Paladin Lord.
"You're right, I'm not him. But might I remind you that I am his direct pupil and also a member of the Four. And it was because of ME that this city had changed for the better. Do not be delusional into thinking that you will be safe inside your church when I literally dethroned a Demon Queen who sat a few metres from where you are sitting right now," I warned him.
His face did not show any signs of fear, but his body language betrayed him. He was starting to sweat more, as sweat trails were dripping from his forehead. His hand was shaking ever so slightly as he sipped some tea before finally speaking.
"Yes, I did send a letter to Son regarding the attacks of the monsters on the city," he confessed softly.
"Why did you suspect that he might be the one orchestrating the monster attacks?" I asked.
"Call it a hunch. We were not in the best of terms when he decided to leave the church, and I was just warning him. That was all my intention when I sent him that letter," he explained.
"Do you really think Son is capable of controlling demons to attack the city? Would it be too far-fetched to think that he can control the weather too?" I asked him.
"Anything is possible when you put your mind into it, Mister Zen," he said.
"Likewise, I would say the same to you then. What if you are throwing us off with that letter but plotting those monster attacks yourself? A show of hands, those in favour that I commence an investigation on the church for the suspicion of soliciting the monster attacks on this city," I raised the question.
That caught Father off guard, and he wanted to retaliate, but everyone except him raised their hands. This certainly made him furious that everyone was suspicious of him.
"Even you two?!" he shouted to the two other humans that were at the side of him.
"I'm sorry, Father. But the frequency of the monster attacks is getting out of hand right now. We need to find the reason why," explained one of them.
"And you think that I am behind these attacks? What would I even gain from these monster attacks in the first place?" he blabbered.
"If the church has nothing to hide and is not part of the attacks, then I will personally declare it to the public myself. I take it that you have no objections, seeing that the majority of members here have agreed, Father?" I asked him with a smirk.
"Do as you wish," he spat.
Oh, I intend to do so. I will rip apart that church of yours and unravel its darkest secrets for the world to see. One does not throw a snowball at my wife's face and get away with it!
***
"Wow, I didn't even need to do anything at all," said John as we were walking out of the castle.
"Ho ho, someone has increased their speech skills, I see," said the Paladin Lord.
"Huh? I never realised it at all. I was just determined to shake him down for more information. I was expecting him to retaliate even more, honestly speaking," I confessed.
"Aw, c'mon. You would expect a priest to not cover in fear from the hero who literally took down the Queen and her armies? You would need to be… a demon? Zen, you're not suspecting…" John trailed off.
"I had my suspicions, but after our meeting earlier, it seemed that he is human alright. One thing I noticed is that demons rarely show fear even under pressure, which makes Fear spell ineffective against them most of the time. It is their nature to be fearless, I suppose," I explained.
"When are you planning to raid the church then, Zen?" asked the Paladin Lord.
"Raid is a strong word, really. We won't be ransacking the church. That would bring down my name to those who worship them. I will be asking the guild members to spread out around the church while I allow Father to escort me around, showing what he wishes me to see. Rose, the Dark Lord, and other members will be sneaking around trying to find any suspicious activities while Father is escorting me. How fast can you get those members ready? I don't want to give him any time to hide things," I asked the Paladin Lord.
"Everything is already prepared. You were smart enough to come to us first before the meeting. To be honest, a lot of the things you told us were… imaginary, that we thought you were having one of your common episodes or something. Having Rose vouching for you certainly brings some validity to your story. How can I doubt my most prized member, am I right?" asked the Paladin Lord.
"Is that supposed to make me feel any better? Do all of you guildmasters see me as someone who is delusional and lives in my own fantasy? I know my curse comes out once in a while, but I am far from being removed from reality," I pouted.
"Well, your story was definitely filled with craziness that all of us had trouble believing. To have dreams become reality is just so… bizarre. Not to mention even affecting the weather? Out of this world indeed. I'm a bit worried the next time I go to sleep since dreams and illusions can become a reality," said John with a shrug.
"Why would you go to sleep when you have a beauty by your side every night? Planning on making another one?" I poked John with my elbow.
"It is not easy for an elf to conceive, I tell ya. You're lucky you chose Rose instead of Lily. Conceiving Aloe is no joke, I tell ya, man. Speaking of which, have you seen her recently?" chuckled John.
"Ah, to be young again. You youngsters certainly have a bright future ahead of you. Speaking of which, why does it feel like you barely aged at all? I might be old, but you looked exactly like you were when you fought the Queen if my old brain serves me right," asked the Paladin Lord.
"Yeah, brother, what are you smoking that keeps you young?" asked John as he smacked my back.
"I… don't really know either. Things changed after my resurrection, but I still don't know what Lily did to me. She won't tell me or Rose at all, which is strange. I've been wondering ever since whether resurrecting me broke some of her laws or something. I've not seen her after she came to visit me around five years ago." I put on a thinking face.
"Been a while since I last saw her, indeed. I wonder what she's been up to? She's not in this city for sure. Maybe she's avoiding you again," John shrugged.
Damn, a part of me worries for her as she had only met us once within these 15 years after I fought with Tom. Then she disappeared again and barely even showed herself in the city. Where are you, Lily? What have you been up to? I hope you are not in a pinch or have started avoiding me again. You promised you wouldn't be doing that anymore.
As we were heading out of the castle, Rose stood by the main gate while swinging her pocket watch or constantly flipping it open. The only missing thing is a cigarette in her mouth and a cowboy hat. She seems to be uneasy by the way she acts. Did the preparation for the church go sideways or something?
"Rose, what's going on? Why are you acting so flustered? Did something happen to our plans?" I asked her.
"Onii-chan, don't get mad, okay? I think I might have accidentally broken my watch," she whimpered at me with teary eyes.
"D… did you drop it or something?" I asked her with disbelief.
"What? No. It just… stopped moving all of a sudden. I'm not sure why, but it just doesn't move anymore," said Rose as she handed her watch to me.
I inspected her watch and saw no scratches or any cracked glass. It looks brand new to me. I took out my watch and gave it a check. It was still moving, so at least one of us can still tell the time when we're in a pinch. I guess since I will be paying a visit to Stein, it wouldn't hurt to let him check on why the watch is no longer moving. Guess Stein's creation is not fault-proof after all.
"I'll ask Stein to check on it when I visit him. I'm sure he is eager to understand why the watch stops working when you didn't drop it or anything," I told her.
"Oh, can I come along? I am really curious as to what other invention he has made. And… I also like to hear you talking all smartly, Mister Genius~" she whispered to me.
"Rose… John and the Paladin Lord are here with us," I reminded her.
"What? I didn't say anything weird like "Hawk Tuah" or something," she shrugged.
"Rose! What the hell?! Just… stop talking. You say weird things in public sometimes," I closed her mouth with my hand.
"Ahem… if you two are done with your flirting, shall we proceed with the raid on the church? I am sure the members are itching for me to give the order," coughed John.
"Right. Go ahead then. I will meet them at the church. Let the raid commence. I look forward to seeing what their miracle cure and other dark secrets lie in there," I rubbed my hands together.
A place of worship filled with dirty secrets. Not the first time that had ever happened. I'm getting excited about tearing that place apart if I so much as find a single demon hair or claw inside. As Rose says, it is only a matter of time.