Chapter 285: She'kel Village (3)

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Octus 23, 3023 A.M., day of Monar, 10:24 a.m.

Holy Crusade Squad’s Meeting Room, Temple of Priest Building, She’kel Village.

Vivian placed her hand on top of her Memory Crystal and the crystal emitted a glow as the information she sent was added to its records.

Finally…

She picked up an original 2-page document and placed it on top of a pile that had other original documents.

I’m truly, finally…

She picked up the copied 2-page document and placed it inside the folder that had other copied documents.

Done…!

She turned to Wind who was still writing but close to being finished.

“Already done, Sister Inquisitor?” a male voice asked.

Vivian turned to him and saw it was Theodore.

Just like yesterday, Wind was sitting at the top edge of the long table, Vivian was sitting on Wind’s left side and Theodore was sitting on Wind’s right side.

“Fortunately…” she said with a tired voice.

Theodore nodded with an understanding smile.

“I must admit, I thought it would take the both of you at least 2 days to copy and record these reports. You Inquisitors are truly on a different level when it comes to stuff like this.”

Vivian waved her hand in a nonchalant manner.

“All Divisions have their own strengths and weaknesses.”

Theodore nodded with an understanding smile once again.

“I guess that’s true.”

Janis, who was sitting at the lounging area along with Ronan and Zola and enjoying some tea and snacks, got up and then went towards Vivian.

“Sister Inquisitor, may I offer you something to drink and eat?”

Vivian slowly turned her head towards him and then a small and knowing smile appeared on her lips behind her half-mask.

He’s not surprised with what I showed him yesterday…?

Quite the adaptable fellow, eh…?

“Wine. I want wine. Preferably red.”

When Janis heard the word ‘red’, an image of Vivian grinning with bloodstained lips and teeth flashed inside his head and he almost recoiled from her.

“I’ll bring you a glass right now.”

“A bottle and a glass -- a proper wine glass, not metal. I hate the taste of metal and how it touches my teeth.”

“Yes, Sister Inquisitor,” he said and then finally left.

Inside the Meeting Room, there was a small kitchen that had a “Fire/Ice Case”. If this were back in Vivian’s original world, it would be the equivalent of a refrigerator. But in this world, it was a rectangular box about 6ft tall and 4ft wide divided into 2 columns and 3 rows. On the left side was the cold temperature section with the first or top box having a normal freezing temperature, the box below it a bit colder, and then the last box really cold. Meanwhile, on the right side was the hot temperature with the same sequence.

They also have teapots and cups that were engraved with Runes to maintain the hotness or the coldness of the drinks.

This guy…

Based on the documents that Pen gave me...

This guy used to be part of the Infantry Division when he was still active in the Holy Crusade…

“Brother Theodore, I have a question.”

Theodore nodded.

“Sure.”

“What is it like to be in the External Unit?”

“It’s fine, I can’t complain.”

“It’s 10 months, right? From the month of Aurgus to the month of Mayus?”

“Yes.”

“And you can’t leave the Village or Town you’re assigned to?”

“I can leave, but I would need to write a formal letter first to my supervisors and have them sign it before I could leave.”

“How’s the pay? Is it monthly? I’m assuming it’s part of the Grade Job system?”

“This position falls under the Grade II Job and so my salary is 250 platinum coins a month.”

“That’s 250 Holy platinum coins, right?”

“Yes.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but excluding the bonuses, Grade IV is 1-5 platinum coins a month, Grade II is 50 platinum coins a month, Grade II is 250 platinum coins a month, and Grade I is 500 platinum coins for Gold Cloak and 1,000 platinum coins for Red and Gray Cloaks, correct?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Why did you take this job? From what I can see, you seem to be a very capable person. I doubt that your Chapter Temple wouldn’t give you a management or secretarial type of job.”

Theodore chuckled and offered a slight bow.

“Thank you for the compliments, Sister Inquisitor. The truth is, I enjoy the climate here, specifically the snow. I’ve always been fascinated by it.”

Right…

Heisen Kingdom is near the Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint…

“I see. That’s very interesting.”

Janis approached Vivian with a bottle of wine and a wine glass.

“Sister,” he said as he placed it next to her.

“Thank you, brother,” she said and smiled.

“You’re welcome,” he said and smiled before returning to the lounging area with Ronan and Zola.

“However,” Theodore said, “It’s not that I plan to be part of the External Unit forever. Eventually, when I’m ready to settle down, I’ll go back and find a job at my Chapter Temple.”

“I see. That’s good.”

Heh~…

So there are people like him in this world…?

I always thought that men in this world, especially the rich and powerful ones, can’t wait to get married and plant their roots right away…

I mean…

He’s in his early 30s, he’s a Priest and he has a good physique…

I can just imagine women, especially non-Priest women throwing themselves at him…

Wait…!

Perhaps he only has 1 Magic Art…?

No, no, no, wait…

She tried to recall the documents Pen gave her.

As far as I can remember…

This guy has Light and Ice…

Both are True…

And his last known Physical and Magic Force, at least during his last Holy Crusade or 3 years ago, was Adamantite-Rainbow Steel...

Oh shit, I forgot about this…

Plok!

She opened the bottle of wine and poured herself a drink.

Sip.

Hmm…

Not bad…

The one at the restaurant tasted better…

“Finally done, brother?” Theodore asked.

Wind closed his folder and nodded.

“Yes, only because your team’s reports have been quite detailed and clear, and of course, because of your assistance as well,” he said and smiled.

“Should I start packing all of these? I believe you still have to copy Sister Michelle and her team’s reports.”

Wind nodded once again.

“Yes,” he said and then turned to Zola. “Sister Lieutenant Zola.”

Zola got up from her seat and then saluted.

“Brother Inquisitor!”

“Please inform Sister Michelle that we will be copying her team’s reports this afternoon.”

“Yes, Brother Inquisitor!” she said and then left the room.

As for Theodore, he started gathering the papers.

Ronan got up from his seat and went over to him.

“Brother, allow me to help.”

“If it’s okay with you, sure.”

“It’s okay with me,” he said and smiled.

Ronan was from the Azatea Chapter Temple while Theodore was from the Heisen Chapter Temple. However, they were both in their early 30s and were in the Infantry Division -- technically, Ronan was still in the Infantry Division while Theodore was already retired. Regardless, they’ve both been on the same Infantry Division Barracks and Field Missions in the past.

As a matter of fact, Theodore, Ronan, Zola, who was in her late 20s from the Twin Chapter Temple, and Janis, who was also in his late 20s but was part of the Air Division and from the Verglas Chapter Temple, they all at least shared an Infantry Division Barracks and a Field Mission or two in the past.

In the Holy Crusade, after a couple of contracts, eventually, all Crusaders from different Divisions would cross paths with each other in one form or another. However, when it comes to the Infantry Division and the Air Division, they usually end up sharing Field Missions together.

***

1:13 p.m.

Ka-cha!

Wind, Vivian and Zola were walking down n a hallway while led by Zamara.

Zamara was a Knight Captain from the Orion Kingdom in her mid-30s with half-white and half-black skin, and was bald.

Wind was walking behind Zamara and carrying a small suitcase that had his Memory Crystal.

Vivian was walking behind Wind and also carrying a small suitcase that had her Memory Crystal.

And Zola was walking behind Vivian and carrying a couple of folders filled with blank papers.

They finally reached their destination -- the Meeting Room assigned to the Orion Kingdom squad.

Knock, knock.

Zamara knocked.

Ka-cha!

“Pardon for the intrusion!” she announced as she opened the door.

Paula, a Knight Guard in her late 30s with orange hair and part of the Orion Kingdom squad, saluted.

“Welcome, Honored Priest Inquisitor Wind and company!” she said and then gestured her hand to the long table that had the documents and a Memory Crystal about the murder case with 1 Gold and 2 White Cloak Priestesses waiting. “Honored Priestess Michelle, Honored Priestess Celine and Honored Priestess Aiyesha are ready to meet you.”

Wind, Vivian and Zola went over to where Michelle and the rest were.

Wind saluted.

“Sister Michelle, I am Brother Inquisitor Wind. Thank you for welcoming us. We will be in your group’s care. And may the God of Light be with you,” he said and smile.

Vivian saluted.

“Sister Michelle, I am Sister Inquisitor Monad. Thank you for welcoming us. We will be in your group’s care. May the God of Light be with you.”

Zola saluted.

“Sister Michelle! I am Sister Lieutenant Zola of the Infantry Division! Thank you for welcoming us, we will be in your group’s care, and may the God of Light be with you!”

Michelle nodded.

“Thank you, Brother Inquisitor Wind, Sister Inquisitor Vivian and Sister Lieutenant Zola. May the God of Light be with all of you as well,” she said and then turned to her companions. “Allow me to introduce you to my fellow Chapter Sisters who will be assisting you.”

She gestured towards a fat White Cloak Priestess in her mid-30s with short blue hair styled in a pixie haircut.

“This is Sister Celine.”

Celine gave a slight bow.

“May the God of Light be with you,” she said and smiled.

Michelle then gestured towards a chubby and dark-skinned White Cloak Priestess in her mid-30s, sporting short pink dreads.

“And this is Sister Aiyesha.”

Aiyesha also gave a slight bow.

“May the God of Light be with you,” she said and smiled.

“They have been with me since the beginning of the investigation, so they can answer any question you have involving the True Death murder of Sister Bithiah,” Michelle said.

Wind nodded.

“I see. That’s very assuring to hear. May we begin?”

“Of course,” Michelle said and smiled before turning to the Zola. “Sister Lieutenant, may I have the pleasure of sharing some tea with you?”

Zola saluted.

“The pleasure is all mine, Sister Michelle!”

Michelle waved her hand nonchalantly as she headed over to the lounging area.

“Oh please, we’re all friends here. Sister will do.”

“Yes, sister!”

As for where Ronan and Janis were, they were in charge of guarding the Meeting Room assigned to their squad, specifically the documents that Wind and Vivian copied from the External Unit.

***

5:01 p.m.

Wind placed his pen down.

“Sisters, thank you for all your hard work. Let’s call it a day and resume tomorrow morning.”

Celine and Aiyesha nodded.

Vooom!

Vivian, on the other hand, nodded and then quickly finished what she was writing. However, she only used around 1/5 of her total Physical and Magic Force.

90 points is only around Mithril…

I think a person my age using this speed at the last minute wouldn’t trigger any alarms…

Zola, who was sitting at the lounging area with Michelle, Paula and Zamara, gave a slight bow to Michelle and then stood up.

“Excuse me, sister,” she said and then went over to where Wind and Vivian.

“Sister Lieutenant, I’ll carry the Memory Crystal, you carry the folders. Thank you,” Wind said.

Zola nodded.

“Yes, Brother Inquisitor.”

Vivian was finally done and she turned to Zola.

“Same with me as well.”

Zola nodded once more.

“Yes, Sister Inquisitor.”

As Wind, Vivian and Zola began packing up their things, Michelle got up and went towards them.

“Sister Inquisitor Monad, may I have a moment of your time?”

Vivian stopped what she was doing and then turned to her.

“Yes, Sister Michelle?”

“May I ask what you will be doing after this?”

“I will be in my room and then attend the banquet at 7:00 p.m.”

Clap.

Michelle clapped her hands and smiled.

“Wonderful. If you don’t mind, may I invite you to have tea with me? Since this is the first time we’ve personally talked to each other, I would like to get to know you better.”

“Here? Right now?”

Michelle shook her head.

“No, somewhere more pleasant. Now that I think about it, there is this restaurant that serves great tea. I’ve been planning to try it ever since I came here but I keep forgetting. And since you’re here, I was thinking we could try it together.”

“Um…” Vivian said and then looked at Wind.

“Sister Inquisitor, I don’t plan to talk about the case. I simply want to get to know you better. I also don’t plan to ask anything personal regarding your identity. I used to be an Inquisitor, I did 5 contracts on that Division, so I know the rules,” Michelle said and smiled.

Wind stepped forward.

“Sister, I don’t mean to overstep any boundaries, but I hope you don’t mind me reminding you that interfering with an Inquisitor’s investigation is strictly prohibited, especially if the person has some vested interest in the investigation.”

Michelle pushed up her glasses.

“Brother, when did I say I’m planning to interfere with the investigation? I’ve said nothing of such sort. I’m merely inviting a sister to enjoy a cup of tea with me to get to know each other. Is that also prohibited? Or do you think so little of Sister Inquisitor Monad’s capacity to think for herself?”

Wind flashed a very warm smile.

“Sister, I’m simply watching my squad and your squad’s back. If people see you and Sister Inquisitor Monad spending time together, it might affect the Trial Hearing.”

Michelle flashed a very warm smile as well.

“Brother, if you’re worried about people seeing Sister Inquisitor Monad and I spending time together, then what do you call this?”

“This is different. We’re here to copy your reports.”

Michelle nodded.

“I see. I get it now. You and the Light Faction have already made your decision.”

“With all due respect, that’s not what I said, sister”

“How is it any different, brother? If you can say that people seeing Sister Inquisitor Monad and I spending time together in public could affect the case, then I could also say that your refusal us to spend time together in public shows that the Light Faction has already made its decision. My, my, I wonder what the other Factions are going to say about this.”

“Brother,” Vivian interjected.

“I think it wouldn’t affect the case as long as this only happens once. And plus, what can Sister Michelle do? Force me to write a false report?”

She turned to Michelle.

“Sister Michelle, I would love to have tea with you. But please know that this would only be once because I was specifically sent here to do a proper and fair investigation about the True Death murder case of Sister Bithiah and I plan to do that no matter what. After this Field Mission, we could have tea together as many times as you like,” she said and smiled.

***

5:21 p.m.

Michelle, Vivian, Zola, Celine and Paula were walking inside a restaurant’s dining hall while being led by a waiter.

When they finally reached their table, the waiter stopped and lowered his head as he gestured with his hand to the round table.

“Honored Priestesses and Sir Knight, this is your table.”

There were several tables within the hall, but there was enough distance between each table to not disturb each other.

Michelle, Vivian and Celine immediately sat down. Meanwhile, Zola, who was carrying a small suitcase that had Vivian’s Memory Crystal, and Paula stood guard on the side.

Michelle turned to Paula.

“Knight Captain, if you’re not going to join us, you’re going to make Sister Inquisitor Monad, Sister Celine and I having a business meeting.”

Vivian turned to Zola.

“Sister Michelle is right.”

Paula saluted.

“My apologies, Honored Priestess Michelle. And pardon the intrusion, Honored Priestesses,” she said and then joined the table.

Zola didn’t say anything and simply joined.

Michelle turned to Vivian and nodded with a smile before turning to the waiter.

The waiter immediately stepped forward.

“Excuse me, Honored Priestess,” he said as he presented the menu.

Michelle received the menu.

“All of us would have the Barley Tea. And for dessert, I would have the Icing Cheese Cake,” she said and then passed the menu over to Vivian.

“I’ll have the Red Icing Chocolate Cake,” she said and then passed the menu over to Zola.

“I’ll have the Milk Toast Roll,” she said and then passed the menu to Paula.

“I’ll also have the Red Icing Chocolate Cake,” she said and then passed the menu to Celine.

“I’ll have the Blue Icing Cheese Cake,” she said and then passed the menu to the waiter, who lowered his head as he received it.

“As you wish, Honored Priestesses and Sir Knight. I will be back with your orders right away,” he said before bowing once again and then finally leaving.

Michelle swept her gaze around the hall for a moment and then turned to Vivian.

“Not too bad, right?”

A confused expression flashed across Vivian's face behind her half-mask.

“The what, sister?”

“This place. It’s not too bad.”

“Yeah,” Vivian said nonchalantly.

“They say that this restaurant was created 3 years ago. There was another restaurant before this but the owners decided to sell it after they failed to compete with another restaurant across the street. I believe the previous restaurant lasted about 8 years?”

“I see. That’s very unfortunate.”

“You’re not fond of dining in restaurants like this, sister?”

“It’s not that I’m not fond, I just don’t have anything positive or negative about things like this.”

Michelle turned to Zola.

“How about you, sister?”

“It’s decent. Have you ever been to the Azatea Kingdom?”

“Are you referring to the restaurants by the beaches?”

Zola nodded.

“Yes.”

Celine nodded also.

“I’ve been there as well. Me, Sister Aiyesha, my sister and our other Sisters went to the spa-hotel and restaurant named Krusty Shell.”

Michelle raised an eyebrow.

“Krusty Shell? The owner is actually a close friend of mine, Sister Josephine. We used to be in the same station back in the Sea Division. I also know her brother, Brother Jacques, and her husband, Brother Marcel.

“Well, technically, their families own that business establishment but she and her husband are the main owners, and she's the one who manages it -- as talented as Brother Marcel is, his talents lies elsewhere.

"I also know their children. Her son, Brother Julien, is part of the Infantry Division. He didn’t follow his father’s footsteps in becoming part of the Air Division. Meanwhile, her daughter, Sister Marguerite, is still a Brown Cloak but I believe she plans to join the Sea Division just like her mother once she becomes a White Cloak.”

“Brother High Lieutenant Ronan is from the Azatea Kingdom. They must be related?” Zola said.

“What’s his last name?”

Zola thought about it for a moment.

“I believe it was Charbonnier.”

A slight frown appeared on Michelle’s face and she turned Celine and Aiyesha.

The two women shook their heads.

“I’m not familiar with the last name,” Celine said.

“Me too,” Aiyesha said.

Michelle returned her gaze to Zola.

“What about his middle name?”

“I’m not sure. But I do know he’s married to a Sister from the Azatea Chapter Temple, Sister Clotilde, she’s from the Herison family and she’s part of the Exploratory Division. And from what I heard, they got married earlier this year.”

Michelle shook her head.

“Sister Josephine’s middle name was Bubo and her last name was Quietus before she got married. And when she got married, she became Josephine B. Quietus-Pierrat.

“The Bubo family is a High-Tier Noble Priest family and the Quietus family is a Mid-Tier Noble Priest family that could trace their lineage back here to the Holy Kingdom.

“Meanwhile, the Pierrat family, it’s still a High-Tier Noble Priest family, but it’s lineage is from the Azatea Kingdom.”

“The name ‘Charbonnier’ sounds Azatean. Maybe a Noble Knight family?” Celine said.

Aiyesha nodded.

“That could be. But the Herison… sounds Twinian to me.”

“I’m quite familiar with all the Noble families in the Twin Kingdom. I don’t know any Herison there,” Zola said.

“Or perhaps a Commoner family?” Michelle said and then made a face.

She, Zola, Celine and Aiyesha giggled.

When they noticed that Vivian wasn’t giggling, they quickly stopped.

As for Paula, since she was a Knight, she would only respond when asked and they could care any less.

Michelle cleared her throat.

“No matter what, Brother High Lieutenant Ronan is a Brother, Sister Clotilde is a Sister, they're both veterans of the Holy Crusade, and they’re married. Those things alone deserve so much admiration and respect. May the God of Light bless them both.”

Zola, Celine and Aiyesha nodded.

“That’s true. May the God of Light watch over them.”

“May the God of Light watch over them and their family.”

“May the God of Light watch over them and their family, and may their children be blessed with the Light Affinity.”

“Thank you for waiting, Honored Priestesses and Sir Knight,” a male voice said.

The waiter from earlier came back with a cart that had their orders.

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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Chapter end