Chapter 110 : Chapter 110

Chapter 110 - The Animal Hater (1)

Two weeks had passed since then.

That was the time it took for Artier’s party to return to the capital from the northern ruins.

Although they hadn’t reached their destination, Baron Rice’s fief, what they had gained from this expedition was substantial.

“My lord Count, we have been waiting!”

As soon as he passed through the Teleport gate, Artier could see dozens of knights surrounding the area.

“Father!”

“Copin, you survived. Well done.”

The count’s eldest son, who was among the knights, was moved to tears upon seeing Count Cranman.

“It is nothing. Let us go, I have prepared a carriage.”

“Yes. I wish to wash this filthy body at once.”

The count brushed off the dust and boarded the prepared carriage.

“I will not forget this kindness.”

“You will keep the secret, won’t you?”

“I swear on my honor to remain silent. Supreme-Grade Mercenary Artier.”

With those words, the count disappeared.

‘It was unavoidable, but will the count really keep the existence of the Sacred Knights a secret?’

Gerard, who had read Artier’s subtle expression, approached and said.

“To nobles, honor is as important as life itself. He will surely keep silent.”

“I hope so.”

“We have to report this situation anyway. His Holiness the Pope will then devise a countermeasure.”

“Right.”

Artier moved his feet without delay.

“Let’s return to the Papal State for now.”

As it had been an itinerary of over a month, there was no one who wasn’t exhausted.

“I’ll be at a nearby inn, so call me if you need anything.”

“Alright. I’ll call you soon.”

“Sooner would be better. The Council is starting to get restless.”

After seeing Tersion off, next was Reinard.

“I will be going on ahead.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I plan to go to the market.”

Artier realized what he was about to do.

He had already experienced it with Gerard’s party.

“How about we do it together?”

“It is a matter for our party. We will handle it ourselves.”

“What do you mean? We’re all part of the same expedition.”

“Leader, this is not the time for you to be held back by us.”

“Held back! How can you say something so harsh? It’s the process of sending off our precious comrades!”

“We cannot render the information obtained through such means meaningless.”

Even when Jeina shouted, Reinard remained unmoved.

“The enemy also knows of our existence. So now, it’s a battle against time. The future of the Empire will be decided by who moves first.”

“Alright. I’ll go and report as quickly as possible.”

Artier sent Reinard’s party off.

There was nothing wrong with his words.

Having moved forward while shedding blood, there was no turning back.

Afterward, upon arriving at the Papal State, Artier told the party to rest (the three of them fled to the bathhouse as if escaping), and immediately went to find Ropin.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

It wasn’t Ropin’s voice.

When Artier opened the door and went inside, Acolyte Priest Herman was organizing documents.

“Have you returned? Welcome back.”

“Where is Sir Ropin?”

“I believe he is at the Imperial Palace with Sir Trophin’s party to celebrate the Crown Prince’s birthday.”

“Pardon?”

Artier doubted his own ears.

As far as he knew, Ropin had left for the Imperial Palace when he was in the doppelgangers’ den.

“There’s no way the birthday banquet would last for two weeks.”

“Ah? Is that so?”

Herman, who asked back naively, had an outstanding talent for rendering one speechless.

If he just took one step outside the Papal State, he would be able to see the capital, which had returned to its daily routine.

“Then perhaps he headed somewhere without returning?”

“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

“Well…”

While the priests of the Rata faith did go on training periodically, it wasn’t like Ropin.

He frequently went on training, to the extent that in severe cases, the time he spent at the Papal State in a year did not exceed two weeks.

“Still, since he has to handle the affairs of the Sacred Knights, I don’t think he would have left the capital. He’s probably somewhere in the city, don’t you think?”

“……Understood.”

Artier left the Papal State just like that.

Although he desperately wanted to wash up, a feeling of unease lingered.

‘I need to share this information quickly.’

The number of trustworthy people in the capital could be counted on one hand.

It wasn't that Artier didn't know anyone, but there was one thing that bothered him. It was the fact that they were all people he would meet in the latter half of the game.

‘I’ve felt this for a while, but whenever I try to deviate from the set story, completely unknown variables arise.’

Artier's greatest weapon was his knowledge of the locations of various items and dungeons, and above all, his knowledge of the future.

But recently, events he didn't know about had been occurring continuously.

It was because Artier had kept changing the results of the future that he didn't want.

Those who should have died did not die, and enemies who should have lived died.

In the game, there was a set story no matter what happened, but in reality, that was not the case. As if trying to maintain a balance, the enemies' momentum was also gradually getting stronger.

‘Of course. They wouldn't just foolishly let themselves be beaten.’

So, although it was a bit late, he was searching for Ropin, thinking that perhaps he should follow the original story now.

‘He’s not answering his communications…’

The easiest method had failed.

Ropin didn't respond to his communications at all, which was a very strange situation since he was unlikely to be unconscious or dead.

“Father Ropin? I saw his escorts buying groceries near the market district last time. Why don’t you ask them?”

“Thank you.”

The next method Artier chose was to ask the people around. Ropin was a well-known priest, after all.

After asking around and following the trail, he came across a familiar face.

“Trophin.”

“Oh, Artier!”

Trophin, who had a build as large as Jeina’s, looked just as he had before.

“You look like a complete mess! Did you just get back?”

“Yes. Bishop Ropin wasn’t at the Papal State.”

“Ah, follow me.”

Trophin led Artier to a plain and simple inn.

‘Why is he in a place like this instead of the perfectly fine Papal State?’

Creak.

As he entered the inn, a hollow-faced Ropin was buried in a pile of documents, frantically moving his quill pen.

“What is all this……”

“Well, you see.”

Trophin explained the situation to Artier.

It all started when a disgruntled-looking Simon and Ropin were looking for their accommodation.

‘Pack your things.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Let us leave the palace. I can’t seem to concentrate here at all.’

Ropin, who immediately left the Imperial Palace with Trophin’s party in tow, had asked them to find a quiet place where he wouldn’t be disturbed.

And so, until today, he had been continuously deciphering the contents of the documents.

“What are those?”

“I don’t know for sure either. Simon avoids answering when I ask him.”

“Hmm.”

Artier approached Ropin’s side.

The documents were filled with characters Artier couldn’t understand.

‘It’s the code used by the Imperial family. It should only be used for confidential documents.’

He was roughly getting the picture.

“Ropin.”

“Oh? Is that you, Artier!”

Ropin only reacted after Artier had come right up to him.

“You’ve come at a good time! What happened with the expedition? What was the identity of the Hellmorphs? What was the Imperial expedition doing?”

“Well……”

“You brought the being called Ben, I trust? Where is he now? Did you bring him with you? Or is he at the Papal State?”

“Please ask one question at a time……”

Ropin’s condition was clearly not normal.

The dark circles under his eyes looked like they would drip down at any moment, his hair was disheveled, and most importantly, the look in his eyes was not normal.

“For now, please get some rest.”

“What are you talking about. There’s no time for that. There’s no time. Didn’t I say there’s no time. There’s no time……”

“Ropin?”

Artier hastily caught Ropin, who suddenly slumped down.

With his eyes wide open, Ropin was muttering the words ‘there’s no time’ as if possessed.

“Ropin! Get a hold of yourself!”

“Leave him be. He’s fallen asleep.”

“Pardon?”

Trophin chuckled heartily as he closed Ropin’s eyes and prepared the bedding.

“It’s not easy for an old man to stay awake for two weeks, is it?”

“You should have tried to stop him……”

“I don’t have the authority to stop him, and he’s not the type to listen even if I did, is he? Hahaha!”

Even with the booming laughter, Ropin showed no reaction.

Artier unconsciously placed a hand under Ropin’s nose, and only after feeling a faint breath could he be relieved.

“Anyway, how was the expedition? Tell me about that until the Bishop wakes up.”

“Is this room soundproof?”

“Of course, the Bishop himself installed a soundproofing magic circle.”

Artier pondered for a moment before nodding.

Since they were also members of the Sacred Knights, it was better to share what information he could.

“I’ll prepare a spot, so wait a bit. There’s a Magic Stone over there, so use that to dust yourself off.”

“Thank you.”

[Magic Stone (Magic, Consumable)]

[Embedded Magic: (Cleansing Magic) Removes dust from the target object and makes it clean.]

Ssssh!

As he crushed the Magic Stone, the soot and stench disappeared.

It felt like he had wiped his whole body with a wet towel.

‘It doesn’t have the refreshing feeling of washing with water. I see why people prefer bathhouses.’

Looking around, Artier’s gaze fell on the documents Ropin had deciphered.

He must have been in such a rush that the documents were scattered all over the place.

“There should be no problem in reading them.”

Artier picked one of them up and read it.

[Imperial Calendar Year XXX, Month 0X, Day 17]

[Projected Invasion Route: Condestraden County]

[Support is denied at the request of His Highness the 5th Prince.]

[Confirmed that mercenaries refer to the unidentified creature by the name ‘Hellmorph’.]

[This will be designated as the official name.]

‘Huh.’

In the original story, Hellmorphs were called monsters until the very end.

But perhaps due to Artier’s influence, Hellmorph had become the official name.

“……By the way, who is His Highness the 5th Prince?”

Artier filed the information away in his head and checked another document.

[Imperial Calendar Year XXX, Month 0X, Day 04]

[Tax Adjustment Proposal: Increase by 25% compared to the previous year.]

[Activation of Conscription System: Under review.]

[Continue to execute the plan.]

[DHLQNDML WJRDMF DLDYDGO TPRMA DLSTKDDP WJDEKDTJDDMF QNDUGKSEK…….]

Unfortunately, the document he picked up had not been fully deciphered yet.

As he was putting down the document in disappointment, Artier felt a strange sensation.

“Why is this in the alphabet?”

Other documents had characters he couldn’t read at all, but this was definitely English.

It was strange. English was not used in this world.

‘It seems they left room for the player to interpret it.’

Looking closely, an information window was faintly superimposed on top of the document. It was exquisitely hiding the original characters and displaying the English letters.

If so, there must be a way to solve it.

“But how do I solve this without any hints……”

As he muttered, Artier suddenly realized something.

The lack of a hint was the hint itself.

“It means it’s a cipher that can be decrypted even without a hint?”

What on earth could that be…?

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