NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97: The Pawn And The King
Elias stopped here and looked to the side as the door to the room opened and someone else entered. Dray expected to see the nuns that would usually bring his food for him at this time but he was surprised when he saw someone new. It was two priests that wore the same black and white ensemble as the nuns. The first priest that entered was quite handsome and he had a mysterious look in his eyes as he looked down at Dray. He had black hair and black eyes that glowed orange because of the fire burning in the room. He wore the regular outfit for priests, but Dray was surprised to see that there was a symbol printed on his waist sash. It was the image of a pawn piece from a chess game. The pawn piece was colored white and it had a black cross in the background.
Dray didn't know it, but the pawn piece had serious meaning behind it. The church that Dray and Elias were in used a special kind of system to classify their priests. The church had many branches and each branch had six classes that they were grouped into. The king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, and pawn. Those that were under the pawn class didn't have any chess pieces on their sash and they are known as the retainers. their position is beneath that of the pawns and they are like servants or helpers to the pawns. There can only be one King and Queen of each branch of the church, just like the regular chess pieces, and the other pieces also work in a similar way to how a chess board is arranged. There can only be two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. There can be an unlimited number of retainers in the church.
The second priest that entered behind the first one was far less mysterious and more open with his emotions and Dray could immediately tell that the priest didn't like him. The second priest openly glared at both Dray and Elias and there was a sneer on his lips. He was dressed in the same outfit as the first priest but he didn't have a chess piece printed on his sash. That showed that he was only a retainer. He had red hair that he tied in a ponytail and green eyes that were narrowed in distrust.
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Elias looked calmly at the two of them while ignoring the actions of the second priest. The first priest bowed to Elias and the second priest followed suit after a bit of hesitation. It was obvious that the second priest didn't want to bow at all, but he had to obey the actions of the pawn.
The pawn spoke up in a respectful voice.
"Your highness, pardon the intrusion,"
Elias hummed lightly as he regarded them for a moment. He had half a mind to simply ignore them and tell them to get out. He didn't miss the disrespectful actions of the retainer and he was irritated by it. But Elias decided not to do that, it was only a matter of time before he left here so he would endure this for now. He finally nodded and they stood straight from their bow.
Dray wondered who these were. Dray was now sure that they were in some sort of church but the uniforms of the priests were completely different from the uniform that he has seen on the priests in Aquinas. The priests in Aquinas wore white and gold but these priests were black and white. Did that mean they were in some other church? But that still wouldn't make sense since neither Uta nor Trad wore these colors. Uta's priests wear red and white and the priests in Trad wear Yellow. Where the hell am I?
The first priest introduced himself as Heimdall and the second priest said his name was Trust. Elias just stayed silent as he waited for them to finish their introductions, he already knew who they were so they were only introducing themselves for the sake of Dray. From the look that Elias was giving the priests, Dray could tell that Elias knew exactly why they were here but he was trying to make them say it themselves. Heimdall spoke after a long time of silence. He was obviously a little nervous but he still managed to keep his voice stable.
"The Rook has asked me to come and check up on our guest. It has been a week and we wanted to make sure that he was being taken care of properly,"
Elias narrowed his eyes once he heard 'rook' but it was gone so fast that no one noticed it. Elias turned to Dray as he spoke to Heimdall
"As you can see, he is not dead. Go and tell your rook that the guest is properly cared for. And next time, if she wants to speak to me, tell her to come here herself and not to send a mere pawn. If this happens again, we will have issues,"
Heimdall swallowed nervously but he still managed to give a nod in response. The two priests both bowed once again before they turned to leave but Hamdall had one more thing to say before going.
"The Rook also wanted me to remind you of your promise. She is adamant that the time is fast approaching for you to keep your part of the bargain. She hopes you will keep on aiding us generously,"
It was a sentence that held far more weight than what was said on the surface. Dray could try for hours but he would never be able to decipher just how much was said in that one sentence! Elias didn't say anything and he didn't even indicate that he heard what Heimdall said at all but Heimdall and Trust just left once they said their part.
Outside the room, Trust released a snort as he followed behind Heimdall.
"Why were you kissing up to that man so much? He might claim to be a king but he doesn't have any subjects, does he? What good is a king with no subjects? Are all the dragon slayers not dead already?"
Heimdall dismissively waved his hand. He didn't need Trust to remind him of the obvious. Everyone knew that the dragon slayers were all dead, but what does that change? People become kings because they are strong enough to unite their people under one banner. He might not have any subjects, but that man is undoubtedly a king.
"It would be wise if you kept that to yourself. He might be a king with no kingdom but he is still a king, and a strong one too. Even if he uses only a single finger, he would be able to kill us both in under a second."
Trust's eyes widened in surprise. He is that strong? If he is that strong then what is he doing here? Why is he seeking help from the church? Trust asked these questions and Heimdall stopped at a window as he looked down at the numerous nuns walking toward the cathedral to prepare for mass.
"It is like you said, a king needs a kingdom. But since he has lost his own, he can only seek help from allies. That is why we can keep such a powerful man on a leash. But that boy that he brought back with him is a problem. We don't know who that Dray is and it seems that the higher-ups are worried about the unknown."
"... You are serious? Is that boy a Dragon Slayer as well? I thought they were all wiped out. Did some survive?"
Heimdall shrugged at the question as he started walking again.
"How could I know? I am just a pawn and you are just my retainer, it is not our place to know such things. Now go do your job. It is time for mass,"
Trust could only sigh in irritation as he followed after his benefactor.
Back in the room, Elias waited for the two of them to move out of earshot before he continued talking again. He knew he couldn't say too much in front of that pawns since it is easy for the pawn to go and leak whatever he says to the Rook. You have to be careful of what you say in the presence of these church priests. They are like termites that have too many connections. Once a single retainer knows something, you can be sure that the king and queen will know about it before long.
Elias spoke up as he turned to Dray.
"I don't think there's anything more I can say to you. Whether you come out of this state or not is up to you, but think about what I will say next. Do you want to get rid of a single arm or do you want to cut off the head itself? Think about what you want to do next and give me an answer the next time I come here. If I were you, I'd choose wisely..."
That was the last thing Elias said before he turned and left Dray alone. Dray knew that Elias didn't answer a single one of his questions. Dray didn't know where he was or what the hell he was doing here and he had no idea who Elias was either. But he couldn't help but think about what Elias just said.
What the hell do I want to do now?