NOVEL NEXT Chapter 232
Chapter 232. Childhood Friend – An Unusual Journey
An awkward silence filled the air.
Lev, seated on the right side of the carriage, crossed his arms and remained silent, while Cardinal Mihaer, seated on the left, quietly read a book. The books were about agriculture and livestock.
The carriage jolted and came to a stop. It was mealtime. Lev and the Cardinal alighted from the carriage together.
Cardinal Mihaer stretched. Despite his age, he was remarkably healthy, not needing to stretch his back before checking on the captured crusaders who were traveling with them.
Three crusaders were perched on the back of the carriage.
They had been transported with their legs dangling outside the carriage but were in good condition despite being captured. Their limbs were not restrained, and they had received medical treatment. They could eat freely, so when someone called, “It’s mealtime!” they jumped off the carriage.
They were not prisoners. Although their weapons and armor had been taken.
“Thank you.”
The Cardinal offered a prayer with the crusaders before eating their rationed food. Lev sighed as he watched them huddle together. He thought things had gotten complicated and considered his next steps. Above him and his disciples, the white holy marks glowed.
Yesterday, Lev had restrained the crusaders and the elderly priest who tried to kill Euta’s grandmother.
That part went well. He thought that if they put up any resistance, breaking an arm or two would make them cooperate. However, upon learning the priest’s true identity, Lev realized he was in deep trouble.
It was Cardinal Mihaer.
An individual who had been a Cardinal for over forty years and was even of royal blood. {Noble Society} information revealed the old man’s illustrious past.
His secular name was Kremean de Tatalia, the former first prince of the Belita Kingdom. He was the uncle of Prince Karoman de Tatalia, who was disguised as Grand Duke Astaroth. Despite being the first prince, he wasn’t chosen as the successor—a rare occurrence in the Belita Kingdom, which highly valued legitimacy.
Perhaps due to the shock, Kremean de Tatalia left the royal family and joined the Cross Church right before his marriage to a princess from the Kingdom of Orun. Within just two years, he shed his novice status and gained fame as the greatest theologian of his time.
Lev couldn’t break the arm of such a significant figure. He muttered, “I apologize for the inconvenience,” and offered a sincere apology.
And that led to this situation.
Unable to either release or threaten this stubborn old man, Lev proposed a gentlemanly agreement.
In exchange for not killing them, they must not attempt to escape or do anything to harm us. If they comply, we will not harm them either and will release them when the situation allows—an oath sworn on honor. Cardinal Mihaer, after quietly observing Lev, agreed.
But with conditions.
The Cardinal promised not to attempt escape or harm after relinquishing the crusaders’ swords and armor. However, he declared that if a situation arose beyond Lev’s control, he would act as he saw fit.
It was a reasonable condition that Lev couldn’t refuse, which was why the Cardinal remained composed.
The holy marks on the heads of these suspicious criminals signified their inability to act within the Holy Kingdom.
Criminals certified by the crusaders.
Cardinal Mihaer knew that as soon as Lev and his group entered any city or town, the agreement would break. Even if they escaped through the mountains, the Cross Church would soon start looking for him, so there was nothing to worry about.
Thus began the strange journey of Lev and Cardinal Mihaer’s group.
Lev quickly left the Uena tribe village, fearing the church’s retribution, and Euta’s grandmother decided to move with her grandchildren to the hometown of her deceased daughter-in-law (the Hatata tribe).
“It might be for the best.”
Euta’s grandmother had said.
Euta had learned how to hunt, and she believed it would be better to live with the Hatata tribe, who made a living from hunting. Lev watched the small cart carrying the family depart with a complex expression before turning away.
And now.
Lev, also receiving rations and eating, bit his lip. ‘What should I do next?’ The concern was intense because he couldn’t go to Rutetia as things stood.
It was autumn, and Leo Dexter and Lena Einarr were likely close to arriving in Rutetia. But there was no way to contact them, and entering Rutetia with the holy marks would mean death.
“I am a Swordmaster!” — Lev could boast, but what about his disciples? And would that Cardinal just stand by? It was a serious concern.
Should I just kill him?
To hell with honor and everything… when have I ever cared about that?
Lev briefly considered secretly killing the Cardinal and waiting outside Rutetia for Leo to come out before taking him away. However, he quickly abandoned the idea.
At that time, Lena Einarr would be newly pregnant. Whether sooner or later, when Leo Dexter found out, he would return to Avril Castle, and Lev wasn’t confident he could persuade him otherwise. Leo wouldn’t cooperate with Minseo anyway, and the circumstances made it unavoidable.
Lev also thought about sending a letter. Hiring someone to deliver it from outside the castle was feasible.
But it was doubtful whether Leo Dexter, ‘following the actions of the previous iteration,’ would awaken merely upon reading a letter. If he didn’t respond, getting his help would be out of the question.
Lev was cornered.
Holding his throbbing head, Lev finished his meal. This was likely another one of Minseo’s {events}…
It was too much.
He didn’t expect a reward, but he had done good deeds. Yet, the reward was meeting the Cardinal and getting trapped.
If it were Minseo, he might have grumbled, “This isn’t the first time, but it’s tiresome.” However, after a couple of deep breaths, Lev could shake off his regrets.
Euta’s grandmother was truly grateful to him, so helping her, even if it meant encountering the Cardinal and repeatedly facing execution, wasn’t regrettable. Instead, Lev was more worried about:
‘Enen is safe now that the curse is gone, but how should I help the grandmother going forward?’
The solution was clear.
…How? Just clear it.
Lev steeled himself.
This would be the last iteration of the childhood friend scenario. Having cleared the previous beggar siblings scenario and unlocked the next, Lev decided not to choose the childhood friend scenario again in the future.
Thus, he had to succeed this time. Lev stood up and approached Cardinal Mihaer. He intended to find out why he had encountered this person.
“Did you enjoy your meal? Is there anything you’re uncomfortable with?”
“Yes, it was a good meal. I have no discomfort. It’s all thanks to the blessings of the Lord.”
…Not because Ban cooked well?
Lev thought he really didn’t like this Cardinal, but he nodded in agreement.
“Although the circumstances are such, I don’t think we need to be hostile. Are you on a pilgrimage, Cardinal?”
“Yes. But are you a knight? Or a noble? You don’t seem to be from our kingdom.”
“Yes, I come from another country. I’m traveling quietly with my disciples. You can consider me a knight.”
“I see. May I ask what crime you’ve committed?”
“I killed someone. Oh, Ban. Thank you. Cardinal, please help yourself.”
Ban Bizan brought out dessert.
Lev handed the Cardinal a small wooden container given by Ban. Inside was…
Egg pudding!
Wherever she had learned to make it, it was a rather fine dessert. Lev took a bite, chewing nonchalantly, although if it failed, there would be no way to fix it. Fortunately, the pudding was sweet and tasty.
“But what business did you have in that remote native village, Cardinal? It didn’t seem like a place you’d visit. There wasn’t an epidemic or anything.”
“A priest on a pilgrimage goes wherever the Lord guides him, without distinguishing places to visit or avoid.”
“…Is that so?”
Lev knew better. He was aware that the cardinal had a specific purpose for his pilgrimage. Before coming here, the cardinal had met and talked with Count Simon, and Lev, in Leo Dexter’s body, had overheard parts of that conversation.
Was it something about a “special crop”?
The cardinal had plans to start some kind of construction once the crop was found. The conversation left Count Umberto Simon looking rather weary.
The cardinal must have made some demands. Lev subtly probed further.
“It seems you planned to be on this pilgrimage for a while. You brought some books with you. Are you interested in agriculture or livestock?”
The cardinal, passing his pudding to another crusader, responded nonchalantly. He skipped dessert himself, cleansing his palate only with clean water.
“Yes. There’s a certain barren land southeast of the Bomer Volcano. In the summer, volcanic clouds block the sunlight, preventing crops from growing when they need sunlight the most.”
“…Because of the inland winds, I suppose. Ah! So that’s why you visited the Uena tribe, who grow mushrooms.”
The cardinal nodded.
On this continent, the winds change with the seasons. In spring, the winds blew clockwise around the continent. In summer, they blew in from the sea. In autumn, the winds reversed, blowing counterclockwise. In winter, they blew out to sea.
The summer and winter winds were particularly unique.
In summer, the winds blew in from all the surrounding seas, meeting at the continent’s center, Orville, where they created a strong updraft that soared high into the sky.
Conversely, in winter, the winds blew out towards all the coastlines, creating a strong downdraft that pressed down on Orville.
Thus, the summer wind was called the “inland wind,” while the winter wind was the “outland wind,” symbolizing the divine breathing in summer and out in winter.
So, the southeast of Bomer Volcano… Lev’s mind was racing.
That was where the Agnak Baron’s estate used to be, a place he had passed by during a previous engagement iteration. He hadn’t explored it much back then since he was busy trying to break off his engagement with Lena.
He did know one thing, though: the Agnak Barony had been attacked and destroyed by the powerful Simon County.
He didn’t know how the war between the mighty Simon County and the poor Agnak Barony started, but he knew that the Simon County was now governing the barony’s former lands.
‘Wait, something’s fishy here.’
Unless a family holds the title of Margrave, owning two estates is illegal. It’s natural for one to temporarily govern another’s estate after a territorial war, but ultimately, they must either merge the estates or hand them over to the ruling Frederic Royal Family.
The Agnak Barony fell over thirty years ago.
This means that the Simon County has been governing the Agnak Barony’s lands for a long time, which wouldn’t be possible in a normal kingdom.
If it were a normal kingdom, that is.
‘The Crusader Church… This cardinal has done something.’
The Frederic Royal Family was a puppet under the influence of the Crusader Church. Lev was sure that the cardinal and Count Umberto Simon had made some sort of illicit agreement.
And it was likely illegal.
Lev smacked his lips in frustration.
It wasn’t because he had finished his egg pudding but because he regretted not thoroughly exploring the Simon County and Agnak Barony’s lands during the previous engagement iteration. Of course, he hadn’t been in the right mental state back then.
‘I need to meet Count Simon.’
Lev stood up. Wrapping up his conversation with the cardinal, he decided on his next course of action.
But he didn’t head directly north to Count Simon’s estate.
He couldn’t go empty-handed.
Nine young men rode alongside him as escorts, and the crusaders sitting at the back of the carriage dangled their legs as the carriage traveled for two days. When they arrived at a vast plain, Lev signaled Hatou, who was driving the carriage, to stop everyone.
“We’re taking that.”
Lev pointed to a creature grazing peacefully in the distance.
A black horse.
It was a “Nightmare.”