Gideon leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Roland with a newfound intensity. The mention of a sacred beast made him somewhat uneasy. From Elodia's story, it seemed they were concerned for Agni. It aligned with the old legends about Sunlight Wolfs and their obvious connection to the goddess. However, Roland couldn't rule out the possibility that they would resort to forceful means to take possession of his tamed beast.
Typically, a monster attached to a person was considered a tamed beast, reinforced by this world's system. Both he and Agni were present on each other's status screens. If analyzed enough, it was possible to see Roland listed as Agni's current master, but it wasn't an unchangeable title. Instances existed where tamed monsters were passed down to others, sometimes by choice but other times by force.
There were items and skills that could take away the master titles. Usually, people with tamer classes possessed them but for a creature of Agni’s magnitude it wouldn’t be such an easy task. It was harder to control tamed monsters of higher levels and ones with long lasting relationships with their masters. Taming in a sense was a sort of charm effect that also brainwashed the monster. The higher the beast’s intelligence and willpower was, the harder it was for such skills to work on them.
“You mean Agni, what about him? Hope he hasn’t been troubling you too much?”
“Troubling? Nothing of the sort! It’s such a magnificent creature!”
Loreena was the one to interject after he answered while prodding for some answers. It wasn’t hard to assume that the two were interested in the Sunlight wolf.
“That’s good but I don’t see how my tamed beast has anything to do with this incident?”
“So, it is your tamed beast?”
“Of course? Who else would it belong to?”
The replies were somewhat odd, it was as if they had not examined Agni to any extent. His armor had been damaged during the battle so hiding status screens had become impossible. If they wanted they could easily discover the truth but for some reason they didn’t. It seemd as if they didn’t want to use their skills on him.
‘Could it be some rule within the church? Is it forbidden for them to analyze what they perceive as sacred beasts?’
"Belong to? How is that even possible? How could someone outside the Church be accepted by the holy beast? It doesn't make any sense."
This time, it was Gideon who spoke up, though he lacked a table to smack. Instead, he resorted to hitting his own knee. His eyes narrowed, seeking an answer that Roland was hesitant to provide. To do so, he would have to delve into his involvement with divine rune emulation and elaborate on how he had revived Agni from the brink of death. This, in all likelihood, was the catalyst for Agni's evolution into the Sunlight Wolf.
"That's true. It's said that only those of the sun can trigger a divine transformation. Are you, by any chance, a Paladin of the order yourself, Sir Roland?"
Loreena inquired, her eyes growing in anticipation of his answer. It didn't seem like he could lie his way out of this one, but before indulging the two paladins, he needed to make something clear. One aspect of this situation kept bothering him: how did these church members assemble such a large force? They had to know where the cultists were going to attack beforehand or had been trailing them from a safe distance.
"Before I answer your question, I have one for you instead. How did you get here so fast?"
"What do you mean?"
Responded Gideon while raising a brow, his face growing colder the longer Roland continued to ask his question.
"I've been thinking, but things just don't add up. Either your people did a terrible job at sanctifying the village where the incident took place, or you did it on purpose."
"What are you implying?"
“I’m sure that you know what I am implying. You’ve set a trap for these cultists and I was the sacrificial lamb.”
Gideon and Loreena exchanged glances, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense. Roland could see the gears turning in their minds, contemplating whether or not to confirm his suspicions. The silence lingered, broken only by the distant echoes of footsteps from the church above. Finally, Loreena sighed, relenting to the truth with Gideon frowning as she revealed it.
"You are correct, Sir Roland…”
“Dame Loreena, what are you…”
“Calm yourself Gideon, the Lady of the Light does not condone lying, don’t worry, I’ll take the responsibility for it.”
“... Do as you wish then.”
Roland wasn’t sure what Loreena was talking about but perhaps when called out on a matter, it was frowned upon to lie about an issue. His involvement with the church was very limited and he saw them more as divine item peddlers than anything else. This didn’t mean that their Golden Order didn’t take things a bit more seriously and soon he was given the information about their scheme.
"You're aware of the incident in that village, so this won't take long."
"Of course."
"Good. After the battle with the cultists, we had suffered great losses and had nothing to show for it. The unholy monolith had been destroyed, and many of our brothers and sisters had died..."
The story continued for a while, and he got the gist of it. After the losses to their forces, the people at the church were furious. They decided not to sanctify the area fully while also leaving some exposed cult informants in the city to their devices. They assumed that sooner or later, the cult would return to perform some type of search to discover the truth behind the battle. They knew that they had necromancers who could converse with the souls of dead cultists, and thus they were led to Albrook.
It was somewhat of a basic trap that exploited the cult's superiority complex. There were many ways to track people in this world, and the Golden Order had their methods. They quickly assembled a force of elite paladins and clerics to trail after. Considering that they were actually able to arrive to take out the weakened Eldritch Horror, they performed their duties admirably.
However, this didn't make Roland feel any better. Bernir had lost his arm during this horrific event, and his home had been partially destroyed again. The church would probably not issue any public apologies. It seemed that most of them aligned with Gideon's thought process. In this Paladin’s mind, the end justifies the means. If a few people got killed in their holy war with the cult, it was considered acceptable.
"I understand the need for action, but you should have at least informed me or at least the lord of the city. My people and I were caught in the crossfire, and some paid a heavy price for it…”
Dame Loreena, though maintaining a calm demeanor, nodded in acknowledgment of Roland's frustration. Gideon, on the other hand, remained stoic, perhaps unmoved by the consequences of their actions or he just felt justified by the deaths of powerful cultists.
“I apologize for the collateral damage, Sir Roland but the cultists proceed with their attack sooner than we expected. By the time we realized, the shroud had already encased your home and fooled us into believing that everything was well.”
This was the purpose of the large shrouding spell. Those outside of it wouldn't be able to peek inside, and they would be fed an image of what was there before the attack happened. Only after he was able to push through were they alerted to the event transpiring.
“Don’t change the subject! Without us, you would have perished!”
“Perhaps but if you didn’t lure those maniacs here, my friend wouldn’t have lost his arm! Will you take responsibility and restore it then?”
Roland was starting to get fed up with the whole situation and shouted back at Gideon. If not for the absence of his runic armor, his runic suppression skill would have been forced out due to his anger. Nevertheless, the two knights were equipped with runic armor of their own, which started to resonate with it instead. This act prompted one of the Paladins to reach for his weapon, while the other quickly tried to defuse the situation.
“Both of you, calm yourselves!”
The tension in the room rose, but Loreena stepped in, her authoritative yet calm tone cutting through the rising tension.
"We are here for a common goal, to combat the cultists and protect the Kingdom. Let us not forget that."
Gideon, though still visibly frustrated, reluctantly backed down. The atmosphere in the room remained charged, but the conversation continued, now circling back to the matter of Roland's connection with Agni.
"Now, Sir Roland, let's return to the issue of Agni. You claim to be his master, which is highly irregular. How did you gain such a status, and what is your connection to the divine order?"
Gideon inquired, his eyes scrutinizing Roland who hesitated for a moment. His relationship with Agni involved rune emulation, which he would probably need to reveal eventually. Somewhat, he knew that withholding information was unwise. If a higher-level inquisitor was sent here, then it would come out eventually. It was better to come clean, but before that, he needed to have some type of safety measure, and a contract was what he was aiming for.
Just like in the past, this was the best way of protecting his interests and gaining some trust. The magic was always in the way a contract was worded. Even if he were to reveal the truth, it didn't have to be all at once. There were ways of avoiding suspicion, and he believed that the people of the Church would have a hard time accepting that he could emulate divine mana. Instead, he could push the responsibility onto his profession and the holy beast that was there, then perhaps it would be possible to avoid one of his secrets from coming out to the open just yet.
“I’m willing to part with my knowledge concerning this issue, that is if we follow the usual procedures…”
“The usual procedures?”
“Yes, we should write up a contract.”
His aim was simple: to reveal only half of the truth. Roland didn't want to give away the secret of his eyes, through which he could convert magic into runic form. Instead, he could attribute everything to Agni's divine mana, through which he activated all his runic components. This could replace the clerics who were needed to charge magical items with their divine spells. He just needed to make them think that Agni had charged all of them instead. However, his trick could only work if they didn't try to force the truth out of him. He could only hope that they believed strongly in their Sunlight Wolf for this to work.
Gideon and Loreena exchanged glances once again, seemingly considering Roland's proposal. The concept of a contract wasn't foreign to them, especially in matters involving magical agreements. Contracts were a common practice even in the world of the church, often used to establish terms and conditions in various dealings. They had gained the royal decree that allowed them to act within the kingdom through such a contract.
“Explain the terms…”
Gideon finally responded, his tone indicating that he was willing to entertain the idea. Roland took a moment to gather his thoughts, formulating the terms that would protect his interests while revealing only what he deemed necessary. A contract had to be precise, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
“This might take a while, if we were to make an agreement then I would like it to follow these terms…”
This is what he was looking for and what his future hinged on. The Church was a force to be reckoned with, and he needed them to be on his side. If the cultists had already found him once, they would do it again. To protect himself and everyone around him, he needed to shift the focus of their attacks to another target, which was the church. He aimed to provide them with a way to counter the relics' effects and sell this information for protection.
“First, the Church guarantees the protection of my estate and those close to me, ensuring they won't be targeted by the cult or any other malicious force. Second, any information I provide regarding the divine runes I used and the sacred beast Agni will be shared only within the Church and not disclosed to external parties without my explicit consent…
He could see them reacting to the terms and before he could continue, Gideon raised a question.
“You wish us to protect your estate? Do you see the Golden Order as a group of mercenaries you can employ?”
“No, it’s simple… Make the city of Albrook a holy land.”
“You want us to do what?”
“Why not? It is the site where a great evil had been vanquished, with the help of a divine beast, isn’t that something of a miracle?”
Roland replied in a calm and collective manner at the question posed by Gideon. The proposal seemed to catch Gideon off guard, and he exchanged glances with Loreena. It was clear to them what he wanted, if they made this land holy then it would mean that a larger portion of their forces would be stationed in Albrook.
He had analyzed how the church operated over the years, and there was one particular strategy they employed. At times, they would claim territories as holy lands to build better temples and house their Paladins. An area agreed upon by the clergy would be well protected from any cultists.
While, at first, this seemed like a risky move, providing enemies with a concentrated area to mobilize, it wasn't that simple. In an all-out confrontation, the cultists would likely lose. They had limited resources and had already lost multiple tier 3 class holders and a powerful Warlock. Even if this area looked suspicious, if the church placed a large enough force here, it would be enough to keep everyone safe, at least for a while.
There was a reason they had to move within the shadows. Their group was much weaker than the Solarian Church, which aimed to confront not only the Abyssal Cult but many others as well. The church had already forced many similarly sized factions to be destroyed; they were a true powerhouse on the entire continent, feared even by entire kingdoms and empires.
“I don’t think that I’m asking for much, if you work with me you’ll be getting what you always wanted, a means to counter the effects of that relic. You’ve experienced it first hand, haven’t you Dame Loreena? Even someone like you was unable to resist it but I can and I can show you how!”
“Is that true?”
“Certainly, don’t you think this is a sign?”
“A sign?”
“The Sunlight Wolf, the Lady of Light works in mysterious ways, she probably wanted us to meet.”
“Could it be true…”
Gideon was flabbergasted by the proclamation, and Roland was trying to keep a straight face to not give himself away. He knew that the people from the church were zealots. Perhaps if he could imply that Agni's appearance was a sign from their Goddess, then they would see him as some sort of guide. A guide that brought them to the Runesmith who could give them the answer to combat the dreaded cultist.
“It couldn’t be… but yet… the wolf of legend has appeared… but…”
“Is there a problem?”
It seemed that his Golden Order friend was weighing his options but he was hesitating for some reason.
“This is not something we can decide on, someone of higher status is needed…”
“Is that so…”
Roland inwardly sighed. The situation was delicate, and the two here didn’t seem to have any administrative power. They were just soldiers inside of a private army that was the Solarian Church, probably someone from the clergy had to be asked for permission. Introducing another variant wasn’t good but what could he do?
“Oh, I know, why don’t I ask Grandfather about it?”
“T-the High-Inquisitor?”
‘Oh right, she was the granddaughter of that guy…’
Gideon was somewhat taken aback by the proposal and somewhat sheepish. The man in question was High-Inquisitor Bartholomew, a man he had met after leaving that cursed village. The old man was someone who recognized his noble name and also was related to his father. There was a possibility of the Arden estate connecting some dots if this became known, but to protect his new family, he would even be willing to rekindle those long-dead relations.
“So, do we have a deal? I don’t think that I wish to speak with you before that contract is signed and my demands are met.”
Gideon and Loreena exchanged one last glance before nodding. They would inform the higher-ups of the situation while Roland waited for the decision. With the magical technology provided to them, this wouldn’t take long and within some hours, or maybe a day, the decision would be made…
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