"This took way longer than it should have." Soren commented with an annoyed expression as he slowly got down from the carriage.
"It's not that bad. Besides, it's rush hour right now, so it wasn't bad as it could have been." Matt consoled with a casual expression as he stretched his body a bit.
"You're right. Let's just thank our lucky stars that we didn't have to wait for over an hour to get a carriage. Anyways, let's get Lavenza and then meet up with Rohan later." Once Soren said that, the duo then turned their attention towards the Temple and made their way slowly towards it.
"Seems emptier than usual." Matt casually commented as he looked around.
"Hmmm... Hadn't noticed really." Soren answered uncaring if the situation around him. As they were slowly making their way towards the interior of the Temple, they were then suddenly stopped by the two guards by the entrance.
"Halt, you aren't allowed to enter inside the temple, outside of sermon periods." The guard exclaimed as he put his hand in front of the duo.
"I'm here to meet up with the Arch-Priestess. The four-month period is over and this time, I'm not taking a "no" for an answer." Soren answered back with a dark and serious expression.
"Oh, it's you kid. You are quite the persistent little fella, but I won't change my mind, unless I'm given any other orders for that, so go ahead and move on." The guard explained without caring as he signaled him to leave.
"Well... I guess it's high time I finally did this." Soren commented with a hint of anger in his voice, before he suddenly brandished his blade out of nowhere.
"Woah Soren, calm down, no need to lose it over something so trivial. We can just come back later or tomorrow. Please don't misunderstand sirs, it's been a hard day and-" Matt tried stop the situation from escalating any further but he was suddenly interrupted by Soren's remark:
"Sorry, but this time, I'm going to be selfish for once. Either I'm taking her with force right now, or I'll die trying."
"Alright, that's enough." Suddenly, a loud female voice was heard from the temple. before it continued:
"If you are going to cause a mess in the front yard, I won't mind, as long as you pay, but if you are intending to go on a killing spree, you'll have to deal with the boss first. Come to my office, if you have any problems with me, dumb brat."
Once the voice stopped, the four of them were left on a stupor, before Soren suddenly broke the silence:
"Well, she said it. Do you still have any problems with me demanding entry?"
"Uhhh... None at all. No problems." The other guard answered slightly nervously. After that answer, Soren and Matt slowly made their way towards Laventhign's office and as they were doing that, Matt couldn't help but ask curiously with a hint of worry in his expression:
"Soren, you weren't serious before, when you said you were going to fight or die trying, right?"
"Who knows?" Soren answered with a smug expression as he shrugged.
As the duo were slowly making their way there, they suddenly run into Bishop Toby.
"Good afternoon sir."
"Good afternoon as well, Soren. What brings you here?" Toby asked with a curious expression.
"I came to pick up Lavenza after her four-month training schedule ended. Also, just out of curiosity, have you met up with Tobias today?" Soren asked with a calm smile on his face.
"He did come here, just a little while ago. Why do you ask?" Toby asked with a slight hint of suspicion and curiosity.
"I'm just slightly worried about him. I know it's not right to interfere into someone's personal affairs, but I still can't help and worry about my friend, especially when I saw that angry expression." Soren answered as he remembered Tobias' angry expression when he saw him storm out of the commander's office.
"Don't worry, he'll calm down sooner or later. It's not the first time that this has happened to him, so you don't need to worry about him. He just needs some time to vent, that's all." Toby answered with a soft smile on his face as he had a hint of relief on his voice.
"I see... I just hope it wasn't anything too serious. That is all." Soren with a relieved expression.
"Take care, young man." Toby also bade his farewells before going towards his own business.
As the duo were slowly making their way towards the office, once again, Matt couldn't help but ask curiously:
"How come you know Bishop Toby? As far as I know, he is one of the least approachable bishops in the temple, due to his unpredictable temper."
"Temper? Hmmm... I don't see him as the kind of person that has an unpredictable temper. Although he did you lose it once, during my affinity test. Let's just say that I nearly suffered from Tinnitus and maybe slight trauma from his loud voice." Soren casually explained as he remembered the events of that day.
"Wait. Wait a minute, explain. Explain what happened back then." Matt demanded with a worried and serious expression. Once Soren gave him the quick rundown of the events that happened back then, Matt sighed dejectedly before continuing:
"Maybe it's for the best that very few people know. Honestly, if it wasn't for my brother's message explaining your circumstances back then, I would have probably made the same connection as him. Your reincarnator status confirms, at least, that you aren't a descendant of a hero."
"Can't say which is the more troublesome of the two though. The status of being the descendant if a hero, or being a reincarnator from outside the scope of the 7 people who were brought by the races." Soren commented with a dejected expression.
As he had mention the 7 reinacrnators, he wondered what kind of live were living. Were they living like kings? Were they training to become strong war heroes? Or were they treated like worse than slaves? Unfortunately, he felt like he wouldn't be getting any answers anytime soon, since he had heard almost nothing from them, even during his four months of training, aside from the status of the one brought by the Merfolks during his day of summoning. In the end, he decided to quickly dispel those thoughts and focus on the current task at hand.
Very soon, the two of them stopped in front of a door that had a sign that said:
[Arch-Priestess Office]
[Do not disturb]
"Well, this is the place. Are you ready to see her again?" Matt asked with a slightly nervous expression.
"It depends with who do you mean by "her"?" Soren asked causally as he turned his head away.
"I'm talking about Lavenza." Matt answered with a helpless expression as he scratched his head slightly.
"Well... I just hope that she isn't mad at me for not being able to visit her." Soren then felt a bit of a chill as he was getting worried for Lavenza's reaction.
"Just go inside and don't be such a wimp." At that moment, Matt suddenly pushed Soren inside the office and quickly closed the door once again and once Soren was forced inside, he happily muttered:
"The rest is up to you."