From the church?
"I am the holy knight Talep"
"And I am a priest, Phoebe"
"Please sit down, I'm bothered that you are kneeling to me"
How embarrassing!
"You say that you came from the church?"
"Yes. Me and Phoebe were assign to find the rumored hero in the northern continent. We came from the holy kingdom, Aigreos. The Pope have assign the two of us to find the rumored hero."
"I hope this is enough for you to ascertain that we are from the church"
Phoebe raise her hand and golden colored flames manifested. A golden colored flame is also know as heaven's flame. Only devout followers and high ranking individuals from the Aigreos can use it. Sure enough they are from the church.
"And how are you so sure I am the hero?"
Phoebe stood up.
She hold her hands together as if praying.
"Because I feel immense holy powers from you. It can only be a blessing!"
I've been releasing something like that?
The holy magi she must be talking about is the
"Only some priest are the ones who can feel it as they are sensitive to holy magic" (Talep)
Oh, that is a lot better then.
"That is the reason why Phoebe is with me"
A knight and a priest. They wore normal clothes to not attract attention as well.
"You guys are right, I am the Hero"
I remove my glove to show them my 'Holy mark'.
Their eyes gleam in awe.
"May I ask what you are planning to do, Sir Hero?"
The empire on its own is already twice bigger than the northern continent. If its the whole central continent, its size would be comparable to all the other four continents.
I was just planning on going where the wind will take me anyway.
"Well right now, base on my investigation there is a rather suspicious place where a lot of people are gathering. So I was planning on checking it out"
Both Nunu and Zel's face frown. A face saying "Don't believe him! He is scamming you two!". Thankfully both of them are behind Phoebe and Talep.
"Would you like to have our assistance?"
"Thank you very much, but, I am planning to do this on my own you see. However, I do need help at something"
"Please, ask us anything. We will do everything we can to help." (Phoebe)
"There is a man named Marcus Deswum. From what I have gathered, he is part of a drug syndicate or even worse."
I don't really know whether he is a part of such organization though.
"Currently he is staying in a villa"
"And you want us to capture him?"
"No. What I want you to do is to trail and investigate his connections. Once you find out all of his connections you can do anything you want to him afterwards. That is assuming that you are willing to do something like this from me"
"Of course! You are the one chosen by the Gods and Goddesses! We put our faith in you"
They are so faithful. If the hero is powerful they would revere him or her as a sign of hope.
"If I am correct there were suppose to be three of you correct? Also were you the ones who created that storm?"
"Yes, we were indeed the ones who created that storm. We were trying to find out your level so I casted a storm that can be remove at will. For you to remove that storm without a trace of magic was indeed surprising." (Phoebe)
She is able to create something like that and is also capable of withdrawing it anytime she wants? Amazing.
The standard for ranks are quite different than I imagined it to be. The battle proficiency of the people here in the central continent is higher than the other continents.
"The other one is currently guarding the place. He really want to meet you but one of us have to stay outside"
Athena said I can fully trust Aigreos and its people since their faith towards the Gods are higher than your average devout member. One can say they are pretty are much the craziest cultists who would not hesitate to die for their beliefs.
"I will go meet that person then! Do please lead the way" I said with a smile.
"There is no need. We can just call him"
Talep put his wrist right in front of his mouth, whispering. Moments later someone entered the room after knocking the door three times.
The guy that entered ooze ninja vibes for some reason. Quiet and stoic, just like Nunu.
"I am Red. It is an honor to meet you Sir. Hero" He said as he kneel down.
What an unusual name. There is nothing red in or on him for it to be a nickname.
"There's no need to kneel, really. Please sit here"
He then sat beside Talep. Desperately trying to hide his smile.
"I just remember, I haven't introduced myself yet have I? How rude of me. My name is Michael Santiago, member of the Santiago clan which is among of the Ten Great Families in my world"
Was my introduction too over the top?
"I would like to know your abilities. Are you all okay with that?" I ask.
They nodded in unison.
"My level is 53. I am a mage who specialized in wide scale magic formations" (Phoebe)
"My level is 49. I specialized in gathering information" (Red)
"My level is 52. I specialized in anti-magic" (Talep)
Anti-magic sounds intriguing.
"Then I would like to experiment something. I would need your help for that Sir Talep"
"Anything!"
"First what do you mean by anti-magic?"
"I imbue anti-magic into my spells and sword. I am what you would call a magic swordsman."
I took a paper from the drawer. By putting my
"Then, will you please fire a basic fire spell with anti-magic to the paper"
He then fired a basic fire spell. Despite being protected with my own magic it was burned. The basic fire spell he emitted with anti-magic was able to negate the high amount of soul energy I put on the paper.
"Nunu come stand here"
Nunu came as I ordered.
"Just like earlier, I want you to fire another basic fire spell with anti-magic on him"
"A-are you sure about that?" He ask with a worried face.
"Its okay. He is a dragon after all"
When the fire hit Nunu he lost consciousness right after. As expected. He is also able to negate my
Zel took Nunu to his bed and lay him there. I put another
He was sorry but I just told him that it was fine. They were all shocked including Zel. He doesn't know about how I created Nunu to begin with. I never told him that he was actually my [Slave]
"Um, will you please explain to us Sir. Michael what just happened"
"It is a bit hard to explain. Will you trust me if I tell you?"
"Naturally"
I explained them my relationship with Nunu for starters. Telling them absolutely everything. The fact that he have a pseudo soul that I accumulated. And that I transferred hid body from a bird into a dragon.
Other than the fact that they are high levels so far my impression on them is: Awkward ninja dude who likes the dark, a kind and naive girl, and a leader who is brave but has fake confidence.
In time the other two will get better by themselves but that is not the situation for Talep. He is someone who "is" committed to the Gods but due to some personal reasons, he seems to be holding himself back.
"Zel you said that you were willing to do anything that I said correct?"
"That's right"
"Good! Because from now on you will be a holy knight!"
"Wait! Huh?! You know my powers very well, why would you say something like that?"
I ignore him.
"So Phoebe what is the requirements to be a holy knight?"
"You need to be committed and have a lot of faith. Goodwill. That is the basic requirements other than strength"
"If I, the Hero, recommend someone is it possible for them to be a holy knight skipping the entire required procedures?"
"As long as they have what I said earlier then yes, you do have the authority to make someone a holy knight"
"Please listen to me" (Zel)
"That guy behind you is committed, have a lot of faith, and skills as well. He is a necromancer"
The three immediately look back.
"
The three who were attempting to attack Zel froze in place. It was easy for me to restrain Red and Talep but it was really hard for Phoebe.
"Listen to me first"
The three calm down and look at me with even more focus.
"Why are you accompanying a necromancer, Sir Michael?" (Red)
"I have my own reasons. Nevertheless he is trustworthy. And I, the Hero, exercise my authority to turn him into a holy knight. If you oppose my decision that is the same thing as opposing the Gods. Am I wrong?"
I said intimidatingly. Releasing my aura to frighten them even more. An intense bloodlust.
"No you are not wrong" (Talep)
They look so gloomy. But I can't just let them kill one of my underlings now.
"This is my plan: Red will be the one to tail Marcus Deswum. You will be tracing all of his connections and all the important locations. Talep will be joining my party in the meantime. Phoebe and Zel will be going back to Aigreos to make him an official holy knight"
"I do not think the Pope will agree to that Sir." (Phoebe)
"I am not saying this as a threat but as an advice. If Zel got injured or if he face discrimination whatsoever without doing anything evil. I will destroy Aigreos"
[The Gods and Goddesses are questioning your statement]
"If you think I do not have the power to do that you can try me. Well?"
"Can I just refuse this?" (Zel)
"No" I replied.
Their twisted faces are showing their true colors.
To have faith towards someone you just met will be put to the test. Whether just how committed you all are. An absurd request like this will shaken anyone.
"I as a holy knight, I as a follower of the church, trust you on your decision Sir. Michael. You are the one who was chosen by the Gods whom I follow since birth so I will also trust you the same way" (Talep)
He bowed, quivering and trembling all over.
"If it is you, surely you have some plans already laid out for the better of everyone. I now will serve under you" (Talep)
The other two followed in his lead.
"Good. For now you all rest on the room next door. I will further explain what we will be doing tomorrow"
After getting things done. They booked two rooms, one for Phoebe and one for the other two. I pulled some good food in my inventory. The last ones to feed them. I have to make sure they would relax after coercing them.
After dinner I made Talep to follow me.
"Tell me what kind of world do you expect that I will create as the Hero chosen by the Gods"
"A... world with a safe place for everyone to live. By exterminating all sinners in the world" He replied with a low voice.
"If a sinner were to save your life, no an accused sinner. What if a sinner who was accused of something who is actually innocent save your life but you don't know that person is actually innocent. What would you feel?"
"..."
Silence.
It was quiet. Just the two of us. There were no one around us. Nor were there any winds that would whisper to our ears. Just like an ancient dead city.
"I..... do not know" He replied.
"In my life I have only one vow that I follow, and if I do not follow it or break this vow I am ready to commit suicide. That vow is "I will not have any regrets". Do you know why I took a vow for a reason like that?"
"No. I do not"
"It is because no matter what I am end up with, I do not want to regret anything at all. That is why I have steeled my will, my resolution. So no matter how many sins I may commit, no matter how many lives I may take, no matter how many lives will be wasted due to my decisions, I do not want to regret it. It may be self-satisfaction but I do not want anything that may hinder my thoughts so that I can be true to myself. I don't want sugarcoating my words. If I have to lie I will lie and if I have to kill I will kill. Now what kind of world do you expect for me to create?"
"I am not so sure anymore. It can be anything that you would consider 'reasonable' from your point of view."
I laugh. He was dumbfounded. Not knowing the reason of my laughter.
"Don't worry, since you will be accompanying me you will know sooner or later"
For the first time I actually open up to someone. To someone I barely even know. But for some reason I feel like we are the same, making me be more honest to him I guess.
The night continue and so is my plan.
"Let's go!" I said merrily.
"Where to?"
"To the place I will be going to. Since things turn out like these I will be bringing you with me. I hope you can keep up"
"I will"
His dead fish expression from earlier is now gone. Replaced by that of a child like enthusiasm.