It had been a few days that Toga has been down here. That sick feeling he had blown away at this point. He was now exploring Fahragon. The capital of the Loil Skyland. The ground was made of endless sand. The buildings and structures looked as tan as the earth itself. In the bleak desert devoid of wildlife, the city was built around an Oasis with a large body of water cascading through canals around the city.
It reminded him of the central island above. It was brimming with the life of the citizens, where they had plenty of trade to go around. Toga looked around the market just to see what they had only to be met with disappointment. It was a market of absolute, nothing. All these equipment looked worn and unusable
{What's the point in dressing up a shop if you had nothing but garbage level equipment in it?}
He shrugged his shoulders. Oh well. It's not like these tools were there to hunt demons. They were hunting game at best.
"Dear Priest. It's good to see you. We appreciate your hard work," A random woman passing by said.
"Ahh! Many thanks for your thoughts. I just hope to do my best," Toga said, waving. He smiled at the warm welcome the lower world was giving him.
It wasn't just him. Anybody wearing the red and tan robes of the Red Dogs were treated with reverence from any citizen they came across. The people would either address them as such or bow whenever they saw them. Their faces were smiling, and they all seemed like cheery people.
Toga looked around. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something didn't seem right. If only he was perceptive enough to tell what, but he couldn't find out what was wrong with the city. Asking around with vague questions didn't help either. If he asked them how their day was, he'd just get the same old robotic response from them…
"Oh my day was swell!"
"Thanks to the priest, I'm doing fine,"
"We feel protected every time we see you,"
They were all versions of the same shit. Vague responses that meant absolutely nothing, or mindless pandering.
"Grrrr…" Toga grumbled. He wasn't good at these things. Trying to read the atmosphere was worse than fighting.
And it looked as if no matter how many times he asked, they weren't willing to say anything specific. He sighed. It's not as if he could force the answer out of them.
He left the area. Toga entered the governors building and made his way towards the governor's main office. The secretary sat behind a desk doing nothing more than signing off paperwork. Toga went up to the desk.
"Excuse me mam,"
The young woman stopped and looked at him with stoic eyes. Upon seeing the garb of the Red Dogs her eyes immediately widened. She stood up and gave a curt bow in respect. "It's an honor for a priest of the Order to visit the governor's office. Might there be anything with which I can assist you with?" She asked.
"Hello. My names Toga Dawnheart of the Red Dogs. I'm here to see Governor Hollic," Toga said.
"Yes, yes. His office is right this way. Allow me to escort you," She walked him through a hallway with a bunch of doors.
She led him towards a door with a plaque with Hollic's name on it. She opened the door to a middle-aged man staring out of the window with his hands behind his back.
"Governor Hollic. Toga Dawnheart of The Order has come to see you," She said.
"Ahhh, Toga. You must be the rumored shining spirit of the Red Dogs. Am I correct?" The man turned around as he asked.
Toga nodded his head. "That's correct,"
The secretary covered her mouth in astonishment. "I heard the rumors, but I didn't think I'd get to meet the shining spirit," Her face turned beet red. Suddenly, she couldn't even speak anymore.
"Saki… can you please excuse us? I need to talk to the young man," Hollic said.
Saki bowed nervously. "Oh yes. Please excuse me," She scurried out of there.
Toga's seen that behavior before. He grew up around it constantly, except all of it was directed at Ryuma. Whenever a girl would see him, she'd flee out of nervousness, or would fluster trying to talk to him. He's never had this behavior directed at him before. To be honest, it felt nice to know that he can now have this kind of effect on woman.
"Please, have a seat," Hollic said. Toga sat on the couch, and Hollic sat opposite of him. "It's nice to meet you, Toga. Do you understand why you're here?"
"I understand. I was informed that you had a bandit problem," Toga said.
"Yes, but do you know why YOU are here?" He asked again.
Toga stayed silent. He didn't know the answer to why it was him specifically. To be honest, if it were a mere bandit problem, of course any group of priests in the order should be able to deal with this problem. Was there a reason as to why they wanted him to do it?
"I don't really. I hate to admit it, but I'm not intelligent enough to know details like that. I'm just one of those types that does what he's told. If it sounds like I'm helping people, then why turn it down?" Toga said.
Hollic sighed. "The reason is because they want to increase your name and standing. You're the shining spirit of the Red Dogs. It is the most respected shining spirit amongst the four shining spirits,"
{He said four… not three.}
"As such, the Red Dogs are going to want the prestige of your predecessor as quick as possible. Sending you to go deal with the bandits alone would be the fastest way towards getting that result," Hollic said.
Toga scrunched his face. "Then why send me to deal with humans. If it was about my prestige, shouldn't I be dealing with the demons? The stronger the better," Toga asked.
"I'm afraid, humans aren't that simple. If you deal with the demons, it would be because you're expected to deal with them since you are a priest of The Order. Since you're dealing with humans, you'll be seen in more of a respectable light than normal,"
Toga put his finger on his mouth and thought about it. "I don't get it. No matter how I look at it, I'd be accomplishing saving more lives tackling the demons than I would fighting mere humans,"
"You may be right about that but take into account that demons are expected to do what they do to humans. There's a visceral reaction to humans partaking in the exploitation of other humans. Even when they're not killing them,"
That last part caught Toga's attention. "Bandits that aren't killing people. I feel like I could be dealing with something far more important than this,"
"Hold on now. They may not be killing but looting and stealing are still crimes. And if this band persists, who knows when they'll escalate into worse behaviors. They still need to be removed,"
Toga grumbled… This was stupid, should anybody have solved an issue like this by themselves.
"I feel like they're trying to keep their precious shining spirit nice and safe using easy missions," Toga complained.
{But if they did that, how would he grow}
"Fine, I'll do it. I'll have a talk with the pastor after I'm done with all this nonsense,"
If he was going to be a shining spirit, why did they waste his time like this? He could have been a bond guard for Erika, but now he was starting to sound like Ryuma. If they were going to stick him as a priest in the lower world, then maybe they should have him do some priest shit. Not whatever this is.
"Thanks for your time and work. On a side note, you'll be doing this mission with a partner. I was told, you'll be meeting him at Fahragon's east gate. He should have all the details and location of the bandit's hideout," Hollic said.
"And a babysitter to go with…" Toga grunted, getting up from the sofa. "If that should be all, I'll take my leave,"
"That would be all. It was nice meeting you young Toga," Hollic held out his hand. Toga shook it out of respect. "For some reason, I feel as though you'll be a shining spirit unlike any of your previous predecessors,"
Toga left his office. What did they expect him to do with the bandits? He wasn't going to kill them if they haven't been going around taking people's lives. If they haven't crossed that threshold, then there was room for them to change yet.
Out of the side of his ear, he saw the secretary whispering to other girls and pointing in his direction. They all gave him lusting eyes. Toga thought back to a similar situation in Rebble when it happened to Ryuma. Every time he caught girls gossiping about him, he'd give them his rare smiles and wave at them, causing them to squeal and flirt back.
{The little prick didn't even know he was doing it}
Toga copied the exact same facial expression as he smiled and gave them a small wave. They either squealed or fainted at his flirtatious greeting.
He continued walking with an air of pride. It felt good to be that guy for once.