Illska escaped, and the paladin discovered Allen's white hair. This could cause many problems.
Allen's hair might still be no problem for the church, but Isabelle had told the bishop that Allen was from another world without mentioning his slightly white hair. This could get Isabelle in trouble...
The second thing is Illska. Still, it's good if she did get away. But what if she's still in the house and someone shows her as she walks around? Isabelle and the whole house could be killed on the spot if the bishop and paladins saw her in this house when they came to visit.
"Iskaria, for now, look for Illska, and then if you meet Allen, tell him to use something to cover his hair and also tell him to look for Illska; I have to get ready to greet the bishop," Isabelle said frantically.
"Yes, my lady."
Iskaria went straight out of there, looking for Illska.
At the training ground, Allen, Felicia, and Theobauld were surprised by the arrival of the Paladins. Theobauld, who realized that it was useless to cover Allen's body, then said
"All right, Mr. Paladin. What if I became your opponent in the duel?"
"Hmm? If I'm not mistaken, you are Theo..."
"Theobauld Cosyngton, I am Earl Wolverlope's personal knight."
"Really... I forget your name, but I do remember your face. If I'm not mistaken, you're one of the mithril-ranked dungeon explorers in the same party as the first prince, his highness Eldritch. I've heard a lot about you. I'm still amazed that you can clear the dungeon with only one party."
"That's an old story. Unfortunately, I'm nothing more than a slave of the Earl's family."
Hearing that, the paladin inexplicably laughed.
"GAHAHA, don't be shy. I know the people who went with His Highness Eldritch back then are all strong dungeon explorers, and I've heard that each of you is stronger now than you were back then."
"I haven't entered a dungeon for a long time, so perhaps my skills have weakened, so would you like to accept my duel?" asked Theobauld.
"Hmm... sadly, you look so strong. I feel like I have no chance of winning."
Then Felicia shouted, "That's right! You don't stand a chance against Theo! Theo is strong, you know?!"
'thank you, lady, but I may not be stronger than this person. From my experience, I can tell that this person is very strong. His aura is very gripping, and moreover, I don't know how to deal with that big axe,' thought Theobauld.
"Alright, want to try it first?" The paladin spun his axe and pointed it at Theobauld.
"Wait! I'll duel him!" shouted Allen.
"No, Allen, you can't. At least the current you can't win against this," said Theobauld.
Theobauld picked up the sword on the shelf. The sword was different from the other swords, it was almost half his body in length and had a magnificent-looking scabbard. When he opened the sheath, the sword seemed to shine even though it was a pitch-black sword.
Theobauld sighed and then said,
"If I win, please keep Allen's matter a secret from the bishop, no, from everyone."
"Interesting, then if I win, you have to join the church and become my subordinate."
'That means I have to leave Lady Isabelle. If I lose here, it's the same as dying,' thought Theobauld.
'Will I finally get to see Theobauld's serious fight?' thought Allen.
'That paladin is so arrogant, there's no way Theobauld can lose to him,' thought Felicia.
'Lose or win; I'll take the lady home by force. Wolverlope's residence is no longer safe,' thought Rachel.
"Allen, please throw the coin."
Allen stood in the middle of them, holding a bronze coin in his hand.
"My name is Ottar Hannefson, one of the paladins of the Church of Fire under Archbishop Benedict Spelman."
"My name is Theobauld Cosyngton, just a knight of my lady, Earl Isabelle Browet Wolverlope."
Allen then threw the coin up, and for some reason, Allen immediately retreated backward as soon as he threw the coin. He felt that if he got close, he would be affected by their duel.
In 3 seconds
3
2
1
-DING, the coin fell.
-WOOOSH
Even with his huge axe, that paladin could quickly jump towards Theobauld while raising his axe high. Everyone could not see the paladin's face, but they knew that he was smiling at that moment.
'I can't receive it! I have to dodge!' thought Theobauld.
"Stop, Ottar!" The paladin's attack, Ottar, had not yet reached Theobauld. There was another man's voice heard behind Ottar. Ottar, who was about to attack, immediately and deliberately missed his attack, so Ottar fell behind Theobauld.
"You don't need to do something futile like this,"
"You came when I was having fun, old man."
The man wore a long, dark red suit that covered his entire body. His hair was green, and a red cap also covered his head. There was the emblem of the Church of Fire on his chest. He was the Bishop of the Church of Fire, a direct subordinate of Archbishop Benedict Spelman.
The bishop had now seen Allen, and from his words, he seemed to have heard everything since Theobauld described the contents of the duel. Right now, all Theobauld could think about was how careless he had been. When the paladin saw Allen, he should have told Allen to go into his room and hide.
'Oh no! The bishop has seen Allen! What should I do?!! At this rate, Lady Isabelle could be punished! And not only that, she could be executed for hiding Allen. Should I use my god's blessing and kill both of them here at once?' thought Theobauld.
Then Theobauld looked at Felicia and Rachel.
'No, there are too many witnesses; I'm not sure Lady Felicia would let them get hurt. Besides, if I kill both of them, the archbishop will suspect Lady Isabelle because two of his envoys died unexpectedly while visiting Wolverlope regions.'
The door between the house and the training ground opened, and from there, Isabelle and two maids came out.
"Lady Isabelle!" called Theobauld.
Isabelle looked at Theobauld, who was using his real sword, then shook her head, signaling Theobauld not to do anything.
Theobauld nodded and sheathed his sword.
Bishop walked up to Isabelle, then politely placed his hand on his chest,
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Isabelle Browet Wolverlope. Forgive me for my friend's impertinence."
Isabelle lifted her skirts, took the bishop's hand, and kissed the ring on his finger.
"It's all right, your grace, Nicolas Elinor Kent. I also need to apologize for a few things."
The Earl and the Bishop were equals in social status, so they were both polite and humble in front of each other.
"How about if we have a little talk in my workroom? The maids will escort you."
"That's nice, will there be a honey tea there? My friend really likes honey tea."
"Of course, I will be happy to provide it."
Bishop Nicolas looked at Ottar and motioned for him to come in.
Ottar stood up, picked up his axe, and touch Theobauld's shoulders.
"It's a pity our duel stopped like this; maybe next time; I have a feeling we will meet again soon."
Ottar then followed the bishop inside.
After they closed the door, Iskaria also came from the door.
"Allen! Illska is running away; I couldn't see her in her room! Hurry up and find her! Just look inside the house!"
"Illska? Who's Illska?" said Felicia, to Allen.
Allen ignored Felicia's question; he went straight into the house and searched for Illska with Iskaria.
'Of all the days, why today? Why did she escape when the church was visiting!' thought Iskaria.
In Isabelle's room, Bishop Nicolas and Paladin Ottar were sitting on the sofa, enjoying the honey tea that Isabelle had provided.
As for Isabelle, she was fanning herself with a fan and not touching the tea in front of her.
"It's delicious; thank you for the tea. Are you the one who made this?" he asked one of the maids at the door.
"Ah, yes, your grace."
"Thank you for making such good tea."
The bishop smiled, and his face seemed to glow, which made the maids' tension disappear. But not for Isabelle; seeing the bishop's smile, she became even more afraid because she had lied to this person.
Bishop put her tea on the table.
"Your grace, forgive me for lying. I don't mean to belittle you at all," Isabelle confessed first. She chose to do so because she could not hide anything anymore.
"Hmm? About what?" asked Nicolas.
Ottar then answered immediately.
"Are you getting senile, old man? Perhaps that is about that black-haired kid."
"Oooh, about that, yeaah, but I don't think you're lying about him at all."
"Eh?"
Isabelle looked at Ottar, who didn't seem surprised by the bishop's words.
"Sure, you've sinned by trying to hide the truth, but that's your business with God, not with the church. Besides, I'm sure you also have reasons for hiding the child. As long as he is not a Norttish, I have no problem with it."
Ottar then put down his cup as well and said,
"Right, you're overthinking it. The church has nothing to do with the child, even though he seems to have problems with some people in the kingdom. I don't want to do anything in vain. Even though I like to fight, I don't want to do something that isn't my job."
Isabelle then let out a long sigh, relieved by Nicolas' answer.
"Thank you, Mr. Nicolas. If possible, about the boy, I would like you not to say anything to the others."
Nicolas then replied with a smile,
"It's okay. I won't say anything to the others. After all, we came to say goodbye. Actually, I just wanted to say this outside, I am afraid of burdening you to prepare this for such a small thing."
"No problem, if you want the tea powder, I can give it to you."
"Really?! Then, I'll have some."
Bishop stood up, followed by the paladin and Isabelle. The maid opened the door, and they walked out.
"One more thing..." Bishop Nicolas turned around and continued as he approached the door.
"Just that black-haired kid, right? You didn't hide anything except that?"
Isabelle frantically replied
"Of course not, Mr. Nicolas."
"Good then."
As they began to walk out, Nicolas whispered to Ottar.
"Investigate Wolverlope's residence more deeply; my god's blessing ensures that she is still hiding something,"
Ottar smiled, then he said:
"Yes, your grace."