"You can return to your regular activities. But do remember, do not reveal this incident to your loved ones and do not leave the Island. You should know even if you run it is not impossible to find you," Edwin said as he led Marcellus through the garden.
Marcellus was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. He had expected more involvement in the investigation, not a dismissal.
Surprised, Marcellus asked, "Is there no need to examine the family members of the pirates? or any other clue?"
Edwin's response was matter-of-fact, "The governor didn't mention anything about it, so there's no need for it. The church will handle such cases."
Marcellus felt a mix of relief and frustration. On one hand, he was relieved to be out of immediate danger, but on the other, he had become entangled in this mystery and wanted answers.
As they walked, Marcellus couldn't help but voice his concerns, "How can I be sure that I will be free from trouble from now on?"
Edwin's response was far from reassuring, "No worries. Based on the conclusion of similar incidents in the past, forty per cent of the survivors of the incident do not experience any horrifying after-effects… This is based on what I know… roughly… more or less…"
Marcellus couldn't help but seize upon the remaining sixty per cent of uncertainty. "Then… there's still a sixty per cent chance…"
Edwin's reply didn't offer much comfort, "Then you can consider joining us as a Knight. This way, even if there are any precursors, we can discover it in time, or simply become an Aspirant. After all, we are not nursemaids. We can't watch you all day long and even watch what you do with women."
"Can I?" Marcellus feigned surprise at what he thought a normal response would be, he was already an Aspirant!
Of course, he did not expect much. After all, how was it even possible to be a part of the Governor's retainer so easily and obtain the power of the Aspirants?
That is the power of the Aspirants!
Edwin paused and turned his head sideways to look at him.
His response left room for uncertainty, "It's not that you can't… It depends…"
Marcellus was beginning to realize that becoming an Aspirant wasn't as simple as he had thought. He pressed for more information, "Really?"
Who are you kidding? It is not so easy to become an Aspirant?
Edwin laughed lightly his blue eyes were hidden in the shadow of a pillar.
"You don't believe me? When you become a retainer you lose a lot. For instance, freedom."
"If we don't talk about this now, there is another issue. Firstly, you are not a member of the clergy, nor a follower of the Church of Storm. You can't pick whatever you want or choose the safest approach."
"At most, you will be a low sequence Aspirant till the day you die, or you will become an Aspirant with abilities that you do want or don't suit you"
"And secondly… Among the cases that we—us, Appointed members, nobles and other Judiciaries—have to deal with every year, a quarter of them resulted from Aspirants who lost control and fell into deviation."
A quarter… Aspirants who lost control… Marcellus was dumbfounded.
Was this what Aulus was hiding? he mentioned deviation in passing.
Just then, Edwin turned slightly in the opposite direction parting with Marcellus. His Blue eyes were deep. With no sign of a smile, he continued.
"And among the quarter of cases, a considerable number of them are people we know."
A wave of tumultuous emotions rose in Marcellus's heart after he heard Edwin. Instinctively, he uttered, "Why?"
Do the Aspirants have serious hidden dangers? So much so that the Church's Judiciary and the Nobles, who dealt with the bizarre phenomena, are also prone to problems.
"This is not something that you must understand. Neither can you comprehend it unless you become one of us."
"You probably misunderstood; a knight retainer is also one of us."
"In other words, as long as I become one of your knights, I will be able to understand the relevant secrets, figure out the hidden dangers that plague Aspirants, and the dangers that may be encountered, as well as consider whether I want to become an Aspirant later?" Marcellus digested.
Edwin smiled and said, "Yes, that is the case, except for one point. You cannot simply become an Aspirant just because you want to, because both the Church of Combat and the Church of Storms will be equally strict in this aspect. They have tests you have to undergo"
It would be odd if the churches were not strict… Church of Combat and the Church of Storms are the only two orthodox faiths in the Draewyn Empire. Of course, I have read about the Church of Light in the diary and The Pirates spoke of The Church of Machinery.
"There shouldn't be any problems if it's you," said Edwin with half-closed eyelids.
"Why?" Marcellus asked as he was once again grappled by doubt.
Edwin opened his half-closed eyelids, his sky-coloured eyes reflecting the same tranquillity as before.
"First, you managed to survive without having the Fontenot diary in your possession. Certain exceptional qualities are not present in others. For instance, luck. Lucky people are often welcomed."
Seeing that Marcelluos's expression had turned blank, Edwin smiled slightly.
"All right, just treat that as a humorous statement. Second, you possess great sword skills, I heard you killed a Wereshark single-handedly now you deprived me of two men before I could blink, although I cannot say for certain what rank of swordsmanship you possess, the governor believes you to be a sword saint and well he is hardly ever wrong."
"He said before that talents are key to maintaining a competitive advantage and positive development within the government, a point that I do not disagree with"
Marcellus he had not met the governor how would he know his skill?
Noticing that Marcellus was slightly furrowing his eyebrows, Edwin casually explained, "You should be able to imagine that we often encounter situations where have to get into a physical confrontation. Many cults and heretics have tried to gain power from strange beings. Sometimes, they can obtain power to cause strange and terrible horrors."
"Except for the Aspirant in special pathways who gain excessive strength early on, most of us are not good with our fists"
Edwin balled up his fists, and the corner of his mouth turned up slightly as if he were mocking himself.
He then said, "Strangely enough only the Orthodox churches have Aspirants who have excessive strength early on. like the Warrior and Sailor."
To any other, these may have been just words, but Marcellus knew from Aulus that Warrior was a sequence 9 of a pathway, hence Sailor had to be a pathway.
Marcellus nodded lightly and accepted Edwin's explanation. With his thoughts all over the place, he asked, "Then why don't you directly, um, groom one?"
Edwin explained further, "This brings me to the third point, which is also the final and most important point. You've already been exposed to the mystical, so inviting you doesn't violate confidentiality."
"Concerning developing others, I will bear the responsibility of exposure if it fails, and most do. Most of our retainers, our knights, come from within the Church and the noble who owns this land."
"For instance, the test to become an Aspirant in the Church of Combat is to achieve the rank of Sword Saint. Typically, they have priests train war orphans or exceptionally talented children from as early as the age of 12. The training regimen is exceedingly demanding, with a high attrition rate; most of the young recruits either succumb or flee. Out of those who persevere, approximately twenty per cent successfully attain the rank of Sword Saint, while the remainder often becomes highly skilled first-rate fighters, akin to Swordmasters in their own right like me."
After Marcellus finished listening silently, he asked curiously, "Why are you so strict about maintaining confidentiality? Wouldn't spreading the news publicly as sermons and increasing awareness lessen the chances of a similar mistake from happening again?"
"No, humanity's irrational. It leads to more people experimenting, creating more chaos and more severe incidents, the more people are familiar the less they fear, the less the fear the more they dare" Edwin shook his head and replied.
"…There is a similar discourse within the judiciary of the major churches. This may be the main reason for the strict confidentiality and the prohibition of mundane people from knowing."
"What is it?" Marcellus asked as his interest was piqued, pleasured that he seemed to be spying on secrets.
"Misfortunes abound in the absence of faith and the presence of fear. Diminished faith and reduced fear only invite more misfortunes, ultimately resulting in complete devastation."
Chills ran through his spine!
Edwin broke the silence suddenly and formally invited Marcellus.
"Would you like to join the Governors' retainer as a knight?"
In Marcellus's mind, multiple thoughts surfaced, making him indecisive. He contemplated and asked, "Can we continue as we have until the search for the pirate who robbed 'The Hulk' diminishes? you may find this hard to believe but I want to have a regular life with my mother"
Edwin nodded and added. "Of course, remember to keep this a secret and don't disclose the information regarding Fontenot's diary to anyone, including your squire, especially Crowe. Once this is violated, it'll not only bring them trouble, but you might also have to attend a special court."
"Okay," Marcellus answered gravely.
He hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Edwin, will I get compensation for today?"
This was a serious question…
Taken aback momentarily, Edwin smiled instantly and answered, "There's no need for you to worry about this issue. Our funds are guaranteed by the Governor's accountant, it will be around 10 silver every week you contribute. This is hardly worse than someone Knighted by a noble."
"Depending, your compensation and benefits will rise according to your experience and contributions. in any case, a servant will bring it to you"
With that, Edwin exited the garden, leaving Marcellus to contemplate.