As I entered Reito’s cathedral, I couldn’t help but admire its architecture, despite my hesitance. The outside of the building was adorned by elaborate murals that were visible from anywhere in the city due to the building’s sheer height. At certain intervals, a row of angel-shaped gargoyles would stand guard and look upon the city below. If I knew even a single thing about the system, then I knew that those gargoyles could come to life if the cathedral was ever threatened. Another stark reminder that I was heading into enemy territory. Well, that was a bit of a stretch. The church was on my shit list after that last quest, but I still owed the cardinal for that skill-merge crystal, so I guessed both instances canceled each other out.

In the end, I’d seen no other option but to meet the bishop after all, since I could hardly give up on his quest at this point. Not after having come so far.

With some trepidation, I stepped into the colossal building, where I had to enter a wing to the side of the entrance, where some priests were waiting for me. After confirming my identity by checking my guild badge, they led me down a seemingly endless hall that was lined with exquisite coloured windows. Each seemed as much a painting as they did a window, in fact. Various stories and legends were told through nothing but drawn figures, distracting me enough to take my mind off of the coming conversation.

Eventually, though, we had reached the end of the hallway. After some more navigating, I found myself standing in front of an ornate, stark white door. The priests that had led me here opened them, before turning away and leaving me inside with a single other person, the cardinal.

Apart from his unusual religious garb, he looked like a kind old grandfather. A bushy white beard, small round spectacles, and a seemingly genuine mile that reached his ears... in any other situation a person like this would not have seemed threatening.

He was the first to greet me by spreading his arms in welcome, his smile widening further.

“Arthur, roight? Great ta meet ya, ol’ chap! Oi’m Roa’s very own cardinal, but ya’ can call me jerry!”

What...

“...”

The...

“Cat got yer tongue, ol’ chap?” he said, laughing good-naturedly.

Fuck.

“...”

My eyes must have nearly fallen out of my head in surprise, the man’s attitude way too far removed from what I had been expecting. ‘Jerry’ must have noticed my discomfort, because he suddenly started sputtering, before he burst out laughing uncontrollably.

Not quite sure what to think at this point, I just continued staring at him. When he finally recovered and wiped the tears from his eyes, his demeanour seemed much calmer.

“Forgive an old man his japes. That was a bit of an exaggeration, though I succeeded in loosening some of the tension, no?”

“...Right.” I answered lamely, somewhat embarrassed for falling for his act.

“Oh, but my name is Jerry. Jeremiah, to be exact, so feel free to continue calling me that. It cracks me up.” He finished, before leading me to a set of comfortable couches that were angled toward one another. He gestured for me to sit, and I obliged.

Suddenly, a tray of pastries appeared on the coffee table located between us, along with some steaming hot tea. The cardinal excitedly took one and took a big bite, before stamping his feet like a young girl eating sweets.

“Oh, I just love these.” He praised with his mouth still full, spilling pastry on his carpeted floors. “I had a baker teleported over from another country just for this one desert, you know?”

I nodded, going along with him, and took a bite out of a pastry I had picked from the tray. Sure enough, they did taste quite good. That was saying a lot, since I didn’t usually enjoy any baked goods not made by the family bakery.

After finishing his treat, the cardinal reverted his eyes to me.

“So... you succeeded in your quest? You brought the chalice?” he asked, with the same cheerful attitude as before.

“I did, on both counts.”

“Excellent, absolutely excellent!” he praised. “It’s a matter of pride when it comes to these things, you know? My colleagues have been holding that particular failure of Roa’s church over my head for ages! This’ll show em’!”

Right. I had nearly died for the sake of an old man’s bragging rights. Of course I had.

“Don’t adopt such a sullen look, Arthur! The military value of the chalice is also not to be discounted! Furthermore, the valuable intel you shared with your guild master about the between lands’ current situation is even more valuable. If this ‘dry man’ acts as a force of order, then the region might become safer in the future.” He explained, before grabbing another pastry, one with pink frosting, this time.

“Excuse me, sir, but... Why do you care about their situation? It’s not like invading them is possible with the mist getting in the way.”

At this, the old man stared into space for a moment, his eyes losing focus.

“...Invade? ...Invade indeed. I’m afraid the pope won’t give us much choice. The greater good, he says...”

His eyes regained focus and he turned to me, speaking more warmly this time.

“Of course we care, Arthur. I do, at least. Those cast out of our society for their own safety and that of others also deserve a stable home, after all. In my experience, however, people with dark affinities can only live together with other people as long as someone with overwhelming might monitors their actions. The dry man, you’ll find, rather suits that description, no?”

I nodded. He did, and I was hoping he could create exactly what the cardinal was implying, though I had a difficult time seeing something like that actually working out long-term.

“Now then,” Jeremiah continued, “Why don’t you produce the chalice? I’d like to put it on display.”

With a frustrated grumble, which caused the older man to start laughing at my expense again, I pulled the chalice out of my spatial pouch and handed it over. The cardinal looked at it for a moment, turning it over in his hand, before stuffing it in a wide sleeve of his robes, which hung down under the weight. The cup remained clearly visible in the creases of the robe, yet the cardinal didn’t seem to care.

Then, he pulled a brown wheat sack out from underneath his single-person couch and plopped it on the table, smushing all of his favourite pastries. If the cardinal noticed what he had done, he didn’t show it. Instead, he pulled a letter out of the bag and wordlessly handed it to me.

After giving him a questioning look, I opened it and read.

[Mind bastion wristband]

Tier 5 wristband.

Once a week, use to dark mana to erect a mental shield that protects the mind from external forces at or below tier 5. The shield lasts for 10 minutes.

Each time the shield wears off, your mind permanently retains a bit of the mental protection it provides.

Properties:

-Extreme durability(tier 6)

After reading it over, childish excitement washed over me. Finally, a reward for my efforts! On one hand, it felt a little underwhelming compared to the bracers’ essence annihilating effect, but on the other, the permanent protection it would provide could prove to be invaluable. Furthermore, the wristband had the durability of a tier 6 item!

Hurriedly, I rummaged around in the wheat sack, only to find out that it was actually filled with dried wheat. The grains hadn’t even been separated from the stalks... Clearly, the cardinal had just snatched up some wheat bushels somewhere. Eventually, though, I felt something metal slide into my palm. After pulling it out and blowing the remnant piece of wheat off of it, a small black metal wristband was revealed. Other than its colour, it had no defining features, which made it seem rather ordinary. Once I slide it on, though, I instantly felt a strange instinct settle into my mind. I knew that as long as I wanted to, I could now tell the band to make some kind of bubble around me. I couldn’t wait to try it out, but decided to put it off until later, since I didn’t want to offend the cardinal for no reason.

“Satisfied?” he asked with a smug smile.

I just sighed exasperatedly and nodded, before gathering my courage.

“Now that I’ve received my reward, I must admit I have a question of my own.” I said.

I was met with a patient smile.

“Ask.” He replied kindly.

“Did you know that I was heading into a death trap? The quest’s difficulty far exceeded what I was originally capable of. Surely you understood that?” I explained simply.

The cardinal leaned back into his couch, as if to gather his thoughts, before finally speaking.

“See, that’s the interesting part... As far as I’m aware, the church never issued the quest that you received.”

“...What?” I asked, shocked. What did he mean ‘never issued’? Did he not remember rewarding me moments earlier?

“Indeed.” He nodded seriously. “By the time I’d heard of what had happened, you had already crossed the border. That’s not to mention that I heard of it from one of the aristocrats bragging about making things difficult for you there.”

“...But how? How did our guild get fooled? Why would someone want you to regain your artifact?”

“To answer your questions in order... your guild got fooled because we have a traitor here in the church. I still have no idea who, by the way... Secondly, the perpetrators probably expected you to meet an unfortunate end in the between lands, far away from your friends and protectors. In the case that you succeeded, they probably intended to ambush you to get their hands on the chalice themselves... Either that, or this is a warning. A thinly veiled threat against the newly formed power block here in Roa. The church united with the royal faction, a duke and a guild on top of that... There was bound to be pushback. Unfortunately, you were implicated.”

For a while, I just sat there, looking at the wristband in my hands, unsure of what to think. Eventually, I gathered my thoughts and contemplated.

“So what am I supposed to do now? Is my family safe? Am I? What quest can I even take if shit like this is going to happen?!” I almost shouted, losing my cool.

“Your family is safe, from what I’ve been told. Your uncle is sparing no expense to protect them. As for you... I think it would be best if you sought some adventure elsewhere, away from Roa. There are many incredible places on the continent. Why don’t you explore it a bit more? To that end, I’d like to reunite you with an acquaintance that could join you on your journey for a while.”

The cardinal explained, before gesturing at the door. It opened a bit, revealing a single eye peeking through the slit. Slowly, it opened further, until there was just enough room for the young woman on the other side to slip inside and shut it behind her.

“...hi...” Emeri said shyly, while the cardinal chuckled.