Chapter 539 Loki and the Saint

After breakfast, Aiwass took Sherlock and his party to the inn where the trolls were staying.

Of the three trolls, only the grass-green hunter had woken up early. When Aiwass arrived, he was wolfing down the inn's all-you-can-eat breakfast.

There were guests of various races around, most of them humans. Aiwass also saw the rare Lizardman among them.

Although the atmosphere here was quite harmonious, everyone's voices were light and polite, and no one made any sarcastic remarks or attacks against the troll hunter. However, everyone chose to turn a blind eye, leaving a large space around the hunter.

However, the troll hunter didn't feel anything about this. Instead, he was very happy and occupied a large area - he took a lot of meat, spread a large piece on the table in front of him, and ate until the juice flowed all over.

When he looked up and saw Aiwass, he was almost choked to death.

His originally unrestrained expression suddenly turned into a timid one. He stood up hesitantly like a child who had made a mistake, gesturing to Aiwass.

Aiwass didn't say anything, just smiled and patted his shoulder, motioning him to sit down and continue eating.

But it seemed that Aiwass's arrival had frightened his stomach, or perhaps he didn't dare to let Aiwass stand by and wait. The hunter didn't dare to eat more and hurriedly stood up. As he left, he didn't forget to take seven or eight pieces of white bread and stuffed them into his arms.

The hunter walked in front to lead the way, turning back from time to time and mumbling something to Aiwass.

As they approached the room, they heard the thunderous snoring from within. Aiwass and the other two stood outside, waiting, and the hunter ducked inside. He shouted something, and the snoring soon ceased.

With the sound of rapid packing up, like the sound of demolition, the troll ritualist who came to look for grandpa quickly walked out in a mess.

"I'm very sorry, respected Archbishop. I've kept you waiting..."

He spoke in the somewhat obscure Avalonian language, his mouth moving, apparently chewing the bread the hunter had brought them. Then, he pulled the other two along and followed Aiwass and his group to the elevator.

While they waited for the elevator, Aiwass looked at the troll who had just swallowed the bread and thought.

...Come to think of it, he still doesn't know the name of this...oh, this young man.

Thinking of this, Aiwass looked at the troll boy, who was more than half his size, and changed his mind slightly.

——Or should I say giant hero?

So Aiwass started chatting with him: "Come to think of it, I don't know your names yet. My name is Aiwass... What should I call you?"

"Rabbih."

The tan-skinned troll pointed at himself and said, "What the wizard meant."

Then, without waiting for Aiwass to ask, he pointed at the curse master and the hunter respectively: "They are Zumaidi and Babulu. It means bone paste, horse hunter."

Ai Hua was immediately filled with awe.

——The hunter’s name, quite aggressive.

"Bone paste?"

Sherlock on the side asked in confusion: "What is that?"

“It’s the bone marrow.”

Aiwass replied: "He probably wouldn't say that word."

"Oh," Sherlock suddenly realized, "It is indeed the name of the curse master."

Wizard. Marrow. Horse Hunter.

The logic behind naming the trolls is pretty easy to understand...they are all words with very concrete imagery.

"What about your grandfather? What's his name?"

Aiwass asked.

"Rabbih."

Rabih answered without hesitation, "My name is Rabih. My father's name is Rabih, and my grandfather's name is also Rabih."

"So, that's your last name?"

Sherlock asked.

Rabbih looked at Sherlock with some confusion, not understanding what he meant.

"Trolls don't have surnames, they only have tribes. Because their concept of family is unclear, it's difficult to tell who the father of a child is."

Aiwass explained: "They call them so-and-so of the so-and-so clan. Some key successors have the same name so that people can call them easily, but others have different names. Some are given by the high priest, and some by their parents."

Sherlock reacted: "So, he is the heir of that tribe? So to speak... a troll prince?"

"If he's not a prince, he wouldn't be able to master so many languages. He looks no more than... twenty years old?"

"We are from the Beast Song Tribe. Eighteen years old."

Rabbih quickly said, "I am the Rabbih of Beast Song. Other tribes also have their Rabbihs."

Sherlock glanced at Aiwass. "You know quite a bit."

"I read a lot."

Aiwass said angrily: "If you are not good at it, just practice more! If you don't understand, just watch more!"

After exchanging names, the atmosphere visibly relaxed. Aiwass and Rabbih chatted, while Sherlock huddled over to the curser, mumbling something.

Although the other party did not understand Avalon, Sherlock was smart enough to make the other party understand the general idea just by gestures.

They soon reached the eleventh ring. Apart from the twenty-second ring where the Eternal Pope was located, this also happened to be the center of the Theocracy.

With Cardinal Matilda's letter of introduction and map, they easily entered the Central Observation Bureau.

There were many more people coming and going here than in the Thirteenth Circle. They were almost all elves, and the remaining number were mostly half-elves. They all wore white coats, and many wore tinted monocles. It looked quite like a sci-fi research facility.

Another feature of this place is that there are many mirrors.

Large mirrors, small mirrors, and even floor-to-ceiling mirrors covering the entire corridor... Besides the corridor being completely undecorated except for the quietly burning "sticker torches," it's highly likely you'll get lost in this mirror maze without someone to guide you.

Each elf would leave and hand over to the next person when they reached a crossroads. This relay was repeated dozens of times before Aiwass and his companions finally reached the end.

This is a place that looks very much like the cockpit of a sci-fi spaceship.

Inside a bubble-shaped spherical room, countless hexagonal mirrors carved into a honeycomb pattern appeared. Each mirror flashed a clear image, the images constantly switching.

Undoubtedly, this was as mysterious as heaven to the trolls—they watched it all, stunned as if they had lost their souls. Even Sherlock stared at the hexagonal images, his entire body visibly excited, his face even flushed.

The man with his back to them also turned around with an exclamation that he tried hard to suppress.

This is Cardinal Loki.

He was a cardinal in a gray robe with a black spike around his neck that looked like a noose.

What caught Sherlock's attention most was his hair, which blazed like flames. The long, smooth hair fell to his shoulders, looking like an inverted flame. His features were feminine and beautiful, yet they seemed familiar to Sherlock.

“…Huh?”

But at this moment, Lily suddenly exclaimed.

She looked towards Cardinal Loki, as if she had suddenly discovered something. Sherlock looked at her in confusion, but found that Lily did not even turn around to look at him, but instead stared at Cardinal Loki with a frown.

Cardinal Loki also discovered Lily's existence at the same time.

He raised his eyebrows, said nothing, and turned his eyes away from Lily very naturally.

He looked at Aiwass and smiled. "Young Archbishop, I heard that Cardinal Matilda wanted to see me. What is it?"

Cardinal Loki's voice was gentle and clear. Although he looked like a young man in his thirties, his voice was as clear as a teenager's.

Aiwass's gaze lingered on his sewn lips, and then he politely saluted and said, "My name is Aiwass Moriarty, respected Cardinal Loki."

Then Aiwass reached out his hand and tapped his chest three times, bowed slightly and said, "May the candle protect your light."

"May the candlekeeper watch over your light."

Loki also lowered his head and returned the greeting to Aiwass.

He murmured the name, his expression thoughtful: "Evans Moriarty...

"...Well, I've heard your name before. I'll just call you Aiwass."

"Yes, Cardinal Loki. The reason we are here is simple..."

Aiwass said, pointing to the troll behind him.

At this moment, Cardinal Loki interrupted with a serious face: "Have you offended anyone recently, Aiwass?"

"……What?"

Hearing this, Aiwass was stunned for a moment.

"My advice is to leave the Theocracy as soon as possible and don't come back. The Theocracy is not absolutely safe."

Loki said sincerely, his frown making him look like a reliable doctor: "You have the marks of a curse on your body...very clear and persistent. It's obvious that someone is hunting you."

"——Why is the Theocracy not safe?"

A soft but firm voice came.

Under the protection of the four Pope's guards, the Pure White Saint walked in dignified and solemnly.

"If there's any place in this world that's absolutely safe, it's probably the Eternal Church. On the contrary, leaving the Church will allow those with ulterior motives to act with impunity."

Pure White raised her slender, white neck and said seriously, "If Aiwass is really in danger, I will protect him. Just like protecting the future and hope."

"Then please help the future and hope find someone, Your Highness the Saint."

After Pure White appeared, Cardinal Loki's expression suddenly turned cold: "I have other work to do here, so I won't send you off."

"Please don't leave yet, Cardinal Loki."

Pure White looked up at Cardinal Loki, who was more than a head taller than him, and said in a calm and emotionless voice: "I have an accusation of murder against you. Please come with me."

"murder?"

Cardinal Loki scoffed. "The death of Bishop Mercedes? That has nothing to do with me. I know about it because I saw it."

As he spoke, he pointed to the honeycomb mirror cluster in front of him and said, "Everyone knows I've been here the entire time. I haven't left for a single moment in the past few months. Every employee at the Central Observation Bureau can attest to this."

"I know. But what about 'controlled fire'?"

Pure White asked back, "Do you dare to say that this matter has nothing to do with the extremists of Controlled Fire?"

"They and I have no direct control or affiliation. Controlled Fire is just an idea, not a party."

Cardinal Loki asked, "Your Highness, if the emergence of dangerous extremists within the Controlled Fire is my responsibility, then as the de facto ruler of the Theocracy, do you also bear any responsibility?"

"You are the director of the Central Observation Bureau. You should be aware of all matters concerning the Theocracy in advance. When you encounter such a dangerous act of murder, you should stop it. Not to mention that it is a bishop. At the same time, Bishop Mercedes is the candidate for the Saint. If I die unexpectedly, she may become the next Saint."

"I am responsible for observing 'signs of disasters that could cause the division, destruction, irresistible disasters, or massive casualties of the Theocracy' and providing accurate and timely warnings and evacuation guidance to all citizens. Obviously, preventing the death of a bishop is not within my authority..."

"So you're admitting that you knew about this and were intimately involved with it?"

"—Even if she is a friend of Her Majesty the Saint, it is the same."

Both of them had calm expressions, their words were logical, and neither of them was aggressive or emotional. There was no light in their pupils... so neither of them was serious, and it couldn't be considered an argument. However, the content of their conversation was completely different.

This is obviously not a conflict that arose from this incident, but rather a long-standing grievance.

...So, Loki and Pure White's relationship was already very bad at this time?

This thought came to Aiwas' mind as he was watching from the side.

The others were silent during the dispute between the two bosses and dared not say a word.

Uh ah, I'm done...

I'm going to take a day off tomorrow, March 4th! Let the cat take a break. I'll send you a leave note at 12 noon!

(End of this chapter)