Chapter 29 Coffee
When the savior carried his old enemy out of the dark and gloomy Temple of Poseidon and jumped through the window into the room of Pearl Sea Mansion, the man had just escaped from his arms when he took out his precious sheepskin book and lay on the table to write furiously.
Azuka leaned over to take a look. The other person was rapidly copying down the oracle he had seen from the high priest, and randomly marking certain sentences with key words that no one could understand. However, the charcoal pencil that was almost worn out finally couldn't withstand the tossing and broke into two pieces with a snap while writing.
Then, the God-favored One heard the professor swear, which was rare.
“Damn, I need a good pen!” he said rapidly. “And more paper—I miss my office, my homemade pens and notebooks—and no, please don’t comment, I was just complaining, and now I’m done.”
The professor took a deep breath, leaned back heavily, and tilted his head back, his pale neck forming a hard and fragile curve. His eyes were half closed, his finger touched his lips, his Adam's apple moved rapidly, and he muttered something that no one could understand except himself. He looked extremely neurotic.
"It can be confirmed that the 'treasure' that the Temple of Poseidon and the Church of Radiance are looking for is the same." After a long while, the professor suddenly said with his eyes closed.
This was a nonsensical statement, and the God-favored One raised his brows.
"The tattoos on the skin of the High Priest of the Temple of Poseidon are mostly new. The oracles have only recently appeared in large numbers, but the content is repetitive, over and over again. Poseidon emphasizes 'time is urgent' and 'importance', and even promises, 'Bring it to you, and I will reward you.'"
"The mercenary who spread the rumor couldn't understand the content, but he sensed the Sea God's anxiety, so he believed that the Sea God would continue to send down oracles... But even with such anxiety, when it came to the specific things he was looking for, he used vague and figurative references, such as 'The ocean grows, and the rekindled embers will reappear in the realm of the abyss'... It seems that even the Sea God himself doesn't know what he is looking for. Or perhaps these are not his original words, he is just relaying them."
"...How did you figure that out?" Azuka blinked slowly.
"'He has a grudge against me, and against you too. I will drown that damned creature in the sea.'" The professor opened his eyes and recited expressionlessly, "From Chapter 42 of Book 5 of the Book of Ocean Currents. This is an oracle left to his followers by the sea god Odras."
He scoffed, "Do you think a god who's used to speaking like that would come up with some fancy 'rekindled embers'?"
It's just as awkward as a rough man picking up an embroidery needle.
"This word choice reminds me of a god." The black-haired young man tapped his lips thoughtfully with his fingers.
"——Lamodo, the goddess of fate."
"The goddess of fate has long since fallen." The one favored by God reminded gently.
"That's right."
"So how can she leave a new oracle?"
"I don't know." The professor raised his eyelids and gave him a puzzled look. "I'm not omnipotent."
Azuka was speechless. After a moment, he couldn't help laughing. "Sorry, I think I've become a little too dependent on you."
"...There's nothing to apologize for. I'll answer your questions one day, but I just don't have enough information right now." The black-haired young man frowned uncomfortably. "Besides, it's better to follow my instructions than to act like an idiot and mess everything up on your own."
He really admired this point about the God-favored One. Although he was the stronger one among the two and held an absolute controlling position, he was willing to give up the leading position when necessary and did not think it was shameful to obey the command of an ordinary person.
The savior's eyes softened at his enemy's endearing and justifiable arrogance, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch the back of his neck.
This time the other person didn't glare at him - or perhaps the person was in a state of extreme excitement and had no intention of arguing with him. He spoke so fast that it was more like he was entertaining himself than explaining.
"Cutting out the mystique and nonsense, the oracle mentions the 'Boundary of the Abyss'—according to legend, beyond the Asaqi Peak lies the Abyss. The Boundary of the Abyss can be understood as the homeland of the Natalin people, or it can be extended to Graybridge Harbor. 'Reappearance' refers to disappearing and reappearing; 'Rekindling' refers to escaping death; and 'Embers' are the remains of a specific tribe."
"One more thing, 'ocean growth'—guess what I thought of? That's right, the Wall of Sighs." The professor asked himself, his eyes sparkling. "Can the disappearance of the Wall of Sighs be considered 'ocean growth' in some sense?"
Although the God's Favored One did not say it explicitly, Nova guessed that the maintenance and collapse of the Wall of Sighs were related to the other party.
"The sudden appearance of the Glowing Church, the inexplicable location and personnel for the event, the extremely frequent calls with the Royal City, the High Priest of the Temple of the Sea God acting as the carrier, the impatient gods... Taking all factors into consideration, we might as well make a bold guess." He leaned back suddenly, letting the two legs of the chair hang in the air, and his eyes, which were so bright that they could hardly reflect the upside-down figure behind him.
"What the gods are looking for is actually you, the savior who calls himself the male protagonist of the comics - his motives are unclear, but I don't think it's a good thing." The professor made his final summary speech.
"—Now you can express your opinion."
The room was utterly silent, the only sound being the ticking of the clock. Nova, precariously poised to fall backward at any moment, stared at the man's chin, his mind lost. He didn't mention the sudden, faint scream that had suddenly reached his ears, unsure if it was just a nervous hallucination.
The High Priest of the Sea Temple was clearly not yet a Saint, unable to break the Divine One's Confusion Spell. But he mentioned "Our God." Was the being watching them the Sea God Odras?
Nova had always viewed gods as powerful beings possessing powers beyond the comprehension of ordinary humans, or at least beings from the same dimension. The gods had long ceased to be active, remaining dormant for centuries. Strong sects generally claimed that the gods had fallen into a deep slumber, while declining sects assumed the gods had fallen.
But if the God of the Sea or even the God of Light is still alive, why don’t they take action themselves, and where are they watching everything now?
He bit his glove unconsciously. Though it was only a faint premonition, Nova was already certain they were about to embark on an extremely difficult road, battling the god's followers, and even the god himself. Furthermore, the god was "alive," being sought by at least two gods with ill intentions... This was not good news, and the god's favored one had probably already sensed this.
Someone grabbed the back of the chair and laid it flat, forcing the professor to turn around to look at him.
"It's late at night, you should rest."
Then Nova heard the God-Favoured One speak gently and calmly.
The professor's expression was expressionless. "...Is this your impression after listening to such a brilliant analysis?"
"Well, there's one more thing." The other party nodded seriously, as if nothing had happened. "I'll go buy some paper, pens, and some clothes tomorrow morning. Is there anything else you need?"
"You can carry charcoal pencils with you, a quill pen that doesn't need to be dipped in ink, and see if there's any coffee from the Batalha Highlands at the market. If not, forget it, thank you - that's not the point."
"That's the point, I think." A soft laugh escaped his throat.
"Don't worry. I've long anticipated becoming an enemy of God." He said calmly, "No matter who they are, they can't stop me from getting the answers I deserve, nor will it affect my promise to you."
The voice of the God's Favored One was gentle, carrying a strange, calming power, as if everything would be alright as long as he was there - was this the charm of the male protagonist? Nova was a little dazed.
A hand was placed on his shoulder in a soothing manner. The man leaned down and locked his eyes with his. A trace of oppression seeped out: "After all, the initiative is in our hands this time, isn't it?"
…
The next morning, Nova was awakened by a rapid knock on the door. He slumped over, his temples throbbing from lack of sleep. As he threw on his coat and went to open the door, the professor caught a glimpse of the God's Blessed One leisurely sitting at a small table, sipping coffee. A hand-cranked coffee grinder, unearthed from nowhere, sat beside him. On the table lay toasted bread, fresh berries dripping with moisture, and a small piece of buttered cheese. To his right was an open newspaper.
Seeing that he had woken up, the other party raised his coffee cup to him cheerfully: "Good morning, Professor. This coffee is from the Batalha Highlands, and it tastes great."
"……Good morning."
Nova, who was still in a bad mood after waking up, gave him a gloomy look and opened the door heavily, almost hitting the visitor's nose.
"Oh hi, Professor Brody." His colleague Professor Oswin stood at the door and smiled awkwardly. Seeing that the man looked like he had just crawled out of bed, he immediately touched his nose in embarrassment.
"I just came to ask, we're all planning to leave for school the day after tomorrow - do you want to come with us?"
"Good morning, Professor Oswin," said the notoriously eccentric man at White Tower University expressionlessly, seemingly unembarrassed. "No need. I can't afford the escort ship's fare."
"No, no, no, this time it's the ship of the Glorious Church," Oswin waved his hand quickly. "Mr. Miller invites everyone from the White Tower University Seminary to return with him."
The Glowing Church is indeed wealthy, unlike their stingy accountants. Before they came, they said there would be a sailing subsidy, but it turned out to be just a tiny bit. They also paid out of their own pockets to board the ship escorted by sorcerers.
Fortunately, the money was not saved. Oswin stole a glance at the black-haired young man and could not help but be shocked by his colleague's pale and haggard face. He did not think he could be as lucky as him and drift all the way to his destination in a cargo box.
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