Chapter 83 – Turmoil in the holy city – Part eight

I’m suddenly woken up in the middle of the night.

This feeling… The barrier disappeared.
I don’t know exactly how long it’s been, but I think it’s been about eight hours.

So basically, activating it normally spends a third of my MP and lasts for two hours, infusing it with magic energy spends two fifths of my MP and lasts for four hours, and spending half my MP makes it last for eight hours.

This might change as I level up and my maximum MP increases, but I’ll just have to check again when the time comes.

Also, I recover about a tenth of my overall MP an hour if I rest well, but I recover less if I’m moving around.
Thankfully, walking and resting are pretty much the same thing for me.

I’m going to be busy again tomorrow, so I try to rest well and go back to sleep wrapped in a blanket.

The next morning I have breakfast, help Mia train with her magic energy again, and after joining the girls in their mock battles again, I have the rest of the day for myself.

Mia is staying with Leila and the others today.
They say they’re going outside the city tomorrow, and they’re going to accept a relatively simple quest to do before the advent festival.

I also remember to warn Leila that we were being followed yesterday.

But before they leave, I call Mia and use half my MP on a barrier, just as a precaution.

I was going to use a little more, but I better not.
Hopefully nothing bad happens, but I might run into trouble.

Hikari and I leave the mansion and start walking around, but Map doesn’t show me the reaction that was tailing us yesterday.

We wander around, while making our way towards the building where I saw that reaction disappear.

I don’t know if we’re being watched, so we stop by stores and stalls instead of going straight for the building.

There are less and less stores the closer we get to the building, so eventually I start looking around and acting like we’re lost.
Of course, I can’t make it too obvious… And I want to believe I’m doing a good job at that.

“Master, where are we going?”

She asks because I told her I just wanted to go have a look around town.
I still don’t know if I should tell her about my skills.

“I was thinking about just walking around, since we have the free time anyway, but I guess walking aimlessly is boring, uh?”

“No.
It’s fine if you’re with me.”

What a nice girl.
It just makes me feel worse for lying to her.

We are now standing in front of the building, which blends into its surroundings and doesn’t seem to have anything that sets it apart from all the others.
I don’t see anything suspicious at first, but when I activate Magic Energy Detection, I pick up an abnormal reaction from just this building.

I pass in front of the building and into a position I found with Map where I can observe it.

“What’s wrong master?”

“That building… The one that’s kind of gray.
When we passed in front of it I felt a strange flow of magic energy.”

Hikari also stares at it and starts groaning while tilting her head.

“I don’t feel anything.”

“Really? Maybe I’m wrong.”

We keep talking while watching it in hiding, and I see a face I think I remember seeing.
But where did I see it?

“Master, it’s one of the people that were chasing her.”

Says Hikari, and I finally remember.
It’s one of the attendants that was after Mia.
I wouldn’t have remembered that perfectly normal face otherwise, but now that she mentions it, he really was there.

That attendant disappears into the building.

“Someone related to the church went in there…?”

“What are you going to do, master?”

“We can’t stay here.
Let’s walk towards the outer wall.”

“…Yes.”

We keep walking towards the outer wall, and then follow it along as we get far away from that building and walk towards the center.
Being near the outer walls of a city might bring up thoughts of an unsafe area, but apparently that’s not the case in the holy city.

From what I can see on Map, that reaction still hasn’t come out.

“Now what…”

Hikari looks concerned.

This is no good, I can’t overthink this.
If I don’t know, I should ask someone who does.
And we’re closer to a certain place than the mansion.

“Now that I think about it, we haven’t visited a church since we got here.
Let’s check out what they’re like.”

I tap Hikari’s head to reassure her.

She puts out her hand, and I grab it.
That eases up the uneasy feeling around her.

We walk towards the church, while not forgetting to look at stores and stalls along the way.
We fill up on food recommended by Hikari, and reach the church in the center just as the sun is at its highest point.

“Do you have any business with this church?”

I didn’t expect someone to ask us that at the entrance.
I thought anyone could come in freely and pray.
Ah, maybe it’s because of how suspicious I look with the mask on.

“Hum, we are here to see Cardinal Dan.
Is that possible?”

I would have to ask someone to call him anyway, so it actually worked out well for me.

“His eminence? Excuse me, but for what purpose?”

“I am an acquaintance of his daughter, Yor.
Can you please tell him I have something important to talk to him about? I would be grateful if you emphasized that it’s urgent.”

“V-very well.
I will go ask.”

“If he doesn’t look convinced, tell him his daughter Yor could be in danger.”

I feel like I’m threatening him.

“Oh, and what is your name?”

He hurries to go talk to Dan, but then suddenly remembers that he didn’t ask my name and turns back.

“Sora.”

I was thinking about using a fake name, but decide to give him my real one.
Dan might have thought someone was pulling a prank on him or something, and then I would have no choice but to go back to the mansion and call him from there.

Five minutes pass, and the same person returns and takes me to a room.

“His eminence will be here shortly.”

I sit on a sofa with Hikari and wait.