Kayda followed my gesture-and immediately groaned. A man in ceremonial white robes approached with slow, deliberate steps. His uniform was embroidered with golden patterns and a symbol of the Church of Light. He looked far too important to be ignored.
"Oh. I see," Kayda said, giving my shoulder a light, sarcastic pat. "Fine. I'll behave."
"Good afternoon, Kayda the Sage. It is an honor to finally meet you," the man said, bowing respectfully once he reached us. "I am Archbishop Warlurd."
I kept a blank expression, letting Kayda take the lead.
"Why would an archbishop be heading toward Armillian?" Kayda asked coolly, one brow raised in suspicion.
"There have been unsettling reports from the south over the last few weeks," Warlurd replied calmly, his voice polished and diplomatic. "I chose to investigate them in person."
So, something major was happening in the demon territory.
"I see." Kayda folded her arms. "Then what does the Archbishop want from us?"
Warlord straightened his posture slightly, hands clasped together with grace. The fight with the Crimson Bandits has severely weakened our escort team. We may not survive another ambush if they return. I would sincerely request that Lady Kayda and her companion assist us by guarding the convoy until we reach Armillian."
He gave a deep, sincere bow, his long white robes billowing gently in the wind.
Kayda blinked, caught off guard by the humility.
"Hm... I don't know. What do you think?" she asked, glancing at me.
I crossed my arms thoughtfully. "Will we get paid?"
Everyone blinked.
"Oi," Kayda said in a flat tone, giving me a long, deadpan stare. "Not everything is about money."
I returned her look with equal seriousness. "We will need money to travel through the kingdom."
Archbishop Warlurd laughed softly. "Of course. You are a practical one. To think the disciple of Kayda the Sage would be so concerned with coin."
"She's not my disciple," Kayda snapped, already annoyed. "That's my sister."
"Never mind that," I said, stepping forward. "How much are you offering?"
Warlord chuckled again. "How about... twenty gold coins each?"
"Thirty."
He smiled. "Twenty-five."
"Thirty-five."
Warlord raised an eyebrow. "Fine, thirty."
"Fifty," I said without missing a beat.
The archbishop went pale, his mouth twitching.
"Stop!" he groaned, clearly realizing the trap. "We can't pay that much!"
"Huh? But you're hiring Kayda the Sage," I said, placing a hand on Kayda's shoulder with exaggerated reverence. "You don't think she comes cheap, do you?"
Kayda gave me a look of pure betrayal.
"...Sigh. I should have known," Warlurd muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Fifty gold each. But no more."
He turned sharply, robes snapping, and walked off before I could open my mouth again.
I smirked. "We'll be on the viscount's carriage if you need us," I called after him.
I turned to the pale, trembling viscount's son. "That's fine with you, right?"
"Y-Yes! No problem!" He stammered and scurried off.
Once he was gone, Kayda rounded on me like a storm cloud.
"Nova. Did you just sell my name?" Her voice was dangerously calm.
"Yep," I said cheerfully. "One hundred gold coins will be helpful."
She grabbed me by the collar, her face inches from mine. "Do you know how much a normal escort from the capital to Armillian costs?"
"Nope," I said innocently.
"ONE gold coin. One." Her eye twitched. "And how much are we getting paid?"
"Fifty. Each." I grinned.
Kayda's fingers tightened like iron vices. "Five hundred percent more than the standard rate."
"But we're special," I said with mock pride. "You're a living legend. I just did excellent marketing."
Kayda slowly exhaled through her nose, like a volcano on the edge of eruption. "You made it sound like I'm selling my name for money."
"But I was! That was the whole point!"
"That's not up to you!" Kayda yelled, finally letting go and storming off.
I brushed off my shirt. "Didn't you say this was my trip?" I called after her.
Before I could say anything else, something smacked into the back of my head.
Everything went black.
(Unknown time later)
'Ugh... what happened?' My mind was fuzzy. 'Oh, right. Kayda knocked me out.'
I groaned, blinking against the sunlight filtering through the cloth canopy above me. Something soft and warm cradled my head, the scent of lavender and magic tingling in my nose.
'No way. Is this what I think it is? Lap pillow?'
A slow smile spread on my face. 'Please be the cute sister from before.'
I opened my eyes-only to meet Kayda's unamused gaze.
"Aah. You're finally awake," she said coolly.
'I mean... not bad.' I secretly smirked, maintaining a confident expression.
"Oh? A lap pillow from you, huh?" I said with a sly smile, shifting slightly. "Don't mind if I do. I think I'll sleep a bit longer."
Kayda blinked once. "Is that so?" she said, lightly brushing her fingers through my hair.
'Wait... she's really going to let me?'
The warmth of her touch lulled me slightly.
Until-
"Like hell I will!" she snapped, suddenly pinching my ear and yanking me upright.
"OW! Why are you like this?!" I whined, rubbing my abused ear.
"You try being nice, and this is what I get?" she huffed.
"Lady Kayda, that's not very nice," a soft voice said from across the carriage.
We both turned.
The healer from before-Mil-sat with her hands folded neatly, a faint glow of magic still dancing around her fingers.
My pout returned instantly. "Yes, scold her, Sister Mil! She's so mean to me!"
I scrambled across the floor and threw my arms around Mil's waist, causing her to yelp in surprise.
From Kayda's angle, I made sure she saw my wink and slight head tilt toward the small window at the front of the carriage.
Kayda sighed, muttering under her breath. "You stupid cunning fox..."
With a wave of her hand, she created a small soundproof wind barrier inside the carriage, shielding our antics from the outside.
"See? Mil, she's always bullying me!" I said this while dramatically leaning into Mil's lap.
"It's okay," Mil said sweetly, gently petting my head. "You poor thing."
I froze.
She's petting me. Why is she petting me?'
Her hand continued to stroke gently, like I was some obedient housecat.
'This is fine. This is FINE. I'm doing this for Kayda's sake.'
"Thank you, Mil," I said with a bright smile, letting her go and sliding back to my side.
I tilted my head innocently. "But Mil... Why are you going to the South? I thought there were no churches that far out."
Mil nodded. "You're right. There weren't. But with the Head of the Anabald House going quiet lately, the Church decided to begin expanding south."
"That's... not a bad move," I said slowly, eyes narrowing slightly. "Less resistance, more faith."
"Yes, exactly," Mil said cheerfully. "Though a new problem has come up. Something strange. Something... wrong."
Boo, it's a short one again, only just under 1500.
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Chapter 94:
"Hmm, what do you mean by 'a problem arose'? What sort of problem?" I asked, lifting my head slightly from Mil's lap and narrowing my eyes. "Did the Head of the Anabald House come back?"
Mil gently withdrew her hand from my hair, folding it primly on her lap. "It wasn't explained in detail in the briefing," she said, her voice dipping slightly in tone. "But I've heard that many churches in the southern territory have started getting raided. Destroyed, even."
Kayda's eyes flicked over. I sat up straighter, already sensing the tension in the air.
"I see," I muttered, processing. "Do you think it's the Anabalds behind it?"
"No," Kayda said sharply, her tone like a blade. "They aren't cowards like that. If they wanted a war, they'd fight it in the open. Proudly. Loudly."
Mil nodded in agreement, her lips curling slightly in distaste. "Yes. As much as I despise them, House Anabald wouldn't stoop to tactics like this. They bask in the light-preach it, even. Their obsession with replicating angels is already loathsome enough."
I blinked, glancing at her sideways. "You really don't hold back when talking about them, huh?"
She gave me a worn-out look. "There's no reason to pretend. Not after everything."
"But do you at least know who is behind the attacks?" I asked, steepling my fingers and resting my chin on them. "And does this connect to the head of Anabald's disappearance?"
Mil's face soured as she exhaled sharply. "No. They're good at hiding. Too good. And frankly, no one's even cared about the Anabald head lately. These attackers have already destroyed four newly built churches. That's where the attention is now."
Kayda's eyes narrowed. "Where were these four destroyed?"
Mil lifted her eyes, voice steady. "Two in the city of Anabald. One in Dublin. And a few days ago, another in Armillian."
Her gaze settled on me for a moment.
A small ripple of unease passed between us.
"I see..." I muttered, fingers tapping my temple thoughtfully. "Is there any way to figure out what they used to destroy the churches? Explosions? Fire? Magic?"
"There were no traces of mana," Mil said plainly. "So it couldn't have been a spell."
Kayda shifted beside me, clearly intrigued now.
Mil continued, her brow furrowed in frustration. "But they always attack on a moonless night. If any guards present have night vision, they'll flash a red light to blind them-just for a second. That's all it takes."
That got a reaction.
"Wait," Kayda said, eyes narrowing. "How would they know who has night vision?"
Mil shook her head slowly. "We don't know. But they're always right. Every time, the guards with night vision are eliminated first. Like someone tipped them off."
I frowned. "That's... Wait. If they're being killed, how do you guys know these tactics?"
Mil hesitated for a moment, then looked up. "That's another thing. They always leave six survivors after every raid. No more. No less. Always six."
She paused, her eyes clouded by memory.
"And they're always found hanging upside down against a black pillar," she said. "Right in the center of the ruined church."
I blinked. "A black pillar, huh? "That's really original," I muttered sarcastically in an attempt to lighten the mood, but neither woman smiled.
Kayda leaned forward slightly, the tension in her shoulders tightening. "You said no mana traces. That rules out most spells. But..."
She paused.
"If they had control like me," she continued, "they could manipulate mana without leaving traces. It's rare, but not impossible."
That made me stare.
Mil immediately sat straighter. "Lady Kayda... Are you suggesting..."
"I'm saying," Kayda interrupted, tone firm, "that if I wanted to, I could raze a church to the ground and make it look like no magic was ever used. That level of mana control is... specific. Difficult. But clearly possible."
Mil's eyes widened, a flicker of fear dancing across her expression. "That is... troubling. Are you certain someone like that could be involved?"
"I'm not certain. But the signs point in that direction," Kayda said bluntly. "And if that's the case, you'll need more than an archbishop to deal with it."
My gaze drifted to the window.
'Someone with Kayda-level control... That's not something you hear every day, I thought. 'There aren't many people in history who have refined their control to that level. Even fewer people stayed hidden. Unless...'
My eyes narrowed slightly.
Unless they're from my world, where kids now get that kind of control for free.'
The thought chilled me more than I liked.
I leaned back in my seat and turned to Mil. "Mil, was there anything else mentioned about the explosions?"
"Not much," she said, brow creasing. "After every attack, all that's left is rubble, the black pillar, and-"
"Let me guess," I interrupted. "Shrapnel?"
She blinked. "Yes. How did you...?"
"Mostly metal?" I asked again, ignoring her question.
"Yes, the metal is concentrated mostly around the central zone of the blast."
I let out a low whistle. "Yep. That tracks."
Kayda tilted her head. "Are you going to explain for the rest of us, genius?"
"Well," I began, smiling slightly, "because reincarnated people have patterns. Weird, persistent ones. For instance, always leaving six survivors? Way too specific. Using red light to blind night vision users? That's a trick straight from my world. In modern warfare, tactics like that are standard. Using any means to disorient your opponent is crucial, particularly when they possess technological advantages.
Kayda didn't look surprised. "Nova, this sounds like speculation."
"Oh, it is speculation," I admitted easily. "But I'm also about 80% sure that whoever is doing this is either a reincarnator-or trained by one."
Mil blinked rapidly. "How... how can you be so sure?"
I crossed my arms. "The shrapnel. It could've been from an explosive container filled with natural elements-chemicals, basically. Mixed correctly, they can level entire buildings. No man involved. Just science."
Mil gasped slightly, but Kayda gave me a thoughtful nod.
"Using natural materials would leave no magical traces. Hmm. Not bad," Kayda said approvingly.
Mil, however, seemed shaken. "All of this isn't public knowledge. Please-don't spread this. The Church doesn't want people panicking. If the masses see us struggling-"
"I get it," I interrupted gently. "Your secret's safe with me."
"And me," Kayda added, surprisingly supportive.
Mil sighed in relief.
I glanced between the two of them and smirked. "Now that we're done being all doom and gloom..."
Without warning, I slid back down and flopped my head into Mil's lap again.
She stiffened immediately. "Nova! What are you doing?!"
"Getting comfortable," I mumbled without shame. "Didn't I say I was still tired?"
Kayda snorted. "Is this because of the fight earlier?"
"It's her fault," I grumbled, pointing at Kayda without looking. "She's a slave driver."
"Oh really?" Mil said with mock sympathy. "The poor little fox, bullied by a dragon."
"I swear, Dragonoids are nothing but trouble," she added with a bit too much edge.
Even Kayda raised an eyebrow.
