Chapter 202: Chapter 202 - Writing Straight With Crooked Lines
The sight of the hero astonished Urraca.
Nakata was unlike any person Urraca had ever seen before. Her Japanese facial features looked almost otherworldly, in a different manner from the beastkin.
While the beastkin - to Urraca’s eyes - are exactly what the name says, Nakata had an air of refinement and culture that hinted of a civilization beyond Urraca’s imagination.
If the beastkin and other non-human races were the definition of savagery, for Urraca’s standards, Yumegami Nakata stood as the representative of a culture above her own.
Though Nakata was wearing normal training clothes, she was still wearing her one-tooth geta on her feet, and yet, she walked without losing her regal poise even for a split second.
All of this went through Urraca’s mind in the couple moments it took her to answer the introduction.
"Oh, hello, miss Hero. Na... kata, is it? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to hold the front long enough for you to be participating in the war. And yes, I am Urraca, the princess of this country. But there’s no need to be formal with me. You’re a Hero, after all."
"Thank you, Urraca. Though I’m unsure about my role as a hero, as the war I was supposed to join has already ended."
Nakata felt suddenly very conscious of the state of her sweat-drenched training clothes and the unsheathed training sword in the middle of the holiest of grounds.
"I-I was in the middle of my training when I heard the commotion and rushed to see what was happening."
She was apologetically looking at her wooden sword, unsure of what to do with it, as western-style training swords usually have no sheaths.
"Oh, it’s okay. It’s a sign you aren’t slacking. About your role as a hero, I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out. We are still facing another holy war in the southwest as well, which has not been going well. Though after recent developments, I fear for our country’s future."
Urraca’s sight lingers melancholically on the door through which the Pontifex exited the hall, then went back to Nakata.
"In any case, I need to go to the castle to report to my father, the king. May I send you an invite for a visit later?"
In a world without tea, afternoon snacks with pastries and juice are the thing with the aristocracy. Though not as cemented as tea parties on Earth, they are still a staple.
"Of course! I would love to have a long chat with you, under a better situation."
The two smiled and parted, while the onlookers were still reeling from all that had transpired about the war.
:::
PoV: Jonas
Some things about the Church and the goddess didn’t sit well with Jonas.
It all began when the local High Bishop decided to ’gift’ him a maid. He was taken aback when a girl on the mid teens appeared in his room, wearing a ribbon bow like a present, wearing clothes too revealing for her age.
But what aggravated him the most was the collar she was wearing. A slave collar.
The shock of learning about slavery was so big that it took him a whole minute to notice her wolf ears and tail.
After inquiring around, he learned that all beastkin are slaves and that the law of the country wouldn’t allow any to not be a slave. So the only options to not take her in were to send her to be killed or to another owner.
He decided then to adopt her and treat her as a little sister. Though her official name was Ines, he learned that she had a beastkin name, Ceci, and decided to only call her that.
He knew that while he remained the ’owner’ of Ceci, nobody would put their hands on her, because it would amount to attacking the hero himself. That’s why he had no problems leaving her behind while going on the field missions.
Like this one, in which they are tasked with defending the village of Figueira against the dragonkin’s army.
After all, as much as he was feeling uneasy with the way the Church dealt with things and about several tenets of the Goddess, he was still all in favor of defending innocent humans.
He had been to this village three days ago to fend off some monsters that were increasing in number in the forest nearby. The villagers were very nice to him, and he was very grateful for it.
While Figueira stood near the front lines of the war, the people held firm faith in the Hero’s and the Church’s power to turn the tides on the invasion.
And yet, here he was now, running on horseback after having received news that the dragonkin’s army had broken the lines and was marching on the village.
When he arrives, the scene in front of him is an evocation of the hellish images of Bosch. The village was already on fire, while bodies littered the ground and humanoid lizards with wings pierced the still living in a macabre hunt.
They were late.
The dragonkin retreated immediately at the sight of the human army, leaving the village behind and returning to the front lines.
Jonas didn’t pursue them, instead looking for any survivors he could heal and save, while tears rolled down his cheeks.
As he was focused on that, desperately crying and searching, he couldn’t see the smile on the Bishops’ faces.
Leaving a gap on the lines so an advanced line could come and destroy the village that the Hero had visited a few days ago has paid off. If he won’t agree with their tenets, they can at least make him compliant by redirecting his anger towards something else.
’The Hero’s self-righteousness should be used against him to put him in check.’ That was the message that the goddess had sent to the High Bishop when he voiced his concerns in his prayers.
The goddess writes straight with crooked lines.
Jonas still walked among the corpses, recognizing several of the villagers that had treated him so nicely just a few days ago.