The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 99

Having handed over the freed Holy Knights and Cisia to Lilith, I parted with them and once again crossed the frontier with Nina. Throughout our journey, the text of a letter from Cecil repeatedly surfaced in my mind.

In short, the letter from Cecil was peculiar.

“I am grateful to you for freeing the Holy Knights imprisoned in the Nymeria Mausoleum Dungeon.”

That was all it said. It was the kind of text that didn’t seem to warrant sending a letter.

While I felt there might be some ulterior motive, I could only conclude that Cecil simply wanted to express her gratitude.

As we neared Nashim, the capital of Bernard’s territory, the wilderness had transformed.

A league ahead of the Saintess’s Wall, hundreds of tents were spread out, forming an encampment of the Sun’s People.

Being nomads, they were adept at setting up camps quickly. Within the encampment, there were slaughterhouses for wolves and desert cattle, bonfires for cooking the meat, and even a lively cockfighting arena, resembling a small town. Children as young as Nina and Seneca could be seen working in the camp.

Nina and I passed by unnoticed, right beside warriors gnawing on massive chunks of meat.

After leaving the encampment and moving further into the frontier, a war-like scene unfolded. The neatly aligned warriors of the Sun’s People were glaring at the Saintess’s Wall. Thankfully, the battle hadn’t started yet, but one could feel that a slaughter would commence with just one provocation.

I had hoped that freeing the constrained Holy Knight would lead to a swift reconciliation, but the situation didn’t seem as optimistic. It meant Glenn Deeth still had other plans.

Upon entering Nashim, the city seemed different from before our visit to the mausoleum; the bazaar was deserted, and a unique silence hung in the streets.

Meanwhile, at the Cleansing Square, thousands were praying around the statue of Saintess Cecil. I had heard multiple times that Saintess Cecil was in town, commanding the Holy Knights. Apparently, it was her first visit here in centuries.

People seemed to believe that Saintess Cecil would magically drive away the forces of the Sun’s People, but of course, such easy resolutions are seldom reality. Cecil must be under tremendous pressure to make decisions in these dire circumstances.

Considering Cecil’s position was worrying, but after all, we were outlaws from the underworld, not in a position to offer much help to the Holy Knights.

Just as we were about to leave Nashim, I noticed two familiar silhouettes on the deserted main street.

The two, hooded and with large backpacks, were invisible just like us. I recognized them immediately.

Nina noticed them too, her eyes sparkling.

“Don! Those two!”

At Nina’s shout, the two turned our way and ran over, also shouting, “Don!”

“Thank goodness! Don and Nina-chan, you’re both safe!”

The relieved faces belonged to Kano and Seneca, who should have been in the royal capital.

Settled in a spacious inn for the night, while eating noodle dishes bought from a street stall, I couldn’t help but express my bewilderment.

“No, seriously, why are you guys in this city?”

As Kano stuffed his face with noodles, he replied.

“With rumors of war in Bernard’s territory and such a letter arriving from you, Don, we couldn’t help but worry! Even when I decoded the letter with my skills, it made no sense…”

When I accepted the request from Sia Seiren, I had sent a letter to the Michino Family headquarters in the royal capital stating simply, “I will be delayed.”

It was a brief letter, as I couldn’t reveal the request details, but it left the family worried that I had gotten myself into some trouble. Hence, Kano and Seneca had traveled all the way to Nashim to check on the situation.

Well, they weren’t wrong about me getting involved in something.

I explained that I had accepted a request from Sia Seiren and Count Bernard, and that the job was successfully completed, which surprised both Kano and Seneca.

“So, you’re saying you guys ended up freeing the Holy Knights of the royal capital…?”

“Yeah, that’s about it,” I responded.

Kano added, “It must have been a tough job, so the reward must have been substantial, right?”

“Yeah, decent enough…”

As I spoke, a thought halted my musings; the most important thing in running the Dark Guild suddenly came to mind—money.

Now that I think about it, what about the reward from Sia Seiren…?

I had received the full payment from Count Bernard upfront, so there was no issue there. The problem was with Sia Seiren. I had taken on her request out of pity for her situation, but she hadn’t even posted a reward.

And even if I were to claim a reward after returning to the royal capital, where in this remote frontier would I send the invoice? Does that woman even have enough money to hire me and Nina?

Feeling bothered, I finally said, “Well, let’s just consider the request from Sia Seiren a service. I got a proper reward from the count, and I want to return to the royal capital soon.”

Naturally, Kano, who also handled the Michino Family’s finances, reacted properly.

“Don! You can’t just let it go without a reward after completing such a tough job. You did the work of the Michino Family’s top two, Don and Nina-chan, so we should definitely claim our reward.”

That was a perfectly reasonable point. However, finding Sia Seiren in this place, potentially on the brink of battle, would be no less challenging than fulfilling a demanding request. Moreover, Sia Seiren might already be detained by Glenn Deeth.

Perhaps we could stay in the city for a few days and look for Sia Seiren. I casually mentioned this to Kano.

“By the way, Kano, you mentioned decoding the letter with your skills. Did you learn a new decoding skill?”

Kano puffed up his chest.

“That’s right! I unlocked a sub-skill while you were away, Don.”

Kano specialized in abilities akin to a thief, like disappearing or sensing surroundings. It wasn’t surprising for him to unlock a decoding skill. I pulled out the letter from my leather pouch.

“Kano, can you decode this letter?”

I handed Cecil’s letter to Kano. He proudly activated his decoding skill.

In the next moment, a blue light illuminated and the arrangement of the letters quickly changed. When the light faded, Kano said, “Don, the decoding is done,” and handed the letter back to me.

Reading the newly formed text, my sense of discomfort finally vanished. Of course, it was unlike Cecil to send such a meaningless letter.

However, what kind of misunderstanding had Cecil encountered to write such a thing?

The elegant script on the fine sheepskin read:

“Your lover, Sia Seiren, has been detained by the opposing side, and the situation is urgent. We absolutely need your strength to overcome this predicament. Let’s meet at the Barbara Cathedral in east Nashim when the new crescent moon rises in the sky.”