Messai was carrying the unconscious inquisitor Cheryl and proceeding toward the Hearthstone Tavern.
Her three templar subordinates were following her.
Originally, Desireless saw no other option and was planning to use his authority as an Archbishop to take away the life of that inquisitor.
After all, only the singing from the Saintess and the choir will be able to allow the inquisitor to regain her rationality.
Otherwise, the little girl will lose her rationality and become a dangerous monster.
That was no joke at all. Messai was so strong that she could easily block the punch from a Cave Giant, a race that prided themselves in strength.
But, even with that, Messai cannot take down the little girl with brute force.
Take the description from one of Messai’s subordinate, ‘it was like being charged by a hammerhead dragon running at full speed.’
The hammerhead dragons were siege creatures some nations raised over a hundred years ago.
If one was struck by a hammerhead dragon, one would be extremely blessed to only have a couple broken ribs. In the worst case scenario, the impact will reduce one into squished meat paste.
Because of that, Messai was currently walking on the street carrying a mini-Godzilla capable of tearing down the entire commercial street.
“Lady Messai, do you really think there’s a method capable of allowing her to regain her rationality in that tavern?”
“I’m... not certain.”
Messai shook her head. These three templars were all people that had just arrived at Norland not long ago. Furthermore, they were all faithful subordinates to Messai. The other templars that became addicted to Hearthstone were all transferred elsewhere.
As such, these three templars had no idea what sort of place the Hearthstone Tavern was. Subconsciously, Messai felt like she should not be bringing them to that place.
The hideout of a Chaos Demon was simply too dangerous for these young knights.
But, an elven girl came to the Hearthstone Tavern several days ago. Her voice made Messai recall the Saintess Herolia’s hymns.
That was the reason why Messai decided to rescue this ‘little girl’ from Desireless. She hoped that the elven girl’s singing would be able to let the inquisitor regain rationality.
Nevertheless, Messai was holding a sharp dagger in her hand. If the elven girl’s singing was ineffective, she will personally end the life of this poor inquisitor.
Soon, Messai and her three templars entered the Hearthstone Tavern.
Ever since the World Expo, the atmosphere of the Hearthstone Tavern had changed. During the day, the majority of the guests were mages from Norland.
Furthermore, they were coming to the tavern for the sake of playing Hearthstone and not drinking alcohol. Because of that, whenever Messai came to the tavern during the day, she would feel like she had entered an advanced magic university’s library.
The mages were sitting in groups of threes or twos around tables and quietly discussing among themselves.
But, once night falls, the dwarves will take over the tavern and start singing loudly all night long.
The moment Messai entered the tavern, she immediately looked to the temporary stage at the corner. Unfortunately, she did not see the blonde elf.
This was undoubtedly the most terrible situation... Worse yet, the inquisitor Cheryl was showing signs of waking up.
Once Cheryl wakes up, she would no longer be a little girl. Instead, she will become a dangerous creature.
Dark gray mist to gather on her body. At this time, Messai took out the dagger she was holding and held it to Cheryl’s neck.
But, Cheryl’s movement was simply too sharp. In the time Messai blinked, Cheryl struggled free from Messai’s restriction.
However, Messai had a second safeguard. She had placed multiple layers of Holy Light system seals on her body.
Light golden runes appeared in Messai’s hand as a large amount of magic shackles appeared on Cheryl’s body... Those shackles were capable of restricting the movements of a high level demon.
Unfortunately, what Messai caught with her shackles was not a demon. Those shackles were unable to restrict Cheryl for long. Soon, they were shattered under her brute force.
However, seemingly as if waiting for Cheryl to wake up, a gentle singing voice sounded in the tavern all of a sudden.
It was the singing voice of that elven girl.
Messai immediately looked to the stage. But, she saw no sight of the elven girl.
It was not only Messai. Many of the mages also began searching for where the singing came from. Soon, an aged mage discovered that the singing came from an arcanotech device placed at the corner of the tavern.
The elf’s singing voice was effective. Cheryl, who originally had a hysterical look, suddenly held her head. Soon, she fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
All of this happened too quickly. Apart from being shocked by the sudden singing, the mages present only noticed Messai’s magic shackles.
Even though the Ecclesiastical Templars do not possess much real authority in the city of Norland, very few mages were willing to involve themselves with these inflexible fellows.
Messai picked up the unconscious Cheryl. Then, she quickly walked over to that arcanotech device. A series of pitch-black originium crystals were placed beside the arcanotech device. Beneath the originium crystal was a ‘sale price.’ This meant that those originium crystals were goods for sale much like the tavern’s drinks.
.........
“I kept feeling that it’s somewhat inappropriate to sell those originium crystals to the Holy Church.”
Ciri was fiddling with a pitch-black originium crystal in the second floor’s office. The originium crystal had a very rough texture. As they were completely flat, they were called ‘Music Disc’ by Joshua.
“There’s nothing inappropriate about it.”
Joshua was leaning against the railings and looking at the female knight negotiating with Mrs. Melina. She seemed to be planning to purchase those originium crystals placed at the corner of the tavern.
“Didn’t the information you received from the Black Dove reveal that the people from the Heresy Tribunal needed to listen to some sort of ‘hymn’ at regular intervals? What do we do if that elf’s singing could produce the same effect as their Saintess’s ‘hymn?’”
“Then, the Holy Church will lose their so-called... authority. The Saintess’s singing would also become meaningless.”
“Joshua was someone who had witnessed how the Heresy Tribunal battles. He received full feedback from that undead’s point of view.
From the way they battled, they do not resemble people who believe in the Holy Light and righteousness. Instead, they seemed like a bunch of ‘addicted’ zealots.
The Holy Church had bestowed the inquisitors great powers using some sort of method. But, in order to eliminate the side effect of the power, they needed the singing from the Saintess and the choir.
It was through that method that the Holy Church was able to exercise complete control over the inquisitors.
Once the Saintess’s singing was no longer a charity extremely difficult to obtain, once it became something that one could hear at anywhere and at anytime just by spending gold coins, Joshua does not believe that all the inquisitors would remain loyal and devoted to the Holy Church.
“Ciri, pack your stuff. It’s time for us to go to the Squirrel Street.”
Joshua stopped paying any more attention to the female knight. Music discs were only a small part of Joshua’s master plan. The most important things would be filming for ‘Léon: The Demon’ and the construction of the internet.
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Translator YangWenli: