Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 169: Kalen’s Old Home
“How’s the situation?” A muffled voice emerged from the communication crystal.
“Kendrick didn’t become suspicious,” Nicholas said quietly. “He truly believes I’m here to monitor them. My motive is perfectly clear.”
The somewhat elderly voice paused. “Good. But you still need to keep an eye on the movements of the Night Listeners.”
“Understood.” Even though he knew the other person couldn’t see him, the young knight still nodded.
Because of conflict within the family, he had volunteered to come monitor his useless younger brother while also inspecting the state of the Church of Cadence in Atla. Both publicly and privately, the explanation made sense.
It suited Nicholas Karns’s usual style perfectly. Even if the Pope of the Night Listeners came in person, there would be nothing to criticize. Speaking of which, he really had Kendrick Karns’s terrible reputation to thank.
That way, his true purpose in coming to Atla would remain hidden beneath deep water, and no meddlesome Night Listeners would come interfering.
But just as his superior had said, there was no such thing as being too cautious.
Nicholas ended the call, took a deep breath, and looked toward the noisy group in the distance.
The young priest who worshiped some unknown church was tirelessly stuffing his backpack. From basic dried meat and preserved fruit to bulky sweets and white bread, he kept cramming things inside without complaint.
Then there was that Dragon Fae. God of Cadence above, there is actually such a thing as a black Dragon Fae. He was crouched on the priest’s shoulder, passionately suggesting that he buy more black-tea-flavored cookies.
As for Kendrick and his little lover…
Nicholas’s brows and nose nearly wrinkled together, as though someone had shoved a rotten raw egg beneath his nostrils.
Those two were stuck together like conjoined twins. Kendrick’s hand hadn’t left that slave’s waist once. And that slave had no sense of shame either, constantly pawing at Kendrick’s chest.
Kendrick and Payton clearly had the same father and mother, yet Payton was upright, gentle, and devout. How had Kendrick turned out like this?
If Grandfather hadn’t listened to Payton and Magnolia’s persuasion and strictly forbidden him from killing Kendrick, Nicholas wouldn’t have minded arranging a few accidents… He really had no idea what this brat had done for even Sister Mag to speak in his defense.
Forget it. If Kendrick could serve as cover for the Church of Cadence’s real operation, then he was at least somewhat useful.
Nicholas withdrew his gaze disdainfully and bought a bag of “honey grapes” instead.
They were made by baking together honey, fat, and finely milled flour, producing a glossy honey-brown color. There were no air pockets inside, and their texture was as dense as raisins. They could be a little cloyingly sweet on their own, but they were extremely filling.
Meanwhile, the two targets he was watching so carefully nearby…
“The Mud Knight is buying mud balls,” Myss muttered maliciously.
“Those are honey grapes, a noble snack from the Night Scourge era. I didn’t expect them to become this common,” Salaar said with some nostalgia. “Also, you’d better not call him ‘Mud Knight’ to his face. Nicholas has quite a lot of pride.”
Myss said decisively, “His name is too long.”
Salaar blinked. Normally, the nickname for “Nicholas” would be “Nick.” But when the words reached his mouth, Mr. Hero swallowed them back down.
“You can call him ‘Hey,’” Salaar finally said seriously. “Trust me, he’ll know who you mean.”
Mm, that worked too. Easy to remember. Myss nodded in approval.
…After leaving the nearest town, Myss suddenly discovered that walking wasn’t nearly as troublesome as he had imagined.
Atla’s environment was completely different from Mondicia’s. Even though winter hadn’t yet ended, the land was covered in fresh green, gently rolling grassy hills. The sky was so blue it looked like a lie, and the clouds were fluffy and thick to an almost offensively perfect degree.
Spring was still some time away, but the wind had already begun to warm.
Myss stepped on the dense grass and smelled the refreshing scent of crushed greenery. Even his little leather boots, covered in scuffs and wear, looked clean and sharp here.
No wonder Dragon Fae liked gathering in Atla.
The environment here was far better than Mondicia’s, and even Aufon might not compare.
Myss clasped his hands behind his back and turned curiously toward Salaar. “There aren’t any obstacles here. Why don’t they build a road?”
He had assumed the area would be full of wet mud and stubborn rocks, but the grass nearby was so good that he could trample a path through it with the soles of his boots.
Seeing Myss standing in the sunlight, his face and eyes both sparkling, Salaar couldn’t help taking a raspberry chocolate ball and stuffing it into Myss’s mouth.
“Because…”
“Because Ember Village refuses,” Kalen interrupted Salaar instinctively.
This time, both Myss and Salaar turned to look at Father Kalen. Even Nicholas, following behind them, paused and looked over.
Father Kalen had barely finished speaking and was about to keep walking when the coordinated stares stopped him in his tracks.
“Uh, it’s just… an old village rule?” The priest explained somewhat nervously. “Ember Village is quite large and can basically support itself. And… anyway, you’ll understand once you see it.”
That sounded a little interesting. Myss became somewhat intrigued.
Salaar simply followed up. “Are there any other unusual customs there?”
The priest thought for a moment. “There are quite a few religions, large and small, in the village. Each has its own church. Just the ones I remember number more than ten.”
“But everyone gets along fairly well. They don’t start fighting and killing each other at the slightest disagreement. There’s nothing particularly unusual.”
Salaar and Tass: “…”
That counted as not unusual?
Normally, an isolated and remote village like that would have one dominant sect. Ember Village somehow had more than ten churches.
No matter how they thought about it, that was strange.
Clearly, Mr. Kalen had treated quite a few absurd things as common sense.
No wonder he regarded Hermit’s bedtime stories as unquestionable truth. Growing up in a place filled with churches of every size, it would feel perfectly natural to believe that “gods” came in categories just like animals.
Behind them, Nicholas frowned and tossed another honey grape into his mouth.
……
By the time Nicholas’s honey grapes were nearly gone, the group finally reached Ember Village.
All along the way, there had been nothing but endless, dizzying grassland. They had barely even seen a passing animal, much less rarities like streams or bushes.
Fortunately, the group had prepared thoroughly enough, and the journey passed without incident.
Myss discovered that the Mud Knight liked glaring at him and Salaar, but he wasn’t stupid enough to rush over and cause trouble.
Once night fell, he knew how to pitch his own tent and kept his distance from the rest of the group.
After several days, Myss had collected nothing but an entire basketful of contemptuous looks, and he rapidly lost interest in the Karns-family tagalong.
Ember Village was far more interesting.
Only when Myss saw its terrain did he understand why Kalen had said, “You’ll understand once you see it.”
It was an enormous pit!
However, it wasn’t a bottomless abyss like the one in the Blind God’s temple. Proportionally speaking, its shape was closer to a semicircular flat-bottomed frying pan.
The “bottom of the pan” was likewise covered in lush grass and even dense green forests. Clusters of brightly roofed houses were arranged throughout it, easily numbering more than a thousand at a rough glance.
And in the exact center of the pan was an almost perfectly circular pond, flashing beneath the sunlight. It looked like a sapphire wrapped in green velvet.
Countless winding streams extended from around the pond, shaped almost exactly like cracks spreading outward.
At first glance, together they formed an extremely distorted blue sun.
From this distance, the sheep grazing near the village edge looked smaller than the points of needles. The steep “rim of the pan” beside them formed a natural barrier, so there was no need to worry about sheep wandering away.
Father Kalen stood on the raised grassy hill and gazed toward his hometown.
“There are stairs built against the cliff near the village, but moving bulk goods in and out is still inconvenient,” he explained dutifully. “Fortunately, the village has plenty of drinking water, the soil is fertile enough, and there are many ores in the surrounding cliffs. We don’t lack anything here.”
Salaar looked at the enormous village with some emotion. “No wonder believers like this place. It fits people’s idea of ‘paradise’ very well.”
The priest smiled at him. “That’s true. They all like saying that. Only Hermit… uh.”
Remembering his brother’s unpredictable identity, Kalen awkwardly fell silent.
Nicholas remained silent. The corner of his mouth twitched, then was quickly pressed flat. The expression looked faintly mocking, but unfortunately no one saw it.
His right hand moved slightly, and his gaze slid downward from his chest for a quick glance at something inside his pocket. Then he raised his head again; the entire sequence was smooth and extremely subtle.
At the same time, Myss was intently observing Ember Village.
It was rare for him to be interested in a piece of land covered in humans. But Ember Village had that kind of charm, filling him with goodwill toward it. Maybe the air nearby was too fresh. Maybe the temperature was more comfortable.
In any case, Lord Archdemon liked this place.
“Let’s go,” he urged Salaar enthusiastically.
Salaar was nowhere near as excited. He gazed toward Ember Village for a while longer. “Magical fluctuations?”
“Normal,” Myss said. “No Divine Realm, no Abnormal Fruit, no strange smell.”
Salaar gave a small acknowledgment and tightened his arm around Myss’s waist, but his expression still didn’t relax.
The path into the village was harder to walk than expected. The “rim” of this giant pan was nearly vertical, and the rock wall wasn’t very stable, so people had reinforced it with large quantities of lightweight steel plates, and the stairs were so narrow that only one person could descend at a time.
On the exposed side, the only protection consisted of a few rotting sticks with strips of burlap tied between them.
Everyone in the group was young and strong, yet they still walked carefully. The Dragon Fae flew in midair, clicking his tongue in amazement. “What happens if an old person or a child falls?”
“Old people and children don’t need to leave the village,” Kalen said. “Everyone else believes their respective gods will protect them.”
Oh, please, the Dragon Fae thought.
He could currently be considered the god of the Dragon Faes, more or less, but he didn’t even really know what his own kin were doing, much less actively protect them.
Still, seeing Father Kalen’s hand pressed over his heart, Tass politely remained silent.
Myss’s attention, meanwhile, was entirely fixed on the sheep near the cliff. Every sheep in Ember Village looked clean and plump. He had already decided what flavor of lamb chops he wanted later.
“Look over there.” Following Myss’s gaze, Kalen pointed toward a lone house at the very edge of the village. “That’s where my brother and I used to live. We never sold it. It should still be habitable.”
After saying that, he carefully glanced at Nicholas.
“Sir Knight may not be used to such a simple place. You could stay at the Church of Cadence in the village…”
“No need,” Nicholas said stiffly. “I’ll stay at your place. I’ll pay rent according to the standards of Aufon’s capital.”
“You really don’t have to be so polite…”
Nicholas: “It’s a requirement of the Church of Cadence.”
Only then did the priest fall silent, somewhat awkwardly smoothing his hair. “All right. All right.”
To Myss’s surprise, the village didn’t even have anyone guarding the entrance.
They simply finished descending the stairs and walked all the way to Father Kalen’s old home without anyone stopping them or checking their documents.
They did pass several villagers, but the people merely gave polite smiles and nodded. They weren’t particularly concerned about who the newcomers were.
…This was easily his favorite place since entering the human world!
Not even seeing Father Kalen’s shabby home could ruin Myss’s good mood.
The brothers’ home was a textbook example of poverty. It was built from brown-gray wood, with some kind of thick bark covering the roof. The gaps had been patched with small stones and mud. Behind the yard lay piles of old moss-covered logs, releasing waves of damp mushroom scent.
The priest pushed the door with exceptional care, afraid he might simply knock it off its hinges.
The interior structure was equally simple. There were no separate rooms. A wide wooden bed stood against one corner, while the fireplace was diagonally opposite it. A wobbly wooden table occupied the center. One of the chairs beside it had fallen over and looked broken. A ladder leaned against the fireplace and led to a low attic.
From this angle, Myss couldn’t see what was above yet. He could only smell rotting straw.
By comparison, even the slums of Rosha City looked somewhat luxurious.
Fortunately, brilliant sunlight poured inside, making even this awful environment seem a little interesting.
There was no trace of embarrassment over poverty on Father Kalen’s face. He only looked nervous about inviting guests into his home.
“If we clean the second floor and spread fresh straw, two adults can sleep there. There’s a small window over there, so it won’t feel stuffy,” he said sincerely.
“Mr. Nicholas, if you don’t mind, you can sleep upstairs with Tass and me.”
“As for the bed downstairs, Salaar… uh, I mean Kendrick and Myss can use it. Would that be all right?”
Judging from his expression, Nicholas clearly wasn’t very satisfied with the arrangement.
His gaze followed the ladder to the doorway, as though calculating how convenient it would be to get outside.
In the end, his brows only moved slightly before he silently nodded.
Only then did Father Kalen relax. “Then I’ll stay here and clean up. The rest of you can go into the village and get something to eat first…”
“Eat at the Church of Cadence.” Nicholas suddenly spoke, his gaze scraping across Salaar and Myss. “You two should come with me.”
Like I care. Myss wrinkled his nose.
Salaar’s fingers suddenly moved lightly against his waist.
“Sure, as long as you’re paying,” Mr. Hero replied provocatively.
The author has something to say:
Kalen and Hermit really were quite poor when they were young.
Their home was, to some extent, inspired by Grandfather’s shabby cabin in Heidi…
And, for once, Lord Archdemon has found a place he actually likes. [red heart][cat paw]
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