East Road Quest

Chapter 11 Midnight at Rome

“A month ago, they let us in at this hour, loading us like baggage onto the carriage, but today they say it’s too late and won’t let us in? How cowardly!”

It had been more than half an hour since the palace gate guard went inside saying he would check, and still hadn’t returned, so Daniel muttered angrily.

“It’s not really cowardly, is it?”

Jade and Daniel stood under the bronze statue of the Emperor, a considerable distance of Rome the palace gate. Despite being in the heart of Rome, the overlapping situations of being in front of the palace and it being one o’clock in the morning made the atmosphere around them rather eerie.

“Then should I say it’s selfish?”

“So, His Majesty called the priest at this hour to talk about Mount Vesuvius?”

Jade asked.

“His Majesty often acted like an obedient child in front of me, but that day he seemed to be throwing a tantrum. It had to be! Dreaming that an angel told him to find the Holy Grail, he must have thought it was blasphemous.”

Jade asked, puzzled.

“It might be out of order to ask this now, but why did His Majesty call you, Father Daniel, for such a significant matter? Shouldn’t he have called Cardinal Lorenzo first?”

“Because Cardinal Lorenzo belongs to the Rafal Priesthood. If the Cardinal deemed the dream as a devil’s whisper rather than the angel’s foresight, it would only give Pope Dionysius an excuse to slander him. Of course, I assured His Majesty that Cardinal Lorenzo is not such a vile person, but still, I was the one who got called.”

“So, by the time he summoned you to the palace, His Majesty had already made up his mind?”

“Even so, he used the word ‘request.'”

“Quite generous with his word choice.”

Jade looked around the palace expressionlessly. Even in the dark, the palace walls gleamed golden fRome the lanterns and torches lit here and there. At the end of the palace, a red flag fluttered.

“Then isn’t our visit itself dangerous? If the gate guards see a priest fRome the Rome Priesthood coming at this hour, it’s not something that would go unnoticed.”

“Is that what you think? Both Cardinal Pietro and I have often visited at dawn for prayers without any issue. The soldiers will think of it that way this time too.”

“Aren’t you being too careless? Anyway, since it’s a secret mission, I suppose he didn’t pRomeise a big reward.”

“Since everything is secret, he can’t even pRomeise a reward. Even if I die during the mission, I won’t even become a martyr.”

Jade scratched his nose and looked up at the Emperor’s bronze statue.

“Do you look dissatisfied?”

Daniel asked.

“Something’s bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, Father Daniel, you appointed me as your companion, and His Majesty issued a pardon for that request, right?”

“Does that bother you?”

“No. It’s just that…”

Jade frowned.

At that moment, the guard reappeared fRome the gate.

“Father. Father Daniel.”

Daniel and Jade approached the guard again.

“They still say no.”

The guard wiped the sweat fRome his forehead as he spoke.

“It seems His Majesty didn’t inform them of my special privileges.”

Daniel laughed wryly as he spoke.

“Yes. The chamberlain said he was at Saint Vesta Cathedral. He mentioned he would go pick him up again tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

Daniel stepped back obediently. However, Jade did not retreat and pointed to the red flags hanging around the palace, asking the guard.

“Is something happening in Rome?”

The soldier noticed the direction Jade was looking and nodded.

“It seems the priest hasn’t been in Rome recently? A series of murders have taken place, with ten people killed. The perpetrator hasn’t been found yet.”

“What kind of murders were they? Were they just stabbings? Or was it something more?”

“It was more than that. From what I know, the bodies were dismembered. The pieces were found scattered all over the place.”

Jade nodded seriously. The guard shook his head and continued speaking.

“In the past, I didn’t believe the priests’ claims about the end of the world, but nowadays, with all these strange occurrences, I’m starting to believe them. Surely, this case is the work of some evil demon or witch. Be careful. The crimes mainly occur at night.”

Jade nodded and followed behind Daniel. Daniel, who had gone ahead and was waiting, asked.

“It seemed like you guessed it was a dismemberment case before you started asking questions?”

“The red flags are only hung when there’s an outbreak of disease or when barbarians invade, aren’t they? They wouldn’t hang flags just because ten people died. But if dismembered bodies were found on the streets, they might hang them.”

“Are you thinking it’s not the work of the same demon, but the same method of murder?”

“The murder case in Zerba must be famous in Rome, right? Then, it could be the work of someone imitating it.”

As Daniel waited for Jade to continue, Jade asked.

“Why?”

“Keep talking. Wouldn’t it be good to give the guards some hints to catch the culprit?”

Jade shrugged.

“I did eliminate the demon in Zerba, but I didn’t find it myself. It came to me on its own. And luckily, it was a demon I could eliminate. If this killer isn’t a demon but a human, all we can do is hope we don’t encounter him.”

“Hope? But you don’t even pray?”

“Not every word means exactly what it says! When someone says they’re so full they could die, it doesn’t mean they’re actually going to die!”

“Don’t take it so seriously.”

“Who made me like this in the first place?”

Daniel chuckled like a child.

Jade fastened his collar and said.

“It’s a bit cold in Rome at night, too.”

“Pompeii was warmer.”

“Where are we going now? Should we head to Saint Vesta Cathedral as the guard suggested?”

“There’s nowhere else to go. I’ll drop you off at the cathedral and then go home.”

Daniel started walking first.

“If you’re going home, shouldn’t I go with you?”

“According to the chamberlain, someone has to stay at the cathedral, right? Besides, while it’s no problem for me to come and go from my house, if someone else comes and goes with me at this hour, it would look suspicious.”

“Are there any watchful eyes?”

“Just being cautious.”

“We always move around only at night. If we go to the cathedral now, we’ll wake up Bishop David.”

“So we need to sneak in carefully. Besides, waking up an old man who doesn’t sleep much in the early morning isn’t that big of a deal, is it?”

“It’s too early to call it early morning sleep at one o’clock. You were considerate of Bishop Ducar.”

“Bishop Ducar nags a lot, doesn’t he? Bishop David is fine. If you’re worried, should we go to Caraculs? It’s only a ten-minute walk from here.”

Caraculs was a public bathhouse in the heart of Rome that saw dozens of visitors each day. It operated at night, frequented by travelers or drunkards with nowhere else to go.

“No.”

Jade shook his head.

“You used to like it quite a bit when you were younger, didn’t you?”

“I liked it until I was ten. Until I saw a patient with red spots all over his body and oozing wounds come to Caraculs. I asked if he shouldn’t be coming to a public bathhouse in that condition, and the doctor said soaking in the bathwater would heal him. After realizing I had been soaking in such water, I stopped going.”

“Hmm, now I can’t go there either.”

Almost every street in Rome was paved with flat stones. The roads starting here extended as far as Rotikan nearby, to the Kingdom of Farens, and even to Lithuania and Luna.

If Daniel hadn’t specifically chosen Pompeii, they would have ridden horses comfortably from Zerba to here. However, Daniel’s chosen path crossed Mount Vesuvius and muddy trails. At one point, their horse, temporarily tied to a tree, was stolen.

Daniel had prayed, “God, I hope the person who took our horse needs it more than we do. Otherwise, what on earth is this?”

Having arrived after such hardships, both were dirty and smelled bad. Even if the emperor wanted to meet them immediately, they would have to change clothes first.

Suddenly, Jade stopped walking.

“What’s wrong?”

“I remembered.”

“Remembered what?”

“What was bothering me.”

“Sorry, kid. I don’t have a good enough memory to suddenly continue a conversation from five minutes ago. Please explain.”

“The fact that His Majesty specifically called on Father Daniel to discuss finding the Holy Grail, no one else.”

“What’s strange about that? The emperor likes me, and I’m an old man who wouldn’t be missed if something happened. It’s also easier to keep a secret.”

“It doesn’t add up. For a secret mission to the eastern continent to retrieve the Holy Grail, would they send an old priest and a young excommunicated priest chosen by him? Father Daniel is too famous to carry out a secret mission, and he’s not physically fit either. If I were the emperor, I would have entrusted the task to a more secretive, skilled, and experienced royal knight or confidant.”

Daniel closed his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise at Jade’s conjecture.

“But it was something more important than efficiency, and Father Daniel was the only one who could do it. That’s why it wasn’t discussed with Cardinal Lorenzo. If that’s the case, Father Daniel’s mission isn’t to retrieve the Holy Grail. There’s no reward, and even if he dies, he can’t become a martyr because of it. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right.”

Daniel agreed readily, speaking in a slightly irritated tone.

“I was going to tell you once the journey started, but you’re as sharp as ever. Honestly, it’s a bit annoying. Voicing every concern just makes enemies. Can’t you sometimes pretend not to know?”

“Sorry. But as long as Father Daniel isn’t the enemy, I don’t care about anyone else.”

“That’s exactly the attitude that makes enemies! You frustrating kid.”

Daniel thumped his chest before speaking again.

“Since we’re on the topic, I have no choice but to explain. It’s an unavoidable matter from His Majesty’s perspective. Do you know much about the Holy Grail?”

“I only heard rumors since it happened shortly after I entered the monastery. They said the Holy Grail was found on the eastern continent.”

“That’s already ambiguous. Whether it was three years ago or four years ago isn’t clear. Anyway, the eastern continent is very far, and Rotikan thoroughly concealed the fact. Rotikan spent a whole year verifying whether the Holy Grail was a genuine holy relic.”

“Didn’t His Majesty know about this?”

“How could I tell you such things? This is information provided by His Majesty. He sarcastically remarked on how unusually cautious Rotikan was, hoping the empire wouldn’t get involved and remained silent. In fact, he tried hard to pretend he didn’t hear anything.”

“You mentioned a spark… There was an announcement that stirred even the quiet places like the Zerba Monastery, right?”

“Yes. It was about two years ago. The Holy Sovereign Dionysus of Rotikan officially declared, ‘God wants the Holy Grail!’ At that time, His Majesty was furious about making such an announcement without consulting the emperor of the empire. If his vassals hadn’t stopped him, he would have led an army to burn down Rotikan. But once the announcement was made, he couldn’t touch the Holy Sovereign.”

Having lived in Rome since childhood, Jade knew well about the delicate relationship between the emperor and the Holy Sovereign.

“That would have led to a riot among the citizens.”

“The Holy Sovereign knew that, so he made the announcement, and the emperor responded by doing nothing.”

“Lord Baltian also showed no reaction to the Holy Grail.”

“It wasn’t just Zerba. Lords and kings who had suffered great losses in the Holy Land Restoration War 30 years ago didn’t move hastily regarding the Holy Grail due to financial difficulties and the scrutiny of the Roman Empire. Thus, despite the fervent response from the citizens, nothing actually happened.”

“Nothing happened on the eastern continent?”

“Of course, something did! Although it’s not clear if it was because of the Holy Grail, three kingdoms on the eastern continent went to war during that period. In the kingdom where the Holy Grail was first reported to have been found, there was a tragedy where royal siblings killed each other.”

“Oh, I remember now. Rotikan claimed that event was divine punishment against heretics.”

“It was an incident that supported the Holy Sovereign’s claim. But Ben… I mean, His Majesty didn’t think that way. If the Holy Grail appeared in our western continent, wouldn’t the same thing happen?”

Indeed, after Rotikan’s announcement, kings and religious factions of various countries split into two groups. One argued for leading an army to find the Holy Grail, and the other opposed it.

“Anyway, while such debates continued in Rome for several months, tens of thousands of people died in wars on the eastern continent, and the whereabouts of the Holy Grail became unknown. When His Majesty didn’t act, Rotikan couldn’t wait any longer and pursued the Holy Grail expedition on their own.”

Daniel began to tell Jade things he didn’t know.

“The first to move was the Kingdom of Farens. The most renowned and skilled knights of the Raphael Priests’ Order, who had made great contributions in the Holy Land Restoration War, were from the Farens’ First Knights.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Of course not. It wasn’t an official deployment. It was a report from a spy planted by Ben… I mean, His Majesty. Sorry, my manner of speaking makes me keep calling him by name.”

“When it’s just the two of you, do you really call him by name?”

“Not exactly… Anyway, it wasn’t just Farens that moved. Almost simultaneously, information came that the Round Table Knights of the Kingdom of Glitten had also set out somewhere. His Majesty was convinced that both knight orders had left to find the Holy Grail.”

“How did His Majesty respond?”

“Silence! He planned to distance himself if they caused trouble in the eastern kingdoms, claiming it wasn’t led by Rome. The same goes if they failed to find the Holy Grail.”

Daniel took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say was the real story.

“His Majesty was more worried about what would happen if someone actually found the Holy Grail. The relationship between Rome and Rotikan was already strained, but ties with the Kingdom of Farens and the Kingdom of Glitten were improving. If either kingdom found the Holy Grail and it was proven genuine, who knows what kind of disaster could occur?”

“I haven’t heard any news about finding the Holy Grail, so they must have failed, right?”

“The mix of rumors and truth has only caused more confusion. There’s no news of either knight order’s death or survival. We haven’t even heard that they arrived on the eastern continent.”

“So Rotikan eventually banned the Holy Grail expedition? I wondered why such an edict was suddenly sent to the monastery.”

“Recently, demands for the Holy Grail have increased. The Holy Sovereign must have felt it was out of control. Orders of knights and monasteries started forming with the goal of finding the Holy Grail independently. Even a priest formally requested the royal court to let him go alone, armed with God’s protection. Many probably left without reporting.”

The monks of Zerba also insisted on reclaiming the Holy Grail. When Jade asked how it was possible to reclaim something that wasn’t theirs to begin with, he was kicked out of the debate.

Religious trials related to relics were held recklessly, monasteries claimed to have secured the Holy Grail, reports of witches surged, and the profession of demon slayer became popular.

It wasn’t surprising that Jade had to face a religious trial for merely recounting old tales, given the current atmosphere.

“In such a pressured situation, it’s not surprising that you had such a dream and caused a commotion at this hour. So His Majesty didn’t order Father Daniel to find and bring back the Holy Grail, did he?”

“That’s right. His Majesty sending an old man like me, rather than a skilled and loyal knight, was for this reason. If the Holy Grail is found and it turns out to be an artifact of a demon…”

After ensuring no one was around, Daniel spoke quietly.

“…he ordered me to destroy it.”