The Bishop glared at her and continued. “Yes, the saint taken in by the false church created by Gabriel.”

“To think he'd leave you so raggard,” Roko commented. “Nonetheless, why do I sense our lord's presence from the man? I don't recall any priests with hair or age matching his.”

“He was a business partner for a priest in my jurisdiction.”

“Anglia, correct? With a country that large I'm surprised the Pope didn't appoint an Archbishop to it.”

“I'm more than adequate.” The Bishop answered.

“Yes, it seems that way. Now tell us what's so special about this man. Given you mentioned his age, I assume he's some marvel like that priest Daniel.”

“You know of him?” The Bishop asked.

“Who doesn't? He’s been looking like that forever! I remember training under him when I was just a sister and that bastard still looks the same nowadays. He probably looked the same when the Pope was still called the King. Hell, he probably looked the same when the king was still a prince.” Venus added.

“Then I suppose there's no point delaying my explanation.” The Bishop added.

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Both people at the table eyed the body like a pack of starving dogs.

“I can see this was a surprise to you two as well.” The Bishop said as he approached Ash. He pulled the body off the table and kicked him in the stomach.

He began coughing hysterically and tried to crawl away, only to get his leg pinned by the bishop stepping on it.

“AAAHHHHHH!”

“Who did you think you were fooling, Bentley?”

The two cardinals paid his screams no mind.

“True immortality…” The man whispered in a hushed tone. “Are you positive this informant of yours was accurate?”

While people in this world could ‘easily’ extend their lifetimes by 40 to 50 years past the norm and do the same with their physical peaks, being able to reverse ageing was… Frankly, it was unheard of.

“I had one of my best men inform me after confirming it himself. I thought it was a misinterpretation until I saw this man before me.”

(“My word. I'd heard mumblings that Father Daniel deserved a Bishop position simply for his mind, but this is beyond my expectations.”) Roko thought.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“(That goddamn powder has left me looking like I'm in my forties. I'm just in my twenties for fucks sake.) Come on then, don't fuck around with us, hand some of that shit over. Actually, just bring that bastard here to make it for us.” Venus demanded.

“There is a slight problem with that plan.”

“Which is?” She asked.

“Father Daniel is dead.”

“You have his body right!?” She shouted at him. Both men took note of her reaction.

“I may or may not. After all, an extra body might have been too much of a hassle to carry back here. But what good will his body be, after all, it's not like we can revive a dead man.” He responded.

Both men turned their gaze to Venus.

She rolled her eyes. “Tch, fine, you can use him. How'd you even hear about him anyway?”

“Don't worry.” He said. He reached into a sack on his waist and pulled out two vials. “I was worried how a fuller room would play out with these but thankfully I won't have to worry about that. I thank you both for considering this worth your time.” He handed both vials to them. Both wasted no time taking them. Even if they didn't need it at this moment, it was still invaluable.

“And please do take it dropwise, you wouldn't want to revert to children, now would you?” He added.

Both had already stashed it away.

“I'll keep it in mind.” Said Roko.

“Good idea, I probably would have downed the whole thing after testing it for poison. But you're not holding back on us, are you? Seems a bit convenient you had only two.”

“The rest are for his majesty.” He bluntly stated.

“Please remember we now refer to him as his holiness… but I agree. I'll inform the others immediately so they don't have any surprises when they next greet him.” Roko said before he got up. He quickly left the room.

After Roko left the room, the Bishop pulled out another vial. And dropped some into Ash's mouth, making the man writhe around the floor before his wounds seemingly healed.

“As I thought, it also works as an elixir.”

He handed it to Venus. And she took it out of his hand without a hitch.

“Aw shucks, I guess I'll allow you to use him. But only when I’m present.”

“Thank you for your quick understanding.”

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The orange-haired man woke in a cold sweat. He held his chest like his heart was going to pop out at any moment and tried to calm himself.

He looked at his hands and pulled a strand of hair out of his head. It was a vibrant orange he hadn't seen in over twenty years. The clothing he wore wasn't the ones he remembered wearing when he was younger but wasn't the ones he fought Tibaut in either. They were by no means rags, they looked pompous but felt quite nice, if not a bit inappropriate for sleepwear. It was a shirt and vest combo that had far too many buttons to be practical, along with gold embroidery.

He looked around the room he was in and noticed it was lit by a single lantern and a bright one at that. It hid the fact the room had no windows far longer than he cared to admit.

“Where am I?” The man wondered. He looked at his arm and noticed it was healed. “And what happened to me? Was it all a dream? Maybe this is her doing… No, I can't imagine she'd ever spare me attention after our last meeting.” He brought his thumb to his mouth and began biting away at his fingernail trying to figure out what happened.