"We made it back, Princess."

I was quite proud of her. We made double the distance in a day compared to when we started, and her stamina improved enough not to demand me to carry her. She complained about Lambert’s meals instead, now that he was no longer with us. As oddly as it sounds, we missed him. The coward had his uses after all...

"I think we should rest, Cath." She said although she didn't seem tired.

"The walls are in viewing distance," I noted pointing forward. "We’ll get there in an hour."

"We are in no rush." She noted. "I don't want to return worn out and beaten. What would the citizens think? You have no common sense as a paladin."

"Well... You have a point, your Highness," I admitted. Her tongue wasn't as sharp as usual. "Then I'll set up camp."

"Don't bother, just let us rest and see if we have any food left. I'm starving..." She waved me off and sat on a log next to the road. We met the first human traveler yesterday, which was a nice change. It felt like we were the only ones in this world for two weeks, apart from the monsters.

"I think the orcs topped up our supplies," I said, rummaging in the Bag of Holding. When that idiot started to feed the ogre, I thought we would starve, but now our food would probably last months. It didn’t taste as good as when he freshly prepared it, I didn’t notice how good the court wizard was at cooking until he was gone, but I couldn’t hope to make meals like he did.

We ate quietly until then the Princess became talkative. She sounded nostalgic, listing the events of our short adventure.

"I can't wait to tell my Papa how you almost killed me in the Cyreneian pass." She claimed, making me shudder. "And how the monsters rescued me before kidnapping... They saved you too, right?"

"L-let's not mention that to His Majesty." I requested, triggering a hearty laughter. "I completely failed to protect Your Highness, even though I took an oath. Lambert was more useful than me."

"I wouldn't go that far." The Princess giggled. "This mission was dumb from the start... What was the purpose anyway? I did nothing but play to the hands of the Lesser Races, and when we finally found the Goddess? Turns out, we couldn't do a thing."

"Right, I will get to the bottom of this." I agreed, thinking about what Lambert said. He suspected the Elder and said she tried to wrestle power by getting rid of us, but it sounded like a conspiracy.

"You do that, Captain of the Guard." She said, dusting herself off. "I need to change my clothes before our glorious return."

The rest of our trek passed uneventfully. We reached the city's walls after noon but it felt nothing like coming home. The guards at the gates were from the Royal Companies, not my men. I haven't seen the usual red that belonged to the Inquisitorias anywhere around.

Everything sparkled in gold, representing the royal family. It was strange, considering the Inquisitorias were seen as the sole defenders of the human race. They protected Sanctuary until now, but this change did not hint at any problems. The city seemed quiet, regardless of who posted the guards, but they recognized us and requested our patience.

"Your Highness, please allow us to prepare a proper escort to welcome you back in Sanctuary." One of them bowed deep in front of her.

"Alert my deputy that we arrived," I ordered promptly too. "I will escort Her Majesty Elizabeth directly to the King, and I want Stern to join us. No other guards are necessary."

"Oh, we must insist, Captain." The guard straightened up, looking into my eyes. "It is on the King's orders. He tightened security recently, and you might find things changed since you left."

I wanted to protest, but the Princess waved me off. I couldn’t escort her to the castle, but I finished my duty either way. The streets were empty, but soon, a whole platoon arrived in golden armor, bowing to the royalty. She smiled and walked off proudly, leaving me behind at the city's gate.

Stolen story; please report.

"So you survived." I heard a familiar but not exactly enthusiastic voice. The man approaching had short purple hair like the royals, but his beard was darker, almost black, with gray hairs mixed in. He came alone and unceremoniously waved to follow him. "Things might seem strange, but stuff happened."

He wouldn't say more, walking to the Guard's Office together. The city did not change much, but the usual red flags and soldiers parading in the crimson of the Inquisitorias were missing. And the people too. Why was it so quiet today? Even Stern, my deputy, who used to paint his leather armor red, wore simple clothing, nothing of that color. He only had his trusty sword by his side. But where was everyone else?

"Since when did the Royal Companies take over guarding duties at the gates?" I asked but he didn’t answer. "Also, we'll have to discuss things regarding the Church. Have you seen the Elder lately?"

"Oh, sure did." He noted simply. "You wouldn't recognize her. As I said, stuff happened, but I will fill you in shortly."

The office building was practically empty. It was always bustling with activity, guards dressed in red would come and go, discuss their shifts, or train in the courtyard. By the looks of it, there was only the two of us now. I had a bad feeling when he kept evading my questions like this.

"I'm sure you know we couldn't banish the Goddess..." I noted once we reached my office. It looked exactly as I left it, which was odd, considering how much paperwork piled up daily. There was nothing after almost two weeks.

"Color me surprised." The deputy laughed. "Did Lambert run away? Or was he killed in an ambush maybe? Did you even meet the Goddess?"

I didn't want to answer that. There were too many strange things, and I noticed one in particular. We had no contact with anyone, yet he was too well-informed about the details.

"How do you know we were ambushed?" I asked, slipping my hand on the falchion's hilt. "What else do you know?"

"Oh, not much, not much." He raised both hands. "But as I said, things happened. The Inquisitorias leaked information to the Lesser Races, and the whole structure was rotten, even the highest ranks."

"What?" Lambert might have been right after all.

"I know, right? Someone telepathically alerted the Demon Lord about your mission. You need quite the skill to pull that off." I could only assume, he was right. But Stern looked oddly happy about this. "And this is not all. The Elder set out to protect you, once she caught the traitors, but she met with the Twelve Champions and got defeated."

"That is not how it happened," I claimed confidently. While I did not trust the monster's report back then, it was clear that whoever attacked them played both sides. And he just confirmed her person, reminding me of something else. "I have reasons to believe, that the Elder is a necromancer. There are things we need to investigate quickly."

"Ah, don't bother, she most certainly is." Stern brushed it off. "But the public thinks the Pope made her young again, against her will, of course, haha. Who would believe that, right?"

"W-what are you talking about?" I asked confused. "His Holiness was not involved in any of this. I haven't seen him for months..."

"Nobody did, that's the best part." He claimed, still laughing. "See, the thing is, the Goddess is back, right? I can only assume, you saw her with your own eyes. You made it back alive, but I won't say you are on her side... It's not my duty to judge... But, you know the Lesser Races are trying to unify under the Demon Lord's banner?"

"T-they call themselves the New Order... Yes." I couldn't even react to the rest he implied. Things indeed must have happened while I was away. And I didn’t know how deep did this go.

"Indeed, and they have quite the following too." He noted, walking to the window. "Imagine the Lesser Races all coming together, numbering in the millions. And their leader is this close to becoming a True God. Another deity is already on the continent, and you failed to banish her... Who's going to stop them and protect mankind?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked for the second time. I saw where this was going. "That's the whole reason the Inquisitorias..."

"Right, right, sure. Sounds good in theory, but did you miss the part when I said, they informed the Lesser Races about your mission?" He asked, leaning against the window. "Or are we ignoring the fact, that you failed? No, the pact is broken, it's dead. Our best bet is to call upon the gods of our own. Unite humanity once more, and lead them to battle..."

"No, it would only lead to death and destruction. The pact should never be broken." I started to panic. "The Princess was there, she can attest to it, the Lesser Races had no ill intentions towards us. They captured her because someone told them she was a threat to their leader, but once we cleared that up, they let her go."

"Oh? So you mean to tell me you collaborated with the enemy?" He asked with a sinister smile. "Not only did you fail your mission to protect the Princess, you even made a pact with them? That is quite something."

"I brought her back." I declared, upset with his accusations. "Yes, we were at the monster's mercy, but it goes on to show they didn't want war."

"Hmm, what a shame, nobody can back you up on that one," Stern said, walking around me. "Who will confirm, that Her Majesty is still alive? Nobody saw her enter the city. The king is already mourning her... My soldiers weren't taking her to meet him..."

"Y-your soldiers?" I unsheathed my sword on instinct.

"Right, silly me, I forgot to tell you." He laughed, opening the door. A whole platoon of guards rushed inside wearing gold-plated armor and swords in hand. I saw a few familiar faces from the old Guard. "I'm no longer your deputy but the head of the Royal Companies."