Sanctuary's gate towered before us.

"Look at that, Dio! The last bastion of humanity." Hakim yelled with a large amount of sarcasm in his voice. "Aren't you happy we made it?"

"Amazing," I said, faking as much enthusiasm as possible.

The gate looked like a child's toy but at a massive scale. Someone found it too hard to put it away when it was no longer needed and cut it into smaller pieces. But they couldn't bother putting them back together, and I don't mean the stone slabs.

It had scorch marks as if it exploded recently. Whoever reassembled it, didn't mind the gaping holes. Whatever happened, the destruction and rebuilding must have taken a tremendous force. I could only think of one person who might pull it off.

"What is the name of... What happened here?" Stern asked, indicating that it was a recent event. "Guards, explain this to me."

The soldiers in question wore the same gold pleated armor as his scouts. They had the Crantan royal family's crest etched into their breastplate. They recognized our guide and jumped at attention.

"Captain Stern, you've returned." They saluted, and the one with a cape to go with his gear gave him a prompt report. "Sanctuary was under attack by the Pope's undead army. They blew right through the gate. But Saint Ghisella stopped them within the first blocks and restored it."

"S-saint Ghisella?! You mean the Elder?" The Captain furrowed his eyebrows, rubbing his jaw. He continued mumbling, and I would have missed it if I wasn't fixated on him. "What a timing. So that's why I had to chase down the lizards right now. She outsmarted me this time."

Our eyes met with Hakim. The bard could also add two plus two together. Our attempt to infiltrate Nordhaben bore fruit faster than either of us imagined. Soldiers rushed to greet the captain. Their enthusiasm evaporated when they realized how few returned. They didn't even notice us, but that was a plus.

"So there is a saint now, guarding Sanctuary?" Hakim tried to probe them further, calling attention to himself "What a wonderful luck."

I wasn't happy about this, but his tactics worked so far. Reluctant as I was, I joined his play, trying to figure out, how a human child would talk.

"I-indeed, the Royal Company rescued us, and we can take refuge in this splendid city." Don't act suspicious, that was my mantra. "It could withstand the attack of the undead hordes. We will be safe here. The gods blessed us."

Praising people worked most of the time. I overdid it a little, but the soldiers found it charming. I half expected Hakim to pull out his lute next, but he didn't make a ruckus. Without them catching up, I wanted to dig up as much about this Elder-Saint as possible.

"I um, have to say I'm as surprised as you are." Stern caught himself, glancing at me. "But as I said before, Sanctuary is the last haven of humanity. You made the right choice when you decided to take the trip with us. Even if it was a dangerous journey, right, Dio?"

Why did he address it to me? I attempted my best child impersonation to nod if it was even a thing. When he acted like this, I still wasn't sure if he was onto us. My paranoia worked overtime, but we were in front of the snake's nest and had to be careful. I already learned some interesting stuff and this was only the beginning, as long as they didn't find us out.

The soldiers gave him a detailed report before we even entered the city and he didn't bother with us. It meant we could listen to all the news from the first line without them finding it suspicious.

"And then the nobles apprehended her, and the people from the slums gathered for a protest." The caped solder explained, and they seemed to have their fair share of excitement in the city. A zombie horde, the Church Woman performed a miracle, then got arrested, and now she was a saint.

I couldn't wait for a quiet moment to note this all down. Fang waited for my report. I was to write this on a piece of parchment and leave him a note outside the city walls where he could pick it up.

The Nightmares could make the trip between Sanctuary and Nateaser in a single day. He could alert the Demon Lord within the next one if he brought a crow. The sooner he can adjust his plans the better.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

I worried he might turn and run back beyond the Hell's Gate, but he had to know about the new Saint. While I never talked about the Goddess of Luck, she wasn't our enemy. The Elder plotted for at least a decade, her true goal still unknown to me.

"One thing is certain, now that she has become a saint, the Lesser Races won't dare to attack us." One of the guards concluded, out of line, but in a cheerful tone. "And the lizards should know already, that they can't mess with us. Great job, Captain, I'm sure that promotion will come soon."

"I'm surprised you are still not a Major, Captain." Another butted in, and Stern put a smug grin on his face. He knew more than he let us, or his soldiers on. He was the right hand of the Church Woman after all.

"It's too early to celebrate." He waved them off after he bathed long enough in their praise. "The lizardmen might be a tougher opponent than we thought. And I caught wind of the Lesser Race's movements. I need to report to the King, and send a runner to this saint too."

"As you wish." The caped soldier bowed, and we entered the city with much pomp for a battered formation.

I couldn't help but feel excited, it was a city I never visited before. I came to infiltrate and gain information, and it was no wonder my heart rate kept increasing. Of course, I couldn't help but worry about the news I got from the orc's once-small tribe.

What did Omerta think when she left her post again? And their neutral stance towards the New Order even after they got attacked by the humans. So many things happened, my head kept spinning as I took a list of them.

But I had to concentrate on the present and ensure I didn't become suspicious. The only one anywhere near that wasn't a real human. Hakim told me magic had at least a small mana leaking out, meaning even my disguise could alert someone.

"They sure broke through the gate," Stern noted. He looked at the destroyed houses by the massive city walls. I hoped my true nature was unknown to him, but he was smarter than he made people believe. "Why didn't that woman fight them outside?"

He couldn't cast magic. Nobody from his soldiers could, which was strange considering their mission. But I didn't see priests on the streets either. It could have meant I was safe for now, but I didn't want to let my guard down. A small amount of paranoia could help me stay alive.

This was an excellent disguise, I had to give it to the bard, but as he said it, magic was always detected. They might not know the nature of the spell, but they could realize that something was off.

My heart raced faster than during the last battle with the lizards, but so far I haven't seen a single magician. Stern's scouting party didn't have any, and on our way to the King's castle, we never saw a single one.

"What a bustling city," Hakim noted, but I lost myself in these thoughts. I heard about the great human mages, that until the Collapse the Lesser Races only tamed spirits.

Our sorcerers were few and couldn't compete with the Crantan wizards and priests. And I experienced firsthand how powerful they were when I met Cath and Lambert. But they were outcasts, the exception to the rule. Where were the rest of them?

And how did they hope to stand against the Demon Lord with a few guards at the gate that was already blown up once? Something felt off, as if that Church Woman, now saint led astray her people as she did with Alpha. But what was her endgame?

A saint was on the same level as a demon. Even if the folks in Nateaser defeated her twice already, she survived both and only got stronger. Hakim nudged me awake when Stern called my name.

"Sorry for boring you, Dio, but I must report to the King. If you want, you can escort me there." He offered, too good to pass. It was such a great deal, my mind screamed trap. And I thought about him getting on to us. What was their plan? How much did they know? "Of course, you don't have to."

"N-no, that would be a great honor." I nodded, glancing at my escort. He shrugged, and I had a feeling that I missed something important. "I never expected to meet a country's king, so I'm at a loss what to say."

"Don't sweat it, kid. It's a perk that comes from being the friend of His Majesty's guard captain." He grinned, but his expression felt forced. What if he was onto us after all? "I hoped you could enlighten the King about the human situation in the south. Tell him about the lizard problem."

He addressed the second half to the bard and seemed eager to go. He either didn't suspect anything or had a plan to counter it. I still didn't trust him, and he had his mishaps, but I couldn't deny his exploits so I did my best to trust him.

Who knows, the Church Woman might want to overthrow the King too. The request to spread the word of their exploits could be genuine. Or he wanted to unveil our allegiance ahead of his ruler to curry favor with him. For whatever reason, I could think of all kinds of ways this could go wrong but not one where my mission succeeded.

"I'm a little excited," I said the only thing that came to mind, instead of telling him to go alone. The castle was otherwise unremarkable. I expected a fancy palace, but compared to the gate, it looked like an old fortress the city had outgrown over time.

At first glance, the dwarf smith's shop in Baran was larger, but at least better decorated. The guards wore fancy capes with gold-plated armor, all saluting to their Captain. In a sense I envied him, my champions never treated me the same, let alone the rest of the army.

I was their chief of staff, a paper pusher, even if I gained more battle experience in the last months than I wanted. And now I became a spy, with the paranoia killing me from the inside.

"Stern, you're back." A voice reached us as I dismounted. She wore a white robe, blonde hair fluttering in the wind. "You brought new friends..."