Getting up and following Lisa as she grabs the piece of paper from the man, we leave the room and make our way to the lobby again. Moving to the upper floor, it had several tables, some empty and others with people talking. Arriving at a corner with a table there, Lisa points at a chair and sits opposite of the one she pointed at. Sitting down at that chair, Lisa looks down at the paper again before looking at me and smiling.
“Well, I have dozens of questions but let's start with the easy ones. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble or anything, it’s just before we can let you enter the city we need to clarify some information.”
Waiting for her to start, she leaned forward and smiled.
“Where did you come from?”
Hesitating, I debated on what to tell her. Thinking about it, I decided to tell her the truth. Explaining that I had come from Crater Hell, I explained about my trip to Ithil and where we were led to a random teleport circle. Seeing her expression become slightly confused then shocked, she nodded and looked down at the paper and wrote something down on another piece of paper.
“Well, I’ve never heard of those places. I can tell there were no mistruths to your story either. It’s surprising to hear that there are elves out there that would use random teleportation as a method of exile. Interesting…I’ll need to fetch someone, please wait here.”
Seeing her get up, I felt nervous about her comment of needing to get someone else. Wondering if there was a problem, I looked around at the other tables. There weren’t many people here, it was rather quiet, with those people talking in low voices. Some people were like Lisa, writing things down or asking questions. Hearing footsteps coming towards the table after a small wait, I looked towards the source and found Lisa leading a man over.
A pressure came from this new person, it wasn’t something I physically felt but rather a feeling that anything I wanted to hide was wide open to him. He sat in the chair Lisa previously had sat as Lisa stood to the side.
Glancing at the paper in front of him, he looks at me then down at my chest. “You have a bonded pet?” Looking down, Alice was still hidden behind the coat as I glanced back up and nod. He looks towards Lisa who seemed shocked before bowing quickly.
“I’m sorry sir, I must’ve forgotten to ask her.”
Without responding to her, the man looked at me again and that feeling of pressure once became stronger. After a moment he looks at my wrist, at the bracelet that Flannery had given me.
Pointing at it, the man turns to Lisa and speaks once again.
“The bracelet signifies she is a member of the Church of the Moon Goddess, and not a low rank either. Please contact the branch of the Church here and get them to send a Bishop…no, ask the Archbishop to come here.”
Lisa nods as she leaves quickly. Not sure what was happening now, the man turned to me once again before looking down at the paper again.
“I’m sorry about that. My name is Roland, an Officer for the Royal Army. My duty is to oversee anyone who enters our city. Lisa came to me due to your unusual circumstances. Now, I’ll ask you some questions while we wait for that Archbishop to arrive. Can you retrieve your bonded pet?”
Nodding, I poke Alice to come out as she sticks her head out. Gently bringing her out, I place her on the table and attempt to get some food for her. Remembering I had left my bag behind in Olivia’s home, I realised that everything I owned was with it, including my Elven armour. Feeling a hit from this, I turned to the man once again as he pointed at my waist.
“You have a magic item there, from the signature it’s an identity plate, may I see it?”
At that moment I knew I had no secrets from this man named Roland, he could see that much. Taking the identification plate, one of the only things I kept in a pocket on my waist, the other being a bottle of alcohol from Teacher Lee, I handed it to him. Looking at the plate, his gaze went from the paper to the identification plate.
Nodding in satisfaction, he looks back at me. “You say you’re from Crater Hell and arrived outside of the city due to a teleportation circle?” Answering him with a nod, he frowned and looked at me seriously.
“The test shows you’re half human, half monster. Do you know your origin monster?”
Recalling, I told him the truth. “A Demonic Fox is what the System told me.”
Seeing him nod and note something down, he looked at the paper again.
“Right, you’re 15 years of age, two months away from 16. Physically you match that age, but you seem to have a bit more intelligence and your strength far surpasses that of your average level 20. You have mutated Mana Veins and Lake, aligning towards Lunar-based magic. You’re also versed in Wind Magic. Anything seem incorrect?”
Surprised at how detailed the information they had on me was, I looked at the paper wondering what was written on it. Looking at Roland, I nod.
“Good. And your bonded pet is a Dark Raven, no surprises on the magic it knows, and is level 5. Very good, she is rather cute too.”
Smiling at his last question, I see Alice look at Roland and stick her chest out. Letting a giggle escape from my lips, Roland nods.
“That’s better, no need to be nervous. While we might seem imposing, we generally allow all into Vale, excluding a few criminals. Your case isn’t even the strangest I’ve seen. I’m not sure where this Crater Hell is however, so I’m not sure how far you’ve come to arrive here.”
Seeing him talk normally made me relax a lot more. Seeing him smile at this, he leaned back a bit while tapping the paper.
“I will say it’s rare to see a mixed human and monster though. I’m fairly interested in how you came to be. You look more like an evolved monster, I can see how Roal and Lisa were confused.”
Understanding what he meant, I recalled Sally and Gray’s appearances. They seemed human until they transformed…well, at least Sally, Gray didn’t release his monster form.
“Right, so from here I’ll let you know what will happen. While we can permit you into the city, we can not provide you shelter nor food or any goods. Normally one would have to seek those things out, but if the Archbishop wants to she’ll be able to assist in some ways, though from what I recall of the Church of the Moon Goddess they usually do not interfere in their member’s lives.”
Pursuing my lips, I wonder what he’d say if he knew Flannery contradicted that rule sometimes. Keeping quiet about the fact I essentially had another voice in my head, I asked him a question I wanted to know.
“Do you know where Crater Hell is?”
Shaking his head, he simply replied “Let me clarify, I have no idea personally, I know I said I wasn't sure but truly I have no idea. You might find some information in a library somewhere. To continue on from before, you’ll find there are several ways to earn money here, ranging from the Adventurer’s Guild to doing odd jobs here or there. You can also sign up to attend the academy, given your circumstances I’d recommend looking into that as they can teach you a lot.
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From your title, an Aspiring Hero, it seems you’ve cleared the True Route of a dungeon as well, which at your level is very surprising. Perhaps being a dungeon explorer would suit you as well. Vale has a lot to offer…once the blizzard passes that is.”
Hearing all of the information Roland provided, I started feeling excited. There were a lot of different things I could try my hand at, but the one thing that concerned me was this money thing. I understood it was the coins that Olivia had told me about. Just as Roland was about to continue, I heard footsteps moving towards me, and judging by the smell it was Lisa.
“U-um s-sir.” Standing to the side and bowing slightly towards Roland, Lisa stood up straight once again and looked at me nervously.
“T-the Archbishop of the Church refused to attend…in fact, she was rather angry, saying that their Church had no monsters in its ranks and refused to speak further.”
“SHE SAID WHAT?!” Hearing an extremely angry shout from my mana realm, I knew Flannery had become angry for a moment. Trying to ask Flannery what happened, I received no response from her, in fact I couldn’t sense her presence in my mana realm anymore.
Feeling a bit worried, Roland looked at Lisa with surprise before glancing at my bracelet.
“Lisa, the bracelet little Alisha is wearing is the real deal, the Archbishop should also have one. No one below the Archbishop in a branch can wear one, and for it to be bonded you need to be blessed by the one giving it to you. Did you inform her of the bracelet?”
Nodding, Lisa glances at the bracelet before saying “I did, but the Archbishop said that it must’ve been stolen and asked for me to bring it back to her.”
Grabbing the bracelet around my wrist and holding it to my chest, I stood up and moved back, watching Lisa carefully.
“It’s alright, I don’t plan to do that. I’m not a member of the Church of the Moon Goddess, they can’t force me to do such a thing.” Waving her hands, she spoke quickly.
“Even if you tried, that bracelet has already bonded completely with her. You’d have to kill her to try and pry it off her wrist, even then it would refuse. The main concern is now whether the Archbishop will try to do anything to you, Alisha.”
As I felt my stomach sink, I grew frustrated. I didn’t know where I was, but now I’m being told I might be hunted. Seeing Roland look at me intensely, I wondered if he believed my story. Shaking his head and sighing, Roland sat back and looked up in thought. I worried about what was to come.
“Well, nothing we can do, the Church is its own thing, we can’t really step in between disagreements. Plus, it appears someone overheard our conversation and has come to politely speak to said Archbishop.”
Wondering what he meant, I suddenly felt a strong surge of Lunar energy from above. Looking towards the source, I couldn’t see through the roof but the energy was heading towards somewhere in the city itself.
“Well, let's wait for that to happen, it’s outside of my paygrade to rush off to mediate such a thing anyway. Now young Alisha, I’ll issue you a pass to Vale, keep it on yourself at all times, it’ll allow you entry into the city. If you lose it, you’ll have to go through this entire process again.”
Tapping the piece of paper, it glowed again and changed shapes into a small necklace, similar to the one Roal and Lisa wore, but without a piece of metal on it. Handing it to me, he nods as I put it on.
“That’ll identify you and your bonded pet. Now, it seems we have a guest.” Turning towards where the door to the lobby was, he seemed to be watching someone come up the stairs. Turning, I see a young girl arrive and look towards us. In her hand she held the head of an elderly woman, who she was dragging along with her.
The young girl wasn’t Flannery, in fact she looked nothing like her. Arriving at our table with the woman being dragged, drawing some curious eyes to us, she dropped the woman and turned to me. Looking at me then the bracelet, she bought her hands up in a circle to her chest and slightly bowed.
“I’m pleased to find you well, new Sister. I am Luna, a Cardinal in training. I apologise for the actions of the previous Archbishop of Vale.”
Turning to Roland, she simply said “Roland, I apologise for any confusion. I can confirm that Alisha here is a Sister of the Church of the Moon Goddess. While she is not aligned with the Church at this time, as she has yet to complete her pilgrimage, the Church still sees her as a Sister and thus will be provided lodging through us.”
Looking at Roland, he seemed nervous all of a sudden in front of Luna. Nodding his head, he says “I will note that down. Thank you for informing us.”
Luna turns once again to me. “Sister, I’m aware of your circumstances, however other than lodging the Church will not offer assistance to you, even if your life is in danger. Do not rely on the Church. You may use the Church to pray to the Moon Goddess but you’ll have no influence until you’ve completed your pilgrimage. I’m sure Roland will show you to the lodgings.”
Still confused on certain parts of her words, I simply nod as Luna handed me a piece of paper and a metal key. Turning on the spot, she picks up the head of the elderly woman, who I now knew as the Archbishop, and drags her away as she left the building. The Archbishop was still breathing, but looked like she'd been struck by some sort of magic. Turning back to Roland, wondering what just happened, I saw him wiping his forehead with a piece of cloth.
“W-well, it seems you’re a Sister in training. Though it seems you’re unaware of it yourself.”
“Mm, I don’t know anything about them, I was just approached by two people before and given this bracelet by one of them. I don’t know what it is nor what it means.”
Seeing Roland look at me in surprise, he looks at the bracelet and nods. “Well, it’s best for you to find out. Since you’re not officially a part of the Church, we won’t treat you any differently. Now, I’ll lead you to the Church’s lodgings and they’ll take you from there.”
As Roland gets up, Lisa looks at him in surprise.
“S-sir, I can show her the way.”
“No, it’s best if I do so. Having someone at that level giving me an order means I better see it through myself, rather than handing it off to someone else.”
As I pick up Alice from the table and put her on my head, Roland looks at me and smiles. “Alright, you’ve got your pass and it seems you’ve also secured some lodgings. I’ll show you the way now.”
As Roland takes the lead, I follow behind him, finding myself distracted with plenty of questions in mind. A lot of questions about this so-called Church of the Moon Goddess, I also found myself concerned about how it seemed like it was already decided I would be a part of them. I didn’t like it, I wanted to be free, not be tied down by something.
I was in half a mind not to take up the lodgings they offered, but without an alternative I decided to take them up on the offer for now, but I planned to go out on my own as soon as I could.
As we walked, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings at all, lost in thought. I had so many questions for Flannery, and I was getting to the point of being sick and tired of not receiving any answers. First Dracovish, and now it was this Church giving me nothing but questions and no answers.
Seeing Roland come to a stop, I stop as well and look around. It was currently nighttime, since I felt empowered. We were before a large building with multiple stories, a moon stood carved on the top, the building itself was pristine and white.
“This should be where we need to go. I don’t know where their lodgings are, but this is one of the main buildings of the branch here. Oh, it seems like we’re expected.”
Seeing another elderly lady come over to us, she looked at me and bowed.
“Sister, I’m pleased to find you well. Come, I have prepared a small lodging for you to rest. Roland, thank you for your guidance.”
Just as I’m about to leave, I felt a pat on the shoulder from Roland.
“Alisha, before you go, I’ll give you some advice. Join the Adventurer’s Guild and the Academy, you can earn some coin and learn the basics of this city, along with some common sense of how humans interact.”
Tilting my head as I considered his words, I nod as he passes me a gold coin.
“Consider this an apology for taking up your time. Use this to get yourself some food and to pay for your Adventurer's test. Good luck, I wish you well for the future.”
Turning and walking away, I bow my head slightly in appreciation for his help. Even though he knew I was a Hybrid, he never treated me any differently. Turning, I see the elderly lady look at me…with some hostility, before it disappears and is replaced with an emotionless stare.
“Please follow me.”
Hesitating, I suddenly felt fear. I didn’t want to go with this elderly lady, that stare told me all I needed to know, I wouldn’t be welcomed here and possibly would be harmed. Looking around, there were many escape routes, and taking a few steps towards the elderly lady, I made a decision on impulse.
Slamming my palm downwards, I repeated what I did to Jin all the way back in Zalus, but this time I stopped the circulation of mana around my body as I pounced towards an alleyway, moving as quickly as I could away from that elderly lady and the so-called Church.