Chapter 14: Wind and Waves

Torres frowned slightly. The death of Malon had always been controversial within the Light Church. Although his murder was confirmed, who had done it and for what reason remained an unsolved mystery.
Many believed it was the court of the Kingdom of Nicomedia that orchestrated this plot, rather than some so-called Dark Mage, as Malon was not well-liked at the royal court. He had openly criticized the kingdom’s policy of allowing other religions besides the Light Church to spread their teachings and even made threatening statements, such as warning that if the kingdom did not change its religious policies, the Light Church mages should withdraw from the royal court’s mage team as a form of protest. Though he could not represent the Light Church’s stance on this matter, his words provoked great anger in the Kingdom of Nicomedia, which felt the Light Church had violated the agreements reached with them and was interfering in their internal affairs. They demanded Malon’s removal. Although the Church denied that Malon’s views represented its official position for various reasons, it also expressed concerns in private talks. Yet Malon remained in his position as a mage in the royal court.
The main reason was that Vansel not only housed many Light Church mages but also had strong defensive forces. Many royal court knights were also in Vansel at the time. It was impossible for a Dark Mage to choose such a place and time to assassinate a mage of relatively unimportant status like Malon in an attempt to provoke the Light Church—there was no motive for such an act, which left those who believed it was a Dark Mage’s doing with no coherent explanation. Even Torres, who knew some insider information, did not think that a lowly baron mage had such capabilities. In his eyes, comparing a practitioner with a little magic to an aggressive and experienced mage like Malon was pure fantasy. Under those circumstances, it might have been the royal court knights of Nicomedia who were the real murderers, as evidenced by the Myles silver arrowhead. No mage, not even a Dark Mage, would use such a weapon. Although it was somewhat far-fetched to think the royal court knights used weapons, they were at least much more suspicious compared to mages who had never used weapons.
“What’s wrong, Torres? You seem to have a different opinion?” Frenst noticed the unusual behavior of his trusted subordinate.

“Archbishop, Jialan’s last mission was to assist those madmen from the Inquisition in carrying out an execution order, as the area in question fell under the Archbishop’s jurisdiction. Since the Inquisition was worried that the target might resist, they asked us for help. So I sent Jialan to assist, but she never returned. Before that, Jialan had never violated any orders or encountered any accidents. So I wonder if the people from the Inquisition might be…?” The Inquisitor General’s unfinished words made Frunest frown. Although he had a poor relationship with the Inquisition members, almost no one from the Light Church, aside from the Pope and their own people within the Inquisition, could get along well with them. Vazinki’s relationship with them seemed even worse, having led to several incidents reported to the Pope. Frunest had long suspected that one of the reasons the Pope restricted the Inquisition’s external law enforcement duties while allowing them to act recklessly internally was to use the Inquisition’s power to balance the factional struggles within the Church. And the Inquisition, with its double-edged nature, seemed perfectly suited for that role.

“Enough, Torres. Stop bringing this up. The Inquisition members are excessively insane, but they’re not truly mad. What motive would they have to target Jialan? Besides, the Jade Crystal Ring already indicated that Jialan’s trouble was likely related to the Dark faction. We just can’t grasp the specifics yet.” Frunest firmly interrupted his subordinate. Spreading such talk would only add chaos and not help solve the problem. Though Frunest also suspected the Inquisition might be involved—using their own people as pawns and stepping in once things went wrong, thereby expanding their influence and undermining his own authority. If that were the case, that guy Noroya’s scheming would be terrifying. Perhaps he needed to take more initiative. Since the Pope had pointed out the growing threat of dark forces, did that imply that the Light Church should also adopt a more proactive attitude to face the impending disaster?

Komer’s good mood was completely ruined by Kakiya’s casual remark. If the Inquisition was interested in the Caucasus, what did that mean? Had his actions already drawn the Light Church’s attention? Was it because of his practices in resurrecting the dead or because of Rebrí and Mihajović’s movements?

On the way back from Matdan to Ugru, Komer kept pondering this issue. He had been practicing corpse refinement for a long time now. If the Church of Light had any doubts, they would have taken action long ago—otherwise, at least the two Rema knights wouldn’t still be wasting time here. If it was because he had recently made a breakthrough in refining the spirit of faith in that Light mage, then, according to the knights’ creed, those two knights would undoubtedly challenge him even at the cost of their lives, never waiting for the Church of Light’s judges to arrive. The only possibility left was the whereabouts of Rebril and Mihajic. After all, the conquest of Damolsk Castle had already spread throughout the kingdom. A once-demon-infested ancient castle had now become his true castle—a feat that seemed unlikely to have been accomplished by him alone. The identities of his friends who helped him thus became a matter of great interest to many.

After the height of summer, the Caucasus entered its harvest season. Although most of the Caucasus was still uncultivated land, it was a season worth celebrating for those immigrants who had escaped the threat of orcs. Watching the golden wheat waves sway in the wind across the fields, the joy of harvest was not something everyone could experience.

The area along the route from Matdan to Ugru had become a settlement mainly populated by immigrants from the former Principality of Meiren. The hardworking and honest Meiren farmers finally reaped the rewards of their labor. The yield from uncultivated land naturally couldn’t compare to that from farmed land, but the vast area made up for this shortcoming, providing an almost unlimited supply. As long as you had the ability to cultivate it, you would need to pay land taxes on the excess—yet those taxes were negligible compared to what they had to pay in their home country. This was undoubtedly good news for farmers who now had to stretch even a single copper shield to its limit.

It is said that this prosperous situation will last for another three years. As long as one works hard, the harvest in the next season will bring even more wealth. It is said that the lord’s palace has issued decrees to reward those who produce large amounts of grain; those whose output exceeds a certain limit will receive additional subsidies and rewards. This is news unheard of anywhere else on the continent. The farmers dare not hope for any rewards, but they understand the simple truth that the more grain they produce, the more gold shields they can sell for. The Caucasus has always relied on importing grain—a reality everyone is aware of. As long as the grain is grown, there’s no worry about not getting a good price. For farmers, what could be better than this?

All of this along the way greatly eased Komer’s originally anxious mood. Looking at this beautiful scene, just a year ago, this place was still barren wilderness with rugged, narrow paths that even carriages could not pass smoothly. Yet now, with such prosperity, who could believe this was the so-called Caucasus where not even rabbits defecate? Puber and Neptune were indeed very efficient in their work. No wonder Puber had become increasingly gaunt like a skeleton over the past year, though he still had great energy. Neptune too had adopted Puber’s work style, constantly on the go—from building the port outside the Bahomun iron mine to repairing the road from Santiago to Matdam, from developing markets for the Muscat stone mines to expanding the Ugru commercial area. Nearly every project saw Neptune’s involvement. Even Hes was somewhat pained to see his son so passionately devoted to the grand construction projects in the Caucasus. And Neptune’s performance allowed Hes to proudly stand before Komer and speak boldly.

The road from Matdam to Ugru was the best-preserved road in the Caucasus region. Carriages moved smoothly along it, and the curtains blown by the wind revealed beautiful scenes after beautiful scenes. Komer simply couldn’t bear to take his eyes away. All of this was created by him, his companions, and millions of people through wisdom and hard work. No one could take it away from them, he thought deeply in his heart.

Let what must come come. The courts, huh? I’m curious to see who can judge whom in this land of the Caucasus. These guys are said to be paranoid fanatics; their understanding of the teachings of the Light Faith seems to go beyond what ordinary people can comprehend. They seem to be active everywhere on the continent, but what will they face in the Caucasus? Komer’s gaze out the window grew increasingly cold. There’s also the Order of Rema—these guys still stay here. Is his identity really worth such painstaking waiting? The mobs in Leon seem to be struggling to hold on. The problem isn’t just about food; even fools can understand the simple truth of running out of resources. It seems everything will be resolved during this harvest season.