Chapter 668 ( Movements under the table - I )
The group continued to move on through the desert without much trouble, passing through Fuhren, and the city Horaud.
"We'll stop for a moment here before continuing on to the capital" - Cloud said calmly as he walked towards the adventurers guild.
"What do we do in the meantime?" - Tio asked as she looked around.
"We could check our companions' facilities" - said Kaori while tilting her head - "Lili told us that they started to expand their business."
"Let's go" - nodded the girls. Liliana followed them in a normal clothes because it was obvious that she would stand out if she walked around the city in her princess dress.
* * * * *
"Hello, welcome to the adventurer's guild" - said the pretty girl standing at the counter - "How can I help you?"
Cloud approached the girl and said "the heretics are nearby".
The girl's expression changed before she nodded - "Give me a moment."
The girl ran off into the building, returning a few seconds later - "The guild leader requests your presence."
Cloud nodded calmly as he walked in the direction the girl had indicated.
The blond continued to move forward until he reached a huge door.
"You may come in" - said a voice from inside.
Cloud entered the room as he saw a bald man who was looking in his direction.
"You got here sooner than I thought" - said the man as he looked at Cloud with his only available eye - "Ilwa said you wouldn't show up for quite some time".
"Let's just say things changed" - Cloud replied as he sat down across from Horaud's guild leader - "I didn't expect to meet a princess in the middle of the desert."
Loa Bawavis' expression changed when he heard this - "You say Liliana-sama was in the middle of the desert?"
"Oh, sorry, I didn't say it right, she was being attacked in the middle of the desert" - ranted Cloud as he watched Loa's face darken.
"I knew there was something strange when the nobles started making strange movements..." - Loa growled as he frowned, though he quickly shook his head - "I want to assume you know what's going on."
"I don't have much information, but what I can assure you is that the church is in on all this" - Cloud said neutrally - "Liliana-san overheard them talking to one of the ministers about private royal matters"
"This is more complicated than I thought" - sighed Loa as he shook his head - "I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this."
"Oh, I didn't come for help, but for information" - Cloud said seriously as he pulled out a map with a few positions marked - "I want as much information as possible about the [Liberators], the places they appeared from, where they spent most of their time, etc."
"You mean the traitors?" - Loa asked as he raised an eyebrow and picked up the map, only to see how it marked the location of [Orcus], the great volcano, in the middle of the sea, the forest of the [Semi-Humans] and in the middle of the [Raisen Gorge] - "This is it?"
"It's what you think" - Cloud replied calmly as he squinted - "Each of these points possesses one of the great labyrinths, and believe it or not, these are directly connected to the [Liberators]"
Loa started to think when he heard this because it made sense, though at the same time he was confused - "How did you manage to find them? Even we haven't been able to find them and that we've been searching for decades!"
"Let's just say I have good luck" - Cloud replied calmly - "Now that I've paid for the information I want, I'd like you to hand it over to me."
"I'll be honest, I don't possess information on the traitors because this one has been destroyed by the holy church" - Loa said with a frown as he looked around.
Cloud raised an eyebrow as he watched the man walk over to his bookcase and pick up a black-covered book, only to watch in surprise as the bookshelf moved to the side, revealing a secret room.
Loa asked him to follow him silently, which the blond complied without much trouble.
The secret entrance closed as Cloud passed through it, though this wasn't much of a problem for him.
"Listen, I know it seems like I'm overreacting, but I can't be sure enough if the church is in the way" - Loa said while taking a torch and illuminating the place - "The church has a way of monitoring our conversations the closer we are to the capital, that's why we have to be careful."
Cloud raised an eyebrow because he hadn't felt this problem during his trip.
"I know, it's unbelievable" - Loa said while thinking that Cloud's silence was because of the surprise - "As I said above, all the information about the traitors has been eliminated by the church, although it's obviously impossible to destroy everything."
Loa walked to a staircase and climbed down it.
Cloud followed him silently as the two reached a new dark room, only this one seemed to have been eroded by the passage of time.
The blond advanced through the place as he raised an eyebrow because he could sense that there was something oddly familiar about this room - "This place is owned by Oscar Orcus?"
"Impressive, you came to the right conclusion just by looking at this place, so I want to assume that there is something similar at the bottom of the great labyrinth" - Loa said while nodding - "Yes, this place is an old office of one of the traitors, the creator of the great labyrinth that exists in this city, here lies information that the church has been looking for for centuries"
Cloud raised an eyebrow although inside he wasn't very excited because he was almost sure that in this place he wouldn't find anything useful, after all, he was sure that all the important information was in Oscar's base at the bottom of the labyrinth, although it didn't hurt to look in case he was wrong.
"What kind of information exists in this place?" - Cloud asked calmly.
"Most of it is meaningless information like Orcus' experiments and some notes on his inventions" - Loa said as he shook his head - "It's a pity I don't have anyone who can apply them, though it's not like I want to either, not when it's possible the church will connect them to me and I'll end up dead for withholding important information."
Cloud picked up a book carefully and began to glance through it delicately because he could see that despite being held with magic, these were so delicate that they could break at any moment if he didn't do it carefully.
Loa raised an eyebrow as he decided to withdraw, but not before telling him how to get out of the place.
Cloud nodded as he began to read everything in front of him.
* * * * *
"It's a surprise to see you again" - said Noboru Aikawa, one of the former members of the Aiko protection troop, although after their first encounter with Hajime and the rescue of the civilians, they decided it was better to use their skills in less dangerous matters.
"The surprise is ours, I didn't think that during this short time, you would start a company with the help of Ai-chan sensei's other bodyguards" - Kaori said with surprise - "By the way, where is she?"
"Ai-chan sensei is heading to the castle to talk to the minister of economy about a collaboration" - Noboru answered calmly - "This is a good opportunity for our company, they have even started calling Ai-chan sensei the harvest goddess."
The expression of Kaori and the others changed when they heard this.
"Is something wrong?" - Noboru asked with concern as he noticed such a drastic change in the expression of his former acquaintances.
"I have a bad feeling about all this," said Kaori as she looked at the others.
"What do you mean?" - Noboru asked with a frown - "Are you saying that Ai-chan sensei is in danger?"
"Possibly" - replied Tio with a frown - "If what you say about Aiko-san is true, then it is possible that she is in danger for a very simple reason."
Noboru's face paled when he heard this, he didn't need more, not even the possible reason why Aiko was in danger - "Guys, we're in trouble!"
* * * * *
"It's a pleasure to be able to talk to you, Aiko-san" - said the finance minister with a small smile - "Or would you rather I call you the harvest goddess?"
"Please don't say that kind of jokes" - said Aiko with an embarrassed smile - "I'm not a goddess, or anything like that, I'm just a teacher who wants to keep her students safe and help as much as she can to others in the process."
"That's somewhat admirable, though it's a bit concerning how popular you're becoming" - said the minister as he shook his head - "My associates aren't too happy with the idea of a new deity stealing their attention"
"Huh?" - Aiko was surprised to hear this because she wasn't expecting this kind of words, not when she had only come to negotiate a possible alliance between them and the ministry of agriculture.
"Hello, Ai-chan sensei ~" - said a voice that the teacher recognized immediately.
"Nakamura-chan?" - Aiko replied with surprise.
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NEW WORLD - ARIFURETA
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