Chapter 14: Heretic
1871 Words
Chapter Fourteen: Heretic
Merlin sat inside the spacious carriage. Though still bumpy, his physical condition had vastly improved, and such a journey no longer posed any trouble.
“Young Master Merlin, we’ve arrived!”
Moss lifted the curtain and spoke to Merlin.
Merlin opened his eyes and jumped down from the carriage. In front of him was the familiar three-story building, with an old man watching by the entrance.
Merlin ignored the old man and was just about to go inside when Gutt’s luxurious carriage pulled by four horses arrived.
“Hey, Merlin.”
The chubby Gutt stuck his head out of the carriage, then quickly jumped down. Surprisingly, Anson also jumped out after him, apparently hitching a ride.
Gutt and Anson quickly approached Merlin. Gutt even reached out with his plump hand and lightly patted Merlin’s shoulder, smiling.
“Merlin, you haven’t been around for days. What have you been up to?”
Before Merlin could reply, Anson’s face suddenly darkened, his eyes fixed intently on something behind Merlin.
“It’s Teacher Tiraffa and Jia. Why are they walking together?”
Anson’s expression was gloomy. Ever since he had met Jia, she had been on his mind, but now Tiraffa had gotten ahead of him.
Merlin also turned around and saw Tiraffa and Jia chatting and laughing, seemingly deeply engaged.
Tiraffa spotted Merlin and the others. A hint of mockery appeared at the corner of his lips as he arrogantly walked into the building with Jia.
Gutt glanced at Anson beside him and then spoke in a serious tone, his voice lowered.
“Anson, don’t be so discouraged. Jia isn’t simple. Heh, remember I said I’d investigate her in three days? Well, I did. Guess what I found?”
Seeing Gutt’s serious expression, Merlin grew curious. “What did you find? Does Jia have a powerful background?”
Gutt shook his head and replied solemnly, “Not that she has a big background—she has none! To be precise, I found nothing at all.”
“She only ever appeared in Gran City, as if she materialized from thin air. Where she’s from, what she does, who her relatives or friends are—none of it can be found!”
“Heh, my family’s business spans the entire Kingdom of Light. We’re great at intelligence gathering. If I want to investigate someone, I definitely can. But this Jia... she’s truly mysterious!”
Though Gutt usually acted carefree and looked like a rich playboy, Merlin knew from experience that Gutt actually held some power within the Daglan family business.
Even Daglan’s powerful intelligence network couldn’t uncover Jia’s identity—there had to be secrets behind her.
Gutt continued speaking to Anson. “Anson, be cautious. Jia is beautiful, but her identity is unknown and extremely mysterious. Try not to get involved with her.”
“As for that Tiraffa guy, hmph, if anything goes wrong with Jia, he’ll be the one to suffer.”
Gutt curled his lip, clearly not thinking much of Tiraffa.
Anson looked a bit better after hearing Gutt’s advice. Merlin, on the other hand, wasn’t interested in either Tiraffa or the mysterious Jia. He turned to Anson and asked about Meixue.
“Anson, Meixue and the others went to Gran City with the Perot Swordsman. They’ve been gone for days—have you heard anything?”
“Meixue? I have heard something. Let’s go inside—I’ll explain slowly.”
Anson’s eyes flickered, making Merlin’s heart sink slightly.
The three of them entered the spacious room. Today’s class was still history, but Jia and Tiraffa were nowhere to be seen—no one knew where they had gone.
“Anson, did something happen to Meixue?”
Merlin asked urgently as soon as he sat down.
Anson shook his head slightly and gave a wry smile.
“Don’t worry, Merlin. Your sister Meixue is fine. But you, on the other hand, might be in some trouble.”
“I’m in trouble?”
Merlin was puzzled and looked at Anson in confusion.
“It’s like this, Meixue and the others went to Gran City to attend an exchange event under the leadership of Swordsman Perot, right?
At this exchange event, Kadolong made a breakthrough—he became a true Elemental Swordsman, and what’s more, a Light Swordsman!
This even alarmed the bishop of the Gran City Church, who personally gave Kadolong his blessing and accepted him as a Guardian Swordsman of the Church of Light.
That’s why they delayed their return. Tsk tsk, Kadolong really did rise to the top in one leap.
Anson’s face was full of excitement, as if he had become an Elemental Swordsman himself.
Merlin also understood that being an Elemental Swordsman wasn’t much, but being a Guardian Swordsman of the Church of Light was different.
A Guardian Swordsman would receive full support and training from the Church of Light.
Although they didn’t hold a noble title granted by the royal family, their status was nearly equivalent to that of nobility within the Church.
As the Church of Light grew more powerful and influential in the kingdom, the status of Guardian Swordsmen would naturally rise as well.
After a while, Jia and Tilafa both walked in—Jia still looked bright and charming, while Tilafa wore a gloomy expression.
“Hehe, judging by Tilafa’s expression, did she get shown up by Jia?”
The chubby boy chuckled quietly, clearly enjoying the misfortune.
Soon after, Jia began teaching history class. Merlin wasn’t interested in her class.
However, he kept secretly observing Jia. Even with the intelligence resources of the Douglan family, Gute couldn’t uncover her identity—she was clearly hiding something.
But until the end of the class, Merlin couldn’t spot anything unusual about her.
“See you tomorrow, Merlin.”
The chubby Gute and Anson said goodbye to Merlin, and Merlin took Moss’s carriage back to Wilson Castle.
※※※
A group of over twenty knights galloped down a wide road, all wearing identical white light armor and carrying greatswords on their backs.
“How far are we from Blackwater City?”
The knights gradually slowed down. A middle-aged blond man asked coldly.
He had long brown hair tied into a braid behind him, wearing a white robe overlaid with light armor, which looked mismatched, but his chest bore the emblem of a silver cross sword.
“Lord Jason, once we cross that mountain ahead, we’ll reach Blackwater City.”
A knight wearing a shiny silver helmet answered cautiously, his eyes filled with fear—it was clear he feared this oddly dressed man.
The white-robed knight nodded, his expression indifferent, and said to the knight in the silver helmet, "Swordsman Borg, this mission must not fail. The evil heretic hiding in Blackwater City must be captured. I believe the bishop has already told you what to do?"
The white-robed knight’s gaze was sharp, causing Borg to break out in a cold sweat.
“Please rest assured, Lord Jason. Before we departed, the bishop already informed us that this operation is under your full command.”
“Very good. Let’s go.”
The white-robed knight nodded in satisfaction, while Swordsman Borg felt heavy-hearted. He was originally a guardian swordsman of the Light Church in Gran City, and a powerful level-two Light Swordsman.
Yet even so, Borg remained extremely cautious about this mission, because the church had dispatched someone from the Inquisition. Jason was from the Inquisition.
As for the Inquisition, Borg didn’t know much; he had only heard some rumors. The people of the Inquisition were extremely mysterious and possessed unimaginable power—God’s most faithful followers.
Every time the Inquisition was dispatched, it was because of so-called evil heretics. As for these heretics, Borg was familiar with the stories—they were said to be mages who had blasphemed the God of Light and possessed evil powers, the most powerful force from the fallen Black Moon Kingdom.
Facing such an evil heretic—and with someone from the Inquisition involved—even Borg, a level-two Light Swordsman, felt uneasy. He had no idea what awaited him in Blackwater City.
※※※
Merlin lay quietly in the bathtub with his eyes closed, his hand holding a relief sculpture in the steaming hot water.
After a while, Merlin opened his eyes and stared at the relief in his hand, his face showing a thoughtful expression.
“These past few mornings, there hasn’t been any sweat on my body. And when I assume the pose from the relief, it seems to have no effect anymore. The pose from the relief has completely stopped working on me…”*
Merlin muttered softly. Although he had anticipated this day would come, now that it truly had, he still felt a bit regretful.
He could feel the immense power hidden within his body, already comparable to a real Elemental Swordsman. This transformation had all come from that mysterious relief.
After a while, Merlin got up, carefully put away the relief, and went downstairs.
Downstairs, May Snow could no longer wait for Merlin and had already started eating breakfast.
“I’m off to the church to practice swordsmanship.”
After finishing quickly, May Snow said this calmly to Merlin, then took her sword and left the castle.
Merlin was already used to this. Since May Snow returned from Gran City ten days ago, she had become cold and focused entirely on training, her lively nature gone.
Merlin also learned the reason behind May Snow’s change: she had been affected by Cardolon’s progress.
May Snow and Cardolon were always the most promising students in Swordsman Perot’s eyes, both considered likely to become Elemental Swordsmen. But Cardolon broke through early and became a Guardian Swordsman of the Church. May Snow, equally a genius, still hadn’t become a true Elemental Swordsman. This setback made her cold and obsessed with sword training.
“Looks like I need to find a chance to talk to her.”
Merlin murmured to himself. Perhaps even he hadn’t noticed that he was gradually integrating into his new identity, truly becoming a part of this world.
After finishing breakfast, Merlin returned to his room upstairs. In the past ten days, he had learned over a hundred Morta words. Including what he previously mastered, he now knew more than two hundred Morta words—enough to read simple Morta sentences.
To learn the Morta language, Merlin even gave up going to the church to practice swordsmanship in the mornings. Fortunately, May Snow was too focused on becoming an Elemental Swordsman after being provoked by Cardolon and didn’t bother about Merlin, allowing him to enjoy a peaceful ten days.
“It’s been ten days already… I wonder if old Etta has come back?”
Merlin was just about to continue studying Morta, but after some thought, he realized it had been ten days and decided it was time to check if old Etta had returned.
Although he had materials from Etta, self-study always came with difficulties. If Etta was around, those problems would be solved easily, saving him from having to guess.
So, Merlin got dressed and left Wilson Castle, riding in Moss’s carriage toward old Etta’s hut.
- Writer
