CA – Chapter 16
Chapter 16
The Bill Empire was located in the heart of the Statu Continent. Flanked by small and medium-sized countries, it didn't have to worry about its territory being occupied by werewolves like the Gru Empire, and it was much freer than the Gosse Empire, which bordered the lands of the Holy See. This was a paradise for wanderers and bards, one of the safest places on the continent.
After traveling for three days and three nights, Tang Qiu and Erin finally arrived in the Bill Empire. This wasn't David and his group's destination, so after dropping them off and collecting the rest of their payment, they expressed their hope for future cooperation before departing.
Tang Qiu responded to his hopes with equal warmth, but they all knew in their hearts that on a continent as vast as Statu, the chances of meeting again were practically zero.
Erin had been on edge for the past three days. Even though she wasn't the one bitten by the vampire, it was as if the mark had been placed on her. She was even more concerned than Tang Qiu about being tracked by vampires.
It wasn't until they reached the Bill Empire that she finally relaxed a little.
Watching Erin let out a long sigh beside her, Tang Qiu couldn't contain her curiosity and asked, "You're a third-generation witch, after all. Are you really that afraid of a vampire whose generation we don't even know?"
A third-generation witch was equivalent to a Priest of the Holy See. A more senior one could even escape from a Bishop of the Holy See unscathed.
Tang Qiu strongly suspected that the Black Witch they had encountered in the Fallen Crow Forest was a third-generation witch.
Erin pulled her cloak tighter. The wind seeping through the gaps always made her feel terribly insecure. Hearing Tang Qiu's question, she replied with a hint of helplessness, "If it gets close, what difference does its generation make?"
Witches were powerful in dark magic and could summon dark creatures, but they themselves were fragile. If an enemy got close before they could cast a spell, it was like having their lifeline seized. The same was true for priests.
However, the aura of light itself had a suppressive effect on vampires. Unless there was a vast difference in power, it wasn't easy for a vampire to get close to a priest who was on guard.
"You didn't summon a guardian?" Typically, a Black Witch would summon a dark creature in advance to protect her in secret, precisely to prevent such a situation.
Erin gave a dry laugh and waved her hand. "I haven't gathered all the materials to summon a guardian yet."
Tang Qiu looked at her skeptically, but seeing Erin's calm expression as she allowed herself to be scrutinized, she ultimately decided not to press the matter further.
A single major city in the Bill Empire was larger than all of Edry. Erin was very familiar with the area, leading Tang Qiu through a series of turns until they arrived in front of a dilapidated grocery store.
The store's door was draped in cobwebs, and its sign was tattered and torn. One could faintly make out the words "Mark's Grocery Store."
Erin cautiously scanned their surroundings, then lowered her voice and said to Tang Qiu, "Follow me inside."
Tang Qiu frowned. After a moment's hesitation, she took out her staff, hid it beneath her cloak, and followed Erin from a careful two steps behind.
As the door was pushed open, a cloud of dust billowed out. Only a single small lamp was lit inside the store, its dim light making it impossible to see what was on the shelves. Tang Qiu observed her surroundings while keeping a close eye on Erin ahead of her.
Erin found a chair in front of the counter and sat down, then reached out to ring a small bell on it. She turned to Tang Qiu, who had sat down beside her, and explained in a low voice, "You can buy anything you need here."
A flicker of understanding crossed Tang Qiu's eyes. "Like an underground exchange?"
Erin nodded and said vaguely, "Something like that."
After the bell had been ringing for a while, a voluptuous and stunningly beautiful woman emerged from the darkness. She leaned against the counter, shot them a flirtatious wink, and puffed out her impressive chest. Her voice, with its rising, ambiguous tone, purred, "What kind of service do you two require?"
Tang Qiu's gaze swept over the woman's face before turning to Erin. She was also very curious about what Erin wanted to buy here.
"...We need a nameplate," Erin said, leaning forward slightly, her tone secretive. "With a clean identity."
The woman raised an eyebrow, casually flicking her hair. She produced a nameplate between her fingers and placed it next to Erin's hand.
Erin glanced at it and pushed it back. "We need one for a priest."
A flash of surprise appeared in Tang Qiu's eyes. For safety, she had decided not to use her own nameplate for the time being, but without one, she couldn't enter any church of the Holy See.
Tang Qiu had been worrying about this, and she hadn't expected Erin to have noticed.
Perhaps, the method she mentioned... Tang Qiu leaned close to Erin's ear and whispered, "The method you mentioned, is it for me to enter the Holy See with a new identity?"
Erin didn't deny it, replying in an equally low voice, "Since it's a problem related to light magic, it's naturally more reliable to find answers within the Holy See."
Who was it on the road who had so confidently claimed to know everything about the Holy See and its priests?
Tang Qiu's grip on her staff tightened, then relaxed as if nothing had happened. She shifted her gaze to the woman, who also looked somewhat surprised upon hearing the word "priest."
"A priest..." The woman looked up at Tang Qiu, stroking her chin. She said with a smile, "I can get it done within three days, but I need to see the payment first."
With a pained expression, Erin took out a box and handed it over.
The woman opened the box and glanced inside. "Add thirty bottles of Holy Water of Light."
Erin's eyes widened. "This is robbery."
The woman shrugged. "You can refuse."
Erin looked to Tang Qiu for help, but Tang Qiu met her gaze calmly, ignoring her plea.
In the end, Erin handed over the thirty bottles of holy water. She had no choice; it was the price she had to pay to keep the golden-haired priest on her side.
The woman accepted the payment and finally asked for the name to be engraved on the nameplate.
Seeing Erin look at her, Tang Qiu thought for a moment and said, "Grace..." She chose a very common surname. "Barton."
Her original body's full name was Grace Augustine.
After leaving the grocery store, Erin, fearing Tang Qiu might worry about the nameplate's authenticity, made a point to explain, "Mark's Grocery Store is the largest and most mysterious underground organization on the Statu Continent. As long as they accept a job, there won't be any problems."
A priest's nameplate was uniformly engraved and issued by the Holy See. Although any large organization was bound to have loopholes, the fact that Mark's organization could infiltrate the Holy See was not to be underestimated. Tang Qiu glanced back at the dilapidated shop and committed the name to memory.
"What was in the box you gave her?"
Erin took out an identical box and handed it to Tang Qiu, saying with some heartache, "It's a teleportation scroll. Very precious."
Tang Qiu opened it for a look, then very naturally stored it in her Space Gem.
Erin was dumbfounded. "You..."
Tang Qiu smiled faintly, a sly glint in her sky-blue eyes. "I need payment, too."
Erin: "..." Double the heartache.
Three days passed in a flash. Tang Qiu received her new nameplate from the grocery store and carefully compared it to her own, finding not the slightest difference.
Even the aura of light attached to it was identical.
It had simply changed Grace Augustine, a serving priest of the Gosse Empire, to Grace Barton, a priest from Sevia.
Sevia was a small country. If Tang Qiu could successfully enter the Holy See in the Bill Empire, the country's name on the nameplate would be updated accordingly.
"When are you going to the Holy See?" Erin glanced at Tang Qiu's nameplate. The surname Augustine seemed strangely familiar to her.
Tang Qiu caressed the cool stone surface of the nameplate, her eyes downcast in thought. Entering the Holy See was something she had been considering for a while. Her identity was that of a priest, an unchangeable fact.
If she wanted to advance further in power and status, returning to the Holy See was essential.
Having made her decision, Tang Qiu put away her old nameplate and said softly, "I can go today."
Erin thought for a long time but couldn't remember why the name Augustine was so familiar. In the end, she pushed it to the back of her mind, looked up at Tang Qiu, and reminded her, "Don't forget our deal."
"What do you want me to do?"
"A group of Black Witches wants to hold a dark feast in the Bill Empire," Erin said, frowning with a serious expression. "I want you to help me stop them."
Tang Qiu replied good-naturedly, "...I'm just a priest." One Black Witch was enough for her to handle, let alone a whole group.
"Don't worry," Erin reassured her. "I'll find other helpers when the time comes. Your main task is to provide cover for me."
"You've probably noticed, right? If there are no light elements around me, my body leaks a dark aura." That was why the patrolling knights in Edry had discovered her after Tang Qiu disappeared from her side.
Tang Qiu had indeed suspected as much, as she had seen a light ring on Erin's finger—a ring used by priests to gather light elements.
Normally, a Black Witch wouldn't exude a dark aura unless she was actively using dark magic, but Erin was an exception.
She could only hide her identity by wearing items imbued with light elements or by staying near a priest.
"The reason is rather complicated," Erin said in a deliberately light tone. "When the time comes, you just have to follow me. Simple, right?"
Simple? Tang Qiu wasn't fooled for a second. She looked down at the nameplate in her hand, wondering if it would be better to just give it back to her.
Erin saw Tang Qiu's intention, and the smile on her face stiffened. She said weakly, "Don't be like that. We can negotiate."
A priest who was willing to cooperate with a witch and wouldn't cause trouble was truly hard to find.
"Payment..." Erin held up a number of fingers, her face pleading. "I'll give you Holy Water of Light."
Tang Qiu looked at her fingers and smiled, a gentle curve on her lips. "It's not entirely out of the question."
To Erin, the golden-haired priest's gentle and kind smile looked like that of a cunning fox. She silently retracted her hand, complaining inwardly that this person was nothing but a black-hearted priest.
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