The Spring Goddess's Temple Had Come to Arrest Me?

The warriors stirred uneasily.

A temple?

The Temple of the God of War next door had everyone from the bishop down to the priests sitting right here. It couldn't suddenly produce more people.

The Nature God didn't even have a temple. Besides, the Nature God's followers were all a bunch of good-natured people. They wouldn't act so high and mighty.

So the only ones who could have come to arrest someone were...

The Spring Goddess's Temple!

Tch. The one I hated most.

They were the most pretentious, demanded the biggest donations, and dragged their feet whenever anyone asked them for healing. The only people they paid any attention to were those noble lords...

Sigh. No matter how much I disliked them, I couldn't show it. People were counting on them to save their lives on the battlefield. If I offended them now, bad luck could cost someone their life.

A hundred or so warriors all turned their heads in unison, then all turned their gazes back. Captain Karen and Knight Flynn looked at Gret with concern, but he stood steady on the platform, showing not the slightest sign of nervousness.

Gret really was relieved.

He'd traveled fast enough that he hadn't fallen too far behind the temple's entourage. He'd made it back to the City Guard before Knight Roman could finish his complaint and the temple decided to arrest him.

He'd also gotten lucky. Through a twist of fate, he'd saved Knight Xiluo, which had drawn the Temple of the God of War's attention.

Even better for him, when the Spring Goddess's Temple came to arrest him, both the City Guard and the Temple of the God of War's bigwigs were there. With those two on hand, surely they wouldn't just stand by and let him suffer for nothing?

Gret calmly stepped down from the platform. Before Knight Flynn or Captain Nolan could speak, he faced the temple's emissary and said frankly:

"You're looking for Gret Nordmark? That's me."

He was so composed that the visitor was taken aback and looked him over carefully. A teenager with black hair and black eyes, wearing a dark brown coarse-linen vest. He looked weather-beaten, just like one of the City Guard's lowest-ranking soldiers.

From his appearance to his clothes, he matched Knight Roman's description exactly.

It was a little strange to see him standing on the platform, but, well, a low-ranking soldier was still a low-ranking soldier...

"Good." The man raised the wooden staff in his hand and gave it a sharp wave. Behind him, two tall, burly guards immediately stepped forward.

"Come with us!"

Gret neither obeyed nor resisted. He remained where he was and looked questioningly at Captain Nolan. Knight Nolan did indeed rise, hand on his sword, his thick brows furrowing as he asked the visitor:

"Gret? What does the temple want with him?"

"We just have a few questions for him." The visitor gave a perfunctory reply. As soon as he'd answered, he fixed his eyes on Gret and urged him again:

"Let's go!"

"Uh, wait... I'm not finished here yet... Could you wait just a little while?"

"The priest is waiting! Move!"

Gret dragged his feet, refusing to step forward. Taking advantage of the delay, Captain Flynn squeezed through and quickly whispered a report to Knight Nolan about what had happened earlier:

How the squad had been requisitioned, how Knight Roman had abused his authority for personal revenge, how he'd been seriously injured, and how the necromancer had taken a liking to Gret...

Knight Nolan listened, pondering as he went. When he'd heard the whole story, he nodded.

"I understand. Gret, come on. I'll go with you."

"Sir Knight—"

The temple's emissary blurted out a protest. Knight Nolan cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Little Grete is my subordinate, and I've always thought highly of him. Since the temple has summoned him, it's only right that I go with him."

"B-but..."

He'd thought he was summoning some low-ranking soldier, but now he'd stirred up the City Guard's captain, a seventh-level knight, who was coming in person. The emissary was quite surprised. Before he could object, the bald bishop of the Temple of the God of War rose with a hearty chuckle and walked over to Gret.

"This boy is interesting. I'd like to see what the Spring Goddess's Temple wants to ask him, too. Your temple won't mind, will it?"

Whether they minded wasn't for a mere errand-runner like him to decide! Besides, if the bishop of the Temple of the God of War dropped by the Spring Goddess's Temple, even the High Priest would have to go out and welcome him. What could he say? What would he dare say?

The emissary bowed with a strained smile and gestured for them to proceed. The bald bishop cheerfully made his way around the seats. As he passed Gret, he even threw an arm around his neck and gave him a hearty squeeze—

The bishop was a huge man, broad-shouldered and thick around the waist. His arm was nearly as thick as Gret's waist. With that squeeze and the weight of his arm, Gret nearly stopped breathing.

The group rumbled out of the barracks.

The Spring Goddess's Temple stood behind the city lord's manor, not too far from the City Guard's barracks, but not close, either. It was a bit of a walk, but riding horses or taking carriages felt like making too much of a fuss.

The bald bishop strode off without a word. The few people from the Spring Goddess's Temple had ridden there, but they had no choice but to lead their horses and trudge along behind him.

This was ridiculous... Why was this guy so unpretentious...

The emissary grumbled to himself, all smiles on the outside.

Unfortunately, everyone in the city knew the bald bishop's ways. He loved fighting and brawling, and liked arm-wrestling people in taverns. Once, they'd agreed to use only their physical strength, and he'd beaten a fifth-level knight.

Now that the bishop wanted to walk, what could anyone do? Everyone just had to follow along.

The emissary trudged onward, full of complaints. As they walked, a figure suddenly darted up from behind. It was one of the temple guards he'd brought along to put on a show. The man hurried over to Knight Nolan and kept pace beside him, quietly reporting:

"It was Knight Roman who filed the complaint with the temple..."

The emissary stiffened.

He looked to his left. Two of the City Guard's four company captains had come along, flanking Gret and glaring at him every so often.

He looked to his right. Seven or eight priests followed close behind the bald bishop, as if the entire temple had turned out. Judging by the numbers alone, the person he was meant to arrest looked less like a City Guard soldier and more like a priest from the Temple of the God of War.

Then he looked behind him. A long line of City Guard soldiers trailed after them, craning their necks and looking worried...

The emissary's mind suddenly cleared.

I'm just an errand-runner! I've got no grudge against the City Guard or the boy I'm supposed to arrest! And Knight Roman didn't pay me off!

So what's wrong with doing them a small favor?

He hurried forward, passed Gret, and murmured to Knight Nolan:

"Knight Roman accused Gret of the City Guard of colluding with the necromancer and seriously injuring him. Priest Donald testified on Gret's behalf, saying that Gret had already gone down into the hall before the necromancer appeared, and that they were both knocked down together...

"Now, because the search was poorly handled and caused major losses, Priest Donald has been ordered to reflect on his actions. Knight Roman is badly injured. The High Priest personally cast a healing spell, but it didn't work as well as hoped, so he's been rather indulgent toward him.

"The High Priest says the knight's injuries are taking so long to heal because he was left untreated overnight after what happened last night..."

Behind Knight Nolan, Gret's eyes flickered slightly, and the corner of his mouth lifted without a sound.

He didn't follow the doctor's orders!

Serves him right!