Leaving Patel Province

After the Saint Realm ancestor of the Patel Family took a look, he decided not to pursue the matter further. If the man had been an ordinary six-star mage with no backing, he could certainly have killed him over what he had just said.

He also believed that the Church of Light couldn't do anything to him. But if he killed the grandson of one of those madmen in the Knights' Order, his family would probably face retaliation. He still wasn't strong enough to take on the Church of Light, so he chose to turn a blind eye.

The Blood-Eyed Mane Lion carried the wounded Matthews toward the village where Asolun and the others were staying. The people from the Church of Light began contacting the Church and reported that Matthews had killed one of their ninth-level priests and an angel.

Pope of Light Leviathan was leisurely drinking tea when a high priest from the Church walked in.

"What is it?"

The high priest respectfully performed a salute to the Light, then said, "Your Holiness, something has happened in the eastern province controlled by the Patel Family!"

"Didn't we send people there? What happened?"

The Patel Family's Saint Realm ancestor was only at the early Saint Realm stage. Normally, the Pope wouldn't concern himself with a matter of this level. But during his last casual conversation with Knights' Order Commander Vasily, he'd learned where Vasily's grandson had gone, so he'd remembered the matter. Now that his subordinate was reporting trouble there, he assumed someone had offended the Patel Family.

"One of the ninth-level priests and one of the ninth-level angels we sent there were killed."

As the priest spoke, he handed over a sealed report. The Pope asked without much concern, "Did Patel make a move? If an early-stage Saint Realm expert dares to challenge the Church, just kill him."

Pope Leviathan opened the report. When he saw that a ninth-level warrior named Matthews had killed the father of the Church's ninth-level priest and seized the Jettanson Family's divine artifact, his expression changed.

"Damn it! Send people to wipe out the Jettanson Family!"

Pope Leviathan was furious. Ford Jettanson had known that his family possessed a divine artifact, yet he had chosen not to report it or offer it to the Church. Instead, he'd kept it for himself. And because of him, the Church had lost a ninth-level angel for nothing. The Jettanson Family deserved to be wiped out.

After thinking it over, Pope Leviathan said to the priest, "Go and summon Otto and Paya from the Holy Knights."

Otto and Paya were two of the Holy Knights' strongest ninth-level warriors. With a team of angels, they should be able to capture the ninth-level warrior named Matthews and return safely.

Everyone wanted a divine artifact, so Pope Leviathan didn't want to give up on it. If a Saint Realm expert from another church got involved, they might claim a share. He still believed that Matthews and the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion had only managed to kill the Church's people because they were injured. They couldn't be that strong!

"Greetings, Your Holiness!"

Pope Leviathan looked at the man and woman who entered, then ordered them, "A ninth-level warrior in Patel Province, in the east, has killed one of the Church's priests. I need you two to take six ninth-level angels and bring him back to me!"

"Understood!"

The Pope continued, "Remember, I want him alive. If that proves impossible, at the very least bring back his Space Ring and weapon."

After Pope Leviathan had arranged everything, the two Holy Knights, Otto and Paya, set out for Patel City with their people. The Church of Light then issued a wanted notice for Matthews.

Although the Church of Light's territory was still a long way from the territory ruled by the Divine Beast Empire, news traveled quickly. That day, Mia was in class at the magic academy. At eighteen, she was already a six-star mage.

As she walked down the corridor, she heard someone say, "Have you heard? A ninth-level warrior named Matthews recently killed a ninth-level priest and a ninth-level angel from the Church of Light."

Mia had suddenly heard a name that matched her brother's, so she stopped the two girls and asked, "The Matthews you're talking about—is he...?"

"It's that master artist, Matthews! I heard the Imperial Capital Art Gallery's collection of his paintings has gone up in value by a lot of gold coins."

Seeing her friend telling the story so vividly, the other girl quickly added, "That's right! An Earl who bought Lord Matthews's first painting has been showing off everywhere lately!"

Watching the two girls walk away, Mia knew how powerful the Church of Light was. She couldn't help worrying. Her brother had killed people on the Church of Light's territory. Would he be in danger?

Just then, Winter, the brat, came over. Seeing Mia looking down, he asked, "Darling, what's wrong?"

Mia told him what she'd just heard and anxiously asked, "Will my brother be in danger?"

When Winter heard that his brother-in-law had killed people from the Church of Light, he saw the worry on Mia's face and took her hand to reassure her. "Don't worry. The boss will be fine. I'll have my family look into what's going on."

While Winter was comforting the worried Mia, Matthews was being carried back to the village by the similarly wounded Blood-Eyed Mane Lion.

The moment Asolun saw Matthews, his concerned voice sounded in Matthews's mind.

"Boss, are you all right?"

"Don't worry. I can still hold on."

After reassuring Asolun, Matthews immediately said to Fiona, who was standing nearby, "Go find a carriage. We need to leave."

Asolun heard this and asked with concern, "Boss, you and Pal are both injured. Will it be a problem to travel in your condition?"

Matthews urged Fiona to get moving, then explained to Asolun, "I killed people from the Church of Light. I don't know how soon they'll come looking for us."

"And this is Patel Family territory. I'm worried they'll send people to hunt us down, too. Leaving is the right choice!"

Before long, Fiona found two carriages. She took Matthews and the others and left.

Three days after they departed, people from the Church of Light found the village where they'd stayed and seized the family who had sheltered Matthews.

In a small valley at the edge of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Matthews slowly practiced the 12-Style Taiji Fist he'd learned in a university martial arts class in his previous world.

"Young Master, your dance is so graceful!"

Fifteen days had passed since he killed Jettanson, and he'd already recovered from his injuries. Now he was practicing martial arts to loosen up, only to have this clueless servant call it dancing.

Matthews couldn't be bothered to explain. Then he saw Fiona slowly repeat the movements he'd just made.

"Huh, you learn pretty quickly!"

When Matthews had first learned Taiji, he'd understood it to be a method of using an opponent's strength against them. But in the Coiling Dragon World, he also had a water-element talent. Taiji fit the Profound Truth of Roundness and Softness perfectly!