The Divine Grace Church

The newcomer wore a white robe with simple patterns. His refined, slightly androgynous features and neat, short blond hair made him instantly likable.

"Austin, you're finally here." Chris breathed a sigh of relief.

The newcomer was Chris's friend in the Divine Grace Church and the client who had hired their group: Austin, a bishop of the Divine Grace Church.

Behind him were two priests and three Divine Grace Knights in armor, each carrying a knight's sword. All had received professional knightly training, and each possessed a Divine Gift that allowed them to wield power beyond that of ordinary mortals.

"Divine Grace Church, are you planning to shelter this criminal who killed Komoro's leader?" Adre said coldly.

"The charges are nothing more than something you've come up with yourselves. No one knows what really happened, so this won't convince anyone, will it, Gelosk?" Austin said with a smile, his manner perfectly natural.

"That's right, Lord Adre. I agree," said a somewhat portly, middle-aged man who stepped forward from the side. With a wry, bashful smile, he added, "This makes us feel very unsafe."

Gelosk was one of the merchants from the Kingdom of Interkami who traded with Reastmia. Wherever people gathered, factions were bound to form, and merchants were no exception. In the border trade, Gelosk was the unspoken leader—or, rather, representative—of all Interkami merchants.

These border traders, or smugglers, were ultimately backed by nobles from the Kingdom of Interkami. After a series of political struggles, their representative had little choice but to come forward in support of the Divine Grace Church and put pressure on Rea's ruler.

"We think so too." Another voice rang out. Several people in matching clothes emerged from the other side. Their features marked them as people from the Kingdom of Roas. Behind them stood a merchant-looking man, the representative of Roas's trading merchants.

"So they've joined forces because I've revealed too much of our strength?" Adre frowned. This was exactly what he had least wanted to see. In Reastmia, Negary's forces were naturally the most powerful. But if the forces of two kingdoms united here against Rea, with both countries backing them, things could become very troublesome.

"Our priority is to see our lord through his hibernation. Besides, after what just happened..." Adre recalled himself speaking those words against his will and gave a cold snort. "We'll investigate Komoro's death separately. But Chris is a suspect and must be confined until the truth comes to light."

"That's fine. Let's call a temporary truce." Chris nodded. Negary's strength was unfathomable. Though he wanted to take advantage of this so-called hibernation and attack, there was little chance their current forces could guarantee success.

"Then stay in this courtyard. If you leave without permission, we'll take it as a confession, and Rea's enforcers may execute you on the spot." Adre had locked Chris in a courtyard. He had considered simply taking him into custody, but with the Divine Grace Church and Interkami merchants backing Chris, Adre couldn't get his way.

"I hope your side catches the real killer soon," Austin said from nearby, his face wearing a gentle smile. "May Komoro's leader rest in peace."

Before long, one of the Divine Grace Church's knights brought Isabella and her daughter to the small courtyard. The young knight looked toward the streets in the distance, which had quickly returned to bustling life, and a trace of confusion crossed his eyes.

Even in the capital of the Kingdom of Interkami, many people still died of disease. The Divine Grace Church's priests possessed the Gift of Salvation, which could cure most illnesses, but there were only so many priests who had received the Gift. Using it also took a great deal of physical and mental energy, so they couldn't provide free treatment to commoners every day.

What puzzled the knight was that he had gone to fetch Isabella and her daughter and had walked all around Rea, yet he hadn't found many people here in poor health. It was as if disease didn't exist in this place.

"Melsen, what are you thinking about?" A voice roused the young knight. He turned and saw one of the priests in the group: Austin's disciple, Luen Dona.

"Oh, Luen. Thank you for coming with me to treat those poor families," Melsen said sincerely. He had been born in the capital's slums and had left them only after tests showed he had the aptitude for receiving a Divine Gift.

Even now, he still remembered what had happened during that time. That year, an epidemic had swept through the capital, hitting the slums hardest. People died every day, and rotting corpses littered the streets.

Melsen had been on the brink of death himself. To contain the epidemic, the Divine Grace Church's priests entered the slums to clean them up. It was then that Melsen had been rescued and discovered to have the aptitude to become a Divine Grace Knight.

Unfortunately, he was suited to combat-oriented Divine Gifts and couldn't adapt to the Gift of Salvation, so he could only become a Divine Grace Knight. After completing his training, Melsen returned to the slums whenever he had time to help those who couldn't help themselves.

He also invited priests with the Gift of Salvation to provide free treatment in the slums, but most weren't willing to waste their time there. Treating nobles brought in plenty of money, while the slums were filthy and chaotic, reeking of stench and littered with excrement and corpses. Why would priests who thought of themselves as their betters go there?

"That's only what I ought to do. The Lord's glory shouldn't be reserved for nobles and wealthy merchants," Luen Dona replied with a smile. Unlike Melsen, he had been born into a noble family and received a high-quality education. He was also deeply devout. With a confident, ambitious smile, he continued, "If I'm ever elected to the upper ranks of the Divine Grace Church, I'll establish rules requiring priests to provide free treatment as part of their duties."

Compared with Melsen, Luen was more eager for power because he came from a noble family. Still, Melsen could tell that Luen sincerely wanted to spread the Lord's glory to everyone.

"Then you'd better work hard, Luen. I'm counting on you," Melsen said earnestly. With his good family background, his status as Bishop Austin's disciple, and his own considerable abilities, many people believed he could rise to the upper ranks of the Divine Grace Church one day.

After parting ways with Luen, Melsen felt a little uneasy. He gazed at the bustling streets in the distance, bewilderment creeping over him. "The Evil Spirit who controls disease... Negary?"

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