Embers and Dust

The morning sun had just risen. As an elegant noble, this was the time to enjoy a cup of Bitigon Black Coffee, ground from premium coffee beans picked in the dense forests of Duoronghaien, with a little milk, a little locust blossom honey, and a splash of the exceedingly scarce syrup from Arls Island.

"Mmm~ A perfect, spirited morning had to begin with a cup of Bitigon Coffee..." Lord Yetara of Canfor merely took a small sip before asking his butler, Ivena, "What's for breakfast today? Russell Fish slices or rose pastries?"

"Today's breakfast includes dandelion borscht, emerald crystal cakes, and rose salad..." Ivena said.

"Lord Yetara still has quite the appetite today—" A wanton female voice came from the magic circle behind Yetara.

"Damn it..." Yetara called Ivena to his side. "Which demon was in charge of the barrier today? How did they let this XXX in?!"

"Imira was responsible for the manor's barrier defenses today," Ivena replied.

"Of course... Ivena, find a time to send that brainless, big-breasted idiot back to hell for me!" Yetara muttered.

"Oh~ Dear Samara—" Grand Duke Veyir Nas the elf lifted the hem of his clothes and hurried over. "My good friend, I heard something unpleasant happened to you recently, so I came to see you especially today. Oh~ Heavens, are you all right?"

"Oh~ My esteemed Lord Veyir Nas—" Yetara signaled for Ivena to leave with his eyes. "Have you forgotten? My name is no longer Samara. I changed it. My name is Yetara now..."

"Oh~ My apologies... I'm getting old, and there are many things I can no longer remember... I hope you can forgive me..." Veyir Nas sat across from Yetara, flicking a locustwood folding fan. "You truly need to take better care of your health lately..."

"Is that so?!" Yetara felt that even his mink coat could not ward off this man's veiled mockery.

"I have to say, Samara... an elf's body truly is inconvenient..." Grand Duke Veyir Nas said with a smile. "The body of a teenage boy is far too fragile; something can go wrong so easily. Though magical talent is high, the soul ages easily. Unlike you, whose body and soul develop at the same time."

"Oh~ My dear friend..." Yetara held his coffee in trembling hands. "You've forgotten again. My name is Yetara... I forgot the name Samara long ago!"

Even from half a meter away, Veyir Nas could feel Yetara's killing intent.

"My apologies... I forgot again..." Veyir Nas leaned against the tea table and put on an adorable expression. "By the way, Yetara, which name is this for you? Let me count. One, two, three... no more and no less, exactly the tenth. Including your original name, that makes eleven names."

"Hey—" Yetara slammed the table viciously. Pale long hair spilled from beneath the brim of his hat, while his taut, aged body flickered into view. The once handsome and wealthy upper-class noble had now become an old man.

"You dead-fucking elf XXX, what exactly did you come to my house for?" Yetara's furious appearance was genuinely frightening.

Looking at Yetara's anger, Veyir Nas said with great interest, "My, my~ Lord Samara, how did you become like this? Please do not get too angry... It isn't elegant. Besides, you are already quite old. If you keep losing your temper, you might just drop dead~"

"XXX, do you want to fight?" Yetara spewed curses. "What the XXX did you come to my house for?!"

"Nothing much... I simply had not seen you in too long, and now that I had time, I wanted to see you... After all, good things should not be enjoyed by one person... alone." Veyir Nas lightly raised one of his long boots. His fashionable Victorian-style jacket and beret gave the beautiful youth a gallant air unlike before.

The clothes Grand Duke Veyir Nas wore today had been woven from the sap of the Emeraldo Giant Tree. This giant tree, known as Emeraldo, was a subspecies of the World Tree. They grew only on a small patch of land outside Dimil Riago, the kingdom of the Forest Elves.

The sap of this giant tree was solid at room temperature and melted into a golden liquid at around seventy degrees. Although weaving with its resin was extremely troublesome, its ability to resist arcane magic was exceptionally valuable.

"Heh—does a fox that steals eggs bring grain to chickens?" Yetara tucked his aged face back into his mink coat. "You actually came to me with something good..."

Yetara's tone returned to normal. The Bitigon Coffee in his gold-rimmed bone china cup slowly swirled as he took a shallow sip, taking nearly half a minute to finish speaking.

"First, tell me what this good thing is," Yetara said.

"Mmm~" Veyir Nas rested his hand on Yetara's dining table and pouted his rose-colored lips. "Would Hero's Bloodline be a good thing to you?"

"Hero..." Yetara's aged face twitched.

Without anyone noticing, time had reached noon. The crimson sun still hung high in the sky.

"Hey—Tiadam, can we... really drive back the monsters..." Denolan sat in the corner of the room, looking toward Tiadam.

The red-haired man leaned against the balcony of the room. Crimson, warm sunlight shone upon his light-brown leather armor, which gave off a faint purple glow. The occasional warm breeze stirred the bangs of the handsome youth.

"The Holy Son—it's the Holy Son—the Holy Son has revealed himself! The Holy Son has revealed himself!"

Residents of the Upper District gathered outside the inn where Tiadam was staying, shouting that the Holy Son had descended. This former bandit was slowly becoming the hope of all Canfor's residents.

Tiadam's room was on the fourth floor of the inn. From this height, he should have been able to clearly see the expressions on the people below. The Upper District had long since lost its former laughter and joy; the residents' weeping, uneasy faces were as pitiable as lambs.

"Tiadam—Tiadam—Tiadam—"

The people of the Lower District knelt outside the church. Holding domed crosses, singing hymns, and raising prayer candles, they cried out loudly.

"Tiadam—Tiadam—the incarnation of the Holy Father—"

Inside the church, priests taught the choir children how to sing the praises of Tiadam's deeds.

"He has the broadest shoulders—" the children sang,

"He has the broadest heart—he is the Holy Father's incarnation in the mortal world. His towering form can slay countless monsters. Not even the most terrifying Demon King can halt his steps—he is light—he is holiness—he is the embodiment of the High God's mercy—"

"How truly terrifying..." Oyana combed her long hair and looked toward the ruined Ostun Church outside the witch shop. "To... dump the deeds in his hands... that old bastard Labrador truly would stop at nothing..."

"Oyana—" Brother Abelato embraced the witch tightly from behind. He kissed Oyana's neck and whispered, "How did the farmlands you bought earlier turn out? Did you sell them all...?"

"Not bad... I did not make much, but at least I did not lose anything..." Oyana puffed on her hookah. "It was also thanks to that old dog Labrador... If he had not loudly promoted that bandit Tiadam as a hero, I would probably have had to stay here and be buried with these people..."

"How is your teleportation magic circle coming along, then?" Abelato nestled against Oyana. "Tomorrow, the Holy Wall of the three great angels will be breached by the monsters. Can you escape?"

"There is... no need to worry..." Oyana touched Abelato's forehead. "Although my magic circle takes longer to activate than the miracle of the Ouston Church, the time it takes the monsters to reach me from the Lower District will still be enough for me to escape with Yalila..."

"Then I... can rest easy... Oyana..." Abelato said gently.

The witch shop stood on relatively high ground. On the lower side across the street stood a ruined Ostun Church. This church was unlike its usual self today; it was at the height of its popularity, packed to the brim. Those forced out of the church refused to give up and knelt on the ground, praying toward the crumbling walls.

Those praying figures were particularly conspicuous in the low-lying terrain.

Although the location of Lady Oyana's witch shop was not as high or as advantageous as Salat Church, at the very least, her status in Canfor was far above these people's. I believe that if monsters broke into Canfor, the first to suffer would surely be these Lower District residents. After all... simply climbing up to the witch shop's location would take more than a decade.

"How much longer... how much longer... my High God—" Cardinal Labrador placed the already-counted farmland and property deeds by his feet. These land and property deeds represented land purchased by the Ouston Church during his ten years in office. Converted into gold, these deeds were worth at least a million Kralimaya Gold Coins.

Such an immense amount of gold would let anyone live a life free from worries about food and clothing, no matter where they were.

"Dear Mr. Eliyi... when... when will you arrive!" the frail, aged Lord Labrador said through tears.

Lord Labrador, ever elegant and holy, suddenly lacked the strength to remain standing and fell to his knees.

"You promised... you would bring gold at noon today to purchase my farmland and property deeds. Why... why... have you not come yet!" Two clear tears flowed from the eyes of the elderly and noble old man.

"Oh~ Esteemed Lord Labrador... why are you crying?" The belated Eliyi directed two martyrs to carry a wooden chest into the confessional reserved for the cardinal.

"Oh~ I understand. Esteemed Lord Labrador, you must be praying for the residents of Canfor..." Eliyi said to himself as he opened the wooden chest behind him.

The glittering gold coins instantly drowned out Lord Labrador's sobs.

"Gold... gold... so much gold..."

The two young martyrs saw the golden-orange things before them and could not move another step.

"Ahem—" Only after the cardinal coughed did the two ignorant fellows suddenly come to their senses.

"These gold coins were raised for... Canfor's reconstruction afterward..." Lord Labrador rose from the ground. "Once the immortal monsters invade Canfor, some people will surely be displaced, and some will surely perish. We of the Ouston Church cannot stand by and do nothing..."

"His Eminence is right..." Eliyi echoed. "Selling the Church's land to me is an act of kindness that only Lord Labrador could perform..."

Eliyi's laughter was sinister and shrill, chilling to the bone. However... these gold coins were quite capable of warming one's heart. Lord Labrador, Cardinal of the Canfor branch of the Ouston Church, now felt warm and secure inside...