Chapter 69: The Church Responds

A screen displayed what had happened during Kael Veyron's training.

The dog leaped high.

He raised the Sacred Staff.

And struck the wolf.

BOINK!

The poor animal was sent flying through the air.

It flew across the entire training field.

It landed softly on a haystack more than a hundred meters away.

The student who had summoned it began to run in desperation.

"My wolf!!"

Sir Dogerino tilted his head.

"Woof?"

He looked confused.

---

The Fat King lifted a paw from the dog's back.

He pointed to a nearby tree.

Sir Dogerino took off running.

The tree disappeared with a huge...

BOINK!

Everyone watched as the trunk slowly split in two before crashing to the ground.

The silence lasted a few seconds.

Kael closed his eyes.

—...

—Forget everything I said.

----

The meeting hall was completely silent.

It wasn't a peaceful silence.

It was the kind of silence that only appeared after receiving news capable of changing the world.

A huge circular table occupied the center of the room.

On it rested dozens of documents sealed with the emblem of the Church of Order.

Maps.

Reports.

Magical photographs.

And, in the center of it all…

Two portraits.

One showed the enormous white cat with an arrogant expression.

The other…

A small golden shiba inu with a tiny blue cape and a stick between his teeth.

The old man dressed in white robes observed both portraits for long seconds.

Finally, he spoke.

"Confirm the report."

A silver-haired woman tilted her head slightly.

"It has been verified by seven different observers."

Another priest continued.

"The second entity appeared forty-eight hours ago.

The summon was stable.

There was no System rejection.

No interference.

No visible corruption."

The old man remained motionless.

"Compatibility?"

"One hundred percent."

That answer made several bishops change their expressions.

One of them slammed the table.

"That's impossible!

The records are clear!

Each Bearer could only establish a complete bond with one Absurd Entity!"

Another priest slowly shook his head.

"The records also said that only one existed.

And we already saw they were wrong."

The atmosphere fell silent again.

No one seemed to enjoy that conclusion.

---

Elsewhere in the room…

Several scribes were unrolling ancient scrolls.

The paper was so old that it seemed to disintegrate just by touching it.

An elderly librarian carefully arranged one of them.

"Record number seventeen."

He read slowly.

"...when the First Entity descended, the laws of the world began to distort…"

He turned the page.

"...the Bearer obtained an impossible power…"

Another page.

"...the Church lost contact with him…"

Another.

"...he disappeared."

The old man looked up.

"Like all the previous ones."

A young priest asked nervously:

"How many were there exactly?"

The librarian took a deep breath.

"We don't know.

Many records were destroyed.

Others disappeared.

And some…"

He glanced sideways at the old man in white.

"…were never written."

No one responded.

---

Another document was placed on the table.

It was much more recent.

The seal was still glowing.

The head of intelligence began to read.

"Report on the Summoner Kael Veyron.

Age: sixteen.

Registered Class: Meme Summoner."

Several people frowned.

The name still seemed absurd to them.

"Entity number one…"

He lifted a photograph.

The Little Fat King yawning on top of Kael's head.

"Estimated offensive capability…

Unknown.

Defensive capability…

Unknown.

Threat level…

Impossible to calculate."

The old man sighed.

"Continue."

"Entity number two."

He showed the image of Sir Dogerino.

Several priests let out a small laugh.

One even shook his head.

"That's it?

He looks like a puppy."

The head of intelligence didn't respond.

He simply placed another photograph on the table.

A mountain split in two.

The enormous crater.

And, in the center…

A small dog holding a stick.

The smiles disappeared immediately.

"According to the scouts…"

He continued reading.

"The mountain was split by a single accidental movement."

"Accidental?"

Asked one of the bishops.

"Yes.

The real target was a Goblin Chief."

The room fell silent again.

A gray-bearded man murmured:

"A creature capable of altering the terrain without intention…

Is much more dangerous than one that does it deliberately."

Several nodded.

---

One of the inquisitors stepped forward.

His white armor was marked by ancient scars.

"Allow me to lead a new expedition.

This time we'll go prepared."

The old man slowly shook his head.

"No."

The inquisitor stood still.

"No?"

"We already sent a force.

It failed.

We underestimated the situation."

The man gritted his teeth.

"Then we'll send more."

"No."

"Why not?"

The old man looked up.

"Because it's no longer a problem that can be solved with force."

Everyone fell silent.

Those words carried a lot of weight.

"Now…"

He looked again at the photographs.

"We have two Entities.

A compatible Bearer.

And an entire academy watching him."

He breathed slowly.

"If we act recklessly again…

The entire continent will hold us responsible."

No one could argue with that.

---

The silver-haired woman finally broke the silence.

"So…

What do we do?"

The old man closed his eyes for a few seconds.

As if he were making an extremely difficult decision.

When he opened them again…

His expression had changed.

"We'll watch."

Several people reacted instantly.

"Just that?"

"We'll wait?"

"After everything that's happened?"

The old man gently tapped the table with one finger.

The sound was enough to silence them.

"No.

We'll wait…

While we investigate."

He pointed at the ancient scrolls.

"I want all records related to the Absurd Entities."

Then he pointed at the recent reports.

"Every move the boy makes must be monitored."

Finally, he looked at the photographs of the Fat King and Sir Dogerino.

"And I need to find out…

How he managed to summon a second entity."

Because if the possibility of a third exists…

The old man left the sentence unfinished.

He didn't need to finish it.

Everyone understood the consequences.

For the first time in centuries…

It wasn't the Church taking the initiative.

They were one step behind.

And that…

Was precisely what frightened them the most.

---

The Supreme Elder remained silent for several seconds, contemplating the two photographs.

The Little Fat King.

Sir Dogerino.

Two creatures that, seen by any ordinary person, looked completely harmless.

But the Church had already learned a painful lesson.

Absurd Entities should never be judged by their appearance.

A priest broke the silence.

"And what if we simply eliminate the boy?"

The room fell still again.

The elder slowly looked up.

"Do you think that would solve the problem?"

"If the Bearer dies…

The entities will disappear."

Another bishop firmly shook his head.

"There's no proof of that."

Everyone turned toward him.

The man unrolled an old scroll.

"Record forty-three."

He read slowly.

"When the Bearer fell…"

He turned the page.

"…the Entity remained for three days without a summoner…"

Several people's eyes widened.

"…then disappeared on its own."

Another priest swallowed.

"On its own…?"

"That's what the record says."

Another elder intervened.

"And no one survived long enough to find out what happened during those three days."

The hall fell completely silent again.

---

The silver-haired woman pointed at the photograph of the Fat King.

"So…

That creature could continue to exist even without Kael?"

The librarian answered without hesitation.

"We don't know.

The records are incomplete.

Many were destroyed during the First Purge."

The Supreme Elder slowly closed the scroll.

"There are too many things we don't know."

He looked again at the image of the small cat.

"A few weeks ago…

We thought it was the only Entity."

Then he shifted his gaze toward Sir Dogerino.

"Now we know there are at least two."

He sighed deeply.

"I won't make the mistake of acting based on assumptions again."

---

A young inquisitor stepped forward.

His armor still looked new.

It was clear he hadn't yet participated in too many campaigns.

"Permission to speak."

"Granted."

"What if we infiltrate the academy?"

Several present looked up.

"Not to attack.

Just to observe.

Learn his habits.

His relationships.

His fighting style."

The elder remained thoughtful.

That idea was much more sensible than sending another squad.

"Continue."

The inquisitor bowed his head.

"The boy is surrounded.

The heiress of House Frost.

The heir of House Solaris.

The teachers.

The academy.

And now even the guild."

He opened another report.

"Attacking him directly would be stupid.

But observing him…

Will give us information."

The silver-haired woman slowly nodded.

"I agree."

For the first time, that meeting was beginning to move toward a reasonable decision.

---

In another corner of the room…

A priest was finishing reviewing a newly arrived report.

His expression completely changed.

"New information has just arrived from the Adventurer's Guild."

Everyone turned toward him.

"What happened now?"

The man swallowed.

"The second familiar…"

He pointed at the photograph of Sir Dogerino.

"Has been officially registered."

"Classification?"

"Still unknown."

"Level?"

"Unknown."

"Recorded damages?"

The priest hesitated for a few seconds.

"Accidentally…

He split a mountain."

No one reacted.

They already knew that fact.

"And…

Created a lake."

Silence returned.

One of the bishops frowned.

"What do you mean, created a lake?"

"The impact left a crater so deep…

That a nearby river began to fill it."

The room remained still.

One of the elders murmured almost to himself.

"A puppy…

That alters geography…"

The librarian sighed.

"The ancient texts were right."

Everyone looked at him.

The old man slowly stroked his beard.

"Absurd Entities…

Never follow common sense."

---

The Supreme Elder stood up again.

Everyone did the same.

"Listen carefully."

His voice was firm.

"From this moment on…

Kael Veyron is no longer an extermination priority."

Several inquisitors looked up, surprised.

"He is now an observation priority.

No one will act on their own.

No one will try to capture him.

No one will provoke a confrontation."

Those present nodded.

Though some did so with evident displeasure.

"I want to know…

How he lives.

How he thinks.

How he fights.

How he controls those creatures."

He made a brief pause.

"And above all…

Why they chose him."

Because the ancient records were clear on one point.

Absurd Entities…

Did not obey.

They chose.

And that difference…

Was terrifying.

---

Far away from there…

On a hill covered in trees.

The same hooded man who had observed Kael days ago slowly closed a small notebook.

He had heard everything through a tiny magical device hidden in the meeting hall.

He smiled beneath his hood.

"So even the Church is scared…"

He carefully tore out a page.

On it was only one sentence.

"Two Entities confirmed."

Below it, he wrote another.

"The boy still doesn't know what it really means."

He put away the notebook.

Then he looked toward the horizon.

In the direction of Arkanis Academy.

"Stay alive, Kael.

It's not yet time for you to know the whole truth."

The wind stirred his cloak.

And as if he had never been there…

He disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

Meanwhile…

Hundreds of kilometers away…

Kael sneezed in the middle of his training.

He looked around.

"Why do I feel like someone's talking about me?"

The Fat King yawned.

"Meow."

Sir Dogerino wagged his tail happily.

"Woof!"

Kael sighed.

"I'm sure I'm just being paranoid…"

Very, very far away from there…

More than one organization had just made his name the primary target of all their investigations.

And he…

Still had no idea.