Chapter 263: Holy Church [3]

Chapter 262

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Episode 67 - Holy Church [3]

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The memory slowly faded away, while her eyes remained fixed on the same tree where that boy had first managed to make her angry.

Rinna sighed softly, feeling the anger that had arisen after her brief argument with Elizabeth beginning to fade.

Perhaps, by remembering that boy, she had realized how childish she was being by getting angry at someone who simply believed she was doing the right thing.

"I’m sorry, Lady Elizabeth. I got carried away. It’s just that Adel is my friend."

Elizabeth looked at Rinna and, with an expressionless face, simply replied:

"I understand perfectly, my Lady."

"Thank you, then... Um, huh?"

At that moment, as Rinna gazed at the garden before her, a figure suddenly caught her attention.

At first glance, he appeared to be a Priest calmly walking through the corridors of the Holy Church.

His clothes looked completely new. He had black hair, black eyes, and clear, round-framed glasses.

Similar to Elizabeth’s.

However, as she watched the Priest, Rinna sensed something strangely familiar about the way he walked.

There was something about his movements that reminded her of...

’Adel...’

Rinna tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes.

The Priest seemed to be nothing more than one of the many young Priests within the Holy Church.

Even so, something about him had instinctively caught her attention, as if there were some kind of connection between them.

"....."

At that moment, the Priest turned his head and directed his gaze toward Rinna.

"....."

Rinna returned his gaze with a hint of suspicion.

Then, the Priest gave her a faint smile, bowed in greeting, and continued walking.

As she watched him walk away, an even stronger sense of familiarity arose within Rinna.

She had always been the type to follow her instincts and trust them.

And this time would be no different.

***

Tap! Tap!

The sound of my footsteps echoed through the silent corridors.

After using my senses to make sure there was no one nearby, I continued walking calmly.

As my footsteps echoed down the corridor, my master’s voice resounded inside my mind.

’Infiltrating wasn’t difficult at all. This is actually pretty normal.’

At that moment, I was inside the Holy Church, using the Doppelgänger Potion.

The Potion lasted for approximately five hours. It was around five in the afternoon, so its effects would wear off at ten that night.

My appearance and identity belonged to a Priest with black hair and eyes, along with clear, round-framed glasses.

’No, actually, it wouldn’t have been that easy.’

The Doppelgänger Potion had been the single biggest factor contributing to my infiltration of the Holy Church.

The Holy Church had multiple layers of security that, unless you were a Ten-Star Awakened, would be practically impossible to get through without being detected.

However, taking on another person’s appearance through this Potion was undoubtedly the fastest and most effective way to infiltrate the place.

’Anyway, are you sure you didn’t notice anything strange about that girl?’

I nodded slightly.

’I’m sure... I think.’

’What does that mean? Are you actually sure or not? Getting discovered, even by her, could ruin the entire infiltration, you know?’

I let out a sigh and replied:

’I can easily escape from her.’

Over the past few months, I hadn’t dedicated myself solely to training my Sword Arts and Martial Arts.

Naturally, I had also spent time training other skills, including infiltration and espionage.

By combining some of my Traits, I had developed excellent abilities for infiltrating places and gathering information without being detected.

That was why unexpectedly running into Rinna, accompanied by a woman I recognized fairly easily, had caught me off guard.

’That should be Elizabeth.’

According to my memories, Elizabeth was something akin to a surrogate mother to Rinna; however, she had been raised and trained within the Holy Church.

Elizabeth didn’t really act like a human being.

She was more like a puppet that had been specifically prepared to guide Rinna toward what would happen tonight.

’Aah, damn it. If only I knew how to find the Grand Holy Hall.’

The only way to find that place, which was actually something resembling a Pocket Gate isolated from the physical world, was to wait for it to appear.

The Grand Holy Hall only manifested physically at eleven o’clock at night, when the Moon reached its highest point.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t access the Grand Holy Hall without entering through the ’key door’, which was essentially something resembling an invisible portal.

From anyone else’s perspective, it was simply a matter of opening a door and finding a room on the other side.

However, that very same door was actually a portal leading to a room that did not physically exist in the real world.

’The only way to find that place is to follow a Cardinal or the Pope himself.’

But I couldn’t do that.

For starters, none of the Cardinals could enter at the moment, and the Pope was bedridden.

My objective in entering the Grand Holy Hall was to sabotage whatever was inside.

’All of this would be much easier if I simply killed the Pope.’

But there was one huge problem.

The room where the Pope was staying was anything but normal.

It had been constructed by a Ten-Star Mage.

In other words, entering without the Pope’s permission was practically a death sentence.

’I guess I have no choice but to wait.’

I didn’t have many options that would allow me to move forward and continue with my main plan.

Although, in reality, I had also prepared a secondary plan in case the main one couldn’t be carried out.

’That would be to kill everyone in this place right when the Pope and the three Cardinals were about to enter the Grand Holy Hall, and then attack them directly.’

Naturally, it was the most dangerous option, since it meant I would simply have to take action and deal with the consequences.

The main plan was far more strategic, but it also came with too many limitations.

Tap! Tap!

While I remained lost in thought, I heard footsteps faintly echoing through the corridors.

Then, my master spoke:

’Hey, disciple, she’s close to you.’

"....."

I stopped dead in my tracks and extended my senses.

Instantly, I detected two presences approaching from not far away.

’Ugh, she really did notice something, didn’t she?’

’What do you think? She looked at you suspiciously.’

’I suppose that’s true.’

Letting out a sigh, I checked my surroundings with my senses once more.

After detecting nothing else, I used Spatial Movement and disappeared from my original location.

***

Rinna quickened her pace slightly, walking a little faster than usual.

The sound of her footsteps echoed through the silent, empty corridor.

".....!"

Suddenly, she felt something disappear a few meters away.

Her steps slowed for a brief moment.

However, since Elizabeth was walking beside her, Rinna simply concealed her reaction and continued walking calmly.

After moving forward a few more meters, she shifted her eyes to the side but found nothing particularly interesting.

’How strange. I thought I would catch up to him.’

Even so, her gaze briefly swept across the corridor in search of any clues.

However, there was no trace suggesting that anyone had been there recently.

Rinna sighed before turning her gaze back toward Elizabeth.

"Lady Elizabeth, could you make me some coffee?"

Elizabeth nodded before asking:

"Of course, my Lady. But what kind of coffee would you like?"

Rinna remained thoughtful for a few seconds, her gaze wandering down the corridor as her mind drifted into her memories.

Finally, she looked back at Elizabeth and replied:

"Well, there’s a coffee I’d like to try."

"I’ll do my best, my Lady."

"Thank you. Then, the coffee is prepared as follows..."

Rinna began explaining how to prepare it, while Elizabeth took out a notebook and carefully wrote down each of her instructions.

After a few minutes, Elizabeth closed the notebook and asked:

"I’ll go to the main kitchen to prepare your coffee. Where will you be by then, my Lady?"

Rinna looked toward a pavilion in the distance and pointed in its direction.

"I’ll be there. I’ll be waiting for you."

The pavilion offered a beautiful view of a large garden covered in golden flowers.

It was also somewhat removed from the more heavily trafficked areas, so hardly anyone ever went there.

Elizabeth nodded before turning around to leave.

"I’ll be back in a few minutes, my Lady."

With that, Elizabeth walked away and soon disappeared down one of the corridors.

Rinna then began walking toward the pavilion.