Chapter 63

Chapter 63 – Great Unity (3)

“Have you heard the news? The elves’ story. I never dreamed this would happen while I’m still alive.”

“If you don’t know about it now, you must be living with your eyes closed and ears shut.”

The rumors spread quickly, transcending factions, borders, and continents. Journalists eagerly took on the costs of traveling via spatial leaps to spread such news because it meant profits for themselves.

As a result, whenever an important incident occurred somewhere, no one would be in the dark about it. The official diplomatic activities of the elves were also a scoop worth the expense.

“One after another, ominous rumors are surfacing, and the elves are stepping out into the world. Is something really about to happen?”

The same went for him. Priest Yoris of the headquarters was yawning when he passed the newspaper he was reading to his colleague.

“Isn’t the headquarters busy as it is? The Holy Order is…”

“Hey, that’s enough. Not something to discuss out here.”

As he grumbled, his colleague covered his mouth. His unnecessary caution made his colleague’s demeanor appear even more suspicious.

They were seated at an outdoor table in a restaurant, enjoying dessert, with quite a number of people coming and going around them.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, as he was silent in response to his colleague and holding his teacup, he noticed something. A group of one man and three women who appeared to be adventurers.

Of course, adventurers were plentiful in this area, but the reason they stood out was simple: they were approaching him while looking straight at him.

“Priest Yoris?”

“Yes, yes!?”

Startled, Yoris began to hiccup as the burly man who seemed to be their leader quickly recognized and called out his name.

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

When his colleague subtly tried to slip away, Patrick leaned over and held the table with a hand to prevent Yoris from letting his colleague go.

“Y-yes, of course…”

In such a situation, Yoris, unable to suppress his hiccups, had no choice but to nod his head.

‘Help me!’

Yoris’s desperate plea was something his colleague couldn’t grant. Eventually, they had to enter an inn nearby for a more discreet conversation.

“How do you know about me? What do you want?”

“I’ve been recommended.”

Still, seeing that Patrick’s party didn’t show hostility toward him eased Yoris’s mind a little. However, he frowned at the mention of a recommendation.

He considered himself nothing more than an ordinary rookie priest.

‘They can’t possibly mean the most incompetent guy.’

Seeing Yoris like that, Patrick smiled wryly. The reason he was recommended by Ethan’s informant was that he had been selected as the easiest person to manipulate.

“Gah!?”

Yoris’s eyes widened when Patrick pulled out a bag filled with glimmering gold coins from his bosom. At the same time, Arisa, sitting next to Patrick, subtly pulled down her hood to reveal her identity properly.

‘An elf!’

Dazzled by the gold, Yoris was nearly fainting upon recognizing Arisa’s identity. The hot potato of an elf had now appeared right in front of him.

“The Arisa here is the deputy representative of the elf delegation and has come on a very important mission. I trust you understand what that means?”

Patrick injected the situation into Yoris’s mind. Tremendous gold and secretly arriving elves. Moreover, this elf wasn’t just any elf; she was a representative from the Elf Federation. If he had even a little common sense, he’d understand what purpose they had for coming.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“The True Holy Water. That sacred object of the Church is absolutely necessary for the future of our race.”

Arisa replied to Yoris, who asked with a trembling voice. At the mention of the holy water, Yoris’s previously settled hiccups began again.

“Th-that’s not possible! The True Holy Water is not something a mere person like me can approach!”

“I know. But don’t you know? The method for acquiring it.”

Yoris naturally jumped up, but Patrick shook his head as if to say he already knew everything.

“I heard that even if the elves officially request it, the likelihood of it being granted is low. Honestly, I was a bit shocked. In this current crisis, they’re squabbling over their own interests.”

“That’s… because there is some chaos within the Church right now…”

Yoris couldn’t refute Arisa’s sigh. One of the findings from Ethan’s investigators had been about the complicated situation within the Church.

They believed that even Irilia could request cooperation from the Church in a situation like this, but the reality was much more dire than expected.

“There’s a power struggle within the Church. Two factions are desperately trying to gain control. In a situation like this, if the elves ask for the holy water, they certainly won’t give it easily. They’ll want to use it.”

Still, Yoris satisfactorily fulfilled the role of an informant. Enchanted by the gold before him, Yoris began to easily divulge internal information and testified to how complicated the Church’s situation was.

“Moreover, with the restructuring of the Holy Order, talks of reducing priest training programs, and the emergence of a hero star. Ugh… I’m overwhelmed with matters I can’t handle these days.”

“Then that means it won’t be easy until the internal issues of the Church settle down.”

Patrick sighed. There’s a saying that if it rains, it pours.

He had to complete the mission, but he had encountered a barrier that couldn’t be easily resolved.

“What should we do now?”

“First, we’ll have to report and then wait. The conference is probably still ongoing.”

In response to Rina’s question, Patrick made his decision. This was an issue that exceeded what they could solve on their own.

Naturally, this matter would be promptly relayed to Irilia, following the urgent departure of Arisa on the spatial leap.

*

“This is an outrageous state of affairs, given the current situation.”

“They still seem to be unaware of the true danger of the erosion. Otherwise…”

Eluria was furious upon hearing the news. Having personally experienced the magnitude of the erosion’s impact, her emotional tumult was especially intense.

Irilia, too, was incredulous at the ridiculous reasons being presented.

“High Elf, please give us a chance. We’ll show those arrogant ones the reality.”

“No, that would probably backfire. The elves are just now venturing into the world. If they clash with the existing forces too early, it would have disastrous effects.”

Eluria had declared that she would crash into the Church if given the authority, but that impassioned proposal was blocked by Irilia.

From Irilia’s perspective, the elves needed to move with the vision of a greater future.

“Elves must become the peacekeepers leading the great unity. It’s a unification to save the world facing the crisis of doom. If that happens, the status of the elves will rise sharply in the international community.”

Irilia accurately pinpointed the reality. The world was bustling with the emergence of elves, but that commotion was fundamentally based on novelty.

Few knew the truth about the elves. Many still saw them merely as primitive savages living hidden in the forest.

Knowing this fact well, Irilia hoped that, given the situation, her descendants could achieve merit and restore their rightful honor.

“Eluria, you proceed with the conference normally. Go explain about the elves, share information about the erosion, and naturally take the lead to enchant the people of this world.”

“In that case, what about you, High Elf…?”

“I’ll handle the matters of the Church myself.”

Irilia smiled slyly at the flustered Eluria.

Her beautiful and charming face, graced with a bright smile, seemed irresistibly delightful, yet Eluria couldn’t shake the feeling that it resembled an uncontrollable troublemaker.

It was the same expression that had shaken them from their long-stagnant state, urging them to take action.

‘In this matter, there’s no choice but to rely on the power of the organization. The scale is larger than what we’ve dealt with so far, but we’ve been steadily expanding our influence, so it should be manageable.’

In reality, Irilia had already set a course of action. Solving things above ground would be time-consuming and troublesome, but slipping into the shadows would allow her to accomplish tasks without restrictions.

It was for this very purpose that she had raised Ethan and his organization.

“Damn it, I feel like things are escalating. They want me to get involved in the power struggles within the Church.”

Ethan shut his eyes tightly upon receiving her letter conveyed by his loyal subordinate.

Surely he had been diligently building his organization and solidifying his standing within it for his own advancement, yet the situation was beginning to spin increasingly out of control.