After the announcement from High Priest Grishal, we enjoyed the dinner banquet. Even so, I could not fully enjoy the night because of that announcement. I glanced at Sherubiel, who seemed normal while enjoying her meal. When I saw at Hellraider, he was also eating like an ordinary person without reacting at all after hearing it. Of course, I could not directly ask Mendicore in a situation like this.
There were several questions bothering my mind. Did High Heaven up there already know that Sherubiel and Mendicore were in Grivendal? Was their arrival related to them or was there something else? Did High Priest Grishal inform them about the existence of Mendicore and Sherubiel? Would the Priests hand them back to High Heaven?
I speculated that if the High Heaven authority already knew that Mendicore and Sherubiel had escaped to Grivendal, they would immediately ask the Priests to capture and detain them again because they carried information that could potentially destroy High Heaven's reputation.
However, from the message delivered by the High Priest there were two possibilities. First, it seemed that High Heaven didn't yet know about this. Second, they already knew but if they asked Grivendal's authority to detain them immediately, it would raise major questions as to why Mendicore and Sherubiel were being detained, since both came from a race considered sacred by people there.
After finishing dinner, I excused myself to the back.
After leaving the restroom, I walked through the palace corridor to return to the hall. Suddenly from the outer balcony, I heard several people talking. The voice sounded like High Priest Grishal and when I glanced, it was indeed him speaking with other Priests.
"You are Johann, right? Could you come here for a moment..." said Grishal, who immediately looked toward me.
"Yes, that is correct, sir..." I said as I walked toward the balcony.
Grishal then asked for a private moment to speak with me. The other Priests immediately left us alone.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Grishal. I am the High Priest and the highest spiritual leader on this planet. You have met Emperor Gregustus, Princess Glynpatra, and Commander Gruzhnil, but not me yet. Nice to meet you, Johann." said Grishal with a smile on his aged face. I responded with a smile as well.
"There is no need to tell your story again. I already know much from those close to me. I only called you because when I made that announcement earlier, you did not seem happy. Is something troubling you, Johann?" asked Grishal politely.
I was startled but quickly concealed my expression so he would not become suspicious. Honestly, I didn't expect Grishal, who was more appropriate for me to call grandfather, to be as observant as Mendicore. I tried to give a reasonable explanation.
"Actually I want to feel happy, sir, but I just started living with Mendicore and Sherubiel in my new house and I already consider them as friends. If the angels of High Heaven come here, I am afraid they will ask Sherubiel and Mendicore to return to their origin realm and I will be alone again..." I said as convincingly as possible.
"Oh... so that is the reason, Johann. I will be honest. They were the ones who contacted us that they would descend to this planet in the near future. They did not specifically mention whether they would retrieve your two housemates or not. So I cannot say for certain, Johann. If later they ask those two to return, then we must comply."
I simply nodded. My heart felt relieved hearing his explanation. I was actually embarrassed for making up a reason, but this was important to hide for everyone's sake.
"I want to ask you one thing, Johann. You said you had been in the realm of terror alone, right? While you were there, did you ever see angel troops... or ever see the archangel Marsiel fighting those demons?" asked Grishal.
"Before this, I never saw any angel figure at all fighting demons in the realm of terror. I only learned about a figure named archangel Marsiel after being here, sir Grishal." I answered honestly.
"Very well then. You may return to your companions in the hall. Thank you for your time, Johann." said Grishal smiling at me.
I returned to the same table in the hall. After the dinner banquet ended and some guests began leaving, I saw Princess Glynpatra and Emperor Gregustus walking toward us.
Suddenly Glynpatra ran toward Sherubiel while letting out a small excited cry and immediately hugged her. I saw Sherubiel startled and her face turned red.
"Aaaaahhhhhh... I am so happy that such a sweet angel girl has come down to Grivendal. You must be Sherubiel, right? Let me introduce myself, I am Glynpatra." said Glynpatra excitedly.
"N-Nice to meet you as well, Your Highness Princess Glynpatra..." Sherubiel became nervous.
"No need to be so formal, Sherubiel. Just call me Princess Glynpatra. Oh yes... would you like to stay with me here in the palace?"
Sherubiel was speechless.
"I-I'm sorry, Princess Glynpatra, I already feel comfortable living with Johann and Mendicore in our new house..." said he shyly.
"Ahhh... no need to worry, sweet angel. I will not force you. I will visit your house sometime, alright." Glynpatra looked her with a wide smile.
After chatting briefly with Emperor Gregustus, we finally returned home from the palace escorted by Grelmure.
"I told you, didn't I? Princess Glynpatra is very happy to see you and even offered you to stay with her. Anyway Miss Sherubiel must stay here permanently." said Grelmure.
I laughed softly again and Sherubiel simply smiled.
After arriving home and changing clothes, I immediately invited Sherubiel and Mendicore to discuss the earlier announcement that made me even more curious.
"Is there a possibility that they know you escaped from that abandoned fortress?" I asked directly.
"Probabilistically, yes there is, because I was directly created by Lord Geriel. At the moment I cannot access High Heaven's network because he deliberately severed it from me. However, I speculate that Lord Geriel can secretly detect my location once I became active again." said Mendicore.
"What I fear is if you are detained by Grivendal and once they descend, you will be handed over to them..." I said.
"I really don't want to return there again... They have already rejected me... It is unlikely we will be handed back to them..." worried Sherubiel.
"But in my view, you carry sensitive information that could shake all of Grivendal if they knew it. Could that be a reason for them to take you back again?" I asked.
Mendicore and Sherubiel fell silent hearing my question.
"So far I can only estimate, Johann. You have carefully constructed various possible scenarios. If I consider the statement from the High Priest earlier, he only said they would visit this planet..." said Mendicore.
"Forgive me, I didn't intend to spy through my observation, but I saw you together with the High Priest earlier. Could you tell me what you and he discussed?"
I was not surprised that Mendicore had such ability. I told them everything about my conversation with High Priest Grishal.
"Ahhh... my prediction grows stronger. They didn't reveal their true purpose at all. But... is it true you didn't see any angel forces at all in the realm of hell before?"
"That's true, Mendicore. I didn't even see archangel Marsiel. Honestly, I only learned about archangel Marsiel and the founders of this empire from the central archive of Grivendal."
Mendicore then immediately moved closer to me. I was confused about what it was about to do.
"Johann, please briefly explain to me about Lord Marsiel, Grhemolus, and Grhemus based on what you obtained from the archive center earlier..." asked Mendicore with serious tone.
Why did Mendicore suddenly ask me to explain that? Shouldn't it be the one who knew more first?
I then explained their history based on the manuscripts in the archive. I also said that there was an elder archivist who actually knew more but refused to tell me.
"Well.. this is becoming more complicated. Now it is the authority of Grivendal that is hiding the truth of history regarding Lord Marsiel and the two founders of the empire. I am increasingly certain that the old archivist knows what truly happened in their history..." said Mendicore with a heavy tone.
I was shocked again. What did this mean? So what I knew from the archive was merely a fabricated narrative? Why would the Grivendal government deliberately hide this not only from me but from its people as well?
"Johann, you have no plans tomorrow, right? If you wish, I can take you back to the archive center and meet that archivist." said Mendicore.
I understood that Mendicore was delaying my curiosity for now and providing a more appropriate time and place.
"Yes, I'm free tomorrow. Alright then, Mendicore." I said, ending the conversation for the night which was once again filled with mystery.
I once again could not sleep early because of what Mendicore said. I thought my feelings had become numb after repeatedly hearing facts that were not present in The Mayhem lore, yet my curiosity still burning and felt unsatisfied.
The next day, after breakfast, Mendicore and I prepared to go to the archive center in the capital of Grivendal. Sherubiel would stay at home. I just left a message in case someone came looking for me.
"Will we use the portal?" I asked.
"Yes. This will save a lot of time and you can ask as much as you want, Johann." answered Mendicore.
Mendicore then created a portal in front of the yard. We both immediately entered it. Upon arrival, I found myself in what looked like a small alley in the city.
"I will create portals in the quietest places for now. We cannot attract too much attention." said Mendicore.
I nodded in agreement. We walked out of the alley and soon saw the archive building. When entering and approaching the receptionist desk again, I saw the same middle-aged woman I met before.
"Ahhh... you must be Johann who visited earlier, right? How can I help you?" the receptionist greeted warmly.
"I would like to meet the elderly male archivist. Is he here now?"
"Ohhh... you mean Mr. Thebes? But... unfortunately Johann, he has retired from this archive position a few days ago..."
I was quite shocked and saddened to hear that the elder archivist, whose name turned out to be Mr. Thebes, no longer worked here. It made sense given his age.
"Do you happen to have Mr. Thebes' home address?" I asked. It would be easy since we could go there using a portal if she provided it.
"For what purpose, Johann?" the receptionist asked with a slight frown.
I became a bit nervous. I could not possibly explain our real purpose.
"I would like to give a gift to Mr. Thebes because he helped me find and explain the knowledge I needed here." I said with a convincing smile.
The receptionist smiled again and gave us his address. I thanked her and left the archive center. I bought a gift first to make up for my lie. Mendicore then searched for a quiet place to create a portal to Mr. Thebes' address.
After exiting the portal, I saw Mr. Thebes' house located far from the busy city center, more like a peaceful rural area. The house looked simple, but living there would bring true tranquility.
I approached the house and knocked on the door. Shortly after, the door opened and Mr. Thebes stood before us.
"W-Whoaaa... you... you are Johann, right???" said Mr. Thebes with a bright smile when he saw me again after some time.