The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the land. The villagers of Irog were herding their livestock home. The already sparse streets grew even emptier.
Nidhogg entered the Village of Irog. To avoid any incidents, he had already removed the cloak of his Confessor Set. It bore a cross-shaped mark, different from the faith symbol of the Holy See's circle.
Now he looked like an ordinary mercenary—suitable for a traveler.
Soon, his unfamiliar face drew the attention of many villagers. Some approached cautiously.
Upon learning that he was a traveler seeking to spend the night in Irog, the villager was troubled. Their village was too small. Outsiders never came. There was no inn.
"If you want lodging, I'm afraid you'll have to cross that mountain and go to the lord's castle." The villager, carrying a pitchfork, asked casually, "How could there be a place for you to stay here?"
"If I'm willing to pay, could I stay at your house for one night?" Nidhogg asked.
The villager hesitated for a moment. He looked Nidhogg up and down. Finally, wariness of strangers won out. "Forget it. I don't earn that kind of money. And no one here wants to do that either."
Now it was Nidhogg's turn to consider: should he really cross that mountain and go to the nearby lord's domain, or should he camp near Irog?
"Are you looking for lodging?"
Just then, a middle-aged man was crossing the bridge. He was somewhat thin, with a short-trimmed beard on his chin, carrying a fishing rod and a bucket.
He had overheard Nidhogg's conversation with the villager, so he stopped and interjected.
"Morgan!" The villager called out to the middle-aged man. "What did you catch today? Have you eaten? Want to come to my place for dinner?"
"I only caught a shoe." Morgan smiled helplessly, showing the shoe floating in his bucket. "I'm cooking at home. Thanks anyway. I'll entertain this outsider. I know a place to stay."
"Oh, then go ahead and tell him. I need to get home for dinner, or I'll get scolded again." The villager replied, picked up his pitchfork, and hurried off.
Nidhogg looked at Morgan and remembered that this man also had a connection to the Spirit Tree Pavilion, Guts, and others.
His entire family had perished in previous plagues, wars, and famines, leaving him alone.
But in the face of hardship, he didn't complain. Instead, he was willing to sacrifice himself many times to protect the village and others. Overall, he was a good man.
"Uncle Morgan, are you willing to let me stay in your house?" Nidhogg asked.
"My house is too small, and it leaks everywhere. I'm afraid I can't host guests." Morgan said, a little embarrassed. "But there's a monastery in the village where people can stay temporarily."
Then he looked Nidhogg over and asked hesitantly, "You're not a pagan, are you?"
"No." Nidhogg replied without batting an eye.
"That's good." Morgan smiled and pointed with his fishing rod in a certain direction. "The monastery is up on the hillside. I'll take you there and introduce you to the priest. He should agree."
Nidhogg quickly said, "Then I'll trouble you."
"No problem, no problem." Morgan smiled and waved his hand again.
The walk wasn't long, but Nidhogg and Morgan had already chatted quite a bit, at least getting to know each other. Soon, they stood before a majestic monastery, resembling a small castle.
On the monastery's high point stood a symbol—a white bird spreading its wings and soaring high into the sky, followed by a spiral sphere below. This was the emblem of the Holy See.
Due to his preconceptions, Nidhogg felt the more he looked at the logo, the more it resembled a white eagle. If that were true, then many causal threads had begun intertwining at least a thousand years ago.
Furthermore, Nidhogg knew well that the monastery was built on the ruins of ancient ruins belonging to the "Water Family" and the "Noble Lady of the Waters."
Schierke would also briefly awaken her power, summoning a flood and defeating a great wave of beastly spirits.
Entering the monastery, Nidhogg quickly met the priest, guided by Morgan.
He was a young priest with a suspicious look. He eyed Nidhogg warily after learning of his intentions from Morgan.
Subsequently, the young priest asked Nidhogg many detailed questions, wanting to know where he came from. Nidhogg answered according to the background story he had prepared upon arrival. There was no major issue.
"Alright." The young priest finally relented. "Stay here for one night. But you need to pray with me wholeheartedly to God while partaking in the communion."
"No problem." To eat well and sleep well tonight, Nidhogg replied without hesitation.
The young priest paused, then turned to Morgan. "Stay tonight as well."
"Me? I don't need to. I'm cooking at home." Morgan smiled broadly.
"Stay." The young priest said in a tense tone, turning away. "The monastery has no shortage of a seat for you."
Morgan was stunned and had to agree.
He knew the young priest was stern but still kind-hearted. He had probably guessed that Morgan's home was empty and his claim of "cooking" was a lie, so he insisted on keeping him for the night.
After the tedious communion and prayer rituals, Nidhogg finally ate and drank his fill. Without ceremony, he collapsed into a chair to rest.
Morgan placed his hands on his knees, slightly clenched, staring motionlessly at the portrait of God on the ceiling.
The young priest, in contrast, didn't disturb them. He took out scriptures and read them aloud, asking them to listen until the end.
"If calamity befalls you, it is God's test. It is the fate of believers. Believers need only pray and endure, and God's glory will shine..."
Morgan listened attentively.
Nidhogg also listened with half an ear. Of course, he didn't believe any of it, considering it merely the "price" he had to pay for someone else's communion.
However, the young priest clearly believed in these dogmas of the Holy See. When the beastly spirits invaded Irog, he taught the villagers not to resist, but to pray and endure, believing the beastly spirits' invasion was fate and a test.
Of course, he had a stubborn side, but he also had a slightly enlightened side.
When the young priest first met Guts and his group, he saw the goblins Puck and Ivalera. If he had blindly followed the Holy See's teachings, someone with a stereotypical worldview wouldn't have been able to see them.
Perhaps the horrifying scene of the beastly spirit invasion had greatly influenced the young priest, forcing him to change some beliefs and question the Holy See's doctrines.
Seeing Schierke's magical miracle, he even arranged with the villagers to build a shrine dedicated to the "Noble Lady of the Waters" next to the monastery.
If the Holy See's center learned of this, he, the priest responsible for the diocese in this area, would surely be held accountable. He might end up badly.
A quarter of an hour later, when Nidhogg was getting sleepy, the young priest finally stopped reading.
Then he was silent for a while. He turned to Morgan, who had been listening attentively, and asked, "Morgan, do you still hold onto that ethereal, even evil, faith?"
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