Chapter 848: Mission Pure Witch
“I thought you wanted to be King of Dawn yourself.” Nightingale twisted her lips once Andrea had gone. “But it turns out you weren’t joking about making her the monarch.”
“I knew you’d figure it out.” Roland shrugged. When she waited for more, he considered several explanations — the shortage of able personnel, Andrea’s reach across the three families, the constraints on time and coin — and instead settled for the simplest one. “I’m just not capable enough.”
“Really.” Nightingale patted his shoulder with exaggerated sympathy. “I’m sure you can count on Andrea. The Quinn Family won’t let you down.”
These two certainly think well of each other. Roland kept his amusement internal. Nightingale’s political instincts were sharp in some directions and oddly blunted in others — a consequence, perhaps, of having grown up as a noble family’s dependent. Family background wasn’t the deciding factor here. What mattered was that Andrea was not blindly devoted to it. She would recognize a good opportunity when it arrived without great cost, and she would take it. He was certain of that.
But watching Nightingale deliver political analysis in her most earnest voice was too entertaining to correct.
A knock at the door broke the moment.
“Come in.”
The door opened on Isabella. Roland had not expected her. She was not a member of the Witch Union and had no ordinary means of entering the Castle District — but Agatha’s figure appeared behind her, and that explained it.
“Your Majesty.” The former Pure Witch of the Church bowed without preamble. “Agatha told me the Church of Hermes is near collapse. Is that accurate?”
The grim set of her expression made it clear she was not here to speak in defense of her former overseers.
“That’s what the intelligence suggests. We’re still confirming the details.” Roland was curious why Agatha had shared the information, but kept his tone vague rather than denying it. “Refugees from the Church have begun appearing in Coldwind Ridge and the western stretch of the Kingdom of Dawn. Their testimony is that the most prominent cathedral in the Holy City collapsed overnight.”
“Your Majesty — I’m asking you to send troops to Hermes as quickly as possible.”
“Why?”
“The Berserk Pills.” A note of impatience entered her voice. “As I mentioned in my earlier intelligence report — there are millions of them stockpiled there. If the church’s hierarchy is collapsing, someone inside will already know where the warehouses are. If that information spreads—” She paused. “These pills will be critical for the Battle of Divine Will. You should have them collected and brought back to Neverwinter before they scatter.”
Roland recalled now — he had almost let it slip from memory entirely. Zero’s plan to unify humanity for a last battle against the Army of Demons had centered on the Berserk Pills as a final card. He had his own contempt for the drugs, which had made it easier to set the matter aside. But the situation had changed, and Isabella was right. If the pills reached nobles in Graycastle or the Kingdom of Dawn, or worse, found their way to the criminal networks of Black Street, the damage to civil order would be real. Individuals dosed on Berserk Pills couldn’t stand against a trained army, but they could certainly destabilize local officials and regional governments.
“Where are they stored?”
“In separate hidden warehouses across the Hermes Plateau. Difficult to describe the locations precisely.” Isabella hesitated before continuing. “If Your Majesty trusts me — let me go with the army. I was the Pope’s ordained executor. That title still carries weight. With it, I may be able to slow the collapse of order, which will matter more than you might think when you’re trying to stem a flood of refugees.”
“And how do we know you won’t use your old identity to do other things?” Nightingale cut in. “You have friends among those believers, don’t you? You might quietly help them.”
“I would not lie to His Majesty.” Isabella met Nightingale’s gaze steadily. “Zero has already revealed who holds the real mandate of heaven. I have no reason to do useless things for people I’ve already left behind. If the army needs another method of keeping order — I can lead believers into an arranged position and they can be eliminated there. That is an alternative to using my former identity, as I said.”
Nightingale produced a sound of pure revulsion and turned away.
Roland felt unsettled. It was not often that Nightingale ran out of words — usually it meant the person she was listening to was being absolutely serious. Isabella had pledged her allegiance on the basis of fighting the demons, and he believed that pledge was genuine. But she had been shaped from childhood by the Church’s doctrine: the lives of ordinary people were acceptable losses as long as the mission was accomplished. That was not something a pardon and a changed situation would simply erase.
He considered for a moment and then spoke carefully.
“You may go with the First Army. You will not intervene in any battle. Your task is to locate the pills and destroy them on the spot.”
Her brows drew together. “Your Majesty, these drugs do place enormous strain on the body, but in a genuine life-and-death—”
“I said what I said.”
She lowered her eyes. “As Your Majesty commands.”
“And as for maintaining order — I have a separate task for you.”
“Your Majesty.”
“There are still cloisters in the old Holy City?”
“Yes. No witches remain in them.” After a moment’s thought, she added, “There may be newly Awakened witches from the last Months of Demons — but the odds of them still being alive are not good.”
“That doesn’t matter.” He met her gaze. “Free the orphans. See to their care. Bring them back to the Western Region. All of them.”
She blinked. “All of them?”
“Every one. You will be in charge of this.”
He had wondered, more than once, what a Pure Witch would do when her assigned task was not elimination but rescue. He could not undo what Isabella had done or thought in the past. But he could give her a different kind of work and watch what it made of her.
“The cloisters are the reason I sent you,” he continued. “You reminded me of something important: when an organization’s upper hierarchy loses the ability to hold order, the places at the bottom — the cloisters — become exactly the sort of environment where the powerless are left to suffer what they can’t prevent. Neverwinter needs workers. There will be jobs for women. The Church began basic education for the orphans, if I recall correctly — so they’ll be literate, trainable, capable of far more than slow starvation behind high walls. I want all of them brought here without exception.”
A silence that stretched.
“That will require considerable food,” Isabella said.
“I’ll have the supply arranged.”
Something moved across her face — something complex, with an edge of bewilderment to it. Roland recognized the expression. He had seen it the day her chains came off, when she was granted limited freedom. It was the expression of someone who could not find the frame that explained the situation, and whose mind kept asking the same question without receiving an answer.
Why?
She bent slowly at the waist and bowed.
“As Your Majesty commands.”
Chapter 848: Mission Pure Witch
Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
“I’d thought you wanted to be the King of Dawn yourself.” Nightingale twisted her lips and spoke after Andrea had departed. “Turns out you weren’t joking about making her the monarch.”
“I knew you would figure it out soon.” Roland shrugged. “As for myself…” Several explanations had run through his head, including the lack of able personnel, Andrea’s communicative abilities, as well as the constraints on time and resource. Instead, he settled for a simple line. “I’m just not capable enough.”
“Really…” Nightingale patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sure you can count on Andrea. You can’t go wrong with the Quinn family.”
“These two certainly appreciate each other a lot.” Roland began to laugh within. However, as Nightingale had been a dependant of a family in the past, her political foresight was a level below his own. He personally believed that family background was not a factor, as long as Andrea was not blindly devoted to it. He was certain that she, like most people, would gladly accept and cherish a glorious opportunity like this which did not come at much cost.
But he kept these thoughts to himself, for it was much too adorable to see Nightingale speak nonsense in the most serious of manners.
Just at this moment, someone knocked on the office door.
“Come in.”
The door creaked open, and the person standing outside turned out to be Isabella.
Roland had not expected this. The latter was not a member of the Witch Union and hence could not access the Castle District under normal circumstances. However, once he saw Agatha’s figure behind her, he understood how she was able to get through.
“Your Majesty.” The Pure Witch, formerly of the Church, bowed and quickly got to the point. “I’ve heard from Agatha that the Church of Hermes is on the brink of collapse, is that so?”
If it was not for the mildly grim look on her face, Roland might even have mistaken that she was here to plead on behalf of her former overseers.
“That’s what the intelligence says, but we’re still finding out the specific details.” Roland was puzzled as to why the Ice Witch had revealed this information to the latter, but instead of denying the matter outright, he replied as vaguely as he could. “Refugees from the Church have begun to appear in Coldwind Ridge and the western part of Kingdom of Dawn. They’ve testified that the most popular cathedral in the Holy City has collapsed overnight.”
“Your Majesty, I hope that you can send troops to Hermes as quickly as possible.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you remember what I’d mentioned? The millions of Berserk Pills there.” Isabella replied in a disgruntled voice. “There’s bound to be some people who now know where they’re stored… if word gets out, your plans will be disrupted.” She paused before continuing, “This stuff will be highly useful for the Battle of Divine Will. Best if you can collect and transport all of it back to Neverwinter.”
It was only now that Roland remembered the latter had mentioned this in the intelligence she had provided. It seemed that Zero’s plan was to unite all of Mankind in a life-and-death battle against the Army of Demons, and her trump card was indeed to be these Berserk Pills. As he was personally contemptuous of these drugs, he had almost forgotten about the matter.
However, the situation had changed greatly. Isabella was right; if someone distributed the pills, such that they fell into the hands of nobles from Graycastle, the Kingdom of Dawn, or worse, the rats of Black Street, there would be considerable trouble. Perhaps, they would still not be able to take on a fully-equipped army, but individual officials and regional governments would certainly be under threat.
“Where are the pills stored?” He glanced at Isabella.
“They’re separately stored in hidden warehouses all over the Hermes Plateau. It’s hard to explain where they are exactly.” The latter hesitated for a moment before she continued, “If Your Majesty trusts me, allow me to follow the army there. I was once the Pope’s ordained executor, and with this identity, I may be able to slow down the internal collapse. Otherwise, the army will find it difficult to stem the flow of refugees.”
“But who’ll know if you use your identity to do other things?” Nightingale interjected. “Perhaps you’ll secretly release those believers… you have friends among them, haven’t you?”
“I wouldn’t lie to His Majesty,” Isabella refuted. “Zero has already shown up who’s the real God’s pet. I’ve no need to do such useless things. If necessary, the army can lay a trap for me to lead the believers into and kill them off. That’s another way of maintaining order, aside from making use of my identity, as I mentioned.”
“Ugh…” Nightingale rasped and spat out a mouthful. “I guess that’s something a Pure Witch would think of.”
Roland felt somewhat disconcerted. It was not often that Nightingale would be at a loss for words, which was a sign that the latter was being serious about her suggestion. Though she had committed her full allegiance to him the other day, this was done on the basis of fighting the demons. Unlike most other witches, she had been educated and trained as a Pure Witch, which meant she had long been taught that the lives of normal people were unimportant as long as she could accomplish her objectives.
After pondering for a short while, Roland slowly opened his mouth and spoke. “I’ll allow you to travel with the First Army, but you shan’t intervene in any battle. All you have to do is to find the pills and destroy them on the spot.”
“Your Majesty.” Her brows visibly furrowed. “These drugs may overwork the body, but when it comes to a life-and-death battle…”
“Say no more.” Roland cut her short. “And speaking of maintaining order, I’ve another task for you.”
Isabella immediately lowered her head and responded, “As Your Majesty commands.”
“There should still be a few cloisters left in the old Holy City, right?”
“Yes, but there are no witches left.” After some contemplation, she amended her words. “Perhaps a few Awakened Witches may have appeared during the last Months of Demons, but there’s only a slim chance that they’re still alive.”
“That doesn’t matter. Free the orphans, take care of them, and bring them back to Western Region.”
Isabella was taken aback. “All of them?”
“Yes. You shall be in charge.” Roland nodded.
Supposing that Pure Witches truly disregarded the lives of others in order to complete their missions, Roland wanted to see what Isabella would do when her task was to save lives. Though he might not be able to change what she had done in the past, he hoped that she would be able to rectify her ways.
“This task has its purpose, which I must thank you very much for reminding me about. That is, if the upper hierarchy loses the ability to maintain order, the cloisters are likely to turn into living hells. Right now, Neverwinter requires a large amount of labor, and there’ll also be jobs for women. I’d heard that the church had started basic education for the orphans, no? I’m
sure they’re all of excellent potential, and shouldn’t be left to starve to death behind those high walls. I want you to bring all of them here without exception.”
Isabella remained silent for a long while before she noted, “That’ll require a lot of food.”
“I’ll have people to prepare all the food that’s required.”
An intricate expression appeared in her eyes. Roland had seen it before on the day she was pardoned, her chains were removed, and she was granted “limited freedom” status.
If her thoughts could be heard, they would certainly comprise of a loud “Why?”.
She slowly bent her waist and bowed.
“As Your Majesty commands.”