Blood Assimilation

A while later.

The conference between the soldiers and Crown Prince Lukkas was concluded and everyone left the room. Only Brawler Randy and Crown Prince Lukkas remained in the room. They had some discussions and through that discussion Brawler Randy made some discoveries.

Even though the topic of the discussion was regarding his recruitment into the army, Brawler Randy was still able to obtain pieces of relevant information from Crown Prince Lukkas through their discussion.

However, despite Crown Prince Lukkas's best efforts to convince Brawler Randy, he refused to join the army. Despite his rejection, Brawler Randy compromised with Crown Prince Lukkas and promised to aid the army in the event that he had no choice or when they are desperate for soldiers. He simply didn't want to be restrained by following the regime of the soldiers.

Likewise, Brawler Randy believed that the soldiers wouldn't like him, especially after confronting them in their first encounter. As a result, he decided to only be a close friend of the Crown Prince for the moment.

As the night came to a close, Brawler Randy, escorted by Crown Prince Lukkas, left the Royal Dance Hall on a high note. He had a fruitful harvest despite the initial conflict with the group of soldiers. For some reason, when he came out of the conference room, he didn't see Gutz or his party members.

However, Brawler Randy didn't think too much about it and entered a carriage arranged by the Crown Prince for him. His destination was also arranged by the Crown Prince. He was assigned a residence a few miles away from the Royal Dance Hall.

Despite the distance, it was still within the jurisdiction of the Royal Family. Brawler Randy planned on staying there for the night and departing for Imperial City the following day.

…

The next day.

After handling some things in the Royal Capital, he was escorted out of the Royal Capital and returned to Imperial City.

The entire journey back to Imperial City was carried out in a carriage without having to teleport at any of the teleportation stations on the way. As such, by the time he arrived in Imperial City, it was already getting dark outside.

After alighting and bidding farewell to the coachman, Brawler Randy went back to the Inn he had booked for a few days on Residential Street to rest.

…

Elsewhere.

Nighttime.

Imperial City.

Aristocratic Street.

As the sun set behind him, Holy Knight Randy, dressed in his shining golden and white armor, walked down the secret path in Imperial City. Sounds of the bustling city slowly receding in the background could be heard.

After Barian and Zante completed their task, they met with him as planned. Afterward, he sent them away and headed toward Aristocratic Street by himself.

At some point, Holy Knight Randy arrived at the entrance to a grand structure. As he glanced up at the stunning architectural design of the building, he was awed by its magnificence.

Holy Knight Randy's foreign memories aligned with the visual image of the building in front of him, and he immediately recognized it as the Grant Family Estate. At the same time, he was able to conclude that the buildings on Aristocratic Street were more flamboyant and structurally well-designed compared to Residential Street buildings.

…

Almost at the same time.

Royal Capital.

The main branch of the Church of Light.

The Chamber of the Supreme Pontiff.

The Pope of the Church of Light sat on his throne, wearing the exquisite white and golden robe of the Supreme Pontiff, looking deeply pensive. He had just received the news from the Grant Family's intelligence department that their successor, Zolat Grant, wished to have an audience with him concerning an urgent matter. He wondered what could be so urgent that it would require Zolat to personally seek an audience with him instead of informing him through any of the Cardinals.

As he deeply pondered this matter, suddenly, a guard stationed behind his room announced: "Your Holiness, the summoning ritual has been triggered and is awaiting your confirmation."

"Thank you, my son." 

The Pope dismissed his thoughts and immediately walked out of his private room into the audience room next to his chambers.

…

A few moments ago.

Imperial City, Aristocratic Street.

Grant Family Estate, inside a certain secluded room.

After entering the Grant Family estate, Holy Knight Randy located a structure and went into a secluded room in that structure. This was a room established to send messages to the main Grant Family in the Royal Capital. However, this time, he wasn't planning on using it to reach out to the Grant Family in the Royal Capital. Instead, he intends to employ the magic circle in the secluded room to reach out to the Pope in the Royal Capital. Afterward, he would be able to have a secret meeting with him.

Holy Knight Randy firmly closed the door behind him and activated a sound nullification magic formation in the room using Zolat's memories. Afterward, he searched and found a few magic crystals stashed somewhere in the secluded room. He planned to use the magic crystals, containing abundant mana, to activate the transmission magic circle drawn inside the secluded room.

Moments later, he placed the magic crystals in their corresponding slots. Then, to expedite the process of absorption and activation, he poured his own mana inside the magic circle on the floor.

After pouring his mana alongside the magic crystals, Holy Knight Randy watched as the magic circle lit up the whole room. It then projected a figure in front of him. Holy Knight Randy immediately kneeled in front of the figure, whose form was shrouded in brilliant holy light.

Soon, the figure's true identity was revealed to be the Pope of the Church of Light. He was still shrouded in awe-striking, brilliant holy light. The Pope's projected figure could be seen sitting on a throne as he deeply gazed at Holy Knight Randy who knelt before him.

"You may stand, Sir Grant."

The Pope's deep and gentle voice echoed in the secluded room despite not being physically present in the room.

Holy Knight Randy stood up and faced the Pope with a respectful posture.

"Why did you want an audience with me, Sir Grant?"

The Pope didn't waste any time and directly asked, as that was what he was most curious about before their meeting.

Holy Knight Randy took a deep breath and spoke while releasing his breath.

"Your Holiness, I come to you with an urgent and potentially grave matter that may affect the sanctity of the Church."

Holy Knight Randy's expression was solemn as he articulated this sentence to the Pope, causing him to display a trace of concern.

The Pope doubtfully asked: "What has happened, Sir Grant?"

Holy Knight Randy replied: "Your Holiness, I have been wrongfully blackmailed by one of the Cardinals of the Church. This particular Cardinal ordered me to search for the hidden location of a Vampire Queen under a fake sacred mission assignment."

"Vampire Queen?"

The Pope raised his eyebrows when he heard his words.

"Indeed."

Holy Knight Randy confirmed and said: "The Cardinal told me he had already confirmed the existence of the Vampire Queen and wanted me to search for the exact location, which I did with all my might. I spent days searching, but I could not find it. As a result, I had no choice but to employ other methods. When I returned to the Church, the Cardinal threatened me."

The Pope asked: "What kind of threat?"

"That Cardinal threatened to have me excommunicated from the Church, and then he would spread lies about me to tarnish my reputation as a Holy Knight. Not only that, but he also threatened to accuse me of heresy and have me executed as a result."

Holy Knight Randy answered with a serious expression.

Meanwhile, upon hearing his response, the Pope's eyes widened in shock and he questioned in return: "This is a grave accusation, Sir Grant. Who is this Cardinal that has done this to you?"

Although the Pope could guess who Holy Knight Randy was talking about, as only one person could order Zolat Grant around in the Church of Light in Imperial City, he still wanted to hear it from the accuser's mouth.

In response to the Pope's doubtful question, Holy Knight Randy was unfazed and firmly stated: "Your Holiness, it is Cardinal Juke."

The Pope scowled and looked visibly disappointed, but he skeptically spoke: "I am disappointed to hear of these blasphemous acts in the Church. But do you have any evidence to support your claims?"

"I do, Your Holiness."

Holy Knight Randy took something from his armor's chest and said: "I have a letter from Cardinal Juke that details his orders to me."

After stating this, he opened and handed over the letter to the Pope. The Pope grabbed it using his projection and proceeded to read it carefully from the other side.

According to tradition, when a mission was given by the Church, a letter detailing the mission would be given to the one taking on the mission. Back then when Cardinal Juke assigned Zolat Grant his mission, he attached the true mission to the fake mission in front of the other members of the Church, validating its authenticity.

For some reason, Zolat Grant stashed the letter inside his armor's chest. Therefore, he didn't need to worry about his inability to get his hands on it. After all, Zolat Grant had placed most of his belongings inside his sealed storage items. 

After reading the letter, the Pope handed it back to him after committing the contents to memory.

Then, with a disconcerted expression, he said: "This is a grave matter indeed. I will have to investigate further to determine the extent of Cardinal Juke's interference with the Church's sacred missions."