Chương 64: The Organization

"I suppose we're the bait," Eduard said. Adolin frowned. Nicholas had known what was happening. He hadn't reacted in the slightest when Eduard said it. Were the others on the estate aware of what was coming? He didn't particularly care if people wanted to sacrifice themselves for whatever reason, but getting others killed alongside them was not something he approved of. He tapped a finger against the table before downing his glass of wine. He was getting thirsty, and the wine was delicious.

"Are the people on the estate aware that they're being used as bait?" Adolin asked.

"The soldiers are," Eduard said.

"Most of them, anyway. The staff will be evacuated before the battle begins. More than enough security measures are already in place." Adolin let out a displeased sigh. Using himself and his men as bait was really dumb. At least now everything made sense to him. The reason for Eduard gathering a small army this close to the capital. He was going to be involved in other people's troubles once again. There was always the option of leaving and avoiding it altogether, but he had promised to heal the Count.

And he wasn't someone who broke his promises. The more he thought about it, the deeper his frown became. He refilled his glass and downed it again. Then he took the fourth potion and stored it in his inventory. The free potions did make him feel slightly better about the bad situation he had found himself in.

"Isn't there a better way to find them?" Adolin asked. Eduard shook his head.

"No. I've spent months trying to find any trace of them. I spoke with every noble willing to meet me, but most ignored me because of the fallout with the Church." He interlocked his fingers and rested his elbows on the table.

"I tried everything I could, from investigators to traps designed specifically for them, but in the end, we found nothing. They never took the bait." He let out a bitter laugh.

"I don't even know if we're hunting a handful of people or an organization that has existed for centuries. It's as if they don't exist. Nothing we do can force them out of the shadows."

"Why did you go looking for them in the first place?" Adolin asked.

"I'm not sure." Eduard leaned back in his chair, his eyes darkening.

"It was one of the last orders my father gave before the curse took him."

"He didn't give you any clues about them?" Eduard shook his head.

"He was supposed to. I was on my way to meet him when the guards found me and told me they couldn't wake him up. He's been asleep ever since." Adolin nodded.

"Then how are you so sure they'll take the bait this time?" he asked.

"By your own logic, they shouldn't reveal themselves this time either."

"They will," Eduard said, looking at the wine glass in his hand.

"I don't know why, but they will. The Count discovered something before they got to him, and they'll do everything they can to make sure it dies with him." Well, shit.

"Don't make the investigation public," Adolin said.

"If the culprit feels threatened, they would have to take drastic measures, and innocent people will get killed in the process." Eduard shook his head, "If that was the plan, I would have already done it." Eduard said and took a sip of wine.

"What do you think would happen if they discover that we are looking for them?" Adolin thought for a few moments.

"They would try to take out as many people as they can. The Count included. Or they could just flee the estate, hiding the cursed item somewhere we can't find it in time."

"What if they find out anyway? Keeping the investigation hidden wouldn't work for too long."

"Let's hope they don't," Adolin said with a smile. There were some things he could do if things became desperate. He had the mana potions to use higher-tier spells. But he didn't like acting in desperate situations. He didn't like anything where he didn't have full control, or at least some measure of it. That much should have been obvious to him from the beginning. Healing such an advanced curse—one that had clearly taken a great deal of planning and preparation—was bound to come back and bite him.

Yet he hadn't even considered that healing the Count would make him new enemies. He really had been acting as if he were on vacation. He was on vacation, but most people didn't spend theirs making enemies. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. He frowned again and stored the fifth potion away. Somehow, that made him feel a little better. Healing the Count would expose an organization that had managed to stay hidden from everyone.

One connected to the corruption in the North, and they were already operating near Mith, the Capital. Nothing about the situation benefited him. He was just creating problems for himself, and eventually they were going to come back and bite him hard. He shrugged the thought aside. It was better to gather as much information as possible before he had to deal with the trouble he was creating for himself.

"Do you know anything about them?"

"No," Eduard said.

"Only that they exist, and that they've already killed three commanders on the front lines. That's the only clue they've left behind, and it leads nowhere. All it tells us is that humans are working with the corrupted." They certainly fit the image of a shadowy organization. It did make him wonder. Could the Church be behind it? Ever since arriving in this world, he'd heard little besides bad things about the Church and its leadership. They were hunting him.

They were ignoring the Count's curse and refusing to heal him. They certainly weren't the nicest organization around.

"Could the Church be involved?" Adolin asked.

"The Church?" Eduard chuckled.

"Maybe a few members of the Church, but the Church as a whole? Goddess, no." He shook his head.

"They're just corrupt old men with too much power over people's lives. And lust for gold. The only thing they care about is collecting payment for healing. Nothing else."

"You sure? I've heard a lot about them."

"Oh?" Eduard said.

"I believe that. But no, their power is limited. It only appears as if they have all the power. If they step too far out of line, they'll lose it." Adolin stared at Eduard. Had everything Revel and Lissandra told him been wrong? Or had they simply made it sound more dramatic than it really was? He wasn't sure. But he needed more information. That alone wasn't enough to draw any conclusions.

"Well, they do seem to have blocked your house from using their healing services," Adolin said.

"They have power over individuals. They can choose not to heal my father or me, but that's the extent of it. They would still be required to provide healing to my men, and everyone else on the estate, if I requested it," Eduard said.

"Why would the Empire allow them to do that?" Adolin asked. He was still confused. That was still a lot of power for the Church to wield. Revel had certainly exaggerated things when she told him about it. Or perhaps she had simply been worried about her father not receiving treatment. Nicholas, who had been quiet since they arrived, finally spoke.

"The Empire is in a peculiar situation. Corruption is invading from the North, the nobility is divided, and problems have begun appearing along all of our borders." He adjusted his monocle.

"The Emperor is allowing them to do as they wish for now because he would rather avoid starting a civil war in the middle of a real one." Nicholas paused for a moment before continuing.

"There's also the matter of healing. If a civil war were to break out, the soldiers on the front lines wouldn't have enough priests to tend to the wounded."

"So even if a civil war were to erupt, the Church would still send priests to the front lines?"

"Yes and no," the butler said.

"The main Church in the Capital is the biggest problem. It's also the most corrupt branch of the Church in the Empire and controls most of the churches throughout it."

"But there are still churches that follow the Goddess's Codex and haven't fallen to corruption. There are also countless priests who have gone to the front lines of their own accord to provide aid to the soldiers protecting their homes." Adolin nodded slowly. The new world was far more complicated than he once thought. He really needed to leave the capital that was filled with the worst of what the world had to offer, and explore it for a bit.

The North probably wasn't the best place to start with, but it would be better than the Mith. The church not being as powerful as he had heard previously didn't change anything for him; he was an individual, which meant that the church could still harass him. Well, even if he was somehow still safe from them, the moment he started teaching healing spells to mages, he would become a target. So it didn't really matter. At least now he knew that not all of them were corrupt.

They spent the next hour talking about the Church and the organization, but Adolin didn't learn much from the conversation. Eduard looked even worse the more time it passed. The man wasn't sleeping. Adolin briefly considered using a rejuvenation spell on him, but stopped himself. He was certain Eduard had access to enough potions and mages capable of doing the same thing. Yet he hadn't used them. It wasn't his place to judge the man, nor to offer help that hadn't been asked for.

He would have mentioned the alliance Revel was offering, but after all the talk about the organization and the state Eduard was in, he didn't feel it was the right time to bring it up. The conversation had filled in some of the gaps in his knowledge. The most important thing he had learned was that if he managed to raise enough healers, which would take a long time, the Empire itself would deal with the Church on his behalf. That did motivate him a little regarding the job offer. Not that he was reconsidering it.

He left soon after, but not before storing the last two potions in his inventory. On the way to the building where he had been given a room, he was approached by Maya and the kitten. The kitten was lounging on her shoulder, and Maya was walking somewhat awkwardly. It seemed he wasn't the only one the little menace enjoyed tormenting.

"Lord," Maya said, bowing slightly while trying to keep the kitten in place.

"Mom said to return the cat to you." Adolin simply nodded. The kitten immediately jumped from Maya's shoulder and climbed onto his own, meowing softly before settling into a comfortable position.

"Did it behave?" Adolin asked. Maya nodded and hurried off without another word. Adolin shrugged and headed toward the room he had been assigned. Tomorrow was going to be a long day for him, and it was already a few hours into the night. As soon as the investigator found anything, they would come looking for him. The kitten had already fallen asleep on his chest. He drifted off to sleep as well.