Even though Eve’s arm was being held in place by Myuri’s paw, she still gripped her dagger and would not let go. Col continued speaking, somewhat impressed by her refusal to give up.
“There’s an underground passage in here, isn’t there?”
One that led all the way to the cathedral.
Eve might have decided to set up camp in such a remote place because of her aesthetic sense, but her aesthetic was money.
“Miss Eve.”
When he said her name, the hand holding the dagger gripped tighter, then relaxed.
After a dry clatter, Eve spoke.
“Stand down.”
The guards tried to resist when she said that, but it lasted only a second.
Myuri growled, baring her fangs. Though she was not as giant as Holo the wisewolf was, she looked frightening enough to let anyone who might encounter her in the forest think that anything but begging for dear life was futile.
“…I underestimated you, thinking you were easy prey, but look at me now,” Eve said with a sigh. “I slipped and said ‘work.’ That was why I lost.”
“You’ve emerged from the shadows with evil plots plenty of times, so of course even I would be on my toes.”
Eve smiled, and Myuri apparently put even more pressure on her, since she groaned.
“Myuri.”
Col warned her, and after her tail swished back and forth, she looked at him, unsatisfied.
“Will you spare my life?”
Eve did not seem like she was asking for any pity at all, but she knew that Myuri was eager to rip her head off.
“That depends on you.”
“…”
And unbelievably, Eve fell silent.
He almost felt respect for her, that she did not readily say yes in a situation like this, and for some reason, it even made him happy.
“What are you going to make me do?”
It was almost as though she was threatening to kill herself by biting out her own tongue, depending on what his answer was.
“Miss Sharon and the tax collectors are forcing their way into the cathedral. And you can help them.”
Myuri hung heavily over Eve as she made a terribly disgusted face.
“…I don’t think so, but if I say no, I’ll only become a snack, won’t I?”
Col stood and looked down at Eve as he petted Myuri while she growled.
“You might not like it, but that is your only option. Open the cathedral doors, let in Miss Sharon and the others, take them here, and put them on a boat you’ll prepare. If the priests are also on board, then the king can’t touch them. Is that not correct?”
“Logically, yes,” Eve said and sighed. “I’ll give it a shot. At the very least, we could easily help them, and if I show myself, then I’ll fulfill the promise I made.”
While Eve was fine betraying the priests, she had made a contract to help them when the time called for it. She was no one’s ally—it was all for the money.
“Then lead the way, Myuri.”
Myuri turned back to Col, then as a final desperate tactic, she pressed down hard on Eve’s chest, then released her front paws.
“Myuri, I want to do something about Mr. Clark and the children and bring them here.”
They must be shaking at the sound of the emergency bell back in the orphanage, without a clue as to what was going on.
Despite the situation they were in, Myuri rubbed her neck against him like a clingy dog, demanding he pet her. When he ran his hands through her oddly fluffy yet stiff fur, she huffed in approval.
“Providing is preventing, isn’t it, Brother? Write a letter. I’ll give it to the dogs and make them deliver it.”
Myuri had threatened every stray dog they encountered on the streets. She said that Ilenia, the sheep avatar, had taught her that she should make allies of the animals in town for when they needed them.
“Miss Eve.”
“Fine, fine. Hey, weren’t you listening?”
Eve looked to her guards and barked orders. The guards seemed to hardly believe that Myuri spoke and were literally shaking in their boots. They hurriedly retrieved paper and ink from the shelves in the room and placed them on the floor.
“There are some people I want to escape here. I hope you don’t mind.”
Col double-checked with Eve, and she sulkily looked away in a huff.
“None of this will make me money, honestly,” she complained, sitting cross-legged.
The secret passage was on the first floor, which was half in the ground and once meant to hold large amounts of wheat, behind a false wall, which was behind a pile of bricks, which was behind a stack of junk.
The closer they got, the more obvious the breeze was, making small whistling noises as it passed through the bricks.
“Grrr…”
Myuri slowly approached, kicking the bricks away with her front paws, then immediately bit into the chains wrapping around the portcullis that appeared from behind.
“Hey, I have a key.”
She paid no mind to Eve’s command, ripping into the chains as if they were sculptured candy.
“…Those chains are made from good iron…”
By that, Eve did not mean she was amazed that Myuri could bite through something so high quality; she meant that they were particularly valuable items.
“You all go first, Miss Eve.”
“…I have limits to my recklessness, you know. I’m not going to attack you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
Eve sighed, signaled to her guards with a glance, and sent them in first. The umbrella girl and the massive man stayed behind in the warehouse for when Clark and the children came.
As long as Myuri stayed by Eve’s side, she would not betray them.
“I’m practically a prisoner. Is this what you want?”
Col nodded and motioned for her to walk.
The underground passage was cool and damp, but it was well maintained, as though people had passed through it many times. There were even used candles that were not particularly old stuck in the candleholders placed here and there throughout the hallway. The ceiling was high enough that they could walk around normally, so perhaps it had been used in real wars a long time ago.
None of them spoke, and what Col thought about as they walked through the passage was what Eve had said.
They would open the cathedral doors from the inside, harbor Sharon and company as they put the other tax collectors through the underground passages and onto the boat Eve prepared. The king’s men would likely not touch them if there was a priest with them.
Logically, that was correct, and Eve recognized that. That was because Eve herself was planning on making her getaway that way in the first place.
And yet, she was negative toward a plan that included the tax collectors.
He doubted she had a plan in motion after all that…No, would that be letting his guard down?
He could sense nothing from her as she walked ahead of him.
And they had no choice but to do it. There was no time left.
“Hmm?”
Then Eve stopped. Myuri, too, had her ears perked.
“Judging by our position, it’s probably the group of tax collectors heading for the cathedral.”
The air was vibrating slightly around them. There were many people walking above them.
“Let us hurry.”
Eve shrugged and started walking again.
They then walked about the distance of one parish. At the end of the passage, there was another portcullis, similar to the one they’d entered through. Eve watched silently as Myuri bit at it and twisted the metal lock, ripping it to shreds as sparks flew everywhere.
“A vault?”
They went up the stairs, illuminating their way with the candles they held in hand, and they saw silver cups and various ornaments tucked away on the shelves.
“Take some with you on our way out, and that’ll give you a little pocket change,” Eve j
oked, signaling to her guards to open the lock on the door.
“The vault door locks from the inside?”
“The front entrance is also the invasion entrance. This is the way you want to go if you’re coming in from the cathedral.”
Col nodded, understanding.
“Now, only God knows if this will turn out the way you want it to.”
She likely deliberately said it like that, since they were in the cathedral.
They exited the vault along with Eve and company, coming out onto a chilly stone hallway.
There were images of parts of the scripture and banners with the Church’s insignia on the walls.
They then went up another staircase, removed a wooden board that blocked their way overhead, and came up behind the most beautiful part of the cathedral, the nave pulpit, where the services took place. Right above their heads, angels painted on the ceiling smiled down at them.
“…”
Col knew, of course, that the cathedral was massive. But the inside was emptier than he had imagined.
He looked to Myuri, whose pointed wolf ears were twitching every which way as she glared at Eve, a growl rumbling deep in her throat.
“Hey, stop looking at me like that. This isn’t a trap.”
It was not just Col’s imagination that the place was exceptionally empty. He sensed no human movement anywhere.
“And it’s not abandoned. They’re probably in the copy room. This way.”
They followed Eve’s lead. The echoing of their footsteps was dreadfully loud and almost felt eerie.
And what bothered him the most were the faint sounds of the earth rumbling.
“I would appear that all our actors are taking their places in the plaza.” Eve noticed that had been concernedly looking toward the cathedral’s main entrance, and she explained. “Well, I doubt the soldiers from the city council will end up fighting with the tax collectors. The city guard is just like them—they’re drifters with a little more guts. I don’t think they’re going to fight by putting their lives in danger. They’ll probably stare down one another until the king’s army gets here.”
As he hoped that would be the case, they went from the nave to the aisle, then into a hallway with a row of rooms. Eve turned to the left without a moment’s hesitation and loudly knocked on one of the doors.
“It’s me, Eve. I’m opening the door.”
Above them was a carving of a demon with the words SILENCE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
When she opened the door, the pungent smells of parchment and ink wafted around them.
“You have a guest, Your Grace.”
As Col tried to enter the room after Eve, Myuri got close enough to rub against him, and they entered together. He realized later she was being cautious of a surprise attack.
“A guest…?”
It then seemed like a white ball of fluff stirred. It was a lone old priest with a long white mustache and beard, his large, corpulent body hunched over the writing desk.
“This is…a surprise.”
He seemed to be shocked by Myuri’s presence, but he was relieved to see her sitting obediently by Col’s side.
“This here is more of a surprise. It’s the Twilight Cardinal.”
The archbishop’s eyes widened and looked to Col.
“What…? You’re…?”
“My name is Tote Col.”
He greeted the man, but he was not sure what sort of look he should wear on his face. If this was the archbishop, then that meant he was a priest who plotted while knowing all about Sharon and the other tax collectors, who refused to either acknowledge his sins or even talk with them in secret. A despicable fallen man too eager to preserve himself.
However, the old priest she called the archbishop was not much different from the other high-ranking clergy he often saw in the baths of Nyohhira. They were quirky but rich with knowledge and experience and dedication to their holy work. They loved alcohol and meat just as much; they were more gluttonous than any young person.
He was not evil.
But he was not good, either.
“…I am the archbishop of the Rausbourne diocese, Fras Yagine…But…” Yagine, perplexed, grasped at his beard that reached his waist. “Eve, why did you bring him to me?”
“It’s my contract. I made a promise to bail you out when the time calls for it.”
“What…?”
“I guess you didn’t hear the bell. The king is closing in on the city.”
Yagine looked rather surprised, but he did not immediately stand from his chair.
He simply gave a tired sigh.
“I see. And so why did you bring him here—?”
“I want to save the tax collectors,” Col interjected, and Yagine turned to look at him. “Your Grace, I will be opening the cathedral doors.”
“The doors? No, wait, wait a second. The king is laying siege to the city? But what for? Has he decided to wage war with the Church?”
Yagine looked to Eve, and Eve gave a vexed sigh.
“The opposite. He was afraid of the Kingdom going to war with the Church because of the tax collectors pressuring you. He’s here to arrest them.”
“I-impossible…! The tax collectors are working under royal authority…and if they’re just going to make amends with the Church, then that shouldn’t be necessary!”
“Think about whose backing the tax collectors have. It’s that unruly prince,” Eve said.
The old priest’s eyes widened, and he then placed his hand on his forehead.
“Heir Klevend…He hasn’t given up on the throne yet?”
“It’s the same as you clinging to your position.”
There were as many thorns in their conversation as Col could think of.
Eve smiled, and Yagine drew up his shoulders.
“…I can’t deny that. But—”
“You want to tell me you have your reasons, I’m sure. I’m tired of hearing it. Everyone has their own circumstances. I’m sure that also applies to why you are here alone, is it not?”
What happened to the others?
They had all escaped long ago, and Yagine here had taken on the final responsibility on his own.
“…I am the archbishop. The only time I may leave this place is when God calls me.”
“I’m sorry I had to be the one to call you,” Eve said as she shrugged, rapping her fist on the nearby bookrest. “Make the necessary prepartions—quickly. Just as the contract states, I’ve got the boat ready.”
“W-wait. What about what the Twilight Cardinal just said?” Yagine asked, turning to Col.
He was likely worried about Sharon and the others.
Col felt an indescribable irritation looking at the man’s good-natured face.
“Miss Sharon and the rest have consistently been treated cruelly and have lost faith in the future. And yet, they have taken their swords in their hands, believing that by sacrificing themselves, they can allow the orphans and others on their side to escape, and that gives them hope that someone will help all those who make it out.”
When he’d asked Sharon what breaking into the cathedral with the intentions of dying would accomplish, she had said, “Nothing would change. But I’m sure I’ll feel great when I cut off their heads.”
That twisted smile of hers was not an act but a genuine facet of herself.
But he felt nothing more than a nauseating sadness when he imagined how she might feel when she found out it was Yagine who she would be standing up to as a result of her hate.
Sharon could probably swing her sword in peace if Yagine turned out to be an abominable evildoer, who constantly hurled insults until he was red in the face, who scrabbled by any means necessary in order to survive.
However, the man sitting in his chair and looking at Col was far from that sort of evildoer. It was clear that Yagine alone had stayed behind at the cathedral, a place meant for countless priests, their apprentices, and those looking for meager work to gather.
&n
bsp; It was also unlikely it was only Yagine who was the closest thing to a good person and that all the rest were evil. There was no doubt they argued countless times among themselves, picking through their brains, faith, good nature, parental love, and of course their attachment to their positions for a way to deal with Sharon and company while also preserving the Church’s standing as one of the largest cathedrals within the organization in the Kingdom.
They all had their own excuses.
He could tell that just by looking at Yagine’s pained expression.
But the reality was that they had not helped anyone.
And yet, now, they still could.
“Your Grace, we will open the doors to the cathedral. We will then invite Miss Sharon and the others inside, go through the underground passage, and all escape to sea on the ship with Miss Eve and company. Okay?”
Yagine pursed his lips and held his breath.
Under normal circumstances, there was no need for him to ask the archbishop’s permission. He could just order Myuri to leer at him and then open the doors as he pleased while he was trapped.
Yet, he asked for permission because he wanted Yagine to make up his mind.
He did not want him to keep running from Sharon and the tax collectors but to stand before them.
“Your Grace.”
Col took a step forward, and Yagine tightly shut his eyes and spoke.
“Twilight Cardinal, please let me speak.”
“About what? What more could you possibly say?!”
It was after Col yelled, fed up with how this man just wanted to keep running.
“Do you have a place to escape to?”
He caught Col off guard.
Col was surprised he’d asked such a stupid question but also surprised that he himself did not have an answer.
“I can open the door and invite the tax collectors inside. I can pass through the underground tunnels and get on Eve’s ship. But…” Yagine restlessly stroked his long white beard, as though he was thinking as he spoke. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened, his cheeks flushed, and he continued after turning to the ceiling as though asking for help. “But yes…After all that, we have nowhere to go. It’s a bad move.”
“Why?!”
The king did not want to fight with the Church. That meant he would not attack a ship if the archbishop was on it. He should be free to go where he pleased; he just needed to find a convenient spot and get off there.
Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 4 Page 25