Chapter 203 – The Value of Work
There were two reasons that the priest was saying I shouldn’t work here.
The first was that I would be in the vegetable garden, which within the cathedral, was similar to being in the shadows of exile.
It was in the far corner. A place to grow rare, foreign herbs. Though, as there was little sun, they had repeatedly failed to cultivate.
After that, they had given up, and so it was a place where failures from other departments were sent.
“And then there is the other reason. You will have to live there while you work. The Cardinal said that you can be hired if you are willing to work in the storage house. But that is no place for someone to live. He is only saying this to make you give up, though. Nothing like this has happened before.”
The priest let out a deep sigh.
“I am so sorry to have to tell you this after you helped us so much. But it’s better that you do not work here. There must be another place that would properly appreciate your talent.”
It seemed like he was quite worried for us.
However, I had a reason that I had to infiltrate the cathedral no matter what.
“Very well. I will accept those terms. Please let me work here.”
The priest’s eyes widened.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I want to work here.”
I said while looking straight into his eyes. And then I turned to Nina.
“What about you?”
“I would like to work here as well. Please.”
“Really?”
“If Noelle wants to, then so do I. Besides, living in a shed sounds like a lot of fun.”
I smiled at her reassuring words.
“However… Living and working like that…”
The priest was still hesitant.
“Please follow me. Perhaps I can negotiate some better terms for you.”
We then followed the priest through the cathedral.
Beyond the courtyard, there was a small building where the Saintess candidates lived.
I could see some women in robes through the window.
The priest then stopped in front of a room where there was a pot of red wildflowers in front.
“Mother Louise. Do you have a moment?”
Footsteps could be heard on the other side, and then the door opened.
“Yes. What is it?”
A raspy voice. And an old nun with sharp eyes appeared.
She had visited us a few times while we worked at the poorhouse, and I had seen her talking to the priest.
“There is something I wanted to discuss with you.”
And then he explained the matter to her. Mother Louise looked at us carefully.
“Yes, she did work hard. It’s rare to see someone like that.”
She agreed.
“However, it is a dangerous situation now, with people targeting the Saintess. I do not think it wise to make too many changes from within. You should not be rejecting the cardinal’s offer.”
“But…”
Mother Louise shook her head and turned to us.
“I am sorry that I could not help you.”
She said with what sounded like sincerity.
She was facing them as a human, without concern for rank or position.
And so I answered.
“Thank you for even thinking about it. And please don’t apologize. In fact, I had every intention of working in the garden.”
“Do you not know? The work will not be what you are expecting.”
“I have heard. However, it is up to me to decide whether that work is worth doing or not.”
I said, looking straight at her.
“For me, that job has value.”
I was telling one lie.
I didn’t really have much interest in that garden.
It did not actually sound appealing. And it was probably quite bad.
But my purpose was different. There was something I had to do no matter what.
Help Luke and get him out of here.
So with that considered…this was not bad.
◆ ◆ ◆
“So Noelle Springfield’s guild license was suspended.”
“Yes. We have people inside, so it went smoothly.”
In a district of the cathedral that was on no map.
Two men spoke in a room.
They wore black clothes and masks that robbed them of any individuality.
The masks had ancient words and numbers carved into them.
“I doubt there is anything she can do now, but it is the way of the Order to be careful.”
Said the man who had ‘X VII’ carved into his mask.
“She can no longer work at the guild. On top of that, there are four agents keeping an eye on her. She will never be able to reach us.”
“That is fine.”
The man with an ‘IV’ nodded quietly.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Another masked man entered.
He had ‘IX.’
“I have a report.”
“What?”
“The four agents who were tailing Noelle Springfield. They have vanished.”
A heavy silence filled the room.
After a pause, IX continued.
“We are currently searching for them. But the other reports suggest that she might have realized that our base is within the cathedral.”
“How would she…?”
‘X VII’ gasped.
“However, it is no problem. We have the best security within the cathedral. There is no way she can get inside.”
“Additionally, there are reports of her being seen within the cathedral. Apparently, the cardinal dealt with it. But one misstep, and she would have infiltrated the center of the cathedral.”
“…”
“How impressive.”
Said IV.
“However, we stopped her from entering the center. She cannot get close to us from the gardens. We will make sure she cannot move from there.”
X VII nodded to IX.
“Dealing with Noelle Springfield will be our main priority.”
◇ ◇ ◇
I returned to the inn and packed my things.
The man I had tied up was now gone.
They must have realized what had happened and come back for him.
I carefully checked my things to see if they had been tampered with.
There were three transmitters and two eavesdropping devices. And so I decided to leave some of the things at the inn.
And then I paid the inn for an additional week.
This was to make the enemy think that I would return.
Then I bought some necessary things and returned to the cathedral.
That day, I spent the night in the garden storehouse.
It was clearly not a place meant for people to sleep in, and I noticed that there were two people spying on us from a distance while using concealment magic.
“So, what should we do?”
Nina asked while I took out some cushions from my bag.
“First, we have to make this place livable.”
“How?”
“I have some ideas. I’m going to change this place into a wonderful environment.”
We then used various things in the room and did our best to clean things up.
Thankfully, I did not have very high or unrealistic standards.
Magic books and experiment equipment. A bed to lie in and cushions. Also, bread and other snacks. That is all I needed in order to be happy.
“It’s like that secret base we made a long time ago.”
Nina said.
I thought back. It was during that summer when we used to run and play.
“Ah, yes. How nostalgic.”
“Though, I remember that there were a lot of mosquitoes.”
“Yes. And so we had to make a different base, and we scattered some herbs that had a repellent effect.”
“Yes, yes. We brought lots of books and snacks. However, it was all ruined one day by a stray dog.”
“I was so mad. And also sad.”
“Though, it was funny seeing you run after it like that. The old man that you passed was so shocked”
The memories started to come back to me.
“We sometimes visited the neighboring town, even though it took hours.”
“That was quite an adventure. It was evening by the time we returned.”
“Yes, and we were soaking wet.”
“But it was still fun, strangely. Back then, I didn’t mind the rain at all.”
“I’m so happy to be on an Adventure with you again.”
Nina said with a smile.
“Now, tell me your plan, teacher.”
“Plan?”
“Don’t you have one? How to outsmart the people who are watching us.”
Said Nina, and I grinned at her.
“Of course, I do.”
