[MGM]: 86 - Interlude Jacob

Jacob felt the bumps and dips as the carriage rattled along its journey. The woodland was silent, slumbering like a giant beast made of green. But the journey was nearing its end.

"Are you nervous?" Sir Zeke asked him.

For a quiet moment, Jacob found himself staring at his superior. A man built like a mountain, with arms the girth of tree trunks, a chest broader than a barrel of ale, and a face as if chiseled from rock—Sir Zeke looked more like a work of art than a human being.

Even with the constant jostling of the carriage, the man sat as if impervious to the motion, solid as a rock. Less a human being and more an extension of the earth. Unmoving.

"It's alright if you are," the man added.

Jacob blinked rapidly and answered, stammering, "T—that's not the case, m—my lord."

Sir Zeke knitted his brows together, eliciting a pang of nervousness from Jacob, then sighed. "You must be surprised, indeed," he said, "that they called for you specifically."

Jacob nodded stiffly.

Indeed, he was more shocked than surprised to receive a direct royal summons. He could, to a certain extent, understand if Sir Zeke had been summoned. He was a prestigious A-Rank hunter, after all. But in comparison, Jacob was just a lowly knight—barely worth mentioning at all. He couldn't, for the life of him, understand why he had been included in that summons.

For three days and three nights, they had traversed harsh roads with barely a wink of sleep. To ensure their swift arrival, they had taken the shortcut. It saved time, but the journey had been perilous and rocky—literally.

Fortunately, it was about to end. That brought Jacob both relief and anxiety. On one hand, he could relax in the carriage, but that also meant their arrival was drawing near—the decisive moment where his fate remained unknown.

"The world is moving too fast these days. Sometimes, I find it hard to catch up," said Sir Zeke all of a sudden. "Perhaps I've started to grow old."

Me too, my lord, me too, echoed Jacob in his head. The past couple of weeks had passed in a blur, but the impact of those days had far-reaching consequences. Not just for the Tower of Spirituality, but for the entire Kingdom, which was still feeling the effects.

Sometime along the journey, the ride grew smoother. They traveled for another couple of hours before the carriage began to slow. Jacob wondered whether they had arrived at the Capital City, but he dared not look outside—too nervous about Sir Zeke's mood swings.

At last, the carriage finally came to a halt and the door swung open.

They had arrived.

It came as a surprise to learn that it wasn't the Royal Palace they had arrived at, but rather a mansion hosting some important guests from the Church of Ilios. After some hasty inquiries by Sir Zeke, he learned that the guests were actually inquisitors.

The impact of that information drew a nervous tension from the duo. Inquisitors were special existences within the Church, and their methods were known across the world. It was said they carried the will of the Goddess in punishing the unfaithful and evildoers—a label strictly reserved for the Cult of Acheron. Given the latter's infamy, most forces were happy to lend their support.

Normally, the situation wouldn't have made the duo so anxious, but the events of the past month had been anything but normal.

Adrian Ravencroft had died.

His death wasn’t just a blow to the Tower’s income, but also to the integrity of the Kingdom. Having one of its top researchers assassinated in his own home spoke volumes about how the Royal Family treated its benefactors. The fact that they had appointed an A-Rank Knight as one of the security heads only highlighted the glaring incompetence and irreverent attitude of the functionaries.

Yet, it shouldn’t even remotely have involved the Church of Ilios—much less warranted them sending inquisitors to investigate. Unless... the rumors were true?

Minutes passed. Then an hour. Jacob and Sir Zeke were told to wait in the lobby until they were called. Eventually, a man came inquiring about Sir Zeke and took him away. He told Jacob to wait further—his turn would come soon.

That didn’t sound ominous at all... Jacob thought, as he remained in the lobby.

Another hour passed. Sir Zeke hadn’t returned in that time. Then Jacob was called. Instead of sending someone to escort him, a holler came from within, and he was quick to follow.

The room—like everything else—was opulent, with white-painted furniture and a decorative glass desk. The rugs appeared expensive, with bright hues that emphasized the prominent fiber knots and intricate weaves. A brightly lit window offered a direct view of a beautifully landscaped garden and a clear water pond.

Three men sat behind the desk, faces rigid as stone, wearing gray robes. One chair sat opposite them—empty.

One of the men pointed toward the chair, and Jacob, taking the cue, settled into it. The chair was small, not at all comfortable. Not only was sitting a challenge, but he couldn’t even maintain a level stare with his hosts. Perhaps that was the point.

"Jacob, was it?" one of them finally asked, to which he offered a hesitant nod.

"We have been led to believe that you were one of the few to lead your squads beyond the walls to ambush the monsters. Is that correct?"

"Y—yes," Jacob said.

"Then you wouldn't mind recounting the story in detail, would you?"

Jacob gulped, wet his dry lips, and opened his mouth. For the next ten minutes, he explained in great detail the journey he and his squad had taken.

It was a surreal experience—recalling the memories of that day. The emotions he had felt, and the crazy set of events that followed. Even now, he couldn’t believe they had survived and made it back alive—unlike many others, who had forever stayed behind.

Throughout the entire duration of the story, none of the men made even the slightest noise. Somehow, that unnerved Jacob more than if they had interrupted with questions. At last, he finished and fell back into silence.

"You mentioned that two people joined your squad and worked with you until the moment you arrived at the city."

"That's right," Jacob replied. "They saved us from the monsters and then helped us with our task. Without them, we wouldn't have made it out alive."

"And you claim that they came from the Hunters Guild?"

"They did indeed assert that they were hunters belonging to the Guild."

"Right," the inquisitor on the left nodded. "And just to be clear, you mentioned one of them was a Vampire. Had you perhaps been mistaken?"

"No," Jacob said, shaking his head. "Unless they purposefully deceived me—but given their strength, I doubt they would’ve needed to."

Jacob did indeed remember Markus and Amara with great clarity. They were practically his saviors, and without them, he would probably be reduced to some rotting corpse by now. That said, he couldn't quite grasp the inquisitors’ line of questioning.

From their behavior, it appeared they were more interested in the events at Erdwatch than in Sir Adrian's death. But if that were the case, why interrogate him, when they could have chosen any of the many participants? He hadn’t even stayed long after they were hastily recalled back to their territory.

Was this truly a coincidence? Jacob wondered.

"What was your impression of this Vampire?" the man in the middle asked.

"She was strong, for one," Jacob replied. "I mean, I've seen plenty of strong people, but there was something different about her. Like there was nothing she couldn't accomplish—treating almost everything with a kind of casual irreverence."

"Is that how you would describe her?"

"At least that's my impression of her. Maybe my acolytes think differently."

Jacob distinctly recalled those red eyes, and the chaos brimming behind them. There was something about her that he still couldn’t quite put his finger on, even after all this time.

"And the man—what about him?" the same inquisitor asked.

"More of a boy, really, than a man. He seemed normal by comparison, though they had a great relationship between them. I was a bit surprised, to be honest, seeing a human and a vampire get along so well."

The inquisitor nodded. "You also mentioned," he said, "that you helped them cross the city wall. Is that right?"

"That's right." Jacob nodded. He then began to offer a brief account of the scene wherein the duo jumped off the high wall and somehow managed to survive. It was by far the most memorable part of that encounter, because...

"Because they kissed?" the inquisitor interjected, frowning.

"Yes," Jacob said.

Sighing, the rightmost inquisitor shook his head. "One last question: What did you say the name of the man was?"

Jacob replied, "His name was Markus..."