Child of Destiny

Stay tuned to empire

……

Inside the Head Office of the prison of the Divinity City, an NPC who was wearing a Warden’s uniform was sitting behind a wooden desk while busily looking at the reports piled up in front of him.

He was having trouble dealing with the reports as there were more and more thieves and escaped criminals from the other districts creating trouble for them.

“What are those idiots doing? Our hands are already tied with guarding such a notorious criminal in our dungeon while waiting for the verdict of the council, so we are currently lacking in manpower.”

“Yet they want us to send more support to deal with these criminals that they have failed to contain!?” the warden was cursing while reading the reports and requests pilled on the table.

Bang!

As he was massaging his temples, one of his subordinates suddenly rushed inside the office, forgetting to knock.

“How many times do I have to remind you to knock before entering my room, Hano? Even if you are my nephew, you can’t just use it as an excuse to be disrespectful. What are you going to do if I happen to be hosting an important guest?” scolded the warden while pinching the center of his brows.

“You are right, uncle! We do have some important visitors!” said the soldier who entered the room.

The corner of the warden’s mouth twisted when he heard that before complaining. “Who is it this time? I have already told them our office any lend them any more people as we, ourselves, are also lacking that much manpower due to the high-profile prisoner that we are guarding.”

“But-… uncle-… these visitors are not from the other districts,” said Hano while hesitating.

The warden raised his brows in confusion as he asked. “Then who is it this time?”

Hano was still hesitating whether to continue or not but still did in the end. “They are the rumored Otherworld Individuals that arrived in our city.”

“So, what is the problem?” asked the warden.

“And they are requesting for a visitation of the prisoner that we just have captured,” replied Hano.

“That guy!?” frowned the warden as he also knew that this certain prisoner was also a quite sensitive topic. “Why do they have to visit that person? Is it because it is a fellow Otherworldly Individual? Are they together?”

Reaching this point, the eyes of the warden turned wide as if he ‘realized’ something. “They must be together! Capture them as well! They may be spies sent by the Corrupted Cult and Demonic Churches!”

Hearing those words, Hano suddenly felt troubled as he carefully responded. “I don’t think that it is the chase, uncle.”

The warden frowned deeply as he growled. “Are you questioning my decisions now!? Just do what I ordered you and I will handle the rest!”

“But-… but-… those two Otherworldly Individuals are esteemed guests of our city. Both of them have a very special status,” said Hano stutteringly.

Bang!

The warden could not help but hit the table when he heard this and started scolding his nephew. “What do you mean special statuses!? No matter how important they are, so long as they committed a crime, we are to capture them!”

“That is the duty of the Protectors of the Divine Empire! How many times do I have to repeat it to you to understand!” he said.

Still hesitating, Hano carefully opened his mouth to further explain. “But-… one of them is the Champion of the War God Temple while the other is the Representative of the Dragon Sanctuary-…”

He was still in the middle of finishing his words when his uncle, the warden, suddenly calmed down and slowly sat back down to his seat.

“Eh!? Is that so? Then they can’t be spies. Maybe they are here to interrogate the prisoner-…” the warden started mumbling, seemingly trying to ‘figure out’ the purpose of these ‘esteemed’ guests.

Hano could not help but look at his uncle with a strange expression. The sudden hundred-and-eighty degrees turn took him a little off-guard.

The warden then looked at him and instructed. “Then you can guide them to the cell where that prisoner is being held.”

Hano hesitated once again before adding. “But that is not everything, uncle.”

The warden raised his brows when he heard those words, particularly the solemn tone behind what his nephew had said.

“What is it?” he asked carefully as he could feel that something was not right.

“We-…” Hano was having a hard time talking as he did not know where to start. But he still managed to force the words out of his mouth after an intense internal struggle. “We have also received a letter from the Church of the Sun and Moon and the Secret Divine Army.”

“Huh!?” the warden jumped in fright when heard those words as both factions were among the most influential forces within the Divine Empire. “What-… what did the letters say?”

“The-… the Church of the Sun and Moon claimed that we have captured their envoy and locked him in prison. They are demanding us to release him as soon as possible,” said Hano with trembling hands.

The warden suddenly shivered when he heard those words. “We… we captured their Envoy? Since when we have-…”

He was in the middle of digesting the message within the letter when he suddenly realized something. “Eh!? Could-… could it be that the illegal -…”

His nephew immediately confirmed it for him before he could even complete his words. “That-… that also seemed to be the case since it is what the letter has told us.”

The color on the warden’s face immediately turned white as if blood left his head. “Ah-…!”

“Then-… then what is the Secret Divine Army said in their letter?” asked the warden in great caution, seemingly having an ominous about this one.

Hano gulped hard as he relayed the message from the second letter. “They have told us that we have taken a Lieutenant Colonel from one of their secret units and demanding us to explain what has happened-…”

Hano was still in the middle of relaying the message when his uncle suddenly collapsed on the ground, seemingly having his soul left his body.

“Uncle-…! Don’t die yet, uncle! You must take responsibility for the mess you have created first! I don’t want to die yet as well!”

“The council will come after me instead!”

“Don’t die yet, UNCLE~!!!”

…

A moment later, Shin was released by the soldiers while also removing the strange seal that was cast on his body.

Shin felt a little strange as the hostility that the NPCs originally had against him suddenly disappeared and was swapped with intense hospitability.

The sudden turn confused Shin, making him want to ask what happened.

But as he walked toward the reception room while being led by Hano, Shin was immediately greeted by an odd scene. He saw his pair of brothers comfortably sitting before a luxurious table along with the fancy meal laid on it.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked with a twitching mouth.

“Tsk! Where is the gratitude? If not for us, you would be rotting in that place now,” said Arthur as he grabbed a huge chicken leg in front of him.

Shin knitted as he looked around before voicing out his suspicions. “Are you sure you come here to set me free from the prison and not to have a feast? It sounds the latter to me if you ask.”

Leonard chuckled as he signaled Shin to come and join them. “It is not like that, Shin Bro. These guys just acted like this because they learned our statuses within our respective factions.”

“That may also be the reason why they are acting like that around you,” he pointed at the guards, who were walking on eggshells around them.

“Capturing an Envoy of a church as big as the Church of the Sun and Moon and even mistaking him as some spy from the Evil Factions, I am sure they will do their best to make up for that mistake,” he added as he also joined Arthur to eat.

Even if this was just a game, everything that they ate here felt so real, which was why no one would refuse such a huge and fancy feast.

Moreover, the food laid in front of them was no ordinary food. They were all made by a Master Chef from this continent, so most of them gave different kinds of buffs.

“We are sorry for our behavior, Great Envoy and Sir Lieutenant Colonel! We hope that you forgive us! As a token of apology, we have prepared this feast just for you. The personal chef of the Headquarters even prepared it. We hope that it is to your liking!” As Shin was walking toward the table to join them, Hano suddenly walked up to him and bowed.

He also extended his hands while handling an envelope. “This letter is from the Church of the Sun and Moon. It is mentioned in the other letter that I will hand this to you, Sir Envoy.”

Shin glanced at the envelope and saw the familiar seal unique to the Church of the Sun and Moon. He could also sense that there was a certain seal cast on it, preventing other people from opening it.

“I see,” Shin briefly nodded as he took the envelope before gesturing to Hano that he could leave.

When the three were the only ones left in the room, Shin injected his energy into the envelope, making the seal to be released.

Upon opening it, the expected or unexpected notification rang in his head.

*Ding*

…