"Do not mind this fool, I was merely laughing because this is the first time I heard someone say they will return my favor. As for you, do not speak unless you have permission, understand?" Augustus said. Maria, on the other hand, was also glaring daggers at the baron; however, seeing him suffer made her quite satisfied.
"Alright, there are some things we need to discuss in private. You should go and bid farewell to everyone. We will be leaving this afternoon. Be sure to pack all of your belongings by then. You might not be able to return here once you join the academy for quite a while. So, make sure you pack everything you need." Maria said. Rudra seemed shocked after hearing Maria.
"This afternoon?" Rudra inquired in puzzlement. To which Maria replied. "Yes, we have a critical task we must complete in the capital. So, we will be leaving soon; we can't delay our departure.'
"If you have some business still left here, you can stay. The Academy won't be starting for a few days, so you don't have to worry too much." Maria said, seeing Rudra's hesitation.
"No, it's fine. I will be ready by the afternoon." Rudra said after a bit of contemplation. He didn't really worry about leaving so soon; he was just thinking about the people who had to meet before leaving.
"I shall take my leave now, thank you," Rudra said as he bowed towards everyone as he exited the room. As Rudra closed the door after exiting, Maria, for some reason, breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, is it really true that Saint Dolores appeared?" Augustus asked as his poker face suddenly turned serious.
"Yes, that is correct. It is because of her that we are still, or else you would have arrived here to find our remains. Just thinking about that makes me shiver." Maria said, holding both her arms, as if she were scared of something.
"How? She has been dead for a millennium, do you have any clue how she could be alive until now?" asked the baron in a bewildered voice.
"She wasn't alive, rather only her soul appeared. She didn't have a body. I am guessing, her soul was inside the 'Tear of Lumina' artifact. When the artifact was destroyed, she appeared suddenly and saved everyone in the town." Maria said while leaving out some of the crucial details.
"Who destroyed the artifact? Do you know who could have done this? Was it the man with the mask?" Asked Augustus.
"I do not know how the artifact got destroyed, also I don't think that the masked man had anything to do with that. He really wanted the artifact; I don't think he wanted the artifact destroyed. On top of everything, when the artifact got destroyed, we were still fighting, and that man was nowhere near the artifact." Maria said confidently without a hint of hesitation. Obviously, she left out very key details.
She was just following what Dolores herself had said before disappearing. 'I will have to discuss this matter with the pope first; only after talking with her will I take any more steps. Until then, I will have to be careful with what I say.' Maria thought as she didn't want any slip of tongue to happen from her side.
"Did you talk to her? Did she say anything important?" Augustus asked.
"Yes, she commanded me to transfer the prisoner to the church as soon as possible. She wanted me to deliver the prisoner directly to Pope Raphina, without any delay. She told me we should only give this man to the pope and no one else." Maria explained.
'Many people saw me and saint talk, I shouldn't lie about this part. The rumor will spread eventually; I can only make the other sisters stay quiet. People, however, are sure to talk about that night. It's not all bad thing though, providing him with this information will make the journey easier for me. No one in this Empire will disobey the words of a saint.' Maria thought as she lied through her teeth. She knew that her control over the information from that night was minimal, which is why she decided to use it, rather than wasting the opportunity.
"Hummmm, if that is what the Saint wished for, I will see to it that the task is completed. I will accompany you to the capital, with me around, I am sure there will be no problem in transporting the prisoner." Augustus said while nodding his head, it seemed like he fell into deep thoughts after hearing what Maria had to say.
'Yes!' Maria rejoiced; however, she didn't let her emotion show on her face. She didn't want to bring on the wrath of one of the strongest people in the Empire unto herself. 'I am sorry, I have kept much information to myself. But, after I discuss this matter with the pope, I will tell you everything. If I get her permission, that is.' Maria thought as she felt a little bad for lying to Augustus.
"With you there, I am sure no one would dare to attack our convoy. I will have to inform everyone I selected for the trip that they will no longer be needed. With you there, we will need no one else. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. May the Goddess always watch over you." Maria said as she bowed. Before this, she had already selected a few nuns for the orphanage to accompany her. She was thinking this would be a very dangerous trip; however, with Augustus, she put her worries to rest.
"We have one more thing to worry about, though, the masked man was able to control monsters. The monsters attacked the town under his command. There were a lot of very high-level monsters that shouldn't exist around this part of the Empire. I fought him; that is why I know he is not a summoner. He was a martial artist." Maria said, her facial expression showed how serious the matter was. Not only her even Augustus's face seemed grim as the topic came up.
"DO you know how he controlled them? How is this even possible that a single man can control that many monsters at once? I am sure that they planned to bury this town under the rubble using the monsters and get away with the artifact. I am a hundred percent sure no one would have suspected anything other than a monster attack if their plan had been successful. Thank the heavens that Sister Maria was here." Baron said as shivers ran down his back while thinking about the events of last night.
"I have no idea how he did that. The only way for us to find out is if we are able to get him to talk. I tried talking to him once today, he didn't even budge once, it feels like I am talking to a brick wall." Maria said she seemed frustrated as she wasn't able to get any information out of the man.
"Yes, He didn't even budge once when I tortured him. I think we will get nowhere, even if we tortured him for 100 years. I think that is why Saint instructed you to take him to the pope." Augustus said in a very serious tone. However, when he mentioned torture, Baron's feet went numb.