Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Church of Meneos 

The southern region of the western continent was dotted with several small kingdoms that were in a constant state of warfare. It was the most closely contested region of the continent, and there was always fighting taking place at one point or another. 

At the western tip of that region, bordering one of the greatest nations of the continent, the Holy Empire of Qwiltantia, was a city. Its name was the Holy Capital, Menestia. A city of stonework that stood at the center of vast plains. 

It was said that Menestia was built in ancient times by the holy men instructed by the gods, and their many followers. This great city was the largest base of operations for the Church of Meneos. 

At the heart of this great city was a massive temple. But in truth, it was not so much a temple as it was a castle. One wouldn’t expect to find clergymen working in the service of God living in such a lofty structure. 

Of course, one who made such a statement would bring upon themselves the ire of the Church of Meneos’s zealous believers, who would brand it as an insult to the faith. But the city was covered by three layers of walls and a moat that drew on a branch of the nearby Uranoa River to stave off invaders. 

The temple at Menestia’s center looked like a place of worship in appearance, but it was also protected by its own moat and the road leading up to it was closely guarded by fully-armed, elite soldiers. So despite appearances, one would be hard-pressed to call this a mere place of worship. 

Sitting in his room in the temple was one Rodney Mackenna, slumped over with his cheek against the desk as he looked at the clouds through the open window. The gentle sunlight enveloped his body, inducing a tempting sleepiness in his mind. 

I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep lately, have I...? 

With that thought in mind, Rodney suppressed a yawn. Ever since they’d returned from their garrison in Beldzevia a few days ago, things had been so anxious he hadn’t been able to sleep well... Though, while he called it a few days ago, it had in fact been several months since they’d returned. By now, he’d have long finished his reports and gotten used to his life in the capital again. 

But the question of how to handle the burden he’d picked up on his way back to the capital was the source of his anxieties. His work had piled up, and he couldn’t afford to slack off. But his eyelids grew heavier by the second, and before long, Rodney’s consciousness sank into the dark quagmire of slumber. 

“I see you live in quite comfortable conditions. You push all your paperwork onto your poor lieutenant and snore the afternoon away, Captain... No wonder Cardinal Barugath has his eye on you.” 

A sharp, cold glare yanked Rodney’s consciousness awake like a splash of icy water. His lieutenant and fraternal half-sister, Menea Norberg, regarded him with a gaze as sharp as a pair of daggers, to which Rodney shrugged despite himself. Menea typically simply referred to him as ‘Captain.’ Her demeanor was no different from their mission a few days ago, when they led their unit on punitive duty. 

The other members called him leader, while Menea called him Captain. But that was only when other people were around. When they were by themselves, they typically called each other by their first names. Assuming, of course...that Menea wasn’t in a foul mood. 

Menea had known Rodney for a long time. When their father passed away suddenly, Rodney was 12 years of age and a prestigious noble of the Kingdom of Tarja. When he inherited the headship and the count title of House Mackenna, Menea was introduced to him as his half-sister from another mother. 

They’d been working together for some ten-odd years since, and having spent so long together, they could recognize each other’s state of mind just by their tone of voice. And right now, Rodney could tell Menea’s heart was seething with anger. The veritable mountain of paperwork he’d entrusted her with seemed to have left her in quite the bad mood. Or maybe she was just annoyed at him dozing off. 

Whichever it was, Rodney knew to keep his head down and keep quiet as he waited for the storm to pass him by. 

“Wipe yourself off with this. You’re drooling.” With resentful eyes, Menea took a silk handkerchief out of her pocket and reached it out to him. 

Apparently, the sunlight was so pleasant Rodney fell asleep in mid-yawn, and his mouth was left hanging open. 

“Ooh. Sorry, thanks...” Rodney said as he hurriedly wiped off his mouth and chin. 

Menea was two years younger than Rodney, but anyone looking at them now would assume she was the older sibling. 

“I swear, Captain, you’re a grown man, not a child... And I’m certainly not your mother.” Nemea grumbled and heaved a large sigh. 

Rodney was admittedly a spoiled noble child, and even upon reaching adulthood his ability to live independently was essentially non-existent. When he lived in Tarja, he’d never needed to go out to buy his own things, nor did he even recall how much money he had in his wallet. He was so detached from the common life that he’d once handed his wallet to a beggar, who was soon after promptly arrested by the guards for presumed theft. 

Incidentally, it was only because Nemea asked Rodney where his wallet was that the beggar was spared from incarceration. She hurriedly looked around for him and somehow managed to explain things away. At worst, the poor beggar could have been executed for grand larceny. Nemea was relieved to have prevented that bit of needless bloodshed, to say the least. 

Rodney acted out of the kindness of his heart, that much was for certain, but the sum he’d handed the beggar was much too large. To a stupendous extent. The beggar was likely shocked when he opened the wallet and found several dozen gold coins — when a single gold was enough for a commoner to live comfortably on for an entire year. 

The sum in his hands was enough to live on for a good 20 years. If he went to one of the frontier regions, he could easily buy a house and a farm with this money. Running into such money was a turning point that could redeem his entire life. 

Of course, the beggar had rejoiced so much from the discovery that his behavior had struck everyone around as suspicious. And it wasn’t long before the guards came to question him. Had it only been a few silvers perhaps his story would have seemed more credible, but he had a wallet full of golds. They didn’t believe his story about how a noble had handed him the wallet. 

No noble — no matter how generous — would have any reason to grant this much money to a random beggar. It was like handing over a suitcase filled with dollar bills to a random stranger on the street. 

This all went to show how detached Rodney’s upbringing had been. And indeed, if Menea wasn’t there to look out for him, it was doubtful he’d have reached the rank of knight captain, or even made it to Menestia alive after fleeing Tarja’s capital. 

Then again, if he wasn’t so naively kind, he wouldn’t do anything as whimsical and strange as saving an otherworlder he happened to run into in the woods. 

“You must really be tired. Does that girl really bother you that much?” Menea asked. 

There could be no other reason Rodney would be this tired right now. As she watched Rodney rub his eyes tiredly, Menea let out a deep, exasperated sigh. Of course, it wasn’t that Menea disliked Asuka Kiryuu. After all, Menea’s own mother was an otherworlder from America, plus she always found Asuka’s tales of the Land of the Rising Sun fascinating. And the more she got to know this girl, the more Menea came to realize Asuka wasn’t suited for this world. 

Had Rodney not found her in the forest when he did, she’d likely have been picked up by some slave merchant and sold off by now. And once she’d become a slave, there’d be no more salvation available to her. She’d be someone else’s plaything until the day she died, or until she drew the curtain on her life of her own accord. 

Menea had seen people who had stumbled into this world from Rearth meet such fates more than once. That was why Menea never blamed or judged Rodney for saving Asuka’s life. If anything, she took pride in her paternal half-brother’s kindness. But she couldn’t help but ask herself why he had to be so preoccupied with her. 

I don’t want to consider it, but... 

The most likely possibility was that Rodney had become smitten with Asuka. Menea admitted that Asuka was an attractive young woman, and Rodney was a 26 year old man. Asuka was apparently going to turn either 17 or 18 this year, so the difference in their ages wasn’t inappropriately vast. 

Of course, had they been in Japan, the Juvenile Protection Ordinance might have frowned upon such a couple, but those were Rearth’s standards. In this world, a couple with that kind of age difference was seen as perfectly valid. Not just nobles, but even commoners would marry at those ages. 

And knowing Rodney as well as she did, Nemea knew Asuka’s appearance was to his liking. 

But... Does that really make sense? 

Rodney Mackenna was quite the late-bloomer when it came to matters of romance. Or perhaps calling him a romantic dreamer would be more apt. But even so, since Rodney was heir to a count’s house, his relatives had brought in many arranged marriage proposals for him to consider. All of which he’d refused... Which was exceedingly unusual in aristocratic society. 

For the nobility, marriage was a means of holding onto one’s house and title. And it was a means of tightening the bonds between different noble families. Romantic affection had little sway in the matter. 

Of course, it was perfectly probable and even advisable for a married couple to learn to love and cherish one another. But the unfortunate fact of the matter was that nobles lacked the privilege to freely marry whomever they love. And so, a noble in love faced the choice of either forcing their will and discarding their house and title, or simply believing in their heart that they would be reunited with their beloved in the next life. 

Menea’s suspicions, however, proved false. 

“Yeah, I just can’t help but think about it...” Rodney muttered evasively. 

This made Menea’s expression change. She couldn’t serve as his personal aide if she was too blunt, or couldn’t sense the severity behind his words. 

“You mean... That katana?” Menea asked. 

“Yeah,” Rodney nodded deeply. “There’s no mistaking this, it’s a thaumaturgy sword... Unfortunately.” 

Nemea couldn’t help but swallow nervously at his words. She had a sneaking suspicion this could be the case, and apparently her intuition didn’t fail her. But Menea had to ask Rodney a second time. 

After all, it simply couldn’t be true. 

“You’re sure of it?” 

“Yeah, positive. One of my off-duty evenings, I had Asuka lend it to me for the night... and ended up staying up until morning, looking into it.” 

Upon hearing his explanation, Menea got the sinking feeling that they’d become involved in something that was much bigger than they first assumed. 

Asuka’s katana is a thaumaturgy sword... I can’t believe it... 

The existence of a thaumaturgy sword wasn’t all that unusual in and of itself. True, the sword was a fearsome weapon. It had slashed through a three-eyed tiger — with a massive body weighing 500 kilograms and a face that was as hard as iron — with a single slash and without suffering so much as a dent. 

It was clear that the sword had a seal of preservation carved into it, as thaumaturgic weapons commonly did. On top of that, the change that had overcome Asuka upon wielding it was stark evidence. 

In that case, reaching the conclusion that said katana — Ouka — was a thaumaturgy sword wasn’t difficult. But the fact that this dangerous weapon was in the hands of a girl who had just been summoned from Rearth changed everything. How could Asuka, who had been summoned from a world without any thaumaturgy, have gotten her hands on such a weapon? Especially given the caliber of its power, which put it on par with the most prized and rare weapons of this world — a demon sword... 

“But if that’s the case...” 

“Yeah, you’re probably on the right track there, Nemea...” 

Asuka already told them of what had happened when she came to this world. She was called to this world with two other men — Tachibana and Kusuda. Moments before the seal of enslavement could be applied to her, her grandfather Kouichirou Mikoshiba burst into the scene and saved her. With that story in mind, there was only one plausible conclusion. 

“So it really is true...” 

“Yes, if what Asuka told us is true, this Kouichirou Mikoshiba person had already been to this world once before and somehow used thaumaturgy to return to Rearth. And when Asuka was summoned, he came back here... It’s honestly hard to believe...” 

This story was impossible given the logic of this world. In this world’s thousands of years of recorded history, there wasn’t a single example of someone successfully returning to Rearth after coming to this world. 

“Did you tell Asuka?” 

“No... I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I don’t need to explain why, right?” Rodney said bitterly and sighed. 

Menea realized why he wasn’t getting any sleep. 

So that’s what happened... He can’t tell anyone else about this... However unwillingly, Rodney’s ended up carrying an absurd burden on his back... 

Something that couldn’t possibly be real had happened. If Ouka truly was a thaumaturgy sword, Kouichirou Mikoshiba must have visited this world before. But if there was a chance that had happened, it could only be traced back to one thing. 

“The organization...?” Menea asked. 

Rodney nodded wordlessly. Countless countries vied for dominion over the western continent. But only a precious few people knew that unlike those countries, who had fought openly, two groups fought for control of the continent from behind the scenes. 

One of them was the group Rodney was associated with — the Church of Meneos. This religious institution was involved with countless activities among the many churches that dotted the continent. Its power and influence extended beyond the scope of any single country, and some of its actions did make it seem like the de-facto ruler of the continent. 

Their objective was to curb the escalating hostility between the different countries and maintain order. Or, at least, such was their professed goal. The truth of the matter was very different. Summoning people from Rearth and enslaving them was but the most basic of their methods. Abduction, assassination, and subversive activities were typical parts of their modus operandi. 

The sad truth of the matter was that even if they were intent on keeping the peace, platitudes and good will would get them nowhere. But even so, once one’s methods go too far, their actions become crimes. And in that regard, they weren’t a religious organization so much as a secret society. 

But even the Church of Meneos had a rival to contend against. Or rather, rumor had it that such a rival existed. That group was merely called ‘the organization.’ The Church of Meneos had heard of its existence several decades ago, and ever since, they’d devoted much of their abundant manpower and funds toward looking into it. 

Still, no matter how much they investigated this mysterious group, they found nothing about the identity of its operatives, to say nothing of its leader. They had no idea where its base might have even been. Some of the church’s leaders doubted its existence altogether. 

We might be terrified of an illusion... 

But Rodney and Menea knew it existed, and knew just how vast its power and influence was... Because it was that organization that drove Rodney and Menea to cast aside their country. 

The organization fundamentally acted behind the scenes, cloaking its existence from sight. They hardly ever acted out in the open. But their strength was so vast that a single country’s knight orders were no match for them. 

Rodney knew this because they had shown themselves to be able to fight equally against the Temple Knights, the greatest military force the Church of Meneos possesses. 

It happened 10 years ago. With their invasion halted by an alliance formed between Helena Steiner and Arios Belares, the Empire of O’ltormea’s burning expansionism remained unsated, and they turned their spears on the southern kingdoms. 

Sensing their movements were a potential threat, the Church of Meneos cooperated with the Holy Empire of Qwiltantia and sent an expedition to assist the southern kingdoms in forming a front against O’ltormea. 

That would go on to be called the Battle of Indigoa — a skirmish that rivaled the first battle of Notis in its ferocity. It was there that the Church of Meneos encountered a certain unit at whose hands they suffered a bitter defeat — an encounter that made them acknowledge, without a doubt, that the organization existed. 

Five thousand regular knights were deployed for that expedition, along with another 5000 Temple Knights. That made up a fifth of the total forces the Church of Meneos possessed. On face value, the sheer numbers of this army meant it was a force to be reckoned with. 

After all, the Temple Knights were much more skilled and proficient than the small countries’ knights. By the guild’s standards, the strength of their average knights was at about four, and the knights forming the core of the knight orders were level five and above. 

When translated to the standards of a knight order, that meant their ranking was extremely high. Meanwhile, a regular O’ltormean imperial guard knight was a mere level three. This alone said all there was to say about how much stronger the Temple Knights typically were. 

But even this order of elites was utterly decimated. 

Worse yet, the captain of the Temple Knights was killed by the enemy. That captain’s level was level six — a level achievable only by those capable of activating the sixth chakra located between one’s brows — the Ajna chakra. Very few people can achieve this feat, and that captain’s strength was a match for a thousand. 

As such, the news of such a transcendent warrior falling in battle all too easily was a great shock for the leaders of the Church of Meneos. Mainly because they knew nothing about the enemy unit’s official affiliation, to say nothing of the identity of the man who slew the captain. 

The official records said they were a mixed unit gathered together by the guild, but the Church of Meneos knew better than to swallow that story. If that were true, it meant that a person who was essentially one of the strongest people alive was walking among the adventurers and mercenaries of the guild. And that, in and of itself, wasn’t information the Church of Meneos could tolerate as they sought the stability of the content. 

It was then that the church admitted the existence of the organization that was, until then, merely a rumor. And ever since, they’d employed all the power they had throughout the continent to gather information on them. But even so, the organization still remained as shadowy and unknown as ever. Where were they situated, the size of their group, what were their objectives... it was all enveloped in darkness. 

It was clear that this organization possessed vast influence. 

I don’t know if this Kouichirou Mikoshiba is a member of the organization or somehow related to them, but... If he is, it’s the worst possible thing that could happen. 

After all, as far as Menea knew, the Church of Meneos had never put any effort into developing a technique to return otherworlders to Rearth. Even a single summon cost a small fortune in terms of the catalysts needed to facilitate the ritual. If anyone were keen on returning an otherworlder home, it would cost at least the same sum in expenses. 

Furthermore, Rearth God’s name wasn’t known in this world, so any attempt to return an otherworlder home would be pointless unless one discovered that god’s name. That in and of itself would be a project on a national scale, requiring a great deal of materials and manpower. The endeavor would require funding rivaling that of a country’s military budget. 

But if anyone was gracious enough to want to return an otherworlder home, they wouldn’t be summoning them to begin with. That was true for any nation in this world, not just on the western continent. 

In which case, there were two possibilities to explain Kouichirou Mikoshiba’s mystery. The first was that he somehow stumbled onto an interstice between worlds, and by a stroke of unrivaled luck returned to Rearth with two thaumaturgy swords in hand. The other was that this organization had somehow developed a method of returning otherworlders to Rearth. 

Both options were absurd, but the latter felt much more realistic than him being lucky enough to achieve the impossible. And the most problematic part was that if the Church of Meneos’s people were to learn of it, they would come to the same conclusion. 

No matter what, we can’t let this matter leak out... 

The church treated the matter of the organization with extreme caution. If it was discovered that Asuka might hold any kind of information regarding the organization, they would care little for her wellbeing or survival. She’d be subjected to relentless, merciless questioning. And at the end of that, she would likely die from the torture. 

No... Given her fair appearance and status as an otherworlder, the members of the church might even make her their plaything. It was said that children born to otherworlders tended to inherit their parents’ traits easily. Indeed, many of the Temple Knights had otherworlder blood running through their veins, lending credence to that theory. 

Death by torture or being someone’s plaything. Neither of those were options that Menea — who saw herself as something of a sister to Asuka — wanted to see in that girl’s future. 

“So... What do you intend to do?” she asked. 

Rodney shrugged. 

“That’s the problem right there... Nothing comes to mind. Do you have any ideas?” 

Menea shook her head. She couldn’t come up with any ideas either. Even without the matter of the organization, leaving Asuka here in the holy capital was still too dangerous. Her appearance alone drew unneeded attention to her, and even without that, defending her from the animals prowling all around them was the most Menea could manage. 

Recently, even leading captains in the Temple Knights had been making passes at her. Thankfully, Rodney had his position as a leader of ten of the Church of Meneos’s ordinary knights orders, as well as his connections from Tarja. He was also acquainted with several cardinals and even the archbishop. Said knights couldn’t do anything too forceful. 

Even so, Rodney’s adherence to the doctrine and life of honorable poverty meant many people saw him as a nuisance, and at worst, he himself could be hurt from any disputes that break out. The memory of how Rodney was dispatched on a long-term mission with a small force of soldiers as punishment for punching an obnoxious cardinal was still fresh in Menea’s memory. Had those close to him not pulled some strings, Rodney would have squandered away the rest of his life in the backwater lands of Beldzevia. 

But even so, doing what they’d originally planned and sending Asuka out into the world with a bit of money was a dubious choice to make. There wasn’t much of a problem in terms of her abilities, even though she was barely keeping up with the Temple Knights’ training. She likely had some latent potential, and given a few more months she could grow skilled enough to serve as a soldier. 

That was all she had, though. She might have had the power, but she lacked the heart to use it, and that changed everything. The capacity to kill another without regard for appearances. Or perhaps one could simply call it resolve. Whatever one might call it, she lacked that kind of strength. No matter how refined one’s technique might be or how sharp a weapon one might possess, they were useless if they weren’t put into use. 

I’ve heard Japan is a peaceful country, but... 

Her mother told her of that country when she was a child, and at the time, she thought such a dreamland couldn’t truly exist. But from what she’d seen and heard from Asuka, her mother’s descriptions were apparently close to the truth. 

She recalled Asuka’s aghast reaction at the prospect of having to strangle a rooster dead. Such a girl had no place on a battlefield where she would need to fight other people. It had little to do with how strong or weak she was — Asuka would never even enter that arena to begin with. 

But this wasn’t an issue one could solve by simply speaking to her. It boiled down to her way of life — to her core beliefs. After Menea showed her the dark side of this holy capital — as a way of teaching her the realities of this world — Asuka seemed to have understood things somewhat. But honestly speaking, she didn’t have nearly enough resolve to stand on her own in this world even after that. 

“By the way, what about Tachibana? I’ve heard you went drinking with him.” Menea mentioned the otherworlder they took under their protection alongside Asuka. 

As heartless as it might have seemed, Tachibana was a middle-aged man. Menea was too occupied with looking after Asuka — a woman, like her — to care much for him. Of course, she knew that ever since the injury to his head recovered, Tachibana had worked as Rodney’s attendant. 

Menea was Rodney’s lieutenant, so she spoke to Tachibana fairly often. But that was purely on the basis of their duties — they weren’t close enough for her to know how that man felt. 

“Tachibana... is fine, I believe. I’m sure he has a lot on his mind, but apparently he’s made his peace with the fact he’s going to have to live on in this world. He does his job well enough, too. So well, actually, that I wouldn’t mind taking him up as my official attendant. Assuming he’s not opposed to it.” 

Menea couldn’t help but look at Rodney with round eyes at this appraisal. True, the man handled paperwork quickly, but she didn’t think Rodney would approve of him this much. But upon second thought, she couldn’t find any faults with Tachibana’s work. She herself felt that the strain of work on her had been reduced somewhat. 

“And if he is to be your official attendant, he could eventually take up a posting as a knight... I see... Well, apparently he’s been accustomed to rough work even before coming here...” 

The other day, the knights held drills for practicing unarmed combat. Thinking back to one of the matches there, Menea nodded slowly. At first he was a bit awkward, but by the end of the match, Tachibana showed great skill in arm locks that used the principle of leverage, effortlessly disarming a knight twice his size. The other knights seem to have acknowledged his skills since. 

On top of that, he’d served as a police officer for years, so despite appearances he was quite adept at handling paperwork, too. In that regard, he was quite the good catch for Rodney. Being the leader of knight orders meant he could designate one of the knights as his personal attendant without much trouble. 

Of course, Rodney wasn’t going to order Tachibana to work under him to pay off his debt of gratitude. But he couldn’t deny feeling that letting all that talent go to waste would be tragic. 

That might be for the best, given what’s to come... 

Menea didn’t have any objections in particular to Tachibana being made an official attendant of Rodney’s. If nothing else, she knew he would need reliable subordinates if he was to achieve his objective of reforming the Church of Meneos in accord with its original creeds as a religious group. But she couldn’t help but doubt if becoming involved in this affair would do Tachibana any good. 

After all, their initial intent was to give him some money and send him away from Menestia together with Asuka. So would involving him in their problems just because he turned out to be surprisingly capable be the right thing to do...? 

However, Rodney and Menea’s exchange was drawn to a sudden stop there. 

“Excuse me!” a voice called out, followed by a vigorous knocking on the door. 

Without waiting for Rodney’s reply, the very same person they were discussing — Tachibana — walked into the room. Menea cocked an eyebrow at Tachibana’s rude entrance, but she knew better than to point that out now. 

“What’s wrong, Tachibana? Your face is all red,” Rodney said. 

He’d probably run over in a hurry, because his face was flushed red and he was clearly out of breath. 

“Well, I don’t know what happened, but drink this.” Rodney said, pouring some water into a cup from a pitcher resting on his table, and then handed it over to Tachibana. 

“Aah, thank you, sir...” Tachibana said and gulped down the water. 

“So what happened?” Menea asked, tilting her head questioningly. 

She couldn’t say she knew him for that long, but even still, it was the first time she saw Tachibana so flustered. 

“Look at this!” Tachibana said, presenting a few documents to Rodney. 

“Mm, what is this?” Rodney asked, peering into the document. 

It was a report brought in from the information network the Church of Meneos had spread out across the continent. Someone from the intelligence bureau likely had it delivered to him, unsealed and all. Calling it a failure in information security would be an understatement, but clerks had a way of being extremely careless when it came to shifting information within the group. 

“Mm... What about it, Tachibana?” Rodney asked with a hint of apprehension. 

He’d skimmed through it, but the information looked standard enough. The southern kingdoms were, as always, involved in some border dispute or another. The Empire of O’ltormea was invading its neighboring countries, but this wasn’t news. 

The only part that seemed mildly interesting was the situation report regarding the O’ltormea-Xarooda front, which had been in a state of deadlock for a year now. But that battlefield was on the other side of the continent. Rodney didn’t understand what made Tachibana panic so much. 

“Not that, read this part here!” Tachibana snatched the document out of Tachibana’s hands and pointed at a particular line. 

“What are you...” Rodney muttered, but upon reading the line Tachibana specified, he felt a jolt run down his spine. 

The name of the man written there nearly made Rodney fall out of his seat. 

“It can’t... How is this possible...?” he murmured in surprise. 

Seeing his surprise, Menea read the section Tachibana pointed out. 

A decisive battle in the O’ltormea-Xarooda war... Wait, no, that’s not the right part... Reinforcements from Rhoadseria include General Helena Steiner and a mysterious man, Ryoma Mikoshiba... Myest’s reinforcements led by Ecclesia Marinelle... 

The information felt meaningless. While they might have been on the same continent, the details of that war felt like events taking place in another world altogether. But after reading it one more time, one of the names felt off. 

Wait, Ryoma Mikoshiba? Mikoshiba... Mikoshiba! 

That was a name that should not have been on this document. But the Church of Meneos’s intelligence network was unrivaled in its field and far stronger than any individual country’s, so the probability of them making a mistaken report was highly unlikely. 

Can this kind of coincidence really be possible...? 

At that moment, Menea felt some kind of great will writhing in the darkness.