Chapter 109

Lutia was slightly embarrassed to be greeted with such passionate praise. “If you are in need of assistance, we would be more than happy to assist you, too.” “You would?” Lutia asked. Canaan nodded, full of confidence. “We are but powerless bookworms, but we each have the strength of one hundred in the world of books and academia. By joining the professors’ guild here, we may be able to offer classes and degrees to the poor students.” “………” Lutia must have been ready, to a point, for some sort of surprise. But it seemed Canaan’s proposal far surpassed what she was expecting. “Though I am not entirely clear on the details on how to join the guild, many of us have plenty of academic training and knowledge. And of course, we have no use for expensive tuition fees or gifts in exchange for degree conferment. You need not worry about textbooks for us, either, since we have plenty of idle tomes in our archives. We would be happy to be lodged anywhere—any place is nicer than that dark archive. We may even give out benefices if it turns out our long history of academic studies turns out to be a help to others.” Canaan spoke confidently and quickly, and Lutia stood there, listening, with bated breath. “What do you think?” he asked. “I believe we can help you, Miss Lutia.” He smiled. Not the sort of smile that seemed fake when Col had first met him in the Kingdom of Winfiel, but one that genuinely believed in the future. Col could easily understand why Lutia was perplexed. Col had to admit he also felt a bit overawed. “Lutia.” Lutia’s head whipped around to look at Col as his voice brought back her to reality. “You may think this to be an extravagant suggestion. Even I wasn’t sure if we should solve all your problems with such a feat of strength.” Despite how much they had run about in confusion in search of a way to solve these problems, a solution he had not even considered had arrived at their doorstep in one neat package. He somewhat recalled a fable of a rabbit being thrown to a hungry wolf; Lutia made the same face as the wolf did in that tale, and nodded vaguely once, twice. “Lutia.” He called the bewildered wolf’s name again. “And in the meanwhile, would you mind if you shared with me the names of the pure-minded scholars who sympathize with your cause, the ones you have been in communication with? I would like them to assist us in our fight against the Church, and would welcome the chance to convince them to join our cause.” He was not going to invite them to teach in Aquent, in the slim hopes they were ready for the trouble, but to instead fight alongside them when they faced the Church. “Of course, we will be careful not to cause you any trouble, Miss Lutia.” Lutia was, ostensibly, here to study ecclesiastical law, and she could not join in the fight against the Church. They had to avoid the Green Gourd being seen as a secret base for those fighting against the Church, for the sake of the other students’ futures. “Oh, there is one other thing I’d like to share with you.” Lutia seemed dizzied by the way all the new information came rushing at her, but Canaan added even more to the deluge. “Master Col has seen the immoral conduct by the boys that call themselves the southern eagles. I recommend contacting their parents with regards to their behavior. Since I believe they are the sons of high-ranking clergy and well-known nobility, I believe a letter with the Holy See’s seal would have an immediate effect.” “………” It was like skinning a rabbit with a butcher’s knife. Col almost felt bad when he thought about the parents receiving reprimands for their children’s misconduct coming directly from the center of the world’s faith. “Miss Lutia.” Col called her name for the third time, and she looked to him like a lost girl caught out in a sudden downpour. “I was shocked, too,” he said. Lutia no longer had the strength to even pretend to smile, and she only gave a weak nod.