“I don’t exactly have a bunch of happy memories of living in the backstreets...but I will kind of miss it here,” Ralph said. “This hotel, especially. It’s had a really, really important place in my life.”
“Me too. This hotel is basically where our lives began in earnest, after all. Wouldn’t you say, Ralph? And it was all because I had the courage to ask Chris to let us move in together with him back then. So, you’d better be eternally grateful to me for that!”
“Yeah... I was totally against the idea at first, wasn’t I? Still, the person we should be most grateful to is Chris.”
“You’re absolutely right. I couldn’t be more grateful for all he’s done for us.”
As we stared at the hard, moldy bedrolls and the busted-up lamp that adorned our room, Ralph and Hester seemed to be getting lost in their sentimentality.
I had a feeling they would just keep going with their endless expressions of gratitude if I didn’t intervene, so I decided to change the subject.
“It’s time to get going, guys. We should go thank the hotel owners before we leave,” I said.
“Come on, what’s the rush?” Ralph protested. “Just let us walk down memory lane a little bit longer, all right?!”
“If we linger here too long, we won’t make it to the village we’ll be spending the night in on time, and we’ll end up having to sleep under the stars.”
After several moments of silence, Ralph conceded.
“Okay, no way am I doing that. Let’s hurry up and go, guys!” He said, rushing to grab his bag.
For someone who’d grown up in the backstreets, he seemed unusually against the idea of sleeping outside.
The three of us bowed goodbye to our room, which we’d left cleaner than we’d found it, and left the hotel.
I took in the sights of the commercial district one last time as we made our way to the city gate, remembering how surprising it had all been to me when I’d first arrived in Realzahd.
Our route didn’t take us through the backstreets, and we couldn’t see the area from where we were. I was a little tempted to take a peek before we left, but I resisted the urge.
Just as I’d made up my mind about that, I saw a building up ahead that reminded me that there was someone I’d forgotten to say goodbye to.
“Sorry guys, but I just remembered that there’s somewhere I still need to stop by before we go. Mind waiting here for me for just a bit?” I asked.
“We don’t have time for that, do we? I really don’t want to sleep outside tonight, okay?!” Ralph whined.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be more than five minutes.”
“Go ahead,” said Hester. “We’ll wait right here.”
After apologizing to them, I lugged my big bag with me to the most prominent building on the main street: the church.
I’d thought that the only real acquaintance I had in Realzahd was Lugentz, but I’d completely forgotten about Father Graham, who’d conducted god only knew how many ability assessments for me over the course of my time here.
I still wasn’t sure if I could call him an “acquaintance,” exactly, but after subjecting him to my bizarre whims, it didn’t feel right to leave without saying goodbye.
I paid no attention to the service that was ongoing as I entered the church. I just made a beeline straight for the back room in the corner where the ability assessments were conducted.
When I rang the bell, as I always did, Father Graham appeared in moments.
“Oh? You’ve got a lot of luggage with you today. Has something happened?” he asked.
“I’m leaving town, actually. So, I thought I’d come by to get one final ability assessment and say goodbye.”
“I see... Well, I’ll miss your visits.”
“My money, you mean?”
“Oh, no. Your money goes straight to my superiors. I simply meant you,” he said.
“I know. I’m sorry for teasing you. Okay... One last assessment, then, please.”
After a little banter, I handed Father Graham my adventurer’s card, along with a gold coin.
“I’ll begin the assessment now, then. And... Done.”
“Thanks. I’ll stop by again next time I’m in Realzahd.”
“I look forward to— Actually, could we speak for just a moment?” he asked, his smile transforming into a grave expression.
“Hmm? Was there something else?”
“I wasn’t sure whether I should tell you this, but consider this information a token of my gratitude for your patronage. The cardinal in the capital advised me to report to him immediately if I came across anyone named Chris, and it did cross my mind that he might have meant you.”
“The cardinal in the capital?” I repeated. “Is he a high-ranking clergyman?”
“Yes. Second only to the pope, as a matter of fact.”
“And this high-ranking clergyman is looking for someone named Chris? Does this kind of thing happen often?”
“No. This is the first time there’s ever been an order like this. I haven’t said anything to my superiors, but I would advise you to exercise caution,” he replied. Then he added, “My apologies if I’m overstepping my bounds with that suggestion.”
Does this mean Claus has connections with the church too? I wondered.
Maybe my letter to him had lit a fire under his feet?
“Not at all. You’ve done me a huge favor. Thank you for sharing that with me.” After a pause, I asked, “Can you give me any idea of how wide the church’s web of information spans?”
“I don’t know the specifics, so I’m afraid I can’t tell you much, but what I can say is that the order I received went out to every church near the capital. I doubt that you’d need to worry about venturing near the other three major cities, however. They’re unlikely to be reporting all the way back to the capital.”
“I owe you a real debt for this information. Will you be in danger for sharing this with me?”
“I’ll be all right. Sometimes things ‘just slip’ when a man has had ‘a few too many drinks at the bar.’ Please take care of yourself out there.”
After bowing deeply to express my thanks, I quickly left the church, newly aware that the only person I could trust there was Father Graham.
I felt immensely grateful for the information he’d given me, and that I’d had the fortune to have him as my regular ability assessor.
“Five minutes, huh? Yeah, right! You took ages!” Ralph cried as soon as I returned to where I’d left him and Hester.
“I got a little wrapped up in a conversation. Sorry, guys. Let’s go.”
“Let’s,” Hester agreed.
“It’s entirely on you if we have to sleep outside tonight, Chris!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Now that your leg’s all healed, if we end up cutting it close, you can just run.”
“Heh heh! Yeah! I can sprint like the wind now!”
“Okay, maybe don’t do that...”
As we chatted away, I thought about how chance had brought the three of us together here in Realzahd to form a party.
We’ve had quite the year here, I reflected as we left the city behind.
I’d made a few blunders, but once we were somewhere new, I could just focus on taking whatever time I needed to get stronger.
With the fire of revenge burning in my heart, I set off toward the beginning of a new chapter.