“Hey, what a coincidence!” A burly hand clasped Shannon on the shoulder. He turned to see the giant priest they’d met earlier that day looming over their table.
Great. Shannon wasn’t surprised to see him—he’d heard the approaching thump of boots and couldn’t imagine anyone else with that swift yet heavy step—but he also wasn’t sure he was thrilled. He went back to picking out mushrooms.
“It’s not that much of a coincidence,” he murmured. “Two travelers meeting at the biggest inn in town.”
“I guess you’re right about that.” Without waiting for an invitation, the priest briskly pulled up a chair and sat down at their table.
“I’m glad I saw you—there just aren’t any empty tables left.” The huge man grinned roguishly at them. “You know, I appreciate you kids sticking up for me today. Dinner’s on me. My name is Berkens.”
More likely on those guys you robbed, Shannon thought.
“Miss!” Berkens shouted to a passing waitress. “I’ll have some of the local Rogak brew, the white stew, the Ithaca-style grilled chicken, a basket of bread, and a side of potato salad. Actually, better make it two orders of everything. And a full bottle of the brew.”
The waitress stopped at their table and started ticking off the order with her fingers. “Okay, so that’s one bottle of the Rogak, two bowls of… oh!” the waitress pinched the priest’s hand, which had reached around behind her to touch her rear end.
The big man grinned in mock embarrassment. “You’re quick, aren’t you?”
The waitress must have really wanted a good tip, because she only looked annoyed for a moment before she gave him a smoldering smile and tantalisingly shook her hips.
“Is there anything else?” she asked in a sultry tone.
The big man laughed, then turned to the siblings. “Go ahead; order anything you want.”
“Really?!” Pacifica shouted in excitement and jabbed a finger at the egg section of the menu. “Can I order this Seacamp-style scrambled egg thing, then?”
“I like to see a healthy appetite in a young girl. You like eggs, I take it?”
“Eggs are my favorite! I love anything that’s made with eggs!” She gave the priest a huge grin.
“Okay, Miss,” he said to the waitress. “I’m going to add to my order. I’ll take one of each egg dish on the menu.”
“Wait a minute.” Shannon tried to stop him, but the priest waved aside his protests.
“All right, Mister! I like your style!” Pacifica actually jumped out of her seat in excitement and punched the air. The priest laughed heartily at her antics.
Shannon rolled his eyes. “What are you, a wild animal? All it takes is a bit of food to win you over.”
“Oh, be quiet, Shannon. A generous diet makes a generous heart!”
“Oh yeah, I guess I didn’t fully introduced myself.” The priest scratched his head. “My name’s Berkens Tanhoglio. I’m an Inquisitor. The church sent me out here to the middle of nowhere on a job.”
Shannon watched him warily, although one hand still automatically picked the mushrooms out of his food. Hearing Berkens’ profession didn’t come as a surprise. Shannon had guessed as much from his appearance. However, now that Shannon’s suspicions were confirmed, it complicated the situation somewhat.
Mauserist Inquisitors were official investigators who belonged to the second external affairs agency of the House of Grendel in the Mauser church headquarters. Their main role was to investigate non-Mauserist religious organizations and prosecute them if they were dangerous to society or involved in immoral acts, such as human sacrifice, devil worship, or substance abuse.
Since the church was separate from the ruling family, they were not government officials, but they were given special privileges by the Linevan kingdom and most of the other countries where Mauserism held sway. Inquisitors could pass through national border crossings without inspection, and were allowed to act as police in emergency situations to arrest dangerous cultists or detain witnesses. Even if they caused injury or death to someone in the line of duty, they were usually exempt from prosecution.
Unofficially, however, the Inquisitors went after any religious group that threatened to win over followers and dilute the power of the Mauserist church. Mauserism was by far the oldest, largest, and most influential religion on the Dustovin continent, and for a time, Inquisitors held a great deal of power over the populace. They stamped out any organization that seemed remotely dangerous, and subjected those arrested to severe punishments. At one point, the Inquisitors’ suppression of pagan religions and the inquisition of infidels was so intense that it was infamously called “heretic hunting.”
However, all that had changed in recent years. Almost all of the pagan organizations were already wiped out, and when a new pope had been appointed eight years earlier, the entire church went through a major reorganization. The Inquisitors had a reputation for abusing their power, so during the reorganization, the church leaders stripped them of most of their privileges. The secretive and unofficial special forces group known as “Purgers” (special forces under direct command of the sixth external affairs agency) did what they used to do, but much more quietly, to avoid negative public opinion. Jobs as Inquisitors were usually given to the church’s more useless or annoying members to get them out of the way.
Berkens gave the siblings a wry smile. “I’ve been demoted a couple times for various reasons. That’s why they sent me out to investigate here, the most remote place they could think of.”
“You’ve had a rough time, haven’t you?” Pacifica made to pat him on the shoulder, but couldn’t reach, so she patted his back instead.
“Thanks for your concern, little girl. That’s awfully nice of you.”
“I totally understand what it’s like to have a rough life. I mean, I don’t have it easy either, traveling with such an unreasonable brother.”
Shannon gave her a look, but she ignored him.
“Well, here’s to sympathetic friends.” Berkens topped up his glass, then poured some of the liquor into Pacifica’s juice.
“Hey! She’s just a kid,” Shannon burst in. Strictly speaking, Mauserism forbade drinking alcohol, eating meat, and committing sexual harassment, let alone encouraging those behaviors in children, but Berkens didn’t seem to care.
“Oh, don’t worry so much,” Berkens jovially slapped Shannon on the back, almost knocking him into his food. “A little booze never hurt anyone.”
“That’s right, a little never hurt anybody!” Pacifica clinked glasses with Berkens and gulped down her spiked juice.
Shannon looked to Raquel for support, but she just sat there, a dazed smile on her face, seemingly unbothered by the entire situation. In the eyes of Raquel, the world was made up two types of people: “bad people,” who were few and far between, and “nice people,” who were the vast majority.
“Well, as much as I complain, I should be thankful that I have a job,” Berkens gulped down his drink, wiped his mouth, and sighed contentedly.
“So,” Pacifica asked him, “what work are you doing out here?”
“Hm? Oh, well, it’s supposed to be top secret, but I guess if you really want to know, I might be able to tell you…” He paused dramatically; he seemed to be enjoying this.
“What? What is it?” Pacifica asked him eagerly.
He leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m here looking for the Scrapped Princess.”
Pacifica sprayed juice all over the table.