Path of Light.

Chapter 143 144. Witness Thorndike

Every time after cleaning the yard, Jasper and Abt would go to the study to learn magic.

However, recently, Abbott went to the study room less and less often.

He has been obsessed with reading books related to geography for a while, and wants to understand the endless sea as much as possible.

According to Jasper, Abbott is simply obsessed with ghosts, and pirate treasures almost occupy Abbott's entire life.

Every day I dream of arriving at an island with hidden treasures. In order to make Abbott sober, Jasper has already taken back his half of the treasure map from Abbott after several attempts to persuade him to no avail...

For this reason, the two almost had a big fight.

Although Abbott apologized to Jasper afterwards, once some things were cracked, it was very likely that they would become... forever irreparable.

Jasper pushed the door open and walked into the study room. As expected, Abbott did not follow behind. He would rather check the map in the porter room than study divine arts in the study room.

"Where's Abbott?"

Roy looked up at Jasper and asked casually.

"He went to the library in the city. This guy has been like this recently. Whenever he has free time, he will go to the library to look up information." Jasper said helplessly: "Roy, do you think it is possible that the treasure map is fake?"

Roy was slightly taken aback!He hadn't thought about it.

Jasper walked into the study and closed the door behind him.

He didn't rush to look for books on the bookshelf, but stared straight at Roy and asked him:
"Roy, now that the Holy Grail of Wisdom has been found, do you have any idea of ​​joining us in the Dark Land? With the Holy Grail of Wisdom, we can walk freely in the Dark Land..."

Roy looked at the hotness in Jasper's eyes, and asked:

"Why, have you decided yet?"

"Hmm!" Jasper said to Roy with firm confidence in his eyes:
"In my opinion, joining the Jihad Army is my belief, and we enter the dark place to spread the Holy Light, so that the Holy Light can shine to every corner of the world."

Roy's eyes fell on the magic book on the round table, and he said, "I don't want to go, I still want to go to the other side of this sea to have a look!"

Jasper seemed to know that Roy would say this, and when he heard Roy say this answer again, his eyes dimmed slightly, and he said:
"About doesn't want to join the Holy War Army either. I'll be left on my own. I guess that journey will be very boring! Hey! I don't know when this temple will be abolished..."

With that, Jasper stood up.

He took it out from the bookshelf, sat down at the round table again, and began to read seriously.

The library became quiet.

After a while, Roy began to try to chant the prayer of purification.

Jasper suddenly raised his head, stared at Roy with a pair of bright eyes, and suddenly asked him:
"Roy, if I can't go to the Dark Land, can you take a look there for me?"

Roy stopped reciting the prayer, stared at Jasper speechlessly, and said to him helplessly, "Hey..."

"Just take a look."

Jasper still refused to give up and said persistently.

Roy waved his hand without hesitation, and said, "No, I'm going...you go by yourself!"

The two studied in the study for a whole afternoon,

Until Abbott returned to the Temple of Liberty with a few geographical atlases in his arms, pushed open the wooden door of the study room, and then looked back at the sunset in the evening.

"Why are you still here?"

Abbot asked strangely.

Only then did Roy see a slant of sunlight coming in from the door, and he closed the "Detailed Explanation of Purification Technique" on the table, put away the bookshelf, and said:
"Uh...it's so late! Well, you two, I'm going home."

"Wait for me, I'm going to clean the Black Pearl."

Jasper quickly closed the book in his hand, followed Roy's footsteps, and quickly put it back on the bookshelf, then walked out of the study room with Roy.

"Then I'll also go to the Black Pearl, Abbott, are you going?"

Roy turned to Abbott and asked.

"Me? Forget it, I just came back from borrowing a lot of books from the library, and I want to take a good look..."

Abbott hesitated and replied.

After finishing speaking, Abt sat down in front of the round table, took out a magnifying glass from his pocket, and flipped open a geography album, staring at an ancient scroll obsessively with eager eyes.

Jasper and Roy came out of the study.

"He's been like this lately..."

Roy followed Jasper to the Black Pearl, and someone often needed to clean it up, because the deck was often covered with skua feces.

During Roy's absence, a lot of things have been added to the captain's cabin, and the pots of green plants by the window are growing well.

Jasper first brought up several buckets of seawater, cleaned the deck of the Black Pearl, and then checked all the windows on the ship. After finishing all these tasks, he sat alone on the bow, quietly waiting for Miss Tiffany.

Although she didn't know when she would show up, Jasper still came to sit on the boat for a while almost every day.

……

周日
In the morning, the sun is shining brightly.

Standing at the intersection and looking towards the sea, you can see flying fish boats far away.

Roy got up very early and came to the Statue of Liberty after breakfast.

A carriage stopped at the gate of the temple, and a coachman of a half-breed elf was sitting on the driver's seat, eating breadfruit. When he saw Roy approaching, he grinned at Roy, showing a row of neat teeth.

Walking into the temple, I saw Priest Reed standing at the entrance of the main hall, fully dressed.

"good morning teacher!"

Roy stood by the pool and saluted High Priest Reed.

"Go and change into the robes of the trainee priest, and join us later to attend the trial of Priest Theodore..."

Priest Reed said to Roy with a serious expression.

"Oh!"

Roy quickly walked to the dressing room in the backyard. Jasper and Abbott just ran down from the second floor. Jasper said to Roy:
"Roy, hurry up! The carriage at the door is already waiting for us!"

"understood!"

It was only then that Roy thought of why the coachman grinned wickedly at him when he was nibbling on the breadfruit.

It is quicker to go to the dressing room and change into a trainee priest's robe. If this kind of robe is not worn with a belt, it looks like a sack with five holes. Just put it on the body. Of course, after wearing a belt, it will look like a trainee priest.

Roy put on the apprentice priest's robe and chased him out from behind.

Jasper and Abbott worked together to close the gate of the Statue of Liberty, and hung a sign of 'Temporarily Closed' on the gate.

Only then did he take the carriage to the Tribunal of the Council of Elders in front of Heroes Square.

Roy, Jasper, and Abbott, led by Priest Reed, came to the court again.

Compared with the first time, Roy came here with a much more complicated mood this time.

Because the person who will be judged is a priest of the Temple of Liberty, although he has betrayed the temple, but after all, it is a priest of the Temple of Liberty...

No matter how you say it, it will greatly affect the reputation of the Statue of Liberty.

Roy walked into the circular trial hall, and immediately felt an invisible pressure appearing above his head, and he seemed to be a little out of breath.

Then he discovered that the conditions of Jasper and Abbot around him were even worse than his own.

It was the same stepped trial hall where the slave traders of the Kumquat were tried last time.

When a group of hearing elves filled the courtroom, the arbitrators also appeared in their seats.

The old elf presiding judge was still standing in the emerald green hanging basket, supported by a thick tree vine, moving freely in the trial hall.

After all the elves were seated, the presiding judge signaled the guards to bring the prisoner to the trial platform.

Roy, Jasper, and Abbott sat behind High Priest Reed, and the other two kept looking into the passage Roy pointed to.

Roy thought that Priest Theodore and Priest Thorndike appeared at the same time, but after waiting for a long time, he saw Priest Theodore with a haggard face slowly walking out of the passage with shackles on his hands and feet.

In just three days, Priest Theodore lost a lot of weight, and the loose skin on the side of his face drooped, looking like a dejected sand skin...

The presiding judge was sent to Priest Theodore by the tree vine, and he shook the bell in his hand vigorously in front of Priest Theodore.

"Priest Theodore, can you hear me?"

Theodore nodded, bowed his head and remained silent.

The presiding judge asked again: "Are you conscious now? Please raise your head, look at me, and answer in Elvish."

Priest Theodore raised his head, his eyes were so bloodshot that he could hardly keep them open.

"Yes, I am very conscious." His voice was also a little hoarse.

The presiding judge nodded slightly and asked:

"Okay, then let me ask you, what do you have to say about the murder of the half-blood elf Peleus?"

Priest Theodore's eyes flickered, and after a while he gritted his teeth and said:

"No, I did all of this. I killed the half-blood elf Peleus. I wanted to ask him about the whereabouts of the Holy Grail of Wisdom, but he didn't say anything until he died."

The presiding judge asked again: "Then how did you obtain the Holy Grail of Wisdom in your hand?"

Priest Theodore glanced around, and his eyes stayed on the face of the great priest Reid for a moment before looking at the presiding judge and replying:

"I saw it at Master Claire Latin's house. I was invited by Master Claire Latin and was preparing to treat him. I saw Priest Thorndike walking in with the Holy Grail of Wisdom. This Holy Grail can only be used by the priests of the Temple of Liberty. Therefore, the agreement reached between Priest Thorndike and Master Claire Latin is that I will treat Master Claire Latin. No matter whether Master Claire Latin lives... or dies, this Holy Grail of Wisdom will be given to me."

"I treated Master Claire Latin for more than a month according to the agreement. In the end, Master Claire Latin passed away due to severe failure of organs in the body. I got the Holy Grail of Wisdom as agreed. Although I found the Holy Grail, I never thought about returning it to the Temple of Liberty... So I plead guilty!"

The presiding judge nodded, turned around and said loudly, "The next witness, Priest Thorndike, please stand up!"

"..."

For a moment, Roy couldn't figure out how the Priest Thorndike, who was clearly an accomplice, turned into a witness.

(End of this chapter)