The maid handed over a letter with the word "urgent" stamped on it.

Oscar took the letter and opened the envelope. It was—

—Got news about Ross Byrne.

The intelligence they had been waiting for.

However, the letter didn't contain good news like he had reunited with him. The church's anti-heresy forces were tracking him down. The situation seemed quite urgent.

"Excuse me, Madam Pasha, but we may have to leave soon."

As Meredith regained consciousness, the situation progressed.

It was as if something called fate was watching closely.

Oscar and the others didn't say a word, but understood each other's intentions and started to move at the same time. They all had a premonition that the tide of the times was about to set off the final storm.

Prequel 5 Chapter 2: Routh's Escape

In an alley somewhere in a certain town, a short figure ran past quickly.

The man was wearing a gray cloak with a hood that covered his head and face deeply. He was holding something carefully in his hands. It was a cheap-looking straw bag.

In the straw bag, a long piece of bread and a few things that looked like red fruits were sticking out from the bag, swaying rhythmically with the man's short steps.

Suddenly, the short figure stopped.

There were two people in front of him. The alley was narrow, so the two people blocked his way.

For a moment, the short figure tensed up. However, when he noticed the two people in front of him were a plump middle-aged woman and a cute girl with pigtails, about ten years old, his nervousness immediately subsided.

In order to hide his nervousness, he continued to walk forward at a somewhat slow pace.

He moved aside to avoid bumping into them. Just as he was about to pass by them,

"Ah, are you running errands for the adults? You're so sensible even though you're so young."

The kind and generous aunt called him.

The short figure hesitated for a moment. He could have ignored them, but...

After all, he was hiding his face with his cloak. If he did that, wouldn't that be like fully declaring himself suspicious? he thought.

This town has a prosperous business, so there are naturally many tourists from other places. In addition, the sun is very strong today, so it is not strange to wear a cloak as a tourist attire.

However, as a child, if I ignored such loud praise from adults, I would probably - no, it would definitely leave a deep impression on others.

They will definitely remember that they met a strange child.

——After considering all this for a brief moment, the short figure decided——

"Yes! My father wants me to go out and buy something for him!"

He answered in an extremely cheerful tone, as if to emphasize that he had done nothing wrong.

The child in front of her answered cheerfully, lively and politely, and the aunt narrowed her eyes happily.

"This kid definitely has a future."

After saying this, the old lady made way as much as possible to let the short figure pass. She seemed to be used to this, so she must be a local.

"I can run errands, too."

Seeing her mother only praising other children, the girl grumbled. She seemed to be igniting a resistance against the short figure, not forgetting to glare at him.

The short figure couldn't help but turn and look at the girl.

So, because the two of them were about the same height, the girl could see his face clearly under the cloak.

Suddenly, the girl froze and blinked...

"Uh... Anyway, sorry."

“N-Never mind!”

The girl blushed and quickly looked away. Seeing her daughter's reaction, the aunt cried out, "Ouch!" and smiled.

It seems that this young man (from the sound of his voice) has a very handsome face under his cloak.

"Well...I should go now. Father's waiting for me."

The young man bowed and hurried past them. Before leaving, the woman kindly reminded them, "Be careful on your way!"

The aunt felt a little regretful that she couldn't see the face under the cloak.

"Haha, from now on, when we go to the market, let's all take this route."

"No need!"

Despite her daughter's words, she continued to steal glances in the direction the boy had left. For her sake, the aunt decided to actually implement her proposal in the next few days.

However, the mother and daughter never saw the boy again.

If I knew the boy's true identity, I would definitely not want to see him again.

On the other hand, this cloaked boy who stole the girl's heart at first sight──

"Should I call them straightforward or casual?... The people here are truly different from even the gods. But I prefer people like this."

He muttered to himself as he made his way through a filthy alleyway that didn't suit his appearance at all. Thinking of the somewhat apathetic atmosphere among the chosen people he was familiar with, his mood became somewhat complicated.

Then, he reached his destination.

It was a dilapidated building on the outskirts of town. From the looks of it, this three-story building might have once been a chamber of commerce or something like that.

The boy came to the back door of the building and looked around calmly to make sure there was no one there.

So he pushed open the door and slid into the house neatly.

Inside the room were broken chairs, old, dirty curtains, and the floor was littered with debris of unknown objects. The boy didn't even glance at the objects and went upstairs.

Every time his footsteps touched the floor, it made an annoying creaking sound, forcing the boy to close his mouth tightly. He was afraid that the floor would break at any moment.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the third floor. He walked to the door of the innermost room and was about to knock when—

"Come in."

A man's voice came from inside, simply saying these two words. The voice was deep yet resonant, as if its sound resonated with the abdomen.

The tone sounded extremely harsh, and any other child would have subconsciously shrunk back.

But to this young man, it was the most reassuring voice in the world.

"I'm back, Father."

"Um."

In the corner of the room stood a leather sofa, its surface tattered and moth-eaten, and slightly tilted. A bald man was leaning back against it.

"Nothing happened on the way, Sharon."

The man had a tough look and sharp eyes, and it looked like he was glaring at someone.

However, the young man, Sharon Byrne, could see that the corners of the man's eyes were drooping even lower than usual, and there was a gentle smile at the corners of his mouth.

It can be seen that his father, Ross Byrne, was relieved about his return from the bottom of his heart.

Therefore, Sharon's nervous mood due to going out shopping alone finally relaxed, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

After all, Xia Lun was a genuine young master. He had never left the capital, walked into a dark alley, and of course, had no shopping experience.

He was the son of a prominent family with a long history, one of the most prestigious in the world's most powerful nations, and he was only eight years old. Everything was taken care of for him; for him, that was normal.

Although he had gone out shopping alone several times since coming to this town.

However, my experience is limited, I can only count the number of times I've experienced it on one hand, so I still feel uneasy.

Having said that, he still completed the task assigned by his father, whom he respected from the bottom of his heart.

I felt a vague sense of pride and joy in my heart, and reported it to my father proudly.

"Yes, father. I was able to buy food successfully."

"I see. Well done."

"Hehehe." Sharon smiled shyly at his father's praise. At the same time, he looked around the room.

"Father, isn't Ryan Hyde back yet?"

"Um."

Ryanhead Asier was their other travel companion.

This honest young knight is currently out on Royce's orders.

Xia Lun thought, he had been seriously injured and hadn't fully recovered yet, and he was also very tired. It was really worrying...

However, what worried him more was his father. He seemed even more taciturn than usual, which made Sharon frown.

"Dad, are you feeling okay?"

"No problem. Thanks for your help."

“…I see.”

Sharon thought his father was lying, and the ends of his eyebrows drooped involuntarily in the shape of a figure eight.

My father used to be as strong as a giant tree, and could even be said to be the epitome of "tenacious", but now he looks much thinner.

His cheeks were sunken, his face was very pale, and the dark circles under his eyes were as deep as tattoos.

In addition, the left sleeve was flat against the chair because there was nothing inside, making Ross look even more haggard, like a dead tree.

This is understandable.

On that day, my father faced off against the terrifying "Oracle Priestess" and Darion Kaze, the leader of the Knights of the Guardian Light, and bid farewell to the Church, his country, and his family.

Three weeks have passed since then.

Ross and others only took the most necessary items and immediately fled away from the capital.

At that time, Ryanhead was hit by a diagonal blow, suffered a deep knife wound, and a hole was pierced in the abdomen, and was seriously injured.

Rolls also lost his left arm and was covered in wounds.

Generally speaking, even if one wants to escape from the capital, one should first hide and recuperate in a nearby town or village.

However, Rolls made staying away from the Kingdom of God his top priority.

Along the way, they did not enter any villages or towns, and did not even walk on the streets. They also made full use of skills such as "soul perception ability" and "hiding souls to block breath" to completely avoid encountering others.

Because, as long as it is within the territory of the Kingdom of God, even the smallest village has a church and priests.

In addition, as Ross is the leader of the White Light Knights, many people recognize his appearance.

Because of his high status, Rous rarely went on missions abroad, so most foreign citizens only knew his reputation.

But in the Kingdom of God, he can be said to be a symbol of military power. Perhaps only those who lack faith would not recognize him.

He always shows up at various ceremonies, so it is impossible for him to hide his identity in the country.

But on the other hand, if Ross escaped abroad in this miserable state without being noticed by anyone...

"Sharon, is there anything going on?"

"No, Father. The church in this town seems to be doing just fine as usual. There are no signs of additional patrols being deployed, specifically looking for someone. The town is also peaceful today."

Sharon said with a smile, while dividing the food he bought into what he would eat today and what he would keep.

"As Father said, the Church does not declare us to be...traitors."

"Of course they can't say it."

That would be tantamount to openly declaring the symbolic degradation of a country's military power.

The Kingdom of God had actually been defeated in this war. If such news were released at this time, it would surely cause chaos.

The Kingdom of God declared internally that this war was a "triumph of victory."

—The Republic has already witnessed the power of God.

Our faith has triumphed.

Even if you don’t understand the specific content, for the citizens of the Kingdom of God, just knowing this is enough.

Even though the initial justification for sending troops, "recapture the Son of God," ultimately came to nothing, the people didn't care.

However, what will happen if the people know that the leader of the White Light Knights has rebelled?

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