Chapter 49

After all, Sally was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. No matter what she had experienced before, her age meant that her thoughts were ultimately more emotional than rational.

Occasionally, the little girl's random thoughts would conjure up some heart-wrenching scenarios in her mind—would he give up on this promise because he couldn't enter the interior of the "Rose Cross Sanctuary"? Could he have already left Holier City?

The anxiety and uncertainty kept Sally from sleeping well for several days. In fact, her abilities were much stronger than Rody had imagined. In just fifteen days, she had already made temporary contact with some of her subordinates buried deep in Holier City, which gave her a bit of leverage when facing Francis.

But Sally also understood that she couldn't openly ask anyone to find Rody; otherwise, the ever-watchful Francis would likely cause trouble for Rody right away. All she could do was wait silently here. At least until she confirmed Francis's plans and whereabouts, she couldn't take a single step out of the sanctuary.

Would he come?

Unconsciously walking to the main hall of the church, Sally would always look up at the colorful windows, her fingers clenching involuntarily, and she would sigh softly...

It was the sixteenth day. Today... he wouldn't come, would he?

She thought this, about to turn and leave, when she heard a few words of conversation from the entrance of the main hall—

"This adventurer has important news to report to Bishop Benjamin. He has the token of Priest Neil."

"Priest Neil? Wasn't he—"

"That's why it's urgent and we need to inform Bishop Benjamin immediately."

It seemed that a guard from outside the church had brought an adventurer to the cloister's porch, and he wanted to meet Bishop Benjamin. Sally turned her head, raising her eyebrows in confusion—she remembered the name "Priest Neil." He was Bishop Benjamin's "star pupil," and she had met him half a year ago. Later, she heard that he had mysteriously disappeared after a mission outside the city. The sanctuary had sent many people to investigate, but they all returned empty-handed.

Forget it, what does this have to do with me?

Shaking her head, Sally was about to leave, somewhat disappointed. For a moment, she had hoped that Rody would stand at the church door, smiling at her calmly—but now, she realized that it was just a foolish fantasy.

"Bishop Benjamin has agreed to the meeting request. Adventurer, you may enter. May the gods watch over you."

The distant conversation faintly reached Sally's ears, the last words being one of the tenets of the "Sanctuary"—"All actions are watched by the gods."

The young girl didn't turn around; she continued walking forward, not paying attention to the approaching guard and adventurer, even somewhat absent-minded.

"By the way, Sir Deacon, I have another request, I hope you can agree to it."

"Go on, adventurer."

The middle-aged deacon's voice was calm. The clerics in the sanctuary were all gentle and helpful, but Sally felt that the adventurer's voice seemed somewhat familiar...

"As you know, I am an adventurer, and I happened to be passing through Holier City. I have some acquaintance with Lord Kirk, who asked me to deliver something a few days ago—it's for Miss Sally."

"Oh? Miss Sally?" The middle-aged deacon turned his head, looking at Sally, who was walking nearby, and said softly, "That's her. If you have something, you can give it directly to her."

The conversation echoed in Sally's ears, but she didn't immediately turn around. She continued walking, trying to maintain a normal demeanor, though no one could see that her fingers were trembling slightly.

She knew she absolutely couldn't show any familiarity with the other person. In this unfamiliar environment, even the slightest slip could lead to unpredictable consequences.

The footsteps from behind approached, and a calm, familiar voice sounded behind her— "Miss Sally, please stop."

Yes... it was Rody's voice, no doubt.

Although she had confirmed everything in her heart, the mature girl took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and lowered her eyes, saying softly, "I am. Please... who are you?"

Her gaze examined him as if they were meeting for the first time. Although Rody was wearing a wide cloak, the intricate and unique leather boots and gloves still caught her eye. The distinctive features of the Chimera scales were something Sally would never forget, so when her gaze fixed on Rody's face, she was momentarily lost, and her words were slightly stammered.

The gray linen cloak covered his body, and the brand-new set of leather armor seemed to transform him from the scout captain covered in mud, carrying a horn bow and a curved knife, in Sally's memory. Recalling Rody's introduction about his "cursed appearance making him actually thirty-seven years old," she realized that his words didn't seem like a lie.

The person in front of her didn't look like a village scout at all, but rather a powerful adventurer with rich experience.

For a long time, Rody's image in Sally's mind had changed repeatedly, but she had never been able to see a clear outline. Scout captain? Adventurer? Mercenary? Knight? Or the descendant of a noble?

The things he did were unimaginable for ordinary people. Leading Sally out of the encirclement was something even the powerful guardian knights under her father's command might not have been able to do.

Sally felt her heart beating very fast, and her calm expression was almost breaking—her lips wanted to curl up but trembled due to restraint. She clenched her fingers, her gaze fixed on Rody's face, as if waiting for him to show a familiar smile.

However, Rody's serious face remained unchanged, cold and rigid, as if he didn't recognize Sally at all.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Sally." Rody's eyes seemed unfocused, as if he was just looking at a statue, "Lord Kirk has something for you, which you left in Finks Village a few days ago. Since the lord cannot come in person, I can only bring his blessing for you."

As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag, bent down, and offered it with both hands, in a respectful manner.

Sally's gaze remained on Rody's face, somewhat dazed. It took a few seconds for her to understand Rody's intention—she slowly reached out to take the cloth bag, thanked him with the proper etiquette of a "Rose Cross" believer, and then said softly, "Thank you, brave adventurer."

"It's nothing."

Rody turned his face, his gaze emotionless, and looked away, no longer at Sally.

To the nearby soldiers, the adventurer's behavior seemed normal. In these times, delivering messages and running errands seemed to be the main functions of these idle adventurers, so his words didn't raise any suspicion from the deacon. Everything was as expected, with no suspicious points.

Rody had no intention of continuing the conversation. After Sally took the package, he deeply bowed, turned, and indicated that the deacon should go find Bishop Benjamin, showing no further interest in Sally.

Thus, the two passed each other, meeting in a way Sally could never have imagined—sixteen days after their last meeting, she found herself unable to say anything more to him, only watching his figure gradually disappear...

She felt a vague sense of委屈 and frustration, her fingers tightening, and only then did she remember she was holding the cloth bag Rody had just given her. She flipped through it, gently taking out the soft leather shirt.

The deep blue color, the soft texture, the low-key and restrained shine of the processed Chimera scales, and the delicate and neat hand-stitching. Although Sally didn't know how much effort it took to make such a leather shirt, she suddenly had a strange feeling—this shirt... must have been made by Rody himself.

A piece of parchment fell from the cloth bag, and Sally bent down to pick it up. Seeing the words, she pursed her lips, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Not even a goodbye, huh? Bastard..."

...

"This is indeed Priest Neil's ring. Adventurer, where did you get it?"

Bishop Benjamin looked at the old silver ring in his hand, slowly raising his gaze to ask Rody in front of him.

"In a small alley in the Cambay district. I was about to go to the mercenary guild, and the ring was at the sewer exit." Rody's expression remained slightly cold, "I recognized the emblem on the ring from the 'Sanctuary' entrance, so I came here immediately."

"Thank you, adventurer. But you must understand that the 'Sanctuary' will spare no expense to thoroughly investigate this matter." The old man slightly crossed his hands, his eyes squinting, and his gaze flickering as he looked at Rody, "That is, if you are involved in this matter in any other way, we will not let it go."

"I have already considered these issues before coming here, Your Excellency. I am just an adventurer hoping to exchange these clues for some reward, and I have nothing to deceive you with."

Rody bowed his head, showing a submissive and respectful demeanor, with no extra expression.

"Of course, the 'Sanctuary' will severely punish all evil forces, but it will also favor brave and upright young people. Adventurer, thank you for your information."

This was a farewell phrase, and Rody got up to leave without asking what the reward would be, following the guard out.

"His Excellency the Bishop greatly appreciates your contribution to the monastery."

Not far from the exit, another guard approached with a small wooden box, handed it to Rody with both hands—Rody took it without looking inside, and left the monastery without glancing back.

On the way, Rody didn't see Sally's figure. For him, this seemed to mean that Sally had understood her situation and their current relationship. He thought she was smart enough not to do anything foolish.

I hope she can grow up quickly before the internal division in the "Sanctuary" happens.

Rody silently sighed in his heart. He came here today because he had finally found out from the tavern that Sally was in the Rose Cross Sanctuary—this place wasn't easy for ordinary people to enter and leave, but Rody knew how to walk in here openly. The key was the ring.

"Neil the Priest's Fall" was one of the famous long quest chains in Rody's memory. The starting point of the quest chain was the ring near the sewer. Of course, only Rody knew the location of this ring, and ordinary people couldn't detect it. Fortunately, this quest existed two years before the game started, so Rody chose to use it to enter the monastery. Today, he was lucky enough to meet Sally directly, saving him some trouble.

What he didn't know was that until he disappeared at the street corner outside the monastery, Sally had been standing behind the window on the second floor of the monastery, silently watching his back, holding the soft leather shirt in her arms, without a word.

---

End of the page.