Reaching into his pocket, Mataka took out a sheet of paper and a pen and began to write sothing on it. He wrote roughly, as if he were scribbling. He stops writing and stares at his hand.
"Okay, that's it. Now if only I could see this wolfsbane ......"
Staring at the smoke, he stares out at the vast ocean stretching out before him. After a while, a few drops of rain started to fall. Mataka puts the paper in his hand carefully in his pocket.
What are you doing?
I heard a man's voice behind . I turned around to see a man dressed in the sa Crian dress running toward . It was the sa cardinal, Tsugaki.
"Mataka ...... what the hell are you ....... Isn't this wolfsbane an ergency signal!"
"Cardinal Tsugaki. Forgive for raising the smoke on my own initiative. It's just that our lives are at stake.
"What?"
"That Serloitte, of all people, is in Agartha. ......"
"Agartha...... no way......"
"That's a big surprise. The Grand Duke will probably appeal to the King of Agartha for help in his country's plight through Serloit, and at the sa ti request our removal."
"Mataka, why didn't you keep a better eye on the Serloites?
I hope to receive that rebuke later. There is only one thing for us to do now. We must keep Seruloit from eting the King of Agartha.
"......"
Cardinal Tugaki bit his lip. Mataka was right. He looked silently toward the horizon.
How much ti had passed? The two n remained motionless, staring at the sea. Their clothes were already soaked and dripping from their tightly clenched fists.
"...... here it cos!"
The darkness is beginning to fall around us. Nothing can be seen beyond the horizon. But Mataka keeps his eyes fixed on the horizon and paces, stumbling forward.
"I see nothing but ......"
Cardinal Tugaki mutters to the sea. At that mont, he thought he heard a voice.
"Queer! Kyeeee!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice echoed through the sky. The next thing I knew, I saw a huge long-necked bird, perhaps two ters in length, flying in the sky. The bird landed between them, flapping its wings. Mataka took a small pouch from his pocket and held it out to the bird's snout. The bird lay down with its head on the ground.
The hawk moves closer to the bird's feet and looks for sothing.
"Yes!"
He sat up, took out a piece of paper he had just written from his pocket, and placed it near the bird's feet. There was a small bottle-like object strapped to it. Mataka screwed the paper into it.
"Co on, hurry up! We've got to get this done in a tily manner!"
Mataka raises his hand in the air. As if on cue, the chief bird neighs loudly and soars into the sky with a great flap of its wings.
"Hurry up! Hurry!"
The voice of the mataka was absorbed into the low-hanging black clouds.
The bird that appeared before them was a long-necked bird called a naway, which, despite its large size, was quite fast in flight. Since there are few birds that can be called natural enemies, the Church of Crimiana utilized this bird as a ans of communication in case of ergency. The birds were kept at the headquarters of each branch, ready to be used at any ti.
The chief bird took off from the Grand Duchy of Foal and soared through the sky on its wings, defying the stormy weather. After about two hours of flight, they arrived at the headquarters of the South Gredahl Division of the Church of Crimiana.
"Oh! We're ho!"
n dressed in Klimiana religious garb co running out of the building. With a practiced hand, they quieted the bird and took out a piece of paper at their feet. The following words were written on the paper.
On the back of the piece of paper was information about when Serloitte had left the Grand Duchy of Foal by ship, as well as a description and likeness of Serloitte himself.
"Oh my God! We must report this to the branch chief.
The n rushed to the building carrying the paper sent by Mataka.
"...... hmm. This is a very serious matter."
An elderly man with thinning hair on the top of his head and a mustache and beard opened his mouth with a small nod. His eyes moved wildly from side to side, as if he was thinking about sothing.
"Mr. Branch Manager, ......"
He glanced at the anxious expressions on the faces of his subordinates, but then he quickly turned his gaze to his hand and muttered to no one in particular.
"If you have sailed on a ship, it has been sunny for the past few days and the waves are calm. Considering that the wind was blowing strongly from the south, the speed was roughly ....... The distance from Foral to Garbee is ....... And the distance from Garbee to the capital of Agartha is ...... by carriage. Then, the speed of the carriage is ....... The date of departure would be ....... It seems to be safe to assu that they have already arrived in Garbee. Assuming the worst case scenario: ....... It is possible that they have already left Garbee for the capital. However, in order to get to the capital from ...... Garbee, they need to encamp sowhere. From Mataca's letter, it seems that she is a woman traveling alone. She will not travel through the night. If that is the case, the earliest she could reach the capital would be tomorrow at noon.
The branch manager's words have his subordinates gasping for breath. This man does all of his complicated calculations by heart. His lucid mind was reading Serloitte's movents with frightening accuracy.
"Wait a minute."
He opened his desk drawer, took out a piece of paper and a pen, and ran the pen without any hesitation. Within a minute, he had written it down and folded it into a small piece.
Send this imdiately to Baron Bonisao in Agartha. You will have enough ti to reach his residence in one night. The question is whether the Baron will understand my intentions and whether I will be able to get there in ti. ......"
The man, without saying a word to anyone, mutters in a low voice and offers a piece of paper to his n. His n took it and left the place as quickly as they could.
"Ah, Jiaye. Wait for ."
A young man, whose na is called, turns on his heel and cos to him.
"I have a favor to ask you.
"Yes."
The man took out a piece of paper from the drawer again and began to write sothing on it.
Please deliver this to His Holiness Pope Aphrodite. Also, please send this letter of Mataca with it.
Yes, I understand, Mr. Branch Manager. I will arrange for it to be delivered to His Holiness tomorrow.
Please.
The man called "Jiae" left the room at a quick pace. The branch manager stood up and prayed silently in the direction of Aphrodite.
"...... Lord God, Your Holiness the Pope. Death to those who defy the Way of Heaven.
The man sighed loudly.
At the sa ti, a young woman was sleeping in a room of a house. Next to her, a man, presud to be her husband, was sleeping quietly as well. The woman was asleep with her face on the man's palm.
Suddenly, the woman's eyes opened. She wakes up with a start and peeks around her with a breathless look.
"......I feel an evil, evil presence."
Alone in the darkness, muttering to herself, was Considie, wife of Agartha King Linos.
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