Volume 6 Chapter 15 Can't Honestly Say I Came to See You Off
The next morning... neither early nor late, Cory showed up.
Randy and Liz had already finished their preparations──this timing was perfect, like a friend arriving on a long holiday morning... or so it seemed.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
Randy momentarily faltered at Cory's usual demeanor.
Still, he decided to remain calm and shook his head with a smile.
He made an effort to avoid looking at Cory, *trying not to catch sight of the figure next to him*.
"Hey. Why are you ignoring me?"
"I'm not ignoring you. It's perfect timing."
Ignoring the accusatory voice, Randy gave a thumbs up.
As Cory smiled and said, "I'm glad," Randy couldn't help but notice the person beside him.
Indeed, Cory was a kind-hearted soul.
Randy felt anxious, worried that this innocent nature paired with Annabelle might one day lead them to be deceived.
(Ah, but with such purity, it's almost unthinkable to exploit them.)
Next to Cory, pouting dramatically was...
"Hey. I'm here too, you know."
"Shut up. Why are you here? Didn't you say something about your Saint duties?"
As Randy grimaced, he pointed out that for some reason, Catherine was next to Cory.
"I do have work. I just came along to pass on a little message I forgot."
With a snort, Randy found himself unconsciously saying, "What? You weren't coming?"
Though it could be troublesome if she showed up, Catherine's knowledge of modern Japan would be quite useful.
"Maybe you wanted me to come?"
"No."
Despite Randy's serious and insistent head shake, Catherine didn't seem entirely displeased.
"Even if you wanted me to come, it's just your brain──or rather, your knowledge of Japan──that's appealing."
"You're being so rude."
Catherine puffed her cheeks, but Randy retorted, "Shut up," and pouted back.
"You're just right for about once a week."
"What a coincidence. I feel the same way."
Catherine, with a snort, handed Randy several sheets of paper.
"Here. This is the list of personnel to be *dispatched*. I think we can send them out soon."
What Catherine referred to were the believers who had been displaced from the estate managed by the Church.
They were currently sheltering in various Churches and monasteries, but the already overflowing situation made it urgent to send people immediately.
"If we wait for the country's permission, it will take too long, so we'll send them under the pretext of activities from the Holy Church Dukedom branch at first."
"I see. So we'll send them under the guise of the Church's charitable activities and get permission later."
"Exactly."
With a sly smile, Catherine made Randy chuckle, saying, "There are some bad Saints out there."
The two were discussing the overseas movement of Church personnel under extraordinary measures.
Because the Church had established its status as the state religion in various countries, it could temporarily dispatch Church staff.
If there was a shortage of Church personnel in the relevant country, the Church could send them to the corresponding church without waiting for national approval.
At that time, Church personnel were treated as members of the organization, distinct from travelers or immigrants.
It was similar to how adventurers could cross borders and operate in another country.
In the case of a Guild, they would accompany with guards or similar.
For the Church, it could involve a range of activities from charitable work to evangelism.
Of course, if they continued their activities beyond the designated period, they would need to change their status through the approval of each country, and if any issues arose, the Church or Adventurers' Guild would be held responsible.
Therefore, whether it was the Guild or the Church, the identity of the dispatched personnel had to be reliable.
In other words, Catherine would give the believers plausible Church positions and use that as a pretext to send them to the new town Church being established in the Dukedom.
It was common for someone in a position to travel with attendants or pages.
She would even give a position to the head of the family, allowing them to move as a family unit.
It could be said that this was a powerful maneuver that only Catherine could pull off.
"Still, with this many dispatches, the country is definitely going to intervene... the period is at best until the end of spring break."
"So that means we need to get permission from the country before then, right?"
Randy frowned as Catherine nodded again, replying, "Exactly."
"The kingdom side will make inquiries from me and the Archbishop, so we'll rely on the Dukedom side."
"Sounds like my job."
Liz smiled and continued happily, "It's been a while since I felt like a civil servant."
"I can trust Elizabeth with this. I was worried about the big guy, but now I feel at ease."
Catherine grinned mischievously as Randy frowned deeply, asking, "What do you mean by that?"
"That's what I mean."
Without showing any signs of guilt, Catherine waved her hand at the two, saying, "The carriage is waiting outside too."
"Oh, right. I've already arranged for the personnel based on the hopes you gave me... just take care of the rest for me."
Randy nodded in response to Catherine's slightly worried expression, saying, "Leave it to me."
Regardless of the reason, if Victor comes to work, that means he is part of Victor's team.
"Be sure to come back to the royal capital on the original date for the opening ceremony."
With her back turned, Catherine started walking towards the gate, saying, "You'll miss the solar eclipse."
The 3 of them watched her back and couldn't help but smile at each other.
In one way or another, Catherine, who takes care of others, and a relaxed version of herself, is probably her true form.
"Miss Catherine!"
Startled, Catherine's back jumped as Randy waved his hand, saying, "I will make the project a success."
Slowly turning around, Catherine looked somewhat embarrassed, but she still raised her hand subtly and continued walking away with her back to them.
"Well then. Shall we be heading back?"
Randy and Liz had already finished their greetings with the servants of the Marquis family.
So now all that was left was to have Liz use teleportation...
"Shall we go together?"
From the shadows of the garden trees, Randy heard several members of [Dark Tide] emerge, saying, "No..."
They had been supporting Liz and Randy from the shadows for the past few days.
Since that day, when they returned from Waldner and Liz thanked them, these members had been unusually motivated.
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