I wonder if anyone reads that section of the fic, the one that's blue. I'm not just referring to this one, but to the other fanfics. For example, I don't read any of them, so I don't think anyone else does, which is why I write all kinds of nonsense there. For me, it's just filler.
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I honestly don't remember anything from last night. Since it was the last day of the boat trip, they decided to have a farewell party, lots of alcohol, lots of dancing, lots of fun—if only I could remember it. I don't remember any of that, and all I got was a hangover. I asked Sulli for something to relieve the pain. She did what she could with what she had. It helped a little to make it less painful, but the pain persists.
Arthur: "Now what do we do?" he asked the group.
Trini: "I'll take Dante to where we're staying so his headache can go away."
Sulli: "I'll look for some herbs to make some medicine for Dante."
At that moment, I approached Arthur to ask him for something.
Dante: "Arthur, you're the team's hope. Look for information about the kingdom." Then I stood next to Trini. "Take the money from him, by force if necessary." It's very likely this legged animal will head to a casino under the guise of looking for information.
After they managed to take the money from him, I didn't get to see him. I only know that he was in bed. Next to me was Sulli with a book. It was "A Book of Fairy Tales." It was the first book I sent to Morgans to sell.
Sulli: "Were you always this imaginative, or are these stories based on real events?"
Dante: "Do you believe me if I say imagination?"
Sulli: "Something. That also makes me wonder about your life before all this."
Dante: "That doesn't matter. The past is the past. It's important to focus on the present and think about the future." I hope this can distract him from this conversation a bit. "Where are the others?"
Sulli: "Trini went to look for Arthur, who got into trouble. I'm here waiting for you to wake up." Well, the usual.
Dante: "Do you have any idea what happened?"
Sulli: "From what I know, he probably ended up in a casino, confronted someone from the country's nobility, and ended up imprisoned." He also ended up gambling without a single bit of money. "It's just getting dark. If we leave immediately, we can find him before it's too late."
And with that, the headache gone, we set off.
After asking for directions, he arrived at the place where the city's criminals are held. Outside, Trini was arguing with a guard, getting worse.
Guard: "I'm telling you again, Mr. Mentecortés won't be available this morning after the daily mass." The guard didn't look like a guard; he was dressed more like a member of the church. It's quite strange.
Trini: "We're a bit urgent. We can't wait around forever. I'd already been told you were available for visits, but now, out of the blue, you're no longer available. If you don't want to see us, at least tell me to my face. We can't wait all day for your messed-up masses."
Guard: "Will you calm down, ma'am?" Mistake.
Trini: "What do you mean, ma'am? Did you call me old? I'm only 17." I watched as she pulled something out of her coat. This is bad. "Let's see if there's a bullt--." I didn't let her finish her sentence. She gets extremely angry when people refer to her as old or elderly, I know this from experience.
Dante: "Excuse my partner, she's crazy. Don't pay attention to anything she said. No, it's better to forget about it." I moved from Trini, who was covering her mouth, to Sulli. "Here, don't move or speak. It's an order." I turned back to the guard. "Then I'd like to confirm that my partner is in here. He's a little shorter than me, has black hair and brown eyes. He carried a spear with him. He's a bit ugly, but they still love him. Is he there?"
Guard: "Yes, he is," he said, a little perplexed.
Dante: "And your boss isn't available until tomorrow, right? How soon can we come talk to him?"
Guard: "He should be available for visits around 10:00 a.m."
Dante: "Thank you very much. Let him know we'll be back around that time."
With that, we headed back to the cabin we were renting. Arthur can stay in the dungeons tonight, so he can learn his lesson. Regarding the spear, thank goodness I bought it through the system. He can put it back in his inventory even if he's not near me. If we manage to find him before we leave, I just have to ask him to put the weapon away and get it out of there.
We had to buy a lot of pastries to calm Trini down; he seemed like a bull, literally.
Now my question is, how did Arthur get into the jail and how will we get him out cleanly? I wouldn't mind doing something a little shady to get him out, but we also need to investigate the disappearances, and the idea is to have the government's help would be ideal.
The next day, I decided to head off to the meeting place alone. I asked Trini and Sulli to look for information in a decent manner so it wouldn't end in trouble. I can't perform miracles anyway.
Once there, I spoke to the guards/monks to get in and speak to their boss. The place seemed very religious. I haven't seen much of it, but the whole city is like that. I hope the whole kingdom isn't like this.
They took me to the Archbishop of the city, Mr. Nicolás Mentecortés, the highest-ranking official in the city.
???: "Come in," was heard inside the room.
As soon as I entered, the place seemed filled with symbolism. I tried to see if I recognized any of it, but nothing; it all seemed very fabricated.
Mentecortés: "Nice to meet you, Archbishop Nicolas, Mentecortés. I imagine you're here for your friend Mr. Arthur, isn't that right, Mr. Dante?" I don't like where this is going. I feel like they're not going to release him, or they'll ask us to give an eye and a leg each for it.
Dante: "Yes, indeed. I'd like to get straight to the point. You can release my Arthur from his imprisonment." I still have faith.
Mentecortés: "That won't be possible." I no longer have faith. "Even if I wanted to get him out, there's only one way."
Dante: "And that's it?"
Mentecortés: "A seal of approval from the country's four archbishops, along with that of the Pope." I want to cut myself a little. "Only that way can you release Arthur without any consequences."
I was pulling my hair out. When all this is over, I'll make a statue of him in honor of his stupidity and to remember him as the king of the indebted.
Mentecortés: "Calm down, sir, or rather, hero Dante, you are quite famous and beloved by the people. You just need to make yourself known and everything will be fine." In other words, they want to take advantage of my presence. "Most likely, each archbishop will ask you for something in exchange for the seals; it shouldn't be a problem for you." He looked at his watch and it seemed clear. "In this forest, there is a sweet fruit perfect for making wine. The problem is that it is the food of a very territorial beast. If you can make me a sweet nectar from that fruit, I will give you my seal, and it has to be in three days. Let's walk."
And so I leave his church/neighborhood association/I don't know what else to put here. Well, in words, I will have to do 5 missions at the very least to obtain Arthur's freedom. I decided to return to the inn to tell the kids the news.
Thankfully, some divine being was there. Sulli was massaging Trini's feet. It's worth noting that Sulli had a black eye and a trace of blood on her lip. Trini looked at me seriously and said,
Trini: "We lost all our savings," everyone fell silent. "Sulli was scammed the same way Arthur was." How does all this connect to that compulsive gambler?
Dante: "Tell me on the way. We have to do something, and we don't have much time." I signaled Hun to climb onto my shoulder. I was going to need her to quickly locate the fruit. Once everyone was ready, we left immediately.
It turns out the country has two things: a thieves' guild and a black market. In exchange for information, Arthur decided to bet his spear at the casino. This wasn't the first time he'd done so. He bet with a high-ranking noble and lost. When he saw he couldn't get the spear back, he met with the Thieves' Guild. They offered their help, only to end up selling it out. Arthur ended up facing charges ranging from kidnapping to hiring hitmen to eliminate a noble. I think we'll need those seals.
When they tried to gather information about the disappearances and what Arthur was looking for, Sulli met with the Thieves' Guild. They offered him help, and he accepted. He pointed out that they didn't present themselves as a Thieves' Guild, but as armed merchants. Simply put, they set a trap and stole everything. The only good thing is that they managed to recover the important things, but everything related to money was lost somewhere.
I also told them about my conversation with Archbishop Gentlemind. It was a pain, but they agreed to do the missions to get Arthur out without any problems. It would help us search for information in different cities. Plus, getting a certain amount of fruit would give us the opportunity to sell it and earn money for the trip. But that was the least of our problems.
As we walked, Hun appeared flying near us. This meant she had found the fruit. She led us in the direction where it was. As we walked, we felt presences in the area, and Trini was the same. After walking, feeling followed, we reached a clearing. The place was full of the fruit the archbishop had requested. I was about to set foot there when Trini stopped me. I turned around to ask her, but at that moment, I saw that she was also looking behind her.
There was a beast there. It looked very similar to the jeti, white, hairy, tall, about 6 meters tall, and full of muscles. The problem wasn't that, but at a glance, there seemed to be about 20 of them, and I kept seeing more. I think I know why no one comes to this place. From that moment on, I started to hate the people who work at the church, and I wanted to leave Arthur in jail for the rest of his life.
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Quests couldn't be missing from an adventure. I won't include side quests or anything like that, as it will unnecessarily lengthen the story. I also want to point out that I've been writing this chapter since yesterday, and I've been thinking about it since before writing this fic, because it has nothing to do with the death of the pope who died today. It's just a coincidence. Any Catholic would tell them that I liked Pope Francis and that he should rest, that's all.