Ch.196[Chapter 196] Crossed Fates

Bishop Arkus and Ogreson successfully escaped the alley following the guidance of the white crow.

“Ugh, goodness. This is the first time I’ve been in such a narrow and irritating space.”

Ogreson looked back at the alley with disgust.

Although Feralant had fairly developed villages and castles, this was his first time in such an ant-hole-like alley.

Arkus nodded in agreement.

He was too exhausted from just escaping the alley to have the energy to speak.

“Let’s rest over there for a moment before continuing.”

Arkus raised his hand, mustering all his remaining strength.

Where Arkus’s finger pointed was a bar with the sign “Old World Blues.”

“It’s a tavern.”

Ogreson frowned.

The reason Ogreson could tell it was a bar was quite simple.

There were drawings of bottles and glasses at the entrance.

“Well, do you really think about drinking alcohol when it’s this bright outside?”

“What does it matter? The important thing is that we rest now, not whether we should drink or not.”

Arkus grumbled about why Ogreson was being so particular when they were already exhausted.

Perhaps Arkus’s faithful grumbling reached the heavens?

The sky suddenly changed from day to night.

It was a phenomenon caused by occasional server lag in Gacharland, but to the faithful Arkus, it looked like a message from the gods.

“Look. You said we shouldn’t drink during the day, and now the gods have drawn the curtain of night for us to rest!”

“Goodness. What kind of place is this?”

Ogreson muttered in disbelief at Arkus’s sophistry.

However, it was true that the situation itself did seem like a revelation telling them to rest, just as Arkus said.

Eventually, Ogreson was persuaded by Arkus and entered the bar Old World Blues.

Money wasn’t a concern.

They had brought some Feralant specialties for bartering.

…

“I’m sorry, but I cannot accept these.”

The bartender at Old World Blues said with a troubled expression.

“Good grief. I knew this would happen.”

“Look at this. Such perfect bear fur is not common. And these silver coins have a high silver content.”

Bishop Arkus desperately tried to negotiate.

However, the bartender just shook his head with a troubled expression, indicating there was nothing he could do.

Ogreson placed his pot-lid-sized hand on his forehead as if this was expected.

It was obvious, but the money they had was completely useless in Gacharland.

One might ask if the silver coins had value equal to their silver content, but items without system approval and currency that hadn’t gone through proper exchange couldn’t even circulate within Gacharland.

That’s why no one here could accept the bear fur and silver coins.

Yet Bishop Arkus pitifully clung to the bartender, refusing to give up.

Just imagine how pitiful Bishop Arkus looked.

Picture a skeleton-thin cleric in worn-out vestments, desperately pleading for a single drink with bear fur and a few silver coins.

Anyone would feel pity seeing this.

The bartender did, and so did the customers inside the bar.

“That’s why I said I’ll give you a free drink.”

“In Feralant, nothing is free. If you receive something, you must give something in return. No matter what, I cannot accept charity.”

“My goodness, you’re so stubborn.”

Indeed.

In fact, the people in the bar wanted to show hospitality to these obvious outsiders by offering them a free drink and a snack.

However, Arkus, believing this place to be the afterlife of the white crow god, thought it was a test of his doctrine, leading to the current standoff.

“Let’s just accept their kindness. Refusing too much is also embarrassing.”

Ogreson looked around.

The customers were staring at Arkus with expressions that seemed to ask if he had lost his mind, and the bartender’s face was beginning to contort as his patience wore thin.

Fortunately, a newly arrived customer… no, two… no, three of them put an end to this situation.

“Oh my, what’s with the crow? Bartender, one strawberry milk and one chocolate milk please.”

“But a white crow is a good omen, isn’t it?”

“It just circled above our heads without posing any danger.”

Remy, Dr. Phantom, and Android Zero Back opened the heavy door of the bar Old World Blues and entered.

Their heads were covered with white feathers which, according to Dr. Phantom, belonged to the white crow.

“Huh? What’s going on? Why is it so noisy in here?”

Remy asked, looking around the chaotic bar while shaking off the feathers.

“Well, you see, this priest here…”

One of the customers explained everything that had happened, looking troubled.

A priest and mercenary who suddenly entered.

A priest who tried to barter for drinks because he had no money.

But since the items and currency weren’t approved, the transaction was impossible.

Instead, they tried to offer a free drink, but the priest strangely refused.

That was the situation in a nutshell.

“Well, that’s easy to solve.”

Remy approached the priest and said.

“There’s no one here who can verify the value of the fur and coins. So just have your drink now, and come back later to pay once you’ve had the value assessed.”

“Right. It’s just a matter of order, isn’t it? Whether you pay first and then drink, or drink first and then pay, only the sequence is different.”

Remy and Dr. Phantom clearly resolved the situation.

Remy approached Arkus and Ogreson to explain the current situation, with Dr. Phantom backing him up.

Only then did Arkus realize that this situation wasn’t a test or anything, just a misunderstanding.

Arkus’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“Geez, why won’t these feathers come off?”

“I know. But white feathers like these seem quite rare.”

“They seem to contain a bit of divine power. Should I collect some for experiments?”

Remy and Dr. Phantom sat down at the seats right in front of the bartender as if nothing had happened.

Then they began sipping the strawberry milk and chocolate milk the bartender served through straws.

“…White feathers?”

Ogreson muttered, as if he was on the verge of understanding something.

White feathers. White crow. Hovering overhead.

“Ah.”

Ogreson turned his head to look at Remy and Dr. Phantom.

There was still a white feather stuck to the back of each of their heads that they hadn’t removed.

As if trying to tell them something, like a divine sign.

Ogreson hurriedly tapped Arkus on the shoulder.

Arkus, who had been lost in embarrassment, turned to Ogreson.

“What is it?”

“Look over there.”

Ogreson pointed at Remy and Dr. Phantom.

Arkus followed Ogreson’s finger with his gaze.

“Are those white crow feathers?”

At Ogreson’s words, Arkus’s eyes widened.

Judging by the divine power within them, those were indeed feathers of the white crow.

“Why do they have crow feathers…”

Arkus immediately changed his attitude and carefully observed Remy and Dr. Phantom.

Brown hair and emerald eyes. These were common physical characteristics even in Feralant.

Could it mean they were from Feralant?

Arkus’s expression became subtle.

The person they were looking for was Sir Dominic, not other people from Feralant.

White feathers attached to people who weren’t Sir Dominic.

That probably meant… their prayer had led them to the wrong person.

However, Bishop Arkus soon regained his composure.

One mistake can’t stop the persistence of Feralant people. With that thought, Bishop Arkus walked toward Remy and Dr. Phantom.

At least it was certain that they were from Feralant, so they might have information about Sir Dominic.

“Excuse me, do you know of Feralant?”

…

Sir Dominic followed the flying white crow.

The alleys were complex, but fortunately, the white crow hovered in one place until Sir Dominic got close to his destination.

But the white crow’s guidance ended just now.

Just before Sir Dominic arrived at his destination, the white crow disappeared.

“…Now I really have no choice but to look around carefully.”

Sir Dominic recalled once more the description of the guests from Feralant that the guard had told him.

One was a skeleton-thin cleric, and the other was a giant mercenary like an ogre.

With that in mind, Sir Dominic moved forward, carefully examining his surroundings.

“Where on earth could they be?”

Sir Dominic paused for a moment and opened his map app.

He intended to check the surrounding roads.

And soon after confirming the likely routes people would take, Sir Dominic continued walking.

But there were two interesting facts.

One was that the place where Sir Dominic had just been was right in front of the bar “Old World Blues”—

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

“I didn’t expect it, but to get this information… I’m truly grateful.”

“It’s nothing. When you said you were looking for your brother out of fan devotion, I couldn’t help but tell you.”

“How nice. When will I ever get such devoted fans, sister?”

And the other fact was that not long after Sir Dominic passed by, Arkus and Ogreson came out of that place and began walking in the opposite direction from where Sir Dominic had gone.

The direction Arkus and Ogreson were heading was toward the portal that led to Sir Dominic’s home.