“Shaina already came to see you, didn’t she?” Marin landed beside Ryosho.
Catching the lingering fragrance in the air, she spoke.
“Yes.”
Marin had always been perceptive.
There was no hiding his meeting with Shaina from her, nor was there any need to.
“What did she want?”
“What about you?
Why are you here?”
Ryosho folded his arms and looked Marin up and down.
Her red hair fell in waves, and an indestructible metal mask covered her face.
A leather breastplate encased her impressive chest, with a single pauldron on her left shoulder and a black strap over her right.
Beneath the breastplate, a skintight black silk bodysuit clung to her graceful figure, tracing out alluring curves.
A flowing white sash was tied around her slender waist.
Red thigh-high stockings covered her long, straight legs, leaving a strip of pale skin exposed near the top of her left thigh.
The combination of black, white, and red was striking without sacrificing its charm.
“Have you stared enough?”
Marin’s voice was cold as she regarded Ryosho’s unabashed gaze.
Ryosho honestly shook his head.
How could anyone ever tire of looking at such a beautiful, mature, and alluring older woman?
Still, he stopped being quite so brazen and shifted his gaze to her face, or rather, to her mask.
Shaina and Marin truly had completely opposite personalities.
Shaina was fiery and hot-tempered, and she would resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.
Had he stared at Shaina so openly, she would have already struck him in the face with a Thunder Claw.
Marin, however, was much calmer and more reserved.
At most, she would silently look down on him.
Overall, Marin came across as intelligent and dependable.
Most importantly, she possessed exceptionally keen insight.
While the other Saints were still being kept in the dark by the Pope, Marin had already begun to question his true identity.
Along with that sharp insight, she also possessed remarkable initiative.
Once she became suspicious of the Pope, Marin climbed Star Hill, a place even Gold Saints would struggle to ascend, in search of answers.
There, she discovered the body of the Pope, who had been dead for sixteen years.
Marin had clearly guessed why Shaina had come.
Once Ryosho finally stopped staring at her, she said, “Since Shaina has already been here, I assume she told you that the Sanctuary and the Pope have taken notice of you.”
“Yes.”
Ryosho nodded, thinking, Not only that, she also told me you were investigating me.
“Then there’s no need for me to warn you at length.
With your strength, they shouldn’t pose much of a threat unless they send the strongest among the Silver Saints, or deploy a Gold Saint.”
With that, Marin prepared to leave.
She had already taken a considerable risk by coming here to inform Ryosho of the Sanctuary’s movements.
She needed to leave quickly.
If anyone discovered what she and Shaina had done, they would be branded traitors to the Sanctuary.
Once that happened, they would no longer have any place there.
That was why both of them had come to see him in the dead of night.
Neither had expected the other to come and deliver information to Ryosho as well.
“Wait, Marin.”
Seeing Marin turn to leave, Ryosho immediately called out to her.
“What else?”
Marin looked at him warily.
Ryosho felt somewhat helpless at her reaction.
If she distrusted him so much, why had she gone out of her way to warn him?
In that respect, Marin was not as straightforward as Shaina.
“Relax.
I just want to ask if there’s anywhere we can hide from the Sanctuary’s search.
Somewhere the Sanctuary won’t be able to find us.”
Marin stared at Ryosho for a long moment before answering, “If the Sanctuary wants to find someone, even hiding at the ends of the earth won’t help.”
Ryosho shrugged.
“Even so, there must be some places beyond the Sanctuary’s reach for now.”
Marin fell silent for a moment.
“There are indeed a few places that even the Sanctuary cannot interfere with at present.”
“Where?”
Ryosho asked eagerly.
“One is Jamir, the sacred land where Cloths are repaired.
Mu’s Mansion is located there, on the border between China and India.
The other is the Five Old Peaks of Rozan in China.”
Ryosho was somewhat disappointed to hear those answers.
They were certainly good choices, but he did not know either of the people there.
They might not be willing to shelter Manos and Cynthia.
“Anywhere else?”
Marin thought for a moment.
“The Valhalla Palace, Asgard in Northern Europe.”
He was even less familiar with that place.
There was also the language barrier.
“Anywhere else?”
Marin seemed to be growing impatient with his questions.
“You could gamble on hiding right under their noses, in one of the rural villages near the Sanctuary.”
Ryosho shook his head.
“That’s too risky.”
“Then there’s nowhere else.
I’ve told you everything I can.
You’ll have to decide for yourself where to go.”
“But you need to move quickly.
If you delay, it may be too late.”
With that, Marin swiftly left without waiting to see whether Ryosho had any more questions.
Ryosho watched her disappear into the distance, his eyes flickering as he considered her warning.
He had originally planned to infiltrate the Sanctuary and search the Saints’ Cemetery for clues about the fake “Saga.” Now, however, that seemed no different from walking straight into a trap.
He would have to put that plan aside for the time being.
The most urgent matter was getting Manos and Cynthia away from the Sanctuary as quickly as possible.
After receiving warnings from both Shaina and Marin, he could no longer shake the unease in his heart.
He knew perfectly well that Saga’s newly promoted Chief of Staff, Gigas, and his personal guard of Saints would stop at nothing to accomplish their mission.
For now, he could only assume the worst.
The fake “Saga” and Saga were working together.
That meant they had probably already learned that the Crateris Cloth had appeared.
They had most likely discovered his identity as well.
To obtain a Cloth with healing powers and the ability to foresee the future, they would probably resort to any means necessary.
The Pope might send powerful Silver Saints after him.
He might even dispatch Gold Saints directly.
With Ryosho’s current strength, facing a Silver Saint would not be much of a problem.
But if he encountered a Gold Saint, even Deathmask, the weakest among them, he would not have the slightest chance of victory.
In truth, luck had played a part in his victory over the fake “Saga.”
He had held the advantage by striking first.
He had also possessed superior information.
Without either of those advantages, there was no way he could have defeated his opponent so easily.
With that thought, Ryosho hesitated no longer.
He immediately returned to the blacksmith’s shop and woke Manos and Cynthia.
“Brother Ryosho, what’s wrong?”
Cynthia rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at him in confusion.
“There’s no time to explain.
Hurry and get dressed, kid.
Pack your things.
We need to leave and travel through the night.”
Cynthia froze for a moment.
But because she trusted Ryosho, she began dressing without another word.
Ryosho returned to his room, packed several changes of clothes, wrapped the Crateris Cloth Box in fabric, and secured it to his back before leaving the bedroom.
The elderly Manos had already packed his belongings.
He sat in the living room smoking, his aged face obscured by a thick cloud of smoke.
When Ryosho emerged from his room, Manos glanced up at him but said nothing.
He did not ask for an explanation either.
Once Cynthia came out carrying a small bag on her back, Manos rose, picked up his luggage, and silently followed Ryosho out of the blacksmith’s shop.
Only after they had left the village and put some distance between themselves and the Sanctuary did Manos finally speak.
“All right, kid.
Now can you tell me what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into?
You do know that a Sanctuary artisan who leaves without permission is considered a traitor and will be put to death.”
Ryosho carried Cynthia in his arms and gave a bitter smile.
“Grandpa Manos, there’s actually something I’ve been hiding from you.”
Manos glanced at the box on Ryosho’s back.
After spending so many years in the Sanctuary, how could he possibly fail to recognize what Ryosho was carrying?
“You awakened your Cosmo and obtained a Cloth, didn’t you?”
“You knew?”
“You little brat, do you think I’m blind?
There’s a huge square box strapped to your back.” Manos bristled and glared at him.
“Come on, tell this old man all about your glorious exploits.
Where did you steal that Cloth from, and how did you offend the Sanctuary so badly that you had to drag me into fleeing in the middle of the night?”
Ryosho smiled helplessly.
“I didn’t steal the Cloth, and I haven’t performed any glorious exploits.
The Sanctuary has fallen into a vortex of evil.
I’m only one of its victims.”
“You little brat…”
Manos wanted nothing more than to punch him twice.
“So where are you planning to take us?
The Sanctuary rules the Earthly Realm.
I’d like to know where you intend to settle us.”
Ryosho raised his head and looked east.
“China.
The Five Old Peaks of Rozan.”