Chapter 377: The Deal Pt.13

They had already been back on the road for around thirty minutes and for whatever reason no one had actually said anything yet. They had instead all been just silently watching Tiff play with her new dagger but Lake was about to end this because he had realized them stopping hadn't made much sense because the unsealing had only taken a few seconds at most.

"Why did we stop? Could Tiff not have unsealed it in the cart?" As he started to talk Lake could tell he had snapped everyone out of thinking but he wanted an answer bad enough that he didn't care if he had interrupted their deep thoughts. "The unsealing process is normally very easy and you're right that it could have taken place anywhere normally but with the goddess being so weak and the fact this cart was designed to block Holy Mana it was best if we did it outside where there was the least resistance."

Like always with questions about magic matters there was an extremely simple answer that you would have needed years of reading to understand or just a few words from someone who knew the answer explaining it to you. It really just showed how useful having people that were far superior to you around that you could talk to.

Turning to Dawn, Lake pointed at the bow and asked. "Does your bow give you a skill as well?" Getting a nod Lake was about to ask what the skill did but stopped himself because he saw the look the Temple Head was giving him. Turning his head to look at her he was asked. "So what happened while you were chasing down the dagger?"

Lake had already kind of gone into it but she was clearly asking for details so he quickly made up a story and started telling it. "So I was around a day behind the whole time but it was clear the person I was chasing was some type of thief. Two major robberies happened in the Earth Domain while I was after them."

Lake knew it was kind of playing with fire saying he was around the area of the robberies but he knew they would eventually hear about what happened in Shallow and Keldon while he was in the Earth Domain so he might as well get in front of the story now. "That makes it more likely that it was Jon since he was able to steal the dagger. Was anyone killed at either location?"

Hearing Tiff's question, Lake knew this was a good chance for him to add some credibility to his story by playing into the idea of Jon she had created. "No, I spent a bit of time asking about what had happened at both places and no one said anything about any deaths."

"That aligns with the fact he saved me for no obvious reason right after I tried to kill him for the dagger. It's really too bad you weren't able to meet him and offer him a job." Lake had almost said that they didn't need that guy with him here but stopped himself because that sounded like something he would say if they were the same.

"He seems busy doing something already so I don't think he would have agreed even if I was able to chase him down. A peaceful handoff is already a good result." This sounded much more like something someone who was chasing a possibly dangerous person would say.

...

Tiff knew Lake was right but she couldn't help but think having a master Thief around would be great for her because that was the role the God of Light planned to train her up into and having someone like that around that she could get tips from would have been nice.

It wasn't like there were any other trustworthy thieves around that she could help train her so Jon getting away was a real waste in her opinion. She was going to keep that to herself for now though and ask the God of Light what he thought later before she brought looking for Jon up to Lake and the Temple Head.

...

Lake felt like he was kind of done explaining his last few days and was ready to change the subject to what the Temple Head had done for the last few days so he asked a similar question to the one she had asked him a few minutes ago. "So what happened while I was gone?"

He really wanted confirmation on whether they had actually kidnapped the Metal Oracle or not but he only planned to ask that directly if the Temple Head didn't say anything about it. "Well I'll just start at where we separated from one another. The Oracle let us know almost right away that there was a good chance the God of Metal would make peace with the Demon Lord instead of fighting so we instantly started getting ready for that once we made it back to the Temple and I left with the metal Oracle to go and speak to the God of Light. Almost as soon as we got there it was very clear the Oracle was holding information from us but no matter what she wouldn't tell us what it was so when she asked if she could head home we decided to hold her until we know for sure the God of Metal hadn't agreed to attack us with the demon Lord."

Lake actually didn't think what they had done sounded that bad because if they asked if the God of Metal had agreed in attacking them and the question hadn't been answered it made sense to hold onto your leverage until you knew why they wouldn't just say no to such an easy to answer question. historical

He still didn't want to be a part of it though so there was a good chance he would say he had to go back to the Alchemist Guild as soon as he got the rest of the explanation. "And why are you leaving the Holy Domain?"

"It was the best time to go even if it seems a bit premature because if we waited till it made sense for us to run the Demon Worshipers would have had time to gather their forces. I'm actually supposed to be meeting with all the other groups in the Holy Domain right now."

Remembering the weird meeting he had seen when he had been inside Lucas' office, Lake asked. "Are you talking about the meeting at the Alchemist Guild?" Getting a nod, Lake realized this was the reason they hadn't been talking just yet; all of them had been waiting for the Temple Head who was running late.

"It's likely that this plan of yours bought you all an hour or so because while I was inside the Alchemist guild I saw them and they were still waiting for you all to arrive." He didn't know if this meant they weren't being chased at the moment though because the demon Worshipers had probably already realized what the Temple Head had done.

"Why were you at the Alchemist Guild?" Lake had expected this question as soon as he said he had been inside the guild building so recently so he had an answer ready. "I was getting food. When I realized you and Tiff weren't at the Temple in the capital I didn't know where you were so I had to get ready for another trip and the food at the Alchemist Guild is much better than anywhere else."

To make this more believable Lake took out a simple piece of bread and took a bite. He would have offered them some but he wasn't sure if they would take any and he was still sure the food was supposed to be a secret that Lucas didn't want him to spread.

"The Food in the Light Domain isn't bad. Lots of vegetables and fruit you can't find anywhere else. It's honestly one of the better places to eat in my opinion." Dawn's words made him excited till he remembered the reason the food from the Alchemist Guild was so good had nothing to do with what the actual ingredients were and for the resort of his life he would find most things bland.

"I'll make sure to have a look around to see if there's anything I like in that case." He just decided to play along because saying he wasn't interested in actual food and would prefer to eat bread out of his bag would make it obvious there was something special about the food from the Alchemist guild.

"Alright I'll be heading back to the Alchemist Guild now. Lucas is getting annoyed with me for not doing anything so I have to go do a few tasks. Feel free to call me if you need something." Lake didn't waste any time after he said this and tried to get out but was stopped by the Temple Head grabbing him. "You should at least come to the Temple with us first. The God of Light will want to reward the man who found the dagger."

Lake actually wanted to avoid a meeting with the god who had killed the last Insider so he shook his head and said. "I can't." Lake knew it was weird to turn down an award but that was why he didn't really give a reason and just said he couldn't. Waving bye again he jumped out of the cart before casting Fly and rising into the sky.