Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Puyol
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"Pardon me, but who might you be?"
One of the monks who had rushed out asked. His expression had initially been grim, but after shining a lantern on the three of them, it softened considerably.
*We probably don't look like a band of thieves right now, do we?*
Jade greeted them as politely as he could.
"Good evening. Sorry to drop in unannounced in the middle of the night. I'm Jade from Rom. And this is Priestess Soph—she was living at a convent but had to leave due to circumstances and is traveling with me for now."
Soph kept her hood pulled low, offering only a slight glimpse of her face in greeting.
It wasn't unusual at all for a woman from a convent to avoid showing her face to strange men. And there were three hundred excuses on the spot for wearing a hood or hat—religious, political, or otherwise.
Explaining Ruby, on the other hand, was proving trickier.
"This one is..."
Jade gestured toward Ruby, fumbling for words before continuing.
"My disciple, Ruby."
He had worried the monks might suspect them, but surprisingly, their questions turned elsewhere.
"That door...?"
The first monk pointed at the fallen wooden door. Ruby then pointed at herself, then at the door.
*Hm, looks like she's honoring my request not to talk about it. Good thing.*
Jade, who knew the situation, instantly recognized Ruby was bragging about knocking it down, but the monks clearly didn't get it. Even if they did, they'd probably chalk it up to a trick of the eye.
"I gave the doorknob a knock, and it just toppled over."
Jade said.
From among the burly men stepped an elderly, short, older monk.
"Hmm, must've weakened in the wind. It was old; I meant to fix it but kept putting it off..." The old man cleared his throat dryly and continued.
"For now, all three of you, come in out of the storm. We're just preparing supper, so please join us inside. Since you're from Rom, why don't we break some dry bread together and catch up on the latest news? I'm Manoli, the abbot of this monastery."
Jade and Soph bowed politely in greeting.
They filed back toward the main building. Now that they were this close, the faint outline of the black rocky mountain appeared behind it.
One monk held the main door open, ushering his fellows inside first.
"Please, come in. Welcome to Saint Santarimo Monastery."
As Jade approached, the bald man holding the door smiled in greeting. It was an overly contrived smile that put him off.
"Thank you."
"The wind was howling so loud, I might've misheard—which you said your name was Jade?"
He asked just as Jade was passing through the door.
He wasn't as large as the other monks, but his sturdy shoulders exuded intimidation. He looked every bit the soldier.
"Yes, that's right."
Jade paused, and the man waved a hand.
"Ah, sorry if I came off too aggressive. Just confirming. I'm Puyol. Please, come in—the wind's fierce."
Jade entered, followed immediately by Ruby, but Soph had to stop at the door. Puyol was blocking it.
"My apologies, sister, but you'll need to use the outer guesthouse. I'm sure you understand."
Soph, as if she'd expected it, glanced at Jade and nodded to show it was fine.
Jade was momentarily at a loss for words.
"But... not just me, Priestess Soph is starving and needs water too..."
Puyol spoke softly but firmly, as if he'd anticipated everything.
"We'll bring your meal separately later. There's a well at the guesthouse. You may not know, but this monastery sits beneath Blackrock Mountain, so we have plenty of groundwater. Enough for daily baths without running short."
Jade still hesitated. He didn't want to leave Soph alone after reuniting with her after so many years.
*If I insist on going to the guesthouse too, will that look suspicious?*
Soph pointed nonchalantly toward the detached building off to the side.
"That building over there?"
"Yes. It's empty—take any room you like."
Puyol merely pointed, without escorting her.
Soph gave Jade a quick nod and headed to the guesthouse. Her blank expression struck him as hurt, amplifying his guilt since he knew she wasn't the type to get upset over something like that.
Jade wanted to watch until Soph safely entered the guesthouse, but Puyol shut the door. It was probably just to keep out the sandstorm, but it felt like he was deliberately blocking the view.
"You've come all the way from Rom to this remote place—must be quite the story. Oh, not prying, of course. Red Desert bandits sometimes disguise themselves as travelers to sneak in here. We fend them off with force every time."
Jade replied as they walked down the dim corridor.
"As you can see, we're just lost in the desert."
"Truly blessed by the gods. In a sandstorm like this, you can't even see ten steps ahead."
"Not ten—five steps was impossible. We were lucky."
"Luck doesn't cover it. About three months ago, something like this happened. A young monk stepped out in a storm half this bad to fetch a pickaxe he'd left outside during the day. Next morning, we found his body right by the door—not even a step away. He'd circled the spot all night without finding it."
"That's awful..."
Jade shuddered belatedly, realizing he could've ended up the same without Soph and Ruby. And somehow, it felt like Puyol was deliberately trying to scare him.
"But you made it safely to our monastery, so the gods must've guided you."
Puyol was polite, yet Jade grew suspicious.
*He's not naturally polite. He's putting on an act.*
Jade made a request to buy time.
"Could I wash up first? I can't sit at the table like this."
Puyol refused cheerfully.
"No need. Getting covered in sand is routine here—God won't mind a little at the table. He'd dislike delaying supper more. Wash your hands with the water in your room. We'll prepare a bath after the meal."
"And Priestess Soph's meal...?"
"Don't worry. I'll handle it personally. As a priestess, she'll need to prepare her own bath, of course. Here—use this room."
Puyol opened a door at the end of the corridor. Inside were two straw-stuffed beds on either side.
"I'll wait outside. Supper's almost ready—hurry if you can."
Puyol bowed and left. The door, which he'd closed courteously, creaked slightly open.
*The hinges must be worn. But it looks intentional.*
Jade poured water from the jug by the door into a basin and washed his hands. Ruby mimicked him awkwardly like a child copying his dad, then covered her mouth with wet hands.
Jade shook his head and pointed outside. He'd expected her to raise hell silently, but Ruby surprisingly nodded obediently.
"Looks like the wound's gotten worse. Hurts more than before—take a look?"
Jade showed Ruby the bite on his neck from the little demon at the temple.
Ruby shook her head. Still silent, but her expression screamed *you're in big trouble now*. Jade's heart sank.
From outside came Puyol's fake cough.
"Brother Jade, still in there? Everyone's waiting."
"Sorry, but I got this wound in the desert—mind treating it first?"
At Jade's words, Puyol slipped silently inside.
"Oh? Let me see."
He inspected the wound, shrugging it off as no big deal.
"Bitten by a desert beast, huh?"
"A strange one."
"Lately, the desert's crawling with freakish creatures—not wrong to call them demons. Scary world. We're always on edge, wondering when those monsters'll hit the monastery."
He clasped his hands neatly in front of his belly and continued.
"There's an herb for wounds like this—it heals fast. I'll whip some up. Takes about half an hour, so how about eating in the meantime? Eat well, treat it with the salve, sleep it off—you'll be fine in a week."
Puyol didn't grab his sleeve, but nearly dragged him out by force.
"Fine."
Jade had no choice but to follow into the corridor.
Ruby strolled casually beside him.
*It'll be okay. Even if ten monsters burst in, I've got an angel who can protect me—what could go wrong?*
Jade's worries centered on Soph.
*Gotta check on her soon...*
♦
Nearly twenty monks sat in the dining hall, awaiting supper. Smaller than Jerba Monastery, but the food on the tables was no less impressive.
*Where do they get provisions like this in the middle of the desert?*
Jade wondered, but his muddled head soon dismissed it.
Abbot Manoli at the end of the table spoke.
"Take that seat, Brother Jade. We've been waiting."
In the earlier dim storm, Jade hadn't seen clearly, but Manoli was a kindly old man with a bald pate and white eyebrows.
Jade had barely sat when Manoli led a prayer. Ruby sat blankly; Jade mimicked prayer awkwardly at the suddenness.
After the brief prayer, Manoli introduced each seated monk one by one, but Jade was too distracted to remember a single name.
Outside, fierce winds rattled the wooden windows; inside, the heat was stifling. Already feverish, the humid warmth made Jade dizzy like he had the flu.
Candles spaced evenly on the table flickered, worsening his vertigo.
*Puyol's nowhere in sight. Off making the salve? He insisted on keeping supper on time, yet skips it himself.*
Appetite gone, Jade still tore off a piece of the bread before him.
"Speaking of, I hear silverware's all the rage in Rom these days—is it true?"
Abbot Manoli asked.
"More like it's standard for nobles already."
Jade forced a smile in reply.
"A shame. God gave us two hands and fingers, yet we use wicked tools like plates and forks."
Manoli continued gravely, as if they'd committed blasphemy.
"Doesn't the Second Scripture say: 'The angel spoke thus: Take the bread I have given with your hand, and you shall hear the word of God'? Surely Rotica's priests know what that means?"
Wooden tables with bread and dry cheese, no plates, was familiar to Jade. But in Rom or Bompay, clergy vied with fancy cutlery, and many Rom priests no longer ate by hand.
"There's debate on it. Mainstream view is it doesn't mean everyone must eat by hand."
Some monks clicked their tongues openly at Jade's words; Manoli shook his head.
"What's your take, Brother Jade?"
"I've no strong objection, influenced by freer church winds myself, but personally, I stick to eating by hand."
Jade hedged.
His old self would've pressed: *How do you eat hot meat dipped in sauce? You can insist on hands because there's no such food, right?* But now, he just wanted to let everything slide quietly.
Luckily, Ruby obeyed, sitting primly and stuffing bread enthusiastically.
"Your disciple beside you hasn't spoken—is he on a vow of silence?"
A monk whose name Jade couldn't recall asked.
"Yes. Not strictly by the rules, but he's so talkative I told him to try it as a test."
Ruby paused mid-bite, glaring challengingly at Jade.
Jade held his breath, fearing she'd blurt *Vow of silence? What bullshit!*, but she soon focused back on cheese and bread. Each bite, she lightly tapped the wooden table with her fist.
At first, Jade thought it some grave signal, but she repeated it every bite. Unable to say the bread was delicious, she was expressing it with gestures instead.
*Well, his first meal in five hundred years was just a scrap from travelers; this is the second, with cheese on top—no wonder it's heaven.*
Jade tasted nothing, managing a few bites of bread and sips of wine before pretending to eat. The wine wasn't great either—hard to tell if it was bad or just his appetite. Ruby's voracious eating drew no attention to Jade's lack thereof.
"Forgive the late question, but what brings you to this out-of-the-way monastery, brother?"
Abbot Manoli asked.
"Complicated reasons led me here. Didn't even know there was a monastery. Details after supper..."
Jade dodged again to buy time.
Manoli chuckled heartily.
"My apologies for being forward. Stuck here so long, I've forgotten city manners. Forgive me."
"No, no. I've been in monastery life myself lately, so I'm not used to chatting over meals."
Jade smiled back.
Thankfully, this monastery wasn't one for friendly supper talk either. Everyone focused silently on eating, barely glancing at neighbors.
*Hated Jerba's stiff vibe, but this is rock-hard. Couldn't last three months here, let alone three years.*
Jade planned to rush to Soph once supper ended, but before Manoli cleared plates, the abbot called.
"Brother Jade, a word?"
Jade scanned for Puyol's return one last time. Nothing.
He fiddled with the stinging wound as he replied.
"Sure. Ruby, head to the room first?"
Ruby eyed him intently, then nodded. Looked like his mind was elsewhere, half-hearing.
Jade confirmed Ruby left the dining hall, then followed Abbot Manoli out another door.