CH-100

100 He Closed the Door

Shu Yue had originally planned to hide at the back first, and then reveal his identity as circumstances permitted after boarding the ship and leaving Sidan City.

After all, the sea voyage itself would take thirty to fifty days.

With so much time, he couldn't possibly stay confined to the cabin the entire time; he was bound to encounter people from the Savoy Diocese sooner or later.

Unexpectedly, he was called out before he even had the chance to board.

And now, to top it off, he had suddenly been assigned the persona of someone who could "completely cure the Black Death." He really only had himself to blame, always casually claiming he could hear the voice of the Lord. Now, the stone he lifted had smashed his own foot.

However, now was not the time to worry about personas.

At any rate, Bishop Holm's words had indeed greatly boosted the morale and confidence of the troops.

After all, most people had joined this relief effort with the mindset of embracing death or being sacrificial pawns. It was difficult to guarantee they would maintain sound judgment when facing the disaster.

Mindset was absolutely crucial for rescue operations.

Since the voyage would take at least a month, Shu Yue simply began teaching basic epidemic prevention knowledge to the non-Savoy Diocese members on board. This included maintaining strict hygiene habits, wearing and handling protective suits, and how to perform contactless deliveries, maintain social distancing, and limit verbal contact.

As for whether he could actually fulfill Bishop Holm's declaration in the future? That would be left to his future self and fate to handle.

There were still several months left, anyway.

If he failed, he could always think of a way to shift the blame, perhaps saying something like, "Someone's insincere heart has once again angered the Lord." In regions plagued by frequent disasters, there was certainly no shortage of moral decay and depravity. Using such instances as an excuse would surely allow him to extricate himself unscathed.

If all else failed, Shu Yue could also locate the lifeboat storage points on the ship in advance and escape under the cover of night.

Shu Yue didn't intend to put any pressure on himself by overthinking useless things.

Shortly after boarding, Shu Yue noticed that Naxi still hadn't come aboard.

Aside from a few changes of clothes, his sole possession was the little fox. He had already decided: if they ended up so poor they had nowhere to eat, he would just perform on the streets with Naxi.

Father Leighton saw Shu Yue looking around and asked, "Bishop Alis, is there something you need help with?"

"Naxi is still playing off the ship." Shu Yue said casually, "Since there's still time before we depart, I'd like to go look for him."

Father Leighton immediately realized Shu Yue was talking about the little fox and quickly said, "Bishop Alis, you can wait right here. There's no need for you to trouble your legs. We all know what Naxi looks like; we can go look for him. Besides, Naxi is always very well-behaved. We'll find him quickly."

"..."

This was precisely one reason Shu Yue genuinely didn't want to reveal his identity too early.

People from the Savoy Diocese rarely let him do any physical work. Sometimes Shu Yue wondered what level of disability they thought he had; wherever he went, he was fussed over like a porcelain doll. And if he refused their help, they would look hurt and displeased.

Shu Yue couldn't help but sigh, "Leighton, you've changed."

Father Leighton asked in surprise, "Did I do something wrong?"

"You weren't like this before. Now every sentence starts with 'Bishop Alis' and ends with 'Sir.' It sounds awkward to me."

Father Leighton thought back and said, "But I seem to remember I've always addressed you this way?"

Shu Yue fell silent.

Father Leighton glanced around before lowering his voice to explain, "Among the mercenaries in our group, except for being somewhat polite to Bishop Holm, they look down on us Church personnel with disdain. They lack respect. If we don't establish authority early on, what if they try to bully you because you're young?"

Right after saying this, Leighton spotted the masked Duke Claude nearby. "You, the mercenary captain over there, come here for a moment."

Shu Yue: "..."

Claude had been supervising his busy subordinates. Hearing a young priest call him, he didn't turn his head, merely glanced sideways with his eyes, having no intention of responding.

Father Leighton quickly whispered an explanation to Shu Yue, "See? This kind of person is the typical local mercenary—arrogant, domineering, and looking down on everyone. If you don't put him in his place first, if we encounter danger later, he'll be the first to use you as a stepping stone. That would be extremely dangerous."

Shu Yue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He also wasn't sure how Leighton failed to recognize the Duke himself, but glancing at Leighton's worn, yellowed, and blurry old glasses, it seemed understandable why he couldn't identify Claude.

Father Leighton continued rambling on, "Let me say a few words to him. I saw this often in Sidan City. Those military leaders are all the same—none of them follow any rules." So saying, he boldly approached the aloof mercenary leader.

Before Leighton could utter a single word, the other man shot him a glance and coldly spat out a single word: "Get lost."

The word was sharp as a blade thrust directly at one's face. Father Leighton stumbled back in fright, but still managed to pat himself down as if recovering.

"Bishop Alis, this won't work. We don't fall for that."

Shu Yue laughed despite himself, "We'll all be on the same ship from now on. Inevitably, we'll need to help each other. Is that so difficult?"

The mercenary captain sneered, "Nonsense."

Shu Yue remained completely unruffled. He calmly turned to Father Leighton and said, "Speaking of which, I think this mercenary captain resembles someone. Don't you think so?"

Father Leighton leaned in closer, scrutinizing the man carefully, hesitating, "Well..."

As Leighton hesitated for a few seconds, Claude saw him lean in and whisper secretly to Shu Yue, "His aura feels like someone from the military. Could it be there's also..." ...a soldier...

Then, Claude saw Shu Yue raise an eyebrow at him—clearly intentional.

The Duke of the Northern Territory was forbidden to leave his domain under strict orders; violating this was tantamount to defying the Emperor's command. Should that happen, the Emperor could initiate military action against the Northern Territory.

Claude interrupted Father Leighton, "Does the Church need something?"

Sensing the mercenary captain's tone had softened somewhat, Father Leighton's own manner eased. He immediately said, "You're the mercenary captain. Besides escorting the supplies and protecting Bishop Holm, please also protect our Bishop Alis."

Claude retorted, "On what grounds?"

Father Leighton pulled a gold coin from his pocket and pressed it firmly into Claude's hand. "If you perform well, there'll be more to come. You're a mercenary, aren't you? Isn't your job to earn money?"

Claude raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to Shu Yue who was watching the show nearby. "It seems in your Church, you're only worth one gold coin. Shouldn't it be at least 1000 gold coins for me?"

Father Leighton had never encountered such shameless price-gouging. He was about to berate the scoundrel when Shu Yue stopped him. "You think highly of me, to believe I'm worth ten thousand silver coins?"

Claude had meant to say that the value of his own labor was high, but Shu Yue twisted it into a comment about Claude's own worth being high.

Just as Claude was about to retort sarcastically, Leighton, unable to contain himself, interrupted, "...Bishop Alis, don't speak with such a money-grubber. You'll soil yourself."

Leighton pulled Shu Yue back a few steps, adjusted his glasses, and said sternly to Claude, "Don't talk to us! Stay away from us!"

Claude was completely speechless: "..."

Claude couldn't be bothered to deal with these unreasonable people. He turned to leave, unwilling to engage further, when suddenly he heard Shu Yue chuckle softly at his discomfiture.

Claude frowned slightly, shot him a cold glare, and then walked away from the spot.

Shu Yue's eyes followed the surroundings, noting that although Claude's men had a strong presence, they hadn't developed any provocative or aggressive intentions because of the scene that had just played out.

Only then did he lower his voice to remind Father Leighton, "That person isn't to be trifled with. Don't be alone with him for too long. You'll only lose out."

"Alright."

Father Leighton had no desire to be alone with that grim figure either and agreed readily.

"I'll go find Naxi then."

Shu Yue nodded slightly, watching him leave. He strolled around the deck a bit himself before returning to the cabins to find Bishop Holm.

He had some ideas he wanted to discuss with Bishop Holm.

When he returned to his own cabin, he saw the little fox Naxi tied to the leg of the bed, whimpering sadly.

Shu Yue sensed something was off.

If Father Leighton had found Naxi, he would have either brought the fox straight to Shu Yue or placed him on the bed. He wouldn't have treated Naxi like this.

So, he stopped at the doorway and waited silently for two seconds before suddenly speaking, "Finnian? Lesley?"

Sure enough, the two youths couldn't contain themselves and emerged.

They had been impatient to see Shu Yue. Their original plan involved putting on airs and acting aloof, but upon hearing his voice, they couldn't help coming out.

Finnian wasn't in a hurry to smile. He sat deliberately on Shu Yue's bed, arms crossed, putting on a stern face. "The ship's about to depart, and little Naxi is right here. Give us a straight answer. If you don't let us come along, we'll pluck every hair off Naxi."

Naxi curled into a trembling ball, whimpering pitifully.

Shu Yue was both amused and exasperated. "If you come along, what if you miss the debate competition? This trip will take several months."

Finnian said righteously, "Well, whose fault is it that you've been so careless lately? If a child in the disaster zone tried to harm you, I bet you wouldn't even push them away. How could we rest easy?"

Shu Yue looked at Lesley. "Do you think the same way?"

Lesley nodded.

Shu Yue smiled. "Alright then, you can come."

As soon as he spoke, Lesley visibly relaxed.

Finnian grinned and came up to Shu Yue, tugging at his own clothes complainingly. "These days of travel have been exhausting. The clothes don't breathe, and the food at the back of the column is awful. We tried several times to sneak to the front, but mercenaries and clergy kept catching us. Afraid of being seen by Savoy people, we always had to go back to the rear. That column is so long—"

There were 157 wagons alone.

And yet, the supplies they carried were barely enough to sustain a single diocese for two months.

Controlling the epidemic was one thing.

After leaving, they also needed to ensure the diocese's people had the means and strength to survive and rebuild.

These supplies were certainly insufficient.

Finnian, not wanting to dwell on such heavy topics, suddenly narrowed his eyes and smiled. "You agreed so readily. Does that mean you really wanted us to come along?"

Lesley corrected, "Us."

Finnian: "..."

Shu Yue couldn't help but laugh softly. "Since you've already followed me here, I'll write a letter to the academy first, stating that you're with me. Running away from school like that without permission warrants a serious demerit."

Finnian persisted with his earlier question, "You still haven't said it. Did you really want us to come?"

Shu Yue said lightly, "Sort of. I suppose it'll be livelier."

Finnian didn't believe him. "There are over 400 people in this group. Adding the two of us doesn't change much; missing us doesn't either. Just admit it openly."

Shu Yue just smiled. "With that personality, if you were at the academy, you'd shatter a lot of people's illusions about you."

Seeing that he couldn't pry Shu Yue's mouth open, Finnian huffed in dissatisfaction. Just as he was about to argue further, he suddenly frowned, sniffed his own sleeve, and looked disgusted. "How come I feel like I smell worse than Naxi?"

The little fox Naxi, who had been looking pitiful moments before, bristled at this remark, raising a front paw as if to claw at Finnian from a distance.

Shu Yue said, "Taking a bath on the ship means heating water and carrying it to the room yourself."

Finnian paused. "...We have to carry it ourselves?"

"Too much trouble? Want to go back?" Shu Yue seized the opportunity.

Finnian pouted, exchanged a glance with Lesley, then slapped his thigh and stood up. "Let's go. At least after washing, we can change into clean clothes. I'm going to soak for a good long while."

Shu Yue offered, "I'll help carry the hot water too. You can wash here in my room."

The diocese had clearly reserved the best rooms for the two bishops.

Alis's room was located in the most stable central section of the ship.

A full wall of porthole windows let sunlight flood the interior, warming the floorboards. The floor was immaculately clean, with a light-colored rug in the corner. In the center of the room stood a dark wooden desk, its edges worn smooth, accompanied by a high-backed chair. Neatly arranged on the desk were quill pens, clean parchment, and an hourglass.

On the other side of the room were a small sofa and a tea table. The cushioned chair had clearly been specially prepared; sitting in it meant sinking halfway into its softness. Near the cabin door, a corner was partitioned off as a separate washroom, equipped with a wooden tub and copper basin, with several hot water kettles placed nearby.

Everything inside was clean, quiet, spacious, exuding a silent sense of episcopal privilege.

Finnian added unceremoniously, "I'm staying in your room too!"

Shu Yue naturally didn't refuse. "Fine."

Lesley, standing by, was slightly taken aback by how easily Shu Yue agreed. "..."

Seeing Lesley's silence, Shu Yue took the opportunity to add, "Lesley, you should stay in my room as well. It's inconvenient for you to be cramped in the shared quarters over there, and there'd be no one to look out for you."

Lesley lowered his head, his fingertips lightly tapping his trouser seam, not answering immediately. But when it came time to boil and carry the bathwater, he was the first to rush and help, working more diligently than anyone.

Clearly, his actions had already given his answer.

Meanwhile, Father Leighton saw Shu Yue bringing the two students back and forth carrying hot water, realizing they wanted to wash off the dust of the journey quickly, and volunteered to help.

The journey had indeed been exhausting.

Most people could only wipe themselves down with damp cloths.

But Leighton knew well that Shu Yue was particular and loved cleanliness above all, and couldn't do without a hot bath.

Now that they could finally settle down properly, Shu Yue surely wanted to soak in a bath first to refresh himself.

Knowing the three had already made several trips, Leighton offered, "You all go back to the room. You can find someone to handle this sort of thing. A bishop needs dignity." Having said this, he went to the hot water boiler himself and fetched two more buckets.

Unfortunately, he lacked the strength and had to stop and rest frequently.

By chance, a tall mercenary walked steadily past. Father Leighton's eyes lit up, and he quickly called out, "Hey, you there, wait a moment! Help me out!"

The mercenary turned back—it was Claude himself.

Seeing it was the bespectacled priest again, whose glasses had even slipped down his nose, Claude's face was expressionless. "..."

Father Leighton, oblivious to the other man's thoughts, said directly, "Help me out, will you? Take this water to Bishop Alis's room. He wants to take a bath."

"...Why should I?"

Leighton found the voice familiar. He pushed his glasses up for a better look and his eyes met the speaker's—sure enough, it was that insufferably arrogant mercenary captain again. Talk about a narrow road for enemies. But he steeled himself and persisted, "Just help out, okay?"

Claude didn't move.

Leighton thought to himself that the only reason this man hadn't been beaten up yet was probably because he was the one doing all the beating. Leighton was admittedly a bit intimidated, but thinking that letting Shu Yue always carry his own water would be beneath a bishop's dignity, he gritted his teeth and reasoned earnestly, "Do you know how much Bishop Alis has done for the Northern Territory? And for free!"

"I know," Claude said flatly. "But that was his own choice."

"How can you be like this! Just taking the benefits without giving anything back?"

Claude moved to leave, ignoring him.

Indignant, Leighton shouted at his retreating back, "Even if you won't help, plenty of others would jump at the chance to serve!"

Claude didn't stop, merely retorting coolly, "Oh, I look forward to seeing that."

But just as the words left his mouth, a familiar figure approached from the other side.

Their eyes met, and they recognized each other instantly.

Yet neither initiated a greeting.

And then, Claude watched with his own eyes as his son Lesley silently took the two buckets of hot water from Leighton and, as if nothing had happened, headed straight for Bishop Alis's room.

Even though he clearly saw his own father watching him from a distance, Lesley casually closed the door behind him.

Claude: "..."