Chapter 463: A Hollow Reunion

“…It’s been a while, Knight.”

Oliver greeted in the darkness he’d grown accustomed to.

Joanna, with Holy Power shining in her eyes, stared at Oliver silently, her golden pupils glowing with surprise and emotion.

It seemed she hadn’t expected to meet him here.

Oliver felt the same way. This led to some questions.

But why was Joanna here? What brought her?

Oliver wanted to ask, but for some reason, he couldn’t speak.

Joanna’s emotions weren’t just surprise; they were a mix of confusion, guilt, regret, and bewilderment.

It was similar to when Nora was caught with poisoned cookies and coffee.

Like a teenage girl caught doing something wrong.

Strangely, the Holy Knight Joanna overlapped with that fragile-looking girl for a moment.

Oliver decided to stay silent until Joanna calmed down. He didn’t know what to say.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds… Time passed without knowing how much, and Joanna finally spoke.

“What are you doing here?”

It was a very businesslike and ordinary question for someone meeting after so long. But it wasn’t bad.

Oliver, not being good with words, found it easier this way.

Oliver replied.

“I was working.”

“I see… You were hired for the shareholders’ meeting here?”

Joanna already knew, maybe she’d been told. After all, the Holy Knight at the port must’ve mentioned it.

But what concerned Oliver more was Joanna’s oddly downcast gaze. It was so different from before.

In the past, she was confident and assured no matter the situation. Now, it wasn’t like that.

She seemed to be shrinking, like someone who had lost their way, looking more like a sinner than a knight.

This didn’t match what Oliver had heard from Paul Carver and Edith of the Randa City Ministry of Internal Affairs.

They said she had bravely completed missions here at First Step, improving her skills, achieving many merits… She even distributed relief supplies in the slums with her salary and donations, earning the nickname ‘Saint.’ She was more diligent and active than ever before.

So Oliver thought she’d overcome the retaliation against her. But it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Oliver wanted to talk about this issue right away, but, like when he first met Nora, he felt it was difficult to explain, so he lied.

“…Yes.”

“What kind of work brought you to this building?”

“Hmm… It’s related to my job, so I can’t tell you the details.”

Oliver dodged the question again, but this time he had a clear reason.

It was too soon to talk to a Holy Knight about Prometheus Corp’s secrets.

Edith had strongly warned him to be careful about this part, as it involved demons, and a wrong move could lead to an uncontrollable situation.

Joanna seemed uneasy at Oliver’s response, but unlike before, she didn’t press for details.

It wasn’t an illusion. She was more broken and cracked than before.

“I’m sorry, but you need to leave… This building is managed by the Governor’s office.”

Oliver looked around, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and replied. As expected, there were only bloodstains and scratches visible.

“Yes, I understand… Are you going to arrest me?”

“…No.”

Joanna thought for a moment before answering and started walking forward.

Her appearance was so different from before. Oliver felt both unfamiliarity and curiosity as he followed her.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Joanna and Oliver walked through the darkness. The footsteps echoed loudly due to the silence. Oliver finally spoke to her back.

“Why did you come here, Knight?”

“…I heard someone suspicious had entered this place.”

“Ah, now that I think about it, you do patrol the slums and distribute relief supplies, right?”

“…How do you know that?”

Joanna stopped and asked. It was a reasonable question from her.

Oliver answered.

“My employer told me.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. He’d heard about it from Paul Carver and also a bit from Edith.

Fortunately, Joanna seemed to accept this explanation.

“…I see.”

Joanna began walking again, as if she didn’t want to have a deep conversation with Oliver.

Seeing her back, Oliver forced himself to continue the conversation. He felt he wouldn’t be able to achieve his real purpose in coming here otherwise.

“You’re really amazing.”

“…”

“I heard from Edith. You’ve fought many Red Ones Necromancers, protected the city, and even volunteered to patrol the slums, contributing to the city’s security.”

“…”

“She also said you do relief work with your own pay and donations.”

“…”

“Edith said so herself. She even mentioned you proposed a donation to her. Of course, she said she wouldn’t donate.”

It was true. Edith had been approached with many donation requests but had proudly rejected them all.

Even with more money than she could spend, she said she’d never help others.

It felt like some sort of belief.

Oliver continued with other stories, and Joanna walked forward silently. Eventually, they reached outside the slave quarters.

Under the starlit night sky, Joanna finally spoke.

“Stop talking.”

“Pardon?”

“I said stop talking. About what I’m doing here in the New Continent… Just don’t say anything.”

Joanna’s emotion shone with guilt, like a thorn stuck under a fingernail.

Surprisingly, Oliver quickly understood why she was reacting this way.

She had shown the same emotion in the past.

It was when Oliver asked her to save Rosborne at the secluded cathedral.

Oliver, who’d been speaking, fell silent, recalling Joanna’s emotions and that memory.

Joanna touched her eyes with her gauntlet-clad hand and then spoke.

“It’s not something worthy of praise, so stop talking about it. The more I hear, the more ashamed I feel.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

Joanna turned to look at Oliver. Her emotions shone with sadness, guilt, regret, and self-loathing, and as proof, her eyes were slightly moist.

“Everything I’ve done here was just to lessen my guilt. The guilt I felt at the cathedral.”

Oliver fell silent again. He wasn’t sure how to respond.

Joanna continued speaking, almost as if she was making a confession.

“I… I ignored the child at the cathedral. I tried to act too late and failed.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about it.”

Oliver remembered what the Holy Knight Elton had said.

During the interrogation, he mentioned Joanna had been transferred here after arguing with higher-ups about the investigation into the human experiments by the wizards.

‘That’s why sometimes we must compromise with the world… We aren’t blind or deaf. We know the city’s ugly side. But we are part of the Order. We can’t just act on our little sense of justice. Doing so might push the case further out of reach.’

At the same time, Oliver realized something.

Meeting him had made Joanna suffer. It was because of him, Joanna harbored guilt, regret, and turmoil.

Now he understood what had changed her.

Joanna spoke again.

“Just as you heard, I dared to speak of God yet ignored injustice. I tried to fix it too late and ended up here. So now, I’m just doing my best, hoping my sins might be forgiven… It’s all for selfish reasons.”

Joanna’s expression twisted the more she spoke. Her emotions revealed disgust and rejection, like someone chewing on maggots. At herself.

Because of this, Oliver thought back to what he had said to Joanna at the cathedral.

He felt he might have overstepped.

While Oliver was lost in thought, Joanna finished speaking.

“…So please, don’t say anything more. Just seeing you reminds me of my sins, and it pains me. When I see your skinny face, I’d rather you just disappear… I’m sorry for being so selfish.”

It was genuine. But Oliver spoke up. He needed to get an answer.

“I lied.”

“…What?”

“The reason I came to this city. It’s true I was hired by Edith for the shareholders’ meeting, but that’s not why I came. I was hired after I arrived.”

“…Then what brought you here?”

“I came to consult with you… Remember when you told me I was broken? At the time, it didn’t bother me, but now I think differently. So I came here to talk about-”

-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken so casually.”

“…I didn’t come here to blame you. I came to seek advice.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s the same. I have no advice to give you.”

“Could you tell me why?”

“…Because even I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore.”

Joanna answered with a sad smile.

Instinctively, Oliver realized it wasn’t just because of the cathedral incident. But he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“I…”

-It would be best if you left as soon as the shareholders’ meeting is over.”

“…Why?”

“I heard about what happened at the port. I don’t know the details, but all the Holy Knights here are watching you. They seem like they can’t forget the humiliation you caused.”

Humiliation indeed. After all, the Holy Knight had to let the Necromancer go openly due to Edith’s intervention. It must have been embarrassing for them.

“If you stay here after the shareholders’ meeting, you’ll likely face relentless investigation. Here on the New Continent, the Necromancers’ activities are intense, so the Holy Knights have more power.”

“Yes, I know.”

Oliver nodded. He already knew this, but it was still an interesting story.

With Necromancers running rampant, Holy Knights became stronger. It seemed like some kind of symbiotic relationship.

But more concerning was Joanna’s emotions.

The Red Ones Necromancers here in the New Continent were more savage than those in the Old Continent. Just thinking about their attempt to carry out a suicide bombing at the port using corpse puppets made that clear.

And yet, Joanna didn’t show hatred or hostility towards them. Instead, she seemed confused, sympathetic, and hesitant.

A very different emotional state from before.

Joanna seemed like she was finally going to walk away, as if she was done talking about herself.

Unconsciously, Oliver warned her.

“The Red Ones Necromancers are preparing to summon a demon.”

“…”

“Of course, I’m not sure. It’s just something I heard… But just in case, be careful.”

***

“You revealed such important information?”

Edith, after hearing Oliver’s report, asked. For some reason, the household staff seemed busy packing up.

“Yes, I apologize.”

“Normally, I’d curse you like a dog, but I’m busy and don’t care, so I’ll overlook it.”

“Thank you… But what do you mean by that? You don’t care?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. The shareholders’ meeting. More importantly, Prometheus Corp and this New Continent have nothing to do with me anymore. I’m leaving this bloody land.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“I’ve sold all my Prometheus Corp shares. Turns out I made a deal with a Royal Family agent. I sold all my shares for three times their value. Every single one.”

“What were the conditions?”

“Now you’re catching on, huh? The condition is I stop digging into the dirty secrets of Prometheus Corp. It’s the price of conscience.”