Chapter 597 - 232: Zafarulla and Galina (2)

At the sight of this, Wei’en understood. These had to be the Five Great Churches of the Third Era recorded in the relic—the Sun Church, the Night Church, the Storm Church, the Earth Church, and the War Church.

The fact that he could clearly see the spires of those buildings also made him realize that the body he now occupied was on an upper floor of a tall building.

’A building on the periphery of the Five Great Churches...’

Wei’en thought of the great hall in the Caster City State that represented the City-State Council.

’So, is this place similar to where the Council is located?’

’The Turing Empire... perhaps it’s the royal palace... but that’s not certain.’

CREAK.

At this moment, Wei’en heard the sound of a door opening behind him.

Before he could react, the body had already turned to face the newcomer.

He was a young man in a red and white formal suit. He wore an ornament inlaid with gemstones of every color on his forehead, which reflected in his bright, sapphire-blue eyes. He had a straight nose, fair skin, and handsome features.

The gaze lingered on the man’s face for only a moment before the body dropped to one knee, its mouth opening to speak.

"Lord Zafarulla."

The voice was crisp and pleasant, making Wei’en realize the body he was in belonged to a woman. ’A guard? A maid?’

"Galina, I’ve told you, you don’t need to stand guard here all the time. Feel free to go and wander around the city-state when you have a moment."

The young man named Zafarulla had a gentle smile, and his tone, though feigning helplessness, was filled with friendliness and affection.

’Affection?’

Wei’en realized their relationship was not that of an ordinary guard and master.

"My apologies."

"Turing has just been founded, and this Umaru City State was also just completed. Many people have come from out of town." The young man shook his head and walked to the window to look out. "I don’t know what they all think of Leonard. Some of them might be hostile."

"My lord, I will protect you." The person named Galina bowed, her tone unchanging. "This is the duty bestowed upon me by the Empire."

"...Galina, there’s no one else here. You don’t have to act so deferential towards me." The young man turned back to look at her, a strange glint in his eye. "Have you forgotten that time when we were children, and I took you to watch Leonard taking a bath—"

"Silence, Lord Zafarulla! Those are not words an imperial minister should say!" the guard interrupted with great solemnity.

Zafarulla was speechless.

Wei’en was speechless.

’Is that really the tone a guard should be using?’

But he couldn’t do anything now. He could only watch as the young man sighed in resignation, turned, and walked over to sit at the desk on the other side of the room.

"Fine, have it your way."

"Yes, Lord Zafarulla!"

Zafarulla glanced over one last time, then pulled a book from his desk drawer.

’An Era Relic?’

’A black cover, gemstones... That’s it!’

Wei’en’s gaze, following that of the guard, swept over the book in the young man’s hands. He confirmed it was the same Era Relic he had been translating.

Sure enough, his Secret Inquiry Talent had allowed him to witness the scene of the relic’s creation.

It was just different from what he had imagined. He thought it would be like that time watching Gonzalez speak with the goddess, where he was a third-person observer.

He never expected to be possessing the body of a guard instead.

"The chaotic Second Era is over, and the continent has returned to peace. I can finally record Leonard’s glory as it deserves."

The young man spoke as if explaining himself to the guard.

The female guard simply watched, showing no intention of speaking.

Wei’en could only follow her gaze, watching as the young man opened the book and picked up a golden fountain pen.

"Galina, I know you’re still upset that you couldn’t participate in the final battle, but truthfully, that wasn’t something we were meant to be involved in."

"If that bastard Leonard hadn’t dragged me into it, I wouldn’t have gone. You have no idea how terrifying it was..."

The young man unscrewed the pen cap and wrote a paragraph on the book’s first page, all while chattering nonstop.

At this, he seemed to recall something and began to curse, "Beltrice is a lunatic, a complete madwoman! All she does is hide in the back and let out a breath. Doesn’t she realize how many dragons she ate? The stench back then... it nearly wiped all of us out in one go. BLECH."

’Beltrice?’

’Lady Storm?’

Wei’en was stunned. He had heard another familiar name; the last one was Leonard... whom he knew as the founder of the Turing Empire.

"I can’t even mention her. It just pisses me off!"

The young man indignantly wrote a passage in the book. "The chaotic Second Era was caused by several Chaos Source Souls that descended from beyond the Cloak of the World. They hid in various places, creating chaos and scheming to open the Cloak of the World to allow more of their kind to descend..."

’Source Souls?’

’Cloak of the World?’

’Wei’en guessed that was this world’s barrier. So, are Source Souls otherworldly deities with power rivaling the gods?’

’So that torn piece of parchment recorded a summary of the Second Era. No wonder...’

He recalled the warning in the Wizard’s Manual from when he first obtained it: "Do not attempt to pry into anything from before the Third Era."

’Perhaps that’s why that half-page of parchment was torn out.’

Then, another question occurred to Wei’en. ’Does using my Secret Inquiry Talent like this, unintentionally overhearing these secrets, count as prying?’

"However, it wasn’t all bad. At least after those others fell into slumber, the battle allowed both Beltrice and Juannita to ascend to godhood. They used the power from devouring the Source Souls to completely stabilize their domains."