Chapter Fifty-Four: The Yearning for Home

Hearing Seventeen’s words, Aust could hardly believe his ears.

He confirmed once again, “You’re really giving me half?”

“Yes, half!” Seventeen nodded.

He didn’t want Aust to keep thinking about him in the future, so he simply decided to grit his teeth and hand over half. That way, whether it was the Pope or Aust, the next time they came to ask for Moonlight Dew, they would think twice.

“You’re really generous!”

At that, Aust gave Seventeen a deep look. He understood well how rare Moonlight Dew was. He had thought it would be a miracle to get even a small cup. Who would have thought the other party would hand over half without hesitation, far surpassing his expectations?

Happiness had arrived so suddenly.

At the same time, seeing Seventeen’s magnanimity, Ruolan, standing nearby, was utterly dumbfounded.

“Hey, Lord Seventeen, when you gave it to me before, you measured it out drop by drop! How come with him, you just hand over half at once?” Ruolan protested indignantly.

Seventeen replied with righteous conviction, “Aust is taking the Moonlight Dew to heal the wounds of many injured Saints, rescuing people in dire need.”

“As a Saint of Athena, it's my duty to selflessly dedicate my power and help my companions!”

“But you took the Moonlight Dew just for beauty. Of course I can’t let you waste it carelessly!”

With that, he gave the girl a reproachful glare.

Ruolan retorted, unconvinced, “But that’s not what you said when you refused Aust just now!”

“That was just to test him, to see whether he was asking for Moonlight Dew for public or personal reasons!” Seventeen replied, sounding so earnest that he nearly convinced himself.

“Yes! I truly am asking for Moonlight Dew for everyone’s sake!” Aust added with a somewhat forced smile.

“Hmph, liars!”

Ruolan snorted coldly, turned her back, and ignored them both.

“Hurry and bring this guy in for treatment! If we miss the best time for healing, he might die!” Seventeen glanced meaningfully at Gamian, who was still slung over his shoulder.

“All right, follow me!”

Aust nodded, then headed inside the temple.

Seventeen followed with Gamian, while Ruolan sat sulking on the temple steps.

The temple’s exterior was very similar to the Twelve Palaces on Sacred Mountain, and even the interior layout was nearly identical.

Seventeen had the feeling that this must be a relic from when the Twelve Palaces were first built.

However, the temple was now filled with modern medical equipment, looking rather out of place amid the ancient stone hall.

“Lay him on that stone bed,” Aust said, pointing to a spot near the window where the light was good.

Seventeen complied, setting Gamian down as directed.

As he turned, he saw Aust looking at him awkwardly. “Um... for your half of the Moonlight Dew, what size vessel do I need?”

He knew half would be a lot, but he had no idea how much Moonlight Dew there was in total.

“About two liters,” Seventeen replied, wincing inwardly.

He could only collect a single drop a day, and now he was giving away half in one go. It made his heart bleed.

“Two liters?”

Aust glanced around, his eyes settling on a clear glass jar used for disinfectant, holding about three liters—plenty big enough.

He quickly cleaned out the jar.

“All set!”

He opened the jar, placing it before Seventeen, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Seventeen didn’t hesitate. He channeled his cosmos into the ring on his left hand.

The ring transformed, and a large, silver goblet appeared in his palm.

With a gentle tilting of the cup, and the sound of liquid trickling, the faintly glowing Moonlight Dew streamed like a small creek into the glass jar.

When the jar was nearly full and only half remained in the goblet, Seventeen finally stopped.

“Thank you so much! With all this Moonlight Dew, the casualties in Sanctuary will drop significantly!” Aust clutched the jar, eyes full of wonder, just as Ruolan had been the first time she received the dew.

“Gamian is in your hands now. I need to return to the Pope’s Palace to report in. We’ll talk again soon!” Seventeen put away the silver goblet, waved his hand, and headed for the temple doors.

“Yes, until next time,” Aust replied without even looking up.

Outside the temple, Seventeen saw the girl sitting on the steps, bored and counting her fingers.

“Let’s go to the Pope’s Hall,” he said, casually picking up a Cloth Box from the ground.

Now that he wasn’t burdened by Gamian, he couldn’t very well ask a young girl to carry two heavy boxes. One for each of them was just right.

On the way, Seventeen asked curiously, “The evil gods are causing havoc everywhere, so I suppose the East isn’t exempt?”

Ruolan nodded and smiled. “But Lord Dohko resides in Mount Lu. If any of them dare show themselves, they’ll immediately be met with the strongest retaliation from a Gold Saint!”

“Our East is easily one of the most peaceful places on earth. Those cultists only dare skulk around in secret—they couldn’t pull off anything like what happened in the Nile region.”

Over there, even the secular authorities had been infiltrated; the situation in the Nile was truly dire.

Though they had already dealt with the evil god’s temple, they couldn’t guarantee every last cultist had been caught.

No one knew how many might still be lurking among ordinary people.

All they could do was hope the cultists would keep a low profile and not cause too much trouble.

After all, Sanctuary existed to safeguard peace on earth, not to wage war against evil gods.

Once a campaign began, it was always the common folk who suffered most.

“Is that so? That’s truly a blessing!” Seventeen let out a long sigh of relief.

The East really was at peace.

“So, after you report in, what are your plans?” Ruolan asked curiously.

They had just suppressed the cultists; surely the Pope wouldn’t send them out again so soon.

“Me?”

Seventeen thought for a moment, then replied gravely, “I want to return to the East for a while—to mourn departed friends and family.”

Of course, mourning was just an excuse; his real goal was to visit the lands of the East.

Even though he wasn’t a native of this world, he still felt a special attachment to that familiar region.

Perhaps, on that land, he could find a touch of home to comfort his soul.

Hearing this, Ruolan’s smile faded. She too felt a pang of homesickness.

Long before the campaign, she had wanted to go home. Now, with Seventeen bringing it up again, she could no longer suppress her longing.

“I’ve decided! I’ll go back to the East with you!” she declared without hesitation.

Seventeen smiled. “Good, let’s go together! I’ve never been to Mount Lu—why don’t you show me around?”

“Mm!” the girl replied happily, nodding her agreement.