“It doesn’t work, after all.” I sighed.
I had already figured as much, but I used Portal and it didn’t work. I wasn’t sure about Return. Since Portal was a dungeon point skill, and Return was merely a low-level Hero skill, it stood to reason it wouldn’t work either. They probably knew I was a Hero, so they would naturally know that I could use Return.
The reason I didn’t try it is that I didn’t feel desperate yet. Since the church has already gone this far to capture me, I supposed I had to see where this went. Return was a skill I could only test once, and then I might just be making things worse at that point.
“What do you want?” I asked instead, motioning for the girl’s to put their weapons away.
The paladin who appeared to be leading the rest sneered when he saw this, clearly unimpressed by a group of female fighters. It was the priest who was acting as the speaker though. Unfortunately, his attitude wasn’t much better.
“The Archbishop has ordered us to bring you in.” He responded. “They’d like to have a word with you.”
“Very well.” I clasped my hands calmly behind my back. “All you had to do was ask.”
Irritation flashed on the priest’s face, but then again, that was my intent. I wasn’t trying to be a troublemaker, but I had a feeling that this guy was a small fry, and he was trying to throw power he didn’t really have to look better than he actually was.
Seeing that I wasn’t sufficiently cowed even with Paladins surrounding me, the lips of the priest tightened and he made a gesture. “Come along.”
The group of us followed the circle of Paladins, who remained around us like a regiment of bodyguards, or rather prisoners. The procession certainly drew the notice of the crowds. Previously, I had remained pretty inconspicuous. We all wore cloaks with our hoods up, and kept our heads lowered.
“Isn’t that Lord Deek?”
“He’s the lord that saved the city?”
“Lord Deek, I love you!” A woman suddenly called out.
“You saved my sister!”
“Eh? What’s with those church guys?”
“Aren’t they being a bit stuffy? This is the city’s savior we’re talking about?”
“If they’re giving him an award, that guy in front sure looks arrogant.”
The whispering of the crowds seemed to be extremely supportive. I might have gloated, but I was just as surprised as the church. Apparently, in the few weeks, since the demon lord had been defeated, I had started to gain a reputation in the city. Some were even calling me the Hero of Aberis since the Capital didn’t officially give out Hero tokens as the villages did.
The priest, and by extension the church, who were escorting us started turning into an unappreciative villain in the eyes of the public. Even if he had way more guts, the priest couldn’t help but form an embarrassed expression. He perhaps had thought his own status made him a respected person of the city and worthy of worship. In the end, my credentials just outdid his own. The court of public opinion was a powerful thing. By the time we reached the church, even the disciplined paladins were feeling awkward.