Ogre wasn't clear about the specific thoughts of the others.
He simply sat leisurely on a stool, starting to ponder and plan his next actions.
"Judging by the state of this Paladin... it shouldn't be hard to get him to help. I'll need to find an excuse to have him help investigate Yard and the bell tower. In that case... I'll need a reason to visit the city."
Ogre was calculating his plans in his mind.
He estimated that his identity shouldn't be an issue for at least a week, maybe even longer.
However... he couldn't predict everything.
Leaving was inevitable because Ogre had no interest in playing house here indefinitely.
"The only trouble is if my true identity is exposed."
Ogre wasn't sure if Macal would cover for him by hiding the truth from the church.
But he was already prepared for the worst.
"I'll need to prepare a disguise in advance..."
Ogre was considering staging an escape.
"Forget it, the more complicated the plan, the more likely it is to go wrong. It might be harder to leave then..."
After much thought, Ogre decided to leave some wolf hair behind when he left to divert Macal's attention.
"Geling... here, I bought this graphite pencil for you. Give it a try." Macal had already taken off his armor and changed into a set of fitted clothes.
The straightforwardness made Ogre's mouth twitch under the mask...
"Alright, maybe I was overthinking it."
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"Mm..." Ogre nodded, accepting the paper and pen.
After pretending to think for a moment, Ogre wrote his request on the paper—"I want to visit the city and see the different world my uncle talked about... Thank you."
Macal took the paper from Ogre.
After seeing Ogre's request, Macal fell silent.
The city... it's not a good place right now.
Conflicts among several noble families and the new City Lord's ideas...
These are unpredictable matters.
The Church of Dawn doesn't have a strong foundation in the city; villages and small towns are its stronghold.
If Yard hadn't volunteered to go to Frontier City a few years ago, the Church of Dawn there would probably still be barren.
But even with a great knight stationed there, Macal hadn't seen much improvement in the city's Church of Dawn...
Preaching on noble grounds is too difficult.
The place is also near the slums... a mix of dragons and fish.
But these are secondary concerns; the main issue is a recent major incident—some damned person, posing as an apprentice, directly killed the direct heir of a noble viscount in the city and even escaped.
This incident has significantly increased the intensity of inspections inside and outside the city...
The problem is, that person was a follower of the Dawn.
This has inadvertently targeted people like us...
"We can't let those guys see Miss Geling's face... especially those nobles, but the inspection issue, sigh, it's all because of that damned apprentice..."
Macal sighed inwardly; this was supposed to be a very simple matter.
But when these issues pile up, small matters become big ones.
"Geling..."
Macal didn't want to refuse the young girl's request, but for her safety, he had to reluctantly decline—it was a priority for the Priest.
Matters concerning the Paladin's rules were not something he could afford to handle.
Ogre guessed Macal's thoughts, took back the paper, and quickly wrote—"It's okay, Geling can visit later... Thank you."
"Miss Geling, I..."
Looking at the paper Ogre turned over, Macal couldn't bring himself to refuse directly.
"I'll find a way for you, Geling," Macal sighed.
He really couldn't refuse a request from an innocent girl.
But then he looked seriously at Ogre and said, "But, but you must stay close to me, Miss Geling. I'll take you there in the next couple of days."
That broken place in the city...
Having Miss Geling wear a mask is definitely not an option, but showing her face would definitely cause trouble, attracting the interest of those nobles... that would be a big problem.
"Make a human skin mask? Or put some makeup on Miss Geling, though risky, it's doable..."
In this regard, Macal wasn't too worried; he was more concerned about unexpected events after entering the city.
Actually, the increased search efforts in the city weren't entirely due to the apprentice who killed the noble heir; it was mainly because the winter beast tide was approaching, and more people were migrating into the city.
Naturally, restrictions had increased as well.
"Thank..." Ogre 'struggled' to say thanks.
A half-mute identity was easier to maintain than a mute one, with fewer restrictions.
"No need to thank me, it's what I should do." Macal scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"Is there anything else you want, like a beautiful dress... or some jewelry?"
This question left Ogre speechless.
Although he had never pursued a human female, he felt this method of pursuit was definitely flawed—who makes requests like this?
After a moment of silence, Ogre shook his head.
"No..."
What use are jewelry and such? If you die, can you explode more wealth?
Then Ogre replied on the paper—"The nun's habit is already very good; I've always worn this."
This reply instantly made Macal feel a pang of heartache.
He hadn't expected there to be such a pure and strong girl nowadays.
Perhaps love had lowered his intelligence.
Macal didn't consider another possibility.
How could a relative of a Paladin live so simply?
In fact, what Ogre wanted to express was that he had been practicing asceticism since childhood and didn't care about material pursuits.
He hadn't expected someone to interpret it as having experienced hardship since childhood.
"Is there anything else Miss Geling needs?" Macal asked again.
Ogre thought for a moment, then finally said one word, "Books..."
He figured the knowledge this Paladin could acquire should be more useful than what he could get.
After all, if he was idle, he might as well read more books.
"No problem, Miss Geling, what kind of books do you want?"
At this moment, Ogre had already formed a perfect image in Macal's mind—intelligent, strong, beautiful... and gentle.
Perhaps it was because she was too perfect that the gods took away her voice...
Hmm... some parts seemed a bit underdeveloped.
But there's room for growth, isn't there?
As he pondered, Macal realized he didn't even know Ogre's age.
At this moment, Ogre had already written his request on the paper—"I want to read some books from the Church of Truth; I really like that interesting knowledge."
"No problem," Macal agreed readily, though it was a bit troublesome, it wasn't a big issue.
"By the way, Miss Geling, how old are you this year?" Macal asked cautiously.
Ogre paused for a moment, then picked up the pen and wrote sixteen on the paper.
"In a few months, I'll be seventeen, almost an adult..." Ogre mused about the passage of time.
Time flies by so unnoticed.
In the blink of an eye, he had grown up.
"Sixteen..." Macal secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The Empire's law states that males are considered adults at seventeen and females at sixteen.
"You're so much younger than me..."
But after carefully comparing the age difference, Macal felt a bit troubled.
He realized he was quite a bit older than Ogre.
Twenty-nine compared to sixteen...
Which means when he had his coming-of-age ceremony, Ogre was only four...
"Something feels off..." Thinking about it, Macal suddenly felt a bit like a pervert...
"Dinner's ready!" Fortunately, Aunt Mima brought in the food at that moment.