The men were kind enough to lead Geremia to the improvised stable, where he received a large bale of hay to eat alongside the other massive warhorses. The men thought they would have to help the small donkey so he wouldn't fear the great stallions around him, but surprisingly, it was the horses that made way, as if they were looking at some kind of dangerous apex predator.
"Maybe he really is of a special breed," the soldier thought, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
Sasha was led to one of the campfires—not the large, main one in the center of the camp, but one reserved for soldiers of noble descent. He was very well received. A group of semi-equipped men and women, wearing armor only on their torsos, arms, and legs, greeted him enthusiastically while clearing space for him to settle onto one of the benches made from logs cut in the area. The freezing night wind mixed with the heat of the campfires brought a peculiar sensation to him; there were only a few meters of distance between each fire, leaving small pockets of shadow between the groups.
— "This is Sasha. He's heading to Brazanta."
— "So, my friend Sasha, why are you going to Brazanta? Is it for the beautiful half-breed women?" a bald man, smiling from ear to ear, asked as he rotated a meat skewer over the embers.
— "No, actually. I didn't know the women there were so highly acclaimed."
— "Really?" said a woman, her back leaning forward as she looked him up and down, her lips twitching slightly at the corner while she nipped her tongue with her teeth. — "The ladies from there are quite famous!" she finished, staring intently into his eyes.
He looked back at her, never breaking contact with her brown eyes, which reflected the campfire. — "I haven't traveled much yet."
— "You'll find out when you get there."
Gantz sat near the guards who had welcomed him. He noticed that every now and then, a few pairs would vanish into the edge of the forest and return some time later.
— "They're relieving themselves," said the woman with the vibrant brown eyes, not taking her gaze off him for a single moment. Her extremely curly white hair formed a crown around her head. She was small and delicate; despite her rustic manners, she radiated a very strong sense of innocence, at least in her physical features. Her eyes, however, possessed something incredibly sharp and piercing.
Gantz ignored the strange woman and began conversing with the others. Although he wasn't particularly social, he managed to extract some vital pieces of information, such as the reason behind their journey to Brazanta. He discovered that the Church had been sending dozens of retinues there in an attempt to convert the population, as the locals were apparently quite resistant to it.
"I don't doubt there are people linked to Olete's organization coming and going alongside these groups," he pondered while taking a sip of the hot drink he had just been handed. The green liquid still swirled within the rough wooden cup, a sweet steam rising from it. The flavor was bittersweet, the thick liquid hot at just the right temperature; he felt energized after a single gulp.
— "This is called Traveler's Vomit. It's made from roots and some special herbs that inhibit sleep and exhaustion."
— "I can imagine the reason behind the name," Gantz replied to the young men around him. — "Despite the color, the taste isn't unpleasant."
— "By the way, who is the leader of this retinue?"
The guards fell silent for a moment before speaking again, their voices dropping.
— "Her name is Anastasia Andromeda Lutania."
— "From the family of inquisitors?" Gantz asked, feigning surprise.
— "That's the one. Cold as ice, looks like a corpse." The man lowered his pitch, speaking as softly as possible. — "She was investigating a priest; the mission was recently concluded."
— "Which priest?"
— "Olete something-or-other," the man shrugged, adjusting his thick mustache.
Gantz straightened his posture and turned his gaze back to the fire, noticing the brown eyes still peering at his face. He smiled at her while tapping his fingers against the wood.
She shifted her gaze toward a man approaching the group. He wore a large blue leather coat, silver rings on his fingers, and his neatly styled hair appeared to be damp.
— "Is this where the so-called Sasha Natanael is?"
The soldiers stood and saluted the man, while Gantz rose a moment later.
— "That would be me, sir. How can I help you?"
— "Come with me." The fellow turned his back on the group, departing swiftly.
Gantz followed the man. Although he felt slightly stressed, he wasn't overly worried; he didn't believe he would be exposed. From what he knew, Sasha was a person whom Olete had made disappear. Apparently, people believed the man had fled his own wedding years ago, when in reality, he had been imprisoned and tortured by Olete to extract family secrets regarding body modification. Only a few people had the right to openly practice this type of technique, and the Natanael family was one of them.
He was led to a large blue tent, passing two colossally tall guards before stepping into an extremely luxurious room. Carpets lined the floor, and colorful pillows formed a mound on one side. There was also a double bed in the center of the place, adorned with beautiful bedding that seemed to be crafted from red magic silk, shimmering in gold depending on the angle of the light. He spotted clothes identical to the man's hanging on a hook nearby, and when his eyes focused, his heart stopped beating for a brief moment.
Pale, almost gray skin. Lips as red as an apple. Curves almost too symmetrical to have been naturally generated rather than manufactured. Her abundant bust, laced with several blue veins, spilled to the sides due to her lying flat on her back. Her sculptural abdomen rose and fell slowly.
— "Why am I here?" Gantz looked at the man, his eyes wide.
— "The Madam underwent surgery a few weeks ago. She was supposed to remain on bed rest for at least a month, but the call of the Inquisition arrived."
— "Okay, but what can I do?"
— "Don't play dumb. You are one of the last members of the Natanael family—one of the few families permitted to practice body modification."
Gantz averted his gaze from the inquisitor's gelid eyes and looked back at the woman on the bed. While he pretended to be lost in thought, a torrent of memories began to flood his consciousness. Shocks rippled through his muscles, causing slight tremors in his fingers and toes. This did not go unnoticed by the man, who seemed to be losing his patience.
Gantz turned and smiled at him. — "My apologies. It has been some time since I practiced such techniques; I was dusting off the memories buried deep within my consciousness."
The inquisitor merely nodded, maintaining his impassive expression.
Gantz touched the abdomen of the sleeping beauty. A shock coursed through his body while his heart pumped blood relentlessly. Ignoring his physical reactions, he slid his hand across the fair skin, feeling an abnormal heat radiating from the naked body.
— "Is she normally this hot?" he asked, turning to the man.
— "Yes. It is a trait of her lineage," he replied succinctly.
His hands paused at the center of the abdomen, feeling something out of place there. — "The newly implanted organ shifted out of place due to movement. She must be quite tough to endure this for so long!"
The man did not deign to answer him.
Closing his eyes, Gantz explored the newly introduced memories in his mind to locate the best treatment. A few seconds later, he opened them, and from them emanated blue flames, allowing him to see perfectly inside the woman. For a moment, he was stunned. Her organs were far more numerous than those of an ordinary person. Hearing a slight grunt from the man, he immediately stopped stalling.
He used both hands to channel a flexible blue energy, which flowed into the abdomen and contoured the entire organ, including its connecting veins. He moved it slowly, passing by others until he finally slotted it back into place where it belonged. Using threads of mana, he connected everything to the correct site before withdrawing his vision.
— "There. It wasn't anything too problematic. She just needs to rest for a while."
— "Excellent. You stay here and tend to her." The inquisitor left without waiting for a reply.
Gantz sat down on the pillows and waited, looking up, appreciating the contours of the designs on the ceiling.