Low-Fantasy Occultist Isekai

The faith of Sashara, the Burning Goddess, was the most widespread in western Berea. Her priests worked hard to maintain this state of things, tending to the spiritual needs of the people and occasionally holding free healing sessions that greatly increased their popularity.

However, it was not the only one. Some were hidden, like the beastmen's worship of their old gods, who had faded from the land. They were forced to put on a facade of belief in Sashara to be accepted by human society, but it was well understood that theirs was more a respectful reverence than true faith.

Others did not need to hide. The kingdom of Berea had no official deity that they held above all others, and while Sashara was considered among the major gods, she wasn't the only one with that status.

Ulter, the god of the seas, didn't have a strong presence in the grassland since the waterways were few and far between, but his priests occasionally wandered through, waving the flag to remind the worshippers of Sashara not to rest easy.

Another deity that received some worship was Eztie, whose influence was mainly spread through the Sunlands in the south, but had also gained a decent following elsewhere due to the protection from sickness its priests could provide.

Eztie, as far as Nick knew, was a relatively harmless divine. Dedicated to eradicating sickness and corruption, it was neither male nor female, an idol of justice and health.

Few people ever thought badly of it or its followers, as their doctrine emphasized fair dealings with everyone. Of course, that didn't mean there was no tension, especially when it encroached on the domain of other gods, but overall, Nick would consider Eztie tolerable.

That was why he was so confused about why the temple was burning. He could feel the minor domain pressing on him even as he pulled the oxygen away from the flames, preventing their spread, so he knew a god hadn't caused it.

If that had been the case, the domain would have been destroyed, and there would have been very little he could have done to combat the fires.

Instead, the flames guttered out at his command, and as he continued pulling air away, aided by some local mages who had started summoning large amounts of water, they managed to suppress the blaze.

The temple remaining after everything was finished was burned and dirty, but he could tell at a glance that the structure hadn't sustained any real damage.

The fire had been perfectly mundane. That, if anything, only increased his confusion.

He wasn't familiar enough with Eztie's priests to know all their abilities, but they should have been fully capable of handling it themselves. Instead, what should have been a minor inconvenience turned into real danger, and if it had been allowed to spread much longer, Nick suspected it might have threatened the entire town.

Looking at the people who had helped him, he amended that. They might not be powerhouses, but working together, they probably would have brought it under control before it could reach other buildings.

That still left the mystery as to how it had even started.

"Young man!" He heard one of the mages call, and he nodded in acknowledgment of the older caster. Just because he wasn't a monster didn't mean he lacked experience. Nick had seen the man wield multiple streams of water simultaneously, with enough finesse not to knock down any walls.

That alone hinted at an Expert-tier spell.

"I must thank you for your help. It would have taken us much longer without you." The man was dressed in turquoise robes that concealed a tall, thin frame, and a long grey beard hung down his chest. Sweat dripped down his forehead, but he still stood firm.

"I saw the smoke as I was approaching the town and hurried as fast as I could," Nick replied, hopping over the charred remains of a fence. While he could tell nothing living remained within the temple, he could feel echoes of there having been at least a few people.

He hoped it'd been the smoke inhalation that did them in. Dying by burning alive wasn't a nice way to go.

Unfortunately, the pain and despair he could see seep through the ether didn't make that likely.

"Still, your control over the winds is very impressive for someone so young. Who is your master? I don't know any wind mages of that caliber around here, but they must be incredible."

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Nick side-eyed the man. Saying that he didn't have a teacher now would probably only make him more curious, but he didn't really feel like lying about this. Not when his identity would be revealed soon enough.

"I have learned from several people, and many tomes," he settled for saying. It was the truth, though far from the whole story.

The mage seemed surprised he didn't have a single master but recognized his dissimulation for what it was and didn't press further. "Then your talent must be even greater. I am Terrence, the Rushing Torrent. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Nick. I don't believe I have been given a title yet," he replied with amusement. Rushing Torrent felt appropriate, given what he'd seen him do, and he wondered what his nickname would end up being, considering how eclectic his skills were.

Together, they entered the temple's inner sanctum. Nick filtered the air without even thinking about it, which Terrence noticed with a twitch, but thankfully he didn't make a big deal out of it.

Nick followed his senses, leading him through rooms where the fire had completely destroyed the furniture, until he finally reached a chamber directly behind the main nave.

There, as he knew he would find, were the remains of Eztie's priests. About half a dozen men, all dead.

The bodies were burned, which made identifying anything about their features hard, but the half-melted steel scales they had around their necks were enough.

"Poor sods. I heard the local Justice has been missing for a week, but I never would have thought more misfortune would befall them." Terrence sighed, turning around. He didn't seem particularly disturbed by the bodies, which made sense if he was an adventurer, as Nick thought, but the sight wasn't pretty.

"This wasn't misfortune."

Before Terrence could ask, Nick crouched down and gently lifted the most intact body's arm. There, visible despite the overall condition, were twin slashes on the wrist. "They were killed."

It took several hours for everything to settle down. First, the local guards finally finished evacuating the nearby buildings and cordoned off the temple, worried it might collapse.

Nick knew it wouldn't, as he'd gotten to it in time, but if he had been just even half an hour later, he suspected it might have.

Then, they started taking statements from those helping to put out the fires. That quickly led them to Terrence and Nick, who had done most of the suppression.

"I only got to Honeyton when the smoke was already rising, so I can't tell you anything before then," he said for the umpteenth time.

The soldier seemed to share his frustration, though for different reasons. "And you have no idea what might have caused it? We heard from the others that you seemed to know your way around the temple."

Nick raised an eyebrow. Was the man seriously suggesting he was involved? Oh well, I can sense the Captain finally coming over, so this will be settled soon.

"I have a sensory spell that allows me to know where most things are. I felt the bodies and went to take a look, but I couldn't find anything about the fire's origin." That much was true. Whoever had done the deed had been careful enough not to leave traces in the ether that weren't drowned out by the emotions of fear and despair released by the poor priests.

It hinted at someone with significant skills, but he doubted the soldier would do much with that information.

"Bert! Why are you bothering the son of our new overlord, Baron Crowley?!" Called a raspy, low voice.

The soldier, Bert, quickly turned around in surprise, glancing between the man making his way toward them and Nick. Terrence, who had been talking with another soldier, also looked over, and soon everyone was staring.

Ugh. Maybe I shouldn't have stuck around.

"Sir Quack, sir! I was just taking his statement and asking a few follow-up questions, sir!" Bert said, firmly staring at nothing.

A mixture of amusement, annoyance, and dismissal churned within the older man, who took great pleasure in stopping just a few inches away from the poor soldier. "Do you think a noble of high standing could have anything to do with the fire?!"

"No, sir!" Bert shouted, "I do not believe that, sir!"

"Then why were you harassing him?!" Again, Quack seemed to be doing this more to amuse himself than to defend Nick. In fact, it was starting to verge on excessive. Considering that there had just been a multiple murder and arson committed in his town, and on a religious organization at that, Nick would have thought the man would have more important things to take care of, but he seemed to take pleasure in making Bert uncomfortable.

Finally, he had enough. "It's fine. Your man was just being thorough," he said.

Quack turned on him without missing a beat. For a moment, Nick wondered whether he, too, would be subjected to the same treatment, and he could see the desire to test him rising within the man, but ultimately, he just nodded. "Very well, I will take your word for it."

Without even dismissing Bert, he walked away from the man and said, "Come with me, Lord Nicholas. It's best we leave this unpleasant scene to my men."

Nick fell into step with him. He wasn't getting a good first impression, that much was clear, but he still had a duty to fulfill, and there was nothing else he could do here.

The two walked through the streets of Honeyton in silence for a while. Nick had almost expected the knight to harangue him or at least start a conversation, but he seemed perfectly content remaining quiet. Possibly to create an awkward silence to make him uncomfortable, but that might just be his imagination.

No matter, he wasn't the type to get annoyed by such things. He used the time to look around, since he hadn't been able to sightsee during his frantic rush to the temple.

Honeyton was a charming town. The buildings were mostly built with a golden stone that seemed to become opaque when the sun struck it just right, providing a fitting reason behind the settlement's name.

Overall, it was relatively impressive, with a slightly larger population than Floria and more high-quality shops lining the streets. The sudden blaze, however, had put a damper on the atmosphere, and people were busy watching where the dark smoke had started to thin in the air as the winds carried it away.

Finally, they reached a large building made of the same stone, which covered several blocks. A paved plaza extended in front of it, with a fountain that sprinkled water into a stone pool at its center.

They are wealthier than Floria, but that's not too surprising, since they see much more merchant traffic thanks to their closeness to the southern trade routes. We'll catch up in a few months.

"And here is my humble abode," Quack said, gesturing to the grand building. Again, he seemed to have settled within the manor, as had Poules, and ruled the town from there.

Nick wondered why his family alone had decided to keep the Town Hall separate from their residence, but he decided it didn't really matter.

"It looks beautiful," he dutifully replied.

Quack side-eyed him, grinning. "Yes, I suppose it might seem that way to you, but you'll soon realize that we minor nobles of the grassland are quite modest compared to the true aristocrats that rule cities."

Ah, so it's gonna be like that, huh?