Chapter 56: Salvation Church

That’s blood. When the Count coughed, I caught a glimpse of liquid spilling from his mouth.

Besides blood, the only other possibilities are vomit or spit. But it wasn’t the sound of vomiting, and there were no noticeable colors or solids. He wouldn’t spit that much, so what’s left…

‘Is it the Demon King’s curse? Or was he attacked for being discovered?’

Considering he was attacked, the interior doesn’t seem very chaotic. Are they trying to end the situation quietly, as if nothing happened, to avoid causing a commotion?

The Demon King’s curse. And being discovered.

The former isn’t good, but the latter is worse. If both happened together, it’s the absolute worst.

Without even considering which it might be, Lien assumed the absolute worst-case scenario.

‘When it comes to protecting our lord, we must always assume the worst.’

So, the Count infiltrated the place, got discovered, and faced a life-or-death crisis. He barely escaped but was injured in the process, and to make matters worse, he was afflicted by the Demon King’s curse.

And he mistook me for a pursuer, forcing him to run again before he could even catch his breath—

‘Did he go back inside?’

He must not have obtained satisfactory evidence.

‘Good heavens, to not give up even in that state. As expected of the Count….’

She hastily suppressed her rising emotions. A knight must not lose their composure.

What’s important now is how to respond.

Should I go in to escort the Count, whose condition and situation are likely dire, or should I wait outside?

‘If I go inside, we might miss each other.’

That would complicate things further.

But what if the Count is in a truly critical situation? What if he needs someone’s help?

‘…Damn it.’

She let out a long, stifled sigh, clutching her head. She was terrible at making these kinds of decisions.

That’s why she was so content with being a knight, where she only needed to follow orders, but fate had other plans.

As Lien hesitated, unable to easily decide on this crucial choice, a familiar voice reached her acutely sensitive ears.

Just a short walk away, around the corner, at the entrance of the Salvation Church.

“Summon the captain of the guard right now.”

“Excuse me? What are you suddenly talking about…”

“Suddenly?”

…

It’s definitely a voice I’ve heard before, but it feels unfamiliar. Is it not the person I’m thinking of?

No. The voice definitely belongs to the woman who chased me away with a bright smile at the entrance. However, her demeanor is so different that it’s hard to believe it’s the same person.

Such a chilling voice.

Her target seemed flustered into silence, prompting the same icy voice to continue.

“An intruder has entered. And you still haven’t noticed.”

…!

“If the opponent hadn’t been a hero, you would all be headless by now. You’d have been replaced for your incompetence. Consider yourselves lucky.”

Hero!

Lien quietly gasped in astonishment.

Her hunch was right. The Count’s identity was exposed.

The following words were even more shocking.

“I’ve already dealt with him, so don’t make a fuss. Just bring the captain of the guard. We need to discuss security reinforcements.”

Dealt with him! Does that mean the Count…!

There was no more time to think or hesitate. Lien turned and ran towards where Deon had disappeared.

‘Count!!’

She failed to register that the woman had called ‘Deon Hart’ a ‘hero,’ and that there was more than one ‘hero’.

Crash!

Having disappeared so quickly, one of the knights, unsure which window Deon had entered, recklessly went through a visible window.

And disaster struck the Salvation Church.

***

It goes without saying that the Salvation Church has a prayer room. Guards are stationed to prevent anyone from entering freely, restricting access except during specific times.

Of course, this restriction only applies to ordinary people; the hero Cruel was an exception.

Thud.

In the silent space, filled only with stillness, a small, out-of-place sound echoed.

A black-haired man, Cruel, dropped from the ceiling, his movements practiced. His emotionless green eyes scanned the interior.

The space is identical to the blueprint. He arrived at the right place.

Cruel quietly lowered his gaze, thinking about the paper in his pocket.

Sorry, Deon, but this game was unfair from the start. I began with the blueprint, but you didn’t.

[Here is the blueprint. So, try to end this game safely. Surely you can manage that, can’t you?]

[….]

End this safely.

He understood the meaning of those words perfectly. Cruel simply closed his mouth and bowed his head.

But.

Could Deon possibly accept the one-sided outcome of this one-sided game?

He might fly into a rage. He might raise suspicions and try to argue with me in front of the Duke. If that happens….

‘….’

Seemingly reminded of something, Cruel’s lips tightened, and he strode forward. Without hesitation, he headed for the window and reached for the latch.

His hand hovered for a moment, seemingly hesitant to touch it, then skillfully began to unlock it.

“What are you doing?”

…

All movement ceased instantly. The hand that touched the latch slid away.

Sareen, having also glanced at the completely disengaged latch, spoke again, looking at Cruel’s back.

Her voice was still stiff, her body hadn’t fully relaxed after being on high alert for a strange intruder.

“No, you don’t have to answer. I know the answer. You came in through the window, right? All the windows in this building should be locked. How did you get in… Honestly.”

She glared at him sharply.

She was only speaking so calmly because they served the same master; otherwise, she would have called the guards long ago.

“I know your purpose. What you’re after, and where it is.”

…

“But I have no intention of helping you.”

Sareen was clever. She grasped the situation and immediately understood her master’s intentions.

He was deliberately having Cruel do it, when he could have easily ordered her to handle it. That must mean he’s testing him.

If she felt any goodwill towards him, perhaps, but unfortunately, she was among those who were wary of Cruel.

“The Duke is probably planning to test you. I intend to faithfully follow his will. He would have already given you any truly necessary information, so there’s no need for me to help.”

…

“The fact that I haven’t called the guards yet is the maximum consideration I can offer, so don’t cause any unnecessary trouble, do your business quietly, and leave. Oh, and be sure to lock that window again. I need to go see the captain of the guard.”

She heard that Deon Hart had received the same mission.

If they were letting the straightforward warrior type like Cruel infiltrate, then Deon Hart, with his nimble movements, would be even harder to catch.

Considering the opponent was a hero, it was understandable, but Sareen had no intention of simply standing by and letting it happen, so she hurried out of the room.

Back in the quiet room, Cruel stared at the door she had left through before turning around. He didn’t even glance at the window latch.

He leaped onto the platform, carefully examined the floor, and then sharply pulled back the purple curtain behind it. A plain white wall was revealed.

‘…According to the blueprint, this prayer room was the most suspicious place.’

Was he mistaken?

The Duke had given him a blueprint, but it wasn’t complete. Secret spaces weren’t marked on the omitted blueprint.

The Duke had really only provided the bare minimum of information, offering no other assistance.

Well, that’s what made it a ‘test’.

Either way, if it wasn’t here, he would have to go back to the beginning and investigate again. As Cruel thought this and put the curtain back, about to turn around,

– Creak.

The sound of a window opening reached his ears.

Swiftly registering the sound, he hid behind the curtain, and almost simultaneously, someone entered.

***

The place I entered looked quite sacred. Or should I call it a room?

Rows of long wooden chairs. A platform at the front, a marble floor that looked too expensive for a slum, and clean white walls.

Adding to this, a purple curtain draped in a peculiar way, making me feel, ridiculously, a sense of holiness and mystery.

‘Looks like a prayer room….’

The room was bigger than I thought. I slowly looked around before heading to the most noticeable feature, the platform.

I was about to place my hands on the chest-high platform to climb up when I spotted stairs in the corner and obediently walked up. My body is precious, you know.

‘It’s more ordinary than I expected.’

Quickly losing interest, I now focused on the oddly draped curtain.

Curtains around a window make sense, but a curtain on the wall behind the platform, where there’s no window, is a bit unexpected. Of course, just a plain white wall would be bland, and it wouldn’t create the current mysterious atmosphere, but still, this is the slums, right?

Following the aristocratic idea of attaching curtains to bare walls as decoration doesn’t quite fit.

‘Or could there be a window behind this?’

All I can see through the curtain is the wall, though.

I cautiously grabbed the curtain, intending to pull it back, but my attempt was unfortunately cut short.

I heard several footsteps outside the door.

Oh no, what do I do?! Where do I hide?

My damn homing instinct kicked in at the worst possible time. In my fluster, I bypassed the curtain right next to me and specifically went down from the platform to hide behind the curtain by the window I’d entered through.

I realized the stupidity of my actions about three seconds later.

‘…What was I thinking?’

I wanted to bang my head against the wall. But then the door burst open, and I had to freeze and hold my breath.

I could see about twenty people through the gap in the curtain. And among them, some familiar faces.

The girl named Sia who spoke to me and the boy named Paul who glared at me were definitely there.

So, this is the prayer room?

“Now, let us pray for salvation again today.”

People sat down on the wooden chairs, and a man in a priest’s robe, who had led them here, went up to the platform and opened a book.

It was a book with a rather luxurious cover.

‘What is this, they even have a bible? They really have everything.’

The guy started reading the book. Contrary to my expectations, the content was as plausible and boring as any other bible.

‘…And it’s long.’

Did it have to be the same in that regard? The people praying with their eyes closed, aren’t they actually sleeping?

…Did that guy just drop his head over there? Was he serious?

After stifling yawns repeatedly, my legs started to ache unbearably, making me feel like I was in real danger, when the priest finally finished speaking.

He closed the book with a smile.

“Come to think of it, we have another devout member who has joined us today, haven’t we? Most of you already know, but I’ll briefly explain for the benefit of the new member.”

…?

“From today onwards, instead of simply ending with these simple prayers, we will be explaining the true ‘salvation’ in more detail.”

Salvation? If it’s salvation, it’s salvation, what more is there to explain in detail?

Instinctively sensing that this was important information, I perked up my ears.

The guy said he’d explain briefly, but his explanation was longer than I expected. It could even be summarized!

In the end, he just wants to say ‘salvation is real’. Even Rememver’s nagging disguised as criticism is shorter than this!

“You will receive separate explanations in a room only accessible to devout followers.”

Ah, that last part wasn’t said by the priest. It was said by a woman who entered through the door at perfect timing, as if it were planned.

I briefly widened my eyes at the appearance of a few familiar faces.

‘…A familiar face. Isn’t that the woman from earlier?’

The woman who took off my robe hood.

Even with this sudden interruption, no one, not even the speaking priest, stopped her, so she must be in a surprisingly high position.

As she increased her pace to reach the platform, the priest quietly stepped back. It was a smooth transition.

The woman placed her hand on the wall behind the curtain on the platform.

It was a very natural action, almost unnoticeable, but the result was anything but natural.

‘Huh? Huh? Wait a minute, what is that?!’