Chapter 9: The Church Patrol

The autumn rain came quickly and left just as quickly. The drizzle that had begun around ten o’clock at night gradually subsided by midnight, leaving only a few scattered drops by dawn, pattering on the tavern’s roof, trickling down the eaves, and splashing into tiny bubbles.

Though Selene had boldly declared that she would definitely find the living Reigns, she wasn’t actually very confident. The crime scene was a seven-day journey from Nymph Fu. The only lead connected Schwerdt Town to that large city, but the two towns were separated by more than just ancient trails. There were also large forests and mountains, lakes… There were countless places for a perpetrator to hide.

If she was a superhuman who had reached the peak in this field, beyond the sixth tier, a superhuman mage who had transcended human limits, she could probably just wave her staff and pull out the criminal’s name, location, family details, and eighteen generations of ancestors. But here, with just two first-tier mages, several hours of effort would only reduce the search area to Schwerdt Town and its surroundings…

“At least there’s a target.” Selene bit her lip. “I’ll go investigate if there are any unfamiliar faces in town. The population here isn’t that big, so it shouldn’t be too hard to draw a conclusion.”

“Actually, I think that’s not very efficient.” Louise, having used astrology multiple times, looked exhausted. “Do you have any guesses about the identity of the perpetrator?”

“Yes. Do you know about the incident in Molan a month ago? The city guards and police department there destroyed a cult. Those vile cultists were desperate for women and children, using them as sacrifices in their bloody rituals.” Selene tapped the table with her right hand, making a rhythmic tapping sound.

“You suspect this was also the work of cultists?” Louise frowned, a little confused. “Then you should tell the police department. They should send the ‘Arbiters’ to investigate…”

Selene took a sip of her nearly-empty cider, stating her conjecture.

“Sam definitely reported the crime to the police department in Nymph Fu. But he still came to me… Either I’m wrong, and this isn’t related to a cult. It’s just some common thugs. So, the police department didn’t allocate much effort. Or maybe there’s something going on in Nymph Fu, and their police department is too busy to handle anything else…”

She remembered “book thief” Mr. James Vinylon.

She had accepted James’s commission a month ago and spent about half a month completing it. She spent another half a month delivering him to Nymph Fu and then returning home. Calculating the timeline, it was on the same day James returned home that his family was murdered, he went missing, and he was miraculously linked to a chronicle…

Chronicles weren’t particularly rare in this world, because the term “chronicle” was a very broad concept. A magic apprentice’s notebook could be called a “chronicle.” The sacred texts of major churches could also be classified as “chronicles.”

For someone hire superhumans specifically to find a chronicle, it couldn’t be the former. It had to record some kind of practical superhuman knowledge… And the fact that he’d mentioned it recorded “secret history…” Inspector Duquesne hadn’t been able to determine the red-robed man’s identity, which meant the person pulling the strings knew the Inspector’s abilities well and had taken precautions. He was probably also a superhuman, possibly even part of....

Selene pondered, and a conclusion gradually formed in her mind.

Something big must have happened in Nymph Fu, preventing the police department there from worrying about a “minor” missing persons case.

Louise nodded in agreement, not really caring about Nymph Fu or their police department. She just thought the whole thing was a bit dangerous and strange.

“Don’t you know how to divine too? That ritual you use to petition…”

“I just… used it yesterday to confirm my own safety. I can’t use it again until tonight.” Selene explained. “And even though this ritual has a high hit rate, the success rate is low. If I’m asking about something related to myself, it’s relatively simple. But if I’m asking about someone else, then I’ll probably only get a correct answer once in ten tries.

“The last time I got a result, it was ‘There is a possibility of danger.’ But honestly, such a clear answer is pretty rare. Most of the time, I only get short, complete answers, or sometimes just a broken fragment of a phrase…”

“I still don’t trust your rituals. Using such simple offerings and a ritual circle to ‘communicate with the gods,’ it just doesn’t feel right.” Louise frowned, finishing off her sweet wine in one gulp. “I will do one more divination, but not with astrology.”

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She stood up and went to find the bartender, asking for a clean towel and a glass of water. She used the towel to wipe the table in front of them, dipped her finger in the water on the table, and drew some strange patterns. Then, she casually pulled out a white cloth from her hip.

“This is a simple divination based on my own intuition. The results are hard to say for sure, but it should at least give you some leads.” She explained briefly, then took off Selene’s deerstalker hat and tied the cloth around Selene's eyes.

“Do you remember the position and shape of those patterns?”

Selene, momentarily blinded by the white, thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“I have a vague impression.”

A damp chill touched her forehead. Louise seemed to draw a cross on her forehead with her wet forefinger, then clasped her right hand, placing it on the table.

“Maintain this height, let your hand move naturally, don’t try to control it. Now, imagine this scene in your mind – your hand is you. You’re unconsciously going somewhere. You open your eyes, confused, and see a place hidden within yourself… You’re walking through this bizarre scene… You wake up from the dream, you see…”

Selene imagined the scene, not controlling her right hand. After about a minute, Louise removed the cloth covering her eyes.

“Your hand deviated very slightly. This means you’re not very involved in this matter right now…” Louise pondered for a moment, her gaze flitting across the table. “The results are ‘Return to the Place,’ ‘Foul Mob,’ ‘Mountain Range,’ in that order. This symbolizes the beginning, process, and outcome.”

“Return to the place… Theoretically, I should start investigating somewhere related to death? The cemetery?”

“Maybe.”

Selene picked up the hat from the table and put it on, then adjusted her clothes and stood up from the chair.

Louise looked at her in surprise.

“You’re going to investigate now?”

“I was thinking of waiting until sunrise, but I was hired, and I’m getting paid.” Selene twirled her hat, adjusting it to a comfortable angle, then headed toward the door, casually wiping away the sound-dampening spell she had drawn in front of her. “I’ll pay you back the reward and the bail money later. Consider it a tip.”

“Okay. Stay safe… Selene.”

As her words faded, Selene pushed open the door and stepped out into the street, where puddles of water and the cold temperature awaited her. Someone seemed to hear something that caught their attention, their gaze peering through silver-rimmed glasses, looking over.

He could only see a white-haired, blue-eyed elf.

The slightly disheveled mage thought for a moment and approached.

...

It was still night. Except for the areas illuminated by the street lamps, the buildings were all hidden in darkness, resembling a crouching mountain range from afar.

The cider she drank and the boost in spirit from her profession kept her alert.

She didn’t immediately go to the cemetery in the east of town, but first hurried out of the town, into the forest to replenish her spellcasting materials.

Clay, dew, bark… She performed basic enchantments on each item, imbuing them with her mana, then sorted and stored them in her carrying tubes. She then put the tubes into a special double-layered compartment on her right hip, ensuring they could be easily accessed at any time.

Then she went back to her house and searched briefly for her “little ghost,” but came up empty. So, she went upstairs and retrieved the dagger she kept handy and a few vials of prepared potions. The dagger was tucked close to her thigh, the potions properly stored on her left hip. Before leaving, she flipped the sign on the door, changing it from “Lady Nitya’s Detective Office” to “Closed Today.”

Lady Nitya, well-prepared, then set off on foot toward the cemetery in the east of town.

The faint streetlights and the slanted starlight allowed her to barely see the road. As she approached her destination, the buildings on both sides of the road became increasingly sparse, trees gradually dominating the field of vision. Eventually, only two buildings with flickering lights remained, a small church belonging to the Divine Glory Church and a small church belonging to the Church of Bountiful.

These two churches worshipped the Primal Gods, “The Lord of Glory” and “Mother Earth.”

The priests in the churches were also relatively adept at dealing with undead creatures, ghosts, and other negative beings. Therefore, in this world, where things like “undead resurrection” occurred, a large area around the cemetery remained uninhabited, with only the church’s “Church Patrol” responsible for monitoring and protecting the cemetery. They were dispatched from the main cathedral in the town, and their duty was rotated.

Someone in the Church of Bountiful’s “Church Patrol” seemed to notice her. A female cleric in a long, white, green robe pushed open the cathedral door, looking at the citizen who was out at this late hour, heading toward the cemetery, with an unmasked, scrutinizing gaze.

Selene, feeling a headache coming on, walked over to explain to her, simultaneously showing her adventurer’s badge as proof of identity. Only then did the woman nod in approval, allowing her to enter the cemetery.

She was allowed to roam the cemetery, accompanied by the keeper.

Even in the remote town’s “Church Patrol,” the priests were meticulous in upholding the organizational rules. Besides their own faith, the necessity of these rules had been proven by numerous incidents in history.

The most recent incident was seven years ago, in the northern stronghold of Lanstier Empire, the Frostwood Castle. A large-scale undead resurrection occurred due to poor management of the cemetery there. The dead from decades past rose as skeletons and spirits, forming a massive undead army under the command of a general, marching through the city. If it hadn’t been for a Divine Glory Church’s Saintess who was present at the time, there would have been hundreds of thousands of casualties.

Since then, the major churches and the empire had become even more strict about cemetery management regulations.

The keeper, who had received the signal from the church, quickly ran over. He was a thin, old man in a black robe. His cloudy eyes stared at Selene for a long time, then he gestured for her to follow him.

One old and one young, they entered the forest of tombstones in the darkness.