For the next few days, all sorts of minor and major incidents occurred as they normally did, with the matter of the Farnate family drawing the most amount of attention.
The entire incident was related to the blood of evil, the Soundless cult, a murder, suicide, and a serial killer, which gave the town of Lohr which lacked stimulation and entertainment quite a bit to talk about.
A horse carriage quickly made its way through the main streets and soon stopped in front of the Farnate manor, the young Chromie disembarked and drew the gazes of his neighbors, together with their whispers of discussion.
Chromie's expression could only be described as exhausted, he was also being accompanied by several young men and women who were his schoolmates, all of whom were in the middle of finishing their graduation thesis. It was due to the family's maid sending an emergency letter to sum up the situation that Chromie hurriedly made his way home, and it was out of concern for him that his schoolmates accompanied him like this.
"How could this be…" when Chromie arrived home and saw the maid Lunchances, he still had an expression of disbelief.
Under his father's shelter, he had focused his entire being on his studies. To him, the situation at home was still relatively peaceful, as nothing extraordinary occurred every month when he returned home for Spirit Cleansing day, although his sister might have been a bit aloof.
However, all of this was changed in what was essentially an instant. His sister suddenly turned out to have the blood of evil and was killed by his father, this father committed suicide due to the blackmailing of the Soundless cult, then investigations discovered that his butler, Birosius, was actually a serial killer.
When searched, the church officers discovered the fingers of quite a few women in Birosius' room, which easily linked him to a certain serial killer of Lohr.
Due to the depressing atmosphere and life of Lohr, most of its people had placed their faith in God and his servants to relieve their minds, but the small portions that didn't would periodically find themselves unable to hold back these repressed emotions and easily become mentally ill, turning into one of the many perverted serial killers of Lohr.
Furthermore, during their serial killings, these people could easily draw the attention of Evil Gods and obtain supernatural powers.
Among the serial killers who hadn't been arrested, there was such a person. Through impersonating various identities, he lured innocent women to places unknown, cruelly mutilated them before cutting off their pinkie fingers.
It was rumored that this was some sort of evil ritual from another region, from which the culprit would be able to obtain great power, and now this rumor had been proven as truth.
The Farnate manor's window was found to be opened in the morning, allowing the hanging corpse to be discovered and immediately reported. With things being so sudden, Birosius' spoils couldn't be relocated in time.
Seeing that he was about to be exposed, Birosius explosively revealed his strength to eliminate the few officers that managed to make it to the scene and escaped with some of the fingers he had kept.
All in all, the situation of his house had become an absolute mess, all of which was placed on the shoulders of the young Chromie. He had to deal with his father's and sister's funerals, the investigation of the church, how to deal with his family's assets, each was an issue that needed to be dealt with.
Fortunately, his schoolmates supported him through everything both directly and indirectly, and in just a few days, Chromie had finished selling off his family assets for money, conducted a funeral for his father and sister, then underwent several sessions of questioning by the church. In the end, Chromie was completely drained.
When he left the church's interrogation room, he took with him a few items, which were taken from his house during the church's search. After confirming that there weren't any issues, they returned them to him, this was proof that all suspicions had been cleared from him, which would soon resolve the rest. However, Chromie understood that this also signaled the end of the Farnate family in Lohr.
The blood of evil was a life-long stain, combined with his family coming into contact with the Soundless cult, even if suspicions had already been cleared, whatever he did in this town from now on would be met with invisible obstructions from every direction.
The journal in his hand contained his father's last will, which recorded his pain up to now: having to imprison Chromie's sister, blackmailed by the Soundless cult, then finally break down. All of these emotions were perfectly felt by Chromie.
"Chromie, come back with us to the Academic City" standing by a horse carriage, a young girl told him with a voice of concern: "There is already no place left for you here"
"Olga, I thank you for your good intentions, but I must decline" Chromie lightly told her, holding the journal tightly in his hand. He naturally had the option to leave this place and start over at other places, but he was unwilling to accept this.
"My father wished for nothing but to develop the Farnate family, becoming one of the renowned families of Lohr, and I refuse to let it all go to waste like this" Chromie continued with a hoarse voice. He understood what the girl in front of him was suggesting, but at this fork of the road, he had no choice but to turn her down.
"Chromie, what are you trying to do?" looking at the resolute expression of the young man in front of her, Olga hurriedly asked. She was afraid that he would resort to some irrational measures after these consecutive hardships.
"I'm going to catch the culprits" Chromie honestly replied: "Whether it's Birosius, or the Soundless cult, I want them to pay for what they had done; their blood will be shed to wash away the disgrace of my family"
"You're mad! One of them is a serial killer, while the other is an evil cult, what can an ordinary person like you do?" Olga held his hands, trying to persuade him against doing something he would regret.
"Don't forget, I am the vice-president of the Academy's swordsman society, my swordsmanship has been recognized by master Doug himself" Chromie ignored Olga's persuasion, as he had made up his mind; naturally, besides his swordsmanship, he had another secret.
It was this secret that gave him the assurance to go against his enemies, although it was highly inappropriate to be shared with others.
…
Sitting in a screened dining room, Negary carefully observed as Chromie left on a horse carriage. This Protagonist's [Protagonist Aura] was essentially non-existent; in his current state, he couldn't even be considered the protagonist at all. If he had chosen to leave, he would have escaped from his fate of becoming the pawn of 'destiny', but the will of the world's last act still managed to goad him into it after all.
Under the guidance of such a weak will of the world, how this protagonist would end up was easily predictable.
〖 He can wield a bit of strength, supernatural strength. But from the behaviour he has exhibited so far, that strength would require a lot to be exchanged 〗
Negary briefly analyzed, then stopped paying attention to him and turned to Brian in front of him.
〖 What's the situation? 〗
"Milord, I've observed several people, all of whom are qualified to be developed. This is the initial list that I've come up with, please take a look, Lord Negary" Brian attentively presented a document to Negary, then continued: "From what I can see, some of them definitely have hidden personal assets; the Mysticism knowledge that milord is after should be among them"
"If there is no issues, your humble servant will soon attempt to come into contact with them"
〖 Be careful not to be exposed, because I won't be there to save you 〗Negary replied.
This Brian was quite the talented person indeed, being able to collect so much useful information in just a few days.
〖 Additionally, the Impure Hermit Order will soon hold the first internal meeting; at that time, someone will come to guide you 〗saying so, Negary took the document and left.
"Understood, Lord Negary" Brian respectfully sent Negary off.
