Chapter 587
Heinrich, Ludwig, Ellen, and Louise.
The unexpected group of four suddenly left the temple. Naturally, the cat was left behind in the temple. It wasn't a suitable place for it to go.
Among them were people who disliked being the center of attention and those who absolutely shouldn't be noticed. Thus, all of them wore their hoods up.
There was no particular need for them to move covertly, but there was no need to draw too much attention either.
However, as Heinrich looked at the snow piled up on the streets and the numerous guards clearing it away, he couldn't help but wear a guilt-ridden expression.
Ellen, who was leading the group, looked at Ludwig.
"Tell me everything you know about that priestess."
"You mean Priestess Rowan?"
"Yes."
"Is... that important?"
"It might be, depending on the situation."
Ellen didn't bother explaining to Ludwig why the story about Rowan was important.
Ludwig began speaking within the limits of his knowledge.
Her name was Rowan.
As a priest, she held the rank of archbishop.
And she was assigned the task of performing purification work while receiving protection from the guards.
"It's quite serious for an archbishop-ranked priest to be wandering the streets alone."
"Yes..."
"Indeed... It couldn't be helped. Most of the priests and holy knights would be with the allied forces, and the number of Tu’an priests has significantly decreased..."
The number of priests was so low that an archbishop-ranked priest had no choice but to wander alone, despite the numerous places where their presence was needed.
Louise nodded, seemingly understanding the meaning.
Telling everything they knew about Rowan might help the case.
Rowan was already dead, but Ludwig tried to recall how much he knew about her.
He didn't think Rowan deserved to die, but Ludwig didn't know much about her.
After all, they had only spent less than a week together, so there wasn't much to know.
Still, Ludwig recalled what he could.
The story about the archbishop.
"...I heard such a story."
"What story?"
"Originally, Priestess Rowan was a bishop, but she became an archbishop after the Gate incident..."
At those words, Ellen and Heinrich slowly nodded.
"Because there were too many vacant positions, someone had to fill them, so she ended up taking a position that was beyond her capabilities... That's what I clearly heard."
Ludwig's memory was good, even if his ability to piece clues together and draw conclusions was lacking.
Rowan was not a lord who had lost her territory.
Rather, she had received the archbishop's position after the Gate incident.
"Performing the duties of an archbishop while managing drastically reduced dioceses means that she wasn't an archbishop acting as a diocese administrator."
Ellen spoke as they walked calmly.
"She probably had other duties, and perhaps there were separate responsibilities and tasks she had taken on."
They didn't know what they were chasing yet, but they were certain about what to focus on.
And understanding who Rowan was properly was also important.
Ludwig couldn't help but feel strange.
Rowan was a dead person.
She had been murdered, but Ellen was asking about a completely different victim, not the scene of the fire or the suspect's appearance.
However, Ludwig thought Ellen might be considering something he couldn't see, so he tried his best to provide as much information as possible.
"Before we parted ways yesterday, I asked what exactly she was doing."
"What did she say in response?"
Heinrich asked at Ludwig's words.
"She said she was performing purification work while also investigating strange occurrences in the refugee camp. She said that strange things happened in places where too many people were dying, and she tried to handle them if possible."
"Strange occurrences?"
"Yes, I'm sure. She said she was dealing with that too."
At Ludwig's words, Louise nodded slowly from under her hood.
"If we don't attribute much importance to it, it would seem that she tried to handle unspecified situations occurring in the refugee camp. If we think about a slightly dangerous possibility..."
Louise spoke quietly.
"She was always on high alert for everything that happened in the refugee camp. It has the same meaning."
"What does that mean, sister?"
Louise stared intently at Heinrich, who asked the question.
"It means that her actual role could have been gathering information or surveillance in the refugee camp."
It was Ellen, not Louise, who answered.
"Are there any organizations related to information gathering within the Holy Knights or the Tu'an Order?"
"Um..."
The discussion was moving to a stage where they might be dealing with matters they shouldn't touch upon.
"The Holy Knights, where the power of the Five Great Churches is united, hold greater power than most nations."
"That's right."
"If such a large-scale force didn't have an internal organization dedicated to gathering information, that would be even stranger."
"Wait... So are you saying that Rowan was like a spy?"
Ludwig said, flustered.
"And why do we keep talking about Rowan?"
Rowan was a victim, a casualty. However, Ellen and Louise talked about Rowan as if she were the key to the case, as if she were a suspect.
"Ludwig."
"Y-yes?"
Ellen looked at Ludwig.
"If this is a simple act of vengeance, there's nothing I can do."
"..."
"If Rowan had been an ordinary priestess and really just a person doing purification work, she would have been an unfortunate victim."
Ellen spoke as Ludwig's expression grew increasingly tense.
"But if Archbishop Rowan wasn't an ordinary priestess, this case couldn't be ordinary either."
Archbishop Rowan. Depending on who she was, the case would be different. If it were an ordinary case, Ellen would have nothing to do.
"If it's not an ordinary case, I might be able to find something out."
Only when the case was suspicious could corners be revealed where information could be found. Originally, the simpler a case was, the more difficult it was to solve, and the more complex it became, the easier it was to find clues called leads.
Ellen focused on the victim rather than the suspects to find out if there was even a little complexity in the case.
"That's why I'm asking."
There was still nothing for certain.
Just in case, she asked for now.
Ellen added that as she walked.
The group had no choice but to stop at the edge of the road where the burned church was visible in the distance.
"It's only natural that it's under control."
It was Louise's words, and everyone nodded.
"It's not the guards, but the Holy Knights' forces."
As Ludwig heard from the guard in charge, the crime scene was already under the protection of the Holy Knights' forces, not the guards.
There were onlookers around the burned church, but most of them hurriedly passed by, shushing each other out of fear of the sparks.
"I cannot interfere with the affairs of the royal family or the Holy Knights. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yes."
She had too many responsibilities on her shoulders to act impulsively out of curiosity.
While Louise wanted to help Ludwig, she could only do so without crossing the boundaries of her personal sphere. If people began to doubt her intentions, it would create more problems.
"I don't plan on getting close. Little brother, you're in a slightly different situation than me, but there's nothing good about getting close carelessly."
"Yes, sister."
Heinrich nodded his head with a firm expression, as if he understood Louise's concerns.
There would be no benefit to Louise getting involved with the affairs of the Holy Knights due to her political position.
She could only offer advice and had no intention of getting directly involved in the matter.
Besides, Ludwig was considered no different from a civilian by the Holy Knights, so they would not open the way for him.
However, a person with immense, intangible power, capable of accessing any matter involving the royal family or the Holy Knights, was present.
Lament and Lapelt.
There was no door that would remain closed in front of the masters of the two divine relics.
"Ludwig, follow me."
And it was entirely possible to bring along a companion.
Ellen's task was simple.
"What's going on?"
She approached the Holy Knights blocking the burned church, removed her hood, and asked them.
"Y-you're the Hero...?"
The knight who appeared to be in charge froze upon seeing Ellen, who was looking inside the temple.
Ellen didn't hold any official position within the Holy Knights or the Five Great Religions.
However, being the master of two divine relics symbolized an authority greater than that of the Pope or the Commander of the Holy Knights.
To oppose Ellen's words was to oppose the will of the gods.
"Last night, thugs set fire to this church and massacred the priests. We were dispatched to secure and preserve the site."
The Holy Knight nodded quietly in response to Ellen's question.
"May I take a look inside?"
"There's a risk of collapse due to the fire! Hero, if you go in recklessly..."
"I'll be fine even if a building ten times this size collapses on me."
"B-but, if you're alone it would be one thing, but with an outsider..."
The Holy Knight frowned at the idea of Ellen entering with Ludwig as well.
"He's my friend."
"Even so..."
"Is there a problem?"
The Holy Knight couldn't say anything in response to Ellen's words.
Ellen was the representative of the gods.
No matter where the order came from, nothing could outweigh Ellen's words.
Ellen didn't even wait for the hesitant Holy Knight's response.
There was no audacious Holy Knight who could dare to grab Ellen's shoulder.
While she entered the temple with reckless abandon, Ellen could do so without any problems.
As long as she didn't actively use it, Ellen was someone who could be forgiven for any misdeed.
The burned temple was in a precarious state, with parts of the roof collapsed and the risk of it crumbling at any moment.
Naturally, the Holy Knights guarding the entrance were justifiably concerned about Ellen entering the dangerous area.
'He's following.'
However, Ellen noticed something else.
As Ellen entered the scene, a Holy Knight followed her. His nervous demeanor resembled a mouse in front of a cat.
Ellen looked around the interior of the temple. All the furnishings inside, including the chairs, had been burned, and the stone walls were covered in black soot.
Ludwig, of course, couldn't help but have a terrible expression.
Although the fire had been suppressed, he had seen countless corpses here.
Being back at the scene, the horrifying sight from the morning inevitably resurfaced in his mind.
"What happened here?"
"We're still investigating, so we're not certain yet. It's presumed that unidentified individuals attacked the church, plundered items, killed the priests, and then set fire."
The Holy Knights themselves were uncertain about how the incident had unfolded.
"Have the casualties been identified?"
"Three lay believers, three priests, and seven church personnel... All of them were found dead."
Ellen nodded upon hearing this.
'It's impossible to know the scale of the thugs... but with that number, proper resistance would have been impossible.'
The church wasn't that large to begin with, and there were very few personnel inside. It was inevitable, given the decline in the resources of the Tu’an Faith.
'Everyone's dead... Under these circumstances, it's not so strange that they were defeated by the thugs.'
This church was too small in scale.
As a result, the possibility that Louise and Ellen's speculation - that an archbishop-level priest couldn't be easily killed by ordinary people - was incorrect had become much higher.
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