Suspicion (3)
Lista’s Late Night.
Since it was a dying city, the night would have been as quiet as a mouse.
But today, the commotion that happened in one corner of the city was shaking the whole city.
Even the moonlight was faint, and there was an existence that pushed away the heavy darkness.
Not just pushing it away, but flicking its tongue as if it were going to swallow it… … It was a massive fire.
“hurry! Get some water quickly!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just tear down the house?”
“Yeah, I can’t catch fire! Cut off the waist so it doesn’t spread any further!”
People shouted and tried to put out the fire, but the fire, which had already gained momentum, did not go out easily.
In the end, the people who decided to build a blockade by demolishing some of the densely packed houses were busy.
Since the area was full of empty houses, there were few injuries, but the priests also helped to prevent further damage.
Among them, there were some priests who were looking at the center of the fire with a devastated expression, but they were quietly buried amidst the turmoil.
The roof of a building a little away from there.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! You ride very well! Burn them all down!”
Standing at the end of the railing, Irvin burst into laughter with his arms outstretched towards the fire.
It was such a bizarre behavior that anyone who knew Irvin would wonder, so it even looked pleasant at first glance.
Of course, it was clear that he was unfamiliar, so I was worried.
“Uncle, are you okay?”
“Are you sure something happened?”
The five children who were watching from behind each nodded.
After the first night’s investigative mission, Irvin, who returned alone, apparently spends more time in a daze.
Of course, he showed a trustworthy appearance for the investigation mission, but other than that, it seemed to be empty somewhere, so I had no choice but to be worried.
Even so, I didn’t say anything because I made a plan and delivered it.
In the end, after the goal was achieved and the finishing touches were completed, Irvin began to do that, as if his vitality had suddenly returned.
It looked so dangerous even to the children, that I suddenly thought I was crazy.
It was true that I felt sad with him.
“What can I do, poor old man… … .”
“Is it because of that sister?”
“Sister Scarlett… … ? You seemed like a nice person?”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person. It must have kicked my uncle. No matter how you look at it, it looks like a broken heart.”
“Lost love?”
Unexpected words flowed from Frederick, and all the children looked at him with their eyes wide open.
“What did you just say? You should speak well. Sil-Yeo-Eo-Eon?! who? who? Where would you like to talk again?”
Claire took off the mask of playing a good kid in front of Irvin and pressed Frederick with a harsh tone, as if she was about to spit out abusive language.
At that, Frederick hiccuped briefly and leaned back, and Rowen, who let out a small sigh, had no choice but to stop him.
“Just go there. Maybe Frederick’s guess wasn’t completely wrong. It’s true that you became like that after he disappeared. You can’t say there’s no relationship.”
“Ah, what’s wrong with Rowen? Who kicks a cool, good-looking, kind, strong, and handsome person like you?!”
That was severe enough.
He knew that Claire’s feelings for Irvin were unusual, but none of the four children could have imagined that they would react so violently.
“Well, then, if it’s not a broken heart, then what do you think is the reason?”
Frederick, who was suppressed by her momentum, replied in a dejected voice, and Claire’s eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as if thinking for a moment.
The children’s eyes turned to Claire, who let out an annoyed cry.
“Oh, I don’t know! Anyway, that’s not it. Absolutely not. The woman… … Next time I see you, I won’t let you go.”
The children shook their heads in the same spirit as they saw Claire drink up their unexplained hostility towards Scarlett.
It was clear that something had happened between Irvin and Scarlett, but it was an area that could not be touched without being told first.
In the end, Rowen stepped in and tried to get Irvin back to normal thinking a bit.
“Mister, what can I do now?”
“uh? Um, great.”
Irvin, who had been releasing the accumulated stress, let out a cough with a shy expression, as if he finally realized that the children were watching him.
Still, it was probably because he poured it out once, so Irvin turned around with the same appearance as before.
“At first it was hard. This is the end of Lista’s work.”
All they’ve been doing in Lista these past few days has been, as Irvin said earlier, an investigation.
The first goal was to find the base of the Dark Truth Church in Lista by chasing the suspicious priests including Beretinio, and they were able to find two bases.
One place seemed to be a reserve base that was not used very often, but the other place was packed with information they wanted, so they made faster progress than expected.
Starting with the list of those infiltrating the Holy Church of Lu Nera, even part of the plan to make Beretinio the High Priest remained on paper.
Irvin stole them all, disguised them as other papers, and set them on fire.
They also set fire to the surrounding area, pretending that it was an accident that someone was not aiming for.
Of course, it might be suspicious, but since I didn’t leave any evidence, it would be perfect if I stayed for another day or two and went back.
With that, the schedule at Rista was over.
“Aren’t you going to punish them yourself?”
It was Dellon who raised his hand and asked a question.
The other children also nodded in agreement.
“There are so many pieces of evidence.”
“The Dark Truth Church is here, and it’s hard to leave it alone… … .”
There was physical evidence, so rather than wait and see, it was an argument to put an end to it as soon as it came.
However, Irvin shook his head lightly at the children.
“no. Not yet.”
The children realized that Irvin had other intentions, and Irvin did not hesitate to explain the other reason.
“It’s easy to bring them out of here, accuse them, and punish them. Oh, of course it’s easy for me. Even those guys will struggle in their last moments. Anyway, after you do that? That’s it.”
At Irvin’s words, the children made puzzled expressions, as if they knew or didn’t know.
Irvin gave him a moment to think, and in the meantime, the commotion of extinguishing the fire still continued.
Of course, Rowen was the first to speak.
“Are you planning to bring in the Holy Church by any chance?”
Irvin nodded as if it was the correct answer, and added an explanation for the children who didn’t understand yet.
“I’ll tell you in advance, but we don’t have enough time to deal with all of the Dark Truth Church alone. As you can see, a spy has already taken the position of High Priestess… … There are not one or two people like that all over the country.”
“Wouldn’t they be intimidated if we uncovered all of that?”
It was Claire who said that.
It was true, but I still haven’t gotten out of my one-dimensional thoughts.
“Even if you do that, their power is still there. No matter how hard we hit them from behind, people won’t properly recognize the danger of the Dark Truth Church.”
“then… … all together… … Are you joining forces?”
Irvin shook his head at Nora’s words.
He seemed to have understood his intentions to some degree, but he was still one step short. Even Rowen.
“If we keep harassing them, we will be able to take their breath away. But then their eyes will only be on our side.”
“It makes you collide with something else. In the meantime, are we continuing our activities behind the scenes?”
“yes.”
Irvin nodded his head at Delren’s exact words and added a supplementary explanation.
“Originally, while those who would have been secretly active collide head-on with places like the Holy Church, we can become more free. Not just for that reason, but to destroy them more thoroughly.”
“If we thought we were strong, would we hide like cockroaches?”
“Well done, Frederick. It’s worth studying.”
Irvin clapped his hands in joy as Frederick spoke of what Irvin had taught him about the Dark Truth Church.
It was a bonus that Frederick gave him a slightly conceited expression.
“The five of you and I should be able to destroy their headquarters. However, those who have spread across the country will hide and grow in power again. It’s because they’re incredibly good at running away. In order to prevent such an unfortunate incident, we are trying to create a force that will pressure them from the outside.”
“So you chose the Holy Church as your first collaborator.”
Irvin nodded at Rowen’s words, and the children who understood everything were lost in thought.
Among them, Frederick opened his mouth and grumbled before he could organize his thoughts.
“Then I didn’t take revenge with my own hands… … ?”
It was a Frederick-like idea, so Irvin smiled and approached him, slightly lowering his back to meet his eye level.
“Revenge is not just one way.”
“Are you saying that doing it myself isn’t proper revenge?”
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“I don’t mean that… … We want to approach it in different ways.”
At Irvin’s words, the children made puzzled expressions, and Irvin smiled at their innocence and added words.
“Revenge in one way is simple and straightforward. However, it also means that the pain the other person feels becomes simpler. therefore… … Wouldn’t it be more exciting to take revenge in various ways, harass them in various ways, and kill them?”
“… … .”
The children were silent for a moment.
However, Irvin, who confirmed that there was a strange heat in his eyes, smiled even more deeply.
If Irina had seen it from the side, she would have criticized her for teaching the children good things, but Irvin was already preparing a good excuse for the children’s future.
It is a lesson that only one way is not the right answer.
Ervin drew attention by straightening his bowed waist and lightly applauding.
“Okay then, let’s withdraw. I’ll leave in about a day or so, so know that.”
“yes!”
* * *
The day to leave Lista has come.
After organizing the unpacked luggage and loading it onto the carriage, he greeted the innkeeper.
“Goodbye.”
“Thank you so much. Please drop in again next time you come.”
Perhaps because this was a long-term stay, the inn owner personally sent me off.
The children were also waving lightly as if they felt affection from the blunt owner.
As I was about to climb into the carriage, I suddenly remembered something, so I asked the owner.
“Ah, do you know about the rumors around you?”
“What rumors are you talking about? If you’ve lived here, you’d know, but I don’t hear very good rumors.”
“I’m asking if there’s anything going on in the endless forest.”
An endless forest not far from Lista.
As far as I know, something will happen in the not-too-distant future that will shake the neighborhood.
I wondered if the premonition would have happened by now, so I asked, but it seemed that it was still too early.
“Hmm, no. Haven’t heard Well, I hear a lot of stories about idiots who went in to explore without knowing anything and came out in a panic.”
“hahahaha, it always seems the same. Anyway, thank you for your words.”
“It was nothing. Go carefully.”
After greeting and shaking hands with the owner, we got into the carriage.
The city was still bustling with the aftermath of the fire, and priests could be seen wandering around.
Since most of them were spies of the Dark Truth Church, the eyes of the children shone fiercely.
The reason why we left a stronghold alone was because the fire was just an accident and we wanted to hide our presence targeting them so we wouldn’t give them any room to escape.
Also, before the New Year, various evidences related to the Church of the Dark Truth would gather there on their own, so it could kill two birds with one stone.
“Then next… … .”
On the wagon that came out of Lista, I held one of the documents I stole in my hand.
So, at the New Year’s Eve ceremony, he slowly devised a plan to root out those who had infiltrated the Holy Church.