Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Missing Demon Token
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Paris Emporus's latest endeavor was something special. It was different from the ordinary gambling dens or slave auctions he had run before.
He had renovated the underground auction house and added a large circular arena.
In that arena, slaves would fight to the death. And bets would be placed on the winners.
For a violence-loving man like Demian, it was entertainment that would make his eyes pop.
Paris would have welcomed Demian's visit if the temple hadn't started watching him. After all, he had created this spectacle with Demian specifically in mind.
But now, under the temple's surveillance, it had become a huge problem.
With the Third Prince visiting in person, the host himself couldn't fail to greet him. He absolutely had to show his face and welcome the prince on the opening day, at the very least.
Yet right now, the temple's eyes were on him. He even planned to stay at the temple to retrieve the proof of lineage.
"If I cancel, the Third Prince will throw a fit."
Demian wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. And despite that, he was greedy, cruel, and utterly selfish.
If his mother, the Second Queen, hadn't pulled strings, Demian would have fallen out of the king's favor and been chased out of the palace.
Angering such a man? Demian would sic one of his pet black sorcerers on Paris and curse him.
"No helping it."
For now, he couldn't afford to upset the Third Prince.
He decided to enter the temple, play the part of the obedient guest, and figure out a way to slip out just for that day.
What could the priests do if a merchant announced he had business to attend to? They might assign a watcher, but he had plenty of ways to shake them off.
Afterward, he checked the letter from the temple side. It granted permission to stay.
As expected, he picked up his pen.
He wrote a reply to Demian thanking him for attending, then drafted a letter to be delivered through his agent and handed it to his new steward.
"Make sure the priests don't intercept it."
Having heard through other servants what had become of the previous steward, the new one replied with grim determination.
Determined not to meet the same fate as his predecessor, the new steward left the study with the letter.
He headed to the pigeon coop. Several well-trained carrier pigeons perched on the perches.
Among them, he found the one marked for the royal family—specifically the Third Prince—slipped the letter into the tube on its leg, and released it.
***
As the carrier pigeon took flight from the Emporus baron's estate, a figure cloaked head to toe in black drew an arrow aimed at the flying bird and loosed the bowstring.
The shot arrow sliced through the air, severing the bird's leg.
The snow-white pigeon flapped its wings in agony before plummeting. The severed leg and lightweight tube fell at the man's feet.
The archer swiftly picked up the fallen bird, leg, and tube. He checked the contents and immediately vanished from the spot.
***
The Great Temple was bustling as always. But with the item that had arrived ten days prior and preparations for the flood, the workload for several high priests had increased.
Those high priests already had mountains of duties, so the entire temple buzzed with activity to clear the schedule. Their acolytes were run off their feet as well.
Children from the temple-run orphanage who aspired to become priests became acolytes.
Acolytes served under priests, assisting them while receiving instruction to become priests themselves.
Agno was one such acolyte.
The eight-year-old boy had been at the orphanage until a few months ago and had recently transferred to the Great Temple.
High Priest Clero had become his guardian, teaching him the ways of temple life, and Agno was in the process of adjusting.
Just as he was starting to settle in, his supervising priest Clero joined the task of analyzing a certain book.
It was time-sensitive and crucial work, leaving Clero extremely busy.
Naturally, as Clero's schedule filled up, Agno grew busy too—and made more mistakes as a result.
Clero told his acolyte Agno not to worry about it and to rest easy. But Agno, haunted by memories of being abandoned by his parents while asleep, couldn't easily fall asleep on nights without Clero.
After nearly ten days of mistakes and sleepless nights, Agno overheard other acolytes talking.
"They're saying a guest is coming to the Lily Pavilion today."
"Guests come all the time."
"This one's donated a ton of gold! More than what nobles usually give."
"Must be someone super important. Knights are swarming the place."
"If we're lucky running errands, we might score some snacks."
Temperance was a virtue at the temple.
Priests guarded against gluttony, consuming only moderate portions and avoiding delicacies. This atmosphere permeated the entire temple.
Acolytes rarely got tasty treats either, but noble guests who stayed at the temple would sometimes give snacks to the acolytes who ran errands for them.
Knowing guests meant snacks, the acolytes hoped to be picked as errand boys while guests were around.
Agno was no different. But he wanted snacks to help him sleep.
When he first arrived at the Great Temple, he had been terrified of the strangers and stayed on high alert.
Clero had given the wary Agno sweet cookies and warm milk, and soon his eyes had drooped shut.
Recalling that, Agno wanted to sleep soundly even on nights without Clero and avoid more mistakes.
Opportunity knocked for the boy.
On the third day of the guest's stay, an acolyte who had already run an errand for the guest approached Agno.
"Agno, you haven't been to the Lily Pavilion yet, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then go. They're super nice! They said they feel bad for kids working so young and want to hand out cookies to everyone."
The guest kept rotating the acolytes. But from what the first ones reported, it wasn't for any bad reason.
"I'll tell the others too! You go in the afternoon!"
"I don't have time to tell Priest Clero."
"I'll tell him when he comes. He's been too busy to even visit the dorms lately anyway."
"But still..."
"I'll make sure to pass it on, so don't worry and go. It's only half a day, right?"
And so Agno was pushed by the other acolyte into serving the guest at the Lily Pavilion.
"I can't mess up in front of the guest."
After splashing cold water on his face to wake up, the boy headed to the Lily Pavilion.
It was Agno's second time at the pavilion. The first was for cleaning. This was his first time serving a guest.
As expected of such an important guest, knights crowded the area, just as the other acolytes had said.
Agno, who had rarely even seen paladins during his time at the temple, was stunned by the sheer number.
'They really must be someone incredible.'
The priests were tight-lipped about the guest. They warned the acolytes not to get too curious or nosy. But the kids warmed to the guest's kind demeanor.
Word among the acolytes was positive about the new guest, and Agno thought well of them too.
Soon, Agno reached the door of the guest's room. As he raised his hand to knock, it opened.
A black-haired middle-aged man stood there holding a book.
"Another errand boy, eh? Come on in."
"Yes. Pardon the intrusion."
Agno timidly entered the guest's room. A sweet fragrance filled the air.
"Don't just stand there—sit comfortably. I'm not going to send you on errands anyway. I just need someone to chat with."
The scholarly-looking man sat on the bed and said. When Agno remained tense and didn't sit, he pulled out a chair and placed it behind the boy.
"Sit here."
He had made the guest move for him!
Flustered, Agno couldn't ignore the kindness and hurriedly sat.
"Thank you."
"Such good manners. Here, have some of this."
The guest offered the entire basket of cookies and fruits to Agno. Agno took a cookie.
As the other acolytes had said, the guest was kind.
"Aren't you too young for all this hard work?"
"I'm fine."
"Fine, you say? So mature. My boys were throwing tantrums at that age."
The man launched into stories without being asked.
He told them entertainingly, and Agno enjoyed listening throughout.
Before he knew it, Agno's tension melted away. He was on his fourth cookie.
"Oh dear, I've been doing all the talking."
"No, it was fun. I've never heard stories like that before."
"Is that so? Well, I'd like to hear yours too. What's temple life like? Do the priests really work you kids to the bone?"
"N-No, absolutely not! I don't know where you heard that, but the priests don't treat us that way!"
Agno panicked at the guest's misunderstanding.
"Is that right? The other kids who came before were complaining about how swamped they are lately. And you look dead tired. I thought they weren't even letting you sleep."
"It's not like that. It's true my supervising priest is busy, but he doesn't mistreat me!"
"Oh? Busy with what? The big event is still far off."
"I don't know exactly, but they're investigating some books."
The guest's smile deepened. The young Agno didn't notice.
"I see. Isn't it tough? You said you're fine earlier, but you don't look it to me."
"Honestly... I have a worry."
Agno started to speak, then hesitated.
"What is it? Tell me freely."
Urged by the kindly appearing guest, Agno poured out his concern.
"I want to help my priest, but I keep messing up."
"You'll do better next time. Help, huh? If it's appraising books, I might be able to assist."
At the guest's words, Agno blinked his large eyes.
"How?"
"Like I said earlier, I've handled tons of items, so I can tell at a glance where something's from, how old it is—anything."
In that moment, the guest appeared to Agno like a messenger sent by the gods to help him.
"I've dealt with a lot of books especially."
Agno wished Priest Clero, sleepless over the book investigation, could finally rest.
"So if I bring a book, could you check it?"
"Of course. But can you even bring one?"
The room where Clero was investigating books wasn't open to just anyone. But Agno went in once a day to clean.
"Yes. I can bring one."
"I see. But you might get in trouble, so sneak it out. I'll take a quick look and tell you all about it."
To an eight-year-old boy, the guest's words sounded perfectly reasonable.
Agno had no time to wonder why the books were kept in a restricted room or why the priests were investigating them.
Exhausted from days of poor sleep, the boy couldn't think straight and promised to bring a book.
And the next day, the demon token under investigation at the Great Temple vanished.
The priests suspected Paris Emporus, who was staying at the Great Temple, but nothing turned up in his room.
No other outsiders had visited either, making theft seem unlikely.
The only one missing was Clero's acolyte, Agno. Naturally, suspicion narrowed to him.
***
"As expected."
"Knew it."
Rachel and Abyss let out sighs laced with resignation.
A tearful child stood sniffling before them.
"Don't cry. It wasn't your fault."
"No, it was mine."
Rachel and Abyss had now arrived in the Sios domain, home to the Great Temple.
There, they encountered the boy who had been duped by Paris Emporus's scheme and stolen the token.