Chapter 55: Salvation Church (5)
Chapter 55: Salvation Church (5)
"That is......."
"......."
"You'll find out once you become a devout believer."
My interest immediately deflated. I already felt exhausted.
In other words, I'd have to make my face known here regularly if I wanted any information.
Getting dragged in and infiltrating this place on impulse was turning into a long-term operation. Damn it.
I sat there blankly, at a loss for words. The woman gave a soft, crinkly-eyed smile and rose to her feet.
"Far too much time has passed. I'm busy, so I'll be on my way now."
"Ah......."
"If you ask the guards at the exit, they'll give you food right away, so don't worry. For today, feel free to just look around."
......'For today?'
"The off-limits areas have guards, so as long as you don't go there, you'll be fine."
With that, the woman turned away without a shred of lingering attachment.
Only after she was out of sight did I down the completely cold tea in one gulp and lean back comfortably against the chair. My tension released belatedly, and my body sagged limp.
'That woman's low-key obnoxious.'
The way she sounded so certain I'd come back—
Well, she assumed I was a pauper, so that much was only natural. A place that gives out free bread and water — if you'd never come at all, maybe not, but once you've come, returning was the obvious next step.
'......First, let's look around inside.'
I briefly wondered where Lady Rien was and what she was doing that she still hadn't come in, but only briefly.
She was a knight. One who controlled mad dogs branded with the name Murder Demons, no less. Worrying about her was a luxury in itself.
If I were going to worry about anyone, it should be myself.
Having flung all thoughts of her far into the distance, I slowly began walking through the building.
There was nothing special. It looked exactly like an ordinary temple, down to the guards who would have fit right in as paladins.
That made it all the more suspicious.
'Reeking to high heaven like something's fishy, and yet spotless? That's ridiculous.'
Should I try entering a guarded room after all?
Just as I was discreetly scanning the guarded rooms, someone entered my field of vision.
As if without a single care in the world, a smile so drenched in happiness it felt deeply alien—I couldn't help but stare.
A small frame. Rough fabric, but relatively clean clothes.
Not her first visit, clearly; she cut across the interior without hesitation, heading somewhere. That person was.......
'......A girl?'
She looked around twelve. A believer here? Probably a pauper.
Her complexion wasn't bad and she was smiling happily, but the familiar marks of starvation remained on her face. She must have escaped hunger only recently.
On top of that, seeing the loaf of bread tucked in her arms, I was half-certain she was a pauper believer. Perhaps sensing my gaze, the girl glanced my way.
Our eyes met, and an awkward silence settled.
"......?"
The girl rolled her eyes round and round, as if trying to guess my status.
She checked my face, then swept her gaze from my head to my toes, then looked at my face again. For a moment, I unconsciously stiffened my back, but after confirming my grimy, dirt-caked appearance from the disguise, the girl clapped her hands as if she understood.
"Ah!"
"......?"
"You're a new believer!"
"Uh, huh?"
"Nice to meet you! I'm Siia!"
"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you...?"
What, why is she so bright? Is she really a pauper? Did I guess wrong?
Either way, this kid clearly had a favorable impression of me. I needed a crack to fish for information, and having her approach me like this was something to be grateful for.
I clasped her fern-like little hand and shook it. A flower of a smile bloomed on the girl's face in return.
"Seeing that I don't recognize your face, you must have arrived recently. Did you come today? Or yesterday?"
"Today......."
"Aha, then everything must still feel awkward and suspicious. But you've got nothing to worry about. This place really does give food with no conditions attached."
The girl went on explaining, naturally leading me somewhere.
There wasn't a shred of doubt in the child's voice, only firm belief.
......Something's strange. How could she be so absolutely certain?
"They don't even push you to believe in the religion. But if you do believe, they just give you more food. Mister, you're a pauper, right? I'm a pauper too. It's coming from someone just like you who's already experienced it, so you can trust me."
"I see."
"And... Ah, this is the prayer room. People who start believing casually just to get food pray here."
"......So that means there's a separate prayer room for the devout...?"
Wow, that was awkward. I should've known; I've never really talked to a kid before.
My words ended a bit awkwardly, but fortunately, the child didn't seem to find anything suspicious and readily nodded.
"Yes. There's a separate prayer room underground. That's where you hear the priest's sermon about the real salvation. Salvation is real."
The way she said it, her eyes were dazed and unfocused. For a moment, I held my breath.
Brainwashing? Probably brainwashing. To speak with such conviction, it'd be near impossible without brainwashing.
......But still.
'Strange.'
Those weren't the uniformly clouded eyes that brainwashed people show. If anything, the child's two eyes sparkled brightly, full of hope.
The brief daze was simply her eyes unfocusing for a moment while imagining a hopeful future.
'Why?'
What trick did they use?
I looked down at the chattering child with a complicated expression. By now, my eyes must have been revealing nothing but confusion.
Thinking myself to death over it wouldn't get me any answers right now, so first I had to find out about that underground prayer room.
I erased my complicated look and gave a faint smile. It was nothing more than a clumsy, thin smile, but since I was currently a 'pauper' who normally had no reason to smile, this much would suffice.
Sure enough, the child faced me without the slightest suspicion.
"How do you get into that prayer room?"
"Ah, the 'real prayer room'? I don't know."
"......Huh? You don't know?"
"No. I know where the entrance is, but only the priest knows how to open it."
As expected. Well, they'd be in trouble if just anyone could sneak in.
"Then can't you at least tell me where the entrance is? I'm thinking of trying to believe in that 'salvation' you mentioned, and I'm curious where I'd end up praying if I became a devout believer."
"Really? Now you can be saved too, mister. That's great!"
"Right, so......."
"Mm, but I can't tell you where the prayer room entrance is. I'd like to, but the priest told me not to tell anyone recklessly."
......Isn't this kid basically in the know about everything? She acts like she'll answer anything if I ask, but she's surprisingly a wall. Is she playing with me right now?
My instincts—no, my gut feeling—was telling me: this one's a lost cause. No matter how much I questioned her, she wouldn't answer.
I'd have to find out on my own, or find someone else to ask.
Without a second thought, I decisively chose to find out on my own.
I was short on time—when would I ever find another decent source like this kid? I'd be lucky if I didn't just arouse suspicion by going around poking and prodding.
First, let's detach myself from this kid who was still chattering noisily beside me.
......The moment I thought that, a boy's voice called out from far off.
"Siia! What're you doing! We have to go!"
"Ah, Paul! I'm sorry, but I think I have to go."
"Yeah? Then it can't be helped. Go on."
I had no intention of holding her back anyway... but the glare from that boy, Paul, as he looked my way was pretty fierce.
Unlike the girl, his eyes were full of wariness.
He looked about sixteen or seventeen—maybe that was it. He at least had a bigger head on his shoulders than the girl, huh?
He had the kind of air that if I showed the slightest hint of something suspicious, he'd immediately tell the guards. I tried my best to put on a harmless expression, but maybe he still hadn't left, because the bright voice came again.
"Oh, and you look tired. If you've come from far away, it'd be better to stay nearby. Going back and forth is tough, isn't it?"
"Yeah, thanks for the advice."
"Then see you again!"
The child disappeared after the boy. I faintly heard him scolding her: "I told you not to talk carelessly to people you've never met."
I stared blankly at their retreating figures, then quickly turned away the moment the boy glanced back at me.
Heading slowly toward the exit, I traced my face just enough to ensure the dirt smeared on it didn't rub off. It was a gesture born from mulling over the girl's remark that I looked tired.
'Did I really look that tired...?'
Well, I'd been dragged here in the middle of paperwork without a single moment of rest, so no wonder. My damn luck.
After walking out the entrance in a confident manner, I changed direction and silently headed for a secluded spot around the building.
Of course, I didn't forget to collect the food on my way out.
If they used brainwashing, they'd typically drug the food, so I'd taken it to check.
'......Nothing out of the ordinary.'
It was just ordinary bread and water. My train of thought temporarily halted at the unexpected result.
Then...... how had they managed to gather believers so aggressively? Could there be something I didn't know about? Or had they really drawn people in with such a flimsy claim? Using plain, utterly ordinary bread and water as bait?
'.......'
I felt dazed. Like I'd been smacked in the head with something. My throat even felt parched, so I brought the water bottle I'd finished inspecting to my lips and tipped it.
But before it could even make it down my throat—
"Who's there."
"Psfck! Kff, ack— cough, cough...!"
A cold voice pressed down on my body.
Damn it, because of that, I swallowed the water wrong. As I coughed with my head bowed, the soaked dirt ground came into view. I couldn't distinguish colors since it was dirt, but I really hoped that wasn't blood.
Hm, I didn't taste any iron tang or saltiness in my mouth. Fortunately, it looked like I'd just spat out water.......
'......That's not fortunate!'
Had I been caught? I'd definitely been caught, hadn't I?
Getting caught here would be troublesome in many ways. No, beyond troublesome, it was dangerous. I roughly wiped my mouth and focused on the footsteps approaching from behind.
'Three... two... one... now!'
Since the situation was desperate, my judgment was quick, and so was the execution.
Without any warning, without even looking back, I bolted forward.
"Ah...!"
Fortunately, they didn't seem to be chasing me, and the dismayed voice gradually grew distant.
On the tiny chance they'd come after me belatedly, I kept running without slowing down, rattling the windows of rooms that looked empty one by one until I squeezed my body through the only one that was open.
* * *
The figure of unknown identity disappeared. With a deflated face, Rien stared after them.
She could have chased them if she wanted to, but she deliberately refrained.
If she caused a commotion for nothing, not only herself, but even the Count who was inside could be put in danger.
'But... that back seems awfully familiar.......'
Even the sound of the coughing was familiar.
Someone she'd seen before? But this was her first time here. She had no connection to paupers... Huh? Paupers?
Come to think of it, His Excellency the Count had infiltrated this place disguised as a pauper.
......Good heavens.
Rien's face went pale.
'Why were you out there?!'
Why on earth was the person who was supposed to be inside doing out here!
For now, he'd looked unharmed, so that was a relief... No, no! That wasn't the important thing right now!!
'......Should I chase him after all?'
Her narrowed eyes swept the alleyway, gauging the distance, then stopped at one spot as if discovering something.
In the middle of the road, a patch of wet dirt was asserting its presence.
Due to the nature of dirt, any spilled liquid simply looked black, making it impossible to identify by color. But given the surrounding circumstances and environment, she could at least formulate a few hypotheses.
'It looks like the liquid was spilled only recently, so it would be related to the Count. And not long ago, His Excellency had been coughing violently.......'
Normally, she might have considered the method of smelling it, but this was the slums.
The stench of all manner of filth came from every direction, and even the ground reeked of a sewer, so Rien erased that option entirely from her mind.
It wasn't that she couldn't bring herself to smell it, but... as a knight of noble birth, on a matter that wasn't even her lord's direct order, there was no way she was going to touch or shove her nose into some unidentified wet dirt.
Therefore, having mustered all possibilities based purely on circumstances and constructed the most plausible hypothesis, Rien's eyebrows trembled faintly.
No way.......
"Blood?"