Vernum City III

For the people on the continent of Falfor, there was no difference between mythology and history, because everything had been recorded and passed down to the present day.

At the dawn of human history, humanity roamed the land as hunters and gatherers. They had not yet become apex predators, but their wisdom allowed them to propagate steadily despite lacking the natural weapons of beasts. However, the demons suddenly invaded the continent from a separate dimension and destroyed the prosperity of humans. Since that day, humanity became nothing but slaves and food for the demons. This was the start of the Age of Hell.

Occasionally, humanity would rebel against the demons, but despite their smaller number, the demons were overwhelmingly more powerful and crushed all their attempts. They also strictly managed the birth rate of humanity to ensure their numbers didn't grow too large. Over the course of centuries, rebellion became less and less frequent, until humans eventually lost the will to resist. However, the heavens had not forsaken humanity. One day, 100 humans were chosen by the Goddess Alter, who bestowed on them special abilities known as [Gifts] and placed a king to lead them. After overcoming many trails, these chosen beings defeated the demons and returned peace to the continent.

The Alter faith worshipped Goddess Alter as the supreme deity and was the most prominent religion of the continent. There was even a saying that it was easier to find a church than a source of fresh water. Carolyn also believed in the Alter faith, and this was the first time she had visited a church, but that wasn't the reason for her surprise.

'Could this be the church that Mr. Hanson talked about?'

It seemed like too much of a coincidence, but she recalled Hanson saying that the church also served as an orphanage and was at the edge of the slum district. She was especially certain about its proximity to the slums because Hanson made sure to emphasize that she should be careful about what route she took to get there. There was more than one church in Vernum City, so it wasn't certain that this was the right one, but in her heart she felt that it had to be here.

While Carolyn stared at the church, several children started to gather around them. By the time she moved her gaze away from the church, she found more than 10 of them. They were all dressed similarly to Derrick, but none of them seemed to be the one he was looking after.

One of the children asked, "Who's that, Derrick?"

"Just someone troublesome I ran into. I'm taking her to see the Priest. Is he in?"

"He should be. Try to clean up after yourself next time."

"Whatever."

The children opened a path to the church, but Carolyn could still feel their wary gazes. The children didn't seem very close to each other, so Carolyn wondered if this 'Priest' was the one that brought them together. Hanson had said that the captain she was looking for was an official priest of the Alter faith, so if this was the right place, then the 'Priest' they mentioned should be him.

The doors of the church were already open, so they could walk right in. The first thing Carolyn noticed was the symbol placed near the ceiling at the back of the church. It was of a crown above a pair of wings covering a shield, the holy symbol of the Alter faith. Beneath that symbol was a raised platform with candles and various ceremonial items. The rest of the church was empty, with signs of repair easy to spot, but there was a person standing in this empty space who seemed to be waiting for them.

It was a young man dressed in the black robes of a priest while possessing the air of a scholar. His black hair was short and tidy, and he wore a monocle over his right eye. The smile on his face seemed genuine, but Carolyn couldn't grasp anything more from his expression.

"Welcome to the Church of Goddess Alter, Ms. Carol. Still, I'm not sure how I should make amends for our first meeting being under these circumstances."

Hearing him call her by her fake name, Carolyn knew that this was the person she was looking for. According to Hanson, he was the captain in charge of covert operations, which mainly involved gathering information. He was a master of disguise and travelled the most among the captains under Hanson's command, but for the sake of aiding her, he would be stationed here for the foreseeable future. Carolyn felt sorry about interrupting his usual duties, but she was also glad to have his support.

"No, it saved me the trouble of finding my way here, so I'm actually grateful."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Derrick was more than smart enough to realise that there was some connection between the Priest and the victim he stole from, but before he could slip out of the church, the Priest called his name.

"Derrick, didn't I warn you about targeting young women?"

The smile on the Priest's face was unchanged, but Derrick felt cold sweat run down his back as he faced him.

"I, I know, but, she just came to the city, so I didn't think that anyone would stand up for her."

"And you didn't consider that she might know someone already in the city, even though it's strange for a young woman to travel by herself?"

"..."

With the shortfalls in his plan so he easily pointed out, Derrick knew that he had no chance of defending himself. Noticing his resignation, the Priest adjusted his monocle and softened his tone.

"Return the money to Ms. Carol. I'll call you back once we've decided what to do with you so you can go check on your sister."

"...Yes, Priest."

With obvious reluctance, he handed over the money bag to Carolyn and dragged his feet out of the church. Based on their interactions, Carolyn could tell that Derrick wasn't the type to submit to authority, nor was he being threatened, so the Priest would have to occupy some special place in his heart to make him so obedient.

"I'm impressed. How long have you lived here, Priest?" Carolyn asked.

"Please, feel free to call me Benedict. That's the name I use here."

"Very well, Mr. Benedict."

"As for your question, it should be a little over a month since I arrived at Vernum City."

"Wow. I can't even imagine how you were able to gain the children's trust in such a short time."

Carolyn had experience with children, but considering the hardships that the children in the slums had to endure, she knew it would be extremely difficult to get them to open up to anyone. And yet, Benedict seemed to have become an important figure to them in just a single month.

"Yes, well it's somewhat of a long story. How about we continue this conversation in my office?"

"I have no objections."

"Good. Then, please follow me."