An Unexpected Alliance

"Good morning, Mr. Benedict. About the medicine I left with you-"

"Don't worry, I didn't give it to them. Children have no business using a drug like that."

With those words, the tension finally left Carolyn's body, and she dropped to her knees while breathing heavily, as if the fatigue finally had the chance to catch up to her.

"That's, great."

"Given that you wouldn't have come into contact with these types of drugs before, I won't fault you for not noticing, especially since you decided to place it in my hands. But be more careful when accepting 'gifts' like that in the future. Understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Benedict."

"Good. On a second note, try to do a better job of covering your tracks, or else I'll be forced to host more uninvited guests."

At first, Carolyn didn't understand what Benedict meant, but then she heard a footstep coming from the entrance.

"As expected. There's no way a sinful lady like me can hide from a virtuous priest."

"Why are you here, Ms. Lavender? If you would like to confess your sins, might I ask you to come at a later time?"

"Oh, what a cruel priest. How could you deny a little lamb like me?"

"Ms. Lavender, please get to the point."

Carolyn wondered how Lavender managed to follow her without her noticing, and why the two seemed to know each other, but she kept quiet for the time being.

"Fine, fine, you're no fun. I still have my reservations, but I believe neither of us wants this drug to spread any more than it already has. So why don't we join hands, just this once?"

"...Very well. Silence your steps and follow me. You as well, Ms. Carol."

"Ah, yes."

Carolyn felt completely out of the loop, but she followed Benedict into his office in hopes of clearing her confusion. She also started paying attention to the footsteps of the other two and noticed that she couldn't hear them. She was trained by her father, so even on hard wood she could silence her steps enough not to wake the children, but they were on a higher level than that. Benedict didn't surprise her, but Lavender was wearing heels, which would increase the difficulty of this feat. With more questions than she started off with, Carolyn struggled to stay calm.

Once they were inside Benedict's office, he got to work brewing tea.

"I already prepared two cups so you can enjoy while I make another."

Though she made a commotion this time, Carolyn still hadn't figured out how Benedict could always predict her time of arrival. Nonetheless, it seemed even he didn't expect a second visitor.

"Thank you, Priest."

As Lavender sat down and partook in the tea, Carolyn sat opposite to her and couldn't help but stare. Since she made no attempt to conceal it, Lavender naturally noticed her gaze.

"What is it, Carol? Even I'll get embarrassed if you keep looking at me with such passionate eyes."

"Ah, my apologies. It's just, did you know I would come here?"

At first, Carolyn wondered if Lavender had been following her the entire time, but even supposing that she had missed her presence for that long, that she and Benedict knew each other was too much of a coincidence. It seemed to Carolyn that she had been used to form the bridge between the two so that they cooperate.

"So that's it. And here I thought I got myself a new admirer. What a shame."

"Well, of course I admire your elegance, but that's not what I asked."

"I know I know. Seeing as we'll be working together for a while, I don't mind telling you. I wasn't sure if you would come here, but you haven't been in the city long, so you have few associates that you would worry that much about. Once I narrowed the list down to those who would be in the slums, not that hard of a guess."

"I see. So you've been investigating me."

This time, Lavender only gave a smile in response and continued sipping her tea. Carolyn had mixed feelings at the thought of being played like a fiddle, but the tea helped assuage that discomfort.

"Don't relax your guard, but you can assume she won't harm you, Ms. Carol. Her investigation was simply to confirm your character and whether you would be a danger to the inn. I assume she's satisfied with the results."

As he returned to the table with a refilled teapot and his cup of tea, Benedict gave Carolyn a word of advice. He didn't bother moving the chair behind his desk and stayed standing.

"You're not wrong, but I wish you wouldn't reveal it so soon. I was going to have so much fun teasing her too."

There were many times when Lavender sounded like she was joking, but Carolyn was starting to get the sense that she was being serious in most cases.

"If it's for the safety of the inn, then I don't have a complaint. Though it is a little frustrating that I didn't notice."

"Fufufu, how cute. If I let you find out that easily, I might as well not even bother. Still, in terms of discreet surveillance, I can't beat the Priest here. It's almost as if he has the Goddess' eyes."

"Please refrain from such comments, Ms. Lavender. My time is limited, so let's move on to the main topic."

"Fine, I suppose the clock is ticking. As a sign of good faith, I'll share what I've found so far..."

Lavender then expounded on what she told Carolyn and added a few details. In summary, the drug was being smuggled into the city and spread to residents of the slums at a low price. Based on the cost of the drug and transportation, the operation would barely be breaking even, so the motive behind it was unlikely to be profit. Lavender went on to bring up a hypothesis that the drug trafficking was related to the reason behind the frequent tax increases. That was a topic Carolyn definitely wanted more information on, but she knew now wasn't the time to derail the conversation.

"...and that's what I've found so far."

While listening to Lavender, Benedict continued to drink his tea and placed it down on the table once she was finished.

"In terms of overall understanding, what we know seems to match. I've looked into the buyers of the drug, both those alive and those who have passed, and they seem to have been given the drug by an unfamiliar face. Naturally, it's difficult to trust the accounts I've received from the addicts and those around them, but it appears that there's only one person acting as the dealer."

"Just one? That makes it even stranger. If they want to spread it quickly, then surely they could find some extra hands. Even if only one dealer entered the city, it shouldn't be that hard to find some desperate louts to volunteer for loose change. And they're being way too blatant if this is intended to be a quiet affair."

"It puzzled me as well, but thanks to Ms. Carol, I was able to come up with a possible explanation."

"Thanks to me?"

Though her ears were keen, Carolyn had almost resigned herself to staying in the background while listening to the two who seemed to be on the same wavelength, so she was surprised to hear her name.

"Yes. Recall the reason you rushed here."

"? That Dr. Henry! Did you find him?"

"Unfortunately, by the time I realised what that 'medicine' was and tried to pay him a visit, the house was already vacant. I imagine he left soon after your group took off."

"Was there anything interesting that he left behind?" Lavender asked.

"No, it was a thorough job. If Ms. Carol hadn't told me the story and the house was more dusty, I might have thought no one was living there. However, based on how he acted in their interaction, he appears to see himself as an altruist."

"An altruist?"

Both Carolyn and Lavender had to question Benedict's use of that term. If drug dealers could be altruists, then murderers might as well be saints.

"Yes. Despite being aware that his activities are against the law, he seems to believe that he's actually helping people by distributing this drug."

"Oh, you mean he's the self-righteous type? I guess we can forget about him giving up because the odds aren't in his favour."

Though Carolyn couldn't understand how someone could think leading people to their deaths was the right thing to do, Benedict's explanation made sense to her, given that she had seen the unsullied compassion in his eyes. Perhaps he was actually a good person who wanted to help others, but that didn't excuse him from the sins he had committed. And the fact that even children like Lety and Derrick might have been harmed because of him, made her more certain that he couldn't be allowed to roam free.

"Even if he really thinks that what he's doing is right, we have to stop him." stated Carolyn with a firm resolve in her tone.

"That's right, Carol. The city's administration won't make a move while this drug problem stays in the slums, but it'll be too late once it reaches into the hands of regular citizens. So we'll have to handle this ourselves, right Priest?"

With both women having expressed their stances, Benedict was the only one remaining. He was reluctant to interfere with matters inside the city, but along with handling her training, the Chief had requested that he assist Carolyn if she needed his help.

"My means are limited, but I will do what I can to assist you with this issue."