TL: Etude
Liszt was cautiously peering out of the window, observing the people outside speaking in Horn Bay language, their torches flickering in the dark.
He had crammed Horn Bay language for over a month before boarding the ship and could vaguely understand some of what was being said.
It was mostly orders like “Guard the door well” and “Don’t let anyone out.”
How could anyone sleep in such a situation?
He wanted to discuss the current state of affairs with his companion, who was staying in another room. Hurriedly, he dashed out of his door.
Upon exiting, he found several people in the corridor, including the companion he was looking for.
“What’s going on?”
“I have no idea either!” his companion replied, equally clueless.
“Let’s go downstairs and ask the people in the inn!” someone suggested, and others quickly agreed.
A person dressed as a waiter ran up the stairs, shouting, “Dear guests! Dear guests! Please, do not wander around!”
“It’s the Church’s Purification Squad that has sent people! Everyone, stay put.”
Purification Squad? What was that?
Liszt, new to the area, was clueless, but the people around him reacted with changed expressions.
“A wizard? Is there a wizard hiding in this inn?”
Someone screamed in terror, causing chaos in the corridor!
The waiter, with a somber face, said, “Dear guests, it’s best you return to your rooms and stay there. The Church’s people will leave once they find who they are looking for.”
His casual words were betrayed by the expression on his face, indicating that the situation was anything but simple.
The mention of a wizard and the waiter’s reference to the Church made Liszt realize what was happening. The so-called Purification Squad was an entity he had just become aware of.
Before coming here, he had done his homework and knew about the rising “Witch Hunt Movement” in the Horn Bay region, growing more intense by the day.
For Liszt and his generation from the Northwest, the “Witch Hunt Movement” was a term from ancient tales, never expected to be experienced firsthand so far from home. R
“I really want to see a real witch from the legends, huh?”
He said this out of curiosity.
Immediately, a person nearby turned pale.
“Hey! From your words, did you come from the North, from the Kingdom of Ordo?”
He had understood Liszt’s words.
“You ignorant fellow, witch hunting is no laughing matter!”
As they were standing in a corner, the man looked around to ensure no one was paying attention, then whispered with his hand covering his mouth, “Whether witches or the Purification Squad, they are terrifying for us ordinary folk.”
“Oh? How so? Shouldn’t the Church’s people protect us from the harm of witches and wizards?”
“Ah... it’s a long story,” the other sighed with a sense of helplessness. “At the beginning, it was indeed so, but then it gradually changed.”
“This...” Liszt wanted to inquire further.
“Enough talk, speaking more will only bring trouble. Just go back to your room and stay put. When the Purification Squad comes, do as they say without resistance,” the man said hastily before leaving.
“Huh?”
Liszt felt overwhelmed. He had heard about the so-called “Flower Street” in Fort Ness from his companions on the ship.
It was a place many men longed to visit.
“This... Ma’am, why go through all this? They aren’t looking for you, are they?”
As the Purification Squad described their search for a man, Liszt thought to himself.
“Shut up, you know nothing! Just do as I say!”
The knife at his neck pressed tighter, frightening Liszt into agreeing immediately.
With another loud bang, the next door was forced open.
“Suspicious person, take him away!”
“Why are you arresting me? I’m not a witch! I’m not a witch!”
“In the middle of the night, why are you fully dressed, and also with black hair? If you’re not suspicious, who is? Take him away!”
“I’m innocent, I’m innocent, the waiter can vouch for me.”
The guest’s cries of injustice seemed futile, and from the sound of it, he was dragged away.
“Hehehe! These ‘loot’ will be confiscated too, pack everything and take it away.”
“Ha, didn’t expect such a small inn to house such a wealthy person.”
“Next one, next one, every suspicious person must be thoroughly checked.”
As they approached his room, Liszt thought this might be an opportunity, a chance to get rid of the menacing woman behind him.
It was outrageous to use his life as a threat, he planned to seek help from the Church’s people.
“Hmph! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking,” the woman behind him suddenly spoke.
“Ah? I’m not thinking anything!” Liszt felt guilty, realizing she might have sensed his thoughts.
Suddenly, a small hand pressed against his mouth, inserting something round.
“Swallow it!” the woman commanded.
How cruel! Liszt cursed in his mind, forced to ingest poison, then to be blackmailed with an antidote.
“Swallow it now!”
“I’m swallowing, isn’t that enough?” he said, tears in his eyes, and gulped down the pill.
It tasted sweet – the poison was disguised as candy. Witches truly are evil, just as the old folks said.
Now he was certain, the woman behind him was the witch the Purification Squad was searching for, likely disguised as a man to sneak into the inn. Why else would she be so alarmed by the search?
After swallowing the pill, the dagger at his neck was withdrawn. Now, she could manipulate him at will.
Liszt turned to see the witch who had humiliated him.
By the moonlight, he saw her face clearly – about in her early twenties, with chestnut-colored ear-length hair. Hmm... although her eyes were filled with fierceness, she was quite beautiful.
Dismissing the possibility of her being a disguised female companion, her height matched, but the hair color and style...
Right, she must have some secretive means, being a witch.