Chapter 344

Chapter 344

Simon had been sick for several days. He had been in charge of the hostage rescue operation, and he had jumped into enemy territory with only a sword and a few holy artifacts.

After successfully rescuing the hostages, he ran like crazy to escape from Yuk Eun-Hyung's pursuit. At the time, he hadn’t felt any pain or fatigue because he had been too focused on running, surviving, and completing the mission.

He only belatedly began to feel the built-up pain and fatigue after he finally managed to return to the Romanican Church camp with the hostages safely contained within the Baal’s Maw. In the end, he lost consciousness.

When Simon regained consciousness, the doctor told him that he had minor cuts and bruises, as well as fractures. While escaping the mountain, Simon had stumbled and fallen several times because the rain made the path slippery, which must have contributed to those injuries.

"..."

Simon lay in the hospital room and listened to news involving the war. He heard the news about how so-and-so clergymen from so-and-so clergy had passed away, and updates on certain regions the Voodoo Cult had occupied in the current battle zones. He also learned about the orders the Holy See issued, how the clergy responded to them, and other things like that.

Simon wanted to be discharged as soon as possible so that he could rush back to the battlefield. It felt awful to be lying around in bed when his comrades were dying in battle.

At the same time, he felt afraid. The images of the Voodoo Cult’s powerhouses, such as Sun-Woo and Yuk Eun-Hyung came to mind, making Simon feel fear and unconsciously have nightmares.

“Deputy Director...”

Two people came to visit him when there was only one day left until his discharge. It was Jin-Seo and apprentice crusader Han Sol. They had been with Simon during the Festival of Light, an incident now known as the Assault of the Festival of Light.

Simon tried to get up from the bed to greet the two people.

"Don’t move," Jin-Seo told Simon.

"Oh, alright."

Simon was about to get up but ended up lying back down on the bed. Jin-Seo and Han Sol pulled chairs over and sat next to the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Jin-Seo asked.

"It feels stuffy ‘cause I’m just lying down all day. I snuck out to do some exercise, but I got caught by the healing priests, and now they’re watching me,” Simon said with a wry smile.

Jin-Seo also smiled and nodded.

Simon glanced at Han Sol and tilted his head in confusion. "Why is Han Sol here? Isn't it during school hours?"

"School's closed because of the war," Jin-Seo answered.

"Ah."

Simon felt awkward and scratched the back of his head.

"So that’s why I'm just going to the Northern Crusader Order right now. There's nothing else to do..." Han Sol said with a nonchalant smile.

"What do you mean there’s nothing to do? Take your family and evacuate," Simon replied sternly.

Han Sol was an apprentice crusader. Since she was not a regular member of the Crusader Order, she was no longer obligated to report to the Crusader Order. She had no duty to participate in the war. Taking her family to a safe place as soon as possible was all she could do.

Although the Voodoo Cult had not yet attacked any towns and had not targeted any civilians, they may or may not continue to do so in the future. Furthermore, since Han Sol was an apprentice crusader, she could easily become a target of the Voodoo Cult.

Han Sol smiled awkwardly and said, "I don’t have any family..."

"Ah.” Simon felt like he wanted to hide in a mouse hole. "I... I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know."

"It's okay! It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Han Sol replied cheerfully.

"So, what was the conclusion?" Jin-Seo asked.

"If I had been friendly with Sun-Woo, I might hesitate to cut him down. On the other hand, due to feeling betrayed, I might be able to attack him with more conviction..."

"..."

"And then... Well, it’s not like I was really on good terms with him. It seemed funny to seriously consider it, so I just stopped thinking about it."

It was a lackluster conversation. However, Jin-Seo found the conversation exceedingly uncomfortable. To Simon, it was a trivial matter that did not require serious consideration, but to Jin-Seo, it was reality.

"Seeing how you think about such pointless things, you must have completely recovered,” Jin-Seo commented.

"Of course. Even if I were to be deployed into battle right now, I would do better than most."

"Alright, I'm going. Take care," Jin-Seo said as she got up from her seat.

She then left the hospital room. As soon as she exited the hospital, she instinctively reached for a cigarette to put in her mouth, but there was no lighter. She had left it in Simon's room.

"Tsk."

Jin-Seo clicked her tongue, crushed the cigarette pack, and threw it into a nearby trash can. She didn't really feel like smoking a cigarette, and it felt like she would feel the same way in the future too.

Jin-Seo just decided to quit smoking of her own accord. No one had ever forced her to quit. It wasn’t like someone would grant her wish if she quit smoking. Regardless, she threw away all the cigarettes she had because she wanted to do so.

***

In-Ah was investigated. Her younger sister, Yoon-Ah, had been arrested on suspicion of collusion with the Voodoo Cult. Consequently, since In-Ah was part of her family, she naturally came under suspicion as well. The inquisitors and paladins made a complete mess in her house, and the inquisitors pried into all of In-Ah's relationships.

Not only did she have to show all her work emails of her time working as a teacher at Florence Academy, but she also had to reveal all personal interactions she had exchanged with others to the inquisitors in order to prove her innocence. Ultimately, In-Ah was cleared of all charges. She had no contact with the Voodoo Cult. However, Yoon-Ah failed to prove her innocence.

Colluding with an enemy during a wartime situation was not a crime that could simply be labeled as ‘colluding with a cult.’ She was also charged with insurrection and mass slaughter. In the best scenario, she would end up in the underground prison. Given the circumstances, she might even face the death penalty.

"What should we do? How did this happen? There must have been a mistake. Yoon-Ah wouldn’t have done something like that, right? In-Ah, In-Ah. How about you go and explain to them? Yoon-Ah wouldn’t have done that, right?" Yoon-Ah’s mother sobbed, refusing to accept reality.

She believed that everything was a mistake due to a misunderstanding. Perhaps reality would be too unbearable for her if she didn’t believe that it was a misunderstanding. On the other hand, In-Ah did not know if it was because her father had resigned himself to it or because he had gone half-mad, but he just sat there and stared blankly into space.

In-Ah's parents were clergymen. They tried contacting the Holy See and related departments several times to prove Yoon-Ah's innocence. However, they were rejected.

Later, they even tried to request a meeting, but all their requests were rejected. Despite using every method possible, they were unable to even have a meeting, let alone prove Yoon-Ah's innocence.

Her mother was now asking In-Ah to request a meeting. In-Ah was a former priest and had some influence. She believed that if In-Ah requested it, the Holy See might listen to some extent.

"Yes, I’ll try. I’ll do whatever I can, Mom," In-Ah said.

In-Ah had already attempted several times but failed. However, she didn't feel the need to inform her mother about that. To her mother, In-Ah was the last hope to save Yoon-Ah. Her mother would lose her mind if she found out that even that final ray of hope was gone.

In-Ah stepped outside. She wanted to feel the wind. She couldn't breathe inside her house. At least she was able to breathe a little outside. But things didn't go as planned, because her stomach churned.

It was the same as back then. Back when Yoon-Ah had gone missing, In-Ah had been completely powerless, just like now.

She felt the same sense of helplessness that she had felt in the past, with nothing to rely on. She didn't belong anywhere, nor was she on anyone's side. She wanted to run away, but there was nowhere to run.

In-Ah crouched on the street and muttered, "Help me..."

She simply wished for someone to save her.