Chapter 264: The Season of Redemption (3)

Chapter 264: The Season of Redemption (3)

A peaceful weekend morning.

Vikir walks out into the street.

The streets were bustling with people at midday.

On the terraces of cafes, ladies are chatting, businessmen are meeting with clients, and young people are walking arm in arm, laughing and talking about whatever they're having fun with.

As pretty women and handsome men walk busily, the surrounding eyes follow them for a few seconds and then turn to the front again.

The smell of flowers from a flower shop, sweet and savory from an egg bread shop.

From the railroad station ahead, where carriages rushed by with urgent news, came the clanging of hammers to announce the construction of an expansion.

"...."

Suddenly, Vikir stopped at the edge of the street.

Red brick buildings and narrow alleys between them.

At the narrow entrance, a line of Imperial Guard seals prohibited entry.

It was the same place where Vikir had carried out his assassination at dawn just hours earlier.

Two things had changed.

The bodies had already been removed, marked only by a white line on the ground.

The other was a deep gash in the floor.

"...."

Vikir stood at a distance and examined the marks on the floor.

It looked like a snake had slithered across it. It was definitely not there when Vikir carried out the assassination.

A crowd gathered, murmuring at the bloodstains on the walls and floor.

"They say a man died in there during the night."

"They say he was horribly tortured and then poisoned."

"Be afraid. Could this be the work of Night Hound, too?"

"No. They say the killer this time was that woman, Miss Uroboros."

"What, there were other villains besides Night Hound?"

"This guy's slow on the news."

Vikir blended into the crowd and quietly listened to the conversations around him.

Vikir didn't need to worry, he hadn't left any clues, he moved in complex movements, turning into a dog in the middle of nowhere and slipping under narrow terrain, something no human could ever track.

It's just that he's a little surprised that Miss Uroboros has been there since he left. UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

'...She's a strange woman.'

Vikir became even more alert to Miss Uroboros.

She was no longer just a copycat.

She is a terrorist with an unknown purpose and seems to be chasing the Night Hound, so we need to keep a close eye on her.

... However, today's outing was not about Miss Uroboros.

Vikir left the crowds and headed toward the center of town, wearing one of his hats.

"...there are so many people."

When Vikir reached the main street of the Imperial Capital, the most important land he marveled.

There are so many people, it's like looking at a dense mass of bean sprouts.

'I could blend in and nobody would know.'

Vikit thought, If you want to hide the woods, hide it in the forest.

Vikir blended into the flow of the crowd and moved forward.

Soon he could see the White Shield, the holy symbol of the Quovadis Family.

The colorful and magnificent temple was maintained by a branch of the Old Testament Order.

At the entrance to the temple, there was a huge crowd of people lined up.

Moment. The priest tilted his head as if he had heard wrong.

"One.... Pig... That's a heinous crime?"

"Yes. Pigs are also living beings, and isn't it a sin to take a life anyway?"

Then the priest sighed deeply.

He glanced at the long line of people behind him, then turned back to Vikir.

"Hey."

Now the words were short.

"Just go. Okay?"

When Vikir still stood there, unmoving, the priest casually tore open a piece of indulgence paper in his hand and stamped it with his own seal.

"There, there. I'm giving it to you because it's amazing that we came this far with just one pig's life."

"...Thank you."

"Good. Next time, don't sin. Be a good boy."

The priest sighed heavily and slapped the roughly shaped indulgence into Vikir's hand.

Vikir looked up and said.

"The money..."

"Tsk, tsk, that's enough, man."

The priest clicked his tongue and suddenly plunged his hand into Vikir's pocket.

He pulled out a clinking coin.

It was a one-gold coin, copper with traces of gold.

It went into the offering box that the priest wore around his neck.

Tang-clank

"Yes, you have repented~"

The priest's regular voice rang out in a deep voice.

That was it.

* * *

Vikir left the temple.

In his hand, he held a small indulgence.

'All sins of this faithful church member are forgiven.'

– This indulgence was issued and endorsed by the Old Testament, and counterfeiting it was punishable by death. –

'...Is this how it is.'

Vikir synthesized the information he had seen, heard, and felt as he entered the temple.

The energy of the demons within, the faint but unmistakable smell.

[...I can definitely sense the aura of the Sixth Corpse, though it is still faint].

Even Decarabia, at his chest, was saying the same thing, sniffling with a nose that wasn't there.

Vikir followed the rotting scent of the Sixth Corpse back to the main road.

'It's not in this temple, but... is definitely involved. It must be somewhere in the Imperial City.

Vikir had just turned his back on the temple and was about to head back to the academy.

"...!"

Suddenly, a familiar face caught his eye.

'Iik.'

Vikir hastily pressed his bun hat to his head and went to the side of the pillar.

Even with the hood pressed down, Vikir's sharp eyes could make it out.

Dolores.

Her face was seen as she quietly walked into the temple, looking around with suspicious movements.