Leave a comment

The scene switched back to the first floor of the dining room, which also served as a tavern and inn.

“The familiar monster was what!?”

When the two reported their findings, the restrained priest was utterly astonished, as if this was an earth-shattering event.

“Yes, it was dead. And it seemed like it was trying to hide its body.”
“There were no signs of the children. Instead, there were snake tracks.”

Ivar gave the priest a penetrating look, causing the priest to briefly avert his gaze. Not missing this behavior, Ivar pressed him, his voice dripping with menace.

“What happened? Where are the kids?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know…”
“Is that the truth?”

Staring him down at close range and aggressively questioning him, the priest was flustered. But as if searching for something, he suddenly looked around and swiftly stood up.

“Hey.”
“Shh.”

The guards were on edge, but the priest placed his manacles near his mouth and raised a finger. Then, he gestured at the staircase leading to the second-floor hallway with his chin.

Ivar and the guards communicated with their eyes, nodding slightly to each other. One of the guards took hold of the priest’s rope and pulled him upstairs. Lucella and Ivar followed.

“It’s better not to talk on the first floor. Lord Hapshal is said to hear from the earth. I thought it was just a moral lesson, not anymore…”

In the second-floor hallway lined with guest rooms, the priest began speaking in a hushed tone. Even as he spoke, he couldn’t help but constantly glance at the ground. After witnessing the temple chief being swallowed by the earth before his eyes, such paranoia was not unfounded.

“As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know much. So this is just a guess, but the familiar monsters may have returned their own lives to Lord Hapshal.”
“Their lives?”
“Feeding entrails to those familiars is our form of burial. By doing this, we return our lives and souls to Lord Hapshal. I based my assumption on that.”

Lucella considered this. The people who were attacked and killed by the monsters all had their abdomens devoured. If this were a ritual, it made sense that the monsters consuming themselves had a similar significance.

“But I don’t know what it means. There are no precedents in the past.”
“So, to sum it up, you mean… the familiars feed on the villagers, then feed on themselves, gathering everything for this Lord Hapshal. Is it because they’re hungry? Because they couldn’t devour the adventurers?”
“Well, that…”

Ivar’s sharp words left the priest stammering.

“You might have thought you were clever in covering this up, but some people don’t forget, even if it happened years ago.”
“Adventurers sometimes take on two simultaneous quests, even from the guild itself.”

The two discussed generalities, leaving it up to the priest to interpret.

“You two knew from the beginning…”
“Human sacrifice is a serious crime even in the mundane world. I understand the desire to cover it up as it would prolong your life. But we already have evidence.”

Ivar held up the adventurer’s card they had found in the mysterious cave, catching the sunlight streaming through the window, making it gleam brightly.

The priest, who had been breathing heavily as if he were being strangled, eventually slumped down.

“There’s no mistake. That’s… what we did. The souls don’t diminish, but their lives have to be replenished…”
“So when the villagers were killed by the familiars…”
“They returned their lives to stave off hunger, and it was also seen as a demand for sacrifices. That’s how the temple chiefs interpreted it. So, the temple chief summoned Golden Helmet under the pretext of defeating the monsters… But, it’s a bit strange to call such renowned adventurers here. Previously, we called adventurers with little fame compared to their abilities and offered them.”

Lucella thought it made sense.

Using such a shoddy method, it was unlikely that anyone other than Tim would fall into the trap. But even if their scheme had succeeded by some mistake, it wouldn’t have gone unanswered.

Golden Helmet was a top party in a city like Kugtfulm, and they were already well-known. With their involvement in the Battle of Mount Kuguse, their reputation had spread throughout the country. If such renowned adventurers were to die or go missing, it would be a major event that could turn the nation upside down.

The Adventurer’s Guild would launch a thorough investigation, and while the villagers might be unaware, the royal palace and Duke Foster’s house wouldn’t stay silent. They would investigate thoroughly to find out what had happened, and the cultists’ faith would be exposed for all to see.

Therefore, the cultists would have realized and done everything to avoid this level of attention. Calling Golden Helmet as a sacrifice was the first unnatural aspect. The priest didn’t know the truth. It was decided by the temple chief who was swallowed by the earth.

“Do you have any idea where the children might be or what Hapshal’s intentions are?”
“The fact that there are snake tracks is concerning. A snake signifies Lord Hapshal. It’s possible that the children were not taken for their lives and souls but rather… welcomed into paradise.”
“Paradise…”
“The first temple chief, who was the first to receive a revelation from Lord Hapshal, is said to have been swallowed by a golden serpent in the forest and reached paradise. There, he received teachings, and when he returned, it marked the beginning of everything.”

The priest spoke, trying to maintain a calm tone. His words conveyed a sense of anguish and uncertainty while talking about the myth that he would normally be reciting elegantly.

It might be a strange story, but in the realm of mysteries, most irrational things were accepted. Interpreting it as being enveloped by the divine and visiting the realm of gods would provide a plausible explanation.

“But why would children be taken to this ‘paradise’?”
“I don’t know…”
“And if we were to go save the children, are we supposed to find a huge golden snake in the forest and have it swallow us?”
“I don’t know…”

The priest stumbled over his words. He wasn’t hiding anything; he simply didn’t know. Even if their practices were defined as heretical, their relationship with their god had been one of coexistence and mutual benefit for a long time. Now, something unprecedented and incomprehensible was happening. It was a situation where they couldn’t decide whether to doubt or continue believing.

However, that was ultimately his problem. The adventurers’ goal was to uncover the truth and fulfill their mission.

“Is there any place where they might have recreated that myth in a ritualistic setting?”

The role of the manager conducting preliminary investigations was to unravel the situation with knowledge.

There were patterns in faith as well. Even in the case of a cult, the underlying principles were often the same.