Leave a comment

While they went there, the detective would point to the rooftops of some houses, describing the route he expected Fuzzy Dice to take. Apparently he could jump from rooftop to rooftop no matter the distance or height difference between them, and would always go in a straight line.

Moving like that, they arrived at the center of the city in slightly more than ten minutes.

All the main streets crossed there, so it was the most active part of the city. There were many well built buildings there, some being hotels, restaurants, armories, accessory shops, and many others. All of them had clear branding too, showing they were part of large franchises.

「That thief will always take the evidence he steals and plaster it all over the church. That’s another reason he always schedules his heists, as it’ll be done during the ceremony for the change of seasons that happens every three months.」

The church was also located in a corner of the center of the city, standing as a cathedral that was decently taller than the other stores there.

Haxthausen’s cathedral was one of the many churches in Grimdart.

「That ceremony will be conducted two nights from now. That day the cathedral and its surroundings will be flooded with people. And considering how important this cathedral is, an archbishop will be the one conducting the ceremony. In other words, if he spreads the evidence there, a lot of people and the church’s higher ups will become aware of it.」

All of Fuzzy Dice’s previous targets had met a disastrous end, as the evidence was relayed from church to church, leading to everyone knowing how corrupt the target was, leaving them without any allies and with no other option but to be arrested, which they did without resistance.

「At least it’s fair to say that they got their just deserts.」

They had kept evading the law and lived at the expenses of others’ suffering, so it was only fair for them to be punished. Mira looked at the church, which was like a manifestation of divine power, and muttered that.

「And the people all celebrate with joy, as they got to witness the punishment of evil and the victory of justice.」

The church was like a symbol of justice for the common people, so watching them make evil people pay was something all believers could find joy in.

That also translated into appreciation for Fuzzy Dice, who had made it possible.

But there was more to his popularity. He was still a thief, also a form of criminal, but he would pair up with the core of righteousness that was the church to complete his work.

There was the church and its cross-border legislators, who followed the law and dealt punishment accordingly, and there was the phantom thief who relied on them without reservations once he had obtained the necessary evidence. They were like a hero and a dark hero who worked together, and that pairing was what made Fuzzy Dice more famous, and gave him the moniker of chivalrous thief.

「I’d be terrified of that pairing if I was someone evil too.」

The regulations of the church impeded it from breaking into someone’s house to find evidence, but Fuzzy Dice was not bound to such limitations and did as he pleased.

And then the way the thief publicized all of the evidence made it public knowledge, so the church could act without reservations.

「In the church’s eyes, Fuzzy Dice is also a criminal, as he’s constantly stealing and breaking into people’s houses, but they haven’t moved any resources into catching him.」

According to the detective, some of the cross-border legislators had been assigned to work on countering Fuzzy Dice.

He was a prominent thief known across the entire continent, so the church could not exactly ignore him. But considering the church benefited from all his work too, they cared for him in name only, and put no real work into capturing him.

「Ohh you can actually see them there. I guess they’re having a meeting about the heist soon.」

After the detective explained that, he looked at a spot in the cathedral. Mira followed his gaze and saw a newly built balcony in a corner of the cathedral, where five people wearing matching outfits were gathered.

Their outfits were thin robes, made of black fabric with white and red accents. The detective mentioned that those were the uniforms of the legislators in charge of dealing with Fuzzy Dice, and they had gathered there since they had also received news of the warning letter. And the detective was also familiar with them.

「Right now they aren’t discussing how to capture the thief though, they’re trying to find the best way to take in whatever evidence Fuzzy Dice provides while sticking to the law, so that they can investigate the Doles Company later.」

Fuzzy Dice was not armed with the power of the law, while the church had that power, but did not meet the conditions to wield it. By collaborating with each other they had already taken down a multitude of corrupt companies.

Because of that, the group tasked with capturing Fuzzy Dice only did the bare minimum to not appear like the church approved of a thief, while using most of their resources into arresting those who were actually evil.

「I always saw the church as a more stuck up and unmoving bunch, but they’re surprisingly flexible.」

Mira always had the impression that the church thought of the laws given by the Gods as absolute, and anyone who broke even the smallest of rules had to be punished for it, but the way they treated Fuzzy Dice was quite different.

The explanation of that was also part of this fantastical world though.

「If I had to say, it’s the Gods who are flexible. Sometimes the Three Gods’ maidens will receive an oracle, and almost always they’re warnings for the church to not get too hung up on their laws.」
「Do you actually…well, I should’ve expected as much.」

Mira was used to being extremely skeptical about anyone mentioning an oracle of the Gods. But in this world there was magic, angels, devils, spirits, and many more otherworldly creatures. Not to mention that she had actually gotten close to the vessels necessary for a God to manifest in this world, which were protected by Martel, and she was often talking with the Spirit King, who was essentially a God of sorts as well.

『Say, wouldn’t that mean that the Gods are meddling with this world too much?』

In fact, Mira turned her attention to talk with the Spirit King at that very moment, and he replied like it was the most normal thing in the world.

『There is an agreement to not interfere too much, but the Gods also agreed to send oracles from time to time if they believe their followers are starting to suffer by adhering to their laws. If left to their own devices, they could often turn their faith into a crazy cult after all.』

Going along with the theme of fantasy, it seemed like direct messages from the Gods were fairly common in this world. That was also another reason why the church was the most widespread faith.

『I see. Knowing one’s Gods are watching so carefully must be reassuring.』

Their deities were no mere statues, but actual beings. Mira really felt like religions in fantasy were much different from those in the real world. It had been a while since the Spirit King told Mira many stories unprompted, but now he began talking more about the Three Gods, mentioning their personalities, and some things that felt almost private to them.

The Spirit King had often mentioned that telling stories to Mira had become his latest hobby, so his voice sounded almost giddy as Mira just listened on. That also reminded her that the Spirit King loved to talk, just like the detective in front of her.

『And well, the three of them are now watching the world from the moon at their leisure.』

Just as Mira was starting to feel like those Gods were strangely human-like in their behavior, she heard something crazy from the Spirit King. The Three Gods, the biggest deities of this world, were staying on the moon.

『Lord Sym, are you sure that’s something you should be telling Mira?』

Right after that, Martel’s voice echoed in Mira’s head, sounding slightly concerned. There was a short pause, and then the Spirit King let out an 『…Ah.』

His loose tongue had gotten the best of him.

『Mira, that’s one of the biggest secrets of the entire world, so please keep it as such…』
『…Mhm, my lips are sealed.』

While Mira was shocked to learn that secret, the existence of the Three Gods on the moon she could see every night, she was a bit more baffled that the Spirit King had let it slip so easily.¹

1. Silva: I see I see… next destination, the moon! With modern day human knowledge, building a spaceship is but a matter of time