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Chapter 82

Undercover Investigation Into the Mysterious 『Crimson Salvation Church』. And the Results of My Actions That Shape Me Into the Person I Am Today

 

Once Sybilla removed the white robe, she pulled a red one from her tool bag and handed it to me.

Come to think of it, she was also wearing this outfit back in Seiris to avoid drawing attention, didn’t she?

 

We put on a white robe over the all-red clothing in the back alley and head out into the town.

As the night approaches, the residents must go shopping to prepare dinner.

As expected, the main street wasn’t completely deserted at this time, and we passed by townspeople quite often.

 

The townspeople all walked past us, avoiding eye contact.

Even when I look at them, almost none of them ever look back.

…Either they’re too forceful with their recruitment, or perhaps the way they dress is just too suspicious.

In any case, they’re clearly incredibly disliked around here.

 

In order not to cause too much trouble, Sybilla and I quickly left town and headed towards the building belonging to the Crimson Salvation Society (which we already considered a certainty at this point).

Once the building came into view, Sybilla pulled up her opera glasses and led me into the woods beside the road.

 

「What is it?」

 

「I’d like to see if there are some sort of established rules or something like that, if they exist.」

 

Sybilla stares intently at the building through her opera glass.

It’s so small I can’t see it very well…

 

「Fumu fumu.」

 

「Did you figure out something?」

 

「They don’t even greet each other when passing by. Also, it looks like you can freely enter the building. The security is lax… I guess that’s just how unapproachable they are.」

 

That’s convenient. Let’s hurry up and finish this troublesome undercover investigation and go home after finding out what’s really going on.

 

「Hm? Wait.」

 

Just as Sybilla was about to stand up, she crouched down again and looked through the opera glasses.

 

「…Russell, there’s something I want to confirm. Follow me.」

 

She seemed to have noticed something, and I nodded at her.

I stand behind her and walk with our heads down so our faces wouldn’t be seen.

 

As we stepped out onto the road, a group of people in white appeared a few seconds later.

Sybilla looked at the person… and she actually bowed at them.

Thinking there must be a reason for this, I bowed as well.

 

The people in white simply walked right past us.

When Sybilla lifted her head, she began walking slowly, so I followed after her.

 

「…It should be fine now.」

 

「Did you figure something out?」

 

Sybilla, clad entirely in white, turned toward me.

She then pointed her hand toward the area around her neck.

 

「Right here. They’re wearing a red necklace.」

 

「I see… a high-ranking believer, huh.」

 

「Correct. It’s proof of paying tributes. How ridiculous, geez.」

 

Sybilla spat out such words at the end before walking toward the red building.

Agreeing with Sybilla’s curt remark, I walked up beside her.

 

The building was massive, and the closer you got, the more intimidating it looked.

Apart from its red color, it was a plain structure, but wasn’t it actually bigger than a castle…?

 

「Rasel, make sure you enter confidently and don’t let your gaze wander too much. And once you’re inside, just copy my movements. Got it?」

 

「Roger that.」

 

She’s right. Just because the building looks unusual, I can’t just go in looking like a tourist, and I need to be aware of any rules so as not to break them.

Since it’s an infiltration, I have to pretend to be a believer of the 『Crimson Salvation Church』.

 

Sybilla opened the building’s door to reveal surprisingly white walls inside. The floor, however, was covered in red carpet.

She stepped into the building that’s oddly obsessed with red color, and walked down the silent hallway.

 

Not far from the entrance, there’s a door leading to a room.

Sybilla pressed her ear to the door, then beckoned me over.

 

Opening the door revealed… a cathedral-like interior, with a large opening where the ceiling should have been.

It was a sixteen-story building, but it seemed most of it was open sky above it.

 

However, it bears no resemblance whatsoever to a temple of the sun goddess.

The stained glass is only red and black. It’s hard to see since it’s close to sunset now, but at noon, red human-shaped light must surely shine through.

…I don’t think there’s beauty in it in particular, no matter how much I imagined it, and above all, it’s hard on the eyes.

 

Sybilla started walking, and I followed behind her.

We veered off to the side, going not through the central nave aisle of the cathedral… but instead circling to the left, through the left-hand aisle along the outer wall.

Then, after moving forward a bit, we stopped and turned back.

 

She gave a puzzled look for a moment, but then quickly looked away as if she lost interest.

She took a seat at the very back corner, on the inner side. Which meant I ended up sitting at the very back, on the far left.

After waiting a little while, people started gathering.

 

Then,  a man appears on the stage.

Beside him was…

 

「!?」

 

I could hear the faint sound of Sybilla gripping her hand tightly.

 

「These are the words of the priest. Now, everyone, let us resonate with salvation once more this evening.」

 

The man spoke, then lifted the white robe to reveal the red clothing beneath.

When he removed his hood… There stood the very same man who had been in front of the carriage this morning.

And beside him was the red-haired girl.

 

The people gathered in this place had begun removing their white robes as well, so Sybilla also did the same without hesitation.

Then she pulled the red hood deeper over her head and bowed her face, so as not to be seen.

 

I, too, removed the white robe to avoid standing out and blowing my cover, and just then, the girl’s strangely clear voice began to sound.

 

「By the inheritance of the Goddess’s will, all non-human beings shall depart from this land. Only the blessings they bore shall remain, and red wine shall be poured upon the people.」

 

There’s no doubt about it. It was the same passage from the Goddess Scripture that Sybilla told me.

Immediately after that… the surrounding believers began to raise their voices in unison.

 

I decided to stay silent during that time.

If I spoke carelessly and said the wrong thing, it could easily blow my cover, but if I didn’t say anything, no one would notice that the only one not speaking.

At the same time, Sybilla reciting normally beside me also helped to conceal me.

It was probably more reasonable to assume she had placed me on the outer edge, anticipating this very situation.

 

「Thus, the eternal peace promised upon this land was granted, and people came to enjoy only the blessings it left behind.」

 

The girl’s voice echoed once more,

and a passage from the Book of the Goddess is recited within the crimson cathedral.

What’s going to happen after this?

 

「——May blessings be upon the Crimson Supreme God.」

 

Even I, who hasn’t memorized it, know.

And I can say this with certainty.

That it was completely different from the real passage.

 

Sybilla repeated the words as if she had already known them, and the girl put her hood up without even bowing.

 

「Thank you, Priest-sama.」

 

The girl, now completely covered in her white robe, silently left the stage.

The man followed closely behind her.

 

Next, the group in white rose one by one from the front row of the nave and left the church.

Naturally, we were the last to leave.

The whole time, we remained still, trying not to move… and the entire time I was hoping no one would notice.

 

After leaving the building, Sybilla took one last glance at it for a moment before heading back towards the town.

When there was no one around, she took a side path into the forest and removed her white robe and red clothing.

Her face was one of pure displeasure.

 

「Listen, Russell. Your magic power is a blessing, for sure, but you raising your 【Saint】 level and choosing to change your job to 【Twilight Sorcerer】 and wield dark magic were still your own choices and actions. But after all, your core, that is, the man who healed Brenda’s mother, is true to you.」

 

「What are you saying so suddenly?」

 

「…You didn’t act to earn someone’s respect; you earned it as a result of the action you took. I’m not saying that it’s absolutely the case, but at least I hope it is.」

 

Sybilla keeps glaring at the red building visible far in the distance.

 

「A red necklace. Just by wearing it grants you the right to have those below you bow to you, pass through the central corridor, and return home first before everyone else. …They’re buying self-respect with money. Because they can’t satisfy their self-esteem any other way.」

 

Ah, I see…

So that’s why Sybilla didn’t walk through the center aisle and chose not to sit in the front—she was on the lookout for people who wore red necklaces.

 

「Deciding whether one is superior or inferior based solely on how much tribute you pay, how pathetic… To think they’d use the 『Goddess Scripture』 like that, it’s just utterly distasteful.」

 

Right after she said that, Sybilla struck the tree beside her in anger, which was unlike her.

 

「But, what’s worse…」

 

Sybila lowered her face and murmured.

 

「The fact that they used that girl… a little child, who probably has yet to know what’s right and wrong in their schemes and treated her like a tool to milk tribute money… I can’t stand it!」

 

Ah, yeah… the scene earlier was just too strange.

She doesn’t strike me as the type who gives a thought about salvation or goddess or anything like that, no matter how I see it.

A kid at that age is best to just play with other kids their own age.

 

「Yes… that child should be at the age where she’d laugh at a picture-story show. But she… completely against her will, unknowingly robbing the smiles of other children, that’s what I can’t forgive the most!」

 

Sybilla’s sudden outburst pierced my heart as well.

The girl was looking at Sybilla when she unexpectedly removed her hood. Just for a moment, she also glanced at me by accident.

Her eyes seemed lost, unsure how to react to our sudden appearance… I think there was still a trace of innocence in her reaction back then.

 

What would she think when she realized she was playing a part in creating the sad reality in the town?

Is there nothing we can do to help that child…?

 

「…Anyway, since I now see more things about that building that bother me, I’ll need to look into it more. You’ll help me out with it, right, Russell?」

 

「Of course. I also want to ask that girl directly if she’s doing this of her own free will after all.」

 

Like Sybilla, I glared one last time at the red building before heading back to Madeira.

The sky was dyed in a color I’d grown tired of seeing today.