章 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.
'...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.
A white-robed priest shouts into a ram's horn.
"Come on, repent, this is your chance to get your sins forgiven at half price! Come on, it's not every day that you get this chance! Half price for misdemeanors, 30% DC for felonies, and for the really big crimes, you'll have to consult the bishop! Here's your indulgences, your indulgences, today only! Buy now and save even more on taxes! This is a special sale that ends tomorrow and we don't know when it will happen again!"
The shouts of priests selling indulgences were mixed with the calls of cotton candy sellers selling cotton candy, corn sellers selling roasted corn, and bubble sellers selling bubble toys for children.
People coming out of the temple come out with bright expressions and walk with brisk steps.
All of them had bought indulgences.
A couple's conversation caught Vikir's ear.
"Ugh. I bought indulgences this time and I feel relieved. I've been scolded all this time because of guilt."
"Oh, for that time when you were drinking and driving a carriage and hit a kid?"
"Yes. I haven't been able to sleep since then, and now I'm here to repent because they're offering a big discount on the indulgence."
"But didn't the child die? Did you apologize and compensate the family?"
"No? No, I didn't. I bought an indulgence. I bought a really expensive one, so it's okay, right?"
"I guess. Well. Whatever. You're such a good person, anyway."
Vikir turned his head and studied the man and woman for a moment.
'They don't smell like demons.'
They were not demon contractors. Surprisingly.
However, similar types of people were overflowing here in the imperial capital.
Right now, in this branch alone, the Old Testament Order of the Quovadis, there were tons of people lined up to buy indulgences, and on the other side of the line were people who had bought indulgences.
If you think about all these people who have sinned and all these people who have been forgiven, it's kind of dizzying.
'I wonder why the world is like this.'
Vikirshook his head with the sigh that older people usually make.
He's been doing his best to prevent the end of the world, but somehow the task feels even heavier today.
And then.
Vikir joined the end of the long line and after a long wait was granted entry into the temple.
Once inside, passing between large white stone pillars that were so pristine and clean it was impossible to tell how much money was spent on them, Vikir was greeted by a group of well-dressed priests.
"Greetings, sir. What sins have you committed, and are there any indulgences you seek?"
One of the priests approached Vikir.
His youthful appearance suggests he hasn't been in the service for long.
The priest clung to Vikir, explaining various things he hadn't even asked.
"We have indulgences for misdemeanors – felony indulgences, of course – and special indulgences for the most heinous crimes that are punishable by death, but since you, Mr. ..., look so young, it's unlikely you've committed such a felony – would you prefer a misdemeanor?"
To the priest, who was struggling to come up with a quote for a customized indulgence, Vikir asked bluntly.
"If I can repent for sins I've committed in the past, can I repent for sins I'll commit in the future?"
The priest smiled wryly, as if to say yes.
"Anything is possible if you buy indulgences in advance. What sins are you going to commit?"
" ..., which is a heinous crime."
The priest's expression hardened at Vikir's words.
What would the priest's reaction be to a human foreshadowing a great crime to come?
...Now, with a serious expression on his face, the priest spoke in an even more serious voice.
"What is it. hmm. In the case of extreme crimes, the price of indulgence would be very high. Are you okay? If you have the means, I will bring the bishop. Oh, first, would you like to go to the VVIP-only chapel over there and have a cup of tea while waiting?"
He's making a calculation, not rebuking someone who's about to commit a sin.
And with the tone of a sales promotion.
As Vikir chuckled, the priest asked again, more cautiously.
" ..., but what kind of a sin is it that you're looking for such an expensive indulgence?"
Vikir replied.
"I think I will kill one of my neighbor's pigs."
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.
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