Calvin Can't Sleep Anymore

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.

Calvin could see the old altar, the bloodstains on it darkened from years without cleaning, the candle holders swarming with rotten maggots, and the dim, flickering firelight.

--Everything was exactly like the Evil God's altar in his memory.

The only difference was that there was no one at the altar.

Let alone priests, not even a single ordinary believer was in sight.

This den of thieves was as clean as if it had been licked by the Mother Goddess of Life.

Calvin held his breath. He had charged in full of righteous indignation and hot-blooded fervor, his body brimming with energy.

His emotions were soaring, like a virgin meeting his pen pal for the first time. He was eager for a fight, only to find himself stood up at the inn!

He couldn't swallow this surge of hot blood, nor could he spit it out. He felt like he was about to suffer from premature ejaculation.

"Perhaps they received news in advance."

The Paladin Captain also saw the empty scene.

To ease Calvin's embarrassment, she explained and flattered him at the same time, "Those cowardly Esoteric Cultists were afraid of your might and fled beforehand."

This explanation was actually quite far-fetched.

Calvin's expression softened slightly. He thought to himself that he couldn't lose composure; he had to maintain the noble and distinguished image of a Saint.

"That must be it."

He then put on a perfect smile. "It doesn't matter, we can go to the next stronghold. Father collected the locations of six Heresy Strongholds."

The attendants on either side also chimed in. It wasn't that they were willing to suck up to this kid, but rather that this kid's father, a Cardinal, was their direct superior, and they truly couldn't afford to offend him.

The location of Heresy Strongholds had always been the most valuable intelligence for the Holy See; it couldn't be bought even with money. For his father to obtain six for Calvin's promotion was truly terrifying in its depth.

Behind this lay the centuries-old foundation of the Holy See families. They were the true Holy Light faction, unlike Ansu's family, who were outsiders.

And he, too, would surely drive this Child of Curse back to where he belonged.

Enjoying the envious gazes of the surrounding Saints, Calvin's lips curved slightly upwards.

"Let's go to the next one."

Calvin walked out of the cave, mounted his horse, tidied his slightly disheveled clothes, and then, following the location in his memory, flicked his whip, leading the Sacred Knights, and galloped further away.

One Heresy Stronghold had escaped, but there would always be another.

After all, he was about to be promoted to a second-tier believer – this was Calvin's confidence and backing.

The other Saints had no choice but to follow Calvin onto their horses, completely obeying his lead – even now, the Saints still didn't know the exact locations of the Heresy Strongholds, so they could only follow him.

This was to prevent other Saints from poaching Esoteric Cultists.

The second stronghold was even farther away, located on a desolate plain, with a cliff on the left and a valley on the right. The surroundings were desolate and deserted, far from the bustling Border City.

Blood-red moonlight smeared the plain.

The valley wind howled through the ravines, emitting mournful cries.

Lead-colored clouds cast large patches of shadow, which mingled with the blood-colored moonlight, creating a dark red plain. As the valley wind blew, every blade of withered grass swayed with a blood-red hue.

This atmosphere, this feeling--

Setting a Heresy Stronghold here was simply seamless. There was no Heresy Altar here, which would have ruined this magnificent landscape.

Calvin smiled with satisfaction.

There shouldn't be any problems here, right?

He spotted the altar from afar, but the closer he got, the more uneasy he felt, and his heart sank lower and lower.

The surroundings were too quiet; there was no atmosphere of sacrifice at all.

The perfect smile he had maintained all the way gradually stiffened.

There was still no one there.

Calvin froze at the empty altar, feeling as if even the surrounding air was about to die from the silence.

The gazes of the other Saints fell upon Calvin, piercing him like needles – although their eyes were still gentle, the emotions within them were sharp:

We've followed you around for half the night, where are the people?

For this Witch Hunt, they weren't asking for a feast, just a bowl of soup.

But now there wasn't even soup.

"It seems the Esoteric Cultists ran away in groups," the Captain, with her high emotional intelligence, immediately gave Calvin an out. "Such cunning Esoteric Cultists."

The enemies ran away in groups. Calvin's lips twitched slightly. This reason sounded rather flimsy. Who would run away in groups when they were bad guys?

Esoteric Cultists had never been united.

They were enemies with each other, each wishing to sacrifice the other.

But no matter what, he had to follow the steps down.

"Right, it must be that these two strongholds communicated with each other,"

He turned and explained to the remaining Saints, "I don't know who leaked the news, it's absolutely detestable. Perhaps it was Ansu, that Child of Curse."

He knew himself that what he said was absurd, but no matter what, he had to pin the blame on Ansu first. Who told him to be born a Child of Curse?

The Saints stared at Calvin as if he were an idiot, secretly thinking to themselves, who else could have leaked the news?

It was you.

Who would have so many elaborate tricks before a Witch Hunt?

Everyone used to act in secret.

First, there was a big fanfare in the church, then praying before the statue of the god early in the morning, then saying to the Saintess, 'All the honor tonight is dedicated to you,' attracting a crowd of onlookers.

This Witch Hunt even made it onto the Seaside Evening News, with the headline #Exterminating Evils and Benefiting the Good! Paladin Calvin's Secret Witch Hunt#.

A secret Witch Hunt on the front page.

The public discussion even surpassed the once very popular novel series #The Abusive Love Legend of the Child of Curse and the Maid#.

In fact, the Saints all understood the reason behind this. It was nothing more than to gain popular support and build his image for himself, so that the common people would vote for him in the future Holy See elections.

However, since the captain had spoken, the Saints couldn't go against Calvin, and they all chimed in, "Your Excellency Calvin, we'll just go to the next place."

"Right, the next place will definitely have them!"

"It's not like they're going to run away as a group!"

Calvin nodded solemnly, emphasizing each word as he assured them, "These two strongholds are too close to each other, and it's inevitable they'd hear the wind. The next stronghold is far out at sea, and they absolutely won't be able to escape."

After making his promise, he remounted his horse and led the team at a gallop.

An hour later.

It was already three in the morning.

The coast, at the foot of a hidden cliff.

The cold sea breeze blew against everyone's faces.

It was so cold it felt like the air was about to freeze.

Calvin and the Paladin Captain looked at each other.

The Altar here was even cleaner.

Not only were there no Esoteric Cultists, but it was also tidied up, neat, clean, and odorless.

The ritual implements were placed neatly, all polished to a shine.

There was no oil stain on the candlestick, no bloodstain on the altar, and there were even one or two water stains that hadn't dried yet—because it was winter, the water stains dried slowly.

Everyone recognized a fact—those Esoteric Cultists had mopped the floor!

When they disappeared, they even mopped the floor!

What kind of bad guys mop the floor when they run away as a group!

None of them would have thought that Enya Morningstar was a very professional, serious, and rather eccentric Maid.

When her master told her to 'clean up the scene,' she naturally had to clean it up as quickly as possible. This was her area of expertise.

'Cleaning' naturally included mopping the floor.

The whistling sea breeze passed through them awkwardly.

"It seems they ran away as a group after mopping the floor," the Captain, with his high emotional intelligence, immediately gave Calvin an out. "What cunning Esoteric Cultists."

"...What kind of loving family is this!"

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