"After the sermon, Utravsky Archbishop usually goes back to his private room at the back of the church and brews a cup of Feynapotter's plateau coffee, the kind with milk and sugar.
"At this time, we will answer questions for believers. If it is a meal, we will also distribute Holy Communion. No one will disturb Archbishop within half an hour.
"But just now, just after the last sermon ended, Utravsky Archbishop walked into the side door leading to the church annex area. Within a few seconds, Pastor who was near the door heard a dull sound, like a heavy object falling to the ground... We thought it was a painting falling from the wall, and we hurried forward to check...
"Archbishop was just lying in a pool of blood, and had... stopped breathing."
At the deepest altar of the Prayer Hall, several young priests were busy telling the story of what happened to another bishop of the church, Townsend, who had taken a back seat due to his age.
A Pastor led the servants to seal the front and back doors of the church, humbly but resolutely leaving behind all the believers who participated in the previous sermon, making the crime scene into a state where only entry and no exit were allowed.
The meaning is obvious, everyone present is suspected of murdering Archbishop!
Naturally, this includes Christina and Dorothy, who slipped into the church just after the sermon. They were planning to take advantage of the believers to communicate with Pastor or leave Prayer Hall took the right opportunity to place "Magic Wishing Lamp" on the unguarded altar, ending the short Yarnam City journey. Unexpectedly, the sudden arrival of Bishop's Death made the scene even more chaotic and disorderly.
Glancing at the altar surrounded by the bishop with gray hair and black bishop's robes and several priests, Tina knew that it was unlikely that he would be able to fulfill Genie's "wishes" in a short time. He could only wait quietly for everything to end before looking for another opportunity.
She had already noticed that a servant left from the side door to Police Station to call the police, and given the size of this small city, it would not take long for the police to arrive.
Since she could only wait, she naturally had a strong interest in Utravsky Bishop's Death. For the first time, someone actually died beside her, which made this girl who had never traveled far by herself panic and excited. Of course, the latter was more likely to happen.
She secretly approached the side door where the crime occurred, wanting to see the death scene of Archbishop, but was blocked by a servant who abided by his duties. She could only smell a strong smell of blood through the corridor door.
It seems that the priest who found the deceased was not exaggerating. Archbishop may really be lying in a pool of blood, which means that he did not die of a sudden illness, but from trauma... Tina imitated the thinking method of the protagonist of the novel "Sherlock Holmes" he had read, and returned to the popular Prayer Hall.
The other believers in the Prayer Hall had different reactions. Most of them took time to listen to the sermon, and they had work or private matters to attend to afterwards. They were a little emotional about being stopped here and unable to leave, but they did not dare to confront the clergy in his church under the watchful eyes of "Fool". They could only discuss the incident in a low voice to express their dissatisfaction.
"... Could it be a sudden illness? It is said that Archbishop Your Excellency is Feysac people. Before he believed in the great Fool, he was a pirate who roamed the sea. It wasn't until he met a loved one of Fool that he regretted what he had done, swore an oath in front of the Holy Emblem, and began to spread the faith of Fool... The experiences during that time left him with many hidden diseases..."
"I took a sneak peek and there was so much blood! Utravsky Archbishop There was a wound on the back of the neck, and blood flowed from there... so the priests thought it was murder."
"So, the murderer is in the church? Right next to us?"
"Not necessarily, what if he ran away after killing everyone? Isn't it a waste of time to leave us here? And everyone has no grievances against him. Who would kill a Archbishop in the church?"
"Could it be those foreigners... and those who settled here after Archbishop came to Yarnam City, such as that Dantès..."
"I think you are jealous that he has such a beautiful wife! Mr. Dantès donated a hospital to Yanan and sponsored many public welfare projects. Even the pigeons at the door of the church were fed by dedicated personnel. How could he do such a thing?"
"Who knows what bad guy would have it written on his face that he is a bad guy? He might have other identities and families in other cities, but what he has in Yanan is just a disguise, just a certain taste..."
"The police will come soon and everything will come to light!"
With his harmless appearance and easy to like appearance, Tina walked around in the noisy Prayer Hall and quickly got a lot of information.
It seems that poor Archbishop did die of murder. The wound on the back of his neck couldn't have been cut by himself... Witnesses immediately noticed the sound of Utravsky falling to the ground and quickly sealed the church. There is a high probability that the murderer has not escaped yet and is right next to us... The local residents of Yarnam City seem to have a kind of hostility towards "outsiders". Dorothy and I are also outsiders... But even outsiders should not kill a Archbishop who believes in True God in the church. Will this really not attract Divine Punishment? Unless the murderer has the idea of blaspheming God, such as other churches that conflict with "Church of the Fool"... is it "The End Church"? Did a "Demoness" who is good at assassination do it?
Tina Thoughts kept flashing through his mind. His eyes swept over the believers who were simply dressed and had a "local" temperament, and stopped at a few unique people.
A man about 1.8 meters tall, over 50 years old, with a lot of silver hair in his hair was sitting on a bench in the corner. He turned his body slightly to protect the black-haired lady sitting next to him who was not petite but always gave people a very young, almost underage temperament. The age gap between the two looks like father and daughter, but according to the news Tina just heard, they are actually a couple. They are the Dantès couple who came to Yarnam City more than ten years ago to buy a house, got married in this church, and come here for vacation every year.
A man wearing a black robe, an ancient ceremonial hat with a few feathers, and magic objects such as a pendulum and a card bag hanging on his body was whispering something to a beautiful lady with long brown hair, wearing a knee-length tight skirt and a lady's shirt jacket, with a playful smile on his face from time to time, as if he was mocking everyone.
There was also a mute painter who ignored the chaos in the church and was lying in the corner repairing the murals with painting tools. Author, who was thin and had strange white hair, was writing something in his notebook...Tina noticed, that painter must be exactly the same as the Archbishop Anderson she saw earlier in the Southern Continent's Cookawa City, and indeed he didn't say a word, so he was probably mute.
Just when she was obsessed with watching everyone's actions and reactions, as if she had entered a "Spectator" state, Dorothy, who had been missing since just now, returned to Tina.
Seeing this, Tina asked speculatively:
"Are you going to ask Arrodes questions to find the real culprit who killed Archbishop?"
Dorothy shook his head:
"Of course not, my 'free questions' opportunities are running out and will be reserved for the rest of the journey.
"I eavesdropped on the conversation between the Townsend bishop and other priests. They suspected that this matter was mixed with supernatural factors, because Utravsky Archbishop himself is a Beyonder with a high Sequence, and a 'warrior' Pathway with very strong frontal defense and close combat capabilities."
"Then how come he was killed from behind in one fell swoop?" Tina asked in confusion.
"Maybe the defense on the back is not as good as the front..." Dorothy commented with a weird expression, then glanced at Tina's shoulder bag tightly wrapped around his waist, "Why don't you ask Magic Wishing Lamp?"
"After entering the church, Genie didn't dare to speak at all. Maybe it was this Mr. Fool who sealed Him." Tina muttered, patting his satchel rather dissatisfiedly and making a clanging sound on the hollow lamp. "When the police arrive, it should be over."
Even so, Tina himself doesn't have much confidence. After all, this murder case is likely to involve supernatural factors. Both parties are Beyonder. Can ordinary policemen really find the murderer quickly?
A few minutes later, the main door of the Prayer Hall was pushed open from the outside, and several police officers wearing black and white checkered uniforms and soft hats entered the church under the guidance of servants.
They skillfully controlled the entrance and exit points such as the main gate and side entrance, and began to investigate the crime scene, interview the first witnesses, and compile a list of those present.
Although this place is far away from the North Continent, the police uniforms are actually the same as Loen Kingdom, using Loenese, and most of the architectural styles are also the same... Could it be that the designer of the city is from Loen? Tina Watching several police officers busy around, he noticed that the round-faced sergeant with three V's on his shoulders and narrow eyes looked familiar.
Like King Edessak II on the new 1 soli banknote... No, King on all the banknotes have similar faces... Tina almost wanted to take out a banknote for comparison, but then he remembered that he didn't bring any money with him when he went out. He relied on his sister to buy tickets for meals, and his face felt a little hot.
With the arrival of the police, those Fool believers who did not dare to lose their temper to the priests and Pastor immediately found someone to vent their dissatisfaction on, demanding that the blockade be lifted quickly and the innocent people be released. The calls continued to sound, echoing and overlapping in the closed Prayer Hall, one wave higher than the other.
"Quiet!"
The police chief who looked like a banknote shouted loudly.
A sense of majesty swept over everyone present, including Tina and Dorothy, who subconsciously wanted to obey the sergeant's order, and the noisy voices suddenly stopped.
The round-faced sergeant nodded with satisfaction and signaled his police officers to continue their work.
Strangely, even if I didn't speak just now, I still had an unconscious urge to obey his order and keep quiet. If a strong man with a height of two meters made the threat, it would be justified, but this police chief is not burly, nor does he have a fierce look on his face... Could it be some kind of special ability? Is this Sheriff Beyonder? Tina made some guesses and called "Genie" again from the bottom of his heart, but got no response.
It doesn't feel as good as...Arrodes... She murmured and noticed that the priests and old bishops who were originally gathered around the altar were invited by the police to a side room to ask for clues. She realized that this might be a good opportunity to put "Magic Wishing Lamp" on it to lift the seal.
But before Tina could take action, a lady wearing an old-fashioned dress and her black hair simply tied behind her head walked towards the half-open church door.
She looks to be in her early twenties, with a slightly round face, slender eyes, and a gentle and sweet temperament. Individually, her facial features are not outstanding, but together they have a thrilling beauty.
The police sergeant who was about to select a few suspicious persons for questioning immediately noticed the other person and asked with a surprised expression:
"Trissy, why are you here?"
The black-haired lady smiled, looked around and said:
"I heard that a murder occurred here, and I guessed that you would come over, so I came to take a look.
"Need my help, Edessak?"
Edessak? Loen that King?
Tina immediately pricked up his ears and listened carefully to the conversation between the two.
Although Loen Kingdom has been gradually carrying out top-down political reforms, and the royal family has handed more power to the parliament and various government departments, retaining only a few key parts, as the largest country in the world, King, Edessak Augustus II's name will still often appear in newspapers and radio broadcasts, and Tina is naturally no stranger to it.
Could it be that just like Anderson Hood, there are two Edessaks in the world with the same name and surname and exactly the same appearance? Is it this weird city? Tina was thinking, and the conversation between "King" and Trissy continued to sound in his ears:
"... The murderer may be Beyonder... You can do some divination and go to Confessional. There is no one there right now."
"But you have to ask for some information first. Divination is not a panacea."
Divination? Beyonder's murder and investigation? Tina The more I listened, the more excited I became, and I almost forgot the main purpose of coming to this city and this church.
She, who only knows a little bit about divination from now on, certainly knows that whether it is Magic Mirror Divination or other divination methods such as pendulums, tarots, coins, and divination rods, it is necessary to obtain enough information to succeed, rather than knowing everything out of thin air, unless the help of some high-level beings, such as Arrodes, is used.
Sheriff Edessak obviously knew this, so he had no complaints about Trissy's request. His eyes quickly swept across the believers, priests and Pastor present, and paused for a moment on the Dantès couple, the man who looked like Magician and the assistants beside him and other suspicious persons, and finally looked at Tina and Dorothy.
"I will question the most suspicious people one by one, and you will perform divination after you listen." He whispered to Trissy, "Including those two foreigner girls."
What's the matter with us? Tina was startled and straightened up under the majestic gaze of the other party.
At this moment, another man and a woman walked outside the church door. Edessak was attracted by them and looked over with a frown.
"Sherlock Moriarty?"
He read the other person's name in a slightly bored tone.