Review

"All right, all right, it was just a coincidence." Dorothy stroked Du Pont's smooth black hair. It would probably look quite nice tied up. Really, as long as the foundation was good, any styling looked handsome. "You only come here once a week. Why would a Cultist assassin specifically come to kill you? Don't worry too much."

"Coincidences are even scarier." Du Pont thought of those little puppy-like boys from his previous life, but he could not hold it together after thinking about it. He simply wrapped his arms around her soft waist and refused to lift his head. "These Evil Gods' followers are awful. How could there be people who only wanted to harm others without benefiting themselves?"

"Some people are born evil, while others take the wrong path later in life." Dorothy frowned at the thought. She straightened Du Pont's body, secretly twisted the ring on her index finger, and adopted a serious expression. "This is no small matter. It's a murder case, and you're involved. The other priests will definitely examine your consciousness and try to reconstruct what happened. Tell me secretly what really happened. If it differs from what you said, I won't be able to protect you then."

Second-circle divine spell: Zone of Truth

No one within a certain range could lie.

"It was after confession ended. I ran into that cleric who was in charge, gave her the holy emblem, then returned to the changing room to change and leave. Then I heard some strange things—something about testing me on behalf of The Lady, telling me to obey him so he could show me a new world, and so on."

Dorothy's expression immediately became somewhat awkward.

So Simon had slipped in because Dorothy had been unwell at the time, and a loophole had appeared when she asked Angie to take her place.

But she also noticed another problem.

Although Simon was a scumbag and a pervert, he was still a level-five priest. How had he been killed so cleanly and decisively by this kid?

It even seemed that a single slash had wounded a vital spot. The strike had been truly precise and fierce. The wound was so large that the blood spilling out had stained nearly half the stone tiles of the changing room.

"Huh? I don't know either." Du Pont scratched his head, looking utterly confused. "At first, it was like I'd been hit by a spell. I was dazed and could only hear him. Whatever he said, I did. But then I suddenly heard him say it was The Lady's will, and I knew something was wrong. I woke up directly from that muddled state."

"How could The Lady allow her priest to cast control magic on one of her followers? Once I realized that, I became incredibly angry. I picked up the small knife from that cleric's robe and fought back. Then he fell down and bled a lot. He kept muttering something, but I had no idea what he was saying. Once I overcame my fear, I hurried out to call for help."

The Zone of Truth remained active throughout.

"Angie?" Dorothy shook her head and deactivated the divine spell on her ring. "This has nothing to do with her. I had something urgent to deal with at the time, so I asked her to collect the holy emblem for me. It seems something went wrong during the replacement, but who could have expected this to happen? All right, Du Pont, you must not tell anyone else about this. If other priests need to verify the details with you later, just accept it calmly."

Du Pont nodded after hearing that, but he frowned in confusion. "No, shouldn't the church reward me for killing a Cultist? Why is there a gag order and people checking my story? It makes it seem like I committed a crime!"

"...Church matters are always more troublesome. There are too many important people, and there are many details you and I cannot understand. Besides, anything involving Cultists is serious." Dorothy poked his cheek as she spoke. "But you're right. You did do a good thing. I'll report your contribution and ask the High Priest to give you an appropriate reward."

"Hehe." Du Pont grinned foolishly at that. Just as he was about to continue taking advantage of her, a knock interrupted him. "Apprentice Du Pont, please come with me."

As sacred symbols lit up, a silence barrier enveloped the room. Dorothy and two other high-ranking church officials stood in the High Priest's study, silently watching the images appearing on the wall alongside its owner.

It showed Du Pont's account of the incident after being subjected to Suggestion, as well as everything revealed while he unconsciously underwent magical examination.

Alignment detection: good.

His account under Suggestion had not triggered the Zone of Truth and largely matched the report Dorothy had submitted, with only a few insignificant differences in wording.

A second lie detection yielded no reaction from the spell.

"The recording functions of both Image Crystals are fully intact, High Priest." Dorothy, standing at the end, spoke up. After seeing the old man nod, she extended her spiritual power into the crystal and projected the interrogation footage from the second one onto the wall.

The recording was long, a full half hour. Yet the group silently watched the material they had already seen. Only after the final scene, where Du Pont was given Dispel Magic, did they lower their gazes.

"The footage is fine. We'll keep one copy and send the other to Yarhel Cathedral." The High Priest was advanced in years, and his voice was somewhat hoarse. "Speak your minds."

"Irene Du Pont, from Nas Town, fourteen years old. His father, Old Du Pont, is a level-ten Demon Hunter Ranger and a Baron. His biological mother has passed away. Since being sent to Northwest Academy, he has hardly left the school. His reputation there is not much different from that of an ordinary adolescent boy. His talent is mediocre, but he is fairly diligent, with no bad habits. He has almost no social life and no girlfriend. His personality is rather reserved and solitary.

He comes to the church every week for choir practice without fail. He has never been to Yarhel and does not know Simon or his family. He had absolutely no motive to commit the crime, and even killing Simon was an accident. Judging from the outcome, this truly was a coincidence."

A burly man at the front spoke first. Bloodlust still emanated from the greatsword on his back. "I think we can submit all the reports. A scum like Simon brought this upon himself. He had a full set of luxurious magical equipment, yet brought nothing for the sake of convenience. He even used Suggestion to make things easier for himself, only to die at the hands of a mere level-two apprentice. His throat was slit in one strike, causing so much blood loss that even Heal Fatal Wounds could not save him. This was entirely The Lady's will."

"I still find it suspicious. Although Simon was indeed a useless, spoiled young master, he died too easily." The second man was middle-aged and had a somewhat sinister face. He subconsciously looked toward Du Pont, sleeping on the wall projection after drinking the potion. "Even if Simon was blinded by lust and had his guard down, I still think the odds of him being killed in a single blow were low. More importantly, why would a mage apprentice possess such sharp and decisive combat skills?"

"His records show no adventuring experience and no history of killing anyone. He is as clean as an untouched sheet of parchment, yet his actions differ vastly from those records. Even if our consciences are clear, will the people of Yarhel see it that way? And why did we assign this person as the deacon to receive 'sinners'? This was an extremely important task, yet something like this happened at such a critical moment. Priest Dorothy, I would like to hear your answer."

"Of course it's because none of the people under Priest Damien were willing to work in the confession room. I barely have anyone under me, so naturally I could only find volunteers who weren't afraid of dying." Dorothy sneered. "They have to fit the sinners' tastes, be clever, avoid creating more trouble, and understand that silence is golden. Even this boy was carefully selected and hired at a high price. Otherwise, why don't you give me someone for the job? And remember, you still have to reimburse me for the expense later!"

"As for his combat skills, didn't we just determine that he came from Nas? His father became a level-ten ranger, so he was obviously no ordinary man. Any noble in the Nass Desert would surely be a military noble, perhaps one who had even fought against the dragon calamity. Maybe he only sent his child here to become a mage because he wanted his descendant to become a spellcaster. Isn't it perfectly normal for children of military nobles to receive bladed-combat training?"

"But he hasn't gone back in two and a half years!"

"If you didn't leave home for two and a half years, Priest Damien, would you forget how to cast spells?" Dorothy shot back. "Besides, he just said that a very powerful Barbarian had been teaching him how to fight. He also said he was enraged. Perhaps he entered a Rage state and broke through Simon's Suggestion?"

"That's completely impossible!" Damien could not help but fill his eyes with mockery. "A mage apprentice would become the disciple of a Barbarian? That's utterly insane. And mastering Rage is even more absurd. I've never heard of any mage with that kind of talen—"

Before he could finish, the burly man spoke. "Master Lavoisier does indeed have a Barbarian friend named Boulderstone. He possesses high-level strength. Without relying on divine spells, defeating him in hand-to-hand combat would be nearly impossible for me."

Damien was instantly choked speechless. He pointed at Du Pont on the bed. "But, Griffin, that still doesn't mean he has the talent to become a martial class fighter, much less awaken the Rage Ability that many Northlands Barbarians cannot even awaken!"

"I examined him just now. This boy's physical talent is actually quite good—better, one could say, than many apprentice paladins in the church. His greatest weaknesses are only agility and perception. But he is only fourteen years old. His body still has room to grow, and he has not yet awakened his racial talent. If he can awaken successfully before eighteen, there is practically no profession he cannot adapt to, though the upper limits of some professions will not be particularly high."

Ignoring his companion's ugly expression, the burly man continued, "If he is interested, becoming a paladin in the church would not be a bad choice. To possess such judgment and courage at fourteen, he is far better than those aristocratic child soldiers sent to us in the northwest. Intelligence of fourteen may be mediocre for a mage, but among paladins, it is exceptional. If he eats well, builds up his body, and avoids detours, he might even surpass me on the path of a paladin someday."

With even the commander of their own order saying that, Damien completely lost his confidence. He merely shrugged and said nothing more. The old man, however, smiled. "So this boy truly is an unpolished gem. How long do you think it would take for him to become a true paladin?"

"Perhaps he could become an apprentice in less than half a year and graduate before sixteen." The burly man scratched his head. "But based on the alignment detection just now, he can basically only become an oath paladin under the new system. If he follows the traditional path, it would take at least twice as long, and success would not be guaranteed.

But whether in the capital or the Silvermoon Federation, the debate over whether paladins should follow the traditional school or the oath school has been endless. Usually, that might not matter much, but at such a sensitive time, training the boy who just killed Simon into a paladin might make some people in Yarhel think we are deliberately provoking them. That would not fit our consistently neutral stance. Some people might even misunderstand and think we intend to do something."

Upon hearing that, both Damien and Dorothy nodded.

Although Griffin merely valued talent and did not want to miss such a promising prospect, the timing was too sensitive. In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it would undoubtedly look like an excuse.

And not even a particularly convincing one.

"Dorothy." The High Priest spoke. At his summons, she hurriedly lowered her head and placed a hand over her chest. "Please instruct me, High Priest."

"You recruited him. Tell us how this should be handled."

"Apprentice Du Pont is rather simple-minded. He does not even know what would have happened if he had not resisted. He only believes a Cultist tried to harm him." Dorothy spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I did not tell him whether Simon was a Cultist or merely corrupted by Cultists. Before this, he simply believed he had done the right thing and deserved a reward. I think that as long as we make the reward generous enough and then tell him that the true circumstances are somewhat different...

"To prevent more followers from panicking and to ensure his own safety, we will release some false information to confuse those Cultists and remove him from this matter. He must also keep quiet to prevent the Cultists from catching wind of it and retaliating. With both benefits and consequences explained, I think he will understand what choice to make. Afterward, we should not make any major moves. With a boy's temperament, he will forget about it after a few months. I believe Yarhel is the greater concern."

The High Priest looked at the others. Neither spoke, clearly having no objections to the proposal.

"Then we'll do that." After pondering for a moment, the old man said, "Handle the reward as you see fit. Be generous; there is no need to worry. The important thing is to make the boy feel the church's care and regard, then have him completely forget this matter."

"As for Simon... preserve his body and send it back to Yarhel. Our consciences are clear. Even if his family is willing to spend tens of thousands of gold coins and swallow their pride to beg the Archbishop to resurrect that piece of trash, the information obtained will not differ in any way. Even if they want revenge, they will not be able to pin it on us. If they ask for the boy's information, give it to them. But remember to remind Lavoisier then. He is his friend's student and has nothing to do with us."

"Yes."

After speaking, the High Priest fell silent. He waved his hand, and the three people in the room bowed before filing out. The old man looked at the remaining Image Crystal and smiled.

"A legitimate priest was killed, yet we have to reward the killer. I suppose Yarrah is about to become lively again."