The Northern Lands were gloomy beneath an overcast sky, and the weather was cold.
To make matters worse, the nights were long and the days short.
It was not even five in the afternoon, yet darkness had already fallen. However, the prefectural city was brightly lit, and the people accustomed to living here felt no discomfort.
They simply had to be more careful after nightfall, because thieves and robbers became more numerous.
The main streets and narrow alleys alike.
From time to time, angry curses rang out.
Some people had their belongings snatched.
Others had their things stolen.
The government constables arrived late. Sometimes they made a show of taking notes; sometimes they could not even be bothered to record anything, simply telling people to go home and wait for notice... The key point was that they had not even asked the victims' names or where they lived.
Such conduct.
It was no wonder that the dignified prefectural city was practically becoming a den of thieves.
At the center of the prefectural city.
There stood a temple wreathed in drifting incense smoke.
The City God Temple!
At night.
The City God Temple still had an endless stream of incense and worshipers. The area around the temple was also the only place untouched by theft, attracting many merchants and customers to trade there.
Of course... safety came at a price, and the rent was not cheap.
To open a shop here.
One needed connections, as well as money.
Ordinary people could forget about it.
However, today was different from usual. The incense smoke above the City God Temple was clearly mixed with a strange odor. Faintly, it resembled the smell of blood.
It was not only the incense smoke.
The incense and candles burning inside the temple also looked much dimmer