Night fell, and the Holy City of Rapona finally settled down, its bustling daytime streets growing quiet and still.
After the hour of the Dog, apart from the scattered lights in people's homes, the occasional bark of a dog, the shouts and laughter of playful children, and the occasional scolding from a resident, there were few pedestrians left on the streets.
Sure, there weren't any demons in the city now, and the trouble at the city gates two days earlier had turned out to be a false alarm. The city guard and the Church's newly formed Greatsword Judgment Knight Order had already issued a joint statement saying they hadn't found any trace of demons in the city and there was no need for a curfew. They'd also urged people not to spread or believe rumors, and not to pass on hearsay. Still, after experiencing a demon crisis once, the residents had chosen of their own accord to avoid going out at night unless they had to.
Especially since there wasn't much to do at night in this era, and there was hardly any need to leave home after dark. People were even less willing to gamble with their lives.
But just because the residents of Rapona valued their lives and didn't want to go out at night didn't mean certain people outside the city had the same reservations!
As night fell, the streets of Rapona's outer city emptied, and people began turning off their lights and settling in for the night, two furtive shadows crept up to the foot of a tall stretch of the inner-city wall and crouched down.
"Shh!"
"Nina, keep it down."
"The people around here have just turned off their lights and gone to sleep. They're not dead. Don't wake them, or we'll have another mess