Dekan the Priest's Dignity

"Hmm, the weather's nice, but it looks like it hasn't been cleaned for days."

Dekan walked out of the church, stepping onto the leaf-covered steps, gazing at the clear water carvings on the floor tiles.

A close look from the outside reveals that the exquisite masonry of this chapel makes every detail extremely delicate, and even the vicissitudes of time cannot dim its beauty.

However, it feels slightly out of place.

Although it appears to be a relatively affluent border town when viewed from the surrounding area.

But there seem to be other reasons for building a church that looks so commemorative.

Dekan has determined his starting point, which is the town in the "border city-states and towns" mentioned in the story's background.

It's unclear whether there are any other challengers in town.

One major problem with this kind of fragmented Shadow World at the outset is the difficulty in distinguishing between other unfamiliar challengers and native Shadow World inhabitants.

However, there is an advantage: as long as a certain level of disguise is done, others may not be able to discover Dekan's identity.

Dekan observed his surroundings as he pondered.

He had already searched the interior of the church before leaving, but did not find any key items.

Besides the bunch of keys he already had in his pocket.

It seems the church has been neglected for several days, and currently only Dekan has permission to enter.

The buildings in this town are uneven, following the contours of the mountains, which creates a unique aesthetic.

Even standing outside the church, Dekan could see the town surrounded by mountains and trees, lush and verdant all around.

Even in autumn, it remains a vibrant and thriving scene.

Surprisingly, the terrain here is somewhat similar to the terrain near the old house seen in the previous Shadow World: Wild Mountain Blizzard Mystery.

If that barren mountain truly exists in this world, then it's possible that it's actually located in the southern mountainous region of the Holy Kingdom.

However, Dekan had only taken a few steps out of the courtyard gate when...

He saw an elderly man around sixty years old at the corner outside the courtyard gate, who seemed to be looking for Dekan.

When the old man saw Dekan, his expression froze, and he was quite surprised.

"Priest, when did you arrive? And what are you wearing on your face...?"

The old man seemed to be trying his best to remain polite.

But after looking Dekan over, he couldn't hide the disdain on his face.

"Just arrived recently."

Dekan spoke calmly, but he felt a slight sense of doubt.

The other person didn't even use honorifics with him.

It even sounded as if there was some doubt about his clergy status.

Even though Dekan looks very young, he is still a proper priest no matter what.

He has proof of the Holy Rite Church in his pocket; he should be respected.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Dekan asked."

Although the old man's attitude towards him was not as respectful as expected, Dekan always respected the elderly and cared for the young, and was of extremely high character.

"I am the mayor of this town. I figured the priest sent by the city-state to investigate should be arriving soon. I also heard from the townspeople that they saw a young priest come to town, so I came to check..."

At this point, the mayor seemed increasingly unsure whether Dekan was a legitimate priest, and asked:

"Could you please provide proof of your status as a member of the Holy Rite Church?"

Dekan said nothing, but simply took out the seal of the Holy Rite Church from his pocket.

"All right."

The mayor nodded, seemingly trying to convince himself that this was a legitimate priest.

The reason why they despise Dekan so much.

It was because he noticed Dekan the instant he saw him.

This priest, dressed fairly properly, wore a very strange mask on his face!

The mask had no holes for the eyes, so it was hard to understand how the priest could see the outside world through it.

And the strangest thing is...

This mask has a large Chinese character - "" written in red paint.

Although the mayor didn't know the meaning of this strange character, for some reason, he felt that this priest didn't seem to be here to do anything good!

In fact, Dekan had put on the mask before leaving the church.

Since Dekan anticipated a high likelihood of encountering numerous Resurrection Cultist this time, he prepared a new Equipment Card in advance to give himself some disguise.

[Red Center Mask]

[Category: Equipment Card]

[Grade: Blue Precious]

[Class: 3]

[Effect: When equipped, this mask blocks low-level detection skills without blocking the wearer's vision or senses. It greatly reduces the sense of unease others may have towards the wearer.]

[Note: I can't tell the difference, I really can't!]

Logically speaking...

Even though it looks strange, Dekan tries his best to minimize any doubts others might have about him after putting on the mask.

However, judging from the mayor's attitude, he still seems to think that there is a strong sense of incongruity about Dekan.

It seems this is already the effect of the reduction.

Perhaps it was the priest's attire combined with the mask that did indeed look a bit eerie.

But a priest with such a dignified demeanor couldn't possibly look like a bandit, could he?

"Have you seen a Red-haired Girl in town? And could you please tell me what you know about her?"

Dekan still asked the mayor in a relatively gentle tone.

He noticed that the mayor had just mentioned that "Dekan is a priest sent by the city-state to investigate."

Therefore, something must have happened in the town.

"Red-haired Girl? No."

The mayor frowned, seemingly reluctant to speak to this strange priest.

But due to Dekan's status, he had no choice but to answer:

"High Priest Kevin has been missing for five days. Besides the investigation, you are also the temporary successor priest of this town."

"Could you tell me the details? Even seemingly insignificant information might be helpful to my investigation."

"That started five days ago..."

So Dekan and the mayor strolled around the town, chatting as they went.

After a period of communication.

Dekan noticed that the mayor's attitude towards him was rather lukewarm, and it seemed that it wasn't just because of his outfit.

The mayor didn't particularly like the Holy Rite Church, and he made no attempt to hide it.

Thanks to Dekan's very friendly attitude, the mayor's initial negative impression level moved slightly closer to zero.

Dekan used persuasive tactics to clearly state his objectives without arousing the mayor's suspicion.

This town was originally inhabited by a High Priest named Kevin.

But five days ago, High Priest Kevin suddenly disappeared.

What's even more bizarre is that the key bridges on the path to the city-state were also deliberately destroyed.

This undoubtedly caused panic among the townspeople, so the town's knights took a detour through the mountains to the city-state to report the situation to the church and the lord.

The city-state and the church finally sent a priest to investigate the situation.

This very reliable priest is Dekan.