Forgiveness

Downs stood hunched outside the door, clutching the hem of his burlap clothes, anxiously waiting for the owner of the house to answer his plea.

Only a few seconds had passed since he knocked, yet Downs already felt as though he were about to suffocate.

The next moment, the door opened. Downs trembled all over, feeling as though all the strength had been drained from his body. His mind went blank, leaving only instinct to keep him standing where he was.

"What is it?" Naimus looked at him. He was a typical villager from some backwater place, reeking strongly of wool and sheep—a shepherd who likely tended sheep for a landowner.

His words were like a spring breeze, flowing into Downs and filling his body with vitality.

"Ah." Hearing the Paladin's words, Downs shuddered again before finally reacting. He hurriedly stammered, "Lord Paladin, I'm Downs, the shepherd. A sheep is missing..."

Downs then spilled out everything he knew in one breath. "There were Claw marks on the sheep pen, and a huge hole was torn open. I found that one sheep was missing. The Village Guardian heard roaring last night too. Lord Otto suspects it was a Demon, so he sent me to ask for your help. He'll punish me!"

"Lord Paladin, please catch that Demon quickly and save me!"

"I see. Then lead the way." Naimus smiled. "You needn't be nervous. Since a Demon was responsible, the missing sheep naturally cannot be blamed on you. I'll plead for you."

Naimus saw through Downs's terror at a glance.

Dorsal Fin Village was not very large, with only a little over a hundred permanent households.

Most of the villagers worked for Mr. Otto.

The sheep Downs raised were Otto's property as well. Under such circumstances, losing a sheep counted as Downs's negligence. He could very well lose his job, be punished, and become a Reserve Village Guardian.

Only after Naimus reassured him did Downs feel much more at ease.

Naimus found Nigel's knightly sword in the house and took it with him before setting out with Downs.

Lord Nigel really is like the Holy Light itself, warming people's hearts... Downs thought. Why did those people spread such terrible rumors about Lord Nigel before?! They're awful!

Indignant, Downs led the way. Before long, they reached the sheep pen at the edge of the village and met the village chief, Otto.

Village Chief Otto was a middle-aged man. He wore a long robe ill-suited to the village's rough stone roads, and his slightly plump face was covered in sweat.

"Mr. Nigel, you look well today." Otto looked at "Nigel," whose appearance had not changed but whose bearing had undergone a complete transformation. He wiped away his sweat with a handkerchief, his expression shifting as he did not immediately discuss the sheep pen and instead exchanged pleasantries with Naimus.

"I have merely received the God of Precepts' favor and come to understand a few things." A faint smile appeared on Naimus's face as he answered naturally.

"Ah, may the glory of the God of Precepts endure forever." Hearing that, Otto had no choice but to praise the god's glory as well. Then his gaze fell upon Downs, who stood nearby with his head lowered.

"Do not be too harsh on the young man. The god teaches us to strictly uphold Precepts upon ourselves, yet forgive others." Seeming to notice Otto's gaze, Naimus offered this advice.

"...Then let this lowborn be absolved, as Mr. Nigel says." Otto was briefly stunned. After a moment, he replied. He did not care about such lowborn people at all.

However, he did not know that as soon as he spoke those words, a message flashed through Naimus's mind.

[Precepts Updated]

[Identity 2: Paladin Nigel]

[Master Precept: Forgiveness—You forgive the faults of others and pardon their sins.]

[Precept Feedback: Whenever you forgive someone, you will gain a portion of their vitality as a bonus.]

At that moment, some vague force also seemed to flow from Downs into Naimus, making Naimus's life force increasingly vigorous.

This bonus was not Plunder. As long as Downs continued to exist, he could keep providing this blessing.

After casually settling Downs's problem, Naimus went with Otto to a corner of the sheep pen.

A section of the pen's fence had been sliced open. The break was extremely clean, showing both the destroyer's strength and the sharpness of its weapon.

A patch of blood stood out conspicuously on the grass outside the pen, along with numerous drag marks.

Anyone with eyes could tell that a "Demon" had damaged the fence, seized a sheep, and dragged it away.

The damaged section of fence was rather secluded. If Downs had not known the exact number of sheep, and if the Village Guardian had not vaguely heard cries last night that prompted Otto to inspect the pen, this hole might not have been discovered so easily.

Only then did Otto ask, "Mr. Nigel, was this done by a Demon?"

"Yes. The Demon scent is quite distinct. It was probably a Lesser Demon that arrived by accident." Naimus gave his professional assessment. "No one understands Demons better than I do. This is no big problem."

When it came to Demons, no one was more professional than him.

Abyssal Hell was a lower dimension. Demons possessed physical forms there, but once they came to the Material Plane, those forms became intangible and immaterial, because Demons did not possess actual matter.

Thus, to remain on the Material Plane for long periods, Demons needed to absorb matter by various means in order to anchor themselves.

Naimus's previous Demon statue had been an anchor, using the public's conception of a Demon's image to sustain his existence.

This Lesser Demon, however, lacked such methods. It had most likely corrupted and seized the body of a Beast.

Yet because of the conflict between a Demon's essence and a Beast's body, it needed to consume large numbers of other animals to ease that conflict.

Only a muddleheaded Lesser Demon that had accidentally gained the chance to reach the Material Plane would pull off such a mess.

Yet Lesser Demons happened to be the most numerous group among Demons, which was why the negative stereotype that Demons had no brains remained so stubbornly entrenched.

"Then shall I handle the rest?" Naimus asked Otto.

"Since it is a Lesser Demon, I trust Mr. Nigel can deal with it." Otto nodded, then said, "I'll trouble you this time, Mr. Nigel. Resolve the Demon problem as soon as possible, and afterward I will donate sufficient tokens to The Church."

What Otto did not know was that as his words fell, a simple contract formed through their verbal agreement had already been made.

The Oath Keeper Precepts of Naimus's Demon identity required enough contractual vows to continuously strengthen the Pact Vessel he had forged.

Watching Otto leave, Naimus smiled.

Everything looked like a mess caused by an immature Lesser Demon, and there was Demon scent at the scene as well.

But as he had said, no one understood Demons better than he did.

The Demon aura here was pure enough, yet it was not vicious enough. What real Demon would steal only one sheep?

Even a Lesser Demon should have left the entire sheep pen, including Downs around it, without a single intact corpse!

This Demon incident was no accident.

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