Witness

Naimus saw that Jacques still wanted to say something. Unwilling to waste any more words, he offered that warning and turned to get back to work.

This time, accompanying Jacques and Isabella were more than a dozen migrants hoping to join Dorsal Fin Village.

He needed to make sure there were no wanted criminals, Demon affiliates, Wizards, or the like among them.

Jacques, left standing where he was, did not quite understand what it meant to eat more meat while he still could.

Though he did not understand, Jacques felt a chill rise from the depths of his heart. At the same time, a nauseating sensation lingered around him, making him frown.

Feeling indignant, Jacques was about to catch up and continue speaking with Naimus.

But at that very moment, Otto arrived.

He still looked the same, wearing that robe which seemed somewhat out of place in the surroundings, with what seemed like permanent sweat stains on his head.

The handkerchief he used to wipe away sweat was always clutched in his hand.

"These two must be the new priest and Paladin. A pleasure, a pleasure!" Otto seemed entirely unaware of the inspection. He warmly greeted the two, while the people at his side quickly went to greet the migrants.

The newcomers' lodging, work, and daily supplies within the village all needed to be arranged.

A dozen or so people might not sound like much, but for a small village of just over five hundred residents, they were a major addition.

Otto displayed no abnormalities whatsoever. He was simply like a village chief with a bit of wealth.

For a moment, even Jacques, who had come to investigate, felt somewhat at a loss.

Especially after seeing the gift he had received, he could not help thinking that someone this welcoming might not necessarily be a lawbreaking villain.

The gift was not particularly valuable, merely some herbs villagers had gathered from Dorsal Fin Mountain. According to Otto, they could be brewed into soup or tea; women who drank them would become more beautiful, while men who drank them would make women more beautiful.

However, Naimus noticed an extremely subtle emotional fluctuation when Otto looked at someone in the crowd.

If Naimus had not been a Demon, with an instinctive perception of emotions and desires, he might not even have noticed that faint shift in Otto's emotions.

"Looks like this person is the tainted witness?"

"But how did Otto identify him?" Naimus found it somewhat strange. The man had arrived openly, without any disguise, so he must have been confident Otto would not recognize him.

Yet from the looks of it, Otto had recognized him at a single glance. That was interesting.

As Naimus pondered this, he began conducting a basic inspection of the group.

When inspecting the person whose presence had caused Otto's emotional shift, Naimus keenly detected faint fluctuations from something invisible on the man's body.

"It should be a restriction left on him by The Church."

"Probably something like a Sin Nail." Sin Nails were similar to the Holy Nail within Naimus, both being special objects formed from invisible power.

Their purposes, however, were opposite. They were measures used to imprison and restrain The Church's prisoners.

"Could this be how Otto detected him?"

Though puzzled, Naimus acted as if nothing was amiss and continued inspecting the others.

Aside from that, none of the remaining people had anything unusual about them. The inspection was considered complete.

Otto led the people away to settle them in. Naimus bid the Old Priest farewell and left directly, while Isabella and Jacques said they would take a look around the area and departed as well.

For a while, the church that had just been lively fell quiet.

The Old Priest looked at those who had left with a complicated expression. Then he turned and entered the church, washed himself with holy water, and knelt before the statue as he prayed softly.

Meanwhile, Jacques also found something unbelievable: most of the villagers spoke well of Naimus.

In their words, Nigel was a diligent and responsible Paladin, amiable and polite to others, and had never caused any unrest.

As for Village Chief Otto, most evaluations were positive as well.

For example, the village roads had once been dirt paths. Otto had paid to replace them with gravel roads.

Judging from such matters, Otto was someone who got things done and showed a fair amount of respect for capable people.

If any household encountered difficulties and sought Otto's help, he would offer them some care as well.

"No, we won't find anything through this kind of investigation." Jacques quickly came to his senses.

Their current identities were trainee clergy. To the villagers, they were in the same group as Naimus.

Even if someone held a poor impression of Naimus, upon seeing that they were clergy, they would swallow those harsh words.

"You're too anxious, Jacques." Faced with Jacques's state, Isabella could only persuade him, "This questioning is only meant to sound out the rumors and get a sense of the village's circumstances."

"We were never supposed to gain much from it."

Of course, Isabella also understood why Jacques was so anxious.

The Old Priest was elderly, which was why there was a trainee priest.

But Naimus was still in his prime. Under normal circumstances, there was no need for a trainee Paladin.

Therefore, Jacques's arrival this time was actually the result of the Dartmenly Family pulling strings. Even so, they could not conduct an open investigation. At the very least, they could not arrest anyone directly without any evidence.

The Church held considerable power, but that power could not be abused. Otherwise, it would affect the stability of faith and the region.

For some reason, The Church had become increasingly concerned in recent years with matters it had not paid much attention to before.

A month ago, Isabella had needed to seek the Old Priest's help for certain reasons. After Jacques learned of it, he took the initiative to gather information on Dorsal Fin Village.

By chance, he discovered that after a criminal who sold prohibited goods was captured, the man had implicated the village chief of Dorsal Fin Village.

He claimed that he had gotten his goods from members of the Otto Caravan, and that one of them had told him he worked for Otto.

Ordinarily, with accusations like these, as long as they contacted the Old Priest, even an unclear answer would have been enough to prevent The Church from sending people to investigate.

However, Jacques remembered Naimus. On one hand, he wanted to cause trouble for Naimus, the Dartmenly Family traitor. On the other, he wanted to accompany Isabella. That was how the two trainee clergy came to be sent here.

"If the people here truly are secretly mining Whale Skin Mine, then they must be hiding it very well."

"We currently have a key person in our hands."

"Benjamin said he has seen the traders. Once he becomes familiar with the villagers in a while, he can identify them in secret and assist our investigation."

"Once we find actual evidence of their crimes, The Church can properly step in."

"When faced with The Church's investigation, those people will have nowhere to run." Although Isabella did not wish to involve herself in the Dartmenly Family's disputes, Jacques had pursued her for so long with such earnest devotion that she could not truly let him stumble about like a headless fly.

Second update. Everyone, please keep following!