Night fell, and Havenlight's outer district gradually came alive as well. People flowed along the main road, and the scattered lights made the long street's darkness a little less bleak.
Yet in certain secluded corners, silence still reigned supreme.
Benjamin was staying in just such a place.
It looked like an abandoned ale warehouse. Its sealed-off interior carried an air of desolation. Empty barrels lay scattered crookedly across one corner, and perhaps because they had been there too long, not even the faintest trace of alcohol remained.
Benjamin used one of the barrels as a chair and sat on it, waiting for Michelle.
After leaving the house near the sewer entrance, Michelle had brought Benjamin here to hide. She told him to wait here while she returned to the church as a Paladin to find out what was happening over there.
Benjamin had wanted to ask Michelle how she had become a mage after becoming a Paladin. However, Michelle wore an expression that said, "Let bygones be bygones," then turned the conversation to The Church, insisting that she had to go back and take a look first.
According to Michelle, The Church made a cross for every Paladin, each one representing its owner. The crosses contained the power of divine arts. If a Paladin died, their cross would shatter on its own, alerting The Church.
When Benjamin had first heard about that arrangement, he had nearly thought he had transmigrated into some cultivation novel.
But on second thought, such a magical item was indeed useful. It was practically indispensable for managing the kingdom's tens of thousands of Paladins. It was perfectly normal for The Church to set something like this up, so Benjamin did not bother making fun of it.
It was also because the first Paladin had been killed