What exactly had happened?
Looking on the bright side, perhaps Michelle had run into something and been delayed. If he waited a little longer, she might come back. But looking on the dark side...
If Michelle had gone back to gather information this time, only to have The Church discover her identity and capture her, what would Benjamin do?
Would Michelle tell them everything under The Church's interrogation?
If that really happened, the people The Church had sent to kill him were probably already on their way.
Fortunately, Benjamin still had considerable faith in Michelle's abilities. She had blended into the Paladins' ranks for so long and led The Church's people around by the nose. She definitely had her own methods.
She would not be discovered by The Church so easily.
Nor did Benjamin think Michelle had abandoned him here to set him up. It was not that he trusted Michelle that much; he simply knew that he was still useful to her. What would Michelle gain by setting him up? She would never do something that brought her no benefit.
The more Benjamin thought about it, the less he could make heads or tails of it.
He could not keep sitting here doing nothing. He had to do something.
Benjamin made his decision.
First, he got up from the barrel and suddenly began rolling all over the ground, only stopping once he was covered in mud. Then, he started tearing at his clothes, turning his fine shirt and trousers into tattered rags. Finally, he scraped a layer of dust from the wall and smeared it all over his face.
The bruises left over from the military training still covered his body and face. The pain flared up sharply as he did this, but Benjamin could only endure it.
After