Even into the following afternoon, while taking part in the Purification-ers' operation, Charlotte was still turning over the meaning of "acting."
The carriage traveled down a broad street paved with neatly laid flagstones toward City Hall. Its rhythmic rocking made the cushion beneath her rise and fall, leaving Charlotte, already distracted by her thoughts, increasingly drowsy.
If the key to mastering a potion's power is gradually bringing my words and actions into line with its name, how exactly should I act as an Arbiter? Settle disputes? Maintain order? Judge right from wrong? Or use authority to make people obey, like when I scared off the vagrant and the man in the brown cloak? Surely I can't go out into the streets every day looking for cases to judge. Wouldn't that make me a Judge instead...? Charlotte grumbled inwardly, then remembered that they were on their way to an operation. She gathered her thoughts and turned her gaze to Viève, seated opposite her.
The Purification-ers was not wearing her conspicuous white nun's habit today. Instead, she wore a plain gray linen robe with a slightly high collar. The Sun Holy Emblem on her chest was fastened inside the collar, leaving only a sliver of its golden edge exposed. A plain silk scarf wrapped her smooth blond hair, casting shadows over her cheeks and ears and making her look like a taciturn personal maid.
Charlotte noticed that beneath the robe, Viève wore dark trousers that allowed easy movement rather than layers of skirts. Although practical women's garments had begun to come into fashion in recent years, ordinary women would never dress like this in public. Viève had clearly covered herself with the linen robe to conceal that fact, but whenever the carriage swayed, the hem occasionally lifted a little, revealing the taut lines of her slender calves.
Lady Viève really does look beautiful in anything... Hmm, I could consider wearing trousers when I go out at night, too. No one would recognize me anyway... As soon as the thought arose, Charlotte realized that this time, she had been paying more attention to the practical outfit than to Viève herself. The realization gave her a sudden fright.
I was actually admiring her clothes more than her? Could becoming a woman be gradually changing my mind as well...? This isn't the time to study that... She forced herself to look away and straightened her back, pretending she had merely been considering their plan.
Viève seemed not to have noticed her brief distraction. She merely glanced up at her and reminded her:
"Once we're inside City Hall, do as we agreed. You'll knock and introduce yourself, but don't show any hostility toward him."
Charlotte nodded and asked:
"What if he recognizes me?"
"Then remember his reaction. It might help you recall what happened that night."
Before setting out, Charlotte had already learned her role in the operation. She would use her status as a young noblewoman to get the target to open his office door and let his guard down at first, while watching to see whether the City Hall official recognized her and whether seeing her provoked fear, surprise, or some other reaction.
More importantly, the Purification-ers hoped that this meeting would prompt her to recall the important memories she had lost from that night. If she could remember the faces of the other Cultists who had taken part in the sacrificial ritual, all the better.
The actual arrest would be handled by the three Purification-ers led by Viève.
At that thought, Charlotte could not help glancing at Viève's hands, hidden beneath her robe.
Only today had she truly learned the young nun's Sequence and the broad outline of her abilities. Viève was a Sequence 7 Solar High Priest of the Bard Pathway. She could create Holy Water out of thin air and summon holy light, as she had when burning that Mystery Pryer who had lost control to death. She could also recite sacred vows to imbue weapons or limbs with the blazing sun's power. Beyond that, she could temporarily bolster her companions through praise and blessings, allowing them to remain clearheaded in the face of fear, exhaustion, and Corruption.
The other two members of Viève's Team were riding in another carriage.
Jellen Burns, who had once spread his arms and praised the Sun in front of Charlotte, was a Sequence 8 Light Pray-er of the same Pathway. He could pray for light to descend around him and summon somewhat weaker sunlight that could still harm ghosts and walking corpses, as well as provide blessings and a degree of purification. Supposedly, with ritual magic prepared beforehand, he could even accomplish some things otherwise only possible for the Solar High Priest Viève, such as creating Holy Water.
Joel Vaughn, meanwhile, was a Sequence 8 Barbarian of the Lawyer Pathway. The name sounded entirely unrelated to lawyers, even standing in opposition to law and order, yet it actually inherited the Lawyer's talent for words, exploiting rules, and attacking weaknesses, while also possessing terrifying strength, physical prowess, and exceptional mental resistance.
It was this barbaric lawyer, who used his fists in place of words, who had intercepted the gray-clad Cultist fleeing through a window outside the Printing House.
Only now did Charlotte understand why Henri had said that if Etienne had been Sequence 8, she would not even have had a chance to escape.
Of course, she was now a Beyonder herself, an Arbiter with excellent fighting ability, and would not simply be tackled, knocked unconscious, and carried off by a Barbarian. But in this operation, they would most likely face a Cultist who also possessed Beyonder powers and might even have received a boon from an evil entity. Compared with the combat-seasoned Purification-ers, she was, at best, a frail woman with some ability to protect herself.
Fortunately, the Purification-ers had temporarily given her an extra safeguard.
Charlotte's right hand lightly touched the inside of her left cuff. A sheath was secured there, concealing the Grade 3 Sealed Artifact dagger that had yet to receive an official designation.
In the hands of an Arbiter skilled in close combat, it could be put to the best use. Testing a Sealed Artifact's effects in actual combat and writing a detailed report was also one of the duties of the local official Beyonders.
I just have to make sure I don't hold it for too long during a fight, or I'll become like Etienne and overlook danger out of arrogance... As she pondered this, the carriage suddenly slowed, and someone knocked on its roof from outside.
They had arrived at City Hall.
This was the heart of Suhit City, not far from King's Road, and the place she had originally intended to seek help on her first night after arriving in this world. Looking back now, if she really had run to City Hall that night, she would probably have found nothing but locked doors, night watchmen, and endless trouble she could not explain her way out of. By comparison, although Baron Gustav's "hospitality" had kept her on edge for a long time, she had already been remarkably lucky.
City Hall stood in the heart of the Bols District, with its back to King's Road, which ran across the city. It occupied an entire side of the civic plaza known as Sun Square. The long, three-story building had exterior walls of pale gray stone, with four enormous stone columns on either side of its central entrance supporting a triangular pediment. Carved into the pediment were the Royal Family's fleur-de-lis and the holy emblems of two gods.
In the center of the square facing the main entrance stood a bronze statue of a young man wearing a cloak, one hand resting on his sword. He was said to be a prince who had made outstanding contributions to Suhit City. Charlotte could not remember his name, only that his surname had to be Sauron.
The carriage slowly circled past Prince Sauron, whose two shoes had been polished to a shine by the touch of passersby, and stopped in front of City Hall's main entrance. The carriage carrying the other two Purification-ers continued on, circling around to the back of the building.
It was nearly the end of City Hall's working day, and clerks, servants, and citizens conducting business were constantly coming and going near the main entrance. Once the carriage had come to a stop, Viève went ahead to wait beside the door, naturally reaching out to support Charlotte's arm and help her step safely onto the ground.
Charlotte was wearing a light-colored gown that was not overly elaborate but still showed the fine quality of its fabric. She glanced up at the sky, which would soon darken, and walked through the entrance as staff continued to leave for the day.
The dutiful doorman had intended to approach and question her, but hesitated when he saw her attire and the maid accompanying her.
"I've come to see the gentleman responsible for public security in the Old District," Charlotte said before he could speak, using the Arbiter's ability to inspire belief as she explained. "He knows I'm coming today."
The doorman clearly had no idea whether "the gentleman" really knew, but he was even less willing to offend a young noblewoman. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped aside.
That was the advantage of status, and one of the reasons the Church had involved her in the operation.
The two soon climbed the stairs to the east side of the second floor. It was quieter here than in the ground-floor hall, and the carpet absorbed most of their footsteps. On one side were windows overlooking the square, through which they could see the prince's statue; on the other was a row of closed doors. Several paintings depicting Sushit's harbor and the windmills of Korus Mountain hung on the walls.
Even with no one else in the corridor, Viève maintained her "maid" persona, merely reminding her in a low voice:
"Third room from the end."
Charlotte did not turn around, only nodded lightly and walked to the target's room. A brass plaque on the door bore the title of the official responsible for public security and public order in the Old District, along with his name.
Julian Wright... On the day of the sacrificial ritual, he redeployed the Old District's security forces under a plausible pretext, conveniently leaving certain areas unguarded. It was done cleverly, but the Church still discovered it... Charlotte silently repeated the name on the plaque and glanced back at Viève. Seeing that she made no move to stop her, Charlotte took a deep breath and knocked.
"Is Mr. Wright here? I'm Matilda of Viscount Abel's household."
She had borrowed the name of a local noblewoman her own age to avoid provoking the man into fleeing at the sound of "Sauron," a surname now clearly associated with the official Beyonders.
Of course, Charlotte was more afraid that he had already received word and fled, because that would mean the information might have leaked. Few people within the Church knew about the operation, and even fewer outside it did. Among those few was her father, Raoul.
At that thought, she held her breath.
After a brief silence, a middle-aged man's somewhat weary voice came from inside:
"Yes, please come in."