Mute

Because his Older Sister needed to rest, Lumian couldn't learn new Hermetic and Ancient Hermetic Vocabulary. He could only consolidate what he had already mastered. Around ten o'clock, he went out and headed straight for the Old Tavern.

He had two reasons: first, he wanted to see if That One mysterious Lady would appear and provide him with more knowledge after he became a "Dancer"; second, Lya and the other outsiders lived there, and after yesterday's events, they might not go out today.

Upon entering the Old Tavern, Lumian quickly looked around and was quite disappointed to find that the seat where That One Lady often sat was empty and deserted.

He slowly exhaled, walked towards the bar, and intended to ask if the Three Foreigners were still there.

At this moment, the tavern Boss, Maurice Béné, seemed to have just gotten up not long ago, and was clearly not in high spirits. He was talking to the customers in front of the bar, his nose red.

The guest was very excited, gesturing with his hands and making sounds, but he couldn't speak.

Mute? Lumian curiously Past and discovered that the guest was not one of the two original Mute in the village, but rather Sybil Berri's husband, Jean Maurice.

Sybil was the mistress of the Parish Priest Guillaume Béné, the sister of the Shepherd Pierre Berri, and a member of that small group.

Jean Maurice isn't Mute... Lumian looked at the middle-aged man with suspicion.

His black hair was messy, his beard was unkempt, and his eyes were filled with anger and fear.

Unlike his usual gloomy demeanor, he was now extremely excited, gesturing wildly and trying to tell the tavern Boss something.

Lumian muttered "strange" to himself as he walked to the bar and tapped the table with a smile:

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Maurice, did you sell the fake liquor to someone else? Look at him, he's so angry he can't even speak."

"What does this have to do with me?" Maurice Béné quickly distanced himself, "He's mute himself."

Jean Maurice stopped, glanced at Lumian, and resumed his usual gloomy demeanor.

He immediately turned around and walked out of the Old Tavern.

After he disappeared through the doorway, Lumian asked in a low voice, "What happened to him?"

Maurice Béné glanced outside and lowered his voice as well:

"I heard he caught Sybil and the Parish Priest doing that in bed last night, and it made him Mute he's speechless. He's been going around telling everyone about it today, ha, he doesn't even dare go to Dalege to complain to the Parish Priest, what a coward! Serves him right!"

Lumian listened, both bewildered and shocked.

If he remembered correctly, Jean Maurice knew that his wife Sybil and the Parish Priest had been having that kind of relationship for a long time, but he didn't want Sybil to hook up with other men. How could he possibly become so angry that he lost his voice over something so trivial that he had been expecting it all along?

There's definitely something wrong here!

Moreover, in the previous Loop, Jean Mauri was not rendered Mute, otherwise Lumian would have known about it.

In the Cordou Village, this is top-notch news, and it will spread incredibly fast.

Could it be that our investigations caused some disturbance, leading Jean Maurice to encounter something he wouldn't have otherwise faced? Lumian speculated, a look of excitement on his face.

"Yeah?

"Then I'll have to go and ask him properly!"

Tavern Boss Maurice Béné was not at all surprised by his joining in the fun; in fact, he thought it was only natural.

He laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, behave yourself and stop provoking that poor guy."

"Besides, he's Mute and can't write Vocabulary, how could he tell you what happened?"

Lumian chuckled and said, "Doesn't he know how to use gestures?"

He then raised both hands, making a fist with his left hand and lightly touching it to his right palm.

In the Dalege Region, and even south of Intis, this is a common gesture meaning "that thing between a man and a woman."

Maurice Béné snapped, "I hope you have any kindness left and don't play pranks on that poor man."

"Don't worry, I just want to 'hear' the story." Lumian waved and ran out of the Old Tavern to find Jean Maurice.

But the man had disappeared and stopped telling the villagers about his ordeal. Lumian searched all over Cordu but couldn't find him.

Finally, he arrived at Jean Mori Family.

At the gate, Sybil Berri, wearing Grayish-White Skirt, was processing a few potatoes that had rotted.

"Is there something you need?" The woman looked up at Lumian.

Like Pierre Berri, she had blue Eyes, and her long, black hair flowed smoothly down her back, unlike other married women who always wore their hair up.

Lumian answered frankly:

I'm looking for Jean Maurice.

Sybil, with her fuller cheeks and softer features, answered calmly:

He's not home.

"Do you know where he went?" Lumian pressed.

Sybil said calmly, "We had a fight last night. He might have left Cordu and doesn't want to come back anytime soon."

This made Lumian's brow twitch; he sensed that something bad had happened.

Clearly, Jean Maurice cannot leave Cordou Village, as that would trigger the Loop and cause it to Reboot!

In a flash, Lumian revealed a playful expression:

"Why are you two arguing? I heard it's between you and the Parish Priest..."

He didn't describe it with words, but instead punched his right palm with his left fist.

Sybil's expression turned cold, and she said in a deep voice, "Get out!"

Get out of my house!

Lumian clicked his tongue and then left Jean Mori Family.

After walking a short distance, the smile on his face vanished instantly.

Actually, he didn't want to ask about Sybil and the Parish Priest's affair. He had already seen the Parish Priest and Madame Pualis naked; what else was there to ask?

But if he didn't ask, it wouldn't fit his image in the villagers' eyes. They'd already come to "visit" him; if he didn't provoke the lady of the house, would he still be the mischievous king of Cordou Village?

Therefore, Lumian had to ask, otherwise he might be suspected.

A person's fixed image can be useful at times, but it can also cause trouble at others.

Based on the Parish Priest's style of conduct and the information he possessed, Lumian suspected that Jean Maurice had not become Mute because he had caught someone having an affair, but rather because he had discovered something else.

He was very likely poisoned to the point of muteness!

We need to find that guy quickly. With him going around accusing people like this, he might just die like the last That One —no, he's already disappeared... The more Lumian thought about it, the more convinced he was that Jean Maurice had probably met with some trouble.

That One villager who went to Dalege to inform on us last time has mysteriously fallen to his death!

Just as Lumian was making a final effort to find Jean Maurice, he encountered Ryan, Lya, and Valentine, who were "strolling" around the village.

They were still wearing the same clothes.

"Good morning, my cabbages," Lumian greeted Past with a smile.

As soon as they approached, he immediately asked in a low voice, "Nothing happened yesterday, right?"

Lya smiled and replied:

"That One lady didn't seem interested in pursuing the matter and didn't show up."

As expected... Lumian looked around and, seeing that no one was around, told the three official investigators about her Older Sister's deductions about Madame Pualis's Pathway and her guesses about Prit's Identity.

Valentine's face turned extremely ugly upon hearing this, while Lya was quite excited.

Ryan recalled for a moment and said, "Witch are relatively rare in Leston Province, and we don't know enough about this, but the higher-ups should be well aware. I'll Telegram later about Madame Pualis's situation, just mentioning that there's a picture of Prit in Madame Pualis's room, and that there's no such person as Pualis in the Roquefort Family."

Seeing Lumian's puzzled expression, asking "Why is it so clear up there?", Ryan added:

"In Intis, things related to Witch happen frequently."

So, her Older Sister 'That One "pen pal" nodded to Intis Lumian and then said, "It seems that Madame Pualis has nothing to do with the Loop, and she seems to have some awareness of Loop, which may be why she hasn't pursued our search of the Castle."

"Is it possible that we could join forces with her in some way?"

Valentine blurted out:

How could we possibly cooperate with someone so evil and filthy, more terrifying than the Devil?

Lumian didn't even glance at him, turning her gaze to Ryan and Lya.

Seeing their hesitation, he earnestly Temptation them. "Limited cooperation, only within Loop."

"Once this damn Loop is broken, you can do whatever you want with her!"

"You can even tell her this directly; I believe she will understand and accept it."

Ryan thought for a few seconds, patted Valentine on the shoulder, and said to Lumian, "Indeed, the most important thing right now is to break this Loop. However, we are still unsure of That One lady's attitude and dare not go directly to her. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you to talk to the Library or your Older Sister and ask them for their opinion."

"Okay," Lumian agreed immediately.

He planned to go by himself.

After discovering that Madame Pualis might have abnormal, distorted feelings for his older Older Sister, he didn't want his Older Sister to be alone with her.

Valentine listened to their conversation with a blank expression, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Lumian looked around again:

"There are three more clues..."

He recounted in detail Raymond's story, Jean Maurice's situation, and the "Tomb Chamber" into which the Owl flew.

This surprised Lya quite a bit:

How did you manage to get so many clues so quickly?

She even suspected that this guy or his Older Sister might also have something going on, which was why everything around her seemed strange and full of clues.

Who are the professional investigators? How come we didn't find them?

"Who told you not to retain the memories of the previous two Loop?" Lumian chuckled and shrugged.

Lya nodded, accepting the explanation.

Ryan considered for a few seconds, then said in a deep voice, "Then we need to start investigating the Church Underground as soon as possible."

"Yes, it might be dangerous there. You should contact Madame Pualis first. If she joins us, the chances of success will be much higher."