Chapter 587
Heinrich, Ludwig, Ellen, and Louise.
The four unexpected people suddenly left the temple. Of course, the cat was left at the temple. Because it’s not about going to a nice place.
There were people who hated attention and people who shouldn’t be noticed, so everyone was wearing a hood.
There’s no particular reason to move stealthily, but there’s no need to be too conspicuous.
However, Heinrich made a guilty expression as he saw the snow piled up on the street and the numerous guards clearing the snow.
Ellen, who was leading the way, looks at Ludwig.
“Tell me everything you know about that priest.”
“About Rowen-sama… … ?”
“huh.”
“that is… … . Is it important?”
“In some cases.”
Ellen did not bother to explain to Ludwig why the story about Rowen was important.
Ludwig started talking to the best of his knowledge.
My name is Rowen.
The rank of priest is Archbishop.
And the story of being entrusted with the task of cleaning up under the guard of the guards.
“To think that an archbishop-level priest roamed the streets alone. It seems that the situation is quite serious.”
“yes… … .”
“Hmm… … . It must be such a situation. Most of the Priests and Paladins will be in the Allied Forces, and the number of Tuan Priests has been reduced absolutely… … .”
There are so many places where priests are needed that archbishop-level priests have no choice but to wander alone, but the number is very small.
Louise nodded as if she understood what it meant.
Telling everything you know about Rowen might help the case.
Rowen is already dead, but Ludwig thinks about how much he knows about Rowen.
I don’t think he deserved to die like that, but Ludwig didn’t know much about Rowen.
Since we only moved together for less than a week, there is no way we know much.
But Ludwig remembers it.
A story about an archbishop.
“… … I heard that.”
“What story?”
“Priest Rowen used to be a bishop, but after the Gate incident, he became an archbishop… … .”
At those words, Ellen and Heinrich nodded slowly.
“There are so many vacancies that someone has to fill them, and that’s why they took over the positions they deserved…” … . I’m sure you heard that.”
Ludwig’s ability to infer something by combining clues is poor, but his memory is by no means bad.
It is not a lord who has lost his domain.
Rather, she was ordained an archbishop after the Gates incident.
“To carry out the duties of an archbishop in a state where the number of archdioceses to manage is extremely reduced would mean that he was not an archbishop in the role of an archdiocese.”
Ellen walks quietly and says.
“Maybe you had a different job, and you probably had a different job title and different duties.”
Right now, they don’t know what they’re chasing, but they know exactly what to focus on.
Also, it’s important to properly figure out who Rowen is.
Ludwig couldn’t help but feel strange.
a dead person
It is a murdered person, but Ellen is not asking about the fire scene or the suspect’s appearance, but about a completely different victim.
However, thinking that Ellen might be measuring what she couldn’t see, Ludwig had no choice but to squeeze out what he knew as much as possible.
“Before we parted ways yesterday, I asked what you really do.”
“What did you say?”
Heinrich asked back at Ludwig’s words.
“Commitment and Compassion… … . They say they are doing cleanup work and finding out about strange things happening in the refugee camp… … . Strange things happen where too many people die, and if you can deal with it, you’ll try to deal with it… … .”
“Are you looking for something strange?”
“clearly… … . He said he was doing something like that.”
At Ludwig’s words, Louise nodded slowly from within her robe.
“If you look at it without attaching great significance, it would be to take action on unspecified situations occurring in the refugee camp… … . If you think about the slightly dangerous possibility… … .”
Louise speaks quietly.
“I was very alert to everything that was going on in the refugee camp… … . It would mean the same thing.”
“that is… … . What do you mean, sister?”
At Heinrich’s question, Louise stares at her son.
“That person’s actual role may have been intelligence gathering or surveillance in the refugee camp.”
The answer was not from Louise, but from Ellen.
“Is there an organization involved in collecting information in the Knights Templar or the Church of Tuan?”
“hmm… … .”
I was moving to the stage where I thought it was a problem that I couldn’t touch just by discussing the possibility.
“The Knights Templar, which is a collection of the power of the five major religions, is a force that has more power than most countries.”
“Yes.”
“It would be even more strange if a faction of that size had no internal organization dedicated to intelligence gathering.”
“for a moment… … . Then Rowen-nim is like a spy… … . Are you saying it was?”
Ludwig said in bewilderment.
“And, why about Rowen-sama… … . Do you keep talking… … .”
Rowen is both a victim and a murderer.
But Ellen and Louise were talking as if Rowen was the key to the case.
As if he were a suspect.
“Ludwig.”
“Uh, uh… … .”
Ellen looks at Ludwig.
“If this is simply the work of angry people, there is nothing I can do about it.”
“… … .”
“If Rowen was an ordinary priest, and really only a purifier, he would be a victim of injustice.”
Looking at Ludwig whose expression gradually hardens, Ellen says.
“But if Archbishop Rowen wasn’t an ordinary priest, this wouldn’t be an ordinary thing.”
Archbishop Rowen.
Depending on who she was, the case changes.
If it’s an ordinary case, there’s nothing Ellen can do about it.
“If it’s anything out of the ordinary, I might be able to figure something out.”
There is a corner that can only be found out if it is suspicious.
The simpler the original case, the harder it is to solve, and the more complex it becomes, the easier it is to find a clue called a clue.
Ellen focuses on the victims rather than the suspects to see if there is any complexity in the case.
“That’s why I’m asking.”
Nothing is certain yet.
I’m just asking because I don’t know.
Ellen added as she walked on.
* * *
The party had no choice but to stop at the end of the road, where the burned temple could be seen in the distance.
“Obviously, but it’s under control.”
It was Louise’s words, and everyone nodded.
“These are the troops of the Templars, not the guards.”
As Ludwig had heard from the head of the guard, the scene of the incident was already being guarded by the Templars, not by the guards.
There were some people watching around the burnt temple, but most of them were just passing by, afraid to spark.
“I cannot touch the case of the Imperial Family nor the case of the Knights Templar. Do you know what that means?”
“yes.”
She had too many things on her shoulders to move as a curious individual.
There is a desire to help Ludwig, but it is to the extent that it does not go beyond Louise’s own personal area. Stranger problems arise when people begin to question her intentions.
“I have no intention of going any closer. Youngest, your situation is a bit different from mine, but there is nothing good about getting close.”
“Yes, sister.”
Heinrich also nodded with a firm expression as if he knew what Louise was worried about.
There is nothing good about Louise being involved in the case of the Knights Templar because of her political stance.
She could only give advice, and had no intention of being directly involved in the case.
In addition, Ludwig would not open the way for the Templars, as he was not much different from civilians.
However, whether this case is the case of the Imperial family or the case of the Knights Templar, there is a person with great intangible power who can enter anywhere.
Lament and Rapelt.
There is no door that will not open in front of the owner of two sacred objects.
“Ludwig, you follow me.”
And it is possible to take at least one companion with you.
* * *
What Ellen did was simple.
“What happened?”
He approached the paladins who were sealing the burned temple and took off his hood and said a word.
“Yo, warrior… … ?”
One of the paladins blocking the entrance, who seemed to be in charge, froze when he saw Ellen, and Ellen was casting her gaze into the temple.
Ellen did not hold a position in the Knights Templar or the Five Major Churches.
However, being the owner of two holy relics in itself can only symbolize greater authority than the Pope or the Knight Commander.
To go against Ellen’s words is to go against God’s will.
“Last night a mob set fire to this temple and slaughtered the priests. So, a team of knights is dispatched to check and preserve the site.”
At Ellen’s question, the paladin quietly nodded.
“Can I take a look inside?”
“Danger of collapse due to fire! Warrior! If you inadvertently enter… … .”
“It’s okay if a building ten times bigger than this collapses.”
“Yo, I don’t know if the hero is alone, but even outsiders… … .”
The paladin expressed his disapproval of even trying to bring Ludwig in instead of alone.
“He is my friend.”
“still… … .”
“Is there any problem?”
At Ellen’s words, the paladin couldn’t say anything.
Ellen is the representative of God.
No matter where the order he received came from, it couldn’t be heavier than Ellen’s words.
Ellen didn’t even bother waiting for the paladin’s answer.
There was no tall paladin who dared to grab Ellen’s shoulder.
Although he has entered with recklessness, Ellen has no problem with being reckless.
It’s just that Ellen doesn’t actively try to use it, but if she tries to use it, Ellen is a person who has no choice but to tolerate any corrupt behavior.
The burned down temple was in a precarious situation, not knowing when it would collapse as part of the roof had collapsed.
So it was natural for the paladins guarding the entrance to say that it was dangerous for Ellen to enter.
‘He’s following me.’
But Ellen noticed something different.
As Ellen entered the scene, a paladin followed. It was a mouse in front of a cat that was absolutely terrified.
Ellen looks around inside the temple. All the furniture inside the temple, including the chairs, were burnt, and the stone walls were filled with black soot.
Ludwig, of course, had no choice but to have a bad complexion.
Although the fire was extinguished, I saw countless bodies here.
Returning to the scene, the sight of the morning could not help but replay in my mind.
“What happened?”
“It’s still under investigation, so we’re not sure yet. It is believed that unspecified people raided the temple, looted the goods, killed the priests, and set fire to it.”
It was unclear even within the Templars how the incident itself had progressed.
“Have you identified casualties?”
“Three laymen, three priests, seven people inside the temple… … . They were all found dead.”
Ellen nodded as she listened.
‘I don’t know how big the mob is, but… … . At that level, proper resistance would have been impossible.’
Although the scale of the temple was not that large in the first place, the internal manpower was very small in the first place. It was unavoidable because the Tuan Church’s religious power itself had fallen a lot.
‘All dead… … . If that’s the case, getting hit by a mob isn’t that strange.’
This temple was too small in scale.
Therefore, it was very likely that Louise and Ellen’s guess that an archbishop-level priest could not easily be killed by people was wrong.
