Chapter 30: Undercurrents Beneath the Light

Listening to the boss’s suggestive remarks filled with special meaning, Miss Vilyric, with her expression hidden behind the white fox mask, seemed somewhat helpless.

Is it really a surprise that this is the stronghold of the Church of the Goddess? Even in Holy Star City, just strolling down the street, one could casually encounter pious cultists attempting to spread the word. However, they seemed to be purely well-intentioned in their gentle encouragement, so Miss Vilyric harbored no ill feelings.

After a moment of thought, she simply said, “The Light Goddess indeed governs this country quite well. If I have the chance, I wish to pay my respects, but I wonder if I can find a way in the City of Angels.”

The boss didn’t seem to think Miss Fox’s words were far-fetched and only chuckled heartily. “Alright, alright! Little girl, since you’re so sincere, I’m sure the Goddess would be more than happy to grant you an audience. But speaking of the Holy City…”

As if avoiding the topic, the boss suddenly leaned forward slightly, covering his mouth with an empty hand, and whispered, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you—if you want to go to the Holy City, now is not a good time. I’ve heard there are demons causing chaos in the east, and it’s quite serious. In my opinion, it would be better to stay in Holy Star City a bit longer until the Temple Knights clean out the demons and issue a notice before setting off…”

“Oh… Is that so? Thank you for the warning, Uncle.”

Miss Fox nodded quietly with understanding as the boss finished grilling and sprinkled spices on the meat skewers before handing them over wrapped in paper.

“Done! Here you go, two ladies. Be careful, it’s hot! That’ll be one silver coin!”

“Oh! Thank you, boss! It smells amazing!”

Miss Renée happily took the paper wrappings with both hands, and Miss Vilyric nonchalantly retrieved a silver coin to hand over, effortlessly leaving the ordinary barbecue stall.

“Whoo, hoo, hoo~ Yum, yum…”

The white-feathered girl nibbled on the steaming meat skewer like a little kitten afraid of getting burned yet unable to resist temptation, while Miss Vilyric walked alongside her, seemingly lost in thought, suddenly calling out her name.

“Renée.”

“Ah? What is it, Miss… Xī? Do you want a skewer too? If it’s Miss Xī, I wouldn’t mind sharing with you…”

With a look that clearly didn’t want to part with her skewers yet reluctantly offered one, Miss Vilyric shook her head helplessly.

“I’m not asking for your food. Did you notice anything from what the barbecue stall owner said earlier?”

“Ah? Uhm…”

Miss Renée awkwardly retracted the skewer in her hand, tilting her head in contemplation, then cautiously spoke up. “He… actually is a hidden follower of the Church of the Goddess, spreading the word under the guise of a barbecue stall?”

“What a load of nonsense…”

Seeing her like this, Miss Fox had already lost hope in Renée proposing anything constructive and could only sigh while walking and explaining.

“That boss isn’t some hidden follower. Or rather, over 90% of the citizens of the Holy Empire are already followers of the Church—why would there be a need to hide? His willingness to preach just shows that our initial impression was quite good, after all, for most citizens here, believing in the Light Goddess is probably pure glory.”

“Uhm… Then is there anything worth noting? It feels like we hardly exchanged any words…”

“No, although we did indeed say little, there’s something strange—apparently you haven’t been paying close attention…”

Miss Fox tilted her head slightly, her face obscured by the mask, and her voice tinged with some unusual undertone.

“Think about it. How would an ordinary citizen living in Holy Star City, making a living from a barbecue stall, come to know that there are demons causing chaos in the far eastern part of their country?”

“Umm…”

Swallowing a mouthful of meat, the white-feathered girl wiped the grease off her hands and pretended to think.

“Maybe there are refugees or merchants from the west who brought the news over? After all, Holy Star City is a transit hub, and many travelers passing through can spread information, right?”

“Not possible.”

Feeling that this reasoning was too abrupt, Miss Fox thought for a moment and changed her wording.

“If it were a month later, this situation might be reasonable… But don’t forget, where did our news come from?”

“Edwina, as the second daughter of the Cecelia Family and sister of the Judging Saintess, must have received communication at the first moment after the incident, and from then until now, less than a month has gone by…”

“Such negative news would certainly not be actively published by the national authorities of the Holy Kingdom. Given the general pace of merchant and refugee movement in this world, it’s basically impossible to spread information across the vast eastern and western territories of the Holy Empire to the point where it’s nearly known by everyone in Holy Star City in under two to three months. More likely, the news has only just begun to spread, and the situation at the incident site is already settled. So why would that boss advise us not to go?”

“This… that does seem to make sense?”

A look of realization swiftly appeared on Renée’s face as she finally began to guess actively. “So, do you mean that barbecue boss has issues?”

The girl wearing the white fox mask shook her head again.

“Rather than saying he has a problem, it’s more accurate to say that the ones who informed him of this information have issues. It appears that someone… is deliberately spreading the news of demons ravaging the city. Right now it might be nothing, but think about it—if these rumors ferment and something suddenly happens in the city…”

At this point, Miss Vilyric frowned and stopped her topic mid-sentence as if she sensed something. The white-feathered girl beside her secretly turned her head toward a corner by the street.

“Hey… Xī, isn’t that person…?”

“Yeah, he… what is he doing?”

What came into view for the two girls was Kleisius, the holy knight who a few days ago had come to aid them when they encountered Ming Lan of the Spirit Clan, arriving with impressive speed and mediating the situation. If Miss Vilyric remembered correctly, he should be the leader of the Temple Knights in Holy Star City.

By the standards of other countries, he could be compared to a vice-city lord or the commander of the city guard, as there are no nobles in the Holy Empire; the management of city affairs largely falls to the temples and their knights.

Though Kleisius seemed quite young, considering the diverse races of the Holy Empire, he might not truly be as young as he appeared—after all, he seemed to know Ming Lan, who was said to be an ancient creature living for thirty thousand years or more.

But from their previous interactions, Kleisius left a positive impression on Miss Vilyric: upright, approachable, and unaffected by personal relationships in his decisions, with plenty of initiative. No wonder he could become a knight commander of a city.

If she was not mistaken, he was probably from some religious family, akin to the three divine lineages of the Holy Empire, raised in their legacy, perhaps resembling Edwina quite a bit.

However… what Kleisius was doing now left Miss Vilyric feeling quite puzzled.

He was walking amidst the rushing crowd on the street, constantly bending down and moving, almost as if… looking for something?

   

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