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Chapter 220: The Infected

“Church of the Light?”

Hearing that name, Sasha subtly frowned and shifted her inquisitive gaze towards Xavier beside her. Upon seeing him shake his head slightly, she lowered her longbow and ceased her aggressive stance.

Her eagle-like sharp eyes still scanned the young man clad in a light golden robe.

“I’ve heard of you. Recently, there have been many ‘Light Followers’ preaching in the United Kingdom. But why are you here? What about the town’s original inhabitants?”

It seemed the self-proclaimed Aland, the missionary of the Church of the Light, had no intention of attacking or using violence. To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, he chose to stand still and communicate distantly.

“Hehe, the answer is quite obvious. This little town was built by us, and the goods from your Merchant Association are being transported to the Church of the Light. However, given the complex situation around the Holy City, I believe you’ve all seen it, we had no choice but to take this approach. It’s not aimed at you, so I hope you can understand.”

“Huh? Are you joking? This batch of goods is clearly…”

“Sasha.”

Xavier’s sudden interjection interrupted the nearly voiced skepticism of the Captain of the Guards. She seemed to realize something at that moment and quickly dropped the topic, exchanging a few glances of inquiry with the President.

Clearly, Xavier, the president of the Merchant Association, must have already been aware of some insider information, otherwise, his earlier odd behavior wouldn’t be explainable.

Once she understood this, Sasha instinctively fell silent, while Xavier patted the girl’s shoulder, signaling her to let him take over the negotiations.

Then, the President stepped forward and addressed the self-identified missionary of the Church of the Light in a clear voice.

“Mr. Aland, I am Xavier, the president of the Merchant Association. So it seems you are the person in charge of this delivery?”

The young man gently placed his fingers on the golden star emblem at his robe’s chest, as if offering some special kind of respect, before lightly smiling.

“Ah, so you are President Xavier. Indeed, this part of the goods is under my responsibility for handling and oversight. Do you need to verify any identity?”

“…No need. Please lead the way.”

“Hehe, President, you truly possess remarkable authority. Then, everyone, please follow me.”

Aland turned the corner and proceeded to lead the way ahead.

Saying he would lead the way didn’t amount to much since, in this little town, there was only one main road wide enough for carts to pass through. Aland’s presence acted more like a sign, indicating to anyone lurking in the village that this merchant caravan posed no harm.

Though Xavier, being an ordinary person, couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, Sasha noticeably eased the tense expression she’d held since entering the town under Aland’s guidance.

Before long, the caravan traversed the relatively short main road of the nameless town and arrived at a central place resembling a square.

“This is it. Please pile up the goods neatly in the open area; the rest can be handled by us,” Aland said.

“No problem.”

Xavier waved his hand behind him, and soon a staff member responsible for such tasks turned around to mobilize the caravan to start unloading.

During this time, the self-identified missionary Aland finally approached the President and the Captain of the Guards closely, glanced them over a few times, then smiled as he pointed to a small wooden house near the square.

“Let’s talk inside, shall we?”

This behavior wasn’t unusual since as the person responsible for checking this batch of goods, Aland needed to verify the cargo list with President Xavier. Inviting Sasha, the Captain of the Guards, along probably intended to show he bore no ill will.

With this in mind, Xavier agreed, and the three of them entered the small house, sitting down facing a wooden table in the main room.

However, before Xavier could say anything, Aland took off his hood and revealed his shoulder-length hair, shining like radiance, and his sapphire-like clear eyes that had been purposely concealed.

He spoke openly.

“You two are in a bit of trouble.”

“Huh?”

Seeing the two across from him exchange perplexed looks, Aland sighed softly.

“Have you two not realized? You, and many in your Merchant Association, have already been infected with the ‘Unclean’ epidemic poison; you’re just still in the incubation period.”

“What?!”

Like a frightened mother rabbit, Sasha shot up in shock, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief, while Xavier, sitting beside her, trembled slightly with the goods list in hand and furrowed his brow.

Fortunately, the President remained composed despite Sasha’s outburst. He quickly gathered himself and spoke in a serious tone.

“Mr. Aland, are you serious? We have certainly heard of the infamous ‘Unclean’, but to be on the safe side, the caravan has hardly encountered any demons on the journey and has never consumed or drunk unclean food or water sources. How could we be infected with poison?”

The young man silently shook his head and pointed to his radiant short hair.

“You should recognize my identity as a member of the Light Tribe, right? Our race possesses a particularly keen perception of elemental energies. Even in the incubation period, the presence of ‘Unclean’, which clashes with this world, cannot escape my eyes. As for when you were infected…”

“I guess you encountered those fleeing from the Holy City and had close contact along the way or, feeling compassionate, provided them food while asking for information, right?”

At this, Xavier felt a chill run down his spine.

“You mean…”

Aland nodded.

“According to our internal information at the Church of the Light, at least more than one-third of the refugees currently drifting in the eastern area of the Fran Province are infected with the ‘Unclean’ epidemic poison that spread during the collapse of the Holy City.”

“The Commander-in-Chief of the Holy Empire’s Crusade, the Saint of Bright Light, Yuna Summerfield, ordered the closure of all city entrances within the Fran Province several days ago, prohibiting any civil movements. The demons seem to be intentionally pushing these people westward, and I believe you both can guess their respective intentions, can’t you?”

“…”

Seeing the two still seemingly unwilling to believe, Aland sighed and, as if prepared, took something out from his inner robe.

“This is a precious treasure passed down in my tribe. It can detect any traces of foreign energy invasion within a living organism, be it demon corruption, charm, or the possession of evil spirits, including the invasion of ‘Unclean’. It will reveal all. Would you like to give it a try?”

Gazing at the golden, semi-rhombic gemstone in Aland’s hand that radiated pure light, Xavier and Sasha exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

“Then I’ll go first. How do I test it?”

“Just place a fingertip on the surface of the treasure.”

Taking a deep breath, the President stood and lightly pressed his fingertip against the gemstone in Aland’s palm.

“Buzz~”

As if some aura spread out with the established connection, Xavier’s expression froze. A faint golden light enveloped his entire body, much like a layer of an almost invisible golden filter, making certain things that were previously undetectable become clear.

These were faint, almost imperceptible spots of grimy green light permeating every corner around him. Not only could Aland and Sasha see them, but even Xavier himself could now clearly see them through the pale golden filter provided by the gemstone.

“This is!”

Sasha’s exclamation and Aland’s sigh came in quick succession.

“This is the ‘Unclean’ epidemic poison. However, the current level of spread isn’t too high; it’s just in the so-called incubation period. Even so, do you two still think I’m lying?”

“…”

Silently withdrawing his hand and sitting down, watching Sasha stand up to perform the same test yield the same result…

The two exchanged looks once again, even someone as carefree as Captain Sasha found it hard to say anything uplifting at this moment, only able to sit down dejectedly, looking bewildered.

“What now? How long is this incubation period? Or, where can this poison be treated? If it can’t be cured, will we die…? Right, maybe my teacher knows a lot…”

However, Aland’s next words turned the girl’s complexion pale, robbing her of her voice.

“Unfortunately, to date, there has never been a successful case of curing the ‘Unclean’ epidemic poison. Once infected, it’s almost equivalent to a death sentence. As for visiting that teacher of yours, the only outcome would be to add one more victim to the ranks of the poisoned.”

In the grip of terror over death, Sasha trembled into silence, but at that moment, the President, often ridiculed by her as ‘cowardly and anxious’, once again stepped forward.

“…Alright, Mr. Aland, if the situation is truly as you say and beyond hope, you shouldn’t need to say any of this and should quickly send us on our way.”

“Knowing we are infected with poison yet actively requesting to talk in this confined space suggests you are not worried about becoming infected yourself… this indicates you don’t actually fear the ‘Unclean’, and in fact, have a way to deal with it, right?”