The three of them sat lifeless in the corner, and none of them spoke again.

It didn't take long for Travis to return.

"You can stay here, and no one will drive you away, no matter how long you stay. He said listlessly, as if he knew it wasn't really good news.

He sat down, consciously or unconsciously, at a distance from Kormit. But that distance wasn't enough to stop Kormit from turning his gaze on him as a weapon.

"Who sent those people?" asked Kormit.

Travis suddenly became irritated.

"How do I know!" he whispered, "they came to my house and told me that if you showed up with Enoch, you would be brought into the basement and nothing else should be asked...... I'm neither a priest nor a warrior, but a book supplement, and of course I won't ask!"

"You didn't let me into the basement, you told me 'you don't know who you provoked'. Kurmit stared at him without blinking, not intending to give up, "That means you know who it is and what they're trying to do, doesn't it?"

“...... Anyway, I saved you!!" Travis was so angry that he almost jumped up, "I threw down my house, my books, my everything, and saved you ungrateful fellow, and you can't wait to make me die a little faster?"

Kormit was unusually calm at the moment.

"That's right, you saved me. He said, "So whether you really know anything or not, those people won't let you go - are you willing to die so inexplicably? Why don't you tell me everything you know, and maybe we'll find a way out?"

The look on Travis' face changed. There was no opening.

“...... Why didn't you tell us why someone wanted to kill you first—and that you're a fellow who believes in the same god?" asked Kellian suddenly.

Duru looked at Kormit in silence with anticipation in his eyes - he needed to know that too.

Of the four people here, he was indeed the most innocent. He could have lived a very simple life. But he was only favored by Kormit because he was relatively calm, and he was caught in such a whirlpool for no reason.

Kormit even regretted carrying him out of the basement a little. If he had been allowed to stay there, he might not have been harmed by knowing nothing......

But what kind of lies will he be deceived by, and will he raise his sword against him the next time they meet?

"You have to think clearly, you still have a chance to get out of this mud, but if you know something you shouldn't know, it's no longer possible. He whispered. Leave the power of choice in their own hands.

Kellian gave him a roll of the eye, and Kormit understood what he meant—the men he had killed to save him, the holes he had pierced with arrows in Enoch's body. It has made it impossible for him to stay out of it.

“...... I want to know. Duru whispered.

Travis twisted his head to the side, but he still sat there.

Kormit sighed heavily.

"I don......'t know," he said, "no, I'm not sure if that's the real cause." But other than that. I can't think of anything else. ”.

Half a month ago, Kormit went to Valand once. All the while, the priests of Nesses would take turns visiting the villages where Nesses was believed. Without having to hide his identity, Kormit often travels between nearby villages. This certainly had an impact on his business in Bayou, but his willingness to help those in need as a blacksmith and priest gave him a sense of accomplishment he had never felt before.

On the way back, he found a fox, the unusual red coat color is very rare in the Kasdan forest, he is not a hunter is also deeply attracted to it, and involuntarily chased after it.

With a little spell. He succeeded in catching the fox, but relented because it was not meek by nature. He quickly let it go, only to find that he had strayed from his familiar path and ran deep into the forest.

He wasn't worried about getting lost, but he kind of enjoyed the unexpected journey. The Kasdan Forest in early spring hides countless sprouting life, which is difficult for him to find in a hurry.

When night fell, the light of the fire flickering in the woods led him to a strange village.

The villagers gathered in the central clearing with torches, and the burning bonfires and low drums seemed to indicate that they were preparing to start a festival, and his sudden appearance was clearly unwelcome - the ceremony was immediately terminated when the stranger was spotted.

And on the altar in front of the campfire, Kormit saw a familiar sign—the sign of the god he worshipped.

Kormit thought he knew all the villages in the Castle Forest, especially those who believed in Nessas, and even if he had never been there, he knew at least the names and general directions, but this small village in the middle of nowhere did not seem to exist on his map.

The village was small, with only a dozen or so households, and seemed to be well-to-do, but wary of outsiders—a hostility that did not go away even after Kormit revealed his status as a priest.

"We are followers of Nesses. "But you're not our pastor." ”

Of course, a god cannot have only one priest, and a priest cannot claim to believe in another god. The strange insistence of the Keith villagers made Kormit very curious. He tried to ask who the pastor they knew was, but to no avail.

Because he was not welcome, he did not force him to stay, but when he left the village, he noticed that someone was following him, as if watching him.

That made him question more. He deliberately walked far away, and after escaping from the track, he sneaked back back.

The drums have sounded again, the sacrifice is continuing, and there is undeniable devotion in the whispered chanting and eager gazes of the people, but their rituals ......

Kormit had never seen a ritual like it.

Of course, he had seen the rituals of the sacrifice to Nasus, and even presided over it himself. Fire is essential, and then there are offerings.

They called Nesses the god of creation, and his heart and soul were found in everything in the world, and every flower and grass was a precious sacrifice. Sometimes hunters also offer their prey, but ...... The villagers of Keith offered people what they offered.

A teenage girl, blonde, quiet and beautiful, who was brought to the altar without crying or making a fuss, and even smiling, made Kormit think that she just needed to sit there...... But the frenzied eyes of the villagers made him more and more uneasy.

When someone raised the dagger at the girl, he was cold, and finally couldn't help but rush out to stop it.

His sudden appearance again angered the villagers. The people roared and surrounded them, and if it hadn't been for the spells that had scared them, even Kormit himself might have been tied to the altar...... And the girl he saved didn't seem to have any gratitude.

She just looked at Kormit blankly with a strange look, which made Kurmit wonder if she was being controlled by some kind of drug. But she was soon taken away, and he had no way of knowing the truth.

He had forgotten what he had been yelling at that night in his rage, at least at the time, when it had succeeded in calming the villagers and sending them away hesitantly, rather than raising their arms against him.

After calming down, Kormit realized that this was not a problem he could solve alone. He was not a priest at all for these people, and he did not have enough power, and if he provoked them again, all he could get was his own death.

After much thought, Kormit hurried away and found Copas Fenton as fast as he could.

Scott, known as the Sage, certainly had great power, but in the Castle Forest, Copas, who was the first to start his mission, would have been more well informed.

At that time, Copas also happened to be in another village near the mouth of the Kuz River, and he was equally surprised by the news of Komet.

"There must be some misunderstanding here...... Or a conspiracy we didn't anticipate. "I'll look into this myself." ”

Kormit offered to go with him, but Kopas shook his head and refused.

"They're probably going to be a little hostile to you, and that won't help us get to the bottom of it. I'll pick a reliable companion to go with me, you don't have to worry...... Until then, though, it's better not to get more people ...... And the Sage knows about it, I probably shouldn't have said that, but he is sometimes too impatient. ”

For this, Kormit could only nod his head in acknowledgement.

Worried, he had no choice but to return to the town of Kawague...... On the way back, he stopped for a day at the mouth of the Kuz River, and while he was drinking in a tavern, he was inexplicably drawn into a fight between two groups of adventurers, and almost died in the streets.

He thought it was just an accident, but he was kindly warned when he left.

"Be careful. One of the guards who had rushed over to settle the dispute told him, "Think about whether you have offended someone who should not be offended, I grew up here, and I have seen many adventurers clash with each other, and I know their tricks, this time...... Honestly, they look more like they're coming at you. ”

In Kormit's surprised gaze, the young man shrugged his shoulders and added, "Maybe I'm thinking too much...... But it's always good to be careful, the world is chaotic right now. ”

The tone of pretense was a little ridiculous, but Kormit sincerely thanked him...... The uneasiness in my heart involuntarily deepened a little.

He remembered what Copas had said, "A conspiracy that we didn't anticipate." ”

He knew that they had attracted too much attention and had made a difficult enemy for himself...... Where the conspiracy will come from is not a matter of speculation.

Then, in the forest close to the town of the estuary, he was ambushed again.

Although he was fortunate to be saved by Kellian again, he could no longer treat what happened to him at the mouth of the Kuz River as some kind of accident...... Enoch, on the other hand, leads his suspicions in directions he never thought possible.

(To be continued......)