Even though it was only the second time he had come to Gumu Town, when Loren came here again, he could still feel that something was not quite right in the atmosphere around him. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The unexpected death of Father Anthony, coupled with rumors of ghouls, has made the whole village a little nervous. It seems that even the air has become a little heavier. The doors and windows of every house are closed, and there are obviously fewer pedestrians and business travelers on the streets than before.

After getting rid of the two guards at the gate of the village, Loren, dressed in wizard's robes, was able to enter the town. Even so, he could feel the eyes of those pairs watching him, full of doubt and fear.

But that's one of his goals. Even if you disguise yourself as your black hair and black eyes will be exposed, it is better to simply make your target more obvious, and maybe you can attract those who are hiding in the shadows.

It was noon, the time of prayer for the believers of the Holy Cross, and most of the villagers gathered around the church - not just for prayer, but more for refuge and security. Even if Father Anthony was killed in the church, this ancient building would still be sacred in the eyes of ordinary people.

Lots of villagers came and went under the guidance of a few priests, or hedgehogs gathered near the gate, whispering about something. There are also those who can't help but eat lunch and pray over and over again in front of the statue of the Holy Cross in the church. The flow of people was bustling, but the shadow of death added a little more solemnity to the air.

"Stop, you blasphemous creature don't come any closer!"

Before Loren could get close to the gate, several priests had already stepped forward and shouted at him to stop him: "Where's the guard?, go and call the guards - who put this wizard into the town?!"

"Wait, I know this gentleman!" Before they could get up, one of them, wearing a robe of the Holy Cross, stopped the man who wanted to call the guards, "He's an apprentice at the Wimpal Academy, and he avenged Priest Draco last time!"

"Then you can't prove that he is not suspicious!" The priest flicked his sleeves a little indignantly, and almost pointed at Loren's nose with a splash of spittle: "These wizards are all dangerous elements, and the bishop should be allowed to arrest them all!"

"They are also the people of the Holy Cross, no different from us!" Only then did Loren realize that this was actually the little priest who had followed Draco last time, and his face was flushed, arguing: "Bishop Fabiang will not harm an innocent believer, just because he chooses a different path than ours!"

With that, the little priest walked directly to Loren and stretched out his hand: "Please come with me, Your Excellency Loren Turin—I know why you came." ”

"Thank you very much, uh. Smiling, Loren immediately accepted the other party's "invitation". Under the hostile gaze of the clergy, he followed the young clergyman towards the back door on the other side of the church.

"I'm sorry for this to happen to you, but...... We also hope that you will be considerate. As he walked, the little priest did not forget to apologize: "Now that the whole town is in fear, and with Priest Draco and Father Anthony having been called by the Holy Cross, we can no longer even care about ourselves, but we still have to appease the frightened believers." ”

"Isn't there a new priest coming to take over the church here?" asked Loren suddenly, with some confusion.

"It was supposed to be Priest Draco's succession, but he has already died, and all that is left is a junior like us, who simply cannot take up the position of priest. The little priest's expression was full of grief: "We have also asked the bishop for help, but we haven't heard from it yet, probably no result, right?"

It seems that the Church of the Holy Cross is similar to some public institutions, with seniority and inefficiency...... Loren couldn't help but think. However, I'm afraid that the matter in Gumu Town has not come to fruition for a long time, and I am afraid that it is not only because of efficiency, but also because of other factors.

"It's great that you're here, or at least a little bit of a relief. The little priest couldn't help but ask, "You will definitely find out the murderer of Father Anthony, right?"

"I'll do my best. Loren could only agree like this, especially after seeing those hopeful eyes: "But only if you can find enough clues." ”

The two of them came to the door of Father Antony's bedroom, and the little priest moved the fence next to it with some difficulty, and then took out a key to open the door: "Since the murder of the priest, no one has touched this room, and it is basically the same as it was." ”

"That couldn't be better. Loren sighed inwardly, if it could really be left as it was—he had learned from Dalton before he came that Father Anthony's body had been cremated and buried, which was tantamount to cutting off most of the sources of clues.

If his body were still there, he might still be able to pick up the wounds and the cause of death, and maybe find a little clue, but now he would have to try his luck. However, of course, Loren would not say anything about this kind of scenery, so he just thanked the little priest and walked into the room.

Like the living room, Father Anthony's bedroom is quite elaborate - a dark carpet underfoot, a fresco of the Holy Cross on the fireplace next to it, a bed of fine lake blue velvet, an oil lamp at the head of the bed and a wall candle on both sides of the bed are beautiful like works of art.

Still, Loren could find something.

The bedroom had no windows, so anyone who wanted to enter had to do so from the direction of the door, as evidenced by the remaining bloodstains, the crimson mark on the carpet that stretched from the approach to the door to the side of the bed, and the lock showed no signs of being broken. In other words, Father Anthony was attacked after opening the door, and then retreated all the way to the bed.

"Do ghouls knock on doors too?" Loren said with a chuckle to himself.

As for why some people think that Father Anthony was killed by ghouls, Loren also found several ghoul claws in the dormitory, and there were indeed ghoul scratches on the door - but these are no evidence at all, and ghoul claws are not a rare material, and scratches can be faked.

And according to the habits of a monster like ghouls, if you really raid humans, there will definitely not be only one or two, and the whole room will probably be filled with their rotten smell long ago. But now Loren could barely smell the slightest rancid stench—the whole room was almost enclosed, and the strong smell could have been wiped out.

The room didn't look like it had been tampered with, not even the slightest sign of being ransacked, so the raiders' purpose had nothing to do with money or anything, just for Father Anthony's life.

Was it because he knew some terrible secret, or was he just implicated, and his killers just wanted to make a fuss about his death?

Somewhat because of the experience of his previous life, Loren rummaged in the fireplace for a long time, slowly removing the charcoal ash that had already been cold, and revealing some unburned wood in the black dust.

"Huh?"

Loren, who was a little puzzled, took out the piece of wood, it was a wooden Holy Cross pendant, which had been burned to a small part, and it was barely possible to see its original appearance.

How can there be a burnt sculpture of the Holy Cross in the dormitory of a priest of the Holy Cross?

Carefully hiding things on his body, Loren, who turned around, cautiously left the dormitory. He deliberately didn't choose to go through the main entrance, but climbed over the back wall - in addition to hiding people's eyes, he also didn't want to continue to cause trouble, after all, the image of the wizard in Gumu Town was basically about to stink.

Whenever there are mutated monsters and this kind of thing happens, ordinary people and churches will blame the wizards, and most of the lonely wizards are also unclear, plus most wizards will involve some things that are not very acceptable, so it is not completely unreasonable to be wronged.

"Ouch, isn't this the wizard master just now?"

A strange voice came from behind, causing Loren to hold down the hilt of his sword under his cloak.