Ever since he killed Kyoko-san and Mr. Hanada, the grave keeper's heart has been tormented.

Mr. and Mrs. Muraki, as well as other believers in the Order, kept saying that this was to save Kyoko, to make Kyoko atone for her sins.

But when it was time to really make the apricots "feather", none of them were willing to do it, especially the Muraki couple, obviously they came up with this plan by themselves, and they all said that they would complete this "glorious" task by themselves, but in the end, why did they all push it all to him?

Is it really glorious to make apricots "feather"?

If so, why wouldn't any of you do it? Why does Mr. Hanada even want me to deal with it?

Yes, and Mr. Hanada......

When the grave keeper infiltrated Hanada's house that night, the man was drunk and collapsed at the dining table, repeating the name "Mayuko", which was his daughter's name.

I heard that a few months ago, his daughter committed suicide by jumping off a building, and although there was no progress in the police investigation, the neighbors around the neighborhood said that Mayuko committed suicide because she couldn't bear Kyoko's bullying......

Perhaps, if that is the case, Apricot is indeed guilty.

But what is Mr. Hanada's crime?

He had lost his daughter, he had not even been able to get a fair verdict, and the poor man was still numbing himself with alcohol like a walking corpse when the grave keeper sneaked into the house.

The reason why he was killed was because the Muraki couple needed to borrow him to cover up the truth about the "feathering" of apricots, because the "Lord" could not appear in front of the world at will, so even the return of the apricot to the arms of the "Lord" could not be observed by those vulgar people at will.

And Mr. Hanada, who has the motive to kill Kyoko, is the best cover for Kyoko, so they are going to kill him.

That is, Mr. Hanada...... Is it innocent?

He didn't commit any crimes, but was he killed at random because he wanted to cover up the "feathering" of the apricot?

No, not randomly, Mr. Hanada died for the sake of apricots, but also for the "Lord", although not guilty, but at least not meaningless......

He is for the "Lord", and he is also for the salvation of the "Lord", which is not a crime......

The grave keeper didn't dare to think about it anymore, and since that night, the memories of the battlefield have once again surfaced in his mind, constantly tormenting his heart.

He had to pray more fervently and let "holy water" pour over his whole body to ask for forgiveness from the Lord.

Last night, before meeting the young officer Shirakawa at the cemetery, the grave keeper had actually just finished praying and came down from the back hill.

The Order has a rule that every believer must wash his whole body and pour "holy water" on him when he prays.

"Holy water" is a special liquid with a pungent smell, and the tomb keepers do not know what it is, but other male believers will become hot soon after pouring "holy water", and will combine with the female followers of the order.

They say that this is to release one's nature and return to the basics in order to better approach the "Lord" and feel the "Lord's" mantra.

However, the grave keeper may have been injured on the battlefield in the past, so he had never felt such emotions, and he was very tired of the behavior of other believers.

Over time, he stopped praying with other believers......

That young officer White River was very smart and very powerful.

The grave keeper had always felt that the young officer must have noticed something last night, and perhaps the young officer had even smelled the scent of "holy water" on his body and sensed the existence of the Order.

So, the grave keeper told the Muraki couple about his conjecture overnight.

To his surprise, the Muraki couple had similar thoughts.

It seems that the young police officer had visited Muraki's house at noon yesterday, while Mr. Muraki was praying in his room.

After hearing the movement downstairs, they just hurriedly changed their clothes and came out, and their actions seemed to make the young officer notice something unusual.

This unnerved the Muraki couple, who felt an almost instinctive sense of fear as they watched through the young officer's calm and deep gaze.

And Mr. Muraki, who faced this gaze, couldn't keep calm the whole time he talked to the young police officer.

Did he find out? Did he get it? What will he do to us next?

It was in this fear that the Muraki couple waited for the grave keeper who told them what had happened that night at the cemetery.

After exchanging their thoughts, the two sides felt more and more that the young officer must have found something.

He...... The existence of the Lord is about to be discovered!

And the "Lord" cannot be exposed to the eyes of these vulgar people!

So, the Muraki couple made another decision, they wanted to kill the young police officer.

That's right, it's killing, not "feathering".

Because unlike Apricot, he is a threat to the existence of the "Lord", and he can only be killed to apologize to the "Lord", and he is not worthy of "feathering"!

But the grave keeper was silent.

Because he didn't feel the young officer guilty.

On the contrary, this young police officer is very talented, he has captured many criminals who have committed crimes at a young age, how can he be killed so much because his abilities are so good and his good deeds are so great?

And、And......

What the grave keeper didn't say to the Muraki couple was that he suspected that the young officer might have figured out what was going on when he was at the cemetery last night.

It was an instinct, a gut that the grave keeper had formed on the battlefield, and in the circumstances of last night, he had the feeling that the young officer had probably already known everything.

But the young officer didn't say anything, he didn't arrest him on the spot, and even said something like that to him......

The officer wanted him to turn himself in...... So, is he still a guilty man?

However, the grave keepers are eventually asked by the Muraki couple to kidnap the little girl, the little girl who is a high school student who follows the young police officer.

They seem to see the special relationship between the little girl and the young police officer, and they want to use the little girl to trick the young police officer out alone and then kill him......

Mr. and Mrs. Muraki said that this was also the request of the "Lord", and they did all this to protect the existence of the "Lord".

Does it protect the existence of ...... "Lord"?

Is it the "Lord" who wants them to kill the innocent?

Just when the grave keeper was confused, he saw the little Karasuma standing there in contemplation outside the cemetery.

This little girl has been helping the young officer with his investigation......

By the time the grave keeper came to his senses, he had knocked Karasuma unconscious, and as had planned before, he carried her to this stronghold on the mountain behind the Order.

It's just that the heart of the grave keeper is always in doubt.

He did it...... Is that really right?

(˙ー˙)

(End of chapter)