Chapter 189 - Darkmtl
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Chapter 189

Daria and Aila said they would gather herbs themselves because they had no money.

That was a very strange thing to say.

Because if they were that short on money, instead of hiring a party with two Silver Rank Adventurers as escorts, they could have just used that money to buy herbs.

No, it wasn’t just about the herbs.

When they went to the Poor District, they lamented not being able to give out bread due to lack of money, and at the orphanage, they said they couldn’t afford books and had to copy them by hand.

The common thread in all of this was that the financial situation of the Astram Church wasn’t exactly flourishing.

But then why did they hire us?

Not just a regular escort request, but even going as far as a named request, which costs more than a normal one?

And among the two, Aila, who initially seemed like a nun with no combat ability, actually possessed strength rivaling Karina’s?

But why?

Clearly, the actions of these two nuns were bizarre and suspicious.

But there was no way to find a reason behind their suspicious behavior.

So, this time, instead of hastily confirming their suspiciousness, I decided to observe the situation first.

Thus, I carefully watched the two as they gathered herbs.

Now, of course, what they were gathering weren’t materials for making mind-control drugs or strange ingredients to turn normal people into monsters, but just ordinary herbs effective for止血, wound healing, disinfection, and pain relief.

But that much was already expected.

My intuition kept sensing something suspicious about the two, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

That’s why I mistakenly thought their suspiciousness stemmed from the wrongdoings of the Black Tentacle Cult.

But now that I realized their suspiciousness wasn’t due to their charity work, the likelihood of there being an issue with their charity was low.

Their suspiciousness.

It must have originated from something other than their charity or volunteer work.

So, while I closely watched them gather herbs, I silently helped without intervening in their actions.

Perhaps because I was emitting waves to keep monsters at bay while watching them, the herb-gathering continued without interruption.

And so, several hours passed.

“This place is…”

“Ah, we’ve come quite far without realizing it.”

As we moved while gathering herbs, we ended up deep in the forest, quite far from Astram.

To be precise, it was near where the Ruins of the Ancient Empire had been discovered.

“…Do you know this place?”

Perhaps sensing our curiosity as we looked around and spoke as if we knew the place?

The two nuns asked us with curious expressions.

“Sister Daria, have you heard? About the Ruins of the Ancient Empire.”

“Ah…! I’ve heard. The news of the ruins being discovered in Astram had spread even to other regions.”

“I wanted to visit at least once, but it was closed off, which was a shame. Have any of you been inside the ruins?”

“No. Unfortunately, we couldn’t enter the ruins. We kept postponing it, and then it was suddenly closed off.”

“We were all looking forward to going in together.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. So none of you have been inside the ruins?”

“Well, um… yeah, that’s right?”

Listening to Mari and Karina’s complaints, Daria casually chimed in and asked if we had ever been inside the ruins, to which Serena awkwardly denied.

The fact that I had entered the ruins was a secret I couldn’t reveal to others.

While it wouldn’t cause any major issues, sneaking into a restricted area in Astram and coming back wasn’t something to be proud of.

“Are you absolutely sure you’ve never entered the ruins?”

“Ah, Aila?”

“Are you absolutely sure none of you have entered the ruins?”

But whether it was because Serena’s lie was clumsy or because Aila already knew something, she kept pressing my party repeatedly despite Serena’s denial.

Aila’s relentless questioning felt like a detective interrogating a criminal.

There was a persistence in her that wouldn’t let things slide.

And as I watched Aila interrogate Serena, I finally felt the last piece of the puzzle falling into place.

Yes.

This was their goal.

The obsession with the contents of the ruins, contrasting with the kind and devout image they had shown so far.

The unease I had felt all along.

And the fact that despite their tight finances, they specifically named us for the request.

Until now, I couldn’t figure out their intentions and kept making wrong assumptions, but now it was clear.

These guys were after the artifacts in the ruins.

Hiring our entire party from the start was just a smokescreen.

What they were really after was me, who had gone deep into the labyrinth and retrieved the artifact.

Having sorted out my thoughts, I stepped forward, blocking Aila as she interrogated Serena.

“That’s enough.”

“Ku, Kurt?”

“Your questioning is relentless. It’s like interrogating a criminal.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“It means we don’t need to explain to you whether we’ve entered the ruins or not.”

“Kurt. What are you talking about?”

But surprisingly, it wasn’t the two nuns who objected to my words, but Mari.

Turning around, I saw not just Mari but Karina and Serena also looking at me with expressions of confusion.

“Kurt, you’ve been acting strange too. Earlier, in the Poor District, you were inspecting the packages we were handing out as if checking for something. If anything, your actions seemed more like an interrogation.”

“That’s right. At the orphanage, even when the children were scared and avoiding you, you didn’t care and were investigating the book Aila was reading.”

“Exactly. Kurt, you’ve been acting weird today. Why don’t you take a break? It’s about time we head back.”

In the eyes of the three, it seemed like I was overreacting to Aila’s persistent questioning, so they suggested I take a rest.

Was this their plan all along, to plant a good image of themselves in the three from the start?

Unforgivable.

“Sister Aila, I’m sorry. Kurt isn’t usually like this…”

“What if these two approached us from the start knowing I had been to the ruins?”

“…What?”

At my words, the three, who had been apologizing to the nuns, looked at me as if I had said something completely out of the blue.

“Think about it. It’s strange. The church is so short on money that the nuns have to gather herbs themselves, yet they hired a party with two Silver Rank Adventurers on a named request.”

“Ku, Kurt. What are you talking about…?”

“It’s not just about the herbs. The church couldn’t afford to give out bread in the Poor District, so they handed out flour pancakes. They couldn’t afford books for the orphans, so they copied them by hand. Yet they had money to hire adventurers?”

“Th, there must be a reason for that…”

“No, why would a nun dispatched from the Holy Kingdom personally go around the Poor District or gather herbs? If they could afford to hire adventurers as escorts, they must be of considerable status, so they shouldn’t need to do such things.”

“It’s because they have adventurers as escorts, so they can safely visit dangerous places like the Poor District or monster-infested forests…”

“That’s strange. From what I can tell, Sister Aila, your strength is no less than Karina’s. Why would you need escorts?”

“…!”

At my words, the three who had been refuting me widened their eyes, unable to respond.

Then they turned their gazes toward Daria and Aila, suspicion in their eyes.

“Is, is that really true…?”

“Did you approach us with ulterior motives?”

“Are, are you lying?”

As the three’s gazes turned completely toward the two with suspicion, Aila stepped forward with a cold look in her eyes.

“Since it’s come to this…”

“Stop, Aila. Let me explain.”

No, she was about to step forward.

If Daria hadn’t stopped her, she surely would have.

Stepping forward, Daria pushed back the hood covering her face.

Revealing her beautiful appearance with pink hair.

“As Kurt said, we intentionally approached you knowing you had entered the Ruins of the Ancient Empire.”

“Really!?”

“Yes. We’re truly sorry for deceiving you.”

“Why would you two…?”

Huh?

They’re confessing more easily than I thought?

I expected them to dodge a few more times…

“Let me reintroduce myself. I am Daria, the Special Duty Saintess of the Holy Kingdom. And this is Aila, my guardian knight.”

“Special Duty Saintess?”

“Yes. As the name suggests, Special Duty Saintesses are nuns who carry out special missions for the Holy Kingdom.”

“So you approached us for that special mission?”

“Yes.”

So my intuition was right after all.

A religion that truly devotes itself to others while disregarding its own interests?

That couldn’t exist.

Of course, all the charity work was just for public image.

A religion that worships writhing black tentacles as gods?

That’s suspicious as hell.

Their goal must have been to find the Ancient Empire’s weapons and use that power to conquer the world or summon an evil god to this world.

My suspicions were correct after all.

“My mission is to secure the artifacts or technology of the Ancient Empire to save more people!”

Huh?

“…What?”

“The magical civilization of the Ancient Empire, now only spoken of in legends. Among those unbelievable tales are stories of a cauldron that endlessly produces soup, livestock that regenerates limbs, and beds that heal even the most critically ill overnight.”

“….”

“Our Holy Kingdom believes that even if only half of those legends are true, we could save countless people that the church currently cannot support. That’s why, upon hearing the news of the Ancient Empire’s ruins being discovered in Astram, Aila and I rushed here immediately. But by the time we arrived, the ruins were already closed. So we approached Kurt’s party, who had gone the deepest into the ruins.”

What, what?

There was no plot to summon a tentacle monster the size of a city in the skies of Astram?

“Purely to save more people, you wanted to know about the Ancient Empire’s artifacts…?”

“Exactly. To save as many people as possible. That is the doctrine of our Holy Kingdom.”

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in Daria’s eyes as she spoke.

What.

So they were hiding something from us all along…

But the secret they were hiding…

Wasn’t something bad, but actually for a good cause?

“That’s amazing!”

“Ordinary people would only think of using the Ancient Empire’s artifacts for wealth and glory, but you’re not monopolizing them—you want to share them with everyone!”

“I’m sorry for doubting you even for a moment!”

“No, it’s our fault for not revealing our true intentions and approaching you with ulterior motives.”

Realizing that even the hidden secret was born of good intentions, Mari, Karina, and Serena became even bigger fans of Daria and Aila, looking at them with shining eyes.

As for me, who had suspected them of some evil plot…

I felt so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.

No. Honestly, a religion that isn’t corrupt, isn’t dogmatic, doesn’t force its doctrine on others, and doesn’t spew hatred toward other races or species, but purely acts to make the world a better place?

That doesn’t make sense.

Especially when they worship a tentacle monster that looks like it would demand 100 children’s hearts as a snack during tea time.

I spent the whole day making wrong assumptions, but…

Honestly, I feel a bit wronged.

So, with a mix of embarrassment and frustration, I kept my mouth shut and continued gathering herbs.


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The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

Status: Completed
A chaotic and whirlwind culinary adventure of a lizardman reincarnated in another world, driven by an insatiable craving for hamburgers!

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