Chapter 412

The dimly flickering crescent moon hung in the sky, and the starlight was obscured by clouds and shadows, leaving the night streets as dark as pitch.

The city, under a curfew, was submerged in deep silence, as if the daytime liveliness had been a lie. The only people wandering around were gloomy-faced members of the Menes Church Order.

And even they were few in number.

“Today, the moonlight is unusually dark…”

“It seems Lord Menes is walking through dreams.”

The voices of the paladins gradually grew closer. Were they heading this way? I should probably hide.

“Patrolling on a night like this gives me the creeps. Feels like monsters might jump out from the alleyways.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. At most, we’d run into some drug addicts, right?”

I pulled my hood deeper over my head and hid against the wall of the alley, avoiding detection.

I did have documents given by the Archbishop to show if caught by the church members, but it was best to avoid being spotted if possible.

I pressed myself against the wall, becoming one with it, and waited with bated breath as they passed. Soon, the voices of the paladins began to fade into the distance.

I cautiously began walking through the night streets again, careful not to make noise, heading toward the slums where the drug den was located.

—

The reason I was heading to the drug den in the dead of night wasn’t, of course, to try the latest drug that supposedly made you feel like you were in heaven after just one experience.

Who in their right mind would do drugs? No, I was here for the exact opposite reason.

I navigated through the alleys, avoiding the eyes of the paladins and priests, making my way toward the slums. As I did, I recalled the negotiation I had with the Archbishop earlier that morning.

A few hours ago, Archbishop Gwinnel, who had been questioned about the drug den issue, sighed deeply instead of making excuses or deflecting, as I had expected. Well, not that he didn’t make excuses at all.

The Archbishop was aware of the growing number of drug addicts in the slums of Holon and the severity of the situation. Surprisingly, he had even tried to eradicate it.

“The problem is that it’s the slums. We can’t even determine how many people live there, and there are countless places to hide. If we deploy a large force, the entire area would be emptied, and even if we send a small group of paladins to investigate, we can’t find the suppliers.”

I wasn’t sure how much of his words to believe, but it seemed the Archbishop had his own struggles. He had tried to eradicate the problem but failed.

“Even if we round up all the addicts lying around, within a few days, a similar number of new addicts would appear… The church’s prisons have long been filled with those addicted to drugs.”

“Can’t you treat them and release them? Even if the drug is highly addictive, using purification miracles should…”

We could cleanse the residual toxins from their bodies.

“That didn’t work. Even after removing the drug components and releasing them, they would crawl back to the drug dens, unable to forget the sensations. It’s as if their minds, not just their bodies, have been tainted by the drug.”

“Hmm… It seems the drug is more potent than I thought.”

Even if we completely detoxify them and restore their sanity, they would willingly return to addiction. If the drug is that strong, there’s practically no way to treat the addicted.

“It’s a new drug called LSD. The exact name is ‘The Stroll of the Clear Blood’… It’s said to give users intense hallucinations and endless pleasure. One user, who still had some sanity left, described it as… well, it’s blasphemous, but he said it was like making love to thirty goddesses.”

“…That’s definitely blasphemous. The name of the drug is also heretical. ‘The Stroll of the Clear Blood’? So, did he give any other clues?”

If there were any clues, we could have started the investigation based on that. At the very least, we could have found out who sold him the drugs.

“Well… the priest in charge of the interrogation couldn’t contain his anger upon hearing that description. He gouged out the man’s eyes, ears, nose, and tongue, then chopped him into dozens of pieces.”

…I kind of expected that.

I’ve never met a priest in this world who wasn’t bloodthirsty. They’re all potential slaughterers hiding behind a merciful smile and a terrifying cruelty.

Except for our Rana, of course.

Anyway, Archbishop Gwinnel insisted that he had tried to eradicate the drugs and, taking advantage of the conversation, asked if I could help. He said that whenever he sent paladins, the suppliers would mysteriously disappear, but as an outsider, I might have a chance.

I wasn’t particularly confident in conducting investigations, but since he promised to put in a good word with the Cardinal if I could just find the drug dealers, I had no choice but to accept.

Lacey, who had returned after meeting with the Archbishop of the Ausrine Church Order, also thought it was a good opportunity.

“Our schedule might be delayed a bit, but if it earns us the favor of the Menes Church Order, it’s worth it.”

I had hoped the local Sacred Order members could help, but unfortunately, they hadn’t started their investigation yet.

Well, it hadn’t been long since Lacey gave the order. They were probably still refining their infiltration plan.

That’s why I was heading to the drug den alone in the dead of night.

And honestly, when I thought about it, I was the only one in our group suited for this kind of mission.

Nigel and Bels were too rigid for infiltration, and Lilliez was too weak. She’d probably get caught, drugged, and end up moaning “So good~!” while being violated.

Leonor wasn’t suitable for infiltration either. Just standing still, her royal aura was too noticeable.

Damien and Milia were out of the question from the start.

Damien, that lunatic, would probably try the drugs out of curiosity. His way of thinking was just different from normal people’s.

And if we sent Milia, the entire slum would turn into a bloodbath before we even got to the drugs. To her, this place probably looked like a kobold den.

In the end, I had to leave the rest of the group as Lacey’s escort and head out alone, wearing a robe. Five masters, and none of them useful. All they’re good for is swinging swords.

Actually, come to think of it, I’m much better at swordplay than them. They’re practically salary thieves.

—

Putting aside the half-joking thoughts, after walking for a while, I finally entered the slums.

It was much darker and several times more sinister than other places. The stench was overwhelming.

‘The air here is filthy. The smell… It’s amazing people can live here. Did they rip their noses off or something?’

I took out Asha’s purification device from my pocket and covered my nose and mouth, complaining. The stench of garbage, vomit, rotting corpses, and soon-to-be corpses was so strong it vibrated through the alley.

[Indeed. It’s worse than a slave den. But it’s a fitting place for drug-ridden vermin to rot.]

Hersela clicked her tongue in disgust and sneered. Fortunately, as I wore Asha’s purification device like a mask, a faint mechanical hum began, and fresh air flowed into my lungs.

Times like these make me grateful for the technology of the half-humans.

I entered the alley leading deeper into the slums, wearing the purification device. I carefully avoided the filth scattered on the ground.

I could handle garbage and blood, but stepping on half-rotted vomit or feces splattered on the ground would be too much. Maybe the paladins didn’t find the suppliers because they didn’t want to go deeper into the slums?

—

After walking through the dirty, complex alleys for about three minutes, I started to see things other than garbage.

“Ugh…”

Well, these could be considered garbage too.

Drug addicts, high out of their minds, were sitting against the walls, drooling and muttering nonsense. Even though there was a curfew, the priests didn’t patrol this deep into the slums, so no one bothered to enforce it.

I wasn’t even sure if these people had homes to spend the night in. Probably not.

I glanced at them and moved on, careful not to touch them. Just the stains on their pants were enough to make me uncomfortable.

“Huuu… Imela, Shaulite… over there!”

Crazy bastards. The Archbishop wasn’t exaggerating. Some of them had bulging pants and were spouting things that would get them torn into two hundred pieces if the priests heard.

Those guys are headed straight to hell. Though they’re already living in it.

The deeper I went into the alley, the more addicts I encountered. Some were completely out of their minds, while others seemed to have come down from their high and were somewhat lucid.

“A woman wandering alone at this hour? Must be desperate.”

“Kehehe, if you want drugs, come over here and spread your legs. I’ll share some of mine after a few rounds.”

Yeah, these kinds of guys. I lowered my head, chuckled, and walked toward them.