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“Wow! It’s snowing, Serati unnie!”

“Oh dear, we need to cross the mountain quickly.”

“If it piles up too much, it’ll be a real headache.”

The child enjoyed the sight with pure delight, while the adults frowned with concern.

Fortunately, they were almost at the end of their journey over the mountain range.

With chilled cheeks, they continued moving for another half day.

Sunlight scattered across the white snow. Every time the wind blew, snowflakes dispersed into the air. The dry snow crunched with every step they took.

Finally, a vast plain stretched out before them in the distance.

A river running down from the mountain range split the land in two like a blade, flowing into an older river.

On the right bank stood a stately, antique castle on a hill, while on the opposite side lay a sprawling village, connected to the castle by a large stone bridge.

Their destination: the County of Grenthal.

***

Currently, Karnak and his group’s official status was as Alius, a first-tier inquisitor of Hatoba, and his collaborators.

They were concealing the fact that they belonged to the King’s Order of the Yustil Kingdom and were only posing as Darkness Hunters.

Hunting the Empire’s cult was strictly the responsibility of the Evil Slaying Brigade, and their target, Hudel, was a noble of the Empire.

But if the King’s Order were to take this matter into their own hands? It would become a serious international issue.

They couldn’t openly discuss it or seek cooperation.

Considering how much the Lacaenia Empire disregarded the Seven Kingdoms, it was obvious they wouldn’t even bother listening to such a request.

Thus, the reason Karnak’s group presented when crossing the border was as follows:

–The necromancer we were pursuing has shown his tracks in Kalat City in the western part of the Empire. We intend to collaborate with the Kalat Diocese of the Hatoba Order to apprehend him.

It reminded Baros of the plan the King’s Order had used when hunting a vampire at the Count Brelant’s estate, which prompted him to express concern.

“That method didn’t work too well, though.”

“They copied it poorly, that’s why,” Alius explained.

According to him, the method was originally that of the Church of the Seven Goddesses.

Only, unlike the King’s Order, they weren’t foolish enough to seek cooperation from the suspects themselves.

In any case, with this pretext, there wouldn’t be any suspicion.

It was quite common for a necromancer on the run to cross borders to escape, and just as common for those who had lost family members to a necromancer to cross borders in pursuit, driven by a burning desire for revenge.

And wasn’t there someone in their group who had lost their entire family to a necromancer?

“Who would that be?”

“Who else? Didn’t you lose your entire family to a necromancer, Lord Karnak?”

“Ah, you mean me.”

“Why do you speak as if it’s someone else’s story…?”

“I already finished my revenge, didn’t I? So I didn’t really think of it in that way.”

Though the conversation was somewhat suspicious, they managed to gloss over it without raising any alarms.

So, under the guise of heading to Kalat City, they would secretly slip into the County of Grenthal.

Afterward, they would find evidence that Hudel was part of the cult, report it to the Evil Slaying Brigade, and capture him together.

Since this was a right granted to the Church of the Seven Goddesses, it wouldn’t cause any friction with the Empire.

While they would have to hand over Hudel to the Evil Slaying Brigade, they could extract the necessary information in the meantime.

For Karnak, that would be enough.

‘After all, what I need is the information, not the person.’

***

After entering the Grenthal territory, Alius spoke to the group.

“Well, I will head to the Saisha temple now.”

In the western part of the Empire, the Religious Order of Saisha, the Goddess of Wind, was prevalent, so there wasn’t a separate Hatoba temple. Therefore, to gather information on Hudel, they had to seek out the Saisha Religious Order.

Baros asked, “Are we going to be working with the Saisha Religious Order from now on?”

Since the County of Grenthal was a thriving territory situated along the major trade route between the Lacaenia Empire and the Alliance of the Seven Kingdoms, the influence of the Saisha temple here was considerable, with many inquisitors and Darkness Hunters under its command.

His question was whether they would be receiving cooperation from them.

Alius shook his head.

“Officially, no.”

On the surface, Grenthal was a clean territory with no heretics or necromancers. Therefore, most of the Saisha inquisitors and Darkness Hunters stationed in the temple were dispatched elsewhere.

Even Felix, the second-tier inquisitor they had met, was originally from this place.

“Because of that, we can’t expect much support from those stationed at the temple right now, and…”

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Alius continued.

“…To be frank, the Hatoba Religious Order and the Saisha Religious Order don’t exactly get along.”

The Church of the Seven Goddesses is a polytheistic religion that serves seven goddesses who uphold great laws. Though each religious order may worship a different goddess, it is still technically one religion.

It’s like different noble factions under one king.

And, just because they serve the same king doesn’t mean the nobles get along.

In fact, they usually don’t.

The Hatoba Religious Order is based in the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, while the Saisha Religious Order is based in the Lacaenia Empire.

Although the Church of the Seven Goddesses transcends national borders, it’s hard to be completely free from worldly politics. As a result, relations between the two religious orders were quite strained.

“Given that, it’s hard to expect full cooperation. And we can’t entirely trust the Saisha temple either.”

As with the case of Shutraff, the Cult of the Dark God has a history of infiltrating even high-ranking clergy.

But on the surface, Grenthal is a very clean place.

There are no heretics, no necromancers. The Saisha temple here, compared to other temples in the region, manages a large number of inquisitors and Darkness Hunters.

If Hudel is indeed a heretic, how could the temple, with all its resources and abilities, fail to find any clues?

“There’s a high chance that there’s a spy within the temple. Otherwise, it would be hard for them to avoid suspicion for this long—of course, assuming that Count Hudel really is a heretic.”

Serati tilted her head.

“Are you saying we might be mistaken?”

“I’m not doubting you. If I doubted you, I wouldn’t have come this far with you, would I?” Alius shrugged.

“But humans make mistakes, don’t they? If we’re going to accuse an Imperial noble of heresy, we need to be much more cautious than usual.”

“That’s true.”

So, they wouldn’t officially visit the Saisha temple. Instead, they would seek out Belton, a priest of the temple.

He was an old friend of Alius’ superior, Eon, the northern diocese head of the Hatoba Religious Order in Yustil, and someone Alius trusted completely.

The plan was to gather information on the situation in Grenthal through him.

“I’ll disguise myself as a regular pilgrim and meet him secretly. If we all go together, we’ll be exposed, so I’ll go alone.”

After explaining the situation, Alius turned to leave.

“Well then, I’ll be away for a while. In the meantime, find an inn and wait for me.”

For the record, this entire conversation took place among the adults, excluding Laficel. It wasn’t something they wanted a child to hear.

From a distance, Laficel, too busy exploring the village, waved innocently.

“Have a safe trip!”

***

As befitting the county of Grenthal, a center of trade, the village near the castle had as many inns and taverns as any other city.

It seemed like the village was on the verge of becoming an independent city, just like others, by paying taxes to the lord and purchasing self-governance rights.

The inn where Karnak and his group settled was one of the most inconspicuous and average among the many available options.

Even though Karnak was a complete food enthusiast, he wasn’t foolish enough to search for a place with good food in such a situation.

That didn’t mean he had completely given up on the idea of enjoying good food, though.

“Well, I can always buy food separately later.”

“Exactly. As long as there’s a bed, sleep doesn’t need to be fancy.”

After using fake names to secure their rooms, they ate their meal.

Laficel, exhausted from crossing the mountain range, fell asleep immediately after eating. Despite her soul being that of the future Martial King, her body was still that of a young girl.

After putting her to bed, Serati headed over to Karnak and Baros’ room.

Upon entering, she found the two of them lightly drinking, with a bottle of local wine and a few slices of cheese on the table.

Joining them, she took a sip of the wine and smiled warmly.

“I’d heard this region’s wine was famous, and it really is.”

“It’s rare for you to openly enjoy food, Serati.”

“I do like alcohol.”

“Oh yeah, you do like drinking. Even if you’re not a fan of sweets.”

After finishing the remaining wine, Serati asked, “So, why did you call me?”

Karnak glanced at the wall toward the next room and responded with a question.

“Is Laficel definitely asleep?”

“Yes.”

“Still, we should be cautious just in case.”

He gestured lightly in the air.

A faint glowing pattern appeared, transforming into a magic circle, then dissolved into the air, spreading in all directions.

It was a soundproof barrier.

“Good. Now it’s just the three of us.”

Karnak pulled something out from inside his coat.

“There’s something I need to check while Alius is away.”

Baros, looking at the black cube in Karnak’s hand, asked with curiosity.

“What’s that?”

“What does it look like?”

“Uh, a black dice?”

It had no markings on any of its sides, making it useless even for gambling.

“Is it an unfinished dice or something?”

Serati tilted her head in confusion.

Karnak gently shook the black cube as he continued questioning them.

“Don’t you sense anything from it?”

“Is it related to necromancy, perhaps?”

Karnak’s expression stiffened slightly.

“…Why do you think that?”

“Because it’s black.”

She said it as if it were no big deal.

“When Lord Karnak carries something black, it’s usually related to that field.”

“You’re not saying that because you actually sense something, right?”

“No.”

Only then did Karnak let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew, you gave me a scare for a moment.”

“Why?”

“If you had sensed something, it would mean you detected something that even I couldn’t.”

Karnak placed the cube on the palm of his hand and spoke in a serious tone.

“This was left behind by the Candy Witch.”

Both Baros and Serati’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t the witch completely disappear?”

They had all witnessed the witch burn away completely.

Not only Karnak and Baros, but even those who had been trapped in the cage with them had seen it.

But now, to think Karnak had secretly taken something in the middle of all that?

Serati and Baros let out exclamations of disbelief.

“My goodness, when did you even grab that? You’ve really got some sticky fingers.”

“As expected from our young master, no one can match you when it comes to sneaky side activities.”

“I didn’t show you this just to get nagged, you know?”

Regardless, if the witch left this behind, it was bound to be no ordinary item.

The two aura users focused their senses to detect any energy from it. But they grew even more puzzled.

“This was really the witch’s item?”

There was no sense of evil energy, malice, or any necromantic power that one would expect from such an object.

Baros frowned in doubt.

“Well, Dame Serati might not notice due to her lower sensitivity, but I’m quite familiar with dark energy, and I’m not sensing a thing.”

“…Sorry for my low sensitivity,” Serati muttered.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Seeing Baros flustered, Karnak chuckled before continuing.

“That’s why I said, if Serati could feel something I couldn’t, that would be an issue too.”

This wasn’t just some ordinary item left by the witch.

“To be precise, it’s a corpse. But at the same time, it isn’t.”

The two of them looked even more confused.

Karnak started rolling the black cube between his fingers.

“That’s because it wasn’t human to begin with.”