“A death eruption will simultaneously impact three channels.”
Speaking on this topic, the priest appeared somewhat worried
“I am not a Ring-wielder of the Church, so I cannot know the more specific details. Based on the currently known situation, the local Church of Nature believes that problems could arise in any of the three channels.”
The 【Church of Nature and Malice】 was the first of the Five God Churches to preach locally, and currently, all the seals on the door at the foot of the mountain were primarily implemented by the Church of Nature. Even the physical location of the Church of Nature corresponded to the position of that door within the In-Between.
“Any of them could have problems, huh...”
Shad didn't have much of a solution for such things, but fortunately, this wasn't a responsibility he had to shoulder. The only thing he needed to do in this city was to gather enough intelligence; once Luvia divined information regarding the third Chosen, he would use his preliminary preparations to find the target in one fell swoop.
“The door at the mountain peak in the In-Between is suppressed by an Ancient One, and the door halfway up the mountain is missing, hidden by the Witch Emperors. The Church is aware of this information, but clearly not as much as I am.”
This wasn't because the Church was incompetent or because Priest Augustus was too formidable; Shad believed it was purely because the Grade 0 relic the priest carried—which suspectedly related to the 'First Angel'—was too powerful.
Taking advantage of the time before the food arrived, Shad voiced his thoughts
“Priest, I've made some friends in Midhillburg over the past few days. After we finish eating, let's go to the House of the Blind; they are actually a local stronghold for the 【Spiritual Cult】.”
“The Spiritual Cult? You mean those people who wear eyepatches... oh, so the House of the Blind is a stronghold for that cult!”
The priest said in surprise. He knew of the Spiritual Cult, but he had clearly not linked the two together.
“You can hand over your current intelligence, as well as any information you acquire in the future, to the 【Spiritual Cult】. The cult will certainly find a way to notify the Church.”
“That is a good idea... but it's best if I don't show my face.”
Priest Augustus shook his head and took a pipe out of his pocket, but after a moment's thought, he put it back
“I will give everything I know to you, and you can deliver it to the Spiritual Cult. I am, after all, a priest of an Orthodox God Church; it's better if I don't proactively contact them... However, are you sure you know the high-ranking members of the cult?”
“Yes, I met with the leader of the cult this morning. When you were being rescued, that Eleventh-Ring nun provided a great deal of help.”
Shad nodded. The priest gave him a startled look
“Haven't you only been here for a week? Detective, you truly have a wide circle of friends.”
“Let's not talk about that.”
Shad shook his head, skipping the topic as he didn't want to drag the Witch into this because of the Spiritual Cult
“Unknowable-grade relics really are dangerous.”
He sighed softly. The priest wanted to speak, but the waiter pushed the food trolley in. Once the waiter left, the priest continued
“Actually, even a Poet-grade (Grade 5) relic, which has the lowest danger level, can cause us great trouble. Do you know of the Poet-grade relic 【Itch Curse】?”
“I don't.”
Shad shook his head, looking very interested, so the priest explained
“This is a relic that exists in the form of information, similar to a curse. Specifically, the back of the cursed person becomes extremely itchy, and once someone sees them reach back to scratch, they too will feel the itch, thus spreading the curse continuously. In the later stages, the curse can spread even if someone simply mentions that their back feels a bit itchy, or even if the event is recorded in a book.”
“Oh, that sounds terrifying.”
Shad inconspicuously rubbed his back against the back of the chair. Since the priest mentioned it, he subconsciously wondered if his back felt itchy, and then he actually felt a slight itch.
“Such a malicious curse is only Poet-grade?”
“Yes, because the characteristic is merely itching. And it's the kind of itch that feels very comfortably relieved once you scratch it... Detective, what are you doing?”
Shad, who was quietly rubbing against the chair back, shook his head
“Nothing. So how is this curse treated? One can't possibly endure an itchy back for a lifetime, right?”
“No, that's not necessary. You just need to find the first person affected by the relic, peel the skin off their back, and use tanning methods to turn it into leather; that way, the information will remain stored on that piece of human skin. Very tragically, there are currently 193 known sources of the 【Itch Curse】, and that's only what the Church knows of.”
The priest shrugged
“Even if the source can't be found, as long as two-thirds of the infected population regularly apply a special ointment, the infectious property of the relic disappears, so the actual harm is not great. Oh, Ring-wielders generally possess varying degrees of resistance to Poet-grade relics, so this curse is ineffective against high-Ring wielders. Oh, and there is a spell developed based on this relic called 【Itch Spell】; this prank spell is ineffective against all Ring-wielders, but people who learn such a spell are truly bored to death.”
Feeling that his back was still a bit itchy, Shad vowed that he must reach a high Ring as soon as possible to prevent encountering these curses in this dangerous world—curses that, while not lethal, were exceptionally annoying.
The two agreed to meet again tomorrow. The priest would consider what kind of miracle art could be linked to Shad's spirit rune 【True Death】, and would use tonight to write down everything he currently knew about the In-Between and the death eruption. However, the priest still had Church duties; these elderly clergy members who had been summoned had already begun basic ritual studies training, so he wouldn't be able to meet Shad in Midhillburg frequently.
However, it was now completely certain that the purpose of summoning Priest Augustus to Midhillburg was indeed for a large-scale divine ritual.
As the priest took out his wallet to pay for the lavish dinner, Shad, looking at the scenery outside the window, remembered another thing
“Oh, Priest, you owe the doctor 3,000 pounds.”
Priest Augustus, who was counting out the tip, jerked his hand, nearly dropping the coins held in his palm
“Huh?”
He looked at the young detective opposite him in surprise, as if hoping he would say it was a joke.
Shad reminded him
“That's the fee for opening the door. You know, while my friends can help for free, they can't be expected to provide the tools for nothing, can they?”
“That... that is true.”
The priest said tremulously
“It seems I'll need to save some money recently.”
Aside from his studies as a Ring-wielder, Priest Augustus didn't have many expenses; he simply had a habit of donating his money. This 3,000 pounds was not a small sum; it seemed the priest was already considering selling potions on the local black market once he returned to Tobesk.
“But where did the doctor get so much liquid capital? Why did he take it himself? Normally, shouldn't it be split among four people?”
The priest thought of this. Shad remembered others warning him that he must absolutely not tell the old man in front of him about their collective gambling bets
“The doctor made a lot of money from an investment a while ago.”
He said vaguely.
“What kind of investment could make the doctor earn that much?”
The priest was very curious. He pressed the tip under the glass, and the two stood up from their chairs as the waiter led the way to show them out.
“It has to do with a minor noble.”
Shad's gaze drifted
“And it also involves foreigners. You know the Duchy of Sette, right?”
“I do, it's not far from here.”
The priest nodded
“So it was an international business.”
“You could say that, and there were quite a few foreigners. Specifically, it involved some special wooden materials and ink. I heard the impact of this business was quite significant.”
“The doctor actually dared to get involved in such things? As far as I know, the risks of that kind of business are not small.”
Walking down the stairs, the priest took his pipe out of his pocket.
“He received inside information and believed the probability of profit for this investment was over sixty percent.”
“That's quite good. It seems the doctor really did earn a lot; Bill was truly lucky this time.”
As they spoke, the two walked out of the restaurant and looked up almost simultaneously at the sea of stars above Mount Sicar.
In the outskirts of Midhillburg, at the edge of the mountains, this sea of stars was incomparably dazzling and brilliant.
(Miya is running...)
Shad did not return to the Midhillburg city center with the priest, but instead went straight into the mountains, returning to the ruined tower. By the time he returned to his home basement via the tower's basement, it was eight o'clock in the evening.
Coming to the first floor and seeing the lights on in the foyer, he knew that Luvia, who was tinkering with that astrology equipment, hadn't left yet. When Shad reached the second floor and caught the excited cat leaping toward him, he saw that the seventeen-year-old girl was also there
“Good evening, Luvia. Good evening, Iluna.”
Shad greeted them, seeing the two ladies sitting on the sofa playing a board game. In this world, there were card games like Rhode, and naturally, there were board games, though they were relatively less popular.
“Good evening, Shad. Did you see Priest Augustus?”
Luvia asked, her eyes fixed on the board. Shad took a glance and found that he completely didn't understand this game, so he carried the cat—who was excitedly trying to leap up and rub its little head against his chin—into the bedroom to change into home clothes.
“I did. Priest Augustus seems to be in good condition, but Midhillburg has a big problem. If things go poorly, it could be an accident no less severe than the 'Sea Return.' I learned a bit about the local folklore and legends today; those stories are very interesting.”
“I thought you spent the whole day playing Rhode in Midhillburg. Don't those card players love traveling to other places to play?”
The brown-haired girl asked. She was currently at a disadvantage on the board; Luvia's skill in the game was very high
“But why do you always encounter such dangerous things?”
“That is also my constant question,” Luvia said, picking up her white piece and knocking Iluna's largest soldier piece off the board. The latter immediately covered her face
“Lost again! Luvia, you didn't divine how I would play in advance, did you?”
“I wouldn't do something so boring.”
Luvia stood up to prepare tea in the kitchen. Priest Augustus was safe and sound, and Shad was now free in Midhillburg. Therefore, tonight, the three of them would discuss the matter of the third Chosen.
(End of Chapter)