Trinitas Mundus

Episode XXIII: Investigating Grave Roughing

The two of them who went down to the dining room, usually teasing Bianca, took breakfast as she leaned her neck toward nothing to say today.

After 8 a.m., the two leave the inn and for the first time in a long time knock over the door of the Adventurer's Guild.

Once inside, the adventurers waiting for the receptionist turn their gaze to the two of them, but the gaze mixes favorable gaze with hostility, making Ray feel overwhelmed.

(I still have Theron's sympathizer. And you won a square duel, but you don't have to look at it like that...)

Ethel, the receptionist who spotted the two, said, "Lady Ray, Lady Ashley, the branch manager is waiting for you. I'll show you," and then I'll show you two back.

In the Branch Manager's office, Solow Branch Manager waited for the two of them looking more grumpy and bitter than usual.

"Theron's investigation is over. Ray, as you accused him, he was betraying his fellow adventurers. Still, I won't open my mouth, but I can prove I put you in a trap with the testimony of a party member."

"Really...... so what happens to Theron?

"Of course permanent expulsion from the Adventurer Guild will put you down into criminal slavery for attempted murder against you. But from the testimony of his party members, there's still going to be some guilt. Once escorted to Fonce, the king's capital, he should be disposed of as a criminal slave after conducting an investigation."

In the story of the Branch Manager, Theron's companions were also threatened by him, and the possibility emerged that Theron could be connected to the back society - the so-called Mafia.

The kingdom and guild seized the opportunity and swept away the mafias, so they were to question Theron.

By the way, his party members were blackmailed and turned out to have joined them without any further ado, so only a minor disposition - a pro bono service directed by the Alliance - is needed.

As regards slavery, the slave trade is not permitted in principle in the United Kingdom of Lax Sartous. Only as regards criminal slavery is exceptionally allowed, for the deterrence of crime and the redress of the victims.

In other countries, in particular the Caerm Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Lukes and the Union of Urban States, the slave trade is recognised as a general business transaction. For this reason, there are regular auctions and a large number of slave traders dealing with labour slaves, sex slaves, etc.

Many slave traders were vicious in carrying out kidnappings and the like, or causing villages to be attacked by bandits, and the entire community of beasts was sometimes abducted by slave traders, especially since the human rights of beasts were extremely restricted in the Holy Kingdom of Lukes.

There are constant appeals from countries that do not recognise the slave trade system, such as the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kaum, to step up the control of such illegal activities, but the prospects for improvement are bleak.

For the record, Shabby, who was archaic to Ray, was also a refugee who had fled to the Kingdom of Lax at an early age from near the Luke's Holy King border in the Caerm Empire.

Even in that United Kingdom the slave trade is not permitted, but ownership is permitted. Because merchants, mercenaries, adventurers, etc. often hold slaves purchased in other countries, merchants in particular often employ combat slaves as escorts, and have admitted nothing more to facilitate economic activity.

In the United Kingdom, however, those who own slaves are often discreet because they are often seen with contempt.

The Solow Branch Manager, with his head down,

"It's the Adventurer Alliance's fault for this one. I really annoyed the two of you. There have been no cases where compensation has been paid by the Alliance in these cases, but there should be some compensation for you from Theron's personal property. I'll be in touch after the investigation in Wang Du, so I want you to wait until then."

And take out two gold coins,

"It's the purchase of Hydra's Demonic Crystal Stone I deposited before, but there's also this one. Why don't you color it a little and let me buy it for 200 C (Krona)?

Typically, the market price for Demonic Crystal stones with tertiary equivalent water attributes is about 100C.

Speaking of third level, it's a dangerous demon that needs a few veteran adventurers to crusade, but the purchase price of the Demon Crystal Stone itself is not high for a lot of danger.

The crusade of demons for which no request has been made is not so much an oppressive situation. When the Demonic Crystal Stone is bought out at a high price, it does damage in vain because the Adventurers are forced to crusade the Demon.

As a guild, we want to make the crusade of the more dangerous demons a priority, thus making it a policy to keep the purchase price of Demon Crystal stones relatively low. It should be noted that since the majority of the circulation of Demonic Crystal stones is via Adventurer Guild and Mercenary Guild, price control is easy unless demand increases sharply when prices are suppressed due to Guild policy.

On the authority of the Branch Manager, he offered to buy it this time for twice the market, and Ray, after checking with Ashley, replied, "That's fine," and received the gold coin.

"This case will be made public. There was a voice defending Theron, but publicly it would fit in too"

The two followed the branch manager's office and returned to the hall where the reception was located.

Ray's expression was hard.

He feels unreasonable and unconvinced that even though he was about to be killed, he would just drop himself into slavery.

(If this one dies, he was nothing. If you're a less developed justice system in this world, isn't this kind of betrayal usually natural for a capital offense?

When I tell Ashley about it,

"Right. It's quicker to make it a death sentence, but it's better to make it a slave and sell it, for the victim and for the guild. Criminal slaves can have black orbs around their necks. That orb is hung with the magic of darkness, and they say it will be manipulated mentally to subjugate the commander. Crime slaves, especially those with combat power, may be heavier than death as punishment because they are turned to the forefront of dangerous demon crusades and battlefields..."

Ray's head was convinced by the explanation, but there was still a lot of pain in his heart.

But I had decided to forget that it was too late, and I was starting to look at the bulletin board to see which requests I would take.

Then find a request form on the bulletin board under the heading "Investigation of Grave Roughing".

The contents are that they want us to do an investigation because the joint cemetery of the city of Morton will be vandalized, and the client was the chief priest of the Temple of Darkness.

The reward was thirty C (krona) for the investigation only and two hundred C for the crusade.

Ray turned to Ashley and said, "What do you think of this?" I asked.

"I don't know unless you listen to me, but there's a possibility of a corpse-eating ghost (ghoul). This time it's just an investigation, so I think it's less dangerous, but if you're a corpse-eating ghost, a normal weapon might not work. In that case, the degree of danger doesn't jump all at once."

"Corpse eater... ghoul. Magic works, doesn't it?

"Oh, if it's magic... especially the magic of light attributes should work well"

"That could be a good opportunity. Experience with night activities and fighting the undead system. They say it's easier to deal with in the city, and the reward's no big deal, but can I make it this?

Ashley thought a little,

"Right...... might be interesting to try. But if you look into it, it's going to be just a grave wreck."

Ray removes the requisition form and takes it to the reception.

Ethel, the receptionist, accepted it,

"If it's only an investigation, it's a Grade VII request, but a crusade could be equivalent to Grade Six, or in the worst case, Grade Five. I think you two will be fine, but be very careful."

The two headed to the Temple of Darkness, northeast of the city, to hear the story.

The Temple of Darkness is a temple dedicated to the Dark God = Noctis. Noctis is a god of darkness, night, but as a god who rests = directs death, he often manages the cemetery.

Of course, in the Holy Kingdom of Lukes, which is rejecting the Temple of Darkness, the interpretation is that death and Lucidus, God of Light, are to be administered, and the management of the cemetery is also carried out by the Temple of Light = Light Theology.

The Temple of Darkness is a black based building, but full of smooth stone like stained glass and black Mirage Stone, giving it a brighter feel than I had imagined.

There are also many flower beds on the property, spring flowers begin to blossom and the lawn-covered garden has benches for a stronger feeling of soft brightness.

"The Temple of Darkness, so I thought it felt darker, but for a long time, it felt brighter."

Ray was squeaking like he was talking to himself.

"Right. Not only do we mourn the dead here, but some come to nostalgia. I guess it's because dark images don't fit to share memories with the close ones who died."

Ashley answers that a little lonely.

Ray immediately remembered the story of her loss of her mother at an early age.

(Didn't Ash go to your mother's grave sometimes? So maybe that's what I think extra......)

The two enter the temple and tell the young cleric that they are from the Adventurer's Guild.

Immediately put through to the clergyman.

Ray looked rarely inside the temple.

The inside was also based on black, and the temple of qualitative making was well cared for and made a good impression on him.

(Sounds calm to me. I guess it feels like Zen Temple in the back of the mountain or the little church I saw in Nagasaki......)

As soon as I was guided to the Clerical Chief's room, an old woman appeared as the Clerical Chief.

"Welcome to the Temple of Noctis. My name is Darna Hales."

Introduced himself with a gentle expression, Chief Hales brews his own tea and leaves it before them before he gets to the point.

When they introduced themselves, they immediately got down to business.

First, Ashley will check the situation.

"It was" grave vandalism, "but could you tell me what the specific situation was?

The look on the clergyman's face gets slightly darker. And I slowly started explaining.

"Things happened five days ago..."

Chief Cleric's description showed signs of someone breaking into the cemetery behind the temple five nights ago. At that time it was not particularly harmful and I thought it was a prank or anything, but the day after that it was also found entering the cemetery, the tomb marker was knocked down and the tomb was dug up.

Luckily I didn't seem to get to the coffin and nothing happened, but I called the guards and asked them to provide security three nights ago that I couldn't leave the grave rough any longer. You alerted the guards, there was no damage that day, and the next day, when the defense pulled up, the grave was dug up again.

Contacting the defense team doesn't always go to guard, so it is suggested that you ask the Adventurer Guild to investigate the killer hunt.

Grave vandalism also appeared last night, when he finally opened his coffin and vandalized his body. The body showed signs of strangulation, and the possibility of a corpse-eating ghost (ghoul) this time around.

In this request, the identification of the culprit is the main one, and I want you to even crusade if possible.

There are priests in the Temple of Darkness, but no one, like the Temple of Light or Fire, was accustomed to battle, and he said he was living an uneasy day because the grave havoc could not be dealt with when it came into the Temple.

"We, the priests of the Dark God (Noctis), have a duty to give peace to people. So even if we can put the souls of the lost dead to sleep in peace, few have the supremacy to fight rough undead like corpse-eating ghosts. Please, I want the rest of my sleeping soul back here..."

In those sincere words, Ray and Ashley responded that they were bound to try to resolve it, and decided to let them see what was going on in the field first.

The cemetery at the site is built along the slopes of the hill, about fifty m square. Surrounded by trees, the outlook is not very good.

The cemetery itself is neatly lined with tomb marks and trees planted everywhere in the green carpet of the lawn. At first glance, it also looks like the Arlington Cemetery in the United States, and doesn't have the shady feeling of a graveyard called "Hakaba".

The vandalized site hit the edge of the cemetery, the middle belly of the slope, blocked by trees and a place from which the prospects did not work from the temple.

The vandalized tomb had grave markers knocked down and unmade holes were dug like the animals had dug up.

Ray asks Chief Hales, who is guiding us, what's going on.

"Was the vandalized tomb the same thing?

Suddenly asked, the Chief Cleric replies, slightly confused, "No, it's a separate place..."

Ray went on to ask more questions.

"Do those buried have anything in common?

As the Chief Cleric contemplates, after tilting his neck,

"I can't think of anything in particular in common... because those buried here were those who ran grocery stores, and those before them were certainly the wives of furniture makers, the owners of restaurants, and the sons of the defensemen..."

As Ray contemplated, he stood up on the spot and looked out at the dug hole.

In the meantime, Ashley carefully examines the area around the grave.

"There are footprints, but after the defense team comes in, I don't know which one belongs to the killer. Chief Cleric, didn't the defense team say anything about footprints and remnants?

"As for the footprints, he said there were barefoot footprints of people... nothing else..."

The two of them decided to return to the temple when it was not clear that they were here.

Ashley told Ray and the clergyman,

"Starting today, I'm going to have you stay at the temple, will you be all right?

The chief cleric nods quietly, "I'm relieved if you can stay here at night," he says, smiling.

Ray and Ashley told him to leave here in preparation and decided to return to the inn once.

Ray walked, "What do you think, Ash?," Ashley asks,

"I don't know anything now. But if you keep an eye on him, something's gonna happen."

"Right. But I'm pretty sure it's not Ghoul, the corpse eater."

Ashley is leaning her neck against Ray, who confidently cares.

"Only when we have a defense team, we haven't vandalized the grave. I don't know how intelligent a corpse-eating ghost is, but I don't think the undead would be afraid of a defensive team that is a living being. There must be some other reason."

"Right. I've never heard of a corpse-eating ghost with that much intelligence. Then who the hell..."

Ray had come up with something, but remained silent because there was no certainty.

(At times like this, it is a stone to doubt those who are profiting. The only thing that would be profitable to discredit the temple of darkness is... light divinity, no, Bishop Azaro would be the only one. He says he's a fanatic when it comes to the Baron, so he could do as much harassment as he does to get rid of the Temple of Darkness...)

The two return to the Silver Bell Pavilion and tell them that they are just coming back for dinner to go out at night here for a while, grab their luggage and head to the Temple of Darkness.

Along the way, I stopped by the tool store to get the tools I could use to investigate. And I asked my husband's manuel if he had any tools that might help.

"I'll be guarding the night, do you have any tools that might help?

"Where exactly are you going to use it? Around the mansion? Or a camp?

Ray gets confused about deciding if it's okay to tell him what the request is about, and looks at Ashley.

Ashley picked up the story,

"Haven't you heard Manuel? It's a story of grave vandalism in the cemetery of the Temple of Darkness."

"Oh, I heard that. haha, did you take that request...... but are you okay, just the two of us? Wouldn't it be awkward if a corpse eater came out?

"Maybe it's okay. My spear should also work on the undead... there's no gool in the city in the first place."

Manuel stares at the two with a suspicious face, but when Ray tells him what he thinks, he seems convinced,

"So about the camp security songko and yarn? Do you have any magic props for the lights?

After a little thought, Ray told Ashley,

"I want a songko and a thread. Do you need about five hundred meters of yarn? Is it okay if there's no lights?

"Lights have their share. You don't have to buy it because you don't have to. But you need as long as five hundred meters?

"Yeah. I'll explain how to use it later"

They bought in Naruto and Yarn and went back to the Temple of Darkness.

On the way, Ray explains the use of yarn.

"If a person is vandalizing a grave, not a corpse-eating ghost, if you install a grand songko during the day, you could be watching it. The two of us are staying at the temple today, so we don't know when we're coming on patrol. So if people are vandalizing graves, maybe they don't show up. If you want to come out, a real corpse-eating ghost. Can we get this far?

He turns off the conversation, confirms Ashley snorts, and then proceeds.

"Me and you will straighten out the alarm system. This presupposes that there are people watching. At that time, two threads will be installed. One usually rings a song. And I'll keep the other one crawling on the ground..."

"Why are you doing such a hassle?

"As I was saying, I'm looking at the alarm device today, and I know we're here, so people don't come out. And tomorrow,“ yesterday, the corpse-eating ghost didn't come out, so I couldn't accomplish the request, "he pretends to have failed the request and recovers the songko and the thread. While retrieving it, straighten out another thread and install it so that a song will form in the temple. That would reassure me that tomb vandalism has no traps tomorrow night, so I'm sure it will come out. We pretend to disperse amazingly and come back near the temple after dark. How about this?

"I see. You're going to snap your first song... Ray, you're an unexpected warrior. If you do see the songs off, you shouldn't think the next day will be any more. You mean we should figure out a way to get good signals from the temple..."

The two head to the Temple of Darkness to see how to monitor the night and more. He arrived at the temple around 2 p.m., explained the steps to the clergyman, and installed an alarm device with songko and thread in the cemetery.

In about two hours, they finished setting up the trap and the two went into the temple.

"All you have to do is guard in the middle of the night. Ash, it's early, but let's go to dinner."

When the two of them try to leave the temple, there's some noise at the gate.

Besides Chief Hales' calm voice, there was a tall slightly hysterical voice for men.

"There are rumors of corpse-eating ghosts out in this demon's nest! It is clear that you devils are trying to unleash the undead on the city. The eyes of my servant, the God of Light (Lucidus), cannot be deluded!

The man with the tall voice wore white cleric clothing - a luxurious object made with plenty of gold thread, silver thread in a long robe-like garment - and behind him was packed a dozen clerics in similar clothes and believer-like men with weapons in their hands.

Chief Hales was bravely alone, trying to persuade a dozen men.

"We, the Temple of Noctis, do not acknowledge the existence of the undead. The undead had no peace. The grieving deceased. We will not take away the tranquillity of Noctis..."

The voice is also extinguished by the cursing of believing men.

Finally, in an attempt to knock down the temple gate, the men begin to shake the door.

Ray saw the sight,

(That's terrible stuff. I can't believe I'm determined that I don't do that when I talk to Mr. Hales even though I don't have any evidence... well, I guess I'm a fanatic because I don't listen to people... I was in Japan, the type of people who dance to the press and online information and think I'm right... these people are the worst in nature. With a sense of righteousness on your side, in the end, what you're doing is the same as a fig. I'm unconscious of sin, so I'm going to storm right away... and even if I know I made a mistake, I can forget like nothing happened. And soon we'll be bothering you with something else...)

When Ray thinks about that, Ashley leaves in front by herself.

He chases right after him too, but when she comes to the gate, she suddenly pulls out her sword and speaks aloud to the fanatics.

"We're investigating the corpse eater ghost in the Adventurer Guild! We haven't completed the investigation yet, but what are we trying to“ raid ”the temple on the basis of! We're also subscribed to the Mercenary Guild! If you destroy the temple, you must deal with it as a mob! Handling mobs can be done by mercenaries if you have the big name of preventing the damage from spreading! If you still want to destroy it, then come prepared for it!

Her voice, working out on the battlefield, echoes the city where the sun is leaning.

The fanatics were also shattered by the momentum, and their hands were stopped shaking the gate.

"It's not about mercenaries pinching their mouths! You're demons, too!

The first man in cleric clothing who was screaming pointed at Ashley and began to impeach him.

The impeachment of the man gradually heated up and turned into a curse against Ashley.

"... women are not born busy, such as mercenaries. Isn't it an abomination born of a filthy mother? That's not what I found out what I'm doing here, either, with a man and me, immersing ourselves in the temple of darkness..."

Ray, who had reached the limit of patience in his story so far, said, "Shut up!" and drink one drink.

And after wrapping the magic of light around the spear, where everyone's attention has been drawn, it adds radiance all at once.

Around the temple of darkness, which was slightly dimmed in the shadows of the hills, suddenly he sees a sun-like light, with fanatics holding his eyes.

"Lucidus, the god of light, should be a god who pairs with Noctis, the god of darkness! Don't denigrate God's will with unsolicited interpretations like yours! Anyone who says no, look at this light! With Lucidus' protection, you should be able to keep staring! Come on, try it!

Though Ray, completely cut off, was more angry at the irrational impeachment of Ashley, although he has the consciousness to say something unscrupulous himself.

"I didn't know you would use God's work, the magic of light, for such a thing... remember! I'll never forget you!

The man in clergy's clothes threw up a dialogue like that, leaving the spot behind.

Chief Commissioner Hales,

"Thank you. I hope Ray and Ashley don't get annoyed..."

"I'm fine. Neither I nor Ray have done anything wrong. It's Chief Azaro who's wrong."

Ray got here and finally realized he was Bishop Azaro when it came to the way the current opponent called him, Chief Azaro, Phototheistic.

(Awkward! They made fun of Ashley and smashed it... but I can't help it now. I have no regrets......)

"Don't worry. We have a baron, and we have a back shield for the guild. You're going to harass me."

Ray and Ashley both went to the inn to eat while remaining in a bad mood.

Bishop Azaro stared at the figure with dark eyes.

You fool me!... But isn't that armor, the stuff of the Holy Knight? And that magic of light...... why would the Holy Knight stand in our way? We need to keep an eye on him... but we need to get rid of those who worship evil gods before we do... and we need results to keep up with God's will. Means need not be chosen......)

In his eyes he could see the flaming madness, but no one noticed it.