Chapter 62: Black Fangs vs. Holy Church (1)
Chapter 62: Black Fangs vs. Holy Church (1)
Chapter 62: Black Fangs vs. Holy Church (1)
These days, the empire is buzzing.
The reason is quite simple.
Black Fangs.
It’s because the organization that had always been shrouded in mystery has finally started its activities in earnest.
Lucy stared intently at the newspaper filled with rumors about Black Fangs.
In a way, it was only natural.
The stories contained in this newspaper.
Anything related to Black Fangs was something Lucy could never ignore.
‘Because I met them in person once.’The Black Fangs faith that has been spreading recently.
Lucy wasn’t lost in some delusion, obsessing over the strange belief that Black Fangs would save everyone someday.
That’s because Lucy had actually met the leader of Black Fangs.
The form of the soul she saw with her special eyes.
Something that couldn’t possibly fall within the realm of humanity.
There was no way she could forget such a thing.
So, it was only natural for Lucy to be interested in the current commotion about Black Fangs.
But....
“Another dead end...”
The face didn’t match at all with the real Black Fangs leader she saw.
Even considering the mask they wore, it was clear that the person currently wanted and the person she had seen back then were not the same.
While it wasn’t entirely impossible that the empire was mistaken, it was hard to believe that someone with such a unique soul wasn’t the leader of Black Fangs.
‘My measly salary.’
Even though she sacrificed her snack money to buy the newspaper, there was no useful information.
The empire’s newspapers were notorious for their heavy censorship. It was common for the content to be distorted.
Still, it used to be a good source of information if you filtered out the imperial praise and the nonsense.
Now that even this was blocked, it felt like she was facing a dead end.
‘Or is this a kind of harvest?’
In a way, deceiving the empire so thoroughly meant Black Fangs was an even more formidable organization than she thought.
...Well, whether that information was valuable was another matter entirely.
“Ha...”
Truthfully, she wanted to use an informant, but she had no money.
And not even enough time.
Even now, she should have been focusing on today’s tasks.
Tracking Black Fangs’s Trail
The act of tracking Black Fangs’s trail was impossible.
Lucy sighed in frustration but soon composed herself.
Today’s assignment was her favorite task.
Usually, the words “work” and “enjoy” don’t go together, but this was different.
Lucy quickly walked through the streets of the slum. This was her job as an apprentice knight.
She was tasked with finding street children and guiding them to the Holy Church’ sanctuary.
Saving people.
How could she not feel proud and fulfilled doing such work?
‘I really don’t get why the seniors hate this.’
Well, anyway, she wouldn’t want those rotten people to handle the crucial task of rescuing children.
It worked out perfectly for her.
‘Still not many in sight.’
It used to be that she would spot children needing rescue after just a bit of looking around.
Nowadays, such instances had significantly decreased.
Probably... thanks to Black Fangs.
Contrary to its ominous aura, Black Fangs was doing more humanitarian work than she thought.
The rumors about Black Fangs followers helping people wherever they went were true, as she had seen firsthand.
Thinking about this, Lucy recalled the words again.
-You think I wouldn’t know the things you’ve done?
-I know your vile true nature.
Words left by the leader of Black Fangs before leaving.
This was why Lucy kept fixating on Black Fangs. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand what those words meant.
Even though she told herself to ignore those incomprehensible ramblings, it was no use.
For some reason, those words kept bothering her.
She felt like she was missing something really important.
But....
“Hey, are you guys okay over there?”
Those distracting thoughts quickly vanished.
She had spotted two kids, probably siblings, in the distance.
The younger one seemed injured, as they were limping.
Her task was clear.
She pushed those strange words out of her mind and quickly moved to help the children.
...Little did she know, she would deeply regret this decision later.
*****
It felt good to look at the mansion after so long. It was only natural.
After all, this place was more or less our home now.
Living outside for a long time had left me exhausted.
Lately, my shoulder blades hurt inexplicably, so I quickly entered the mansion to rest.
And then... I encountered her.
With disheveled hair and dark circles under her eyes.
It was clear from her face that Miss Rubia was suffering from overwork.
“...Oh, welcome back! Did you have a good trip? Are you hurt anywhere?”
I couldn’t bring myself to complain about my aching shoulder blades.
I simply nodded solemnly and asked, “Are you okay, Miss Rubia?”
She looked beyond exhausted, as if she might collapse from overwork at any moment.
I gazed at her with concern.
But Miss Rubia, while skimming through the documents she held, assured me she was fine and began speaking.
Though her face was still tired, there was an extraordinary energy in her eyes.
She discussed various technical matters.
Miss Rubia reported on the progress of the potion business.
And as I listened, I couldn’t help but gape.
“If you give the word, we can start immediately.”
She had done it.
Honestly, I thought it would take at least six months, but while I was dealing with the relief center matters, she had finished all the preliminary work.
...She even managed to gather imperial intelligence while working?
I had to reassess Miss Rubia’s abilities.
I thought only Siel and Lien were exceptional, but Miss Rubia was also outstanding in her field.
Despite achieving such results, she didn’t seem satisfied, biting her thumbnail with a serious expression.
“We can start. We can start, but... it’s after we start that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean, the problem is after we start?”
I asked, and Miss Rubia replied with a gloomy face.
“No matter how I think about it, there’s no way to avoid an attack from the Holy Church.”
Hearing that, I understood the situation.
Indeed, there were limits to what Miss Rubia could do with preliminary contacts here and there.
In other places, you might be able to negotiate terms or, if that failed, use threats.
But that’s impossible with the Holy Church.
“We might have fooled the empire’s eyes this time, but as soon as we start this business, the Holy Church will try to kill us.”
Of course.
If potions were widely distributed, it would hit the Holy Church’ main source of income. They would try to stop us by any means.
No wonder Miss Rubia couldn’t come up with a solution despite racking her brain.
But...
A smile formed on my lips.
I felt a bit sorry for Miss Rubia, who had been working so hard alone. But with this, I could somehow solve the dilemma.
Let’s modify the original plan just a bit more radically.
I smiled brightly and said, “Instead of waiting to be attacked, why don’t we strike first?”
When I calmly suggested that, Miss Rubia’s face filled with shock.
I understood why.
The Holy Church essentially held the second most power after the empire.
A faith rooted not only in the empire but in all nations.
Due to this characteristic, it could even be said that their scale was larger than that of the empire.
But...
That makes it even more worth a try.
Relying on people’s faith means they are dependent on it.
When people’s trust and belief crumble, can the Holy Church maintain their power?
Well, even if they manage well, it wouldn’t matter.
As long as they couldn’t focus on hindering our business, that was enough.
So, let’s drop a bomb right on their home.
If their own house is burning down, they won’t have the leisure to check on competitors.
I told Miss Rubia to leave the rest to me and get some sleep, then quickly moved on.
Thinking about what would make the most suitable opening for a sniper video targeting the Holy Church, led by the hottest Black Fangs leader these days.
And...
It didn’t take long for me to come up with a fitting first line.
“I ask, for what purpose does the Holy Church exist, if they do not carry out the will of God?”
It was time to bury the Holy Church in the name of Black Fangs.
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