9. Showing Off a Big Knife in Front of Guan Gong

After a brief encounter with Ikusis, we hurriedly left. After all, on the surface, we had little connection to the Saintess. Now that we had discovered the “depths” of the church where she resided, I didn’t want Ikusis to unwittingly walk toward the tragic ending scripted for her.

Next, Kephiel and I planned to follow the “original plan” given to us by the queen, pretending not to know the Saintess and merely coming to the church to receive her “blessing.” As a member of the royal family of the Great Ying Empire, Kephiel naturally enjoyed the accommodation services provided by the church. However, when it came to room arrangements…

Having three people together was too suspicious; if it were just me and Kephiel, who knew what Nilu would be up to in secret; and if it were just me and Nilu, it was obvious that Kephiel would never agree. So in the end, it turned into Kephiel and Nilu sharing a room, while I was assigned a separate room by the lovely nun sisters in the church.

After repeatedly reminding the two of them not to argue while I was away, I followed the presence of the church’s maids—known as the “housekeeping nuns”—to my quarters. Although the Saintess Ikusis was a clueless fool, at least the church maintained a normal order, and the servants were all working as usual.

“This is the room prepared for you. Please do not wander around the holy grounds of the church. For any requests, please ring the bell, and the housekeeping nuns will come to listen and assist.”

Beneath their black robes and headscarves, the nuns spoke in a somewhat cold tone. After giving their emotionless instructions, they left promptly, without doing anything like “slipping in a little note.” I had heard that while the Order Church did not oppose marriage, all clergy members were required to maintain a pure single status, and it seemed that was indeed the case.

Closing the door and surveying my surroundings, the only thing that stood out in the monotonous room was the exquisitely carved, lifelike statue of the goddess on the table, referred to by the church’s faithful as the—Goddess of Order. However, according to Ikusis…

“Goddess? What goddess? I’ve never heard a goddess say anything to me! All my prophecies are my own abilities!”

Even the Saintess Ikusis was not well-acquainted with this goddess, yet the Goddess of Order had a clear description and image within the church. It was only after coming to the church that I could truly appreciate: the depths here were indeed profound. Moreover, the script… remained so vague.

[Ikusis is sabotaged by a mysterious organization within the church!]

The death script of that foolish fairy had not changed due to our presence; instead, we, who had rushed over, were entangled in this dangerous narrative.

[Ogilith is killed by a mysterious organization.]

For me, death felt just around the corner.

It was as if… it could happen at any moment.

The next moment, a knock sounded at the door. I hadn’t even had the chance to check the “safety” of this room according to the queen’s instructions before someone had already come knocking.

I wondered if Kephiel and Nilu had started arguing again and had come to me. But when I opened the door, I found that things seemed to be a bit more “complicated” than I had thought.

“We are the clergy of the church.”

The ones seeking me were not the glaring Kephiel and Nilu, but a group of burly men dressed in the attire of church clergy. Even in their loose clothing, I could still see just how “muscular” their arms and legs were. It looked less like a greeting and more like they were looking for trouble.

After all, not only were their attitudes serious, but even the words they spoke did not seem like they were here to refuse me.

“Her Holiness wishes to see you. Please come with us.”

“Who are you?”

“Why ask so many questions! We already said Her Holiness wants to see you!”

I casually asked a question, and in return, I received an impatient threat. The current situation made it clear that I had no choice, and… the attire and timing of these individuals indeed indicated they were members of the Church, so my intentions were obvious.

“I understand. Lead the way.”

I didn’t hesitate and immediately left the room under the throng of these people, or rather, their “encirclement.” Compared to that foolish Saint Icusis, these clergy members in front of me surely knew more about the Church’s situation.

Thinking of this, I immediately asked.

“Hey, if Her Holiness is busy with prophecies all day, she shouldn’t have time to manage the Church. So who is managing the Church now to keep it from descending into chaos?”

“Ask…”

The burly man who had just threatened me initially wanted to respond impatiently, but after being subtly restrained by his companions, he begrudgingly answered, “There are other higher-ups within the Church managing things.”

“Who are these higher-ups? We came from the Great Yīng Empire, and theoretically, we should meet the Church’s administrators first.”

“Those big shots don’t have time to meet you!”

“Then surely you can at least give us a name? You must know, right? We plan to send some gifts in the name of the Great Yīng Empire to express our gratitude for the Church’s long-standing cooperation with us…”

“Shut up!”

I wanted to say more, but the leading clergy member was getting increasingly irritated with me. “Shut your mouth and come with us! Why ask so many questions!?”

After he thought he had intimidated me with a shout, he quickened his pace, seemingly eager to take me somewhere. However, while the idea was good, the execution… was a bit too straightforward.

“Of course, I have to ask.”

Sighing, surrounded by these burly men, I said, “After all, I need to know your identities, and… the identity of the person who ordered you to do all this, right?”

Unfortunately, it seemed that these clergy members had good defensive awareness. Despite my many questions, they hadn’t revealed a single key detail, and naturally, the script offered no new content.

In that case, I would have to find another way.

“W-What did you say!?”

Have they finally noticed my abnormality? The man who was just feeling triumphant turned his head in surprise. “W-Well, whatever you want to ask, you can do so after you meet the Saintess! I don’t have time to answer you right now!”

“Stop lying.”

Even if I meet the Saintess, you won’t tell me anything. Besides, I just saw the Saintess; that foolish fairy wouldn’t bother me repeatedly.

More importantly…

“The premise is, you really are taking me to see the Saintess, right?”

Unknowingly, my compliant actions had made these people lower their guard. Thanks to this, I quietly slipped to the back of the line without them noticing.

At this moment, I took another step back, creating more distance between us.

By now, we had long left the interior of the temple, moving into the shaded paths deeper within, which were mostly for the residence and work of other temple personnel. And this… clearly wasn’t the way to find the Saintess, after all, that foolish Saintess had always been lounging around in the temple, enjoying herself.

So, everything I had just encountered was not hard to explain.

【Ogilvy was taken away by members of a mysterious organization.】

The script appeared, and I lowered my voice.

In this world, there are basically no one who can deceive me, let alone you minor villains who don’t even want to give your script a name.

“Speak up, what is your master’s purpose in targeting us?”