Gospel of Blood-Chapter 596 : "Coincidence"

At the border of District Eight and Nine of the Holy City, the Red Top Tavern.

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Ever since the “Cleric Betrayal” incident, the entire Holy City has been shrouded in a strange atmosphere, with less festive cheer and more repression and tension.

However, for a tavern where commoners come to chat and relax in their spare time, business remained bustling.

The rebellion involved the clergy, and the chaos was in the church, but ordinary people’s lives went on as usual.

The patrons drank their watered-down, poor-quality ale while chatting and bragging about their various experiences.

In the past two days, the hottest topic in the taverns of District Eight was undoubtedly the purge of heretics in the neighboring District Nine.

“Hey, did you hear? That Gray Swan orphanage in District Nine was raided by the Inquisition!”

A drunken patron said.

“The Gray Swan? Isn’t that the church’s own orphanage? I remember the headmaster was a young priest, with Judgment Knights backing them.”

Another patron widened his eyes.

“They say they were involved in heresy.”

“Heresy? That’s impossible! I heard the headmaster there is a devout believer who gives out free bread to the poor kids nearby every day. Their good deeds were even known in the Holy City.”

“That’s exactly the problem! Think about it, it’s just a small church orphanage! Many orphanages struggle to sustain themselves, so where did they get the funds to care for others? It couldn’t be the priest’s own money, right?”

“You mean…”

“Of course, there was a secret financial backer! A real orphanage wouldn’t have that much money! It’s because it wasn’t a real orphanage but a heretic’s den, so they had the funds to keep it running and used charity as a cover!”

“Oh! That’s terrifying! These heretics are despicable, using innocent children as a shield!”

“Innocent children? Ha! They say the kids there were trained by the cult from a young age, becoming terrifying assassins who kill without hesitation!”

“Heavens! That’s horrifying! What happened next?”

“Of course, the raid was successful! They sent in Judgment Knights. No matter how formidable the heretics were, they were no match for the knights!”

“Praise the Holy! I hope all these heretics are sent to the stake to receive holy judgment! By the way, did they catch the evil headmaster?”

“Of course, that witch who could sway people’s minds was arrested on the spot. The commotion was so big that it angered the Inquisition, and I hear she will be paraded and executed tomorrow!”

“Fantastic! Where will it be? I must go and throw some stones!”

“…”

The patrons fervently discussed the “rebellion” in District Nine, and after talking about the trial of the heretics, the conversation quickly shifted to the public parading and execution of witches.

In a corner of the tavern, at a small table.

A robed mage apprentice and a tall knight squire sat across from each other, listening to the patrons’ chatter.

“Tsk, even after hundreds of years, the way the Church handles heretic witches hasn’t changed.”

The mage apprentice scoffed, taking a sip of the ale on the table.

But soon, he spat it out.

“Ugh, bleh, bleh—! This is more water with a hint of ale! I’ve never had such terrible ale in my life!”

The knight squire, however, remained composed.

He elegantly drank his ale in one gulp, starkly contrasting his tall and imposing figure.

“You’re just used to royal tribute wines. For commoners, this ale is already quite good. It was the same in the taverns under the Rose Society.”

The knight squire said.

The mage apprentice and knight squire were, of course, the disguised Nice and Sebastian as they were investigating.

Both were mages with high magical prowess, and a little disguise magic was a simple task.

After receiving the investigation task from Charlotte, the two had been secretly tracking the movements of the Sun Temple.

Initially, they investigated quietly within the Holy Palace, but the heavy guards and numerous eyes watching Charlotte and the others forced them to leave the Holy Palace and disguise themselves to approach from other angles.

Fortunately, the recent “miracle” seemed to have made a significant impact, and the high echelons of the Holy Court realized the existence of the Sun Temple. In the past few days, the Holy Court had been purging “heretics” within the Holy City.

This gave the two many leads and channels to follow.

By trailing behind the Holy Court, they traced the heretics’ trails to investigate the secrets of the Sun Temple.

Over the past few days, they acted separately, using the holy power “bestowed” by Charlotte to disguise themselves as clerics to infiltrate the Inquisition holding the heretics, as foreign nobles to delve into secret salons and local community gatherings, and even as adventurers to join the underground black market and intelligence exchanges.

After much effort, they had made some progress.

Today was their scheduled day to exchange information and analyze their findings.

“It can now be almost confirmed that the internal purge of the Sun followers within the church is likely connected to the Sun Temple itself. It seems there is some internal conflict within the Sun Temple. Perhaps the arrival of our master prompted the higher-ups to sacrifice some believers to avoid exposure.”

After ensuring the soundproofing magic was intact, Sebastian spoke.

“No, it’s more than that. It might also be related to the danger sensed by the True… well, that person. I’m most familiar with the tactics of secret cults. At critical moments, they wouldn’t turn on their own unless some special change forced them to.”

Nice shook his head, saying.

“Special change? Then it can only be the miracle induced by Master. The black market has been bustling with activity these days. I found that someone is purchasing extraordinary blood and various extraordinary materials on a large scale, with the church’s shadow behind these transactions. It might also be related to the Sun Temple.”

Sebastian said.

“Extraordinary blood? Could it be for the imprisoned bloodbornes?”

“Very likely. The transaction volume is particularly large, and there’s another extraordinary material with a large trade volume: black bane grass.”

“Black bane grass? Wait… isn’t that the crazy Blood Demon Cult’s favorite to induce blood frenzy? It’s said to temporarily activate a bloodborne’s bloodline, reverting them to ancestral states… Why are they buying that stuff? Are they trying to make the bloodbornes go berserk? Have you reported this to that person?”

“Not yet. I’m still tracking where the black bane grass is going. After investigating some involved clerics and church knights, I found that the source seems to point to the District Nine Inquisition. This is the nearest tavern to the District Nine Inquisition, so I arranged to meet you here.”

Sebastian said.

“Wait… Are you saying the District Nine Inquisition is your next investigation target?”

Nice was astonished.

Sebastian had a sudden thought.

“What? You too?”

“Yes, the Chief Judge of the Theocracy is part of the Sun Temple, and it’s very likely that the Inquisition is also connected to them. This time, they are leading the capture of heretics, so I’ve been secretly investigating the

Inquisition. Through my investigation, I found that many of the captured heretics had previously worked at the District Nine Inquisition. So… the District Nine Inquisition is also my next investigation target.”

“Such a coincidence?”

“It is indeed a coincidence.”

Sebastian and Nice looked at each other, their expressions growing serious.

In this world, there aren’t so many true coincidences. All coincidences are, in essence, a form of destiny.

“It seems… perhaps the District Nine Inquisition is indeed our real target. The truth our master seeks might be there. Now that I think about it, the wisdom artifact suggested we start our investigation from the outermost districts of the Holy City. Perhaps… it already knew some information.”

Sebastian pondered.

“Haha, I’ve always felt that artifact was a bit strange. I’ve been in the Holy Court for so long and never heard of Guardian Scepter, but Lady Charlotte seems to trust it quite a bit.”

Nice said.

“No, not necessarily. I don’t think our master fully trusts the artifact. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been sent alone to investigate the threat he sensed. She likely hasn’t even told the artifact about the threat.”

Sebastian mused.

“It seems we’ll need to remind Lady Charlotte during our next report. Though, our master surely knows more than we do. The wisdom artifact might be hiding something, but at least… it isn’t an enemy.”

Nice said.

As the two discussed and finalized their plan of action, the tavern door suddenly burst open. A raggedly dressed, terrified little girl stumbled in.

She looked about twelve or thirteen, thin, and clutching a ring cross necklace. Her body trembled uncontrollably.

The noisy tavern fell silent instantly, only to erupt in even louder commotion shortly after.

“Oh! Whose child is this? Why’d she come to a place like this?”

“Hahaha, little one, this is where adults drink. Did you get lost?”

“Quite a cute one. Come over and pour your uncle a drink, and I’ll give you a candy!”

“Enough, Andrew! She’s just a child! Little one, where’s your mom? Are you lost?”

“Hey? That outfit… looks like she’s from a church orphanage?”

All eyes in the tavern turned to the little girl.

Some rough patrons even whistled, while most were simply curious about the girl and scorned those who harassed her.

The girl looked terrified and lost in the smoky tavern, but she didn’t leave.

She bit her lip and walked further inside, scanning the hall as if searching for something, even though she was trembling with fear.

In the corner, the two men who had been discussing stopped and turned their attention to her.

When they focused on the girl, they froze simultaneously and then exchanged suspicious glances.

“Hey, Sebastian, did you sense that?”

Nice’s eyes were fixed on the girl.

“If you mean her aura… of course, I sensed it. I’m not an idiot.”

Sebastian squinted at the girl.

“So it wasn’t just me. She has a similar holy power to ours.”

Nice said.

At that moment, the tavern door was violently pushed open again.

The wooden door slammed against the wall with a loud crash, startling the nearby patrons.

“Who is it?! Can’t you be more careful?!”

“Damn it! Sons of bitches!”

The patrons cursed and turned angry glares towards the door.

But the next moment, they all fell silent.

It wasn’t just anyone who entered, but several tall, fully armed Judgment Knights.

The patrons who had been cursing quickly shut their mouths, and the drunkards instantly sobered up.

Those who had just been mocking the Inquisition looked terrified.

“Jud… Judgment Knights, welcome to our humble tavern. Would you… would you like a drink?”

The tavern owner wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, trying to maintain his composure.

The Judgment Knights didn’t even glance at the patrons.

They looked around sternly, and their gazes finally fell on the nervous tavern owner.

“Was there a little girl who just came in here?”

The leading Judgment Knight asked.

“A… a little girl?”

The tavern owner was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded.

“Ah, yes… yes, there was one. She was… huh? Where is she?”

The tavern owner pointed to where the girl had been standing.

But the girl was no longer there.