-Southern Ventoria: The Westside-

The solemn atmosphere that encapsulated the neighborhood was quite apparent.

Aurora and I found ourselves standing at a sideway that led into the main vicinity of modest houses placed in rows. Faint noises of a few kids playing could be heard from the small playground at our right. I looked around as I promptly locked eyes with a man, presumably one of the kids’ parents in an awkward exchange before Aurora spoke with a curious tone.

“This neighborhood does seem a bit beggared to be considered ‘middle-class’, no?”

“…Perhaps,” I muttered. “The abodes here are structured in rows, so that’ll make locating theirs a tad easier.”

“Strange how Byron hadn’t specified their house number…” she responded. “Let’s just ask around. I’m sure one of the pedestrians knows where they live.”

As she realized the two parents at the playground, she purposefully walked towards them with me following her trail.

“Excuse me, do you have a minute?”

The first one who turned around was the man I exchanged glances with moments earlier. He raised his eyebrows, as if he’d already foreseen our arrival.

“Oh, yes? What can I help you with?”

We both then fished a medal that was etched onto a leather fabric out of our pockets. They were essentially badges that confirmed our associated identities with Luria. A gold medal that portrayed a large, tower piercing the heavens.

“We are members of the Luria Assembly,” she began. “We’ve been given permission to investigate the recent murder case concerning Qlint and Quinby Dalley. Are you, by any chance, familiar with them?”

“Ah, yes… My wife is…” the man spoke with a disoriented tone. His wife, who was a good few steps away from us, raised her head as she held her child. Her smile slowly wavered as she could tell her husband needed her for something serious.

“…Could you come here for a second?” the man asked, prompting his wife to approach us.

“Yes, what is it?”

“They’re asking about the Dalley brothers.”

“Oh…” she stammered. “Ehm, right… I think their parents are still present. But, we saw a group of agents enter their house, and it hadn’t been until an hour or so before they departed from their place… So, I am assuming they’ve been dealing with a lot of questions already…”

I completely understood that.

It was only natural for them to be approached by numerous agents trying to get something out of their questioning phase. However, given Byron’s evident state of disarray, I could safely assume that none of the agents he sent were given an adequate solution.

It may have required some time for them to properly investigate the deaths of the brothers, which… seems logical, but, considering the “overarching case” of the abducted church members, it wouldn’t be bold to assume that the agents may have been given some kind of hint, or clue, as to how their deaths could have been tied to the abducted members case.

Because of how still and mild everything seemed, I thought something else could have been at play. It seemed that Byron’s agents hadn’t succeeded in finding that out yet. Presumably because of how strongly they believe that the abducted members' case was the only thing going on in Deneve…

Additionally, given that she’s displaying concern regarding their parents could potentially mean that she is very familiar with them, considering how… dense this neighborhood looks.

“That is not our intent,” I chimed in, spreading out my right palm in the air as if presenting an invisible map to guide my words. “We’re simply trying to get familiar with their parents, and sympathize with their loss. Despite the need for space to grieve, we find it important for this matter to be solved rather quickly, so that justice can be served.”

“…I understand,” the woman nodded, pointing north-eastwards, where a second row of houses stood in front of a sideway. “Their home number is seventeen. Right around that corner over there.”

“Thank you for your cooperation,” I said, smiling with closed lips.

“No problem,” she responded. “I wish the both of you the best of luck.”

As we made our way towards the other end of the neighborhood, Aurora chuckled with closed lips as she put her badge back in her pockets.

“Easier than I thought.”

“I assumed the people here are very close to each other given the density of this place. If it was something more vast, I could’ve guessed that they would rather protest against our intentions to give them some more time to grieve…

…More specifically, I can imagine that the people from the working and middle class would be more prone to protesting against the Zephyr assembly because of the association the Custody Agency has with our assembly.”

“Ah, makes sense,” she nodded. “In a way, this murder would give them further excuse to protest against the assembly.”

“Exactly. This could also mean that the circle of extremists may consist of mostly working to middle class individuals.”

We then arrived at the wooden front door that had the number “17” etched in the middle. With a deep sigh through her nose, Aurora spoke with a determined tone.

“Well, let’s see what their parents say. If they’ll open the doors for us that is.”

“…”

After several firm knocks, we could hear footsteps approaching the door, followed by the door slowly being pulled open…

…revealing a slender, middle-aged man with short, dishevelled blonde hair in a white blouse before us. His eyes seemed devoid of light, as if he had just shed all the tears he physically could shed, leaving only a shell of a face that was once full of life. His voice, on top of that, sounded haggard, accentuating his solemn appearance.

“…What is it?”

“Good day, sir,” I began with a respectful tone. “My name is Emon Moreau, and this is Aurora Jinton. We come from the Luria Assembly, and learned about the deaths of your children… We would like to display our condolences.”

“Another one from the assembly?” the man asked, slightly furrowing. The difference between our well-kept appearance and his was seemingly enough to convince him that we were indeed one of the “assembly people”.

“We’ve already had enough of the interrogation talks. I’d prefer you both to leave us alone…”

“…Yes, we were told that you both were already approached by a group of agents. However, I can assure you that we’re not here to interrogate you both any further. We simply want to know a bit more about the two brothers.”

Telling him that we didn’t come from the same assembly as Byron would only make things worse. I tried my hardest to not sound unnecessarily complicated in order to in-directly ask him to welcome us in his house.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

However, he still didn’t budge.

“Please… we’ve had enough. I don’t think I can speak my mind any more…”

I then noticed Aurora taking a quick gulp in nervousness. She then promptly glanced at me for a moment before I decided to push the boundaries.

“…I may have an assumption on how they were killed, sir.”

The man fell silent.

This alone was enough to convince me that the agents Byron sent here did nothing significant.

Assuming they used the abducted members' case as a blueprint, as well as how long that case had been going on… since the man probably hypothesized that we came from Zephyr, he must have thought that I came from a different standpoint, may it seemingly be a solution to the abducted members' case, or something else.

At that moment, the voice of a middle-aged woman resounded from within the hallway of the house.

“Who’s at the door, James?”

“N- nothing, it’s just… the investigation people again…”

The blonde haired woman stepped forward, gently pushing who seemed to be her husband aside.

“Hi, my name’s Preshea, and this is James. I haven’t seen your faces before. Are you both agents from the Zephyr Assembly?”

Hm…

…Now that we have to tell we’re from Luria, there’s no other choice but to ‘force’ our way in.

Before I could speak, Aurora thankfully took the word.

“We come from the Luria Assembly. This murder case was brought to our attention due to its apparent ties with the abducted church members. However, we surmise that there has been a different reason behind the deaths of your sons.”

With a relieved mind, knowing that Aurora was in the same mind as mine, I added with a confident, but respectful tone.

“We understand your sentiment. It seems unprofessional of us to push the limits of our boundaries. However, we are certain that justice will be served. It may happen quicker than expected, due to the suspicions we have regarding the church.”

Preshea slowly widened her eyes, speaking slowly.

“Oh… you… too?”

James then slowly muttered her name in concurrence, as she turned around, and fully pushed the door open.

“Please, follow us.”

After a quick exchange of glances between I and Aurora, we stepped our way inside, as James shut down the door behind us.

The house had a distinct, vintage-like smell that permeated throughout the entire place. Much reminiscent of weathered pages from an old book. The living room was quite spacious, with a large, circled table in the middle of it, surrounded by two large Chesterfield couches.

The table carried dozens of vintage-coloured photos of the deceased. Two young gentlemen with short blonde hair, their attires ranging from religious robes, modest shirts and coats, to blouses and flat hats. Some of them depicted the two hugging each other with bright smiles on their faces.

Aurora and I were the only ones standing after the parents took their seats at the table. Preshea took one of the photos in which the brothers were hugging each other and showed it to us.

“These are some photos we took of them just around a month ago… The one on the left is Qlint, whilst the one on the right is Quinby.”

I gently received the photo as Aurora watched along over my arm.

“How old were they?”

“Qlint was eighteen, and Quinby was nineteen,” James responded. “They share the same birthday… Next week was supposed to be a fete for the two.”

…So Joseph wasn’t lying. Therefore, it means he either is unaware of what is happening inside the Indoctrination division, or he attempts to play it off by hiding in plain sight…

“So, what did you mean with your suspicions regarding the church?” Preshea asked. I took a deep sigh as I placed the photo back on the table, perching my hands in the pockets of my coat.

“Have the both of you been aware of the radical course of events regarding their division? We came to learn that, about a month ago, the Indoctrination division started to grow an aggressive resentment against the Zephyr Assembly.

We assumed it may have grown to the point of a sum of them forming an extremist group. Has any of your sons ever mentioned something along the lines of this?”

James looked at his wife before answering.

“…Yes, they both have.”

…I’ll assume that Byron’s agents only asked for the specific details about the fact that occurred. They most likely didn’t bother considering their inner circle…

…Which might sound logical, since the abducted victims all came from Urdall’s church, but… it still seems a little ignorant.

Preshea then took the word.

“All we were told was that a friend of theirs had convinced a group of people to plan a large protest against the assembly because they found that the military force was incompetent in regards to the abducted church members.”

“We both found it understandable, for obvious reasons,” James added. “It has been more than two months with no progress from a governmental force that should have been able to fight against cases such as this one, so we never thought much of it until now.

If it weren’t for the abducted church members, we would assume that their deaths could be linked to this whole… extremist agenda. But, we don’t see any possible motive behind their murders, if we assume that they were killed by fellow church members. However, something inside me… tells me that there is something being hidden in the church.”

“What is the name of their friend?” I asked, squinting my eyes.

“Ah, ehm… what was it?” Preshea stammered as James added,

“I think his name was Alder. Alder Royden. He too was an acolyte of the Indoctrination division.”

“…Interesting,” I murmured. “Could I see the photo once more?”

“Of course,” Preshea answered, handing it to me. I began scrutinizing their faces, and it took me less than one second of glancing into both of their eyes to conclude that they were most likely people with righteous morals.

The two brothers were most likely forced to keep their mouths shut to prevent the plans of that specific group from being spread.

Joseph probably also doesn’t know about this extremist group, since he would otherwise foresee our knowledge regarding it by visiting their parents, which would undoubtedly leave him with no choice other than passively protest against us.

However, I must mention that Byron never specified what division Joseph comes from. Due to how Joseph already knew what division the brothers hailed from, it could mean that he comes from a higher division that has knowledge of most, if not all church members, besides considering he comes from the creed, even though their knowledge is often conflicting.

If he came from the Indoctrination division, he would state that they both came from his same division.

If we put these two things into consideration: Joseph being someone of a higher, or different division, and somehow knowing about members from a whole different division, as well as the two brothers most likely having been forced to keep their mouths shut…

…Judging by Joseph’s appearance, he is most likely an elder. Therefore, considering the rules of the church, he could have potentially prevent the extremist group from reaching their goals by notifying the creed, and not his own division, due to how much more power creed members hold over division members.

This means that their murder could have happened because the brothers were good-hearted people. Either Qlint, or Quinbey, or the both of them, planned on telling a parental figure within the church about Alder’s plans to prevent him from succeeding, which would probably result in unnecessary conflict between the church members and the Zephyr Assembly.

Additionally, Alder most likely decided to halt their operations to avoid suspicion after murdering the two brothers. I’m assuming he must have had a compelling reason as to why he would be okay with murdering two of his accomplices just to remain quiet about something as dull as this… considering it is all just about protesting… right?

I broke the silence that permeated the atmosphere after my moment of speculation.

“Is it fine if we visit you both on the next day? I’ll assume the church has some information we are lacking to confirm our suspicions, so we will be heading there shortly.”

“What suspicions may you have?” Preshea asked, standing up. “Do you really think they were murdered by the church members?”

“I don’t think so, no,” I responded firmly, handing her the photo. “However, I would like to sedate this suspicion by confirming contradicting proofs. It may be tied to the overarching case of the abducted members, but I will just need to be sure.”

I can’t tell them about this yet until I’ve confirmed it…

“…Okay, I understand,” she muttered. “We will both be here, so feel free to visit us whenever.”

“Thank you. Also, I wish you both the utmost strength during this difficult time… Once more, you have our condolences.”

***

After we handed our goodbyes, we made our way out of the house, as I closed the front door behind me.

Back inside her car, Aurora sighed deeply before querying me.

“So you’re suspecting the church after all?”

“I think I do, yes. We should head back to Luria and tell Zaccheus we won’t be available for some time. If you’d like to stay with me on this issue that is.”

“Of course,” she smiled. “I’m sticking with you until the end, Emon. Don’t you worry about it.”

“Thank you… We’ll have to pass by my office really quickly. Seems like I forgot my Church’s Crest there.”

“Really? For the duration of the entire holiday?”

“Yes,” I chuckled nervously. “I haven’t visited the church in a while, so it doesn’t matter much.”

With a determined mind, Aurora started the car and began driving out of the neighbourhood on our way back to the Cellar.