...
I stare at the mountains, resting my arm on the railings.
I've been pondering the information I got for the entire night. I see no similarities and thus no conclusion.
"Hah..." I sigh.
"Why the long face?" Audrey shows up beside me with a wrap of bread. She hands me the bread.
I push her hand away, rejecting it. "Nothing. Something was on my mind. How did your questioning go?"
Audrey shakes her head. "Nothing useful."
The BOV was called to Clamore to investigate a series of missing people, mostly young girls and boys.
Some speculated that a hidden dungeon opened somewhere, leading to the disappearance of the children when they stumbled upon the vicinity.
I've been helping them with their investigation but to no avail.
Suddenly, a young boy wearing a ragged brown shirt and pants runs up to me and Audrey. His entire face is bruised purple and his arms with cuts and burns.
??
"H-Help..." He says weakly.
Audrey crouches to the boy and asks "W-What's wrong?"
The boy anxiously points behind. "Save me...please."
I look in the direction he points to find two men in white robes running to us. They are followers of The Church of Axis.
They immediately stop when they see us.
Audrey stands up and glares at them. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Uh..." they glance at each other and back to Audrey. "It wasn't done by us. That child was fighting one of his peers and escaped."
...
The Church of Axis has a policy that forbids the offspring of followers to communicate with the outside world. They must receive education from the organisation and be raised until their coming of age. In addition, the followers must wear a white robe whenever they leave the church premise.
In all honesty, I respect their religion and beliefs but the institution seems more like a prison.
The child hides behind my legs. I squat down to the child and point at his arms. "What are these?" I ask.
"Cuts? He was climbing through sharp bushes and whatnot." One of them replies.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
The child grips my arm and shakes his head. "No...they are lying," he whispers.
The followers click their tongues. "Sir and ma'am...the words of a troublemaker cannot be taken seriously. Hand him back, we will handle him."
"No!" the child cries out. His body trembling.
"There he goes again. Officers, listen, he is an incredibly cunning boy. All of this is an act." one of the followers says.
Audrey stares at the followers. She doesn't know who to believe when either side has no proof.
...
I scratch my hair and examine the wound on his arm. "This can't be simple cuts from bushes," I say.
?!
I show Audrey the child's arm. "The cuts are too evenly wrapped at a constant width. It's a whip."
!!!!!!!
Audrey drops her jaw. She grabs both of the follower's collars. "You!"
...
"Tch..."
The followers both take out something from their robes and secretly hand them to me and Audrey. It's a storage ring.
"100,000 gold inside. Hand him over," they say.
Veins pop up on Audrey's face as she furrows her brow and contorts with rage. With pure strength, she crushes the storage ring and throws it back to the followers. Within a second, she swoops behind both followers and sweeps both of them off the ground, throwing them down before apprehending them. A few people gathered and formed a circle from the commotion.
"Arsto, do you mind taking the kid to Melissa? I will handle these two."
I nod. "Sure."
I hold the child's tiny hand and guide him across the city.
When far enough, I slow down my pace.
"That's enough, drop the facade," I say.
...
The child sighs. "One kind can recognise another."
"What's your true objective?"
...
"To report The Church of Axis." the child says. His naivety and weak look from before are completely replaced by a rigid and stern persona.
He stops walking and pulls up his shirt. More cuts, bruises, and burns spray his torso.
"These are not fake; I am not a masochist." He gazes at me eye to eye. "I may be a troublemaker but the others are good-natured and kind. Please...save them." He bows down.
...
"Alright, but first, let's get you to safety," I reply.
This is a good opportunity. I can save the children and hit The Church of Axis with this.
We return to the inn and reported what happened to Melissa. She immediately bursts into a rage upon hearing the atrocious acts.
An officer wraps the child in a towel and does first aid to his wound. Melissa brings me outside, leaving the nurse officer and child alone.
"What are we going to do?" I ask Melissa.
She clicks her tongue and rubs her forehead. "..."
...
"Unfortunately, we can't do anything for now. We don't have a warrant to enter their private property. In addition, we still have the investigation."
I presented Melissa with a storage ring given by the follower. "What if, both the missing people and The Church of Axis are related?"
!
"They tried to bribe me and Audrey as if there is something they desperately want to hide," I say.
Melissa manages to catch on to what I implied. She has a hunch that the local government might attempt to help The Church of Axis hide their wrongdoings. Illegal trespassing on the property can yield detrimental punishments if we cannot find any conclusive evidence of a crime.
"The local authorities will stop us from forcefully entering the church. For now, we cannot do anything..." Melissa says, her fist clenched.
--------------------
Main Mission completed.
+500,000 exp
Level up!
167->168
+2 free stats
--------------------
--------------------
A Main Mission has been created.
Invade The Church of Axis.
Reward:???
Penalty:???
---------------------
...
"Melissa, how long do you need to get a warrant?" I ask.
"At least a day."
I smile. "I have a plan to distract the local authorities. I will leave invading the church to you."
Melissa raises her brow. "You are not going to do anything weird...right?"
I scratch my head. "I suppose? The cue will be loud and huge. You will get it when the time comes." I say and left the inn.
"Loud and huge?"
Melissa stands in the middle of the corridor, bewildered.
"What?"