In the dead of night, the violent rain outside the window finally began to lose its momentum.
The crashing sounds against the window became a soft rustle.
Other than that, there was no movement in the room.
The candle had long gone out.
The silver-haired girl lay on her side on the bed, her body occasionally rising and falling with faint breaths, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.
At the edge of the bed, Finn was resting on a floor pallet.
He tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
As a transmigrator, he already knew that the Demon King would eventually return one day.
The various anomalies in Novalis might have become routine for the locals of Eseriel, who would simply dismiss them as yet another mundane demon cultist activity.
But Finn, standing from a god’s perspective, was painfully aware that this could very well be the precursor to the Demon King’s arrival…
Though all he really had over others was the pathetic scrap of information that the Demon King would soon return to the continent…
Investigating a case where he already knew who the culprit was sounded simple enough on the surface.
But Finn knew in his heart that this was no easy task of simply following a pre-written answer.
The reason was simple: the Church operated in the light, while the Demon King operated in the shadows.
Even if he knew their goals, without rooting them out one by one, it was still an unsolvable open strategy.
If the previous storyline had been no different from him replaying a second playthrough of the first playthrough…
Then ever since Elena transformed, everything had become a completely new version that the original work never covered.
This sense of uncertainty from losing control over things made him feel very uneasy.
It was like experiencing a sequel to a game that no one else could play in advance.
One where his life was on the line, and he had to clear it in one go.
Strictly speaking, as a hero summoned by the Goddess, a script of saving the world wasn’t exactly unusual.
But the most fatal thing was, because of this world’s rule that gods cannot “directly” interfere with the mortal realm, the Goddess couldn’t give Finn too many “cheats.”
In the Goddess’s own words: “The Heavenly Dao allows gods to take back moves on this chessboard, or add an extra piece or two; but it does not allow gods to directly flip the table.”
In the three years since he arrived in this world, he had worked hard to adapt to life.
It took him about a year just to participate in the knight selection, and another two years to get close to Elian…
So compared to the people of this world, all he had was superior magical talent and a little bit more information.
He knew the Goddess had chosen the safest approach—according to the prophecy, she was betting everything on Elena.
After all, prophecies couldn’t be wrong.
Elena was the fated one destined to save the world.
According to the Goddess’s arrangement, he only needed to be a good support, get Elena back on her feet, and then wait for the big carry to finish the job.
Thinking this, Finn turned over, lifting his head slightly to get a better look at Elena, who was lying on her side.
In the darkness, with only faint moonlight filtering through, he could only make out her blurred silhouette.
This once tall figure had become so small and frail.
Life had not been kind to the former youth.
In terms of magic, it had not given that sincere young man any blessings—it had even made him a laughingstock among his peers.
But back then, he at least still had the companionship of his loved ones.
Yet after that, he wasn’t even worthy of having that one thing—the care of his family.
Now, the girl’s future was surely going to be rough… because the prophecy had mercilessly marked her as the savior, and the Goddess had placed the hopes of the entire world on her shoulders alone…
Putting the weight of the world on her like that… as if it were only natural…
That was unfair to Elena, wasn’t it?
He wanted to face it with her.
That was why Finn had been working hard to improve himself, to adapt to life in this other world.
He learned magic from the paladins, learned swordsmanship from Elian.
He had gone from a completely clueless ordinary person to a truly qualified knight—all so that in the future, he would have the right to stand by Elena’s side and resist the Demon King together.
These changes were things that the former shut-in, the slacker office worker who just muddled through life, would never have dared to imagine.
Now, the day was drawing closer.
He so desperately wished he could help her.
He wanted her to get a good ending.
“Finn… are you asleep…?”
The girl’s cautious whisper came from the darkness.
“No…”
“What are you thinking about?”
“After all, it’s our first night in Novalis… I’m a little sleepless.”
He couldn’t exactly say he was thinking about her, could he?
“If I’m not mistaken… the case in Novalis isn’t simply a matter of demon cultist riots, is it?”
The girl sat up from the bed and used magic to light the lantern.
Finn saw the knowing expression on her face in the dim light.
“Behind all these incidents… there must be tacit approval from the local authorities… or even their endorsement, right?”
As expected of the chosen “savior.”
Even though he hadn’t shared much of his conversation with the Pope, Elena had still guessed almost correctly.
“Otherwise, under normal circumstances… the Church’s investigation team would have made some headway on the case within half a year. How could there be no progress at all?”
“Very perceptive… Elena.”
Hearing the compliment, a faint blush seemed to appear on Elena’s face, but it quickly faded.
“Your guess matches the Pope’s.”
“The situation in Novalis is indeed very bad… The local authorities have remained incredibly silent on this matter.”
Finn helped analyze the situation before them.
“You can see it from the fact that the miners of Chris Mine organized their own investigation… and many residents have even come to the church seeking refuge…”
“It seems they’ve made some kind of deal with the killer.”
“Most people in the Holy Capital don’t even know about any of this…”
Elena added with some concern.
This was true. In the game, there had been no text description of “Novalis” or “Mysterious Case” at all.
If the Pope hadn’t mentioned it, they would never have known about this matter.
“And that’s not all—think about it… The Pope has a perfectly good Knight Order. Why did he send us to investigate in secret?”
The surprise and confusion on the girl’s face deepened.
“The Knight Order has a mole.”
Finn snorted coldly.
He had been just as shocked when he heard the news.
Who would have thought that those remnants, whom the world believed could never rise again… had actually planted a spy right under the Church’s nose?
He’d been in too much of a hurry before leaving to pay attention.
Once he returned to the Holy Capital, he would have to thoroughly investigate his good colleagues… and see who had something to hide.
“Speaking of which… the Pope told us to find Lucas. Who is he?”
“There’s good news and bad news…”
Finn sighed.
“The good news is, the Pope said that as his former junior, Lucas can be trusted.”
“He can offer us shelter, give us cover identities as church personnel, and help us hide our traces in Novalis.”
“And the bad news?”
Elena nodded.
Two out-of-towners spending all their time sightseeing at local attractions and boldly strolling through the streets and alleys to investigate would be far too conspicuous.
“The bad news is… that might be the only help he can offer for now. If you’re expecting him to fully support us… that’s a luxury, at least for now.”
“Lucas is neutral… both in his attitude toward the Church and in his attitude toward Novalis’s independence.”
‘So Lucas is a non-stick pan, huh…’
“I have to criticize him… Compared to a saint like you, he doesn’t seem to have much sense of responsibility—”
Finn clicked his tongue, his tone returning to its usual playfulness.
“As one of the local influential leaders, he seems to be avoiding things… very afraid of trouble finding him.”
“S-saint…?”
As expected, Elena was startled by his words again.
“Th-that’s too much! F-Finn…”
“I wouldn’t dare…”
She muttered softly.
So… Finn had always seen me that way…
At least he didn’t think of me as a pervert who peeked at his body…
A weight had finally been lifted from her heart.
The girl then scratched her head sheepishly.
She had never felt this way before… but now, she felt embarrassed every time she heard praise.
“Still, we have to find a way to win Lucas over, to gain the support of the Sacred Heart Church…”
“Otherwise, our investigation here won’t progress any differently from the previous knights…”
“It’s okay… At least now… the enemy is in the shadows, and we are too…”
Elena comforted him.
The girl gazed at the lantern.
As the only source of light in the room, the light element activated within silently illuminated the darkness—even if only a small area.
Even in the depths of darkness, it stubbornly resisted.
“This chess game… is still fair.”
There was still hope.
“Everything will be fine…”
The girl murmured softly.
Elena clenched her fist and waved it at Finn in a very girlish way, as if cheering him on.
The light… would surely come…
A flame of hope burst forth in her pupils.
—
Almost at the same time, the candle in the priest’s room flickered restlessly.
Lucas leaned against the sofa.
He hadn’t slept, though his expression was already haggard.
Clearly, the arrival of the two had kept him up all night.
He had thought the Church’s investigation team had stopped their activities… that they had just given up…
“That Leor guy… he really couldn’t sit still…”
Although he joked like this, the man’s furrowed brow didn’t relax in the slightest.
“So he hasn’t given up on Novalis after all…”
The situation in Novalis from now on… would surely become even more chaotic…
Lucas sighed.
Whether it was his old senior or the local wealthy merchants and politicians…
Their goals were all the same.
They had all come to demand an attitude from him…
They were trying to win him over, expecting him to show his stance, to pick a side.
Lucas got up from the sofa and paced restlessly around the room.
“Why me again…? Why do I have to take a stand again?”
The priest grumbled like a young boy.
“It was like this thirty-six years ago… and now it’s the same…”
After a moment of contemplation, he opened his bedside drawer.
Inside was an exquisite little black box.
Opening the box, a silver ring lay quietly inside.
It was his engagement ring.
An had one just like it.
This ring was from over thirty years ago.
It had seen him through that chaotic era and had been his spiritual support, sustaining him until now.
It was one of the few connections he had left to that girl.
Whenever he encountered trouble, the priest would open the box and stare blankly at the ring.
He repeated this meaningless gesture over and over again, as if it could bring him comfort.
“Goddess above… May the Holy Light be with us…”
After staring blankly at the ring for a long time, Lucas finally uttered these words helplessly.
“Goddess above.”
“May the Holy Light bless you and me.”
These were the words Lucas repeated most often since becoming a priest.
He was a brilliant yet pitiful liar.
Even though his own faith was no longer firm, he still used these grand yet hollow lies to numb his believers, and even tricked himself with this rhetoric.
He didn’t want to experience that heart-wrenching pain from the past again.
Indeed… He might as well stay on the sidelines…
Getting involved in something like this… was too dangerous.
In the end, he was just a rat who never saw the light of day, timid and cautious, afraid that even a single memory from the past would catch up to him—that was his eternal pain.
“I really can’t do anything, can I… An.”
Whether in the past… or now that he was a priest…
He hadn’t improved at all…
If he didn’t fight back, some people would become sacrifices in the exchange of interests. Lucas knew this.
“But even if I fight back… how can I defeat them, defeat the deeply rooted ideas of Novalis…”
He thought of Martha, of the clergy in his church, of the believers seeking refuge in his church.
Not to mention the possibility of even more innocent people… being dragged into this conflict…
He had learned enough from what happened back then.
Back then, he had gotten too close to people involved in the “independence or not” conflict…
That was why An had argued with him.
Lucas ran his calloused fingers over the silver ring again.
Although he hadn’t directly participated in that unrest…
Thirty-six years ago, he had still failed to protect that girl during that chaos.
The girl he had sworn to protect with his life… her beautiful life—had withered away before his eyes, so suddenly.
This time… he didn’t want a second An to appear…
Yes…
This time, he didn’t need to do anything…
Let the Church and Novalis… and the Demon King’s grudges—let them fight it out among themselves…
Don’t drag any more people into it…
Lucas looked out the window.
The pitch-black night was faintly showing signs of light.
It wouldn’t be long before dawn.
The priest closed his eyes, waiting for the conversation he would have with those two strangers in a while.
He also waited for morning to come, for sunlight to fill the room.
Just wait… just endure…
The light would naturally arrive.
And when it did.
Nothing would happen.