Chapter 70: Bang Bang Bang Bang (4k)

The icy grip of fear pierced every single nerve in Bafister’s body.

He forcibly suppressed the terror in his heart, a guttural sound escaping his throat as the silk pajamas on his back were already soaked through with cold sweat, clinging stickily to his skin.

Yet even so, Bafister straightened his plump frame, trying to muster a trace of a lord’s dignity, though his voice was dry and rasping like sandpaper:

“This… this esteemed Inquisitorial Priest,” he managed to swallow with difficulty, “visiting my humble abode in the dead of night… may I ask what brings you here?”

As a lord, the very last group Bafister wanted to deal with were these religious lunatics before him.

Those thudding sounds outside just now were probably this person dealing with his guards…

So why in blazes would the Holy Tribunal come looking for him?

It couldn’t be for that little demon again, could it?

But a group had already come this morning!

Standing before Bafister now, hidden in the shadow of her hood, was Letia.

Her face was covered by a cheap, expressionless mask, her voice filtering through it deliberately flat and monotone, like a synthesized sound from a machine, attempting to erase any personal traits.

Though there was only her, a single Inquisitorial Priest in Nightbright Town, so it probably didn’t make much difference.

“To find someone.”

Letia produced a recording crystal, projecting Tessaia’s image.

“This…”

Bafister felt numb all over.

He just wanted to satisfy a bit of curiosity, to taste what a demon was like, so how did he attract one wave after another of such deadly trouble?

“The person you’re looking for has already been taken by someone else.”

Hearing this, Letia frowned slightly.

She sized up the lord before her.

Didn’t seem like he was lying, and probably didn’t have the guts to.

Although he was an adventurer and decently strong, before her he couldn’t make any waves.

That was why he looked so terrified upon seeing her.

The deeper one explored the dungeon, the stronger one became.

She had at least conquered the twenty-third level; as for him… at best he could barely scrape by on the early levels.

After observing him for a moment, Letia continued her questioning.

“Who took her?”

She couldn’t be sure he was telling the truth, so she had to ask thoroughly.

And later, she’d need to search the place from top to bottom.

“The White Church people.”

Letia froze for a moment at that answer.

Could it have been the White Church delegation that came to Nightbright Town?

This suspicion flashed through her mind.

If it was that group of White Church elites stationed in Nightbright who took Tessaia away…

Why?

Letia couldn’t make sense of it.

Why would the White Church—especially the Light aspect represented by Litt—take away a demon girl who had nothing to do with them?

The act itself was riddled with contradictions.

Cold thoughts churned swiftly in her mind, untangling threads.

After a long moment’s contemplation, Letia arrived at one possibility.

Could it be the main character Litt herself acted?

After all, in the original script, Litt always left the impression of a supremely kind nun, observing from the shadows.

Perhaps she noticed Tessaia was in danger ahead of time and intervened quietly, rescuing the girl from Bafister’s clutches.

That fit perfectly with the logic of the saintly nun in the original story.

But she couldn’t entirely rule out that some force inside the White Church, harboring motives unknown to Litt—perhaps darker ones—had taken Tessaia.

After all, Tessaia’s extremely rare demon identity was itself a “resource.”

Alternatively, maybe someone was using the name of the White Church, a third party muddying the waters.

Thinking thus, Letia addressed Bafister again.

“Do you know what their purpose was?”

Letia hadn’t really hoped for much, but Bafister surprised her—he seemed to know something.

“I-I overheard a bit…”

Bafister’s eyes darted, “When they took the little demon away, they mentioned a ritual…”

“A ritual? You mean the Sunfire Ascension Festival?”

“No, no… It was a forbidden and dangerous ritual, absolutely not something as open and honorable as the Sunfire Ascension Festival. But I don’t know the specifics.”

A forbidden ritual…?

Letia’s doubts grew even deeper.

If this was true, it probably wasn’t Litt herself who rescued the girl.

From what she knew of Litt in the original script, she would never commit such a vile act.

Which meant someone else was stirring up trouble behind the scenes—very likely a hidden dark faction within the White Church delegation.

Letia turned her cold gaze once again on Bafister.

The icy stare made the man shiver uncontrollably.

“Miss Priest… I’ve told you everything I know…”

The Holy Tribunal’s reputation was overwhelming.

In outsiders’ eyes, everyone who came out of that place was a bloodthirsty butcher, the backbone of the Church’s purge of heretics.

No one wanted to provoke such lunatics, and Bafister was no exception.

Fortunately, Letia had lost interest in him.

As for his shady dealings, those weren’t within her jurisdiction anyway.

This world never lacked rotten-to-the-core nobles like Bafister.

Worse yet, unless these corrupt nobles dug their own graves, reporting them to the authorities was pointless—the Knights had no way to punish them.

Sigh…

According to the original plot, this rotten noble would be dealt with in due time, meeting a miserable end during a dungeon expedition.

In this world, people might not die for wealth—they could die seeking the power of the dungeon.

But just leaving felt too unsatisfying.

As the saying went in her previous life:

Since I’ve come all this way…

I can’t leave empty-handed.

And besides, leaving just like this wouldn’t vent her anger at all.

With such larcenous thoughts, Letia eyed Bafister with a gaze so greedy and intense, it was as if a pervert was staring at a beautiful maiden, causing him to clench involuntarily.

No… it couldn’t be?

Rumor had it priests from the Holy Tribunal were all a bit twisted—put plainly, they all had S tendencies.

Help!

I’m not into S/M!

As these two wild thoughts clashed in Bafister’s mind, he wondered if he should lie back and enjoy, or put up some token resistance.

Letia grinned cheerfully at Bafister.

“Come, a little closer. I have something good to show you.”

“W-what good thing?”

“Do you know what ‘Bang Bang’ is?”

“Bang Bang? Is that some new kind of play?”

Compelled by some evil force, Bafister leaned in, only to see the shadow of a giant cross looming over him.

“That’s… Bang↓ Bang↓ Bang↓ Bang↑!”

***

The next morning, Litt’s small room filled with a sacred atmosphere received an unexpected visitor.

“I say, my dear Sister Litt…”

Otto leaned against the door frame, rubbing his throbbing temples, his voice full of resignation.

“Oh no, I should be calling you Letia. You really stirred up quite a ruckus last night.”

Litt was tending to a pot of Holygrass on the windowsill.

Upon hearing this, her hands paused and her face broke into a flawless, gentle smile as she turned.

“Bishop Otto, whatever do you mean? I spent all last night at home studying the apocrypha and listening to the Lord’s teachings…”

Otto didn’t seem to hear her explanation, continuing leisurely,

“Your planting of Bafister in the ground is now common knowledge in Nightfall Town. I’ve already received two or three complaint letters.”

“Bishop, you must mean Letia. That incident has nothing to do with me, Litt.”

Litt replied with a smiling squint.

“How could I possibly have done such a thing?”

“Priest Letia,” Otto opened his eyes, brimming with compassion, “In all of Nightbright Town—no, in the whole kingdom—who else could wield a solid steel cross taller than a man like a hammer, and precisely slam someone into the ground, leaving just their head out for a bit of garden decor…”

He paused after this long string of words, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.

“Other than you, our world-shaking, peerless priest, who else could manage that?”

Thinking back to this morning’s investigation at the scene, Otto felt another headache coming on.

The grand lord of Nightbright Town, hammered straight into the ground, only his head left above, like a radish.

Not only that, but the priest had even stolen his prized Dreamland Black Card.

All the grievances in the world couldn’t account for this.

“So, honorable Bishop Otto…”

Litt’s voice was sweet as honey, every syllable dripping with innocence.

“You see, I am just Sister Litt, servant of Light and Mercy~”

She folded her fingers in prayer, her smile warm enough to melt ice.

“As for the Priest Letia you mentioned? I’m sorry, I don’t know her at all.”

“Sigh, forget it, forget it.”

Seeing Litt’s act, Otto couldn’t keep questioning her.

“It’s just a lord, after all.”

Once Otto dropped the matter, Litt’s obedient demeanor vanished.

She removed her disguise mask and reverted to the salty-fish-like Letia.

“So what do you want with me? I’m busy.”

“……”

Otto really wanted to say he’d never seen someone so shameless.

But after all, he was her bishop.

Letia, seeing Otto remain silent, pressed further.

“The White Church delegation recently captured a little demon, and they intend to perform a forbidden ritual. Do you know anything about this?”

“Oh?”

Otto’s face once again donned that insufferably fake expression.

“I swear on my honor, the White Church delegation would never do such a thing.”

Letia met Otto’s gaze.

Based on what she knew of this man, he might be telling the truth—but it also didn’t seem possible.

So she pressed him again.

“You’re sure it wasn’t the White Church delegation?”

“Of course not. You’ve been with the White Church a while—you should know how things work.”

Otto’s further explanation convinced Letia to drop the questioning.

Indeed, based on the script, Litt was likely a high-ranking White Church official, and from her portrayal, the white-clad nun was kind and virtuous, incapable of anything so heinous.

Which led her to a third possibility.

The White Church delegation might have been infiltrated by something strange.

As Letia’s mind raced, Otto seemed to recall something, changing the subject in a purposely casual tone.

“By the way, since you’re here, you should know: the storm will arrive in three days, so the Sunfire Ascension Festival is moved up to tomorrow. I hope you’ll be ready. You don’t need to do anything, but it’s important to show your face.”

Letia wasn’t surprised the Sunfire Ascension Festival was moved up.

The climate here was different than her previous life.

Storms could last a week, and if they delayed, they’d miss the full moon—making the festival meaningless.

Seeing only Letia in the room and her disguise removed, Otto asked,

“Is Red not home?”

“No, he went to the dungeon. Should be back tomorrow.”

“What a pity…”

Otto looked a bit disappointed, but didn’t lose heart.

He understood patience.

“That’s all I had. I’ll take my leave.”

With that, Otto rose and opened the door to go.

Letia pondered for a long time.

There was still no news of Tessaia.

Fragments of the Sunfire Ascension Festival played over and over in her mind.

A small boat rocking in the storm, crowds screaming on the shore, the sound of weeping in her ears, white sparks fading into the distance.

By this logic, she was likely on the boat herself.

Though she couldn’t make out whose cries she heard, it was probably Tessaia.

Still, all this was only conjecture—Letia didn’t dare conclude anything yet.

She stood, donned her disguise mask once again, and transformed into Litt.

Litt walked out, gazing at the black clouds gathering outside.

She decided to visit the scene of the incident first.

Since the plot event hadn’t occurred yet, going ahead would allow her to prepare in advance.

With that in mind, Litt headed for the west coast.

The west coast was just outside the west end of Nightbright Town, not far at all.

When Litt arrived at the festival site, preparations were already underway, and many workers were bustling about.

The White Church was small, so most people here were hired hands and church members from other places on pilgrimage.

Litt glanced around.

Given the tight schedule, everyone was busy working fervently.

She wanted to help, but as an outsider she didn’t know where to start.

She also noticed the church members who saw her all greeted her with utmost respect.

This indirectly confirmed one thing—

This face held truly high status.

She simply acknowledged their greetings, then headed for the shore, searching for the little boat from the script.