CHAPTER 172

The blazing bonfire was as warm as a mother's embrace, and the darkness surrounding it was as comforting as a soft carpet spread around.

To be honest, there were things so comfortable and nostalgic that Vlad wanted to head there right away.

"······!"

But Vlad was not looking back, he was looking ahead.

Someone was calling out to him, urging him to come out.

The voice of the faceless man was the same one Vlad had been searching for all this time.

[Vlad!]

With revenge against Godin and the contract with Josef now fulfilled, there was only one promise left for Vlad.

It was the promise to find the name of the voice.

Vlad had never once forgotten that promise.

"It's been a long time."

[······Yeah.]

Seeing Vlad, who said it had been a while, the man finally seemed to relax, lowering the hand that had been shaking his shoulder as if in relief.

Vlad couldn't see his face because of the backlight, but he could tell that the man was smiling warmly towards him.

※※※※

"Vlad, Vlad?"

"······Ugh."

The first thing Vlad felt as he opened his eyes was a bone-chilling cold that seemed to penetrate his very core.

His whole body shivered as if he had a fever, and the breath he exhaled felt so cold it could freeze.

He distinctly remembered being in a warm place in his dream.

"······Yustia?"

"It's been a while, Vlad."

Finally focusing his blurry vision, Vlad was met with a cascade of platinum blonde hair.

A woman was looking at him through the flowing strands of her hair.

In her gaze, there was warmth that dispelled the cold from moments ago.

"You seem very tired."

Yustia, the Holy Knight of San Rogino, who had been together with him in the foggy village, now gently stroked Vlad's chin with a worried expression.

This was to wipe off the sweat that Vlad had created while shivering.

"······Did you have a dream by any chance?"

"What?"

Seeing Vlad still not fully awake, Yustia's delicate eyebrows furrowed mercilessly.

Along with her concern, a hint of anxiety began to creep into her gaze.

"Snap out of it for now."

"Yes."

In an instant, a strange voice came from behind Yustia.

Whether it was because of that voice or not, the surroundings suddenly started to become bustling.

"Deacon! Wake up!"

"You need to snap out of it!"

Now that Vlad had finally regained his senses, the scene around him was as chaotic as a shattered mirror.

Voices and prayers echoed from all directions.

Sharp sounds reverberate harshly in Vlad's ears.

"······What's happening now?"

Turning his head to look, Vlad saw bewildered Nibelun frozen in place beside him.

And leaning against his shoulder was Jean, still lost in slumber.

The young deacon, who could not easily wake up even when the Holy Knights shook him roughly, could only faintly repeat the lyrics of a song as if he were talking in his sleep.

"······Match, continue."

Familiar words that sounded like he had heard them before.

Jean's faint singing pierced through the prayers of the Holy knights and reached Vlad's ears.

'Match?'

In sync with Jean's faint singing, Vlad's armor and sword were gradually heating up.

It was the same warmth that had fiercely grabbed Vlad's shoulders and stood him up in his dream.

※※※※

"Glad to meet you. I am Günter, the Deputy Commander of the Northern Orthodox Church Knight Order."

"I am Vlad, a knight of Bayezid."

Perhaps because of the fog, proper sunlight did not enter the office even though it was midday.

Because of this, Vlad couldn't clearly make out the face of the man leaning against the window.

"Yeah, Vlad. Your name is quite well-known."

The man with slicked-back turquoise hair, impressively neat, introduced as Günter, was also the one currently in control of the city of Mosiam.

"It's an honor to be recognized by you."

"I'd say the honor is mine. Let's shake hands."

Vlad looked at the hand extended across the table.

It was a smooth hand, devoid of any scars, too sleek to belong to a swordsman.

"Thank you for safely bringing Lord Andrea's disciple."

"And what about Jean?"

However, such things were not important to Vlad.

The appearance of the man in front of him or the flattery directed at him held no significance.

".....He's probably still asleep until evening, according to our investigation."

With a troubled expression, Günter swept his hand through his hair and retrieved a hefty tobacco pouch from a drawer, starting to light it up.

"What investigation is this? Is Mosiam still not purified?"

"Those who can properly explain that are probably at the Vatican."

Smoke pulled deep into his lungs slowly began to flow out of his mouth.

"We're the ones here to investigate it."

"······."

The cigarette smoke spreading through the air partially obscured the faint glimmer, barely penetrating the fog.

Everything was dim and uncertain in the city.

The dark mist drifting around constantly reminded Vlad of the painting sent by the priestess.

"I'll take the deacon with me."

"That child belongs to the Northern Orthodox Church. They're not someone you can deal with lightly."

"I am a person entrusted with the safety of the deacon by the bishop."

"Even that bishop is under our jurisdiction."

Thunk-

The ring worn by the deputy commander was slightly lower than the desk and shining.

It was a ring symbolizing the position of the commander, a position held by only two people in the Northern Orthodox Church.

Perhaps there was no one present who could challenge that authority.

"I appreciate once again bringing the deacon here. From now on, we will take charge of all matters concerning that child."

"······."

Günter's gaze began to grow fierce as he looked at Vlad, who dared to infringe upon his authority.

The commander of the Holy Knights is so noble that it is difficult for a single knight to even dare to look at him.

But now, Vlad was staring straight at him through the cigarette smoke.

"Leave."

".....Mosiam City is also part of the Northern alliance's territory."

There was work to be done, but it could not be completed.

Bishop Andrea entrusted Jean to him, and Vlad, as the leader, hadn't acknowledged handing over the young deacon yet.

For Vlad, Günter's authority was merely secondary.

"I understand that I have the qualification as a knight of Bayezid, belonging to the Northern alliance."

"What qualification?"

A glint flickered in Günter's eyes as he looked at Vlad.

Come to think of it, this insolent lad before him had never once bowed his head in front of him.

"From now on, I will invoke my right to investigation."

"What?"

A knight's duty is not only obligation and responsibility.

A knight also possesses certain rights.

Vlad, under the banner of Bayezid, had the right to exercise those rights on this land where Bayezid's flag fluttered.

"Since you won't explain in detail why you want to take Jean, I have no choice but to do this."

"······This is worse than rumors."

As the cigarette smoke flowed, a heavy silence began to settle in.

Günter, the owner of that silence, didn't seem particularly angry.

He just looked at Vlad with a curious expression, as if fascinated.

"You're quite the character."

"Thank you for the compliment."

The cigarette burning between his fingers represented his absurd feelings.

After all, the lad before him was said to have torn apart even the indulgence issued by Bishop Pierre.

※※※※

"Vlad."

"Lady Yustia."

Yustia approached Vlad and Nibelun, who were leaving the town hall.

"Are you going back now?"

"No."

"Well, you should at least take a break before you do."

"······That's not it."

Vlad didn't sense any reservation in Yustia's attitude towards him, as if she still didn't know the details. 

He wondered what expression she would have if she found out he had just clashed with Günter.

"By the way, why hasn't Jean woken up yet? I'm getting worried from the perspective of the one who brought him here."

"Oh, I see."

Watching Vlad wander through the mist, Yustia naturally took the lead.

Vlad and Nibelun followed her naturally.

Even in the dark fog, the platinum blonde hair was unmistakable, filling Vlad's field of vision.

"We're not entirely sure yet, so I can't explain in detail. We've only just discovered the anomaly in Mosiam, you see."

"An anomaly?"

Yustia, who turned around in response to Vlad's question, began to look at Nibelun.

"Is he someone we can trust?"

"No."

"······."

In response to Vlad's resolute answer, Yustia had no choice but to motion for him to come closer.

Nibelun, standing alone in the mist, merely twitched his ears as if confused.

"When Baron Utman was here, the city was sealed off, so we didn't know the situation well. But since the Vatican intervened, we thought there might be a few traces left."

Vlad sent a warning with his eyes to Nibelun, who was blinking from beyond the fog, and focused on the story being told in a whisper.

"But there's still a faint sinister energy in this city. We don't know its origin, though."

The holy war declared on Baron Utman was enormous in scale.

Even the Iron Duke, which aimed to raise the Northern alliance, was shaken.

However, in the places they left behind, mysterious roots still remained, and it was only now that the Northern Orthodox Church was able to confirm their true nature.

"So, about Jean..."

"So we need to look into the deacon you brought in."

Now that everything was blurred by the thick fog, the only clue before the Holy knights was the young deacon who was deeply asleep.

"It's not a pleasant form, but anyway, this deacon named Jean seems to be connected to what we're looking for. It's probably a curse targeting children or something like that..."

If there's a result, there must have been a beginning, and following the threads of those connections is basic to an investigation. 

Perhaps Günter was trying to find the special roots spread throughout Mosiam using Jean as a clue.

"But earlier, I noticed you were sweating."

Yustia, having conveyed her message, now subtly raised the question she had been holding onto since earlier.

That question was related to the curse she had just mentioned.

"Did you also have a strange dream by any chance, Vlad?"

"A dream?"

"Yes."

The first investigation the knights conducted upon arriving in Mosiam was regarding the mysterious epidemic that only affected children.

All the children in Mosiam had reported having the same dream, where they saw a bonfire and heard children singing.

"There have been testimonies from children who dreamt of it before dying. If you happen to have such a dream..."

What distinguishes children from adults?

Recalling a dream that exactly matched the one the children had, Vlad couldn't help but feel a dizzying sense of impending doom.

'Damn it.'

In the city where the sun was unseen, the young deacon was still asleep, seemingly singing along with the other children of Mosiam.

※※※※

"Alright. You don't have to explain it in detail."

Confirming that Jean was still asleep in the church guided by Yustia, Vlad now headed towards the inn.

Though obscured by fog, it was now approaching evening when the sun would set.

"Any clues, mage?"

"Uh, well..."

Despite Vlad's inquiry, Nibelun still seemed lost in his own thoughts, struggling to find words.

"It seems like they've hidden the curse in something intangible like the fog. Since there's no substance, we can't catch it."

"No, I'm not asking for vague theories."

Vlad ruffled his hair in frustration and began to growl through his teeth.

"Isn't there any solution? If not, you're leaving here tomorrow."

"Oh! No, please. I mean..."

Vlad's threat seemed to have worked as Nibelun's amber eyes returned to focus.

"In fact, I recommend the methods used by Holy knights. Regardless of how the curse works, it's tied to the person named Jean."

"Then what about Jean?"

"Jean? Well..."

Nibelun scratched his head with a perplexed expression in response to Vlad's question.

"It wouldn't be good to leave him alone."

"...There's no need to wait until tomorrow. You're leaving right now."

Vlad wondered if even a cat's help might be useful, but as expected, a cat was just a cat. So, was it really necessary to bring him along...?

Plop, plop, plop...

"What's that?"

"It's a fumigator. Beekeepers usually use it to chase away bees."

Seeming to heed the threat, Nibelun hurriedly pulled out an item from his bag, which Vlad had never seen before in his life.

"Why that?"

"Fog is essentially something that conceals what's already there. The intention is obvious."

Plop, plop...

As Nibelun pulled the handle, accompanied by a rattling sound, the fumigator began to operate. However, contrary to his explanation, no smoke came out of the fumigator's nozzle.

"Is it broken?"

"I thought so too, but it seems to be working fine when I tested it."

Nibelun's face was turning red, perhaps from the effort of pulling the handle, but Vlad could guess why he was making such an effort.

"...Disappearing?"

"It's because of the false fog. This fumigator is meant for that purpose."

In the middle of the deserted city, Vlad watched Nibelun vigorously shake the fumigator with all his might. 

The rattling sound grew louder, and as it did, the surrounding landscape became clearer.

The mysterious item of the cat was sucking in the fog and illuminating the surroundings.

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