TSKSML 29

Chapter 29

“As you know, I’m the top boss of the Empire’s underworld. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I’m involved in every illegal activity happening around here.”

‘Wow, what a thing to brag about, you jerk.’

Helene cursed inwardly.

Shakia, clearly stressed over the matter, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The smoke didn’t seem enough to release the frustration he was bottling up.

“But for the past few months, some shady things have been going on without my knowledge. Priests have been getting kidnapped or murdered. Even so, ever since I took over this world, I made my own kind of laws. Never touch children, the elderly, or believers.”

Shakia had expelled many of his own cherished subordinates multiple times to uphold those rules.

“We have our own sense of justice too! But the imperial family always suspects us first whenever something like this happens. The whole situation is just screwed.”

He took a deep drag on his cigarette.

“After some digging, I’ve confirmed it wasn’t one of our people who did this. As much as I hate to admit it, the acts are too clever and calculated. I’m starting to think this might be the work of some lunatic noble.”

As Shakia continued, anger welled up inside him again. He threw the half-smoked cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his foot.

Helene was no less furious. Who would do such things to priests, and for no reason?

She resolved to help catch and punish the culprit—not just for the reward money, but for justice too.

“So, what exactly do you need me to do?”

“You’re going to head into the village and investigate directly. As you can see, these guys stand out way too much with their intimidating looks. Since noblewomen often visit the new temple in the village for charity work, someone like the Countess won’t attract too much attention.”

Shakia looked her over and spoke.

In short, Helene’s job was to act as a spy—head into the village and find out who was behind the crimes.

Just as Shakia said, when she looked down from the hill, she could see a brand-new Sun Church temple made of white marble standing out among the shabby homes.

Helene remembered how the Duchess of Drevis had bragged to the Archduchess during a Sun Church gathering that she had gone to Benya Village to volunteer.

“Alright. I’ll act like I’m volunteering and try to gather information.”

Shakia’s request wasn’t that difficult for Helene.

First, she would ask around about who the dead priests were and what happened before they died.

“Good. Let’s get going!”

“….”

Shakia strode off cheerfully.

He stopped on the bridge leading into the village and gestured for Helene to hurry up.

Apparently, she was doing this mission together with Shakia.

Did Shakia really believe his subordinates had threatening faces, but not himself?

Sure, Shakia had a decent face and a well-built physique, but when he was angry, he was terrifying. Especially those sharp gray eyes—it made it easy to understand how he became the boss of the underworld.

“What are you doing? Hurry up!”

“Ah, I’m coming.”

“I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.”

‘No, it’s because I’m with you that I can’t relax!’

Helene swallowed her retort and silently recited “100,000 gold” to herself as she followed him.

Only then did she notice the large basket Shakia was carrying.

“What’s that?”

“You can’t go volunteering empty-handed. These are muffins for the kids at the temple.”

The basket was filled with chocolate chip muffins.

Helene recalled what she had heard at the Sun Church meeting: after the new temple was built, the old one in Benya Village had been converted into an orphanage.

It seemed Shakia’s plan was to win the kids over by handing out baked goods.

It might be useful to get info from the people in the temple, but it would probably be easier to get children to talk.

“…I’ve been to orphanages a few times, and muffins always get the best reactions.”

Apparently, this wasn’t Shakia’s first time volunteering.

So, even though he’s the underworld boss, is he secretly into charity work?

“You’ve volunteered before?”

“Of course. Just because someone leaves their kids at an orphanage doesn’t mean we can’t find them.”

“….”

“We’re just playing with their hidden kids for a bit, but man, those parents pay up real fast.”

Helene scolded herself for misunderstanding him.

Before long, they reached Benya Village.

The newly built temple, sparkling and out of place among the village buildings, stood out even more up close.

Next to it stood the old temple, now an orphanage.

A young man in priest robes spotted Helene—who clearly looked like nobility—and rushed out to greet her.

After glancing back and forth between Helene and Shakia, the man clasped his hands in prayer and asked,

“May the blessing of the Sun God be upon you. You appear to be a noblewoman. What brings you all the way out here?”

“Hello, I’m Countess Emeldia. I realize this is an unannounced visit, and I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but I was wondering if we could share these muffins with the children of the orphanage today?”

She opened the basket to show him the muffins.

The young man beamed so brightly his gums showed.

With that kind of smile, despite his large size, he looked like a gentle boy.

“Muffins are our kids’ absolute favorite! My name is Gilbert, and I’m a priest at this temple. I’ll guide you to the orphanage.”

Gilbert took the basket from Helene and began leading them.

“Thanks to the overflowing love and donations from our benefactors, the orphanage is doing better than ever these days. If it weren’t for that incident…”

Cheerful by nature, Gilbert kept chattering on his own.

Even before Helene and Shakia tried to bait him, he was already hooked.

“Incident?”

“O-oh no, I shouldn’t have said that… The high priest is going to scold me…!!”

Gilbert clamped a fist over his mouth, horrified at his slip-up.

The whole village had been talking about the incident, so he had mentioned it to outsiders without thinking. He imagined the elderly high priest scolding him for leaking confidential information and squeezed his eyes shut.

To ease Gilbert’s guilt, Helene gently asked,

“Are you talking about the murdered priests?”

“S-so you already know…”

If they already knew, then perhaps it wasn’t wrong to say a bit more.

Gilbert’s expression relaxed.

“Yes, when I heard about it, I was heartbroken. I decided to volunteer, hoping I could help even a little.”

“I-I see… Thank you very much. We told the imperial investigation squad everything, but I’m sure this was the work of those underworld bastards! They’re the source of all crime in the Empire!”

Helene pretended not to see Shakia’s face contorting like a crumpled piece of paper.

Honestly, if she had only heard about the crimes, she would have thought the underworld was responsible too.

But seeing how bitter and genuinely frustrated Shakia looked now, she was convinced he really wasn’t involved this time.

“So… the victims were all priests?”

“Yes, four priests have already been killed… and three days ago, a student was murdered. A young one who was studying to become a priest.”

“Someone else died three days ago?”

The killer, who had only targeted ordained priests until now, had taken the life of a young trainee.

Helene’s voice rose in shock.

“To go after priests and even students training to be priests—could this be the work of a heretic cult?”

“Right?! It could’ve been a heretic!”

Shakia suddenly joined in, barely restraining himself from grabbing Gilbert by the collar.

“I-it’s not that I haven’t considered that… but even then, something doesn’t add up.”

Gilbert tilted his head, yet his tone showed he was confident in his own opinion.