TSKSML 32

TSKSML

Posted by Hoor, Released on August 6, 2025

Chapter 32

Unbelievably, an enormous amount of gold coins spilled out—far too much for an orphan to have.
It looked to be over 20,000 gold.

“W-What is this…?”
“W-Where did you get such a huge sum of money?”

Beth answered incoherently to the question about where the money had come from.
She didn’t want the kind-hearted Alphonse to be misunderstood as a bad person.

Helene and Shakia nodded, signaling they understood, so Beth continued.

“The priests who died told us. They said there were people buying divine power… If you gave them divine power, they gave you 10,000 gold coins. Even though he knew it was blasphemy against the Sun God… Alphonse kept selling his divine power. He never wanted to be a priest or be called a genius… He just wanted Mom and Dad to come back.”

Before his death, Alphonse had sold his divine power for gold.
It seemed clear now—the criminal was the one who bought that power with gold.

“Beth… Did you sell your divine power too?”

Something clicked in Helene’s mind, and she asked in a trembling voice.
She couldn’t forget how Beth had said she would be the next victim.

Beth hesitated, avoiding the question, but eventually burst into tears.

“I-I heard you need money to live once you leave here… I-I’m sorry…”

After crying for a while, Beth looked up worriedly and pleaded.

“Is the Sun God going to punish me because I’m a bad child…?”

“No… If anyone’s getting punished, it’ll be those who bought the divine power. You did nothing wrong.”

Helene pulled Beth into a hug.
She gently patted her back until the sobs slowly died down.

No matter how mature she seemed, Beth was still just a child.

“Beth, do you remember what those people looked like?”

Once Beth had calmed down, Helene and Shakia asked simultaneously.
Beth nodded. But it took her a while before she finally spoke.

“…I don’t know how to describe it.”

“Why not?”

“…Because they had no eyes, no nose, and no mouth.”

“What?”

Beth recalled the memory.
She had heard from the priest brothers that those who bought divine power wore featureless masks to hide their faces.

But Beth had sensed something different.
There was an outline under the hood that looked like a mask, but it seemed deliberately made that way.
The person… didn’t seem alive, or breathing, or even visible.

She had told Alphonse about it, but he’d said she was just scared and imagining things.
Now, though, Beth was certain.

“The priests said it was a mask, but… it wasn’t a mask. That person really didn’t have eyes, a nose, or a mouth…”

“What? No eyes, no nose, no mouth? Is that even possible?”

Shakia didn’t think Beth was lying, but it was still hard to believe.
He assumed, like the priests said, the criminals simply covered their faces.
It would’ve been easier to say she hadn’t seen anything at all.
But what was this talk about no face?

Shakia scratched the back of his head in frustration.

“Maybe it’s magic? They absorbed divine power, right? That alone makes anything possible.”

“Magic, huh…”

Helene found Beth’s words believable.
Maybe it was because she kept thinking of April.
She wanted to believe Beth.

Shakia agreed.
If it was magic, then yes—anything was possible.

But the problem was, dealing with “magic” was a major headache.
Even in the lawless underground world, the number one rule was to avoid getting involved with magicians or necromancers.

Beth was grateful that Helene believed her.
She had never told anyone before, afraid they’d think she was crazy or lying—like they did with the priest brothers or Alphonse.

Ding—dong—dang—dong.

The sound of a bell rang out.

Startled, Beth flinched and hunched her shoulders.
She explained, more frightened than Helene or Shakia, who were only visitors at the orphanage.

“Uh, I have to go now… It’s time to pull weeds…”

The bell signaled the children’s daily schedule.
It was now time to tend to the garden.

But Beth didn’t want to go.
Since Alphonse’s death, she feared she might be next.
And now that she had finally found people who might protect her, she didn’t want to part from them.

“…Will you still be here when I come back from weeding?”

Beth’s question left Helene speechless.
She was concerned about Beth, but the faces of her two sisters flashed in her mind.
Helene had other responsibilities too.

“…I’ll stay,” Shakia answered for her.

Beth’s eyes widened.

The person she wanted to stay was that pretty older sister over there—not this flashy-looking uncle.
But still… if even the flashy uncle would stay, she felt a little relieved.

“Th-Then I’ll go now!”

She wanted to get a promise in writing—maybe even a finger stamp—
But both her mother, who used to give them, and Alphonse were gone now.

Still, she didn’t think this flashy man was lying.

If she skipped weeding time, the orphanage would serve her last, and the final meal was always very small.
And being late meant punishment too, so Beth quickly ran out.

“…‘I’ll stay’?” Helene teased, parroting his words.
Shakia groaned.

“What else was I supposed to say? Listen to all that and then run off? Sure, I know disappearing after a meal is your ladyship’s specialty, but still.”

Shakia didn’t regret saying he’d wait for Beth.
She was the only witness, and possibly the next victim.

Staying close to her was their best shot at catching the culprit.

“…I just think we’ll find the criminal if we stay with Beth. Like she said, she could be next.”

Helene nodded at his words.
Thinking back on everything, the killer clearly targeted those with divine power.
Beth not only had divine power—she was also a witness.
They would come for her.

And with Shakia by her side, Beth would be safe.

“So you’re going to stay at the orphanage?”

“…No. I’m going to adopt her.”

“A-Adopt…?”

Helene looked at him in shock.
Had she heard him right?
Or did “adopt” have some other meaning she didn’t know?

It was a decision Shakia had reached after much thought.
It was a bit impulsive, sure, but he couldn’t think of a better way.

“If we leave her here, they’ll come for her. And I can’t stick to her all day.”

“W-Well, that’s true…”

“If more people die, the royal family might issue a warrant.”

There wasn’t concrete evidence yet, so the Imperial Inspection Bureau was still only suspicious of Shakia and his group, the Black Jack faction.
But if the murders continued, they’d find a way to fabricate evidence—or dig up old crimes and use that.

“So I’m spreading people out to look into this ‘Faceless One’ Beth mentioned.”

And besides—he had promised Beth he’d protect her.
Shakia, for all his bluster, was a man who kept his promises.

He began mentally organizing his plan.
Step one: draft the adoption paperwork.
There’d be plenty of forgeries involved, so he’d need to move quickly.

“…Looks like the Countess’s job ends here,” Shakia said with a strange note of regret.

Helene had indeed been the perfect person for this, especially since she had offered to pay back 100,000 gold. A very generous condition.

Looking at her now, he had to admit something.
He’d missed her.

“…Sorry. I have a family.”

Helene wanted to see things through for Beth too, but she was also worried about April and Liriana—especially after Jaina’s news.

Shakia nodded in understanding and left the orphanage.

A disguised Black Jack cargo wagon was parked outside the temple.
A big bald man asked him,

“Boss? Did you find the culprit?”

Shakia shook his head.