Chapter 44: Smooth Criminal (2)

However, I needed proof.

Just because I already knew the culprit, who would believe me if I pointed them out without any evidence?

Especially in an atmosphere where all outsiders were already being suspected.

Moreover, the culprit in this case was not someone who could be recklessly accused.

So, the next morning, we went to the church as the chief had advised.

The infirmary we were guided to by a priest had almost no empty beds.

Even at a rough glance, at least ten patients were lying there, looking lifeless.

And there was one cleric, taking care of all those patients by herself.

“Sister Lily. Do you have a moment?”

She was the one the chief had mentioned, Sister Lily.

“Yes, brother? What is it?”

Lily's expression as she turned her head at the priest's call looked slightly tired.

But that was short-lived, and as soon as she saw us next to the priest, Lily immediately put on a benevolent smile as if to hide her fatigue.

“Are you travelers? Welcome to Sista Village. May the blessing of Lady Sistina be with you.”

“These people would like to speak with you, sister.”

“With me… you mean?”

“Nice to meet you, Sister. My name is Yubin. Please feel free to call me Yubin.”

Lily, who had been hesitating for a moment, looking back and forth between the hand I held out with a faint smile and my face, finally took my hand.

“Nice to meet you, Yubin… sister.”

“Then please, feel free to talk.”

The priest who had been watching this soon left after saying these words.

“These are my companions.”

When I introduced my companions, Lily made eye contact with each of them and exchanged greetings.

And finally, it was Ibi's turn, but Ibi, not even noticing that Lily's gaze was on her, was just staring blankly like a person in a daze.

…Something's not right.

“Hey, what kind of a nun is──”

“Don't say another word.”

“Allowed to be this sexy?”

“…?!”

……She said it after all.

“Y-Yes……?”

At Ibi's muttering, Lily was greatly flustered and flinched.

Looking at the confused expression she showed, it seemed she was strongly suspecting that she had misheard.

Unfortunately, she had heard correctly.

“Ah.”

Ibi was just as flustered.

As if she had let it slip out unintentionally again, Ibi hastily covered her mouth as soon as she saw Lily's reaction.

Seeing that, Lily also seemed to have realized that it was not her misunderstanding, and she quickly began to check her own attire to see if anything was out of place.

But Lily's attire had been neat from the beginning, without even the slightest disarray.

And although there were differences between denominations, and sometimes there were definitely revealing… outfits in this world that showed the designer's intention, at least the habit of the Sistina sect was not like that.

In ancient times, the hearth meant ‘home’.

In other words, the goddess of the hearth was also the goddess of the home.

For the harmony of that home, Sistina was a goddess who particularly valued chastity.

That's why their habits were much more ascetic than those of other denominations, and definitely not the kind of design that would elicit a reaction like Ibi's just now.

So it was just… not that kind of problem from the beginning.

“I'm sorry. She's a bit rude.”

I immediately pressed down on Ibi's head and bowed deeply with her.

Normally, Ibi would have immediately rebelled and swatted my hand away, but this time, as if she knew she was in the wrong, she didn't show much resistance.

Of course, when she raised her head again, she did give me a somewhat dissatisfied look.

“N-No, it’s alright…!”

Lily did try to stop us as we bowed our heads, but unlike before when she had met each of our eyes, she couldn't meet our eyes now.

And her upright posture naturally slumped, and the ears of the shrunken Lily were completely red.

“I'm sorry to have shown you such an unkempt side as a cleric….”

“No, this is entirely our fault.”

“Still, for a nun to have aroused another's lust, it must be because I am lacking…”

“…? No, it's not wrong to be born that way, is it…?”

“That is…”

This time, I fully agreed with Ibi's words, but if we continued on this topic, it would never end.

“And if you want to be technical, it's not lacking, but rather over──”

“──Sister, we have come at the request of the chief.”

So I just cut it off at an appropriate point and got straight to the point.

While also covering the mouth of Ibi, who was about to say something rude again.

“From the chief?”

“We would like to ask you a few things about the recent incident in the village.”

“…!”

At that, Lily, who had been avoiding my gaze until now, quickly raised her head and began to look at me again.

“Did you find something out?”

“We came to find something out.”

At that, I glanced at the bed and said.

“How are the victims?”

“Their lives are not in danger since they have stabilized… but no one has regained consciousness yet.”

“The symptoms?”

At my follow-up question, Lily glanced at the nearest bed and replied.

“They were all in a very weakened state when they were found. Even now that they have recovered to some extent…”

“They don't seem to have much vitality.”

Lily nodded her head with some difficulty.

She seemed to be feeling a sense of responsibility.

“Who was the most recent person to collapse?”

When I asked, Lily guided us to a nearby bed.

“This person was found the day before yesterday.”

A young man with a sturdy build that didn't fit the word ‘weakened’ at all was lying there with a very gaunt complexion.

What should I say?

“…He’s completely withered.”

As Ibi put it, as if all the moisture in his body had been wrung out.

“Were there any physical marks on the collapsed people?”

Lily shook her head.

“No visible injuries have ever been found.”

“Then could it be a crime committed through magic…?”

Miki, who had heard that answer, muttered while stroking his chin, and Lily replied in a somewhat cautious tone.

“I also… think it's unlikely to be a simple disease.”

That meant there was a ‘culprit’.

Whether it was a villager or an outsider.

She seemed to have a hard time accepting that fact itself.

“Then, besides the lack of injuries at the time of discovery, were there any other commonalities?”

“Other commonalities… ah. Everyone, I heard they were asleep and in pain, as if they were having a nightmare.”

‘Nightmare’.

The moment this word was mentioned.

“…Mana.”

Suddenly, with the sound of a die rolling, Rine, who had been examining the patient, muttered.

--

Eastwood

[Investigation] Success

--

She had succeeded in the check.

“Pardon?”

“There are faint traces of mana remaining in the victim's body.”

--

Eastwood

[Magic] Success

--

And since both checks were based on the ‘Intelligence’ stat, Rine passed them without any difficulty.

“It seems to be the mana that formed a passage.”

“A passage…?”

“This person's life force was moved through that passage.”

It was absorbed.

Rine immediately added.

In short.

“A straw was stuck in him.”

“So, you're saying it was something like vampirism?”

I nodded my head at Ibi's question and replied.

“Of course, it's probably not the work of a vampire. Since you said there were no separate injuries── no signs of blood being drained.”

Right?

When I looked back at Lily, she, who seemed to have been lost in thought for a moment, was startled and nodded her head.

“Absorbed, you say, is that true?”

Then, in Lily's voice as she asked Rine back, a hint of expectation could be felt.

“Yes, that is correct.”

It had been a case with no clues at all until now.

Just finding out the method of the crime was already a huge step forward.

“Indeed, that explains why they're all withered.”

“Sister, how long have you been working as a healer?”

“Pardon? Ah, I think it's been about ten years.”

“You look so young, but you already have ten years of experience, that's amazing.”

“I've been raised and taught here ever since the church took me in. Thanks to that, I was able to start working early.”

“Then your experience in the infirmary must be longer than ten years?”

“You could say that.”

“Then in those more than ten years, has there ever been anyone in the village who showed these symptoms?”

“…No. There hasn't been a single one until now. I saw it for the first time recently.”

“I see. So that's why people had no choice but to suspect the outsiders.”

At these words, I could see Lily's expression darken a little.

“Thank you. I think this should be enough.”

“…U-Um!”

Then, as I showed signs of finishing the conversation and leaving, Lily hastily grabbed my hand and stopped me.

Then, as if belatedly realizing her action, she flinched and let go of my hand.

“I hope you… will uncover the truth.”

Lily struggled to continue.

“I heard about what happened yesterday. …But, the people of this village are all really good people. They just made a wrong choice because they were driven into an extreme situation.”

“I know.”

I looked at Lily and gave a reassuring grin.

“Don't worry. I will find it.”

“…Yes!”

* * *

“So? Who, no, what do you think the culprit is?”

After leaving the church, Ibi said, as if she had been holding it in until now.

“No matter how I look at it, that nun is suspicious.”

“What? The sister?!”

At that, Miki asked back in surprise.

Then, as if he thought his voice was too loud, he immediately looked around and whispered in a much smaller voice.

“W-Why…?”

“No, I mean, she's obviously suspicious, right? How is that a nun?”

Miki still tilted his head, not understanding what she meant, and Ibi chuckled and added.

“I've never seen such a sexy nun in my life.”

“How long have you lived?”

“Who knows? Maybe she's just pretending to be a nun and preying on people at night. That's why they're all withered from being wrung out.”

“Are you some kind of a teenager?”

That was short-lived, and Ibi suddenly erased her chuckling expression.

“…Speaking of hiding one's identity,”

Then, unlike her joking tone until now, she continued in a somewhat serious tone.

“…Hey, could it be that bastard?”

“That bastard?”

“That, that devil bastard from before. The one who was impersonating Marin. Locha or something.”

“Luce.”

“Yeah, that guy. Don't you think that devil bastard was hanging around here and did some devilish shit again?”

“Devilish shit, you say.”

Surprisingly, it was a phrase that pierced the essence of this incident, so this time, the corners of my mouth went up.

“Well, we'll find out soon enough.”

Indeed, Ibi's [Intuition] was not something to be ignored.

“The culprit will be caught tonight.”

“What's with the confidence?”

Instead of answering that question, I gave a faint smile.

“By the way.”

Then I carefully began to speak.

“If I were to seduce a nun, would I be divinely punished?”

“……What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”