The large amount of gold and silver found in the room in the underground passage is strong evidence.
At the same time, even the other families living in the inner city showed signs of discontent—although this was just the young boy's opinion, it was clearly not a baseless rumor, but rather a long-standing grievance that had been waiting for the right opportunity to erupt.
However, the few people in this room are clearly incapable of exposing the dark side of the church, let alone going further and bringing it down. Our words are weak, and even if we shout, only a handful of people will hear us. Add to that the likely risk of a reckoning, and if we truly want to accomplish this, we must plan carefully.
After I shared my analysis with everyone, the vast majority of them agreed that the former was indeed more likely to succeed.
The blind saintess adopted a "I'm not getting involved" attitude, while Alice, undoubtedly a fun-loving person, cheerfully raised her hand and said, "I've long disliked that damn church. How come it's still alive even after Restiris is gone? Why don't we take this opportunity to take it down? It'll be very interesting!"
...In short, that's about it.
After ignoring Alice's clamor and ordering her to shut up for the time being, my ears finally regained peace and quiet.
"However, to do this, we need to determine the venue for the ceremony and understand the content of the ceremony."
In response, Shen Xue, who was well-prepared, immediately offered to take me on a tour of the site for an on-site inspection.
"Isn't it supposed to be inside the inner city? Can we get close to it now?" I asked, puzzled.
Disguised, Shen Xue walked beside him and nodded gently: "It's alright. Only the gate connecting the inner city to the outside is always open during the day, so that everyone in the city can admire and feel the blessing of the God of Winter. As long as you act naturally, no one will suspect anything."
"However, by evening, when the crystal floating in mid-air begins to dim, the inner city gates will close again, making it difficult to enter or leave."
"If that's the case, why didn't we choose to stay in the inner city before evening yesterday?"
As the crowd grew larger, Miyuki leaned closer, shook her head, and whispered, "Because if we don't want to alert them unnecessarily, we can't enter the church in the usual way. Its only entrance is the front hall door, and unless it's a special day, entering randomly will trigger an alarm, though the reason is unknown. Only the backyard is a blind spot for surveillance, which is why so many people are sent to keep watch."
"Can't the same alarm be set up in the backyard?"
"Perhaps the area is too open, or perhaps there are some other hidden conditions."
I see.
I nodded in agreement, and then looked up into the distance.
More and more people gathered around, as if something had happened ahead. The bustling crowd that had emerged from the small building had now dwindled to a point where even the slightest movement could result in a collision. This forced Miyuki, who was carrying a sword, to tighten her grip even more to avoid accidentally injuring someone or having her belongings stolen in the chaos.
The crowd slowly crawled forward until, at a certain moment, the crowd in front suddenly scattered, like snowmelt from the mountaintop, which, after encountering a fork in the road, split off and turned into countless streams that dispersed into the surrounding streets and alleys.
However, even though most people scattered, they did not choose to leave immediately. Instead, they looked around and focused their attention on something nearby.
An uneasy atmosphere hung in the air, accompanied by a buzzing sound like flies flapping their wings.
Unlike the disheveled city guards who had previously searched civilian residences, a dozen or so soldiers, clad in neat, gleaming silver armor and dark blue ribbons, surrounded by dazzling arcs of light, stood proudly on the wide but dusty open ground, one hand resting on the hilt of their swords at their waists and the other leaning on sharp spears, like an insurmountable city wall.
Looking up, in the distance, the ruins of the collapsed structure had not yet been cleared, and a large amount of rubble was scattered around. On top of those piles of rubble, one could vaguely see a figure wearing a white and gold robe and a crown, walking unsteadily.
"They are the highest-ranking priests in the church, along with their guard knight order."
Pulling me along, we squeezed into a slightly more crowded side path a short distance away. Shen Xue quietly explained, "It must be because the previous incident caused such a big fuss, and since this is also the temporary residence of their collaborators, it has attracted their attention." She pondered for a moment, "I just didn't expect it to attract someone of such high status."
She looked around for a moment, then leaned closer to me, deliberately using her internal energy to create a transparent barrier to block the wind, and quietly asked, "Are you sure what that guy gave you is effective?"
I subconsciously touched the new crystal I had put in my pocket and nodded: "It's effective, but not much, so you need to be careful when using it."
Although I had tried to restrain myself as much as possible before, my habitual actions still made me subconsciously use slightly more magic than appropriate. By the time I realized it, a crack had already appeared on the crystal that I had received from Stanley, which could conceal the aura of casting spells.
Fortunately, its effects lasted until I arrived at the small building, so I guess I didn't expose too much of it.
As for the lingering aura, that's none of my concern. But for those who aren't very sensitive to magic, the turbulent magical currents caused by the explosion of elemental stones nearby make it even more difficult to detect and track them.
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