Chapter 51

Creak.

Without knowing when he had arrived, Rua took out a chair next to me, placed a basket of vegetables beside him, and started trimming asparagus.

I had asked the afternoon instructor when he thought I wasn't paying attention. What a sly guy.

"In the past, the Rogui were divided into the Northern Rogui Church in the north, centered around the North Deuse Mountains, and the Southern Rogui Church in the south. The Rogui we refer to today specifically means the Northern Rogui Church."

Northern Rogui Church.

'What, that was the Rogui?'

I felt like I had heard the name somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place it.

It seemed that even ten years ago, they were still called the Northern Rogui Church. Now, they are completely referred to as Rogui.

"The Southern Rogui Church... At first, it was said to be an unremarkable religion. It wasn't on bad terms with the Holy Assembly Church. Most importantly, the Southern Rogui Church had no preachers."

The Holy Assembly Church is the state religion of the Pen Rota Empire and other major allied countries.

However, within the empire, its influence is much weaker, and only in large cities like Midwinter, there are Holy Assembly temples where religious ceremonies are held.

"Then, they joined hands with the Great Mage Mephisto and were annihilated by the Magic Alliance during the Magic War. They effectively disappeared from history."

Most of the mages who followed Mephisto belonged to the Southern Rogui Church.

As we moved south, we burned every Southern Rogui Church we saw.

Often, in the basements of these temples, traces of horrific massacres were found. When we needed to ambush, we would hide next to the rotting corpses.

"Because they were tied to the 'Rogui' root, the Northern Rogui Church also faced much criticism from the people. The public questioned why they didn't stop the Southern Rogui Church from joining Mephisto. However, after the war, it was revealed that the allied forces received significant help from the Northern Rogui Church in demon extermination and various magical studies."

The afternoon instructor's words were true.

Natasha also learned several complex and new magical theories for demon extermination, which she couldn't explain even if she tried. I remember that all these magics were taught by the mages of the Northern Rogui Church.

"The Northern Rogui Church claimed that the Southern Rogui Church were traitors who ignored the doctrines and fled. They refused to recognize them as a branch of the same root, insisting they were an independent organization. The Magic Alliance recognized this claim and changed the name of the Northern Rogui Church to the Rogui Church. Since then, the Southern Rogui Church has been recorded in history as Mephisto's army."

I nodded, thinking about the process that occurred after the war.

Just as I was about to nod, I asked the second important question.

"Then, do you know what Kalepa is?"

"Kalepa? Of course, I do. That is..."

At that moment, a strong wind blew from outside the kitchen window.

The wind, like a typhoon, blew some of the linens hanging in the backyard to the ground.

"Oh, the sudden wind! I'll tell you about Kalepa next time. Daisy, don't follow me; help Rua. I wonder if it's going to rain."

The sky was so clear, how could it rain?

'Rua must have used some trick.'

As the afternoon instructor hurriedly left,

I asked Rua, who was meticulously trimming asparagus, without changing my expression.

"Rua, do you have anything else to say about Rogui?"

Rua's knife, which was gently peeling the skin, stopped. He turned his head, met my eyes, and spoke.

"Daisy."

Why? My heart was pounding, wondering what he would say...

"Cut it in half for easier eating."

...What?

I took a new kitchen knife from the drawer and cut the asparagus Rua had trimmed in half.

You, skilled cook. I will definitely find out what Kalepa is.

That day, I ate the delicious dinner Rua made and, around midnight, went to the pub to meet the butler assassin.

I forgot and fell asleep again.

The next day.

Contrary to the promise, the afternoon instructor did not tell me what Kalepa was.

"Today's lesson is canceled."

What?

"Why?"

"There seems to be a problem with the water pipe in the backyard. I plan to check it and call someone. If you need water, use the water from the garden side."

With that, the afternoon instructor briskly left for the backyard.

'So, the water pipe in the backyard suddenly has a problem?'

I stood at the entrance, glaring at Rua, who was clearly the culprit.

Rua, who was watering the garden, smiled and provoked me.

"Why are you glaring at me so intensely, Daisy? Are you going to confess again? I'll refuse in advance."

"Don't interfere, old man. Why do you keep interfering so narrowly?"

"People tend to become narrow-minded as they age. I'm twice the age of most old people, so I'm twice as narrow-minded. Remember that."

The shameless 'Rua' watered the pot 'Rua' without a hint of conscience.

Seeing the leaves of the pot 'Rua' sway healthily, I felt a pang of jealousy.

When I went to the bedroom to rest, a new note was stuck on the window, which I hadn't seen in the morning.

This cryptic message was from the butler assassin.

'I've been putting it off all this time.'

I received an errand fee to buy a new floor brush and went to the market.

Before entering the market, I carefully checked what the potato old man was doing. The potato old man was leaning against the wall, snoring loudly.

'Good. He's sleeping soundly.'

The potato old man's role was to spot suspicious people loitering around the pub.

There's no better way to make the enemy relax than to sleep soundly during the busiest time.

After entering the market and buying a floor brush from a hardware store, I loitered around the fruit stand next to it and asked if anyone had seen Rogui.

"Rogui?"

The photo shop owner, who was chatting with me, stroked his chin and looked at me.

"Hmm. Rogui... I've heard the name before."

"Isn't it a cult? I heard a few people around here were lured into it. They were the ones who helped the serial killer Mephisto, right?"

"No, no. That's a brother religion. Rogui is the religion that helped the allied forces, right?"

This information was half right and half wrong.

I don't think I can get any information about Rogui from them.

"Is that so? I don't know what Rogui is. Have you heard the story about the person who overthrew the merchant guild? It seems he turned the pub's thugs into people. They clean the market streets every morning without being asked."

I just heard this. Now they're cleaning the market too.

"Wow. That's all? Do you know the old lady who sells potatoes in the alley? The thugs apologized to her and bought her a stall. They brought a nice one, but the old lady refused it. She's old, but she wants to do business comfortably."

"That's probably her business philosophy. We can't say anything. Let's help her sometimes."

The merchants nodded vigorously and smiled at me.

"Anyway, thanks to that hero, our market has become a much better place to live. Whoever he is, he's a real hero."

"Right! A hero indeed. Come, miss. Have a bite. The strawberries today are really sweet. I'll give you a basket, take it."

I chewed the large strawberry stuffed into my mouth and refused.

"I don't have money."

Ha ha, the fruit seller laughed and handed me a basket of strawberries.

"Oh, money! Forget it, forget it! Take it! It's a favor that can't be repaid with money."

"Favor?"

"No, just a slip of the tongue. Go on. I need to sell fruit. If you need more strawberries, come back, miss."

"If you need photos instead of strawberries, come to our photographer. I'll take amazing photos. Up to ten are free, so don't worry about money. Okay?"

You don't refuse gifts.

I held the strawberries and carefully entered the pub using the 'I left something in the pub!' trick.

A 'Closed' sign was hung on the door.

Creak.

The moment the door closed, the gang members scattered around the pub stood up.

"Sis! You're here!"

"Hey, yeah. Take a break."

Judging from the bustling atmosphere, it seemed they were renovating the interior. The lighting seemed brighter overall.

'They're cleaning the market and making a stall for the potato old man, huh?'

Violence does save the world. I need to use violence more enthusiastically from now on.

I gave the strawberries to the bartender as a gift.

"Eat them."

The bartender was shocked and asked me.

"These precious strawberries... Thank you, sis! Hey, make sure to leave a thank-you note for the sis who bought the strawberries!"

"Thank you, sis. I'll enjoy them!"

"Thank you!"

I escaped from the noisy gang members and headed to the warehouse. In the dark warehouse, the butler assassin, as usual, was waiting for me, draped in a curtain.

He asked me in a sinister voice.

"The request?"

The request he gave me was to deprive Jin Berkeley Grayton of his succession rights.

I won the duel in exchange for this matter, but due to the ambiguous attitude of the Sword Saint, I couldn't be sure if it would actually happen.

I answered honestly.

"I don't know."

The butler assassin's voice became even more sinister.

"You don't know? Can I interpret this as you don't care about our cooperative relationship?"

"No. But I brought a gift you might like."

"…Gift?"

"Jin Berkeley Grayton."

"…."

"He's been hired as a maid in Weatherwood."