Chapter 587

Heinrich, Ludwig, Ellen, and Louise suddenly left the temple. They all wore their hoods flipped to avoid attention. Ellen asked Ludwig to explain everything he knew about the priest, Rowen. Ludwig explained that Rowen was a bishop who became an archbishop after the Gate incident. Ellen and Heinrich were surprised to hear this. Ludwig speculated that Rowen was given the position because there were too many vacancies. He also mentioned that Rowen was not the archbishop of the diocese but was performing the duties of one due to the shortage of priests. Ellen suggested that Rowen might have had other duties besides being an archbishop. They all realized that understanding who Rowen was is important. However, Ludwig felt strange because Rowen was already dead. Translation: Although he was the victim of a murder, Ellen was asking about something completely different, not about the impression of the suspect or the scene of the fire. However, Ellen may have been trying to gauge what she couldn't see, so Ludwig had to squeeze out everything he knew as much as possible. "Before we parted ways yesterday, I asked him what he was really doing." "What did he answer?" Heinrich asked Ludwig. "As a side job... he said he was investigating strange things happening in the refugee camp while doing purification work... He said that strange things happen where too many people die, and he tries to deal with them if he can..." "Investigating strange things?" "Definitely... he said he was doing that kind of thing too." Louise slowly raised her head from under her robe at Ludwig's words. "If you look at it without attaching too much meaning, it would be to deal with unspecified situations happening in the refugee camp... If you think about a slightly dangerous possibility..." Louise said quietly. "He was keeping an eye on everything happening in the refugee camp... It would mean the same thing." "What... does that mean, Nuna?" Heinrich asked. Ellen answered instead of Louise. "Does the Holy Order or the Tu'an sect have an organization related to information gathering?" "Um..." They were already moving on to a stage where they shouldn't touch the problem just by discussing possibilities. "The Holy Order, where the power of the Ode to the Great God is concentrated, is a force that has a stronger power than most countries." "That's right." "If a force of that size doesn't have an internal organization dedicated to information gathering, that would be even stranger." "Wait... So are you saying that Rowen was like a spy...?" Ludwig said, surprised. "And why do you keep talking about Rowen...?" Rowen was a victim and a deceased person. But Ellen and Louise were talking about Rowen as if he were the key to the case. As if he were a suspect. "Ludwig." "Uh, yes..." Ellen looked at Ludwig. "If this is just something that angry people did, there's nothing I can do." "..." "If Rowen Archbishop was an ordinary priest and really just did purification work, he would be an innocent victim." Ellen said as she watched Ludwig's expression harden. "But if Rowen Archbishop was not an ordinary priest, this cannot be an ordinary case." Rowen Archbishop. Depending on who she was, the case would change. If it was an ordinary case, Ellen couldn't do anything. "If it's not an ordinary case, I might be able to find out something." If it's a suspicious case, there will be corners that can only be found out. The simpler the case, the harder it is to solve, and the more complex it becomes, the easier it is to find clues called leads. Ellen focuses on the victim rather than the suspect to see if there are any complex corners to the case. "That's why I'm asking." There's nothing certain yet. Just in case, she's asking. Ellen approached the knights guarding the burned temple and asked if she could enter. The responsible knight hesitated but eventually allowed her to enter. Ellen explained that she wanted to investigate the scene and preserve any evidence. The knight warned her of the danger of the collapsing building, but Ellen insisted that she was willing to take the risk. Even when accompanied by Ludwig, the knight was still hesitant but eventually allowed them to enter. Ellen's words left the knight speechless. Ellen is the representative of the gods, and her words carry more weight than any command the knight may have received. The knight who could have stopped Ellen did not exist. Despite the danger of the collapsing building, Ellen insisted on entering and was accompanied by Ludwig. The burned temple is a precarious location, and the knights' caution for Ellen's safety was expected. Inside the temple, Ellen observed that all the furniture and utensils had been burned, and the walls were covered in soot. The cause of the attack on the temple is still under investigation, but it is suspected that unknown individuals attacked the temple, looted its belongings, killed the priests, and set it on fire. The scale of the attack is unknown, but the casualties included three laypeople, three priests, and seven temple staff. The small size of the temple and the lack of staff made it an easy target for the attackers. The possibility that the high-ranking priests, Louise and Ellen, were wrong in their assumption that the attackers were after them became more likely.