Chapter 58

If Lumian's memory serves him right, today, which is the afternoon of March 30th, Pierre Berry regularly goes to the church to pray. In the previous cycle, he and Raymond encountered him there, and in the last cycle, he met him at the village square around the same time.

But it's already three or four in the afternoon!

"When did he go?" Lumian asked, pressing for more information.

Marti recalled and said,

"A while ago, about the time it takes to walk a mile."

In the countryside, almost no one except a few people owns a clock, so the description of time is often done through specific events and landmarks, such as the grape-picking season, the time it takes to walk a mile, and so on.

Of course, if the time is short enough, people can perceive it more clearly, and phrases like "a few minutes" or "a quarter of an hour" might appear in spoken language.

A mile's worth of time? That's not long at all... Lumian thought Pierre Berry had gone to the church in the afternoon and hadn't returned yet.

A mile in Cordu village is equivalent to one kilometer in the Intis metric system.

After bidding farewell to Pierre's mother, Marti, Lumian left the Berry house and headed towards the village square.

He didn't know if Pierre Berry had gone to the church in the afternoon and then returned, or if he had been delayed and couldn't go.

If it's the first possibility, Lumian could sense the undercurrents—Pierre Berry frequently visiting the church to see the parish priest is definitely not normal, and something terrible must be brewing.

If it's the second possibility, that's a big problem!

Before Lumian, who retains his memory, and Aurore, who knows about the cycles, make their attempts, "history" shouldn't differ!

If there are differences, it might mean that the cycle's rules haven't been fully grasped by the siblings, or that there are others who can retain their memories.

Thinking about this, Lumian sighed and lightly slapped his face.

He was too shocked earlier and forgot to ask if Pierre had gone to the church in the afternoon.

This is important.

"Turning back to ask would be too suspicious; I can only wait and try to get the information from Pierre when we drink together later," Lumian quickly suppressed his frustration and walked briskly towards the square.

Entering the "Eternal Sun" church, he saw the parish priest, Guillaume Bene, standing in front of the altar adorned with various sunflowers, facing a few people sitting in the first row, speaking to them.

As soon as Lumian passed through the door, Guillaume Bene closed his mouth and looked over.

Are they plotting something? Lumian smiled, walked towards the altar, and observed who was listening to the parish priest's "sermon."

He saw the shepherd Pierre Berry, the villain Ponce Bene and his followers, the parish priest's mistress, Madeline Bene, and Sibyl Berry, and a man who surprised him but whom he thought should be there—Arnaud Andre, the youngest son of Naloca, a farmer in his forties.

"Hi, Pierre..." Lumian greeted with a smile, but paused halfway.

His next words were supposed to be "Didn't you say you were going to buy me a drink, why are you here?" but he suddenly realized that this arrangement hadn't appeared in this cycle yet.

This was something that happened in the previous two cycles, and this time, it was the first time Lumian had met the shepherd Pierre Berry.

As the prankster of Cordu, Lumian reacted quickly and adjusted his posture, facing the altar and spreading his arms wide:

"Praise the Sun!"

Using this ritual, his mind raced, and he quickly came up with a new excuse.

After praising the Sun and receiving a response from the parish priest, Lumian turned to Pierre Berry, who was sitting on the edge of the first row, looking at him with confusion:

"I heard you were back in the village, so I hurried to your house to find you, but you were already at the church."

He didn't specify who told him, but Pierre Berry would inevitably be seen by someone on his way from home to the church.

If there were no witnesses, Lumian had a backup:

Ava's father, the shoemaker Guillaume Lichy.

"What do you want from me?" Pierre Berry, wearing a dark brown long coat, stood up, his blue eyes filled with a gentle smile and a puzzled look.

Lumian was prepared with an excuse and said with a smile,

"I want to hear about the things you encountered during the transhumance, the different countries, different villages, different places, it must be fascinating."

He used to enjoy chatting with shepherds who returned from transhumance to enrich his knowledge.

Before Pierre Berry could respond, Lumian's gaze fell from his messy, greasy black hair to his new leather shoes:

"Did you make a fortune?"

"This employer was more generous and gave me a lot of things," Pierre Berry smiled and replied, "I'll buy you a drink later."

"Great." Lumian was waiting for this.

He even asked,

"When are we going?"

This showed the flair of a regular at the old tavern, willing to do anything for a free drink.

Pierre Berry glanced at the parish priest Guillaume Bene and received a hint.

"How about after dinner?" he suggested.

"Sure." Lumian agreed readily.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the shepherd, the parish priest, Ponce Bene, and others, he sat down in the second row of chairs closest to him.

"..." Pierre Berry was stunned for a second, "Aren't you going back?"

Lumian smiled,

"It's been too long since I last prayed. I'll take this opportunity to pray, so the gods don't think I'm not devout.

"Continue, continue, don't mind me."

Saying this, he closed his eyes, lowered his head slightly, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Pierre Berry, Guillaume Bene, Ponce Bene, and others looked at each other, unable to continue.

After waiting patiently for a long time and seeing that Lumian didn't stop praying, the parish priest looked at Pierre Berry and gestured for him to ask.

Pierre Berry came to Lumian's side and patted his shoulder,

"How long are you going to pray?"

Lumian opened his eyes and said seriously,

"I plan to pray until dinner time. I have nothing else to do, and I can confess afterward."

The parish priest Guillaume Bene's forehead twitched.

He looked at Madeline, Sibyl, Ponce, Arnaud, and others waiting for him, took a deep breath, and gave Pierre Berry a meaningful look, nodding towards the door.

Pierre Berry understood the parish priest's intention and quickly said to Lumian,

"I've finished praying. How about we go to the old tavern now?"

"Sure!" Lumian stood up with a smile, all seriousness and piety gone.

He had already noticed that his arrival disrupted the parish priest's plans, so he decided to prolong the situation with a prankster's mindset until Pierre Berry was forced to leave early.

He believed the parish priest could see through his act, but if he didn't take advantage of such a situation, would he still be the prankster of Cordu?

He had to maintain his image to avoid suspicion!

Lumian regretted that his sister had already gone to the Berry house to communicate with the three sheep. Otherwise, sending the "White Paper" to eavesdrop on the parish priest's plans would have provided valuable information.

Maybe in the next cycle... But would Pierre Berry notice being monitored? He's not simple, and he's already stronger than the parish priest, who is still just a regular person... Lumian's thoughts raced as he followed the shepherd Pierre out of the church and towards the old tavern.

...

...

In the sheep pen behind the Berry house.

Aurore, wearing a white waistcoat, came from the small forest and crossed the wooden fence.

As a rare and strikingly beautiful woman, she had to choose this hidden route to avoid being stopped for conversation or even suspicion.

"I wonder when I can learn invisibility or shadow concealment techniques..." Aurore sighed silently and walked towards the three sheep huddled by the hay.

As she walked, she spoke in the highland language,

"Don't be afraid, I am Pierre Berry's enemy."

The three sheep, whose fur was dirty and brown, showed a dramatic change in their eyes, first wary and worried, then hopeful and confused.

They didn't retreat, allowing Aurore to approach.

Aurore continued,

"I discovered your special nature through a certain method. You were originally humans, weren't you?"

The three sheep's eyes were filled with shock, joy, hope, and confusion, and they bleated instinctively.

Aurore glanced at them,

"You can't speak, but you can write, right?"

One of the sheep hesitated for a second and quickly started drawing in the dirt.

It wrote a simple highland word:

"Yes."

It was confirming that they were originally humans.

"What happened? Why did you become sheep?" Aurore thought for a moment and added quickly, "Write the beginning, middle, and end of the story to save time."

The three sheep divided the task and wrote different parts with their hooves on the dirt.

Soon, they each completed a sentence:

"We were captured."

"A ritual was performed."

"We were wrapped in sheepskin and turned into sheep."

A ritual magic that can turn humans into sheep using sheepskin? Hmm, this is clearly less difficult than directly turning humans into sheep... The only question is, which entity was the ritual directed to? Aurore's thoughts raced as she asked,

"Was it Pierre Berry who captured you, and was he alone?"

She wanted to confirm the current strength of the shepherd Pierre Berry.

"Yes," one of the sheep wrote.

Another sheep wrote more:

"He had a companion, and they were both very powerful."

Pierre Berry was already very strong before he returned to the village? Aurore suddenly realized something was off:

Why is such a powerful Pierre Berry acting as if the parish priest Guillaume Bene is the leader?

The current Guillaume Bene is still just a regular person!