Thanks to the quest given by the lousy assistant, I learned that the strange feeling in the streets was the result of the demonic energy created by the Evil God. But there was nothing I could do about it for now.
Aesthetic sense may alert me that something is wrong, but it doesn't tell me exactly what the issue is.
Unless I personally find the source of the anomaly, moving around aimlessly would only give the opponent a chance to respond.
If the opponent were just an ordinary follower of the Evil God, both my grandfather and I could track their energy and follow them. No, we probably wouldn't even need the aesthetic sense’s help and would sense their presence right away.
But neither I nor my grandfather had noticed anything until the aesthetic sense pointed out the anomaly.
While I might be oblivious, deceiving my grandfather's sharp senses would require more than ordinary abilities. This incident is definitely related to those who worship the Evil God of the Void.
As I had seen with the former art cult, followers of the Void are capable of erasing their own existence and mimicking others. This power is overwhelming compared to similar abilities.
They do have weaknesses, however. Since their powers are specialized for infiltration, their individual strength is pathetic.
So, when this was still a game, they were the weakest enemies among the Evil Gods’ followers, known for being the easiest to deal with.
What good is it being good at infiltration? Players who had seen the ending multiple times knew exactly where and how they were hiding.
They were so bad that, on speedrun routes, it became a standard to reset until the Apostle of the Void showed up.
But now that I'm facing them in reality, they're definitely a hassle. They're so specialized in infiltration that it's difficult even to find them.
Trying to rely on in-game knowledge feels unsettling since the situation is so different from the game.
But moving blindly might make them notice the anomaly and hide even deeper.
While I was pondering these thoughts, I turned toward the back alley instead of following the dissonance.
If anyone could provide information on the anomaly, it would be Karia and Alsetin, who gather intelligence in this area.
"Apologies, Lady Allen. Both of them are away at the moment."
My hope was that the two competent people would take care of everything, but my wish was not granted. Both Karia and Alsetin were absent, each due to their own business.
Of course, their subordinates were still in the back alley, carrying out their duties, but I couldn't trust them. It was impossible to be certain that there were no followers of the Void among them.
But if I couldn’t even hide the fact that I was looking for Void followers, I wouldn’t know what to ask them for.
Ah! Why are both of them away at a time like this? I needed them to be here to trust and delegate something!
‘Hey. Grandpa.’ <"I can give advice, but don’t trust it too much. When I was active, I never really worried about things like this.">
Grandpa’s words, that no matter how desperately the Evil God’s followers try to hide, they cannot escape their senses, were annoying but also quite persuasive.
During his prime, Grandpa must have been an incredibly great paladin, far superior to me.
Back in the age of myths, someone like him, who had clashed directly with the Evil Gods, wouldn't have had to worry about such things.
Hmm. It's really troublesome that even Grandpa gave such an ambiguous answer.
If there had been a fool nearby, I would have asked them to look through people's minds, but that's not an option.
I wanted to ask my friends for help, but the only person in the Academy who could help was Freya, who is a one-trick powerhouse.
What should I do? Should I just trust my luck and intuition and randomly go into a place and cause a commotion?
Well, there is a place I wanted to destroy anyway.
Or should I provoke each of Karia’s subordinates one by one and check if they are followers of the Evil God?
Oh. That could work. If I mess with their emotions, their powers will inevitably falter.
Alright. I’ll start by dealing with the thugs who are eyeing me.
Just as I was thinking that, the door to a back-alley shop opened, and an unexpected face walked in.
A few months ago, Jakal, who had been dragged away by Karia, met my gaze and slowly bowed his head.
"Lady Allen. It’s been a while."
I didn’t know what had happened to him after he followed Karia, but Jakal, whom I hadn’t seen for months, looked shabby.
The dark circles under his eyes had spread down his cheeks, and his face was gaunt, probably from not eating well, and his forced smile lacked energy.
"What did you do to end up like this?"
He looked worse than when he was training in the Allen Order. What did Karia make him do?
"...It’s hard to explain. I can’t summarize it."
Jakal, who usually had a noble arrogance in his movements, didn’t have it now. He looked so worn out that he couldn’t even care about his behavior.
"I’ll tell you slowly later. For now, I must excuse myself. There’s something my teacher asked me to do."
"Teacher? Are you talking about that hysterical old maid?"
"Old... Cough! Cough, cough!"
When Jakal was directly insulted, he coughed violently for a while, then cautiously nodded his head.
"...If you mean Karia, then yes."
"What did she ask you to do?"
"Well..."
"Why hesitate? Are you saying I’m worse than that old woman? This is really irritating. I need to make her realize her place..."
"You were asked to meet with the son of the Newman family! They’re settling here!"
The Newmans are coming here?
...Karia has completely eaten up that old man, Kurz Newman.
Even without the seal, this is the state of things. What will happen once the Crow Seal is handed over?
Is Kurz going to lose all his hair from stress?
Oh. That sounds interesting. Should I test Kurz Newman’s disguise once I hand it over?
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
I was entertained by my mischievous thoughts but also surprised by the fact that Karia had acknowledged Jakal.
Karia has a harsh personality with her subordinates, right? To think she allowed him to call her teacher and even gave him important tasks like negotiating with the Newman family...
She must have really liked Jakal.
...Hmm?
Wait a second.
If it’s the Newman family’s son, it must be Chester Newman, right?
The kid whose life I saved?
His body just recovered not long ago, and already he’s capable of attending such a negotiation?
As I furrowed my brow and recalled his backstory, I realized that Chester Newman was someone who could help me with my current dilemma.
That kid has the ability of a true Newman family member, despite being overly earnest in his nature.
Even though I teased him just now, he looked shy, which suggests he’s far from a follower of the Evil God.
His personality ensures he won’t do anything harmful to me, the one who saved him.
If I bring him into this, he’ll definitely play an important role.
The same goes for Jakal.
I’ve never seen Jakal work as an informant, but if Karia recognized him as her disciple, then he must have considerable talent.
If I explain things to him and Chester, we can probably handle this much better than Karia and Alsetin would.
With that thought, I immediately got up from my seat, ready to carry out the plan that had formed in my mind.
"Lady?"
"Stay here. I’m going to bring the kid you’re looking for."
Finding Chester wasn’t hard. The kid who had come from hearing about Kurz Newman was already walking toward this place.
Thanks to that, as soon as I stepped outside, I ran into Chester, grabbed his wrist, and took him to the office that Karia and Alsetin usually used.
At first, Chester was confused, but as I explained the situation, seriousness began to show on his face.
"Are they followers of the Void? If what you say is true, then it’s a tough situation."
"If Lady Allen says it, then it’s right to take it seriously, Young Master Newman."
"If Lord Barrow says so, we have to consider it carefully."
Despite meeting for the first time, there was no awkwardness in the conversation between Jakal and Chester.
Recognizing the severity of the situation, the two immediately began to separate their roles and take action.
Jakal took the lead.
Assigned by Karia, he used the people in the back alley to gather the necessary information.
Of course, the people in the back alley were skeptical of Jakal’s sudden orders, but I solved that part, so Jakal was able to issue commands without trouble.
How did I solve it? Well, I kicked the most cocky guy’s groin once, and everyone else quieted down.
Based on the information Jakal brought, Chester’s role was to find what I needed.
He spread several papers across the desk and carefully examined them, before pointing out a few suspicious places.
"These three locations seem the most suspicious. The evaluations from before the vacation are different from those now. They can change their appearance, but changing the essence is difficult, so these places are likely."
<"I came to the same conclusion. If we investigate these places, something will turn up.">
One of the places Grandpa and Chester identified as suspicious was the shop I had been thinking of attacking.
Considering my luck, I thought it would be fine to attack right away.
But since there might be Void followers at other locations, it didn’t feel right to go alone.
As I stared at the map, I took a crystal ball from my inventory and infused it with magic.
The crystal ball lit up with a blue glow, and the image of a person appeared.
<"Lady, what’s the matter?">
"Lazy Saint, why aren’t you at the Academy? Is that why you’re gaining weight?"
<"...Did I gain weight?">
"Want me to tell you the truth? Do you want to hear it?"
<"Well, I noticed my clothes...">
I giggled at the pale-looking Phoebe and told her to come quickly to the Academy street.
With Phoebe here, I’d be able to use the church’s personnel to my advantage.