Arriving at the church, I met with Sana, who stood at the top of the stairs.
"I've been expecting you, Sir Arthur." The cute Archbishop smiled and greeted me, much to my confusion.
But that was cleared with her next words.
"We have received a clue."
That changed everything. My gaze turned sharper as I nodded at her.
"Let's talk inside, Sir Arthur."
"Yes."
We moved inside the church. The church knights we passed by saluted at us and kept civilians away from our path; it was not like they even tried to approach me while knowing I was the Paladin.
Anyway, we went to the underground instead of Sana's office this time. The entrance was unexpectedly behind the large hall used for morning prayer, hidden behind the Goddess' statue.
The stairs extending down looked ominous as if it wasn't part of the church but stairs that led directly to hell. The walls were covered in moss, and the only source of light was lanterns hanging in the low ceiling.
"It has an eerie atmosphere," I commented, following Sana from behind.
"Fufufu, it's designed like this so people who enter don't want to return. We cleansed Sinner's Sins and made them regret what they did. Only then will they not repeat their mistake and lead an honest life."
I nodded in understanding.
In short, they tortured the Sinners and brainwashed them. Even if Sana explained it in a tame sentence, the point was still the same.
I had known that the church wasn't as na?ve and as innocent as it looked from the outside. Every organization surely had a dark side, and that wasn't an exception for the government too.
After descending for what felt like more than 300 meters, we finally arrived at a dark clearing with many grunts. Sana's expression twitched slightly. She appeared to be hurtful hearing those pained grunts.
Many people dressed in all black stood in front of each cell. They either gave food or muttered something that caused the prisoner inside to feel pain.
"They are a cleaning squad. Our destination is still a bit deeper, Sir Arthur. Please… don't listen to anything the prisoners say." The Archbishop took my hand.
I could feel her trembling, so I squeezed lightly to reassure her. Something like this was not right. With my naivety in the past, I would probably have declared the church as evil and attacked this place with my comrades.
However… judging from the information I had until now, I understood this method was necessary to balance the world. Besides…
"I won't be affected by something like this. Let's continue walking."
I had seen worse than this.
"My apologies. Indeed, we must go to the shadow squad's area. Lisa and Lara, as well as the assassin serving under you, have been waiting in that place."
No wonder I saw a pink dot in this underground surrounded by many neutral and two friendly ones on my <Presence Detection> radar.
We proceeded further, entering a smaller hallway.
I guessed the shadow squad's existence was even more secretive than cleansing people's Sins. The latter was actually a shared secret among civilians and people from underground that the church had a way to cleanse someone's Sins.
On the contrary, the former was a secretive squad that the church deployed to do something questionable that would certainly produce Sins.
When we proceeded further, I managed to see a familiar face belonging to a blue-haired boy I declared a Sinner because he bothered Eli. His mind was already broken, and he only laughed crazily in the corner of the jail.
I pretended not to see him and just followed Sana.
"We've arrived."
After going down the narrow hallway for a while, we reached a dead-end with only a black door in front of us. She knocked on it with a certain rhythm, and soon, footsteps rang from inside, and the door opened.
It was Lisa, the younger of the twins. Somehow, she wore clothes similar to Sandra's, an assassin grab that showed her curves and clung tightly to her skin. But the design was simpler, and a shawl was wrapped around her neck.
When she saw us, she immediately bowed deeply.
"Welcome. We've been waiting for your arrival, Archbishop Sana, Your Holiness."
From the opened door, I managed to see inside. The interior looked like a bar instead of a real base. There were couches, tables, and even a counter where people could drink.
Sandra sat on the couch beside Lara, munching on bread as she waved her hand slightly at me. She looked like she was at home. I couldn't help but smile after seeing her.
As we were guided inside the room, Lisa closed the door behind us, and I looked around.
At least 9 people, including Sandra and the twin nuns, were in the room, meaning 6 of them were someone I hadn't met yet. Still… Their clothes were the same as Lisa's: a black bodysuit and a shawl around the neck. Two of them were girls, while four of them were men.
Surprisingly, the men's bodysuit wasn't as tight as the girls; they even wore shorts and a vest on top. They kneeled at once when they saw us, including Lisa behind us and Lara.
Sandra unexpectedly followed suit, but the way she kneeled was different as she didn't put her hand on her chest and kept munching bread inside her mouth.
'This girl…' I sighed as I kept my composure.
"Good job, everyone." Sana took a step forward and praised them, "Lara, please explain to Sir Arthur."
Lara stood up and answered, "Yes."
She then walked to the counter, took a box wrapped in a black cloth, and put it on the table. Afterward, she looked at me, as if waiting for me to approach her.
And so I did. The members of the shadow squad waited in the corner, standing up and looking at us. Sandra moved behind me and followed me like my shadow, while Sana just stood near the entrance.
Stopping in front of the table, I took off the cover of the box and looked inside. There was an eyeball with a red pupil and purple sclera.
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