Kornacis, Heavy Smog Street, the Guild.
The clock struck twelve in the noon, and thus, the place was packed with Blessed Ones looking for any suitable missions to embark on.
Smog in the sky was heavier than usual. It blocked the sun and cast a perpetual gloom over the city.
Through the front door, Aren walked in with his brown bag in hand. He hadn't even taken a visit at Temptation Avenue after returning to Kornacis and, instead, immediately came to the Guild.
Ignoring the shouting of his fellow guild members, he walked straight to the front desk and rang the bell with a single ding.
From the back, a tall, burly man emerged with a scowl on his face. He was scratching his scalp.
He asked in a gruff tone.
There was no playing around with him. It was straight to the business.
"I'd like to report my findings. I've found one of the Ten Fingers, namely Perverted Justice, close to Brackenford Cross."
The burly man looked at the man, unclear what he was thinking about, and he then put his hand forward.
"Show me your guild card."
Aren reached his hand to his breast pocket and pulled out his card. The gruff man examined it with a frown.
The man's distrust in the young man's words became even more evident.
"You don't believe me."
Aren said the obvious.
"…I don't want to be the asshole, but if you had met one of the Ten Fingers, you would not be standing before me.
"…I didn't say that I met him."
"Then how do you know that you found him?" Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel•fire.net
The man asked with a deep frown.
"…I found the Forest of the Justice. It's where the Perverted Justice lives when he is not in the Realm Between, isn't that correct?"
"It could be empty. You might've found that forest, but it does not mean that Perverted Justice is currently there."
"…Does it matter? I know that forest has moved places. I know where it is currently, and that knowledge alone is surely something that the Guild appreciates."
"It will be your own undoing if you are currently lying. Follow me, I'll get someone you can talk to."
The man said with a sigh, and they headed upstairs.
In a small cramped room, Aren sat with his legs lazily dangling over the edges of the chairs.
He had already been waiting for half an hour for someone to come to talk with him, and he was starting to get impatient.
In that moment, the door opened, and a tall, stern-looking man entered the room. He had a black cross tattooed on his forehead. There was a bible book in his hand.
The man's appearance was intimidating, but his voice was surprisingly gentle as he started with:
"Hello, you have apparently something to report? My name is Reverend John."
"Why am I meeting you, Reverend John? I expected to meet someone from the Guild, and not from the Church."
Aren said with a frown.
"I am one of the Church and one of the Guild. I am acting as the Guild's spokesperson now."
Reverend John said with a smile.
That made few things certain to Aren.
The Guild wasn't taking him seriously. This Reverend John was Leader to determine whether he was lying. And that they were currently understaffed, and the rest of the Leaders were elsewhere.
Reverend John put his bible on the table, tapped it with his finger, and said.
"Put your hand on the Bible, and vow in your goddess's name that you shall not lie to me today."
With a twitching lip, Aren put his hand on the Bible and raised his other hand as if he were taking an oath.
"The wandering sovereign of chains unbound, She who dances upon lawless stars. The Lady of the Disorder, the Virgin of the Unlawful Lands, I shall honor your name and vow in your name that I shall not lie today."
Reverend John clapped his hands excitedly, and then he crossed his legs before putting his hands on top of his legs.
"Start with your report, please!"
With a nod, Aren started speaking and started with his encounter with the head butler and that he ended up accepting a mission to find Ronan Butcher's daughter, Ashley.
He told about how he went to Lanternford Market, found clues about Ashley's whereabouts, and ended up in Brackenford Cross.
After reaching that part, he started skipping a few details and kept things short with vague details.
He mentioned the Hunt, the Hauwnted family's deal with the Rav'akari, and his encounter with the Forest of Justice.
Reverend John kept track of his story with notepad in hand and finished with a nod, indicating that he had heard enough.
There were no falsehoods that he detected.
"Hauwnted family is a subsidiary family of Severianus. It is a respected family, and thinking that one of their subsidiary families is capable of betraying humanity… is quite preposterous.
"I did not sense any falsehoods in your words, but this will definitely require further investigation. I will order the Guild to send a team to look into the matter and report back to me with their findings."
Aren stood up, giving a small nod of gratitude before leaving the room.
Reverend John's expression froze over after his departure. He opened the Bible, and one of the pages started talking.
"You think he was saying the truth?"
"Yes, or he is a very good liar. I just don't see any reason why he would be lying about such matters."
"…We've been trying to find Forest of Justice for a while. That forest is changing locations all the time, and the Guild in the Rask has been preparing for exploration there already."
The Bible's page said.
"If this information is correct, we can steal this exploration for ourselves from Rask Guild. Perverted Justice has always been the most attractive target, as he is alone without other Rav'akari accompanying him.
"It seems like he is a loner, and thus, he is the only one that we need to worry about. Killing him will boost our fame, surpassing that of Rask's!"