Episode 168 Sin and Punishment (7)

The next morning. The entire Indulgentia Nursery was in a state of panic.

The buildings were in ruins.

But for some reason, everyone who had slept through the night said they hadn’t heard anything.

It was like they were dreaming.

Naturally, the world was in an uproar.

In the morning, amidst the ruins, where thousands of people were bustling around, the students from Colosseo Academy who had come to volunteer stood in disbelief.

“No, what the hell is going on?”

“This is incredible.”

“Why didn’t we hear anything as the buildings collapsed?”

Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy looked around, dumbfounded.

Now they had to get back to the academy, but somehow their steps weren’t coming easily.

No wonder, since the place they’d spent the last ten days staying and volunteering had been trashed.

Then.

“They say the Night Hound came at dawn this morning.”

“That’s scary. While everyone was sleeping…….”

Bianca and Sinclair appeared.

The volunteer students were talking about the terrifying villain that had attacked them last night.

To think that they could have been the target of the killer if they hadn’t done something right…….

“It’s a shame, we had a chance to catch him and prove our epic hero qualities!”

“He must be a thief, since he hides behind a mask and only goes around at night. As long as I catch him,…….”

“Hey, guys, shouldn’t you be a little scared? We’ve already had a few people die at the hands of that villain.”

“What’s scary? All he has to do is show up and I’ll kill him with one of my arrows!”

“I think it’s an interesting villain to study.”

Everyone is excited.

Meanwhile, while the puppies were gathered together and howling.

“Academy students are going back to school now. Please gather in one place, and those of you from the Quovadis will come over here separately.”

St. Dolores was restoring the destroyed buildings and tallying up the casualties.

Surprisingly, despite the pre-dawn disaster, not a single person had been killed or injured.

The only thing that had been found were the remains of a large number of boys and girls, all around the age of thirteen, common to all the places the Night Hounds had traveled.

That is right below the lodgings of Guilty, the head of the Indulgentia family.

Numerous reporters came to cover the horrific scene.

So did members of the Academy’s newspaper staff.

Dolores didn’t exactly discourage them. In fact, she seemed to encourage them.

Meanwhile, the Quovadis had also sent a team of investigators early in the morning.

A group of young New Order priests came to examine the children and search the scene of the disaster.

The Old Order priests wanted to examine the scene as well.

“The Holy Mother has not yet abandoned your investigation.”

Mozgus, the New Order archbishop and inquisitor, was blocking the Old Order investigators.

Several Old Order priests protested.

“Aren’t we the same Quovadis, and are you discriminating against us based on our faction?”

“The clergy of the Old Order also have the right and duty to investigate the scene of the tragedy and save their neighbors in need!”

“Archbishop Mozgus, holy man, what in the world are you doing, get out of my way, and if I report this to Cardinal Humbert, I’m sure he’ll issue a great interdict…… immediately!”

But Mozgus just shook his head, his massive body blocking their path.

Then he looked back at Dolores, who was now out in the middle of the field.

“Saint, why don’t you go back to school, and I’ll take over here.”

“Yes, Mr. Mozgus. Please.”

They chatted as if the Old Order priests weren’t even on their minds.

Dolores placed her hand on Mozgus’s arm and whispered softly.

“I’m sorry about your brother.”

” ……We were twins, but we were raised separately from birth, so we weren’t particularly close. Besides, we had very different beliefs, so it’s okay.”

But Mozgus’s expression was deep as he said this.

He seemed deeply shocked that his brother was being used as a puppet in the name of Ephebo.

Guilty, or rather Dantalian and his four undead companions, were completely destroyed and plunged into the depths of the collapse.

The Quovadis will now begin a massive investigation.

Mozgus looked back at the excavation and spoke in a low voice.

“Guilty…… was suspicious to begin with, and while the Night Hound remains untrustworthy, at this point I can’t help but trust his sense of smell. Raiding the House’s branches is unforgivable, but…… in a way, I’m personally grateful and even relieved that he’s doing such a good job of picking out the rotten parts of the House.”

Says that little bastard of a principled man, Mozgus.

Mozgus had seen how hard the Night Hound had worked to provide relief during the outbreak of the Red Plague, so he had a soft spot in his heart for the man, despite his words.

Dolores nodded.

“The Archbishop would like you to organize the situation here.”

“Yes. Are you going straight to the school?”

“No, sir. I have one more thing to do.”

“……which?”

Dolores simply smiled at Mozgus’s question.

Suddenly, Mozgus realized that Dolores was much more cheerful than before.

Whereas before, she had been a stern and determined teenager, conflicted and troubled behind the scenes, now…….

‘You’ve grown stronger.’

As if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she glowed brighter and more energetic.

Her face, too, looked strangely refreshed.

Dolores, too, was in a much better state of mind after her soul resonance with the Hound last night.

It was a very pleasant and uplifting experience to merge body and soul with someone, even if only temporarily.

Dolores listened to the laments, sorrow, and misery of the world, but she couldn’t help but lament her own.

She was thrilled to be understood for the first time and comforted for the first time.

Is that why?

“……Quovadis is here! Attention everyone!”

This was Dolores taking a leap of faith, something she normally wouldn’t have done because she was too worried about looking away.

At this point, all the eyes of the priests in Quovadis turned toward Dolores.

The volunteers from the academy were also sending puzzled glances.

…glup!

Dolores swallowed hard.

The QuoVadis, a house of Faithful Saint.

A prestigious priestly family, whose entire family belonged to the Rune Church, and who had been assisting the government with ceremonies since before the founding of the country.

What she was about to do could have offended that ancient pride.

But she also firmly believed.

‘If you truly have pride, you will rise above this.’

Her last night with the Night Hound had changed her.

Dolores no longer looked away, hesitated, and kept her thoughts to herself.

She was no longer afraid of the world, the world that stared at her, pressured her, and forced her.

“Saint, why are you stopping us?”

“Please let us in on the investigation!”

“Can you discriminate against us like this just because we’re Old Order, aren’t we all brothers and sisters under Rune!”

“Ms. Dolores, if Cardinal Humbert is aware of this, he can send a letter to……!”

Dolores stands in front of the shouting Old Order priests.

Fluttering-

She pulled a few sheets of paper from her breast pocket.

A stamp on an envelope, and writing with the recipient and sender. Even the seal of House Indulgentia.

It was a letter from House Indulgentia to House Quavadis, handed over to Dolores last night, before the Night Hound left.

‘Use it where you think fit.’

With these words, he disappeared.

Dolores then began to read the papers from his arms.

“Sales of indulgences and pardons, dated January 0, 0!”

Her voice was trembling slightly, but it never broke.

“Caller! Guilty L Indulgentia! Recipient, Cardinal ‘Humbert humbert L Quovadis’!”

Both sides of the letter Dolores is holding crumple under the force.

<Indulgence Sales Statement>

Viscount Beckin: Murdered parents who refused to leave their inheritance to their children, faked accidental death and stole the inheritance = all sins forgiven by paying 1.5 billion gold in tribute.

Baron Lageso: Terrorized and murdered twin sisters who worked as maids, and secretly buried them in the sewers. = All sins were forgiven by paying 200 million gold as an offering.

Lord Finigig: Murdered his partner and took all the investment money, and the partner’s family committed mass suicide after suffering in their daily lives. = All sins were forgiven by paying 800 million gold in cash.

Count Eisel: Charged with massive tax evasion, nearly 100 billion gold in tax evasion alone = Pardoned by paying 300 million gold in tribute.

CEO Quarkar: Allegedly manipulating stock prices, driving over 10,000 ant investors to suicide=Pay 5 billion gold in tribute and all sins are forgiven.

.

.

It was a secret ledger of indulgences that Guilty, or rather Dantalian, had been selling to nobles and merchants traveling to Old Order temples.

Tax evasion, stock market manipulation, sex crimes, murder-for-hire, arson, assault, and murder-by-association, among other illegal, criminal, and inhumane acts…….

Conclusive evidence has been exposed to the world that the Old Order of the Faithful Quovadis was intimately involved in all these sordid crimes.

By the hand of a saintly woman of Quovadis, herself.