"If you have leads on the Shadow Maiden, and if it's within my power."
Amid Prusius's anxiety and Katerina's wariness, Lu Li answered calmly.
"Beneath the ruins of the Belfast Library lies a collection of books, guarded by a vengeful spirit whose power is close to that of an evil spirit. Only by passing her trial can one enter the basent to retrieve those books—and her. Pass the trial so we can enter and take those books."
"A guardian whose power approaches that of an evil spirit," Lu Li repeated quietly, as if asking for confirmation.
Saintess Helena leaned back in her chair again.
"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, she will only ask a few questions. Regardless of whether you succeed or fail, she won't harm you unless you offend her. I trust you won't do that."
"Has no one else succeeded?"
"Then you wouldn't be needed."
Saintess Helena's soft laughter echoed through the church.
"It's no use for them to store knowledge in their heads. So of them don't even have heads."
Faced with this humiliation from his superior, the nearby cultist shrank back, pulling his tentacles under the hem of his cloak.
"I need more information, and the details of the trial."
"Take him away... What's your na?"
The Saintess waved her hand, commanding the cultist, only then rembering she didn't know the man's na.
"Lu Li."
"Take Lu Li and his companions to the ruins. Let those who failed tell him what to do."
The cultist bowed and, with a rustle of tentacles, led Lu Li and his companions out of the church.
The church hall fell silent and empty once more, leaving only the figure in the throne-like chair. Glowing eyes illuminated the space, like a deity gazing down upon the mortal world.
...
The basent of the Belfast Library.
Lu Li had been there once before.
As a novice, he had needed books to understand this world, so he had gone to investigate, only to flee after encountering the vengeful spirit in the basent.
Lu Li wasn't sure if the vengeful spirit guarding the place now was the sa one he had t before, but it seed unlikely that two different vengeful spirits would appear in the sa ruins by chance.
He took a notebook from the inner pocket of his coat. It looked as though it had been dropped in water at so point; after being dried, its pages were wrinkled like desiccated leaves.
Lu Li's old notebook had always been kept in a desk drawer at his shelter.
The dampness of Sea Gaze Cliff corroded everything, and the notebook was no exception. Fortunately, the drawer, swollen with moisture, had sealed the gaps, which in turn prevented the notebook from turning into a pulpy ss from the decay.
After being retrieved and dried, apart from its warped shape and stuck-together pages, it was still readable.
Lu Li opened it to a page detailing the results of his past investigation.
Case Number: Oftum-1
Form: Charred, carbonized humanoid ghost
Level: Vengeful Spirit (unconfird)
In life: Na, Ofelia Green; 29 years old; height 175 centiters; employee of the Belfast Library; orphan, adopted by Miller Green (Miller Green deceased three years prior).
Character: Often fed stray animals nearby; would buy food for the local orphanage after receiving her salary; occasionally frequented "Kate's Tavern" at night (a sailors' tavern in Port Roadster, one catering to won, where n perford dances nightly); neighbors reported seeing her purchase books such as "My Love Story with Baroness Joseph" and "Empress Catherine and Her Companions"; preferred to live in the library rather than return ho after Mrs. Miller's death; asked neighbors to set her up with young n; often went on dates with young n, but without success; once struck one of them because he disgusted her.
Location: Library ruins on Tulip Street.
"Have you seen the true form of that vengeful spirit?"
"Charred..." The words that ca from beneath the shifting black cloak were indistinct, like a receding tide.
It was probably her.
"Why do you need the books?" Lu Li continued to ask.
"To irrigate the fields..."
Lu Li glanced at a tilled field in the northwest corner of the empty land; there was only black, fertile soil, with no crops growing.
"The True Library has enough books."
"The more books, the better..." the cultist's reply remained terse.
The cultists dwelling in the houses at the edge of the settlent cast glances at Lu Li—or rather, at the cultist beside him—and bowed slightly.
The tentacled cultist approached the gates of the fortress-like settlent and spoke, his words carrying the scent of rotting silt.
"Shumofur."
Heretics in black cloaks, all of different heights, approached silently, and the settlent's gates slowly creaked open.
A wide, empty street stretched out before them.
"Shumofur..."
Prusius, trailing behind Lu Li, couldn't help but repeat the word under his breath. A strange tremor suddenly ran through his hyena-like body, emitting a strong, fishy odor.
Prusius suddenly felt an itch on his rear. He turned his head and saw with horror a wriggling tentacle erging from the base of his tail, like a bare, underdeveloped second tail.
"Kiofunur..." whispered a large heretic, and the strong fishy sll intensified, as if they were standing next to a pile of rotting fish.
"It says he can beco a new believer," the cultist translated.
"I... I don't want to..." Prusius stamred fearfully, tucking his "two" tails between his legs.
The large heretic lost interest in Prusius.
"How do I make it go away?..." Prusius asked, his voice thick with tears.
The ugly tail, sprouting from his smooth, yellow-brown fur, disturbed him. It was hideous.
"It is a gift bestowed by His Gaze," said the tentacled cultist.
Which ant it couldn't be removed.
"This is what happens when you get curious about things you shouldn't and run your mouth," Katerina said with a hint of schadenfreude, though without any real malice.
"Are there any side effects?" Lu Li asked.
"An aura."
Amid these ambiguous words, they left the settlent.
The escorting heretics flanked them, guarding their path. The street was empty and deserted, creating an unsettling and strange feeling. Not a single anomaly dared to show itself—or perhaps the area around the settlent had already been cleared.
The library ruins were only a block away from the settlent. They quickly reached their destination, where the faint, acrid sll of burning hung in the air.
The library had burned to the ground twenty-four years ago; what they slled now was rely the aura emanating from the vengeful spirit.
As they drew closer to the collapsed corridor, the sll of burning grew stronger.
At the end of the corridor, the iron door leading to the basent was shut tight.
Under the watchful eyes of the heretics, Katerina, and Prusius, Lu Li held up his kerosene lamp and stepped into the darkness beyond the door.
A short while later, Lu Li erged calmly, followed by a charred human figure.
He had passed the trial.
Everything had gone incredibly smoothly, as if, just as the Everlasting Drear had said, a happy ending awaited them.
The group, now with one more mber in its ranks, returned to the settlent. The charred human figure followed Lu Li as they entered the church once more.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
The sound of Saintess Helena's applause echoed through the church. She looked down at Lu Li with an approving gaze.
"I knew this task should be entrusted to you, and you've handled it very well. Now, for the second matter..."
"You're supposed to give
the leads on the Shadow Maiden," Lu Li interrupted, his brow furrowed.
"Of course, that is part of the agreent..." Saintess Helena said softly.
"But I never said there was only one."
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