### Chapter 151: The Decorous Father Dekan
“Hmm, the weather is nice, but it looks like no one has cleaned for several days.”
Dekan stepped out of the church, walking down the leaf-strewn steps, gazing at the clear water carvings on the floor tiles.
From the outside, the exquisite masonry of the small church made every detail remarkably delicate, even the wear of time and storms could not dull its charm.
However, it felt slightly out of place.
Looking around, this was a relatively prosperous border town.
Yet, the construction of such a significant-looking church seemed to suggest other reasons behind it.
Dekan had already identified his starting point, precisely in the small town mentioned in the story background of “the border city-state and its towns.”
He wondered if there were other challengers in the town.
In this scattered Shadow World, one significant trouble lay in distinguishing unfamiliar challengers from the native inhabitants of the Shadow World.
However, there were also advantages; as long as one took proper precautions, others might not discover Dekan’s identity.
As Dekan observed the nearby environment, he pondered.
He had already roughly searched through the church interior before exiting, but found no crucial items.
Except for the set of keys he had in his pocket from the start.
It seemed the church hadn’t been cared for in several days, and for now, only Dekan had the authority to enter this church.
The town’s buildings were unevenly aligned due to the mountainous terrain, yet they exuded a unique beauty.
Even standing outside the church, Dekan could see the town surrounded by mountains and trees, lush and vibrant.
Even in autumn, it appeared to be full of life.
The terrain here was surprisingly reminiscent of the area near an ancient mansion he had seen in a previous Shadow World of desolate mountains and snowy illusions.
If that desolate mountain truly existed in this world, it could very well be located in the southern mountainous region of the Holy Country.
However, just a few steps beyond the church gate, he spotted an elderly man in his sixties at the corner outside, seemingly coming to find Dekan.
The old man was taken aback when he saw Dekan, surprise etched on his face.
“Good sir, when did you arrive? And that on your face…”
The elder seemed to try to remain polite as best he could.
But after examining Dekan, he couldn’t hide a look of disdain.
“I just arrived not long ago.”
Dekan spoke coolly, though he felt slightly puzzled inside.
The other man didn’t address him with honorifics.
It even sounded as if he suspected Dekan’s identity as a clergy member.
Despite Dekan’s youthful appearance, he was nonetheless a legitimate priest.
He had proof from the Holy Ritual Church in his pocket and should merit respect.
“May I ask who you are?”
Dekan inquired.
Even though the elder’s attitude was not as reverent as he had anticipated, Dekan valued respect for the elderly and children, displaying high quality.
“I am the mayor of this town. I estimate that the priest sent by the city-state to investigate should be arriving soon. I heard townsfolk mention seeing a young priest coming to the town, so I came to see…”
At this point, the mayor seemed increasingly uncertain about whether Dekan was a genuine priest, asking:
“Can you show me the proof from the Holy Ritual Church?”
Dekan said nothing but instead pulled out the seal of the Holy Ritual Church from his pocket.
“Alright then.”
The mayor nodded, appearing to persuade himself that—this was a legitimate priest.
The reason for his disdain towards Dekan was that, upon seeing him, he noticed that this relatively decently dressed priest wore an extremely bizarre mask!
The mask had no openings for the eyes, leaving him puzzled about how this priest could see outside at all.
And most strangely, a large character—“中”—was painted in red on the mask.
Although the mayor didn’t know the meaning of this strange character, for some reason, he felt that this priest did not appear to be here for good deeds!
In fact, Dekan had donned the mask right before exiting the church.
Due to the anticipation that he would face numerous Resurrection Sect members, he had prepared a new equipment card for himself as a form of disguise—
【Red-Zhong Mask】
【Category: Equipment Card】
【Grade: Blue Rare】
【Class: 3】
【Effect: While wearing this mask, it can block low-level detection skills, and will not obstruct the wearer’s sight and perception. This mask can greatly reduce the sense of incongruity felt by others about the wearer.】
【Remark: I can’t distinguish, I really can’t!】
Theoretically, after Dekan wore this mask, even though it looked strange, it should minimize any doubt others might have about him.
Yet based on the mayor’s attitude, it seemed he still perceived a strong sense of incongruity about Dekan.
It appeared this was the effect after attempting to reduce it.
Perhaps the combination of the priest’s attire and this mask truly had an unsettling quality.
But a priest with such decorum shouldn’t look like a bandit, right?
“Have you seen a red-haired girl in the town? Also, could you share with me what you know regarding the situation?”
Dekan asked the mayor in a rather gentle tone.
He had noticed the mayor had mentioned, “Dekan is the priest sent by the city-state to investigate.”
Thus, something must have occurred in the town.
“A red-haired girl? No.”
The mayor frowned, seemingly reluctant to converse with this peculiar priest.
Yet constrained by Dekan’s identity, he felt compelled to respond:
“High Priest Kevin has been missing for five days. Besides investigating, you are now the temporary priest of this town.”
“Could you provide me with the details? Even trivial information might assist my investigation.”
“Then we must start from five days ago…”
Thus, Dekan and the mayor strolled through the small town while discussing.
After some time of conversation.
Dekan perceived that the mayor’s attitude was rather lukewarm, seemingly not solely due to his odd appearance.
The mayor already had a dislike for the Holy Ritual Church, even without concealing it.
In response to Dekan’s friendliness, the mayor’s initial negative sentiments slightly shifted toward neutrality.
Dekan subtly clarified his objectives without arousing the mayor’s suspicion.
This small town had originally been home to a High Priest—Kevin.
However, five days ago, High Priest Kevin had suddenly vanished.
More oddly, a key bridge leading to the city-state had also been deliberately destroyed.
This undoubtedly caused panic among the townsfolk, so the knights of the town took the mountain path to report the situation to the church and the lord.
Eventually, both the city-state and the church dispatched a priest to investigate the situation.
That reliable priest was Dekan.
