“Here.”
“…What’s this?”
“You can’t wear a maid outfit there. Change.”
The next day at lunch, as Lilian entered the room right after finishing her meal, she handed me a dress. It was a plain-colored dress fit for commoners. I quickly changed and when I returned, Lilian was waiting, dressed in a similar outfit.
As I approached her, she sat there muttering to herself like someone caught in the rain, and I quietly waited for her to snap out of it.
“I’d love to mess up my hair a bit, but… Catherine would hate it.”
“What is it that I hate?”
“Eek?!”
Startled by Lilian’s reaction, I gently played with her hair. Sure, getting it all dirty was out of the question, but coating it in some oil to make it look a little greasy was doable. I ran to the kitchen, grabbed some oil, and disguised Lilian’s hair. Then, I applied some oil to my own hair. It wasn’t completely filthy, but I felt like I resembled a commoner who hadn’t bathed for a day or two, and Lilian nodded in approval as she looked in the mirror.
“So, where are we going?”
Unlike the wide skirt of the maid uniform, the dress wasn’t suitable for hiding weapons. So, reluctantly, I strapped a dagger holder to my thigh and filled it with a dagger, then asked Lilian about our destination. She scratched her cheek as she responded.
“Well, I guess I can tell you now. It wasn’t really a letter to me but to Catherine.”
“Huh?”
Lilian then pulled out a letter from her bosom. As I took it, the name on the sender line made me frown slightly. Chloe von Selvius. Wasn’t that the name of the princess? Didn’t she return to the Imperial Palace? Opening the letter, I discovered some rather shocking content.
To summarize the flowery language, there had been sightings of demons within the estate of the House of Marquis of Portus. They noted that signs of demons were being discovered all across the Empire at once, creating a sense of urgency that felt straight out of an old tale.
Given that these signs were appearing simultaneously and that manpower was lacking, the letter requested that Young Lady Lilian investigate the signs at the House of Marquis of Portus. So that was what they meant by it being like a letter sent to me; Young Lady couldn’t investigate the traces of demons all by herself.
“So, the place where they found traces of demons… is that the slum?”
“Yeah. People have been going missing a lot lately, so they investigated, and found traces of curses and sacrifices, along with traces of magic scattered nearby.”
“How did they identify it as magic?”
“From ancient records. They said black energy was floating around. I mean, if that’s the case, it could only be magic, right?”
To think they had done that kind of investigation while I was just sitting around. The investigation must have started quite some time ago.
“Well, I only learned about magic after receiving this letter.”
“I see.”
“Now then, Catherine, you’ll need to lend a hand. There’s a chance for violent conflict, after all.”
“Then, it would be best to prepare some proper weaponry.”
Twin swords were too awkward to conceal and would stand out too much in the slum. After all, how often do commoners see someone carrying a sword? Swords are expensive even for commoners. It’s a given when they’re made of solid metal.
Only those deemed knights would carry swords. Most soldiers use spears or bows. It’s cost-efficient, and when training common soldiers, spears or bows are usually the most effective.
“Hmm, even though I say that, the truth is, the chances of violent conflict are pretty low.”
Saying this, Lilian hopped onto the carriage she had prepared. It seemed she intended to ride the carriage to the vicinity of the slum.
“Isn’t a dagger strapped to your thighs enough?”
“It would suffice to protect you and make a quick getaway but… anything more than that would be pushing it.”
“Yeah. Honestly, that’s more than enough.”
To be honest, the dress clung a little to my behind, making the dagger uncomfortable. But without it, I’d be left with no means of defense, so I had to bear the discomfort. Why do women have such wide hips anyway? Well, to be fair, I might have wider hips than average women. Lilian or Yulia aren’t as wide, but considering Chloe has certain parts that are larger than others, it’s honestly kind of surprising.
As I was lost in thought, staring out the window, I noticed Lilian doing the same, silently gazing outside. The scenery gradually shifted as we moved toward a darker area. But it was still too early to call it a slum. After what felt like ages, our carriage suddenly came to a halt, having reached its destination.
“Looks like we’ve arrived. Let’s get out.”
I jumped out of the carriage and took Lilian’s hand to help her down. She seemed a bit tense, holding on tightly to my hand as she subtly hid behind me. Looking around, I could clearly see the neighborhood was unsafe and filthy.
As we entered, the characteristic stench hit us hard. I had a pretty decent stomach, so it didn’t bother me too much, but Lilian was scrunching her face as if trying not to vomit, keeping her mouth tightly shut.
Once we ventured deeper into the slum, we saw people with vacant expressions wandering aimlessly. There were men among them, but no one seemed to pay us any attention. It wasn’t because they were nice; they were simply too indifferent to care about anyone else.
As we passed by those with empty gazes, I finally spotted the building Young Lady mentioned. I was worried I’d have to ask others, but since it was an uncommon sight in the slum, it stood out clearly.
A Cathedral. There was a cathedral with an upside-down cross right in front of us. It didn’t look like a typical church at all, and I quietly entered the building. As I opened the door, the rusty hinges creaked, revealing a pitch-black interior. With the shadows created by the walls, sunlight couldn’t penetrate the cathedral, and as I stepped inside, I heard the wet squelch of liquid beneath my feet.
“Hmm?”
“Eek!”
Looking down, I saw a red liquid sloshing around, as if it were about to solidify at any moment. Lilian looked like she might faint; she let out a sound teetering on a scream.
“For now… let me carry you.”
“W-Okay. Thank you.”
To calm her down, I scooped her up and continued deeper into the cathedral. Thump, thump, thump—my heart was pounding hard. Looks like she’s pretty scared.
As we entered the worship hall, the source of the blood was revealed. It was a room piled high with corpses, and in the center was a single holy grail. The blood was oozing from the bodies into the grail. It was obviously a sacrificial ritual performed by human hands.
Ever since the upside-down cross, things had been suspicious. Just how many people did they kill? Lilian was starting to gag, unable to bear the smell of decay. Truth be told, I was having a hard time with the stench as well.
“I’ll just investigate the grail. Just hang in there.”
I felt Lilian nodding behind me. Squelching across the pool of blood, I reached the grail and pulled a dagger from my thigh. Then, I struck down towards the grail.
Clank—! But the grail simply fell to the ground without any visible damage. Tsk, clicking my tongue, I kicked the grail. It rolled and came to a stop in front of a figure.
“…Who are you?”
“Hmm, that’s quite rude.”
The man who picked up the grail looked at me with an intrigued gaze. His eyes were the inverted kind, the sclera and iris swapped. He definitely looked inhuman, so I quickly set Lilian down and took a combat stance.
“A demon? No. A human. You have magical power… how fascinating.”
He slowly advanced towards me, horns sprouting from his head. Knowing he looked like a demon made me tense up as I stared at him.
“Well, I’m going to die anyway.”
As he lunged at me, claws extended, I used my dagger to block his attack.
“Oh? You blocked it?”
“Tsk.”
Seems my dagger wasn’t enough. While that thought crossed my mind, I scanned the area and spotted a sword near a statue.
“Miss! For now, let’s get you out of here.”
“What? No way. Catherine. We’re going together.”
“Just find me a sword quickly. This place seems like a shrine to a war god.”
“Uh, okay? Alright.”
It seemed Lilian understood, nervously making her way towards the open door. Just as the demon charged after her, I lunged at him, intercepting his path.
“Hah, so annoying.”
The demon’s expression turned serious for a moment, and I realized it was coming at me.
