“….”
“…Huk… Ugh…”
After Polena finished her story, I maintained a heavy expression in silence for a moment, while beside me, Cazerose was crying with heightened emotions.
And… looking at us, Polena spoke with a voice filled with sorrow.
“I have been trying to forget all this while, holding it in and hoping it would pass. I thought it was something unavoidable… something that naturally happens due to the flow of events. But no matter how hard I try, it hasn’t worked. Just yesterday, I was talking and laughing with someone, and now they’re found dead, or the friend I was having fun with has turned into a murderer with blood on their hands…”
“….”
Listening to Polena’s words, I found myself unable to help but empathize with her.
Thanks to being an outsider, Polena had a more open-minded way of thinking.
From her perspective, there’s no way she could calmly witness her friends killing each other just because of a mere difference in religion.
And this was the same for me, as someone who had reincarnated into this world.
Of course, I acknowledged that religion has its own values and positive aspects.
However… I could never condone being engulfed by it to the point where one couldn’t even discern right from wrong and simply went berserk.
‘Besides, if those crazy folks are my friends, there’s absolutely no way I could watch this without interfering… They’d do whatever it takes to stop it.’
At that moment, as I realized why Polena was so determined to solve this issue…
She looked at me again with a heartfelt voice.
“I ask you once again… If I’m not enough by myself… please let me know if there’s anything else you desire. If you can help stop this situation, I will do anything. So… I beg you…”
“…Hah…”
Her repeated earnest plea.
In response, I sighed deeply and began to contemplate the conclusion I had already arrived at.
‘In this situation… there’s no way I can refuse…’
Understanding her position, I empathized with the mental pain she must have endured.
Seeing her bow her head repeatedly, desperately pleading for my help was enough to shake my resolve.
Moreover, with Cazerose next to me, her eyes brimming with tears, I realized I had no way to back out now.
‘In the end… I guess I have no choice but to buy some time here? At this rate, the already tight schedule is going to get even tighter…’
By now, Sijip should be conducting his ascension ceremony to become the next Emperor.
Given the series of events that would follow, it wouldn’t be long before the Sacred Empire finds itself engulfed in the storm of civil war.
Realizing this…
I spoke to the two women looking at me with desperate eyes in a resigned tone.
“Hah… Alright… If you’re asking that much… I will help you.”
“Ah!”
“Th-thank you. Really… thank you so much!”
In response, Polena immediately bowed her head to me, and Cazerose was already exuding a sense of relief before we even began.
Seeing them like this made me feel a slight burden added to my shoulders compared to just a moment ago.
‘No… It’s understandable for Polena, but isn’t Cazerose trusting me a bit too much? Judging by her expression, it’s almost like she thinks everything is already over…’
Of course, if the method works well, then there won’t be a problem. But on the other hand, the fact that I’m receiving this much trust from someone made a bitter smile appear on my face.
*
After forming a ‘contract’ with Polena, Cazerose, and I went upstairs to find a room where we could discuss in more detail.
“First, let me introduce myself properly. My name is Santana Andreas. And this is…”
“Paladin, Cazerose Sophia. Nice to meet you.”
“San…tana? And Ca…zerose…? ”
Polena briefly made a strange expression for a moment. But then she smiled and looked at us.
“My name is Polena, as I mentioned earlier. I don’t have a surname.”
She spoke lightly.
Not having a surname was a bit unusual, but since it wasn’t something we needed to dwell on, I just casually thought, “Oh, that’s how it is.”
What mattered was not that but rather the fact that we soon began to seriously bring up the main topic.
Since time was running out, we needed to proceed as quickly as possible.
Thus, I started asking Polena about the points I mentioned earlier.
“First, regarding the things you mentioned that are necessary, I need information from you, and connections with influential people in this city. Can you help with that?”
“Of course. Don’t worry about the connections. I have quite a wide network as it turns out. From the little kids of the city to the Lord’s closest aides, there are plenty of people passing through here that I can reach out to.”
Sure enough, since she was the most popular barmaid in the city, I could trust her ability concerning the city’s connections and information.
It was like saying the owner of a gisaeng house was one of the best connections during the Joseon Dynasty.
“Alright, now for the information part; please answer the questions I’m about to ask as fully as you can. If there are parts you can’t answer immediately, please use those ‘connections’ to gather at least some information.”
“Yes, understood.”
With enthusiastic emotion, she began to answer the questions I asked.
Despite my slight worries, the information she had was indeed more varied and had more depth than I had expected.
“So, this is the information about the people who have been attacked so far, right?”
“Yes. The salt merchant Atol… the glassblower Cherry… They’re almost forgotten now, but all of them were hard workers who made a decent living.”
“I see… they all showed interest in heretical teachings, didn’t they?”
“Yes, but… honestly, I was a bit surprised about Ellen. I never imagined someone who showed no signs at all would be caught up in heresy. I thought she was pious since she regularly attended church…”
“Mm…”
Analyzing the situation based on Polena’s testimony, I began to lay out my plans one by one.
The three of us aimed to identify the person leading this affair, understand their tendencies and authority, and refine our plan based on that.
Thus, after focusing on gathering information here for about three days…
We finally managed to finish all the planning related to this incident.
“That went faster than I expected.”
“Yes… without your help, Polena, we wouldn’t have gotten this done in this timeframe.”
“Hehe, thank you for the compliment. So then… shall we get started?”
With a renewed sense of excitement in her voice, Polena spoke up.
Seeing her like this, both Cazerose and I started smiling as well.
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