"When my predictions are verified, you will realize how foolish it was to distrust me."
"Whatever you say, I still have to go anyway. If that kid really comes, we can't let Qian Zhihe deal with it alone, right?"
I was bickering with Gale on the side of the road, and the church was already in front of me - paper cranes were standing at the door.
"Hmph, my judgment is not wrong. I can see through it at a glance whether you are lying or not."
"..."
The weirdo I met yesterday asked Qianzhihe and I to come back to him one day later.
However, Gale decisively believed that the other party was lying. His attitude was firm, but he did not give any basis.
I was dubious, but I still came to the church, although it was about half an hour later than the original time.
"Sorry, I'm late."
After I briefly said hello, I noticed that the paper crane didn’t sweat under the scorching sun, so I asked:
"You just came out of church?"
"Well...that gentleman is not here."
Qian Zhihe said and handed me a piece of paper:
"He left us this."
There were a few lines on the paper, and I read them quickly—it roughly meant that the guy was temporarily busy and could not meet.
Oh, Gail guessed it right.
"It's a waste of time."
"...Maybe he has something to hide."
Until now, the kind-hearted Qian Zhihe, who favors all "weak" people, still speaks for that guy.
"I think so."
I said calmly:
"Where did you find this paper?"
"On the bench where he was sitting before."
......
I walked into the church.
A tranquil and solemn atmosphere envelopes the room, and the cool temperature makes people feel comfortable. The sun always stops at the front of the hall, embracing several sculpture-like prayers.
I carefully checked that no one was nearby, then I came to a corner where I couldn't easily see it, and leaned against the wall, motionless.
Well, the cool and comfortable environment is very suitable for sleeping. In fact, I have already started to feel sleepy and really want to go back to bed.
But unfortunately, the matter was not finished.
I yawned and rubbed the corners of my eyes.
I persisted in this stance for nearly forty minutes, and just when I wanted to give up, that guy appeared——
A tall, muscular man with a dejected appearance... He did not admit his mistake.
I stared at the other person - the pillar blocked most of my body, and with the lack of light, it was impossible to see me unless I looked carefully.
He cautiously approached the bench where the letter was placed. After seeing something, he looked puzzled and stopped.
In order to prevent him from running away suddenly, I quietly walked around to the door of the church, walked towards him from the direction of the door, and called him:
"Hey~~"
"...!"
The other party took a step back suddenly, as if he was greatly frightened.
His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
When he was only five or six steps away, the divine eye activated:
[The chance of encountering the severe wind and fire spell on the head is 16%]
[The chance of being hit by a dart on the chest is 25%]
[The chance of successfully dodging to the right is 32%]
[The chance of successfully dodging to the left is 27%]
......
Several messages immediately made me freeze in place, but Gale didn't say anything.
The man in front of him looked like a trapped animal, his shoulders undulating greatly due to his heavy breathing.
Oops, this guy...
"Hey, why are you looking like this? Is there a monster behind me?"
I tried my best to smile as naturally as possible and said in a nonchalant manner:
"I thought you weren't coming. I fell asleep while waiting."
"...No, sorry."
The man was stunned for a moment and seemed to have put away his vigilance.
"It's okay, it's okay~~"
Although I was very nervous, I still moved closer to him - this time, my plug-in did not respond.
However, what is certain is that this guy just had murderous intentions towards me.
"That girl's grandfather is sick. She has to go visit him and can't come today."
"Ah... no, it doesn't matter, you... don't need to help me... I'm just here to put..."
The man casually picked up the piece of paper - I had put it back on the bench in advance so that I could lie and say I hadn't been there when this happened... I didn't expect it to come in handy. p>
I just pretended to read the content on the paper.
"So, you don't need our help? Or you have already solved it?"
"Well... no need to trouble you... thank you... I, I have something urgent..."
His response was vague.
"Okay, I don't care~~"
I waved my hand in a reasonable manner and put it into the pocket of my coat:
"But that guy... is that girl. She really wants to help. If I don't even know what difficulties you have, she will definitely scold me for doing things perfunctory."
"...this...is also..."
The man hesitated for a long time before he nodded:
"Then...please sit down..."
"Okay."
I closed the distance again and glanced at him pretending to be relaxed:
"By the way, can you put away your weapons first? Like darts or something... I'm just a civilian with no strength."
"...!"
The man immediately regained his alertness and stepped back.
[The chance of being stabbed in the head is 48%]
I held the knife in my pocket tightly, with cold sweat dripping from my palms.
It's okay, it's so close... I have a chance of winning.
"You...why..."
"Ah~~ I forgot to explain. I am responsible for repairing clocks. No slightest sound can escape my ears."
"...This, this is it..."
The man breathed a sigh of relief, and I also let go of my worries.
Alas, this guy is just like a vicious dog at the end of his life...if there is anything strange about him, he becomes ferocious.
Foreigners are really weird.
"Sorry, I am a hunter...so I carry these things with me..."
Okay, okay, hunter, Gale’s companion.
I sat down with the man, and he took out the darts one by one and put them on the ground in front of me, and smiled at me in a flattering way. It seemed that he felt guilty because he had "misunderstood" me.
At this point, your trust in me has probably deepened.
He saw me as a non-threatening person, which moved me. However, I still have to seize the opportunities that should be taken——
I kicked the dart away, held him down with one hand, and put a knife against his defenseless throat with the other hand——
"Don't move."
I succeeded and whispered.
The whole movement was done in one go without causing too much noise, so it did not disturb the praying people in the distance.
"You——"
"Shh——"
I interrupted the man - he was quite panicked at first, and then lowered his head as if resigned to his fate. I was glad that he did not resist violently.
Just in case, I ordered him to get up and threatened him with a knife to follow me into a small utility room next door. He did everything silently.
After closing the door, I threw the knife aside.
"It is really necessary to use this method——"
Looking at the man who had not yet come to his senses, I said straight to the point:
"Boy, are you a soldier?"
"..."
The other party's body trembled, and his behavior confirmed my guess.
"The handwriting you wrote to us is so crooked and ugly - you didn't write it with your dominant hand, right?"
I raised the piece of paper and shook it:
"I didn't want us to recognize the handwriting, but it was self-defeating."
"..."
"Well...since your boy can use the fierce wind and fire technique, he is probably not an ordinary soldier..."
[Fire Wind and Fire Technique] is a difficult spiritual magic to perform, and it is almost impossible to practice without professional training. As far as I know, there are no more than five people in this small town who know spiritual magic.
"...! You, who are you?! How..."
Ah, he doesn’t know that I have divine eyes...
"I guessed it. It seems I'm right... Then I'll guess again, um..."
Well~~it’s quite fun to pretend to be a ghost.
"When you saw us yesterday, were you scared for a moment? That girl was wearing a guard uniform, and you are a soldier...what's so scary?"
"Don't..."
"So, forgive me for making a bold guess - you are a deserter, right?"
"..."
The man was like a deflated rubber ball, his head lowered listlessly.
My purpose is not to play the role of a detective who catches the criminal. In other words, I am not actually interested in his identity.
"Okay, okay~~"
I patted his shoulder:
"Don't worry, I'm just a civilian, and I won't arrest you. I just want to know one thing - what are you doing in this town?"
"...really?"
"As long as you answer my questions honestly."
"..."
The man suddenly raised his face and looked at me intently, perhaps to confirm whether my words were credible.
I'm waiting for him.
"..."
"...Okay."
With a long sigh, the man nodded slightly.
"I'm all ears."
"..."
The man organized his thoughts, his eyes staring at somewhere on the floor, or somewhere more distant:
"I...killed someone..."
"..."
"No, it's the demon... I killed the demon..."
"Oh? You are a soldier on the front line."
"Yes, the Eastern Front... joined the army a year ago..."
The heavy tone was vaguely mixed with the shadow of war.
"I was originally an auxiliary combatant...that is...located in the back row of the legion. Each group of five people...is responsible for casting large-scale magic..."
Oh... Sex magic like the one above does require the combined efforts of multiple people to use it.
"The experience of killing someone alone...had never happened before."
"..."
"Until I was transferred to a vanguard unit...one night, I was ambushed outside the city..."
The man pressed his temples and frowned in pain:
"I saw a demon who was seriously injured and was about to pounce on my companion...my companion was already dying...so I rushed over without thinking much,
Knocked down the demon..."
"..."
"He roared crazily and bit me like a wild beast... My magic power and his were exhausted. I subconsciously strangled his neck, and he did the same thing... I
It's very painful. If I don't kill him, I will die. I can only think this way... He is struggling hysterically. I can't let go. I must kill him first..."
Without warning, the man rubbed his hair vigorously:
"I didn't want to kill him, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to die, and he definitely didn't want to either... I watched helplessly as he kept twitching and foaming at the mouth... I couldn't let go.
My hands were squeezing him uncontrollably, and he was about to die... His life was in my hands. This was the first time I felt like this. I didn't want to kill him, but I had no choice.
I had to use force... He, he was killed by me..."
I heard the man's groan of collapse, like the cry of his soul.
......
"You did not return to the camp that day, but fled the army?"
"Well... At that time, I just wanted to stay away from the war, as far away as possible, and I ended up here before I knew it... The army didn't track me down, maybe they thought I was dead...
."
"Well..."
I looked at the man who was gradually calming down and said:
"So, you plan to settle in a small town?"
"......?"
"What? Is there graffiti on my face?"
"You..."
"I'm too lazy to do anything to you... What I did was just to test whether you had any intention of harming the town. After all, you look so suspicious."
"No, it won't...I promise."
The other party responded quickly.
"Well, okay, then I'll keep it a secret for you... As for you, just enjoy life in the small town and don't cause trouble."
As soon as I finished speaking, I opened the door:
"I will contact you another day, just wait for me... You should have enough money to stay in a hotel, right?"
"Yes, some..."
This guy still has an expression of disbelief.
"Then what are you waiting for? Do you need me to lead you?"
"No..."
"Goodbye."
"...Hmm."
......
After the man left, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to ask his name.
Well... forget it, we can still see you in the future anyway.
"That guy really... didn't even say thank you."
I closed the door again.
"You can show up now."
"Well..."
Deep in the utility room, behind a pile of wooden boxes, a figure walked out.