GILF Hunter

Chapter 523 What?

Priscia sat in her seat, clutching her throbbing head.

It had already been two weeks since she arrived in Labyrinth to search for traces of the Saintess.

Even for a large city, this was more than enough time for some clues to be found, but the order had discovered absolutely nothing during that time.

’How can this be?’

’Well, it’s because there are so many people in this city....’

’Even so...!’

The priests of the order each roamed the city collecting rumors, but there was no significant harvest. It wasn’t that they couldn’t gather any rumors, but rather that there were far too many strange ones.

In an ordinary city, the actions of someone as significant as a Saintess would naturally stand out. However, because this place was full of mercenaries, exaggerated stories that could bury even the rumors of a Saintess were overflowing.

Priscia randomly pulled a document from the pile the priests had gathered.

It contained a story about a certain mercenary who supposedly wiped out a plain full of monsters with a single arrow.

...Sigh.

Letting out a sigh, Priscia returned it to the stack of papers.

Most of the rumors floating around the streets were exaggerated stories like this, having nothing to do with the Saintess.

In a city where such stories circulated, how could a modest rumor about a Saintess going around healing people gain any attention?

’Are there any rumors that look like the Saintess...?’

’None at all. The few we found turned out to be people from the local temple.’

’Sigh.’

Facing an entirely unexpected obstacle, Priscia let out a small sigh.

At this rate, she couldn’t predict when she would ever find a clue.

It was almost time to send the first report to the Grand Temple.

If she continued to waste time and eventually reported that she found no trace...

The Grand Temple, worried about the manpower and costs consumed by a sluggish search, would soon issue a recall order.

And Priscia would be labeled as someone who had two opportunities but failed to find even a trace of the Saintess.

Surely, the infamy of being a priest unworthy of approaching the Saintess would follow her....

’Absolutely not!’

’Hic!’

When Priscia shouted, the priest standing in front of her flinched.

’I’m sorry. I got a bit excited.’

’It’s alright.... Honestly, we feel much the same, so we understand how you feel.’

If things continued like this, this expedition of the White Wings would be eternally recorded as the only case of failure.

The names of everyone in the order had already been recorded, and she couldn’t let those names remain in such a way.

’It can’t be helped.... I didn’t want to use this method.’

Sitting at a second-floor terrace table in a cafe, Priscia stared at the building across the street through the window. It was the building used as the base for the Ian Mercenary Group.

Taking a seat where the entrance to that building was visible, Priscia watched the people entering and leaving intently.

Priestess Frenda. And the knightly order....

A very suspicious candidate, who was most closely related to them in this city, happened to be passing by there.

* * *

A few days later.

Priscia received a bundle of documents gathered by the priests in her room at the temple.

’These are the materials on the people of that mercenary group you mentioned.’

The Ian Mercenary Group. As an A-rank group, a fair amount of information was known about them. Gathering that information wasn’t very difficult.

Due to the nature of Labyrinth, where monster invasions occurred every year, the mercenaries here inevitably had to reveal their skills in front of countless witnesses.

Priscia checked the personal details of the mercenaries gathered by the priests.

First, the Vice-Captain, Rin.

A mercenary who handles a magic sword, apparently.

There are many mercenaries who touch magic swords out of greed, but most fail to endure for long and run wild as their reason is consumed. However, this mercenary is said to control the magic sword perfectly to an unbelievable degree.

...Pass.

The mercenary group’s mage, Mika.

An accomplished barrier specialist.

She was a talent the Grand Temple would quite like, but now was not the time to be making career change offers to a mage, so pass on this one too.

The elementalist, Tanya.

A quite rare profession among mercenaries. Similarly, she likely wasn’t the person they were looking for.

The most likely candidate appeared before Priscia as she flipped through the papers.

...Lia.

She heard that the retired Holy Knights who settled in Labyrinth follow her quite a bit. Furthermore, there are even signs that she recently awakened Holy Magic.

It was said she occasionally visits the temple to meet with Priestess Frenda.

As Priscia set aside Lia’s documents and cleared the rest, the priest in front of her asked.

’Isn’t there one more person?’

’...Isn’t she a Black Mage?’

She shook her head as if there was nothing to see there.

She wasn’t the type to hold prejudice or hostility toward Black Mages, but still, she didn’t have the luxury to pay attention even to a Black Mage at a time like this.

More than that, Priscia focused on the detailed rumors attached to Lia’s documents.

’Quite a few people have seen Ms. Lia going out at night?’

’Yes. Among the nearby merchants who stay open late, several recognized her face. They say they don’t know where she goes.’

’Could you not find out where?’

’It’s likely the black market that opens at dawn or the entertainment district, isn’t it? They say most mercenaries roaming around at those hours have such purposes.’

No.... She wouldn’t be that type.

Priscia thought so and shook her head.

While collecting information from the staff working at the Labyrinth Temple, Priscia had heard quite a lot about Lia.

Because Lia had visited the temple periodically while preparing for the Abyss expedition, there were quite a few people who knew her.

Very firm, yet taciturn. She was said to be a person unlike a typical mercenary, someone who enjoyed neither luxury nor pleasure.

A person like a knight. That must be why the Holy Knights followed her words.

If such a person went out secretly at night, there was definitely some other purpose. Something that had to be done covertly, away from others’ eyes.

’...Surely the Captain over there knows something as well. I must watch those two primarily.’

’Shall I send members to the surrounding area?’

’No. I will look into it myself.’

’Priestess Priscia, by yourself?’

Priscia nodded and said.

’They are all A-rank mercenaries. If priests clumsily hover around monitoring them, they’ll be caught immediately. If it’s just me, I can sufficiently avoid their eyes, so I will go alone.’

’Understood. Then we will go around the area during the day....’

While Priscia and the priests of the order were talking like that.

Frenda, who had been secretly leaning against the door listening to the conversation, took a step back with a stiff expression.

This, I must quickly inform the Captain...!

Frenda, who had overheard the conversation because the atmosphere today was unusually serious, immediately planned to sneak out of the temple.

* * *

Night, as the sun had already set.

Lia peeked her head through the crack in the door.

’Hmm? Is something wrong?’

’No... I just saw the light was on.’

Lia, making eye contact with Ian, shook her head as if it were nothing and went elsewhere.

And a moment later.

Lia glanced at Ian again as she passed through the hallway.

...It was already the several-th time she had done this.

Lia had been hovering around Ian’s vicinity for a while now.

Ian could quickly sense what Lia wanted.

She wanted to go for a walk.

It seemed she couldn’t bring herself to ask for a walk due to her pride. On days she really wanted to go out, she would hover around Ian like this for no reason.

’...Lia. Shall we go for a walk?’

’Ugh.... W-well, if you want to go that badly, I suppose it can’t be helped....’

Lia flinched at Ian’s suggestion, then nodded with a red face.

...After that happened. Frenda arrived a bit late.

’Excuse me, I have something to tell Captain Ian!’

’Oh, the Captain just went out with Lia, saying he had something to do.’

’...!’

When Rin, who met Frenda, told her that, Frenda wore a look of horror.

She had been a little delayed while sneaking out of the temple to avoid others’ eyes, but she had ended up missing Ian by a hair’s breadth.

’Do you know where they went? I have something urgent to tell him....’

’He didn’t say specifically.’

Rin, seeing Frenda looking extremely anxious, thought it really must be something urgent and said.

’Then shall I try to look for him? Since he hasn’t been gone long, we might meet if we’re lucky.’

’Th-then please! Please deliver this memo. I have to return to the temple.’

’Yes. Leave it to me!’

Frenda delivered the note warning him to watch out for Priscia’s surveillance to Rin and hurriedly returned to the temple.

If the people of the [White Wings] order found out she had snuck out to meet Ian, it was certain Ian would be under even more suspicion, so she had to return as quickly as possible.

—And at the same time.

Priscia was hiding in the darkness of the night, looking down at the street from a rooftop.

In Priscia’s eyes, the figures of two people walking secretly while wearing robes were visible.

Unfortunately, Frenda’s warning had come one step too late.

She followed Ian and Lia with very familiar movements, walking across the rooftops without making even a footstep.

To ordinary priests, the position of a supervisor was merely that of a picky person who pointed out minor rule violations and issued punishments.

But in fact, detecting the corruption of priests and punishing misconduct was the most important role.

To do that, the ability to monitor suspicious individuals and secure evidence while moving in secret was essential.

Sometimes, acting like a petty thief was naturally something that had to be done.

Priscia quietly followed behind the two, thinking about the Saintess candidate hidden in Labyrinth.

...In fact, she could guess to some extent why she was hiding from the temple’s eyes.

Even an ordinary citizen would feel burdened and fall into long deliberation if told they suddenly had to enter the temple and become a Saintess. For a mercenary, it goes without saying.

Even so, Priscia was confident she could sufficiently persuade her. Because the power of a Saintess only dwells in those with a kind heart and will.

Unless she had quite an extraordinary rebellious streak, she would surely join that path for a greater good.

...Perhaps the Captain was preventing her from leaving, or using that power for his own personal gain.

No one would be willing to let a member with such power leave.

The rumors about the person named Ian were good, but rumors didn’t always contain only the truth.

According to Priscia’s experience so far, most of those who committed great misconduct were priests who appeared kind and decent on the outside. She couldn’t believe it as it was until she confirmed it with her own eyes.

Priscia followed Lia and Ian very cautiously.