Chapter 42 : Infiltration 

 “Ta-da~ How’s this?”

Bliss turns to look at me among the many clothes hanging on the rack in the colorful clothing store.

“It’s pretty.”

I smile and respond.

This is a small clothing store in the market. 

After an unexpected meeting with Wolf, Reina and I safely reunited with Bliss, who had just returned from church, and we headed straight here.

Now, we’re picking out clothes.

“So, how about this one?”

Bliss puts the clothes she was holding back on the rack and lifts another one.

“It’s pretty.”

It didn’t seem much different from before, so I gave the same answer.

“And this?”

Bliss repeats her actions, holding up another outfit.

“It’s pretty.”

Once again, it didn’t look much different, so I replied the same.

Then, for some reason, Bliss put the clothes back on the rack and grabbed another item, turning to face me.

“So, how about this…?”

Another repeated question.

“It’s pretty.”

Once again, I gave the same answer.

Bliss looked at me silently for a moment, and without a word, repeated her actions.

This time, she just held up the clothes and stared at me.

‘What’s going on…?’

“Pretty.”

Just as I was about to respond the same way, feeling puzzled by her sudden change in behavior…

“Ruina?”

Bliss spoke in a cold voice, her face looking stern.

“You’re thinking about something else right now, aren’t you?”

“No…?”

“Then could you tell me what you think of this outfit?”

Her question made me start thinking hard.

Seeing the strange, intense look in her eyes, I felt like I couldn’t give the same answer again.

As I hesitated, trying to think of something, I realized that no matter how hard I tried, only one word came to mind.

“Pretty.”

“Again, the same word! Are you really not thinking of something else?”

“Really, no.”

I answered with a slightly wronged expression.

But, truth be told, she was right.

Right now, I wasn’t focused on picking clothes, I was preoccupied with my conversation with Wolf earlier.

“Lie! You’ve only been repeating that everything is pretty! How can that be true?”

She looked at me, unconvinced.

“Because it’s pretty, I say it’s pretty.”

“After showing me all these clothes, you think they’re all pretty? Honestly, that doesn’t make sense!”

Her persistent questioning made me feel a little wronged.

No, all the clothes look pretty, what’s wrong with that?

They all looked nice, so I said they were pretty… why was this such an issue?

Of course, I had said it without thinking much.

But isn’t that a more honest response? I was just saying what came to mind.

I just said the clothes were pretty… so what’s the problem?

If only I could explain this deep meaning to Bliss…

But I knew that if I started explaining it now, it would be obvious how things would turn out, so I sighed, feeling a bit regretful about not being able to express myself honestly.

How should I answer? Should I say the buttons are pretty? Or maybe the color of the clothes is pretty? But what’s the difference from earlier…?

It felt like I was solving an unsolvable problem.

What’s the real issue here!? Why is it such a problem to say they’re pretty!?

Trying to remain calm, I answered with a nonchalant tone.

“No, it’s fine.”

“How is that fine?”

She asked, so I smiled brightly and said the first thing I could think of.

“Maybe it’s because the person wearing it is pretty.”

“What?!”

Bliss looked at me with wide eyes, shocked.

“Maybe it’s because the person wearing it is pretty.”

“Pretty… really? Are you serious?”

She kept asking, and I nodded, replying with sincerity.

“Yes, I’m serious. I think Bliss would look good in anything, so I said all of them are pretty.”

That’s the truth.

They say fashion is about the face, right? She’s naturally beautiful, so I thought any outfit would look great on her.

“Are you… not embarrassed to say that?!”

Bliss pointed at me, shouting.

“I’m just telling the truth, what’s embarrassing about that?”

“Th-that…!”

Seeing her reaction, I smiled again, and her face turned a little red as she lowered her head.

Then, she went silent.

Did I manage to get through this?

As I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I had handled it well…

“Then, could you choose for me, Ruina?”

“Huh?”

Bliss spoke, still with her head slightly bowed, twisting a strand of her blonde hair around her finger.

“I want to wear what you think would look best on me if everything else looks the same in your eyes.”

“Is that okay?”

She asked, looking up at me with her face still tinged with red.

“Sure. Just a moment.”

I smiled and walked over to the racks of clothes, thinking for a moment. After some hesitation, I picked up a white top and a green skirt.

“How about this?”

I picked green because her eyes are emerald, and I thought green would suit her. Maybe it was a simple choice, but simplicity is often best, right?

What matters is whether Bliss likes it or not.

Nervously, I waited for her answer.

“I like it.”

Bliss nodded in approval.

Relieved, I handed her the clothes.

“I’ll go pay for it.”

She took the clothes and went to the counter to pay.

As I watched her go, I felt like one problem was solved, but then I felt someone tugging gently at my clothes.

Looking down, I saw Reina looking up at me.

“Pick one for me too.”

Reina said, her eyes sparkling.

How cute.

I smiled again and walked over to the rack, picking out a black dress this time.

“Reina, how about this?”

“I like it!”

She smiled brightly.

“Here you go.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

I handed Reina the dress, and she rushed over to Bliss with it.

Now, it was my turn.

“Let’s see…”

I started flipping through the clothes in front of me, searching for something I liked.

“This isn’t it. This isn’t it either.”

I didn’t find anything that caught my eye, even though I thought I’d pick something quickly.

The clothes all seemed fine, but none of them felt right.

After a few more minutes of flipping, I found something that stopped me in my tracks. I picked it up.

“A coat…?”

I held up a black coat.

For me, black coats are special.

It was the first gift someone had ever given me since I came to this world.

I looked at the black coat and the memories from long ago resurfaced.

It was a cold autumn day, just like today.

I was trembling from the chilly wind, and my master noticed and brought me a black coat, telling me to wear it to keep warm.

It was the first time someone had ever given me something, the first time someone had cared for me like that.

I’ll never forget her smile or the warm feeling I felt.

From that day on, I wore a black coat every day.

When I went out to buy something.

When I went for a walk.

When I lost my master and that child.

When I fought.

When loneliness overwhelmed me and I shed tears.

When I sought revenge.

Even when I was granted the title of Duke.

I always wore it.

When asked why I wore the same clothes every day, I would say that black didn’t show stains. 

But in reality, it was something I held dear.

Because it was the only thing I had left.

I cried when the coat became too worn to wear anymore.

My subordinates wondered why I cared so much about those old clothes.

But I couldn’t stop crying, because it was so painful.

Well, that’s a long time ago now.

Anyway, the black coat is special to me.

“How did I wear it…?”

I recalled my attire when I was in the Demon Lord’s army.

Back then, my outfit was always the same: a black coat, black shorts, and a sleeveless top.

The reason I dressed like this was because the shorts and sleeveless top were comfortable.

‘Now that I think about it, the last time I wore something else was years ago…?’

Thinking about it, it was true. If I wore casual clothes now, it would be the first time in ages since I’d worn something other than my nun’s habit.

Ever since I came here, I had to wear that damn nun’s habit. For years.

“Should I try to feel a little better for a change?”

Looking at the black coat, I felt like wearing the same clothes I wore in the Demon Lord’s army.

I grabbed the coat and began searching for other clothes.

“Hmm… Since I can’t use magic now, should I wear long pants instead of shorts?”

When I wore shorts and wrapped myself in magic, I never felt the cold. But now my magic was sealed.

It would be too cold to walk around in shorts.

So I decided to buy long pants instead of black shorts.

For the same reason, I chose a white shirt for the top.

I picked a white shirt instead of a black one because I thought white might be better.

Once I had chosen everything, we left the store with our new clothes.

‘Oh?’

As we exited the store, I noticed something strange. Bliss was holding a different set of clothes from what she had chosen earlier.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, this is for Artorius.”

“Is Artorius coming too?”

“Well, he’s an inquisitor, so he has to come along.”

Indeed, he was an inquisitor, so it made sense that he couldn’t miss out on this.

But why did the clothes look a bit small…?

“These clothes look a bit small, don’t they?”

“He’ll figure it out. He’ll wear it somehow.”

Bliss shrugged nonchalantly, as if it didn’t matter.

Poor Artorius.

“Well, we bought the clothes, so the only thing left is to check out the gathering tomorrow.”

“Right.”

“I’m already trembling just thinking about what the Cult of the End is hiding…”

It felt like the truth about the ones we had been chasing for the past few days was about to be revealed. I was excited.

“I hope they’re really heretics… I want to make them pay for everything they’ve put me through…”

We made our way toward the church.

The next day, as planned, we wore casual clothes and headed for the Cult of the End’s gathering.

“Bliss, I still think these clothes are too small. Are you sure we bought the right ones?”

“We bought the right ones, just wear them. You only need to wear them for a little while, so what’s the fuss?”

“True…”

Artorius muttered under his breath, looking deflated.

He seemed a little pathetic like that.

“So, what now? According to that kid, this should be the gathering place.”

“Let’s split up to avoid suspicion. Me with Reina, Bliss with Artorius.”

“With Artorius… Well, I guess there’s no choice… Ah! Speaking of that.”

Bliss looked at me as if she had remembered something.

“Didn’t that kid say we need a password to get into the gathering place?”

As Bliss mentioned, the kid hadn’t just told us where the gathering place was. He also gave us a password to enter.

The password was clearly…

“The dim moon sets, and the brilliant sun rises.”

“Yeah, that strange phrase.”

Bliss nodded.

“Do you really think we’ll need the password…?”

I looked at the building we thought was the gathering place and replied.

“We probably will. Otherwise, that kid would have been punished.”

That was true.

I silently agreed with her and then turned to ask Artorius for his opinion.

“I’m not shining. How am I not shining… The knight of justice, and yet I’m not shining. This is not just!”

Artorius sighed, muttering to himself.

I was about to speak to him but stopped. I could tell from his expression that it wasn’t going to be a productive conversation.

Instead, I looked at Bliss and spoke.

“Would you like to go first?”

“I would like to, but… Artorius…”

Well, true…

“If you go first, we’ll follow you.”

Bliss sighed and answered.

“Alright. See you inside.”

I grabbed Reina’s hand and spoke.

With that, I left Bliss behind and walked toward what was likely the gathering place, still holding Reina’s hand.

“We’re closed today.”

As I tried to enter the restaurant, one of the men standing in front of the door blocked my way.

‘Seeing him block the door like this, it’s clear something’s going on inside.’

I calmly looked into the man’s eyes and spoke the phrase the kid had told us.

“The dim moon sets, and the brilliant sun rises.”

His expression subtly changed.

“And the child?”

“She’s my daughter.”

“What brings you here?”

“To attend the gathering.”

After a brief exchange, he looked at us for a moment.

“Alright, go ahead.”

He moved aside, allowing us to pass.

I nodded slightly to him, then opened the door and stepped inside.

Once inside, I quickly surveyed the surroundings, trying not to make it obvious.

The interior was ordinary. It was just a restaurant, with a kitchen and tables, just like any other.

‘It’s so ordinary…?’

I was puzzled by how unimpressive it seemed as I continued to look around.

“This way.”

Someone called out to me.

I turned to see a man dressed in the Cult of the End’s robes standing by a door, calling us.

We approached him.

“Is this your first time?”

“Ah… Yes, it is.”

“Ha ha! Everyone gets lost the first time. Come right in.”

I answered shyly as if embarrassed, and he laughed before opening the door.

Inside was a staircase leading down.

‘Is it a basement…?’

I held Reina’s hand a little tighter and began to descend the stairs, one step at a time.

“Be careful, it’s dark.”

“Yes~”

We carefully made our way down, and before long, we had reached the bottom.

What greeted us at the bottom was…

“Another door…”

Another door.

‘What could be inside here…?’

I felt a bit uneasy as I grabbed the door handle and pushed it open.

What I saw inside left me speechless.

Inside was…

“A lecture hall…?”

A massive lecture hall.

I listened to Agnes’ words.

“There’s really nothing here. Honestly, I’m disappointed.”

I hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond. But since I felt the same way she did, no appropriate response came to mind.

Eventually, I gave a wry smile and answered her.

“I agree.”

After escaping from the prison, we immediately began exploring this place. 

At the time, we were full of hope. We were so happy we felt like we were flying, and we even felt a bit proud of how easily we had infiltrated.

When we first started exploring, we were filled with the expectation that we would achieve something huge.

According to our expectations, the people who had kidnapped us would likely be the ones who ruled this place.

And just as we had hoped, the exploration went smoothly. It proceeded without any incidents or accidents.

Only…

“Why is there no one here?”

The problem was that there was no result.

Strangely, there was no one here. No people, no facilities, nothing. All that appeared were dark passages and a few empty rooms.

The strangest thing was the absence of people. At first, we thought maybe we had hidden ourselves too well. But no, there were simply no people here.

It got to the point where, later on, we stopped hiding and just walked around openly, yet no one tried to stop us.

We searched for the people who brought us here, but even that search ended in failure.

It felt like we were walking down a street where no one existed.

And not in a good way. There were no incidents, no accidents, but it felt off in a bad way.

So now, we kept walking aimlessly.

How long would we have to keep doing this pointless investigation? 

To be honest, I just wanted to give up now. Without any progress, I lacked the motivation to continue.

Am I just an ordinary person too?

Alright, I’ve decided. From now on, I’ll focus more on finding the exit. It’s been quite a while since we came in, and it should be okay to leave now.

I opened my mouth to ask Agnes for her opinion.

“Agnes, how about we leave now…?”

“Wait.”

But at that moment, Agnes suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

I cautiously asked, and she answered in a low voice.

“I smell something.”

“Again? Wait, really? Is that true?!”

I asked in surprise, unable to hide the smile on my face. It had been a while since anything had happened, so I couldn’t suppress my smile.

However, unlike me, Agnes looked quite serious. Her expression was completely tense.

“It smells bad. Is it just one? No, could it be more than one? What is this?”

She muttered something with a serious expression, and sensing something was off, I asked without any trace of humor.

“Why…? Is there a problem?”

“Something is definitely ahead of us. A strong stench is wafting this way. But something’s off.”

“What do you mean?”

“The smells are so mixed up that it’s hard to distinguish them. No, I misspoke. It’s not just that—it’s that the smells are all blended together. It’s hard to tell them apart.”

I had no idea what she was talking about. 

Maybe the confusion showed on my face, because she kept walking and spoke again.

“For now, let’s keep going. I need to see with my own eyes what’s ahead. This stench… this is a smell that shouldn’t exist in a place like this.”

I quickly followed her as she walked faster. 

I wanted to ask her what was going on right now, but since she seemed uncertain as well, I decided to see it with my own eyes.

We continued walking, and before long, we arrived at another area connected by the passage.

“This is it. The stench is strong here.”

I looked around at her words and soon realized where we were.

It was a huge cavern.