As a villain, he could do whatever he wanted.

Page 31

Anne smiled and shook her head, then looked towards Lius.

“Xiao Li, I just examined Miss Mayo’s body. It seems that her body is being interfered with by some kind of abnormal magic, which is the reason for her illness.”

"Hmm? Unusual magic?"

Lius also seemed to ponder Anne's words.

"...Generally speaking, the human body does not generate abnormal magic on its own. The only possibility is that it has been deliberately interfered with. Hailei, when did your sister fall ill? Did she encounter any strange people during that time?"

"This... I got sick about a month ago. I shouldn't have encountered any strange people... At the time, Hailei and I were helping out at the mill. We were surrounded by familiar aunties, and there were no strangers around..."

Hailei was lost in her memories. After blinking, she seemed to remember something and quickly continued:

“Oh, right! I remember one day, a group of people in robes passed by. They said they were here to preach. They stayed in the mill all morning and told us some things about magic and sorcery. We had a very pleasant chat, but in the afternoon, Mayo fell ill. Now that I think about it... maybe it had something to do with them.”

"Are there any other special characteristics of people who wear robes?" Lius continued to ask.

"I can't remember anything more specific, but if I really had to say... they seemed to have said that they were servants of God, and members of the church."

"What! People from the church..."

Upon hearing this, not only Lius, but also Lia beside him showed a shocked expression, feeling endless astonishment at the girl's words...

Chapter 52 Infiltration and Investigation (Part 1)

"Hmm...a group of priests have arrived..."

Upon receiving this information, Leus and the other two exchanged glances simultaneously. After a few seconds of silence, Yulia spoke first, tugging at Leus's arm with a surprised expression:

"Could it be... that Mayo's illness was caused by those priests? The priests from that monastery..."

"Well... we can't be completely sure yet, but judging from what Hailey just said, it's definitely worth investigating here at the church. Aunt Annie, what do you think?"

"..."

Lius looked at Anne, but Anne remained silent, lost in thought, and did not immediately respond to the boy's words.

"Aunt Annie?"

Turning to look at Anne, Levi gently nudged her arm, bringing her back from her reverie. After blinking, Anne nodded calmly to Levi in ​​reply:

“Ahem… Although the church shouldn’t do this in principle, if things are really as Hailey said, there might be some people with ulterior motives within the church. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate.”

As Anne was saying this, she was about to turn towards the church when Lius pulled her back, along with Leah, who was also about to take a step, causing the mother and daughter to stand still.

"Wait a minute, Aunt Annie. You and Leah can't go. Aunt Annie, you have close ties with the church. If you go, it might arouse suspicion and alert them. So it's better if I go alone to scout things out first. You stay here to take care of Hailey and the others. Don't wander off."

"Are you only letting my elder brother go...?"

At Leus's words, Leah hugged her chest with some worry, while Annie looked at Leus thoughtfully. After a second of contemplation, she finally nodded, gently took out a silver cross from her bosom, and placed it in Leus's hand.

"Hmm... Auntie understands. Here, Xiaoli, take this. This is my mark. If you encounter a dead end during the investigation, or if there's a place you can't get through, just show this to me, and someone will take you to where you want to go."

"Wow, this is pure silver! Aunt Annie really went all out! Haha, I'll accept it without hesitation!"

Leus flicked the necklace with the cross attached to it, then put it around his neck, hiding it under his coat. He gave Annie a reassuring look, then glanced at the worried-looking Leah, and gently walked up to the girl.

“Brother…Lia wants to go with you…”

Leah placed both of her little hands on Leus's chest, looked up, and said in a slightly coquettish tone, her expression revealing her worry for Leus. Leus, on the other hand, smiled and rubbed Leah's little head, gently kneading her slightly twitching little nose.

"Lia, don't worry, it's just a quick check-up. Nothing will happen, and we'll be back in a bit. Be good and stay here with Aunt Annie, okay?"

"Brother..."

Lia parted her lips slightly, seemingly wanting to say more, but feeling Lius's serious gaze, she had to swallow her words back. After pursing her lips, she finally made up her mind and nodded vigorously to her brother in front of her.

"Lia... I understand. Lia will stay here and not cause any trouble for her brother. Brother, please be careful and come back as soon as you've finished your investigation. Don't leave me and Mother Annie here and make Lia sad for her brother..."

"Okay, okay, I promise. No matter what happens in the future, I will take good care of myself and never let you be sad, Leah. This is my promise to Leah, and I will definitely keep my word. Don't worry."

After comforting the girl in this way, Lius moved away from the crowd.

"Let's go."

"Well, be careful along the way."

After saying goodbye to Anne and the others, they followed the path to the side, eventually bypassing the crowd at the main gate and arriving at the side gate of the monastery.

Since there were no "experts on duty" here, only a few ordinary servants came and went. Lius didn't even need to hide. He quietly followed behind a few servants carrying brooms and entered the garden outside the monastery. He followed the cobblestone path all the way to the building.

"This place is still the same as it was a few years ago. Further ahead are the confessional and prayer rooms. The nuns should be gathered there helping people with their diagnoses right now. On the second floor, there are offices and a database. Where should we start our investigation? Perhaps we should ask someone..."

Hidden in the shadows at the top of the stairs, Lius carefully observed the prayer room where nuns occasionally passed by. He then looked up the stairs to the second floor and noticed a pair of nuns walking side by side, seemingly chatting about something.

"There are so many more people here today than last month, it's really tiring..." one of the nuns sighed and shook her head.

"Yes, and many people don't even know what disease they have. Their bodies are experiencing such chaotic magical reactions, and each time it gets worse. This has forced Bishop Helen to spend all day and night in the prayer room treating them. I feel like if this continues, she'll eventually wear herself out."

“Alas, there’s nothing we can do about it. We are servants of the gods. In order to uphold the gods’ teachings, we must verify the legitimacy of magic and absolutely not allow any abnormal magic to remain in this world. We must also save those who are affected by abnormal magic.” A nun said righteously.

“That makes sense… By the way, didn’t we capture a cultist yesterday? Maybe she’s connected to the recent large-scale magical anomalies. I remember it was in the dungeon, right? Maybe we can find some clues by interrogating her.”

“Bishop Helen knows about this too. She said she’ll come to interrogate that heretic herself in a little while. The only key is also in the bishop’s hands, so we don’t need to worry about it for her. Let’s hurry up and deliver this batch of new medicine as soon as possible, otherwise the bishop will definitely scold us again.”

And so, with hurried steps, the two nuns gradually moved away from the direction of the stairwell.

In the shadows at the stairwell, Lius emerged, his eyes filled with gratitude. He silently thanked the two passing nuns and decided on his target to search for.

"A dungeon, right... It should require a key or something, let me see..."

Opening the system menu, Leus swiped the screen as he walked down the stairs, and finally found what he was looking for on the screen when he reached the bottom floor.

[Master Key, a one-time consumable item, can open any lock. 100 points.]

Whether it's a girl's tightly closed room or a precious treasure chest holding her secrets, the host can open it at will. Use this key to begin a path of plunder for the blond-haired guy!

Although the above is entirely an introduction to the blond guy's props, the scene in which Leus is using them now is quite serious.

Gently insert the key into the lock, and the dungeon door opens.

Beneath this monastery, the towering walls are etched with the monastery's lily emblem, and a dimly lit spiral staircase descends, revealing a dark and gloomy cage that contrasts sharply with the sacred atmosphere of the church itself.

"Okay, let's go."

Logically, after receiving the intelligence, Lius should have gone back to discuss it with Anne and then considered how to proceed.

However, considering the potential variables, he was worried that the prisoner might be interrogated prematurely, so he ultimately chose to act alone and take advantage of the time when Bishop Helen was away to find the cultist who might bring information.

The underground space was vast, even more spacious than the church above ground. There were few people moving around in the adjacent prison, only some remaining skeletons. The musty smell and the sound of insects crawling were enough to show the severity and cruelty beneath the monastery's glamorous exterior.

"This is my first time here. I didn't expect the dungeon to be several times bigger than I imagined..."

"Hmph... As expected of a church that worships a false god, it is indeed such a treacherous and despicable place. Host, you should quickly exchange some combat items from this system. I'll give them to you for free if you want. It would be best to burn this place down. This system doesn't want to stay here for a moment longer."

The system frowned, looking around with disgust, and occasionally kicked Lius's shoulder with her little foot, looking very unhappy.

"Calm down... Don't be so impulsive. What, are you so angry to see this 'false god' running rampant, Miss System?"

"Of course I'm angry! How could I not be angry when someone impersonated me like that!"

"Oh? You've been impersonated?"

Lius smiled at the system, and the girl instantly realized her slip of the tongue, quickly blushing and shaking her head.

"Ahem, this system is saying... that's why I'm so angry because I saw my goddess being impersonated, that's all..."

"Oh? Really?"

"Of course it's true! Humph, hurry up and go, don't worry about me!"

"Ha... whatever. If you don't want to give a real answer, then I don't care. Anyway, I already have a general understanding of your situation, so there's no need to ask any more questions."

Faced with this stubborn girl, Lius, though unsure why she was hiding her identity, went along with her words, shrugged, and continued looking deeper into the prison.

"We've been walking for so long, why haven't we seen any heretics yet? Is she really here?"

With this thought in mind, Leus quickened his pace, and the surrounding light grew dimmer as he ventured deeper, almost giving him the urge to leave immediately.

Fortunately, just as they were about to reach the end, Leus squinted and spotted a figure moving about in a narrow cell next to the wall at the end.

"That is……"

Using the dim light, Leus carefully looked ahead and made a clearer view of the figures in the cell.

Despite the dim light, it was still possible to discern the figure of a woman. She wore a black robe, with fiery red hair cascading down her waist. She had long, slender legs and full breasts. Two lotus-like arms, visible from within the robe, were raised high above her head, with iron chains wrapped around her wrists, suspending her in the air in a straight line.

It seemed she had been hanging there for some time; the toes supporting her body on the ground were trembling. Even without seeing her expression, one could sense the woman's despair and exhaustion.

"Found her. She's all alone here, so she's definitely a cult member. Hmm... let's go check her out..."

Gazing thoughtfully at the red-haired woman with her head bowed, Leus was about to take a step forward when the system on his shoulder seemed to sense something, blinked, and suddenly called out to him:

"Wait a minute, host, this feeling... that's right! She carries some of my... cough, goddess's magic!"

"The magic of the goddess?"

Upon hearing this, Leus asked in surprise, while the System nodded further, casting an appreciative and gratified look at the red-haired woman hanging in the cell.

"Yes... absolutely right, which means... she is blessed by the goddess and is a faithful devotee who serves the goddess!"

Chapter 53 Infiltration and Investigation (Part Two)

"Well……"

Just as Lius was surprised by the System's words, the red-haired woman in the cage seemed to sense the newcomer outside. She pursed her lips and then opened her tightly closed eyelids with a slight tremor.

"Who are you……"

"Oh, is he still conscious?"

Upon hearing the woman's voice, Lius temporarily put aside the matter of the system and walked towards the front of the cage.

As before, Lius took out several master keys, first opened the cage and went inside. Then, he thoughtfully turned the key ring in his hand and looked at the red-haired woman whose arms were bound by iron chains, scrutinizing her entire body with a critical gaze.

Due to the dim lighting, it was difficult to see the woman's full appearance, but judging from her voice, she shouldn't be too old, at most around twenty years old.

At this moment, the woman was wearing a tattered black robe. Her delicate arms were bound by iron chains and she was suspended high in the air. Her bare feet trembled and stretched taut on the ground. Even though they were covered in dust, they still gave the impression of being fair and translucent.

"No matter what you want to do to me, don't even think about getting any information from me... I will not tell you about the Holy Order..."

With her head bowed within the chains, the woman's long red hair cascaded down her front, obscuring her face. From between her strands of hair, gritted teeth and sounds of hatred escaped her lips as she used the last of her strength to make a final stand against the "enemy" before her.

"Hey... calm down. I won't do anything to you. I just want to ask about some things that have happened recently. If you keep moving around like this, your shoulder will dislocate."

Seeing the woman struggling, Lius quickly and gently comforted her, then slowly walked up to her, took a torch from the side, and let the light shine between them so that they could see each other's faces clearly.

"Wow……"

The moment the firelight illuminated the woman's face, Leus couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration.

With skin as smooth as cream and a face as bright as the moon, this could be the best description of this red-haired woman. Her delicate and elegant features were arranged in perfect proportion on her delicate oval face, forming a stunningly beautiful picture.

Even in her disheveled state, it was still clear that she was a stunning beauty, captivating Leus's gaze.

"Huh? You...you're not from this monastery..."

Upon seeing Leus's appearance, the woman blinked in surprise, seemingly about to ask him something, but Leus spoke first:

"Forget about self-introductions for now. The situation is urgent. I'll only ask a few questions. If you can answer the questions I want to know, I'll consider whether to let you out later. Understand?"

"I...I will never reveal anything about our order..."

"Then you've lost your only chance to escape. The cult will be here soon. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. I'm just asking a question here."

Lius shrugged and then asked the woman his first question:

"Are you aware of the unusual magical abilities of the villagers in the nearby villages that have been causing trouble recently?"

"I……"

Hearing what Lius said, the woman weakly pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded slightly.

"Okay, the second question is, how much do you know about these things? Are they related to the 'Holy Order' you belong to?"

"It's...it's alright, don't slander the Holy Church, how could we do such a despicable thing! This is all slander from those Protestants, it's complete fabrication..." the woman said through gritted teeth, slightly agitated.

"Calm down, calm down... Since that's the case, do you know anything more about these events? I plan to investigate the source of the magical anomalies. Can you provide me with some clues?"

"I……"