Ch.4The Party He Left (2)

Priest Franz stopped in front of a room after walking down the creaking wooden corridor.

In front of the room of the rogue from his party, the woman who would soon be his.

He raised his hand to knock but hesitated for a moment.

He remembered hearing that women take a long time to get ready.

Of course, she was beautiful even in the labyrinth without any preparation, so she would probably make other women look like goblins in comparison even without dressing up.

But women naturally want to show only their prettiest side to the men they like.

Yes, this is consideration for her.

Franz, lost in his own delusions, turned and walked away from Derin’s room.

Breathing hot air through his nostrils, he no longer resembled a priest at all.

Franz arrived at the inn’s dining hall.

The neat-looking middle-aged man, the owner of the inn, approached him after he sat down and asked:

“Priest, have you come for a meal?”

“Yes, ah, right. Today is a very special day, so please prepare something good. Money is no object.”

“Did something good happen?”

“Hehe… Well, yes. But I can’t tell you. It might embarrass my lady.”

“Oh…? I understand. Then I’ll serve you our finest dishes today.”

As Franz sat there with a lecherous smile, the inn owner heading toward the kitchen felt puzzled.

What kind of woman would be with a man like that? Even a blind person would reject him based on his aura alone.

And he plans to take a woman while serving the Goddess? That’s impossible unless he’s gone mad.

The middle-aged man, a devout follower of the Goddess, firmly grasped the necklace hidden under his clothes—the symbol of his faith—and offered a prayer.

‘Goddess, please ensure that no crimes like kidnapping or rape occur at our inn. And divine punishment for this corrupt priest.’

He finished his earnest prayer and began cooking.

He had no desire to cook for a corrupt priest, but since the man was a guest, he had no choice.

Though it might not be much of a substitute, he thought the Goddess would probably turn a blind eye if he spat in the food just once.

Franz had no idea what the innkeeper was thinking.

He was constantly breathing heavily while fiddling with a pink potion in his pocket.

‘Derin, tonight will be a long one.’

Derin, who had been lying in bed hugging Crow’s pillow, felt a chill run down her spine.

“What… what’s this? I suddenly feel disgusting.”

* * * * *

Long after the sun had disappeared behind the mountain ridge, in the dark night illuminated by the moon.

Confirming that midnight was approaching, Derin got up from the bed and put on her equipment that she had thrown on the floor.

If it was that guy, he probably bought something like an aphrodisiac without any suspicion, so there was no need for special precautions.

Still, she wondered if it was right for someone calling himself a priest to pounce on a woman just because she wagged her tail a bit.

While shaking her head at the priest’s insane behavior, she heard the wooden corridor outside creaking.

Derin quickly moved and pressed herself against the wall next to the door.

She needed to observe the situation first.

Although it was unlikely that the priest’s apparent stupidity was an act… it was still better to be suspicious.

As expected, the creaking sound stopped in front of her door, followed by a knock and Franz’s voice.

“Hey, Derin. If you’re ready, shall we go out together?”

Derin barely managed to suppress the contents of her stomach that were rising to her throat.

His voice was disgusting even normally, but now it sounded exactly like the cry of a goblin in heat.

She hated having to respond to such a man, but it was necessary for her pink future with Crow.

Hoo—.

After taking a quiet deep breath, Derin answered with a slightly trembling but excited voice.

For someone who had acted countless times to gather information, creating such a voice was nothing.

Though she was irritated to the core.

“I’m not quite ready yet. I’m sorry, but could you go ahead and wait for me?”

“Hehehe…. My Derin. Making me yearn for you, I see. Alright, I’ll go ahead and wait.”

As the creaking sound was heard again and gradually faded away, Derin took out a potion for dizziness from the magic pouch at her waist and drank it.

She thought that Crow probably wasn’t the only one who would be saved by killing that man.

Though she didn’t believe in the Goddess, if she existed, it was truly sad.

Receiving prayers from such a man—if it were her, she would have wanted to die already.

With her mind cleared by the potion’s effect, Derin approached the bed and buried her face in the pillow Crow had used. Then she inhaled deeply.

His scent entered through her nose and filled her entire body, making her feel as if they had become one.

To think even his smell was good—he really was an impossible man.

After replenishing her Crow essence and feeling better, Derin got up and opened the window. Then she jumped outside.

Although the room was on the second floor, for a rogue, there wasn’t much difference between the first and second floors.

Landing without making a sound, she hid in the darkness and began moving toward the place she had arranged to meet with the damned priest.

The world remained peaceful despite the approaching death of someone.

Derin arrived at a spot with a good view of the bridge where she had promised to meet Franz.

Hiding behind a tree, she was certain he would never find her, even if his life depended on it.

But why wasn’t the priest visible yet when he had left before her?

A sinister thought crossed her mind.

What if Franz had actually been acting all along? What if he had known everything when he visited her room earlier?

He could be riding to the nearest church right now…

As her mind was filling with ominous thoughts, Franz appeared as if to prove her wrong.

With a bouquet of flowers in one hand.

It was quite a ridiculous sight, but she couldn’t bring herself to laugh at the thought that the bouquet was prepared for her.

What could be more humiliating than receiving flowers from a man you despise?

Despite deliberately arriving a bit late, Franz looked around when he didn’t see the woman.

He could understand her behavior—it was natural to be shy when meeting a man you like on such a late night.

She must be hiding somewhere, that mischievous cat.

Franz began scanning the area to find his cat who was hiding somewhere.

Under the bridge, in the bushes, in the river… well, he only looked at the river from the bridge. He couldn’t get his clothes wet.

But his cat was nowhere to be found.

Well, Derin probably didn’t understand men’s hearts after living as a rogue for so long.

If she teases too much, even a man might leave.

As he returned to the bridge after searching the surrounding area, someone was there.

Hair that almost touched the shoulders, a slender figure.

The moon was hidden behind clouds, so he couldn’t see clearly, but he could tell it was Derin just from her silhouette.

Franz, overjoyed that she had finally decided to appear, began running toward her.

He could forgive a small mistake from his cat.

After all, he could punish her tonight.

As the distance between them grew shorter until they were only two or three steps apart, the wind blew away the clouds covering the moon.

The two daggers in her hands gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

The moment he saw them, Franz realized.

She hadn’t called him out to make love.

As he threw away the bouquet in his hand and turned in the opposite direction, he felt something penetrate deeply into his neck.

What followed was the sensation of warm liquid flowing down his neck and a burning pain.

When Derin pulled the dagger out of Franz’s neck, the deep wound gushed dark red blood.

He tried to say something, opening his mouth, but only a whistling sound came from the hole.

And so ended the life of the priest obsessed with pleasure.

Derin wiped her bloodied daggers on the dead Franz’s clothes.

Crow’s blood that she had seen that day was a prettier color than this—could there be a connection between blood color and mental state?

Well, it didn’t matter. The job was done, and after cleaning up, she could sleep peacefully.

Derin placed the bouquet in Franz’s hand and threw him into the river.

With the cloudy sky that looked like it would rain soon, no one would find any trace of tonight’s events.

That night, as soon as Derin returned to the inn, a downpour began, and all traces of Franz completely disappeared from the world.