Southern shore of the Conquest Sea, Kankdar.
As one of North Wu's largest and most prosperous cities, Kankdar, which has always served as North Wu's important channel for external communication, has gathered a large population. A significant portion of this population consists of foreign remnants from the Main Continent residing here, giving Kankdar large foreign residential areas. Local North Wu people are not allowed to enter these areas, forming urban zones with styles vastly different from the rest of North Wu.
The assassination that occurred on the morning of the 20th at Kankdar South Station greatly agitated Kankdar, especially the nerves of its foreign residents. They had never expected that a grand welcome ceremony would turn into such a bloody incident. As the casualties included Kankdar's Mayor and other prominent figures among the foreign remnants, this assassination caused a huge stir among Kankdar's foreign citizens, and everyone expressed great indignation towards the assassin.
The foreigners in Kankdar already looked down upon the local North Wu people and had little goodwill towards Shadi's otherworld regime. After the assassination occurred and was reported, the dissatisfaction among Kankdar citizens towards the Shadi Regime immediately turned into indignation. In all public discussion forums, almost everyone vehemently denounced the rudeness of Adus's barbaric rebels and the brutality of the otherworld, expressing sympathy for the Baruch Royal Family, the victims of the assassination. Many people also went to visit the victims of the incident.
At noon, in an elegant restaurant beside a bustling street in Kankdar's foreign residential area, many people speaking different languages, dressed appropriately, and with Main Continent appearances gathered here, dining and conversing. The focus of their conversations was naturally on the recent assassination. Clearly, everyone was filled with righteous indignation when discussing this matter, condemning the otherworld and Shadi, and sympathizing with the victims. Some people's voices were quite loud, and their tone was not very friendly.
On the second floor of this restaurant, at a window seat, two figures were dining. They were Dorothy and Naifnis. Dorothy, wearing a white floral dress and a sun hat, was cutting the steak on the table. Naifnis, dressed in a fitted women's shirt and trousers, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, was not focused on the exquisite food on the table. She was currently reading the latest newspaper, concentrating on its content.
"Otherworld is heartless, but people are caring... Together facing hardship and offering love... Due to the assassination on the 20th, the exiled Baruch Royal Family in Kankdar has received deep sympathy from the international community and all sectors of society. When this reporter interviewed Prince Ma'ad, the interim representative of the Baruch Royal Family, he stated that after the assassination, they have successively received donations from various sources. These donations are extremely important, helping them, the exiles, overcome their current difficulties and continue to unite against the persecution of the otherworld tyranny.
"During the interview, Prince Ma'ad tearfully thanked the international community for their concern. He will not forget the help the exiled Royal Family received during this time of crisis. If they could return to Adis someday, they would erect a monument for this donation..."
Frowning, Naifnis slowly read out the news content she was focused on. The more she read, the more solemn her expression became. After finishing, she spoke directly.
"Donating to the poor? This is insane! There are statues of these Royal Family members erected every few blocks on the streets of Adis. These people can build swimming pools in the desert to play. They took away everything in the museum that was even slightly valuable; I searched for a long time just to find a few leftovers. What they took from Adis is enough for them to live for over a dozen lifetimes, and they're still saying in the newspaper that they're in a difficult situation and receiving donations? There are tons of people in Adis who are much worse off than these royals!"
Looking at the newspaper in her hand, Naifnis complained bluntly. She had once visited the Adis Museum to look for the Judge of Heaven sacrificial set but found very few collections there. After searching for a very long time, she finally found some remaining ancient North Wu female gold ornaments. After Naifnis brought the gold ornaments back, she referenced the ancient North Wu clothing features she learned in school, combined with her accumulated knowledge of various fashion styles, and spent an entire night designing a set of ancient North Wu female priestess attire. After seeing it, Dorothy immediately used several Corpse Puppets to quickly cut the fabric and make the finished product, allowing Naifnis to wear it and transform into High Priestess Isis. It was through this incident that Dorothy learned Naif actually had a talent for clothing design, realizing she hadn't bought clothes, shopped, or read magazines any less than usual.
After seeing the situation at the Adis Museum, Naifnis also roughly understood how much wealth originally belonging to Adus this group of Baruch royals had taken with them when they fled. Therefore, she couldn't help but feel that someone donating to them now was a huge irony. In Adis, she had seen countless poor people lining up to receive relief bread; their normal lives were much more difficult than those Baruch exiles.
"Whoever controls the discourse controls the definition of things. For the current rulers of Kankdar and the forces behind them, no matter how well those Baruch remnants are living, at this moment they must be the pitiable victims. The people here, far from hardship, only need to believe the information they get from the media; as for the troublesome matter of truth, it's too difficult to understand. After all, compared to the suffering and struggle of millions of people thousands of miles away, the impact of a few deaths and injuries right before their eyes is much greater."
With a hint of sarcasm, Dorothy said this while eating her steak. Hearing Dorothy's words, Naifnis put down the newspaper in her hand and spoke to Dorothy with worry.
"Miss Dorothy... that assassination yesterday was clearly a setup. These Kankdar people want to harm Sister Vanya. She's in danger now. Should we just take her away?"
"Vanya's situation is indeed somewhat unfavorable right now, but it's not yet time to run. Taking her away would only confirm the false accusations against her, making her situation even more dangerous. The urgent priority now is to help her clear the false accusations and remove the suspicion of being involved with the otherworld. Only after the suspicion is cleared will she be truly safe."
Picking up a piece of steak, Dorothy explained to Naifnis. After hearing these words, Naifnis then spoke.
"Clearing the suspicion... but the people investigating this case right now are from Kankdar. Those guys clearly don't want Sister Vanya to have an easy time. Even with evidence, it might not clear the suspicion..."
"Yes, the investigation authority is currently in their hands, and even with evidence, we can't do much. But don't forget, this matter involves the Church's affairs concerning the otherworld. The final investigation authority belongs to the Church. This means that how this incident ultimately unfolds and how the case is characterized overall will be decided by the people from the Church. Whatever the people from Kankdar say now is useless. What we need to do is wait for the Church's people to take over the case investigation and then secretly assist Vanya. And they should be arriving soon..."
Dorothy said this, then pointed her finger at a newspaper beside her. The content reported on it at that moment was, "Holy Mountain has dispatched an investigation team to Kankdar."
"These guys' plan was drafted in a hurry, not meticulous, and had many flaws in its execution. After we disrupted it, there are even more loopholes. As long as the Church's investigation team doesn't have an issue with their stance, it will be easy for us to help Vanya clear her suspicion, and we might even have a chance to use the investigation team to turn the tables on this group in Kankdar."
Dorothy continued to analyze. If those guys' plan had been fully realized, Vanya would indeed be in danger. But now that the plan has been significantly disrupted, any slightly professional team can detect the suspicious points in this assassination case. As long as the investigating and judging parties are impartial, it will be easy to help Vanya clear her suspicion.
Hearing Dorothy's words, Naifnis thought for a moment, deep in thought, then spoke again.
"No issue with the investigators' stance...? Then, Miss Dorothy, what should we do if the investigators' stance is problematic?"
Hearing Naifnis's words, Dorothy, who was drinking juice, paused slightly. Then she placed the juice back on the table, wiped her lips, and spoke.
"If the investigators' stance is also problematic, then things will truly be difficult. At that point, all the evidence we provide will be ignored, and an unjust verdict for Vanya will be a foregone conclusion... To salvage the situation then, we would have to contact Shadi, make him abandon internal integration, and risk a large-scale civil war by immediately announcing a complete break with the Savior Sect, using this to prove Vanya's innocence.
"But even so, it's hard to say if Vanya can be saved. If they are determined to label Adus and Vanya as otherworld, even Shadi's declaration of rupture will be useless. The problematic Church investigators can announce that they have found evidence proving Shadi's public declaration was an act of mutual salvation between otherworld, and is not trustworthy. Simply put, if the intentions of the Church investigators and judges are the same as these people in Kankdar, any means to prove Vanya's innocence will be useless."
"If things reach this point, we can only try the final resort: violently rescuing Vanya and running away with her."
Dorothy said this, her meaning was simple: whoever controls the power of investigation controls everything. So-called evidence is only valid when the investigators are fair and neutral. If the investigators and judges want to frame you from the start, no matter how solid your evidence is, it will be useless.
Hearing Dorothy's response, Naifnis couldn't help but shiver. She then looked at the newspaper on the table about the impending arrival of the Church investigation team, and a trace of worry appeared in her eyes.
...
The White Dove Hotel is a hotel located next to the largest Church within the foreigner residential area of Kankdar, Tranquility Church. Due to its proximity to the Church, the Church envoy mission to Adus was arranged to stay and rest at this hotel after arriving in Kankdar. Now that the envoy mission has returned from Adus, this hotel has once again become their resting place, except this time, only Vanya is staying there.
After the assassination attempt, not only were the two "assassins" arrested, but the entire crew of the desert arrow and the injured envoy mission guards were also controlled by the Kankdar City Guard and imprisoned on suspicion of serious involvement. As for Vanya herself, because she saved people at the scene and stopped the assassin, the guard found it difficult to arrest her directly, so they sent her to this hotel, strictly restricting any form of going out and keeping her under round-the-clock surveillance.
Even in the eyes of ordinary citizens influenced by propaganda, Sister Vanya herself should have no connection with otherworld due to her act of saving people; she was just implicated, a poor Sister with a bit of bad luck. Therefore, the Kankdar authorities did not intend to treat Vanya harshly; they merely placed her under house arrest and continued to treat her well.
Vanya stayed peacefully in the hotel for several days, spending almost every day in prayer. The Kankdar authorities did not do anything further to her. However, the situation is now somewhat different, because the true investigators and judges of this case, the investigation team from the Church Inquisition, have arrived at Kankdar Port. Their first stop after arriving here was the White Dove Hotel.
At dusk, under the setting sun, several figures appeared on the road leading to the White Dove Hotel. There were roughly more than ten of them, almost all wearing uniform attire: red and black clerical robes, face coverings and cloth crowns. Sword blades hung from one side of their waists, and thick scriptures hung from the other. Some also held long poles, displaying long scrolls of laws from the scriptures like flags. This team moved forward in the setting sun, each person silently, appearing heavy and oppressive.
At the front of the team, a leading man walked. He also wore a black and red clerical robe, but the style was more elaborate. He appeared to be around forty or fifty years old. He had no face covering. On his head, there was no pointed cloth crown, nor a single strand of hair; on his bald forehead was the Church's Sunburst mark. His face appeared fierce even without any expression. Standing respectfully beside this leading man was another tall figure: he was the Captain of the Kankdar City Guard, Hajeta.
Leading the team behind him, the bald man went straight to the White Dove Hotel. The City Guard at the hotel entrance immediately made way for the team upon seeing them, allowing them to enter the hotel. In the hotel lobby, the bald man looked back at the team behind him and then instructed.
"You will guard here now."
"Yes."
After a simple response, the team stood still. Upon seeing this, the bald man glanced at Hajeta beside him and then spoke with a slightly arrogant tone.
"Lead the way."
"Please come this way, Esteemed Judge."
Saying this, Hajeta led the bald man upstairs in the hotel. After reaching the third floor, they stopped in front of a room door. After Hajeta signaled to the two guards in front of the door, one of them immediately took out a key and opened the door. Then Hajeta led the bald cleric into the room. They immediately saw the white-robed Sister Vanya kneeling on the floor praying in the luxurious room's hall. Upon hearing the sound, she turned her head and looked at the doorway with some surprise.
"Senior Deacon, Vania Chafilun, I am Senior Judge Clifton. By order of Esteemed Grand Judge Klama, I have come to Kankdar to investigate the case of the Savior Sect's otherworld corruption of the saint church envoy mission. Based on evidence from all sides, you are now a major suspect of being corrupted. Get up now and come with me."
Facing Vanya, who was kneeling and praying, the bald Judge named Clifton spoke in a stern voice. Hearing his words, Vanya paused slightly, then spoke.
"J-Judge, Esteemed Judge, I have not been corrupted by otherworld! On the day of the assassination attempt, I did not participate in the assassination. I even stopped the assassin and saved the person being assassinated..."
"Hmph, the most cunning otherworld are often skilled at hiding. Your actions are far from enough to clear your suspicion in my eyes. Only after undergoing interrogation by the Inquisition can you prove your innocence. So come with me immediately, otherwise, if you don't cooperate with the investigation, you will be treated as otherworld on the spot!"
Clifton said with a stern expression, his tone already carrying a threat. Hearing his words, Vanya's eyes showed a hint of panic. Just as she was about to say something, an ethereal voice echoed in the room.
"What a magnificent display of authority, Esteemed Clifton. With your imposing manner, I fear even a Cardinal here could be taken away by you."
Hearing this voice, Clifton's expression changed. He immediately turned his head towards the direction the voice came from. What he saw was a phantom figure slowly materializing.
It was the phantom of a female Sister. From her appearance, she looked to be in her early twenties. Like Vanya, she wore a white Sister's habit. Extending from beneath her Sister's hat was chest-length golden hair. On her originally gentle face, a hint of mockery was evident. After seeing this Sister who existed like a Ghost, Clifton's expression froze for a moment before he slowly said.
"Sister Evi... you are here too..."
"Naturally, I am here. Sister Vanya has always been recognized by Esteemed Amanda for her conduct. Therefore, after the Kankdar otherworld assassination attempt occurred, she has continuously paid attention to it. To constantly know the progress and developments of the case investigation here and prevent any irregularities from happening, she dispatched me."
Facing Clifton's words, the Sister named Awei replied calmly. Facing the Sister's answer, Clifton shifted his gaze to Vanya, who looked somewhat panicked, and then spoke.
"Now I need to take Sister Vanya back to the Fire Punishment for questioning. This is routine procedure. Please, Sister Evi, do not obstruct."
"If it's just questioning, then anywhere will do, won't it? Your Fire Punishment is fine, and here is also fine. Why bother going far away? Cleric Clifton, just ask whatever questions you have here. There's no need to make multiple trips."
Facing Clifton's words, Awei continued to reply calmly. Hearing the answer from the phantom Sister before him, Clifton's face darkened, and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes.