Reincarnated in the Same World for the Nth Time

Aquila grabbed the swaying banner to steady it, then stepped out of the passage.

Kahena was already nowhere to be seen.

It seemed she had already moved far away, chasing after the guild member with the envelope.

Aquila passed the four small confessionals that were lined up and headed inside the corridor leading to the confessional chamber.

A path that turned to the right.

Aquila and Shen, who stopped before turning the corner, stuck closely to the wall and only peeked their heads out.

The door of the confessional chamber was half-open, but Martio and the guild member were nowhere to be seen, as if they had gone inside.

Aquila regulated his breathing and leaned his ear to listen to the sounds coming from the confessional chamber.

A small voice.

He tried to concentrate on that unclear sound, but because it was so small, he couldn’t hear anything.

Moreover, no signs of them trying to move were felt either.

‘Why aren’t they coming out immediately? What are they doing?’

Aquila relaxed the frown he had made while concentrating and looked back at Shen.

“Let’s get closer.”

Aquila gestured to Shen, who was leaning his body as if he was almost lying on the floor, and said it only with lip movements.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if we got closer?”

“I can’t hear anything here.”

“Then I should go alone—”

“Let’s go.”

Aquila, who cut off Shen’s words right away before he could say anything, was about to move forward first.

But Shen, who suddenly stretched his arm out in front of him, shook his head.

“……I’ll take the lead.”

And then, after checking again that no one was coming out of the confessional chamber, he stealthily moved forward.

Shen’s movements were as light as snow piling up on a window frame and were very quick.

It meant that he didn’t make a single sound of breathing, and not even the sound of his toes touching the corridor.

This servant quickly arrived in front of the confessional chamber and hid behind the half-open door.

Aquila swallowed an absurd breath as he looked at that figure.

Did he even have any intention of hiding his skills?

Shen’s movements looked extraordinary even to Aquila’s eyes.

A secretive and stealthy movement, although not as much as a member of the Dark Guild.

Aquila, who had lived as a hunter in past playthroughs, was also confident in suppressing his presence, but that wasn’t a movement that could just be said to be suppressing one’s presence.

‘Did the Reshenhardt family train assassins instead of knights?’

Aquila search through his memories, but only a few knights that the Reshenhardt family had turn out into his mind.

He shook his head and approached the confessional chamber while lowering his body.

And then, he stuck next to Shen and stealthily glanced at his face.

Unlike his usual self, this devoted servant’s face was very serious and quiet.

Shen pointed to the doorway with his index finger several times.

“……So, you’re saying that we just have to put her on the carriage together and send her off?”

And only then, the sounds of conversation, which he couldn’t hear well because they were far away, began to be heard.

Aquila turned his gaze away from the wheat-colored hair and put his ear to the door.

“That’s right. I’ll have her recovered separately while it’s on the way to Velma-Bourne.”

“Heo…… It’s surprising that you’re valuing her so highly. Even if this girl’s face is pretty good, I can’t guarantee that she’ll be worth that much.”

The conversation between the unknown guild member and Martio continued in quiet voices.

It was an attitude that was the opposite of the voices they had been confidently shouting in the corridor.

Aquilla narrowed his eyes.

He wondered what they were doing, but it seemed like another transaction, different from before, was taking place between them.

“I don’t care what you think. I don’t see what the problem is since I’m buying what you were going to throw away anyway.”

“This bitch has already been three years since her coming-of-age ceremony, so she’s not that young. What are you going to use her for…”

“That’s none of your business. I believe that not asking about the purpose was the first condition specified in the contract?”

The guild member interrupted Martio’s words and warned him.

The sound of footsteps that had been frantically running around inside suddenly stopped.

“……Ahem. Ahem! I’m not particularly curious, don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of digging deeply. I was just curious about where you were going to take the girl that I had raised until now.”

Martio muttered a few words as if he was making excuses.

Aquila slowly pulled his ear away from the door.

“……It seems they’re trying to sell Yuzelia, not just the children from the orphanage.”

His mind raced, catching several familiar keywords.

Children under the age of twelve who have completed the baptism ceremony.

‘Velma-Bourne. Sending them all the way to that city of all places, I can guess what they’re planning to use the children for.’

In the future, monsters would appear in a civilian’s house in Velma-Bourne, sweeping through the city.

These monsters were called Wraiths. They were transparent, ghost-like creatures, often found in tombs or burial grounds with many buried or deceased people.

And they appeared in a civilian’s house in Velma-Bourne.

After defeating the monsters and examining the area, black magic ritual tools were discovered in several houses.

Thus, it was revealed that experiments sacrificing people to transform them into monsters were taking place in Velma-Bourne.

‘The Wraiths that appeared in Velma-Bourne back then were all, or almost all, as small as young children.’

Furthermore, the investigation into these experiments revealed evidence that the Dark Guild was involved.

It was hardly surprising, as they were involved in almost every incident.

‘Every time I start a new playthrough, the Dark Guild is always the first problem. How far are these guys spread?’

A deep fatigue settled in Aquilla’s black eyes.

If the orphans who were going to be sent to Velma-Bourne were left alone here, it was clear that all the children would become materials for that experiment.

He repeatedly rubbed his face with his palm.

Still, there was an unexpected gain.

The fact that they were still sending children to Velma-Bourne meant that the experiment hadn’t succeeded yet at this point in time.

So, if he could secure proper evidence now, he might be able to stop the experiments being conducted in Velma-Bourne.

If that happened, he could prevent the chain of events that would occur after the experiment succeeded.

“……Well, anyway. As for me, I have no reason to refuse if you give me that much money. It’s even better if you take care of the trash.”

Martio seemed to be uncomfortable, but he didn’t seem to be thinking about stopping the transaction.

Aquila glanced at the doorway.

Yuzelia was not only not under the age of twelve, as they had said earlier, but she was also a Sun Priestess affiliated with the Great Temple of Port Plum.

Moreover, she had declared in front of Saint Ianfel that she would accompany Aquila Reshenhardt.

Ianfel would clearly remember that, so…

Whatever reason they were using to hand over Yuzelia, the place she was destined to arrive at wouldn’t be normal either.

“Then I’ll assume you agree to the deal and move them to the cargo hold of the carriage instead of the room.”

“Won’t she wake up in the middle? I was going to watch until dawn and then…”

“I gave her a medicine that prevents her from waking up for a day, so there’s no way she’ll wake up.”

“Oh, my… I was hoping to have a chance to discipline them like before if they woke up. That’s the only thing that’s a bit disappointing.”

Martio said with a voice full of desire, and then clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk. Still, this also means you’ll lose the chance to fawn all over that noble, so I guess you’re the one who’s more disappointed than me.”

At the bishop’s continued words, Aquila looked up as if to shift his attention.

Then, he met eyes with Shen, whose face was contorted in displeasure.

This servant couldn’t hide his unpleasant feelings even though Aquila was watching.

And before he could say anything, he grabbed Aquila’s hand and pointed to the end of the hallway, as if to move him away.

Aquila hesitated for a moment but nodded.

Then, Shen moved again without a word, leading him to the angel statue where the hidden passage was.

And then, he mouthed silently in front of it.

“…Shall I kill them?”

“What?”

“Both of them. Shall I kill them?”

Shen, who had released Aquila’s wrist, made a gesture of slitting his throat with his thumb.

Aquila was momentarily speechless at the violent gesture.

Considering that he had said to find a hidden passage and sneak in, there was definitely something strange about this servant today.

At least, based on what Aquila had seen of him until now.

“He was rude to you, Young Master, and not only to Yuzelia, but he’s also doing terrible things to the children…”

Shen glanced at the corner of the hallway and whispered quickly in a small voice.

This servant was definitely angry.

It seemed that Martio didn’t know exactly what it was for, but selling the children was definitely a crime.

But Aquila couldn’t tell him to do it right away.

Not because of the bishop, but because of the Dark Guild member.

Seeing that the Guild member had mentioned Velma-Bourne beyond the door, it meant that they were involved in the experiment to some extent, and there was a possibility that they possessed useful information.

So, he shook his head to mean no.

Aquila didn’t have the room to focus on minor characters that he could get rid of now or later.

Finding a way to prevent the events that would occur in the future was more important.

Shen made a rather shocked expression when Aquila didn’t show his approval.

“Aren’t you angry, Young Master? He did that, that to Priestess Yuzelia…”

“Of course. But, Shen, we sneak in here. More than anything, killing isn’t always the best solution. Rather…”

“Kill them? Who are you talking about?”

However, before Aquila could say anything to gently calm Shen, another voice cut in between them.

This familiar voice, Kahena, approached them without any sign and suddenly poked her head in.

“…!”

“Mmph…!”

“Oops.”

Shen, who was startled, was about to make a loud noise without realizing it, but Kahena, who had predicted this, raised both hands and covered his mouth.

The mouths of Shen and Aquilla, that is.

But Aquila only rolled his eyes with a hardened expression and didn’t make any noise.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t surprised by Kahena’s sudden appearance, but he had developed a habit of suppressing sounds in any situation while crossing playthroughs.

She stared at Aquila’s appearance with interest and smiled.

“Our little young master is more dignified than I thought.”

Kahena continued playfully as Shen grasped his chest and took a deep breath to calm his surprised heart.

Aquila sighed and removed Kahena’s hand.

“You’re later than I expected.”

“Oops. I thought you were going to say that first. Well, it’s not that I’m trying to make excuses, but that guy went pretty far. More than that, here, take it.”

Kahena took out a thick envelope from her pocket.

It was the item Martio had handed to the Guild member, and it was clean without a single crease.

Aquila received the envelope and roughly skimmed through the documents inside before putting them away.

Even with a quick glance, it was clear that it contained information about the Temple of the Sun.

“That guy from earlier. Did you kill him?”

“I took care of it as our little young master wished, yes.”

“The body?”

She stared intently at Aquila’s face, then slowly stroked the handle of the sword hanging on her waist.

The white-painted handle was very clean.

“I just put it somewhere nearby for the time being, but it’s better not to look at it.”

Aquilla glanced at the end of the corridor leading to the outside.

Seeing that Shen was looking at the same place, it seemed that it had been put somewhere roughly outside.

It was obvious that there was a mark of the dark guild member on that guy’s body, but it would be better to check it once anyway.

“More than that, who else are we killing? What else should I do?”

Kahena showed a smiling face.

Her expression was very reliable, considering she was saying brutal words.

“That’s right. A big deal happened while Vice Commander Kahena was coming and going so slowly that Young Master pointed it out.”

“Shen? When the young master is right here, why are you treating me like this?”

“The guy that Young Master said was stupid is doing something terrible to the children…”

“You’ve been whispering since a while ago. I’ve been trying to ignore you, but I kept hearing strange sounds.”

However, before Shen could finish speaking, there was another voice that cut in between them again.

Not outside, but inside the corridor.

Light footsteps echoed from the confessional chamber, and someone appeared.

“A bunch of rats have gathered, and I don’t even know how they got in.”