A Blunder And A Strange Incident

Rebecca and I took one last look at the divine statue from the chapel entrance and confirmed that there was no problem. The statue blended in perfectly, as if it had been placed there since long ago.

“Let’s hurry back before someone notices.”

“Yeah.”

We had to retrace that nerve-wracking route again… it was a bit depressing, but it couldn’t be helped. We couldn’t just stay here like this.

Rebecca and I looked at each other and nodded, then slowly opened the back door of the chapel. Holding our breath, we proceeded down the hallway.

We slipped through the common area and tiptoed down the corridor where the priests’ private rooms were located, returning to the storage room where we had first infiltrated.

“Phew… we finally made it this far.”

“Just a little more. Let’s not let our guard down.”

“Okay.”

Careful not to kick anything in the storage room, we headed toward the window, slipped outside, quietly closed it behind us, and just as I activated ice magic to close the stopper…

…BANG!!

The worst possible situation occurred. I had fired an Ice Ball toward the window because the stopper needed to be shifted toward the window side, but it grazed the stopper and slammed straight into the window.

With a loud impact, the window vibrated violently, and a large crack ran through it. And while we froze in shock at the unexpected situation, the window shattered with a crash loud enough to be heard not just in the church but by people living nearby.

Shards of broken glass scattered both inside and outside the storage room, and fragments rained down on us as we stared blankly at the destroyed window.

“…Ow.”

As the pain snapped me back to my senses, the inside of the church suddenly became bright. Someone must have turned on a light.

“Luca, we have to run…!”

“Let’s at least get outside the grounds!”

If we escaped to the Divine Domain here, the worst-case scenario was that people would keep passing by and we might be forcibly returned to the lower world within a day, so we ran with all our strength to relocate.

Once we left the grounds and dashed into a nearby alley, we escaped into the Divine Domain.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

“D-did anyone… notice us?”

Rebecca and I collapsed onto the floor of the Pavilion, both of us completely out of breath.

“Good work, both of you. I was watching, but no one saw you. However, people nearby have come outside to see what happened, so it would be best to return to the lower world after things calm down.”

When Lady Seremees beckoned us over and we peered into the water mirror, we saw people who worked at the church coming outside and beginning to search the area.

Several of them were running somewhere, so they were probably going to notify the soldiers. This would likely be investigated as a break-in incident.

“I really messed up at the end…”

As I muttered that gloomily, Rebecca lightly patted my back to encourage me.

“It can’t be helped. The swap succeeded, so isn’t that good enough?”

“That’s right. Thank you for doing it for my sake.”

Lady Seremees nodded at Rebecca’s words and gave us a gentle, floating smile.

Those words and smiles from the two of them lightened my heart.

“I’m glad I could be of help.”

“I’m the one who’s glad Luca became my servant.”

Hearing Lady Seremees say that really gave me confidence. It also made me want to keep doing my best from now on.

“Thank you very much. I look forward to working with you from now on as well.”

After that, Rebecca and I waited until things settled down, each going to bed, and since we were exhausted, we quickly fell asleep.

“The soldiers have arrived.”

Around the time Luca and Rebecca fell asleep in the Divine Domain, the commotion in the lower world was still continuing. Several soldiers had now arrived at the scene.

“This was done quite dramatically.”

“I was asleep when I suddenly heard the sound of glass breaking and jumped up. When I came here, this window was broken… I checked inside the building just in case, but there were no intruders.”

“Understood. Everyone please step back. We will preserve the scene and record the information.”

One soldier began sketching the scene on a large sheet of paper, while another wrote a detailed description of the site.

“This was broken by an Ice Ball. Judging from how the window shattered and how the glass scattered, it is almost certain the Ice Ball struck it from the inside.”

“From the inside? Why would someone do that? Normally, if someone wanted to break in, they’d cast magic from outside.”

“Exactly. It’s strange.”

The soldier observing the scene spoke with the soldier who seemed to be in charge here.

“And this window’s stopper is detached. It’s hard to believe it came off when the window shattered, so…”

“You mean the culprit broke a window that was already open?”

“That would be the case. Furthermore, there are footprints inside the room. Footprints that must have been left before the window broke.”

When the soldiers heard that, the man who appeared to be their superior frowned deeply, while the church workers tilted their heads slightly, not fully understanding the meaning.

“…What does that mean exactly?”

“In short, the culprit had already infiltrated the building. First they somehow managed to open the stopper and gain entry. After accomplishing their objective inside, they attempted to conceal the evidence by trying to reattach the stopper from outside while escaping, failed, and ended up breaking the window. Something like that.”

Hearing those words, everyone working at the church turned pale. Anyone would feel that way after hearing that an intruder had been inside the very building where they had been sleeping.

“Could the culprit still be inside…?”

“I think that possibility is low, but we’ll check just in case. After that, I’d like everyone to confirm whether anything has been taken. If something was stolen, it might eventually be sold somewhere, and the seller could lead us to the culprit.”

“U-understood.”

“Let’s also ask around for witnesses. Fortunately, the loud noise brought the neighbors outside, so someone might have seen the culprit.”

Several hours passed after that. Despite the late hour, the investigation continued… but even by dawn, there were no leads.

“This is unexpected.”

“It really is… first of all, why was nothing stolen? I don’t understand the intruder’s intentions.”

“And not a single witness either.”

“It’s a mysterious incident.”

The soldiers were preparing to wrap up their on-site examination and return to their station, as there was no new information.

“Does that mean the culprit won’t be caught?”

“Yes… I think that will be difficult. Normally, something this dramatic would leave at least some clues, but with no sightings and nothing stolen, it’s as if the culprit vanished into thin air…”

“It’s almost like the work of a ghost.”

At those words spoken casually by one of the soldiers, everyone working at the church turned pale.

“Ah, sorry. I was just speaking hypothetically.”

The soldier hurried to add that, but the word “ghost” lingered in everyone’s ears.

“Well then, we’ll be taking our leave soon. We’ll continue searching for witnesses, so please inform us if anything comes up. Also, we recommend improving your security measures.”

Everyone from the church nodded vigorously at the soldier’s words, and the incident ended with the culprit remaining unknown.

—Afterward, however, rumors began spreading throughout the Royal Capital that a ghost had appeared.