Not long after leaving Jessica's residence, the cold wind began to carry a hint of moisture.
Olivia looked up at the gloomy sky and turned into a deserted alley. Ensuring no one was watching, she took an umbrella out from Amber Tears and opened it.
She stepped back out under the umbrella just as the rain began to fall. It pattered against the canopy, sliding down its curves to the edge before dropping to the ground, splashing into fine droplets.
...
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
Throughout the day, Olivia traveled between various streets in the South District, contacting many people. Thanks to her status as a church nun, she didn't encounter any trouble and completed her own investigation.
But just as she had previously judged, every visitor being investigated knew more or less about the identities of other visitors. Under questioning, the number of known Paradise visitors grew larger and larger, and these people, in turn, became targets that needed to be investigated.
So when the day was over, Olivia found that the number of people she needed to investigate, instead of decreasing, had actually tripled!
"This is terrifying!"
Olivia muttered to herself, feeling that this line of investigation would take many days. Perhaps she would even need the Church to assign more manpower.
She spent 6 Belu to take a public carriage and returned to Daylight Cathedral before dark.
Upon her return, she realized she was actually the last one back. Ronan and the others were already in the office, discussing the day's events.
Olivia's gaze swept over the room, pausing briefly on Vanessa and Rocas as she noticed a problem she had previously overlooked.
'Vanessa investigates alone; I wonder if the people being questioned feel uncomfortable. After all, communicating with her is genuinely difficult. As for Rocas... surely he doesn't have to communicate with people through writing? What if he meets someone illiterate? Among the poor, the proportion of illiterates is quite high.'
Olivia's expression became somewhat subtle.
Seeing Olivia arrive, Ronan immediately called out, "Olivia, how is the situation on your end?"
Olivia walked over and replied, "Though I don't know how everyone else's results turned out, I imagine my situation is the same as yours. After a day of my unremitting efforts, the number of people needing investigation has successfully tripled."
Ronan gave a bitter smile. "...Then it is indeed the same."
He stated that he would report this situation to seek more assistance, though such tedious investigative matters might not receive much help because the Church had been very busy recently and lacked sufficient manpower.
"It's not just us. Many people feel shorthanded when handling their own cases and want to apply for more help," Ronan mentioned an acquaintance. "For example, Gray. He is currently responsible for investigating those who have entered the Soltu Statue Gallery. It's said he has already narrowed down a group of people and believes he might find those with problems in the next few days. He mentioned that combat might break out and that he needs backup."
"If that's the case, we can only spend more time on this. However, I'm worried that if we continue like this and cause more and more people to stop entering Paradise, the Paradise faction might take countermeasures, which could put us in danger," Olivia mentioned this point very seriously.
What they were doing was not just investigating, but also dissuading visitors from entering Paradise.
It was fine on the first day, but by the second or third day, it might no longer be safe.
Ronan nodded in agreement and said, "I've thought about that. So starting tomorrow, each of us needs to go to the War Preparation Room to apply for a signal flare. If an accident really happens, remember to use it."
Relevant information immediately surfaced in Olivia's mind.
A signal flare was a long cylindrical tool. By pointing it at the sky and pulling the ring, it could fire a signal like a firework. As long as one wasn't trapped inside a barrier, the signal was very obvious.
As long as such a signal flare was seen, any clergy member nearby who could spare the time was required to go and help. However, signal flares were difficult to manufacture, so they couldn't be applied for just any mission.
But since Ronan said so, he likely believed they could get them.
"Next, everyone organize your findings, and then you can go rest."
Hearing Ronan say this, Olivia shared her investigation results with the group.
The so-called results were nothing more than the targets' reasons for entering Paradise, their attitudes when facing investigation, and what they primarily did while inside Paradise.
During this process, Olivia discovered that Rocas really did communicate with people through writing during his investigation. If he encountered someone illiterate, he would find a literate person on the street to help facilitate the communication.
'Everyone has it hard.'
Olivia sighed inwardly.
After organizing the results, the night grew deeper. The crimson moon hid behind the dark clouds, appearing only fitfully.
...
Over the next few days, Olivia and her group went out to investigate every day.
Just as Ronan had judged, their application for assistance was not approved; the Church had no more spare hands to provide them.
Fortunately, the application for signal flares passed. After all, the existence of Paradise was quite unusual and deserved a certain level of attention.
After several days of investigation, the number of targets finally began to decrease gradually, as the visitor information provided by many of those being questioned began to overlap with others. This reduced everyone's burden significantly.
The only thing Olivia had to complain about was that the weather over these past few days had been quite poor.
It had been raining continuously. Although it was intermittent and would clear up at times, more often than not, rain drifted over Kaliron, making the environment exceptionally damp.
At this moment, Olivia had just finished an investigation and was emerging from a slightly muddy alley under her umbrella.
"Most of the people entering Paradise are poor. Is the creator of Paradise consciously making this choice?"
Olivia muttered.
She walked while lost in thought, but after only a few steps, she felt a throbbing pain between her brows. That was her own spirituality bringing a warning, telling her that danger was approaching.
Her expression changed slightly, and her heart instantly leaped into her throat.
She continued walking, but her left pinky finger curled slightly. She had already locked onto the signal flare and several talismans inside Amber Tears, ready to take them out at any moment.
'Has a transcendent targeted me? Who is it? Is it related to Paradise?'
Olivia pretended as if she hadn't noticed anything, merely raising the height of her umbrella slightly to gain a better field of vision. Her amber eyes swept across the surroundings with an imperceptible glance.
Rate on N.U.
