Chapter 25: Chapter 25: It’s Not What It Seems
Chapter 25: It's Not What It Seems
"Mr. Hastur, you haven't gone to bed yet, have you?" The voice outside the door was that of Instructor Folen.
"He definitely can't sleep." Another voice joined in, Professor Wayne's, tinged with a hint of amusement.
"??!" Hastur's expression froze. Why were they holding a meeting in his room so late at night?
"He should be resting by now. He walked quite a bit today. Even without complaints, he must be very tired."
"The environment here is so uncomfortable that even you can't sleep, let alone him—a nobleman used to a life of luxury."
"Why hasn't Mr. Hastur opened the door yet?"
"Knock a few more times, he's bound to open it."
Thud, thud, thud! The muffled, deep knocking sounded again.
"They deserve to wait outside a bit longer for not sleeping at this hour."
Hastur waved his silver-plated cane a few times and, after about ten seconds, finally went to open the door.
Outside stood Instructor Folen and Professor Wayne, indeed carrying a kerosene lamp.
Feeling Hastur's probing gaze, Professor Wayne said, "Let's go inside and talk."
Hastur stepped aside to let them in, then closed the door behind them.
Instructor Folen awkwardly said, "Mr. Hastur, please forgive us for disturbing you so late."
Hastur smiled, "It's fine, I couldn't sleep anyway."
Instructor Folen sighed in relief, extinguished the kerosene lamp, and whispered a complaint, "It was the teacher who insisted you were still awake; otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to disturb you."
"Is there something you need to discuss?"
At this moment, Hastur wasn't angry but rather a bit excited.
In the dead of night, in the quiet charity house, three people huddled around a dim kerosene lamp, discussing matters in hushed tones—it truly set the scene for a ghostly tale.
The room had no chairs, so the three had to sit on the bed, with Professor Wayne in the middle and Hastur and Instructor Folen on either side.
Fortunately, all three were rather slim, so it wasn't too crowded sitting together.
"Coming to you so late, naturally, there's a matter," Professor Wayne began. "After observing throughout the day, do you think there's something wrong with this charity house?"
Hastur pondered for a moment, "It's too quiet. Apart from Dean Darn's excitement at our arrival, everyone else, whether children or working adults, behaved too orderly, not even a squabble among them."
Too quiet, eerily so.
That was his summary of the charity house for the day.
Professor Wayne nodded without comment and looked towards Instructor Folen.
"There's something off about Dean Darn," Instructor Folen judged. "I've been observing him all day and even made a point of speaking with him. From his body language, I can tell he's not as kind as he appears."
Professor Wayne smiled, "Go on."
Instructor Folen spoke seriously, "When the teacher suggested we have lunch with the children, Dean Darn seemed a bit off on the surface, but he was actually very calm, as if he knew what the suggestion implied."
"He arranged a steak for our lunch on purpose. He knew we wouldn't eat it and that we'd use it to show kindness."
"In his eyes, our actions were like a poor performance in a circus. He looked down on us from a high place, not just feeling superior mentally but also despising our intelligence."
Hastur was surprised by these words. During the day, he saw Instructor Folen chatting happily with Dean Darn and thought Instructor Folen was charmed by the dean's displayed charisma.
Little did he know, Instructor Folen was the best actor among the three of them.
Professor Wayne chuckled, "An aging school professor, a lecturer who only knows how to teach, and a young noble who looks naive—Dean Darn indeed has the right to feel superior."
Instructor Folen sighed, "Teacher, it's time you told us your thoughts, right?"
"My thoughts are simple. It doesn't matter if Dean Darn is greedy or bad, as long as this charity house is truly helping those poor souls and not using it as a cover to do evil deeds in secret."
"Teacher, what exactly do you know?"
Professor Wayne fell silent for a while, then spoke gravely, "I've heard that this charity house secretly buries a few children every week."
He was past the age of hot-headedness, demanding fairness and justice. He could tolerate a certain level of darkness because he knew that shadows must exist under order.
While there are many charity houses in Beckland, probably only those run by the Church of the Earth Mother truly fulfill their charitable mission.
Other charity houses either embezzle donations, turn the poor who should be helped into free labor, or focus on cutting corners with meals, among many other criminal acts against children.
What he couldn't stand the most was the charity houses' persecution of children!
Those people could hoard money and skimp on donations and meals, but they must never harm the children.
That's not just a crime; it's the annihilation of humanity!
"Secretly burying children? Teacher, do you realize what you're saying?" Instructor Folen was frightened by Professor Wayne's words.
"I have more than one guide in the dock area. Last month, Old Jeff secretly sent me a letter, claiming he witnessed this charity house burying children's bodies twice!"
"After receiving the message, I rushed to the dock area to meet with Old Jeff and learn the details, but I couldn't contact him again. A few days later, I heard that Old Jeff died, found at the bottom of a cliff in the mountains."
"The police concluded after an investigation that Old Jeff died from a fall and ruled out murder."
At this point, Professor Wayne said coldly, "Old Jeff was in good health and had no interest in climbing, let alone venturing near cliffs. It couldn't have been a natural death."
"It must have been murder!"
"To investigate this, I've come to this charity house twice to find evidence of their persecution of children and the murder of Old Jeff, but I alone am not enough to uncover the truth."
"That's why I brought you two with me this time, to see if we can spot anything unusual."
Professor Wayne laid out everything in one breath. Hastur remained calm, while Instructor Folen's face changed colors, eventually sighing.
After a moment of silence, Hastur spoke, "I mean, if Old Jeff was indeed murdered, and this charity house is really persecuting children, what do you plan to do?"
"Of course, hand over the evidence to the police department and have them arrest all the criminals and bring them to justice!"
"Then why didn't you seek help from the police department from the start?"
Professor Wayne asked puzzledly, "Without solid evidence, why would the police investigate?"
"What counts as solid evidence?"
"Obviously, evidence of the charity house's suspected crimes," Instructor Folen interjected.
Hastur shook his head, "To prompt a police investigation, we don't need solid evidence, but a reason they can't ignore to investigate the charity house."
Professor Wayne pondered, signaling Hastur to continue.
"If a nobleman disappears without a trace in this charity house, wouldn't the police have to conduct a thorough investigation?" Hastur slowly voiced his idea.
He appreciated Professor Wayne's desire to seek justice for the children but didn't approve of their secretive investigation.
If the charity house was indeed dangerous, the closer they got to the truth, the more danger they faced.
Although he was a Sequence 9 Lawyer, he wasn't much of a fighter; three strong men could easily overpower him, and it was clear that Professor Wayne and Instructor Folen lacked combat skills.
Moreover, the act of secretly burying children made him wary. In the mystical arts, children are naturally spiritual and often used as prime offerings in evil rituals.
What if this charity house was conducting such rituals?
No amount of ordinary police would suffice; it would be safer to report directly to the major holy churches.
If it were up to him, he would write a letter, directly accusing the charity house of potentially conducting horrific rituals.
He believed the major holy churches would surely send someone to investigate covertly. Regardless of the outcome, it would be safer and more reliable than their own secret investigation.
Instructor Folen dumbfoundedly said, "But isn't that fraud?"
"It's just a different way of handling the problem."
"This… Teacher, what do you think?"
Instructor Folen passed the question to Professor Wayne.
"Quite good."
Professor Wayne laughed, patting Hastur's shoulder, pleased, "You've learned to use the other side of the law so quickly; you're doing very well."
"It's all thanks to your teaching," Hastur also smiled.
Before making the suggestion, he hadn't thought of exploiting the law; he simply felt Professor Wayne's approach was unreliable.
Cough cough, it's not from the heart.
"Let's proceed as you suggested."
Professor Wayne cheerfully left the matter to Hastur to resolve.
Instructor Folen initially frowned but gradually came around.
The laws of Rune clearly favored the nobility. The police might not care about missing children from the charity house, but the disappearance of a noble would prompt them to investigate promptly.
In a way, this was using Rune's laws to their advantage.
Now, the question was, how would Hastur quietly leave the charity house and create the illusion of his disappearance?
According to the charity house manager's introduction during the day, to protect the children at night, all three residential areas were secured with large iron gates, with only …patrol officers who might have the keys.
Moreover, with over two thousand residents, sneaking out unnoticed during the quiet of the night would be a difficult task.
(End of Chapter)
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