Hunchback Katus.
Hunchback Katus.
“Are you talking about the crooked man?”
Well, the appearance of the hunchbacked man at that time was very cunning and suspicious. I didn’t really have any intention of trying too hard to find the culprit unless I knew the devil was involved, so I just let him go.
“yes.”
Dilgent looked down at me with a very serious face. A fine face that doesn’t match his muscular body. It was clear that this man would have made women cry if it had not been for the bloated muscles cultivated by the priests of the Restoration Church. Of course, it will still be very popular with women.
Would it be right to tell this person what I saw here? Or is it better to keep your mouth shut?
If you brought up the story of the hunchback, you would probably hear information about it, but it was inevitable that you would become more deeply involved in this work.
I was planning to go on a search for the holy relic with my party when the official notice about my authority comes down tomorrow. However, when I thought about it again, Dilgent’s eyes were full of meaningless confidence. A strange certainty that I must have seen a hunchback.
I made up my mind. Yeah, there’s no need to lie here and buy unnecessary suspicion.
“I saw. The hunchbacked man jumped out of an alley right before I attacked the criminal and was pushed back by the criminal, almost seriously injuring him. I wasn’t seriously hurt because I accepted him.”
“also!”
Realizing that his suspicions were correct, he bit his lip and looked around. Soon after, Dilgent decided that this place in the middle of the street was not an appropriate place to talk for a long time, so he invited me to accompany him.
“Could you give me a moment?”
Squeeze.
‘killing!’
That’s when Dilgent recommended it to me. My mother, who had eaten a piece of chicken skewers next to me, pouted her lips and begged me to just ignore a guy like that and hang out with her alone.
I glanced at Dilgent, took out a new chicken skewer from the bag, put it in my mother’s hand, and asked Dilgent.
“Is this a long story by any chance?”
Dilgent glanced at his mother and shook his head.
“It is not a very long story. If you’re concerned, it’s okay to meet again tomorrow and talk.”
I thought about it briefly, but I thought it would be better to listen to this uncomfortable story as soon as possible. I was about to call my mother’s name, but when I realized that Dilgent was there, I tapped her on the shoulder.
‘killing?’
“They say it’s not a long story, so why don’t we listen to it for a while and go to the blacksmith together?”
The mother pondered, then pursed her lips.
‘Murder…’
If you ask me to do that, I reply by asking if I can do anything else. That subtle way of stimulating a person’s guilt meant that her mother had grown more than before. However, when I saw him pretending to be sullen and rolling his eyes, I thought he hadn’t fully grown up yet.
After a while, my mother looked at me and secretly held out a finger. What that finger meant was very simple.
“All right. When you get back, you can take a honey candy from your luggage and eat it.”
‘Say hat!’
Only then did the mother nod in satisfaction and beat her chest, saying that she could wait as long as she wanted. Dilgent, who was staring blankly at it, asked me.
“Are you unable to speak?”
“yes.”
You said it well, but in Dilgent’s eyes, it must have seemed that I was talking to myself and my mother was responding with facial expressions and gestures. I decided to let him continue to misunderstand. When he found out that his mother was unable to speak, the way Dilgent looked at his mother changed very favorably.
“To speak and not to speak is a trivial matter. Or rather, people hurt each other with their words, so at least those who can’t speak have never hurt others with their tongue. In a way, that may not be a bad thing.”
‘killing.’
The sarcasm of mortals, who are arguing about someone else’s new birth. At Dillgent’s words of kindness, the mother narrowed her eyes and immediately raised the middle finger of the hand that was not holding the chicken skewer.
Dillgent looked at my mother’s middle finger with bewildered eyes and asked me.
“What does it mean?”
I quickly pressed my mother’s middle finger to fold it and smiled bitterly.
“I am very grateful for Ho’s young consolation. And the meaning of the hand gesture just now means ‘You are a precious person like this towering middle finger’.”
“aha. That’s what it meant.”
Dilgent smiled, nodded, and looked at his mother.
“Thank you so much for such a valuable compliment. Let’s see. Can I do this?”
He stretched out his right middle finger and held it out toward his mother. Yes, the muscular priest held out his well-trained middle finger to his mother and said a good word.
“You are also a precious person.”
‘Hat killed?!’
The mother who suddenly returned it was very embarrassed, but the situation was roughly sorted out.
“Then why don’t we go to the tavern over there and talk about it?”
When he pointed to a tavern that was barely noticeable, Dilgent nodded slowly.
“great. Follow me. I will buy it.”
“Thank you, I will eat it.”
‘Kill!!!’
My mother jumped up and resented the priest who dared to stop her, but I appeased her by promising her the right to two candies.
***
Dilgent, who settled down at the tavern, skillfully called the clerk to order various foods and asked us.
“Are you drinking?”
“Alcohol is fine.”
At my refusal, he nodded and spoke in a serious voice.
“It’s not a long story, so let’s finish it quickly before the food comes out. First of all, the name of the man with the hunched back that the priest saw is Katus.”
do you know the name When I looked at Dilgent with questioning eyes, he smiled as if he understood my surprise.
“According to what I have found out over the past two weeks, that hunchbacked man named Katus was a servant who received and disposed of the garbage from Avad Finisho’s mansion. Unlike his hunched back and diminutive physique, Katus said that the strength of his body was very strong.”
Be strong. Then, was the reason why I was easily pushed out by the culprit at that time?
“Do you have any idea why he did such a cruel thing?”
“I’m not sure, but…”
Dilgent paused, looked around, and continued cautiously.
“It’s said that it’s related to the devil, so I’m careful because I don’t know what kind of bizarre abilities it will use. So, I’ll continue the explanation. A man named Katus was born a hunchback and was abandoned under a manor house as a child. It is said that Mr. Abad took pity on Katus and raised him. Even giving them jobs when they grow up.”
“Then isn’t the lord a benefactor to Catus? No matter how you look at it, there doesn’t seem to be any motive for committing that horrific massacre.”
Dilgent laughed bitterly.
“Obviously, Mr. Avad Finisho took pity on him and took care of him in many ways, but the servants who worked in the mansion didn’t like him very much. From what I’ve heard, it was said that he was difficult to be loved in many ways, such as his ugly appearance, stuffy head, and sluggish behavior. Naturally, he isolated himself among the people.”
A picture was drawn. Did that hunchback suffer from bullying among the servants? In fact, when he was talking to me, he stuttered more than necessary. But this alone was not enough.
“Killing people is not that easy. There must have been another reason, right?”
“you’re right.”
Dilgent silently nodded.
“As an adult, Katus had a crush on someone. She was a maid hired to do the kitchen work. The maid always smiled kindly and secretly fed Katus, even when others treated Katus with disrespect. That’s where the problem arose.”
“which…?”
what happened to that maid? A very, very terrible thing.
“Not long ago Katus confessed to her. He said that you were the first person who treated him like this and that he would make you happy for the rest of his life. But…”
He paused and shook his head sadly.
“It was just an embarrassing confession to the maid. She was just treating people with kindness, and she already had other affections. she refused. The real problem started from there. There must have been another maid who saw the scene.”
“Oops.”
Just imagining it was terrifying. The confession failed, but there was someone else who saw the scene? Is it the same co-worker?
Dilgent quenched his thirst with water and continued.
“It was an instant for rumors to spread. The mockery of Katus overflowed from the mansion. I’m not exactly sure what emotions he felt in the process, but they certainly weren’t very good.”
“So did Katus take revenge on the people of the mansion?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t know that far. That’s what I found out so far. Officially, Katus is believed to have died on the day of the horrendous massacre. I once hinted to Avad-sama that Katus was suspected, but Avad-sama shook her head, saying that he wasn’t that kind of person, and just told me not to talk about someone who had already died.”
“Oops.”
Dilgent laughed bitterly.
“This is the first time I realize that being too good for a person can sometimes be a problem.”
Is it that the anger of the marginalized was expressed? If his anger was very intense, the emotion of anger itself might have seemed like a twinkling star to the devil. So did you give me strength? The power to do whatever he wants.
As soon as Dilgent finished speaking, the food he ordered came out. Between the food brought by the waitress, there were a lot of small food that we didn’t order.
“It looks like there are things that weren’t ordered before.”
The answer was not from Dilgent, but from an employee.
“Priest Dilgent treated my father who had a sprained back a week ago without any money. So I brought some more so that you can eat a lot. Then I’ll go get someone else’s order!”
The waitress winked at Dilgent and waved her hand before leaving. Dilgent scratched the back of his head.
“I didn’t help with the expectation of a reward, but since you gave me this, I think it’s right to eat it with gratitude. Eat it right away. The food will cool down.”
The meal with Dilgent took longer than expected, and when the meal with him was over, the smithy had already closed. As a bonus, my mother’s stomach became very full.
***
“Whoa. This is a real thing! I never thought I would receive an official letter from birth saying that I could search anywhere! As long as you have this, you can go anywhere in this city without any problems!!!”
When Giselle saw the official letter sent to the soldiers in the morning, she burst into exclamation.
“To think that I would have public power on my back while acting as a worshiper of evil spirits. I never even dreamed of it!”
Jamel, who was sitting next to me, looked at Giselle and shook his head.
“Since the old days, Giselle has loved things related to such power and status. He enjoys standing above others. So please remember that I don’t expect much from Priest Marnac, and I will always be more faithful servant than Giselle!”
Whether it’s because they’re friends with Jamel who reveals money and Giselle who reveals power and status, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between them.
“For now, Giselle should keep the official document.”
“I?”
“Yes, with that official document, Giselle, along with the rest of the party, would like you to search for the holy relic while naming the lord.”
Giselle tilted her head as she folded the official document neatly as if it were a precious treasure.
“If we take the official document, what are you going to search for?”
“Yesterday, Dilgent suggested that I go on a search with him today. I intend to go with him and look for traces of the holy relic by his side while he chases down demons.”
I smiled quietly.
“There is no reason to refuse to help me in the search for my holy relic.”
