Chapter 28: The Returning Bishop

Chapter 28: The Returning Bishop

Pavo Court… Cleeves did not directly respond to the woman behind the telegraph office door. Instead, he turned his head and glanced at Gehrman Sparrow, waiting for him to make the decision.

In the eyes of this former adventurer, it was already an extremely difficult matter for a group of over ten people to return safely and smoothly to the White Agate. They could not, and should not, be distracted at a time like this by helping search for someone. However, he also knew very well that the current pillars of the group were Gehrman Sparrow and Blazing Danitz. They were the ones with the authority to agree or refuse.

Klein was silent for two seconds before speaking in a voice neither high nor low.

“What does he look like?”

He believed that grasping a little more information would help them leave this strange, fog-shrouded town. So he asked casually. As for whether he would help keep watch, that depended entirely on what they encountered next.

At the same time as he asked, Klein warned himself once more: do not investigate too deeply, or it will be easy to trigger the danger hidden within Bansy Harbor.

Between understanding the situation and avoiding risk, he had to walk as though crossing a balance beam—not too much, not too little, neither left nor right, without leaning to either side.

This might be easy, or it might be difficult, because no one knew what change a single step might bring. He could only rely on experience and intuition to make judgments, while being aware that he could fall into a pit at any time. This left Klein’s mind highly tense, his thoughts moving with unprecedented speed.

Amid the dense darkness and thin fog, the telegraph office door remained firmly shut. After a pause, the woman inside said, “He is a very handsome man.

“He has two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one mouth.”

Why is that answer so terrifying… This woman probably has problems too, doesn’t she? According to Bansy Harbor’s custom, she should not have responded at all! Blazing Danitz strongly felt like kicking down the door, rushing into the telegraph office, and checking the situation inside.

It was at that moment that he saw Gehrman Sparrow raise a hand, press down on his hat, and turn toward the side.

“The Church of Storms,” Klein said briefly, naming their destination.

He did not concern himself with what was wrong with the woman inside the telegraph office, just as he did not investigate what secrets the owner of Lime Restaurant and the guests staying there were hiding.

The wind grew weaker and weaker. The thin fog remained unchanged. Candlelight from the high, narrow windows of the church faintly shone out, like a lighthouse in a storm.

After Klein used Sun Halo once again, Donna and the others recovered a measure of courage, like people who had fallen into water and were clutching at their final straw. Quiet and hurried, they walked along streets empty of pedestrians.

Very soon, they arrived outside the Church of Storms, only to find that both doors were tightly shut without a crack.

Glancing at the Storm Sacred Emblem on the doors, Klein raised his hand and knocked three times in succession.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A wary male voice immediately came from behind the door.

“Who is it?”

“Gehrman Sparrow,” Klein answered directly.

He had already recognized that the one asking was Captain Elland.

“Why have you come here?” Elland did not open the door and asked again.

Holding his cane, Klein said calmly, “You paid the compensation to White Shark for me.”

Elland was first taken aback and found it somewhat amusing. Then he preliminarily confirmed that it really was Gehrman Sparrow outside. At the very least, even a monster skilled in disguise should not know something that only the two of them knew.

He still hesitated, until Cleeves, Urdi Branch, Donna, and the others spoke one after another. Only then did he feel reassured and have First Mate Harris undo the bolts and open the…