"I don’t think so. Evil Demons and Evil God Cultists are two different things. I can sense a primitive impulse and a thirst for blood within that evil aura."

As soon as the topic came up, Orelia’s tone gained a hint of confidence. "According to the scriptures, I believe they are followers of either the King of Minotaurs or the Gnolls Deity."

’The King of Minotaurs? The Gnolls Deity? What is all this stuff?’

Speaking of Jackal Wolfmen, though, Colin was reminded of the ones he had encountered back at Dragon’s Fang Castle. Perhaps the Cultists here were just the remnants of that group, up to their old tricks.

"Then is it possible... that it’s both?"

"Impossible. Those two Demon Lords have a profound hatred for one another. Even the Cultists who serve them can’t coexist peacefully."

Colin scratched his head.

All the rumors about Demons he’d heard in his life had nothing to do with any of this. He didn’t even know there were different factions among them.

He glanced over at Kase, who stood with his arms crossed, his face radiating utter confidence.

"You know something about this?"

"Nope," Kase said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I just need to do the fighting. Don’t care if they’re Minotaurs, Jackal Wolfmen, goblins, or some other piece of shit. Just tell me where to go and who to kill."

’To think I’d expect a Half-Orc like him to use his brain. I must be dreaming too much lately...’

As Colin grumbled to himself, he asked, "So what do you think the Cultists’ next move will be?"

"Regardless of who these Cultists serve, they are all cruel, bloodthirsty brutes. And the greed those Demon Lords have for souls is beyond mortal imagination."

Orelia blinked, then continued, "If they had the power to desecrate this entire village, they would absolutely not restrain their desires. That’s why I believe there’s still a chance to salvage the situation."

"So you’re saying their power isn’t great enough to eliminate everyone down there?"

"Or they’re afraid of being discovered by the local lord and getting wiped out."

Orelia continued, "The villagers have been affected by the ritual to some extent, but not so much that they’d completely obey the Cultists. I think... if we’re going to make a move, it would be best not to harm them."

Colin closed his eyes, his fingers drumming against the tabletop.

’That makes things easier. All we have to do is go back and deal with the Cultists.’

’With the Priest and the Mill Master’s help, we have more people on our side. Besides, the Cultists are still hiding in the shadows, which means they aren’t powerful enough to act with impunity yet.’

Colin opened his eyes and looked at Orelia.

’But this all depends on the Priest’s information being reliable.’

"I can understand your suspicion and hesitation, but I assure you, my information is absolutely reliable," Orelia said earnestly. "When it comes to detecting and understanding Evil Demons, I’ve even been recognized by the High Priest."

"I’m just sayin’, you’re acting like a little kid," Kase couldn’t help but grumble. Her need for validation from others probably reminded him of the young Orcs back in his tribe.

That one sentence shattered what little confidence Orelia had.

She lowered her head again. An outsider would have thought Colin and Kase were bullying the poor girl.

Kase turned back and said, "Colin, it’s thirty Gold Coins."

"Alright," Colin nodded. "Let’s check it out first."

"I don’t think it’s some Cultists causin’ trouble. I’ve never seen any Demons or ghoulish things like that in my entire life," Old Harvey said. "But as long as you promise not to kill anyone, I’ll take my sons and go with you for a look."

"That’ll have to be tomorrow," Colin said. "Both this Priest and I have used up some of our Casting Ability. We’ll need at least a night to recover."

Old Harvey said, "Is that how it works? I thought you Mages could just shout for something and it would appear."

"If that were true, Mages would have taken over the world by now."

Colin cleared his throat. "Do you have any food here? We didn’t dare eat anything from the village."

"We have some, but don’t expect anything fancy. Lately, folks from the surrounding villages would rather take the long way to other mills than associate with us." Old Harvey stood and patted the dust from his trousers. "Oh, right. There’s empty space over by the warehouse. You should be fine to spend the night there, right?"

Colin nodded in agreement.

"Alright, back to work! You’ve had your fun watching the show today, you lazy bums." Old Harvey shooed his sons and daughters-in-law out of the room as if he were herding ducks.

The remaining three sat in the room, none of them knowing what to say.

Colin decided to go outside, found someone to borrow a whetstone from, and began sharpening his two hand-and-a-half swords. Kase found a scrap of cloth and started cleaning and maintaining his own weapon.

The Tiefling watched them get to work, looking like she wanted to say something but was holding back.

Colin noticed, but couldn’t be bothered to ask.

After hesitating for a good ten minutes, Orelia finally spoke up. "Are you field agents for the City Watchers? I remember hearing it’s a new department, the kind that hires Adventurers to help clear out monsters."

"Yes."

With that, Colin took out a salve and handed it to her. "Your nosebleed should have stopped, but you still have a scrape on your face. You should put some of this on."

"Oh, oh, right." Orelia quickly opened the container, scraped out a small dab with her finger, and applied it to the cut.

"As a Priest, what abilities do you have? Judging from our fight earlier, you’re not very skilled in close combat."

"That’s right, Mr. Colin."

Orelia hesitated for a moment, then said fluently, as if reciting from a script: "I am a Cultivator capable of proficient Casting. So far, the Morninglord has bestowed upon me [Scared Flame], [Light], and [Guidance], as well as four Tier One Divine Skills.

However, my understanding of Divine Power only allows me to cast a Tier One Divine Skill twice. Now I can cast [Healing Art], [Bless]..."

Colin rubbed his forehead and quickly cut her off. "Stop, stop, stop. I don’t understand the Divine Arts of Cultivators. It doesn’t help me if you just list them off. Just tell me what you’re good at in simple terms."

"By the Morninglord’s grace, I’m better at healing wounds. Of course, I can also use my Divine Arts to provide support from a distance," Orelia said quickly.

"Then let’s hope we can coordinate well tomorrow," Colin said.

With that said, he went back to tending to his hand-and-a-half sword.

For some reason, he kept feeling a sense of expectation in her yellow eyes.

「The hours crawled by until evening.」

Mill Master Old Harvey’s family truly didn’t have much to eat. The group had some salted, boiled beans before hastily preparing for bed.

Colin laid out his sleeping bag on the floor in the dark.

"Do you really trust that Half-Demon?" Kase asked quietly, staring out at the pitch-black scenery beyond the door.