Triiffic-Soul: Can I Be In Control?-Chapter 91 – Luna’s Investigation
Chapter 91 – Luna’s Investigation
Out on the town was a simple hunter minding their own business, simply shopping, window shopping, and more shopping—nothing out of the ordinary.
[Go down 3rd street.] (Luna)
Anlesa turned down the east side of the street and walked past a few of the smaller inns and restaurants. Making clear looks at them as if judging where to go to eat.
It was the day immediately following Anlesa’s return home from the multiple-day investigation. They spent the afternoon readily gathering and buying all the material Eva needed for her big potion crafting session, but now that a new day had begun, Luna had something she wanted to pursue.
One, maybe three Aurora Church priests wasn’t a cause for concern. She would be uncomfortable, but it was something to make a scene about. She knew they liked to be everywhere and to know everything they could. Did they always succeed at that? Absolutely not, but they tried. Luna was aware of this, so the occasional disguise group of priests in a city like this wasn’t unusual; there were probably some who were permanently stationed in the city and were better at hiding those traits.
The actual problem was that there were far too many priests in the city for Luna to sleep comfortably.
When it came to finding a priest hiding, the process started quite simple; a person just had to observe. A potential tell was those who were overly cautious; this applied to many people trying to hide something, but it was a good characteristic to take notice of. The other traits to look for were the looks of disdain and disgust when staring at those who didn’t match the church’s beliefs or hearing the money-centric people shittalk them. Another method was to find symbols of the church on their person, usually hidden under clothes. Luna was aware that, as an unconscious action, priests would often grab these. The final action on an individual level Luna was aware of was the way priests of the Aurora Church walked. It was something taught but went unnoticed when out in public, like now, unless people were aware of it. The fact remained true that the priests walked with a very heavy foot. Syrus noticed it after a bit, but she figured it was just how those individuals walked, not a whole style of walking, before Luna explained it to her.
[You know, it must be a pain; well, a long-term pain.] (Syrus)
[What are they supposed to do? Not let the room know about their presence?] Luna responded sarcastically.
None of these signs and methods guaranteed that someone was a priest, but they were what Luna took a careful time to look for.
[They are moving towards the house by the side street.] (Syrus)
[The priest from across the street has noticed them as well] (Luna)
Luna wasn’t in direct control of her own investigation. She was merely in the backseat, providing directions and observing. She could’ve but chose not to involve herself with the ‘Syrus’ disguise that Eva and Syrus piloted.
Another trait that Syrus and Luna noticed now that there was an abundance of priests was that the priests were aware of each other. A glance over a crowd with eyes lingering or connecting with those one knows.
[What are they even doing..?] Eva asked. She had been mostly quiet, not wanting to get in the way of the two professionals.
[Nothing good.] (Luna)
Anlesa had spent all day so far investigating and trying to track the priests’ movements. Of course, only spending one day on the task may not reveal many positive results, but Luna wanted to at least find something.
As the individuals entered the building, Syrus found a nearby restaurant with a window view to eat and stare from.
[Sryus, can you do anything?] (Luna)
[Look, even I can’t boost my hearing enough to hear inside a building on the opposite side of the street. The best I can do is if I am next to the building.] (Syrus)
And being next to the building would put them in the prime suspicious position.
[...] Luna wanted to groan but there was nothing to be done. She was the one who explicitly stated that getting caught was the one thing they could not allow to happen.
The result of today's tracking pretty much had only concluded so far that this house was at least a temporary residence.
[Hmmm…] Eva debated if there was anything she could do.
A horse-drawn caravan with windowless walls and a roof that blocked the insides from outsiders' eyes was parked outside the building. However, all pulled forms of transport couldn’t stay stopped on any street for an extended period of time without permission.
A group of three disguised priests left the building and entered on the covered waggon that was stationed outside for pickup. The brief movement of the three was caught by Syrus’ gaze. They were dressed fancier than the usual disguise; if everyone else was dressing as commoners, these people were at least pretending to be merchants.
[Is that..?] Luna's thoughts paused as she stared at the wrinkled lady. She appeared familiar, but it had only been a little over a decade since her death and she didn’t know of anyone in that age bracket. Not that people in the church ever revealed their age; the best answer someone would get was how many years a person was in a position of power. Anti-ageing appearance techniques were popular everywhere, but especially in the Aurora Church, which liked to have a pristine exterior–their extensive development also supported this endeavour.
[Someone you knew?] (Syrus)
[Maybe? It was hard to know people’s ages, but no one appeared to be climbing up in the age bracket. Except for the pope, I don’t know. They liked having old-looking popes.] (Luna)
Luna barely saw the side of the person's face, but something about it disgusted her. She wished she got a better look.
The investigation didn’t end there, and Anlesa did explore more of the town, tracking the church’s movements in a notebook. They weren’t able to uncover anything useful, but Luna was ready to continue to search for anything.
