“Miss Vi-Vi-Vi-Vi-Violet! Outside, outside…!”

“What are you shouting about… Calm down. Also call me Dawn, don’t forget!”

With an expression of exasperation, she pinched Theresa’s soft, chubby cheeks to stop her from spewing nonsense due to her panic.

Although she already knew that this little girl was afraid of ghosts, she hadn’t expected it to be this extreme. Fortunately, they were still inside the carriage, which was well-insulated, so no one outside should have heard her.

No matter what secrets might lie behind Dawn’s identity and the visions seen by the Spirit Veil Tribe and Leila during her advancement, the priestess’ original plan would not change because of this. Therefore, not too many people could know that Dawn was actually Violet.

“Let’s go out and take a look. It seems… something interesting has finally appeared.”

When they went outside, the caravan had temporarily stopped. The guards belonging to the White Dove Merchant Guild were trying to maintain order. In the most chaotic area, the caravan leader, Avery, was asking a few passengers about the situation.

As Violet and the others approached, even before they got close, her superior hearing easily picked up the conversation.

“Say that again? What exactly happened?”

“Mon-Monster, there was a monster! Boss Pierre said he wanted to relieve himself and went into the bushes alone, and then… not long after, a sudden gust of wind swept past, and he was gone! There is definitely a monster in this forest!”

“Silence! By the goddess above, remember this: you are on the 【Holy Spirit Trail】. Even if there is something mysterious hidden here, it is a servant or messenger of the Holy Light. You all heard it earlier. When that guy screamed, he clearly said it was because he desecrated the goddess’s shrine, and thus was punished by the holy spirit here—he brought it upon himself!”

As Violet and the others approached, Avery, dressed as a merchant, was still loudly admonishing everyone to “have reverence and praise devoutly, and you will be safe.”

The fox lady didn’t interrupt him, merely glancing at the large swath of bushes crushed by an external force, and the more robust tree trunks with… marks resembling slashes made by a sharp blade. After a brief thought, she moved next to the man who was initially questioned by the caravan leader.

Violet had seen this person a few times in the caravan. He was a half-beastman, likely of bovine or deer descent, as indicated by his long ears. If she remembered correctly, he was a servant to a merchant who was quite showy, with a big belly and a brash way of speaking. The two were always together, but now, the merchant was nowhere to be seen.

Obviously, that guy was the victim.

She tapped the man’s shoulder from behind, causing him to turn around with a startled “Wah!” The white fox lady wasted no time on pleasantries and went straight to the point.

“You just said a gust of wind dragged your boss away. What do you mean by that? Was the attacker so fast that you only saw a blur, or did it have no physical form at all?”

“You scared me to death… Who are you? A little girl wearing a strange mask, why are you asking about this?”

“Mm-hmm…”

The servant’s uncooperative attitude was entirely within Violet’s expectations, and she was prepared for it. From beneath the little fox mask, she let out a light, almost casual laugh, “Hee hee hee~,” and said nonchalantly.

“It seems you’ve been working for that Pierre for several years now. I guess… he hasn’t paid you in full yet? And look over there, do you really think this caravan and the others will spend time looking for your missing boss? Right now, we might be your only hope.”

“Huh…? This…”

The obviously simple-minded servant quickly glanced secretly at Avery, who was moving off into the distance, busy reorganizing the caravan and clearly preparing to set off again.

He then suspiciously swept his gaze over the unique-looking girls in front of him, lingering especially long on the white wings behind Leila and Rene, as if he was deep in thought.

It didn’t take long. Soon, Violet heard the response she wanted, which was entirely within her expectations.

“What a mess… Fine, I’ll be honest with you. I did sign a five-year labor contract with Boss Pierre, and it was supposed to end in a few months, right when I was about to get paid. He can’t just disappear like this…”

Shaking his head helplessly, the young half-beastman, who seemed to be just over twenty, covered his mouth with his hand and whispered cautiously, as if recalling carefully.

“Actually, what I told Mr. Avery wasn’t entirely accurate. The so-called wind noise was just a rough description… You see that bush over there? Boss Pierre went in there to relieve himself, and I was standing not far away, so I saw everything clearly.”

“Although I don’t know what Boss Pierre was doing, a gust of wind swept past, and suddenly, these trees mysteriously fell to the sides. But I didn’t see anything! Right after that, I heard Boss Pierre’s scream! So, rather than a monster, I think it was more like a ghost or a spirit!”

“Yikes!”

Terrified by this description, Theresa’s face turned pale, and she instinctively huddled closer to the fox lady, trembling. Violet nodded thoughtfully, musing aloud.

“A wind sound and something invisible and intangible…”

The man didn’t pay attention to the girl’s muttering and instead nervously glanced around before cautiously adding.

“That’s all I know. Also… although Boss Pierre was a bit greedy, had a bad temper, was a bit fat, and liked to curse sometimes, apart from these, he was actually quite nice. In short… even if it’s not for the wages, I still hope you can help save him. After all, it’s a human life. Of course, if it’s too dangerous…”

“Uh… you really are kind-hearted, no wonder you can get along with someone like that…”

Shaking her head slightly as if speechless, the girl in the white fox mask nodded slightly.

“If we can, we’ll try to save him, but if he’s already beyond saving, there’s nothing we can do. By the way, do you believe in the Goddess of Light?”

The half-beastman servant was slightly taken aback. “Believe? Uh… haha… actually, I’m not religious…”

“I see, okay, thank you for your cooperation.”

Ending the somewhat ambiguous conversation, Violet signaled to her companions and then led the way elsewhere.

After taking only a few steps, the ever-curious Theresa, seemingly trying to distract herself from her fear of ghosts, quickly initiated a conversation.

“Miss Dawn, how did you know that Pierre owed that man wages? And why did you ask if he believed in the Goddess of Light?”

Before Violet could respond, Leila, walking on the other side, smiled and explained, “Isn’t it obvious? We’ve seen that fat man named Pierre before—dressed in luxurious clothes, clearly wealthy. He also wore a Holy Church symbol at his collar, indicating he’s a registered follower of the goddess.”

“And this man, being Pierre’s servant, is skinny and wears patched clothes, and he’s not a member of the Goddess’ church. Such a significant wealth disparity, unless he’s a slave, can only mean low wages and unpaid salaries. If his poverty were due to some bad habit, that picky fat man wouldn’t keep him around to maintain his image as a follower of the goddess.”

Nodding, Violet added, “Yes, even so, this guy still speaks well of the boss who’s exploiting him. He’s like a puppy that loves its abusive owner, it’s really just… masochistic. This sort of situation probably only occurs in the theocratic Holy Empire. And the fact that he doesn’t see anything wrong with it tells me it’s probably a common problem here.”

Saying this, a low, ambiguous chuckle came from beneath the fox mask.

“Heh heh… It seems even the goddess of light cannot erase the greed and malice in some people’s hearts.”