Chapter 42: Sudden Bad News, Your Wife is Dead

"Good day, Archbishop."

In the morning, as Ashes prepared to leave St. Samuel's Cathedral, he encountered Archbishop Anthony, who had been waiting at the door. With a calm expression, he greeted him.

"Good day, Mr. Ashes."

Archbishop Anthony wore his usual gentle smile, "Your room will always be reserved for you. If you ever need to, you are welcome to return at any time."

"Moreover, even if you no longer live here, Mr. Ashes, you are always welcome to come to the church to pray to the Goddess…"

As he spoke, Anthony suddenly paused, his expression somewhat strange.

During the time Ashes had stayed there, it seemed he had never seen Ashes pray to the Goddess even once.

However, since the other party was indeed a favored one of the Goddess, perhaps he had a special way of praying.

One should not deny his piety to the Goddess just because of some minor differences in the ritual.

"I will."

Ashes nodded slightly but did not leave immediately. Instead, he waited for a while longer.

After confirming that Archbishop Anthony had no other instructions, he finally left St. Samuel's Cathedral and headed to the Backlund Detective Agency behind it.

Afterward.

Unsurprisingly, he saw the Al Harsen team in the detective agency's hall.

This time, they were finally not playing cards but chess.

However, Ashes guessed it was probably because Lorota was not there, and they couldn't play cards without a fourth player.

The moment they saw Ashes, they were shocked.

"Praise the Goddess!"

Al made a clockwise sign of the cross on his chest four times, excitedly saying, "You actually came to work voluntarily. This is a miracle! My prayers to the Goddess have been answered! Praise the Goddess!"

"No, I don't think so."

Borgia retorted, thinking it was unlikely the Goddess would respond to such a trivial prayer.

"Where is Ms. Lorota?"

Ashes asked.

"She should be at the café absorbing maid energy."

Borgia picked up a chess piece and explained, "She always says there are three essential things in life: coffee, sweets, and maids."

"By the way."

Ashes looked at the two still leisurely playing chess, his expression also a bit strange, "I always wanted to ask, why is it that every time I come, you are either playing cards or chess? Is our team so idle?"

"Nonsense!"

Al, who had his back to Ashes, turned around and glared at him, "Do you think everyone is like you? Since you joined the NightHawks, it's been almost half a month, and you've reported to duty only three times, spending less than an hour in total at headquarters!"

"We are not like you! We have to report to work early every day, eating and sleeping at headquarters, getting only two to three hours of sleep daily! As Roselle the Great said, we get up earlier than chickens and sleep later than dogs! Don't compare us to you; it's an insult!"

"Actually, we are quite idle."

Borgia glanced at Al and, without giving him face despite being the team leader, casually dismantled his statement, "As the capital of the Kingdom of Ruen, Backlund has quite a number of Beyonder individuals belonging to various churches."

"Take the NightHawks, for example. Just the ones I know number at least a hundred."

"Of course, not all of them stay at headquarters."

"In fact, the Church of the EverNight Goddess has branches in almost every district of the capital, and NightHawks usually operate in small teams scattered across the capital, each performing their duties to protect the city."

"Our team's task is to stay on standby at headquarters. If there's an emergency that other teams can't handle, we step in. But with so many NightHawks in the capital, such situations are rare and often handled by the Red Gloves."

"So, most of the time, our task is to carry sealed items and support nearby cities, like when we recently supported Tingen."

"However, such emergencies might not happen even once a month, so…"

Borgia paused, then seriously said, "Most of the time, we are really quite idle."

"So, do you understand?"

"I understand."

Ashes nodded slightly. Basically, they were a low-tier version of the Red Gloves, easy to understand.

But Ashes still looked at Al Harsen with a strange expression.

With your almost daily slacking off, what right do you have to look at him like he's a class enemy?

"How are we idle!"

Al Harsen was instantly furious, "Reporting to work on time every day isn't working seriously?! Since when is work easy? How many people like us still stick to their posts without leaving? Tell me how are we idle?"

Borgia said nothing, silently staring at the chessboard.

The team leader seemed in good spirits today, maybe he wouldn't have a chance to steal another piece.

But if he didn't steal a piece, how could he win?

"And you!"

Al Harsen berated Borgia, then turned his vigilant and suspicious gaze to Ashes, "Are you planning to leave again?"

"No."

Ashes shook his head slightly, walked to the sofa, and sat down. Amidst the strange looks from the other two, he said in a deep voice, "In fact, I've been seriously considering whether to come to work recently."

"…"

Al Harsen's forehead veins bulged. Hard, his fists hardened!

What do you mean by seriously considering whether to come to work?!

If you don't want to come, then don't. No one can do anything about it; you still get paid every week.

Did you really come just to taunt us?

Are you mocking us NightHawks?!

While Ashes seriously considered whether to come to work, and Al Harsen seriously considered whether to punch him, a figure suddenly appeared at the door.

"Al."

The person called out in a dry voice, looking at the three in the hall.

"Simon."

Seeing the visitor's haggard expression, Al's expression turned serious, and he asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Simon was also a NightHawk of Backlund.

When their team was on a mission in Tingen, Simon's team had taken over their duties at the detective agency.

But from Simon's appearance, it was clear something had happened!

"Eve is dead."

Simon's voice was hoarse, "Al, I heard your team's Lorota has been promoted to 'Medium'. I hope you can help me; consider it a favor owed."

"Eve is dead?!"

Al and Borgia were both shocked.

Simon Herbert, a Sequence 7 Nightmare like Al.

And Eve was his teammate, a Sequence 8 Clown and a Seer who had recently been promoted.

They had just seen her recently.

Now Simon suddenly came to tell them the bad news that Eve had died.

An official Beyonder? Someone dared to attack an official Beyonder in Backlund?

"Lorota should be at the nearby café. I'll go get her."

Borgia immediately stood up and said in a deep voice.

"Hurry."

Al nodded solemnly.

Simon was his friend, and the deceased Eve was Lorota's close friend and an official Beyonder.

Both publicly and privately, they had to help.

(End of the Chapter)

50 Power stones = Extra Chapter