Olivia sighed as she looked at the scene before her.
She stepped forward and said, "Deacon Gray, Deacon Ronan. This Ossie Emerson... might not be our target?"
"How is that possible? You saw it yourself; he is indeed a transcendent," Gray said, twirling his mustache.
"He's a transcendent, and he's certainly a heretic, but... he's really not our target." Olivia handed over the letters she had found. "I found these in his bedroom. It's quite clear that he belongs to the Rose Legion.
"Of course, I'm not saying a member of the Rose Legion couldn't be the mastermind behind the statue gallery incident. It's just that, based on the contents of these letters, he hasn't caused any supernatural incidents during this period, and more importantly, he doesn't possess a Seed of Awakening.
"So... it's not him."
As Gray scanned the contents of the letters, his face couldn't help but twitch.
The letters were records of correspondence between Ossie and other members of the Rose Legion. The information involved was enough to show exactly what Ossie had been up to lately.
However... even if they had the wrong man, the fact that this fellow was a heretic remained true.
Ossie seemed to realize something at that moment, his eyes widening. "You... you weren't looking for me?"
Gray glanced at Ossie. "What are you looking so happy for? Even if the person we're looking for isn't you, you're still a heretic of the Rose Legion. Do you think we can just let you walk away now that we've found you?"
Ossie's expression instantly froze.
Gray asked again, "When you went to the Soltu Statue Gallery before, why did you cross the cordon to touch the statue?"
Ossie replied, bewildered, "Is that such a strange thing? Whether it's an exhibition of paintings or statues, people who go to see them always have an urge to reach out and touch them, don't they? I know it's against the rules, but that's just how people are."
Gray mocked, "'That's just how people are,' huh? Well, that successfully got you flagged by our church. Are you happy now?"
Ossie fell silent.
He had heard rumors about strange occurrences at the Soltu Statue Gallery, but since it had nothing to do with him, he hadn't paid it any mind.
After the anomalies started appearing, he hadn't returned to the gallery. His last visit had actually been quite a long time ago.
Yet, even so, he had somehow ended up on the church's radar. What kind of luck was this?
Ossie desperately wanted to start cursing, but fearing that letting a few choice words fly might earn him a beating, he ultimately held back.
"Take him away. Bring him back to the cathedral first, then we'll get back to the original task," Gray said helplessly.
From Ossie's earlier display of power, it was clear he was a Sensate. Naturally, they couldn't leave the escort to anyone else; he and Ronan had to accompany him personally.
"Getting caught up in something else halfway through a mission... Hmph, a familiar feeling," Ronan whispered.
Olivia had an even bigger headache.
Running into another heretic by accident was one thing, but why did this heretic have to be from the Rose Legion?
The man didn't seem to recognize her, which was good, but Fiona would definitely come looking for her to ask about this later.
Unlike Robert last time, who was just an Initiate and not highly valued by the Rose Legion, Ossie was a Sensate. He clearly held a decent status within the organization, and there was no telling if the Rose Legion would retaliate because of this.
If the Rose Legion decided to do something, she wouldn't be able to escape the fallout either.
Thinking of this, Olivia found herself looking at Ossie with particular distaste.
"Are you happy, Mr. Emerson?" Olivia asked.
Ossie glanced at Olivia, sensing that this nun's hostility toward him was even stronger than the others', which left him feeling rather confused.
"To be escorted back to the cathedral by all of us, to become the central figure of an event... doesn't this feeling of being the center of attention satisfy your heart? It's like you've become a celebrity.
"Unfortunately, you're a bit ugly, Mr. Ossie. Generally speaking, it's easier to be a celebrity if you're good-looking.
"Speaking of which, you're about to enter the interrogation room. That's not a place just anyone can go, so are you happy?
"But don't worry, the church is a civilized place. There won't be all sorts of bloody torture devices in the interrogation room. Of course, I've never actually been inside to see, so I'm just guessing.
"Why do you look so constipated? I can make a Laxative Talisman, do you want one?
"No, wait, you're a prisoner. I can't apply buff effects to you, not even a Laxative Talisman.
"You can just shit your pants instead."
After just a few sentences from Olivia, Ossie Emerson's expression became somewhat distorted.
It was the first time he had ever hated a nun so much.
Not far away, Ronan and Gray leaned in toward each other with strange expressions.
Ronan whispered, "Do you notice a sense of déjà vu coming from Olivia?"
Gray nodded repeatedly.
Ronan continued, "A few days ago—I've forgotten exactly when it started—Olivia suddenly became very good at getting under people's skin. It reminds me of Sister Melanie."
Gray's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, exactly! Sister Melanie! I was wondering why it felt so familiar. Sister Melanie is exactly that frustrating."
Ronan lamented, "It reminds me of a saying: when you spend a lot of time with someone, you inevitably start to learn from them and become more like them. I used to think that saying wasn't quite true, but now I think I have to change my view."
"Are Olivia and Melanie very close?" Gray asked.
"Indeed, they're often together. So there's no doubt about it; Olivia has been influenced by Melanie."
"I see. Sigh, such a good young girl, led astray like this."
The two looked at each other, their hearts full of lamentation.
Regardless, Ossie was shoved into the carriage and transported toward the Daylight Cathedral.
Along the way, because she found Ossie quite unpleasant to look at, Olivia didn't mind using him to ruthlessly farm pain energy, causing Ossie's expression to grow more and more distorted.
'That damned nun... you'd better hope I never get my freedom, or I'll definitely make you pay.'
"You heard that, right? He wants to escape. Remember to tell the people in the interrogation room to lock him up extra tight."
Olivia's behavior infuriated Ossie.
'The pain energy this guy provides is a bit low. Is it because the emotions he's sending aren't pure pain? It feels more like anger. I wonder if I'll end up manifesting a seed of anger in the future...'
Olivia thought to herself.
After delivering Ossie back to the cathedral, Olivia and the others boarded the carriage once more and headed back to Baker Street.
Next was the second suspect, who also lived on Baker Street.
Rate on N.U.
