Chapter 121: The Pawn

Chapter 121: The Pawn

The man seemed delighted as he witnessed Rain slaying the monster, and a faint smile appeared on his previously sullen face.

This caused Rain to hesitate as he reached for the 'Holy Water' in his waist pouch.

But after a moment's thought, Rain took out the holy water and held it in his hand.

Sensing the energy emanating from the holy water, the girl glanced at it and her expression turned fearful. She began to wave her hands in front of her chest, and a ghostly yet panicked voice echoed, "Warrior, please don't hurt me. I'm not a bad person."

Hmm?

She can speak?

But why does her voice sound so familiar?

It seemed like the same female voice that had warned me to run earlier, Rain thought.

At that moment, the mist seemed to dissipate slightly, and the girl's figure became a little clearer. However, upon closer inspection, Rain realized that her body had an unreal quality to it, and as the mist thinned, she appeared more transparent.

Rain thought for a moment and slowly asked, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

The girl nodded.

Rain felt relieved and continued, "Was it you who warned me to run earlier?"

"Yes, warrior. But I didn't expect you to be so powerful, directly slaying that mist demon," the girl replied, her consciousness becoming clearer, her expression no longer dull, and her speech more fluent.

"So that monster was a mist demon?" Rain asked.

"Yes, I heard the bounty hunter call it a mist demon before he died. It can control the dense mist and loves to hide within it. Its attacks are hard to defend against," she explained.

"Then what about you? Why did you warn me to run but also distract me each time the mist demon attacked? It's as if you were helping it attack me!" Rain questioned.

"I'm sorry, warrior. I was under the control of the mist demon and had no choice but to do those things," she apologized.

"I'm truly sorry!" The girl's expression turned sorrowful again, and she began to sob softly.

Rain waved his hand, not wanting to dwell on the issue. Instead, he asked, "How did you end up like this?"

"By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Agatha! I don't know what happened either. When I woke up, I found myself in this state," the ghostly girl replied.

Upon hearing her name, Rain immediately associated it with the name of the mill—Agatha's Mill. Intrigued, he asked, "Does that mean this mill belongs to you and your father?"

"Yes, warrior. This mill was originally managed by my father and me," Agatha answered.

As Agatha spoke, Rain learned the whole story.

It turned out that one day, Agatha had been defiled by Cormac Tucker, the steward of Baron Watson. When Agatha's father discovered what had happened and confronted Cormac, the latter, in a fit of rage, killed both Agatha and her father and buried them beneath the two windmill mills.

The tragedy should have ended there.

However, for some reason, a strange change occurred in Agatha's dead body.

When Agatha woke up again, she found herself as a ghost.

While Agatha was still in a daze, a mist demon attacked. This demon had the ability to control dense mist and spirits.

Thus, the deceased Agatha had no choice but to submit to the demon's claws and be forced to attract the victims' attention, allowing the demon to launch a fatal attack from behind.

Rain nodded, realizing that the rumors about the stench of decay and ghosts were not unfounded.

At this point, Agatha hesitated for a moment before asking, "May I make a request? If possible, could you help me take revenge?"

"I don't have any reward to offer you. Perhaps the only thing I have is a brass ring on my corpse, but it doesn't seem sufficient as compensation for your help," she said.

Rain's expression turned pensive. Although Agatha's story was true, and her plight was indeed tragic, he was willing to help. However, he didn't want to create more trouble for himself if things didn't go as planned.

The culprit was a steward of a baron, indicating that he was trusted and valued by the baron. To make him admit his guilt and gain the baron's cooperation would require careful planning.

After a few seconds, Rain spoke, "Agatha, tell me the entire story in detail. Perhaps we can find a way to make the steward confess."

"Even for me, making a baron's steward admit his crime directly would be extremely difficult," Agatha agreed.

She nodded and began to recount the story.

After listening to Agatha's account once more, Rain left the windmill mill with the mist demon's corpse.

As soon as he stepped out of the mill, Rain checked the system prompt, and his eyes glinted with anticipation.

He hadn't expected such a generous experience reward for slaying the mist demon.

【Your skill, Grizzly Sword Technique, has improved. Experience gained: +274】

【You have engaged in combat. Knight (Extraordinary) experience gained: +54】

Knight lv1 (86/100) was now on the verge of leveling up.

It seemed that these monsters offered exceptionally high experience rewards. At least, in Rain's opinion, the mist demon's combat strength wasn't that formidable, and it felt weaker than Calavi. Its attacks were more bizarre and unexpected.

If one could seize the moment when the demon's attacks revealed its physical form and deliver maximum damage, it could be severely injured or even killed in one strike.

Regarding Agatha's request, Rain had a somewhat unrefined plan in mind.

It might not succeed, but he was still determined to give it a try.

Meanwhile, Gregory, who had already returned from Watson Manor, had been waiting outside. Upon seeing Rain emerge, he exclaimed with delight, "Sir Rain, I'm glad to see you safe and sound!"

Suddenly, Gregory's voice trailed off as he spotted the monster's corpse being dragged out by Rain. His eyes widened in shock.

"There really was a monster! I thought it was just a ghost. What an unreliable bounty hunter!" he muttered.

"Steward Gregory, I've temporarily resolved the issue with the mill," Rain said.

(End of Chapter)If I wanted a permanent solution, I needed to meet with Viscount Watson."

"Lord Rain, do you wish to meet the Viscount?"

"That's great. Viscount Watson just mentioned to me that he wants to meet you. At this moment, he should be at the Watson Manor not far from here."

Not long after, Gregory led Rain to the nearby Watson Manor.

As it turned out, Viscount Watson had just arrived at the manor from the county city for an inspection.

"Viscount Watson, it's an honor to meet you," Rain said with a slight bow.

Although he had entered the Extraordinary realm, he was not technically a noble, so he still followed the basic etiquette.

Viscount Watson was a tall middle-aged man wearing a noble hunter's attire. The man in black robes standing next to him was probably the murderer Agatha had mentioned—the butler, Cormac.

Viscount Watson smiled as he sized up Rain, "So, you're Rain, the newly entered Extraordinary? I never expected that you'd be the one to resolve this matter."

Rain was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected the news of his entry into the Extraordinary realm to spread so quickly.

"Yes, Viscount. I learned about the mysterious incident at Agatha's Mill from Sheriff Hamilton. For now, I've temporarily resolved it."

"Temporarily?" Viscount Watson frowned.

"Well, I've dealt with the murderer who killed the farmer and the guards—that Mist Demon. However, the fundamental problem at Agatha's Mill remains unsolved, and there's a hidden secret behind it."

As Rain mentioned the word 'secret', he glanced at the butler, Cormac, whose eyes flickered with momentary panic.

"Hmm? Rain, please elaborate," Viscount Watson said, looking puzzled after hearing about the secret.

So, Rain began to slowly tell the story.

"Agatha's tragic experience turned her into a malevolent spirit, constantly attracting various monsters to Agatha's Mill. Therefore, we can only restore the mill's normal operations by letting Agatha rest in peace."

Upon hearing this, beads of sweat formed on Cormac's forehead.

"Rain, Agatha's plight is truly distressing. How can we let her rest? Do we need to capture the murderer? Do you have any leads?"

"Viscount, it's not that complicated," Rain replied.

"Are you saying you know who the murderer is, Rain?" Viscount Watson realized and looked at Rain.

Rain nodded, his gaze fixed on the trembling butler, Cormac, "The murderer is right before your eyes, Viscount."

Following Rain's gaze, Viscount Watson looked at the standing Cormac in confusion, then exclaimed, "What? Cormac?"

"Lord Rain, this is a slander from that spirit, a slander!" Cormac trembled, his face turning red. Despite his fear of Rain's Extraordinary status, he still tried to defend himself.

Viscount Watson's expression turned serious as he thought for a moment, "Rain, we need evidence for this. We can't necessarily trust the words of a spirit."

Viscount Watson instinctively found it hard to believe that someone close to him could do such a heinous thing. However, based on Cormac's reaction, he knew that Cormac was likely involved.

Evidence?

Rain smiled.

This incident had occurred months ago, and without modern forensic methods, only a certain sorcery from the mystical side could force the culprit to confess.

Clearly, Rain didn't possess such abilities yet.

"Rain, I plan to seal off Agatha's Mill completely, and I'll also dismiss Cormac," Viscount Watson said, glancing at the butler.

Viscount Watson had already decided on a solution.

Dismissal was a minor punishment compared to the suffering of Agatha and her father.

Fortunately, Rain was prepared.

"Viscount, perhaps you think that Agatha's spirit won't bother you if you seal off the mill, right? But I've heard that spirits can mutate and even become malevolent spirits!"

"Additionally, the area around Agatha's Mill might attract more monsters, and your manor is not far from the mill."

"Are you sure you don't mind if the situation escalates to that point? By then, even if you spend a fortune to ask the Church's higher-ups to intervene, it might not be enough to resolve the issue."

Rain had made up these words based on rumors he had heard from Sheriff Hamilton over the past few days, aiming to scare Viscount Watson.

As Rain spoke, Viscount Watson's expression grew more troubled.

Rain's words were not easy to dismiss, as requesting the Church's intervention would require a substantial payment and a significant favor.

Viscount Watson's brows furrowed as he weighed the situation.

Cormac had served the Watson family as a butler for many years, and they found him quite useful. However, Viscount Watson had never imagined that Cormac would do such a thing, especially since it could lead to significant losses for the Watson family.

He had initially planned to downplay the matter, but after hearing Rain's words, he hesitated.

Cormac's face turned pale, and his legs trembled, almost unable to support him.

"Cormac, go with Rain to Agatha's Mill and get this sorted out," Viscount Watson decided after a moment of thought.

Apparently, after hearing Rain's 'analysis', Viscount Watson was ready to abandon Cormac.

"Viscount, I'm innocent!" Cormac, usually a robust man, now seemed deflated.

"Viscount, you've made a wise decision," Rain smiled.

Rain grabbed Cormac by the back of his neck and lifted him.

"Viscount, you've made a wise decision," Rain smiled.

(End)

Chapter end