A new poster was put up in the square. The poster attached to the wanted poster for the priest contained information about a serial killer who has been heating up the capital these days.
The serial killer's description began with the word 'dwarf'.
[Dwarfism, a young-looking appearance. Be careful not to let your guard down because of the small size and youthful appearance.]
The sentence, which was unclear as to whether it was personal information or a warning, strangely disparaged the criminal.
It wasn't like he was a judge or an apostle of darkness or anything like that. He just seemed too easy and weak, so he took it on.
“Mastura, I was wondering why that good fighter got defeated so easily, but it turns out it was because he let his guard down.”
“If a small thing comes and starts making a fuss against that big guy, it’s understandable to let your guard down.”
Those who read the poster nodded their heads, saying they now understood why the victims, who had been doing it one by one, were so easily taken advantage of.
A small, dwarf, and easygoing judge. A title that has somehow become out of place. Who would fear a small judge anymore?
The posters were a source of interest but were in fact poorly suited for reporting purposes.
Only a vague description bordering on ridicule was written, and no detailed information was written about where he mainly works his hair color, or his eye color.
This meant that the poster was written for one person, not the public. It was a letter from me to a priest.
“The wall posters have come out just as you said, Madam. But can we really use this to provoke the priest?”
Henry, who was reading a poster posted next to a scented candle shop, asked me, who was also looking around.
“I suppose so. Sir Henry, just imagine who would make such a big mockery of you.”
“Well, I guess that makes me a little annoyed.”
Henry would be merely angry, but he would not be a priest. I had almost memorized the expert's analysis of his psychology.
“Priests have a tendency to show off. That’s why they tattooed the victims’ faces. They wanted to make it known that they had committed a crime.”
Because he doesn't want people to mistake it for a crime committed by someone else.
“Why would he do something like that? It would be good for the priest if someone else were mistaken for the culprit. After all, he would be out of the investigation net.”
“Once he escapes the investigation net, the praise will belong to others.”
The devil, the apostle of darkness, the judge, the executioner. All these titles are too grand to be given to a mere criminal.
“The priest cannot stand the fact that he is nothing.”
There was something the profiler said in a video I saw in my past life.
This ostentatious serial killing stemmed from the discrepancy between high self-consciousness and an inferiority complex about oneself as an insignificant human being.
That's why the priest tried so hard to become a noble after coming here. He couldn't stand being a fugitive from the most despised race.
“Wouldn’t that be infamous?”
“Notoriety is fame.”
The expert said he would enjoy being called names that made him fearful, such as the devil, the greatest serial killer, and the second Jack the Ripper.
There's a fine line between fear and worship, and he's clearly enjoying it.
So, I argued that we should not write articles with the nuance of calling him an intelligent criminal.
But the media would not listen to his claims, and he began calling him a serial killer who would go down in history.
As the police continued to let the culprit go, people's fears grew, and the guy must have shrugged his shoulders, no matter who knew.
'It's probably still like that now.'
I haven't seen it yet, but I already hate the sight of it.
“On the topic of criminals.”
In the past, Shadin had committed several murders, which made him think he was something else in his previous life.
At some point, he started to pick out criminals and kill them as if he were some kind of person due to his excessive self-consciousness. It seemed like he had set his own standards for killing.
Even if you say he was a criminal, he was just a homeless person who picked on passersby, a building owner who raised the rent, and a man and woman having an affair that had nothing to do with him.
'The author seemed to have died because he wrote pornography.'
That was what experts believed was the author's murder.
'It seems like the priest was possessed here because of the writer's grudge. But why was I possessed? Because I installed a fake CCTV?'
There's no one to ask about this, really.
I scratched my head. After all, Shadin’s notoriety was even greater here than in my previous life.
“I bet he's really enjoying the feeling of being an apostle of darkness. But what if I throw cold water on it?”
“He must be so angry.”
“Then he wants to catch and kill the person who wrote this poster?”
But is that person difficult to kill directly? Then Shadin will use the curse as a last resort.
“I think so.”
Henry nodded as if to say that it was indeed so.
“But is it just me, madam, that feels like the person who wrote this poster would be scolded by Erne rather than the priest?”
“...Unfortunately, it is not a mistake, Sir Henry.”
I looked back at Erne, who was neither coming closer nor moving further away, within arm's reach.
Erne was furious. He could tell with his whole body that he was upset. It was because of what was written at the bottom of the poster.
[A reward was given to Yang Yu-Jin of Yu-Jin Laundry for providing information about the culprit.]
To others, this sentence may seem like a spur to report. But only one person, the priest, can determine the truth of this sentence.
This was a letter from Yu-Jin to him, a declaration of war, a warning. I remembered everything, so let's fight properly.
'It seems like the priest thinks the person he's talking to is the author, so he should tell me who he's fighting with.'
When Erne previously intruded into the Followers' hideout, the priest mistook Erne for a possessed person and left a letter.
I was puzzled as I read the letter that had only one line written on it: “As in the past life, so in this life.”
If the purpose was to reveal that the priest himself was possessed, why did he change the title instead of just leaving it as is?
Now that my memory is clear, I can see why. The priest thought the person I was possessed by was the author.
Because he killed the author, and this is inside her work.
In addition, Shadin, who was possessed by the guy, was on the run due to treason, so it was natural that he would have thought that the author had called him here to seek revenge on him.
Then the sentence following 'As in your past life, so in this life' would be 'I will kill you'.
'That's why I'm telling you, I'm not an author.'
In my case, my memory returned after a certain trigger. If the priest had also lost his memory like me, he could have used his own name as a trigger to regain his memory.
That was exactly what I was aiming for.
Shadin will certainly try to blame me for his past death.
'But killing me won't be easy. There's Erne, and Henry, and the other Shartins.'
It would be difficult to use physical methods, so he'll use solitariness, curses, or whatever.
I was after that. And that was the point at which Erne got very angry.
I said I wouldn't do anything dangerous, but I ended up doing something dangerous.
“Shall we go in, Erne?”
I asked in a soft voice, taking a step closer to Erne.
Then Erne took just one step back, exactly as I had come, no more, no less.
“...?”
Oh, how childish!
My eyebrows furrowed. Then Henry whispered to me, telling me to try to soothe him. I decided to endure it for a while since I had committed a sin.
“If you keep doing this, I’m going to run out somewhere out of the blue.”
Henry's head tilted. Isn't this threatening to do something more dangerous, ma'am?
“Hey, try running hard. Sorry, but if you really want to experience for yourself that when Miss Harrington runs three steps, I only have to run one.”
“It won’t be three steps, right?”
“Oh, so it’s four steps?”
“One and a half steps, I guess.”
You two are so childish, right? I don't think Kaya and Vadim would fight like this.
Henry shook his head as he watched the childish scene of Judith continuing to approach and Erne continuing to move away.
Yeah, lover's quarrels are originally childish. But is it just me who feels a little annoyed?
The serial killer's description began with the word 'dwarf'.
[Dwarfism, a young-looking appearance. Be careful not to let your guard down because of the small size and youthful appearance.]
The sentence, which was unclear as to whether it was personal information or a warning, strangely disparaged the criminal.
It wasn't like he was a judge or an apostle of darkness or anything like that. He just seemed too easy and weak, so he took it on.
“Mastura, I was wondering why that good fighter got defeated so easily, but it turns out it was because he let his guard down.”
“If a small thing comes and starts making a fuss against that big guy, it’s understandable to let your guard down.”
Those who read the poster nodded their heads, saying they now understood why the victims, who had been doing it one by one, were so easily taken advantage of.
A small, dwarf, and easygoing judge. A title that has somehow become out of place. Who would fear a small judge anymore?
The posters were a source of interest but were in fact poorly suited for reporting purposes.
Only a vague description bordering on ridicule was written, and no detailed information was written about where he mainly works his hair color, or his eye color.
This meant that the poster was written for one person, not the public. It was a letter from me to a priest.
“The wall posters have come out just as you said, Madam. But can we really use this to provoke the priest?”
Henry, who was reading a poster posted next to a scented candle shop, asked me, who was also looking around.
“I suppose so. Sir Henry, just imagine who would make such a big mockery of you.”
“Well, I guess that makes me a little annoyed.”
Henry would be merely angry, but he would not be a priest. I had almost memorized the expert's analysis of his psychology.
“Priests have a tendency to show off. That’s why they tattooed the victims’ faces. They wanted to make it known that they had committed a crime.”
Because he doesn't want people to mistake it for a crime committed by someone else.
“Why would he do something like that? It would be good for the priest if someone else were mistaken for the culprit. After all, he would be out of the investigation net.”
“Once he escapes the investigation net, the praise will belong to others.”
The devil, the apostle of darkness, the judge, the executioner. All these titles are too grand to be given to a mere criminal.
“The priest cannot stand the fact that he is nothing.”
There was something the profiler said in a video I saw in my past life.
This ostentatious serial killing stemmed from the discrepancy between high self-consciousness and an inferiority complex about oneself as an insignificant human being.
That's why the priest tried so hard to become a noble after coming here. He couldn't stand being a fugitive from the most despised race.
“Wouldn’t that be infamous?”
“Notoriety is fame.”
The expert said he would enjoy being called names that made him fearful, such as the devil, the greatest serial killer, and the second Jack the Ripper.
There's a fine line between fear and worship, and he's clearly enjoying it.
So, I argued that we should not write articles with the nuance of calling him an intelligent criminal.
But the media would not listen to his claims, and he began calling him a serial killer who would go down in history.
As the police continued to let the culprit go, people's fears grew, and the guy must have shrugged his shoulders, no matter who knew.
'It's probably still like that now.'
I haven't seen it yet, but I already hate the sight of it.
“On the topic of criminals.”
In the past, Shadin had committed several murders, which made him think he was something else in his previous life.
At some point, he started to pick out criminals and kill them as if he were some kind of person due to his excessive self-consciousness. It seemed like he had set his own standards for killing.
Even if you say he was a criminal, he was just a homeless person who picked on passersby, a building owner who raised the rent, and a man and woman having an affair that had nothing to do with him.
'The author seemed to have died because he wrote pornography.'
That was what experts believed was the author's murder.
'It seems like the priest was possessed here because of the writer's grudge. But why was I possessed? Because I installed a fake CCTV?'
There's no one to ask about this, really.
I scratched my head. After all, Shadin’s notoriety was even greater here than in my previous life.
“I bet he's really enjoying the feeling of being an apostle of darkness. But what if I throw cold water on it?”
“He must be so angry.”
“Then he wants to catch and kill the person who wrote this poster?”
But is that person difficult to kill directly? Then Shadin will use the curse as a last resort.
“I think so.”
Henry nodded as if to say that it was indeed so.
“But is it just me, madam, that feels like the person who wrote this poster would be scolded by Erne rather than the priest?”
“...Unfortunately, it is not a mistake, Sir Henry.”
I looked back at Erne, who was neither coming closer nor moving further away, within arm's reach.
Erne was furious. He could tell with his whole body that he was upset. It was because of what was written at the bottom of the poster.
[A reward was given to Yang Yu-Jin of Yu-Jin Laundry for providing information about the culprit.]
To others, this sentence may seem like a spur to report. But only one person, the priest, can determine the truth of this sentence.
This was a letter from Yu-Jin to him, a declaration of war, a warning. I remembered everything, so let's fight properly.
'It seems like the priest thinks the person he's talking to is the author, so he should tell me who he's fighting with.'
When Erne previously intruded into the Followers' hideout, the priest mistook Erne for a possessed person and left a letter.
I was puzzled as I read the letter that had only one line written on it: “As in the past life, so in this life.”
If the purpose was to reveal that the priest himself was possessed, why did he change the title instead of just leaving it as is?
Now that my memory is clear, I can see why. The priest thought the person I was possessed by was the author.
Because he killed the author, and this is inside her work.
In addition, Shadin, who was possessed by the guy, was on the run due to treason, so it was natural that he would have thought that the author had called him here to seek revenge on him.
Then the sentence following 'As in your past life, so in this life' would be 'I will kill you'.
'That's why I'm telling you, I'm not an author.'
In my case, my memory returned after a certain trigger. If the priest had also lost his memory like me, he could have used his own name as a trigger to regain his memory.
That was exactly what I was aiming for.
Shadin will certainly try to blame me for his past death.
'But killing me won't be easy. There's Erne, and Henry, and the other Shartins.'
It would be difficult to use physical methods, so he'll use solitariness, curses, or whatever.
I was after that. And that was the point at which Erne got very angry.
I said I wouldn't do anything dangerous, but I ended up doing something dangerous.
“Shall we go in, Erne?”
I asked in a soft voice, taking a step closer to Erne.
Then Erne took just one step back, exactly as I had come, no more, no less.
“...?”
Oh, how childish!
My eyebrows furrowed. Then Henry whispered to me, telling me to try to soothe him. I decided to endure it for a while since I had committed a sin.
“If you keep doing this, I’m going to run out somewhere out of the blue.”
Henry's head tilted. Isn't this threatening to do something more dangerous, ma'am?
“Hey, try running hard. Sorry, but if you really want to experience for yourself that when Miss Harrington runs three steps, I only have to run one.”
“It won’t be three steps, right?”
“Oh, so it’s four steps?”
“One and a half steps, I guess.”
You two are so childish, right? I don't think Kaya and Vadim would fight like this.
Henry shook his head as he watched the childish scene of Judith continuing to approach and Erne continuing to move away.
Yeah, lover's quarrels are originally childish. But is it just me who feels a little annoyed?
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