"Do you feel lost?" Seeing two dead eyes staring directly at me brought back the feeling of pity one might feel for a dead fish on the beach.
"No, I know exactly where I'm going, thank you." I had started walking away with small steps, not even looking at the poster he held out to me, when...
"Do you think this path you're on is the right one?"
"I'm quite sure the campus café is in this direction."
"Tahara, guide this lost soul!" He dropped to his knees, started shouting, and other people were looking over, trying to figure out what was happening.
After a glance at me, he cried, "TAHARA, I HAVE FAILED YOU!" He looked at me again, then shouted, "TAHARA!" Everyone's gaze was now fixed on me, as if I had committed a war crime. Are all the faithful really this broken?
"TAHARA, I CANNOT LOOK UPON YOUR FACE ANY LONGER! FORGIVE THE SOUL OF THIS MORTAL!" Besides shouting, he was now crying, and strangely, beams of light began gathering over him. Come on, it's just a simple poster; you don't need to turn this into a holy mission.
Even though I walked away from the robed figure, a young girl with a face uncomfortably close to mine was staring at me without blinking.
"If I take this poster, will you leave me alone?" The moment I took the poster from his hand, he stopped crying and stood up.
"Our God always shows the right path to those who lose their way." As he looked up into the air, he seemed to be looking at places much farther away.
The poster had a simple design: it announced a mass purification ritual. It contained messages like "Tahara blesses you" and "Tahara guides the lost lambs." I folded the poster and walked toward Luna.
When I entered the café, Luna was sitting next to Prince Max, who was slowly sipping his tea, his generally relaxed demeanor now more refined and his posture straighter. Across from him sat Luna, who was noisily slurping her tea without even noticing she was drinking it.
"Prince Max, your perspective on historical mythology is truly fascinating."
"Ms. Lunaris, your thoughts on entities are particularly interesting in their own right," he said with a soft, quiet laugh.
"Noxtion, please come and sit."
"Welcome, Nox."
I pulled up one of the chairs and sat next to them. "What are you talking about?"
"We were discussing mythologies with Ms. Lunaris; by chance, we are taking the same course." As Prince Max said this, he was strangely focused intently on me.
"Nox, have you sorted out the dorm situation?"
"I have. I encountered a strange situation at the dorm on the way here." After saying this, I unfolded the poster I had creased and took a cookie from the table.
"They've started infiltrating the dorms now," Prince Max said with a flat, emotionless voice.
"So, the church of the god Tahara has a presence here, then."
"I've never been to a church's purification night before. It's piqued my curiosity a bit. What do you say to going?"
"Even though I am curious about the state of Hexia's churches..." I could see the words being forced out of his mouth.
As he said this, one of the members of the Prince's guard—or rather, one of his security detail—came up to him and whispered something in his ear. I didn't even notice where she came from.
"Noxtion, although your offer is intriguing, an urgent matter has come up. If you will excuse me." After the Prince said this, he took his jacket and left the café.
"The relationship between the Gods of Virtue and the vampires isn't exactly great, Nox."
"Why? Why would you be ostracized just because you drink blood?"
"It's not just the blood issue; there are other things, but never mind." He ran a hand over his forehead as he spoke.
"If you come with me, I'll give you two extra vials of blood today."
"Fine, let's go. Where is this church?" Luna, at least put up some resistance! What is this addiction to blood?
She hurried me to pay without even finishing the cookies and tea.
"The table's payment has already been settled, sir," the worker said before I could even open my mouth. He had a sincere smile instead of the classic soulless grin.
As we headed toward the church, we progressed into the richer parts of the city. The streets were cleaner, and you wouldn't see horse dung on the side of the road. When we got to the area shown on the poster, we saw people gathering in front of the church.
"Our streets are filled with harlots! Do you think this is right?" The person who had forced the poster into my hand the other day was now conducting his business with a higher budget.
"No!" all the robed figures said in one voice.
"Is it right for the new generation to forget our savior?" He was shouting at everyone gathered, his hands whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
"No!" came a collective voice from the crowd this time.
"Is it right for the founder Hexia to be forgotten? I ask you, people of Hexia!" As he said this, the beam of light gathered over him again, this time more intensely and brightly.
"HEXIA! HEXIA!" Voices began to rise from the entire crowd while the other robed figures started distributing posters.
"Come, Tahara will bless you with the right path, as shown by the founder Hexia!"