Chapter 381: The Scapegoat

Chapter 381: The Scapegoat

The boss’s task was just ruined. They had confidently reported great progress before, and now it was all over. The information from the last report had only been sent over a short while ago. How much time had passed since then before something went wrong? Even if it was an unavoidable mistake with no life-threatening danger, the label of incompetence was sure to fall on their heads. Getting important assignments in the future would be impossible.

In the end, the Delegation discussed how to minimize the impact of this incident and reduce the blow to their side, giving everyone a headache.

Discuss… how could they discuss this!

“Maybe… we could go with what Achille said, that some unknown Witch took it? After all, only a Witch would have that kind of ability, and if a Witch really wanted to hide her identity, it’s clearly beyond our discovery,” one delegate suggested after much hesitation. They had no other choice. What else could they do besides solving it this way?

They couldn’t even find a suitable scapegoat. The people they knew, even some of the most vicious ones, couldn’t have done it. Snatching that Element Crystal required immense sacrifice—it wasn’t something ordinary people could handle. How could they find someone to blame? Make one up?

Damn it! Did they think The Empire’s higher-ups were idiots? If they fabricated someone, wouldn’t people investigate? If it was discovered that no such person existed, they would still be the ones in trouble, and they’d also face the charge of deceiving the sovereign… Something that didn’t have to end in death would become a death sentence.

Therefore, they needed to think of a plan in advance to smoothly resolve this matter. Ordinary people couldn’t be used as scapegoats, but a Witch would certainly work. However, doing so came with its own worries. First, they couldn’t afford to offend a Witch. If the matter didn’t leak, there was a high chance they could get through it safely. But once it leaked, and the Witch they framed found out they had pinned the blame on her, even if she had no way to defend herself, she could still quietly kill them at some point.

“Let’s test Achille’s attitude,” another delegate said. Actually, they had an even better target to shift the blame to: the Sanctuary Church. After all, the item wasn’t just stolen under their watch—it was taken right under the noses of the Sanctuary Church’s people.

They could directly blame the Sanctuary Church, reporting that it was due to the Church’s poor guarding. There were plenty of reasons to shift the responsibility cleanly, but the problem was… they didn’t dare!

They had to weigh what kind of matter it was before pinning it on the Sanctuary Church. If it was a blame the Church was willing to bear, the Sanctuary Church would say it had nothing to do with them and might even offer some rewards. But if they dared to pin a baseless blame, one that even sacrificed many for their own benefit, on the Sanctuary Church, the consequences would be severe. Although they might not end up dead at the hands of the Sanctuary Church, The Empire, to cooperate with the Church’s “work,” might have them killed, and in a rather brutal way at that.

So… it was better to pin it on a Witch. At least if they kept it secret, they might not face trouble. Of course, they had to carefully choose which Witch to frame. Otherwise, if they just randomly picked one, they’d still be treating The Empire’s higher-ups as fools.

“Let’s go with that. We don’t have many options,” all the delegates finally agreed to this plan. Even if they knew the Sanctuary Church’s claim about a Witch being involved was fabricated, with no other choice, they could only follow this line of thought. As for righteously condemning the Sanctuary Church for being hypocritical while admitting their own incompetence?

Wishful thinking… The Church’s statement at the time was “possible,” not certain. And about incompetence… Such an important task failed, ha!

When the Delegation tested Achille, he didn’t say much and sent them away. His parting words were vague: “Figure it out yourselves.” The “investigation” on their side suggested it was somewhat related to a Witch. The Church did not interfere in state affairs, so they shouldn’t bother him about this. Though he didn’t say much, it was almost enough.

This was Achille’s intention. If he simply ignored them, those in power would definitely overthink and secretly cause trouble. They might even shamelessly ask the Church to intensify the investigation—after all, it was beneficial to them, so why not say it shamelessly?

If you couldn’t be shameless, how could you be in power? So, he just needed to steer their attention. The matter was related to a Witch. Achille wasn’t speaking without basis; after all, ordinary people couldn’t have taken that Element Crystal without sufficient preparation. If there was too much preparation, did they think the Sanctuary Church was blind?

Thus, only a resourceful Witch could have done it. Of course, nothing was absolute; this was just speculation. As for which Witch… he wasn’t a god. The residual mana traces at the scene had long been destroyed by the storm generated when the Wind Dragonflies counterattacked. There wasn’t a single trace left to follow.

As for The Empire later learning that this was somewhat related to a Witch and asking the Sanctuary Church to step in… that was fine. Did they want assistance? This was about a Witch—sure, they could help. But since you lost something, and the Church wasn’t a charity organization, you had to give something in return, right?

Money? Oh… The Church needed funds for daily operations. Since they were helping you out, they had their own rules—they wouldn’t ask for an exorbitant sum, but you should at least show some goodwill, right? Not too much, but at least enough to cover costs, shouldn’t you?

Then there were people. The Sanctuary Church had a lot to do every day. Just dealing with those cults that kept springing back up was troublesome. Think about it: without our efforts, how could the cult forces within The Empire be so subdued? If we diverted too many people, they might run rampant. Even if there wasn’t major damage, if a few small towns were accidentally destroyed and cultists used them for sacrifices to summon a more powerful Evil God, that would be a problem.

To prevent such situations, you should also provide some people, right? With the influence of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, the rules of warfare had changed. Everyone was making new plans, and no one dared act recklessly. If a war really broke out, and the Creator released a patch, the opponent might seize the opportunity and cause a crushing defeat.

So, since there wouldn’t be any large-scale wars recently, providing more people was only natural. They were idle anyway, so why not mobilize them to search for something “their own” lost? How normal was that? Besides, that thing was huge, like a small hill. With more people, if they found it, wouldn’t it be easier to move back?

The Element Crystal was precious precisely because of its size and integrity. Smashing it to take it back would be a waste.

They agreed to all this? Oh, then let’s officially start the search. First, set a target. Since the incident at Windwhisper Valley was caused by the Undying Witch, that Element Crystal was likely something she had long planned. It made sense for her to sneak it away under everyone’s noses. If that was the case, why not start with her…

Ah! This worked out perfectly. The Sanctuary Church was also currently dealing with matters related to the Undying Witch. You lost something too, so it was a perfect strong alliance. Of course, providing people and money wouldn’t be discounted because of this.

After the Delegation’s thinking was led astray by Achille, The Empire began to get involved. Of course, it didn’t matter if they didn’t get involved. Achille felt that if The Empire didn’t bother him, it would be peaceful. If they wanted to be a nuisance, they should be prepared to give something first. Besides, his scheme wasn’t baseless.

After all, it really might have been the Undying Witch who took it.

The Delegation, having received Achille’s reply, completely relaxed. Though his words were somewhat vague, one thing was clearly expressed: the Sanctuary Church tacitly approved of their method of choosing a scapegoat.

“But… who should we pick?” Shortly after one meeting ended, the Delegation gathered again for a new meeting. This time, they discussed finding a scapegoat.

“I think the Cursed Witch is suitable,” one delegate said after some thought. “The Witch Hunt wasn’t that long ago. The Undying Witch suffered significant losses of power then, and it’s said that power is hard to recover. So, she might be looking for something special to restore her strength…”

Elemental Power was a nutrient for cultivating mana, so there was a possibility of conversion. If a Witch with unrecovered power took it to restore her strength, that would be a good reason.

“Not very suitable. If her power hasn’t recovered, how could she have taken this Element Crystal?” another delegate rejected the idea, pointing out the flaw in his words. “I think the Undying Witch is the best. She caused the anomaly at Windwhisper Valley. She couldn’t have been unaware of what happened here. She might have even used the anomaly to attract attention, specifically controlling those Wind Dragonflies to ‘create’ that Element Crystal, planning to steal The Empire’s property this way! What’s more heartbreaking is that she succeeded, causing The Empire to suffer huge losses! Even if she’s a Witch, that’s unforgivable!”

The other delegates looked at him, startled by his increasingly impassioned tone, then nodded in agreement. “That’s right! The Undying Witch had been preparing for who knows how long before us. Taking that Element Crystal from here was clearly premeditated. Fortunately, we figured this out, or else the Undying Witch would have completely gotten away with it!”

Since they found a suitable scapegoat that also fit the situation, the next step was to think of ways to first convince themselves… Good thing everyone present was professional.