Cassian was surprised by her tone and replied, "That''s why he''s just a suspect—because we don''t know him." He noticed her rx slightly, but the fact that she knew him and hadn''t mentioned him at dinner bothered him. Not wanting toe across as interrogating her, but still eager to learn more about the pastor, he continued, "Asking him a few questions about the murdered family might clear him of suspicion, so we''re just here to ask some things."


    Russe nodded in understanding. Cassian then asked, "So, do you know anything about him that could help us confirm he''s not a suspect?"


    Russe hesitated for a moment, then spoke up. "Well, I met him at the church. He was healing the victims of the monster waves that kepting one after another. He helped a lot at the time. He could even set a broken arm or reattach severed limbs, saving so many lives."


    "He must be a powerful mage, then," Cassian said, thinking aloud, as no low-level mage could perform such feats.


    "He was..." Russe said, her eyes filled with admiration as she continued to share what she knew about Pastor Abraham Cronus.


    From what Cassian gathered from her exnation, it seemed that Pastor Abraham was essentially a missionary for Surock Vige and the surrounding areas, helping everyone across the viges. But Cassian couldn''t shake the feeling that something didn''t add up. Why hadn''t anyone in the city mentioned him? Why hadn''t hee to the city? Or had he already been there? He didn''t know. So, he kept listening as Russe continued.


    "After the monster waves, he offered the Wan family some missionary work, to spread his kind of religion to the wider world, starting with the City of Knowledge, Magisteria," she said. Then, with a slight shift in her tone, she added, "But it seems like they weren''t meant to do it."


    She fell silent for a moment, and Cassian wasn''t sure how to continue the conversation, his hands still gently massaging her breasts, keeping her nipples sensitized. After a minute of quiet, Russe spoke again.


    "And as he was leaving our vige to spread kindness to others, he sent one more family from a neighboring vige to the city."


    Cassian smiled at her words and asked, "Do you know the name of the any family member?"


    Russe shook her head, making his smile falter for a moment. But then his expression brightened as she added, "I don''t remember their names, but I do recall the vige they came from. It was called Kikia Vige. Daniel might know where it is."


    Cassian nodded, making a mental note to tell Cassandra and Das in the morning. If this family was one of the murdered families, the pastor would be a much more credible suspect, or at the very least, a person of interest in the murders.


    "That''s all I know," Russe continued, resting her head on his shoulder. "But Sister Dasika might know more about him. He was close with her."


    "Dasika, who?" Cassian asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.


    "The Wan family member who takes care of the vige church," Russe exined. "She was close with the pastor and even traveled with him to a few viges to learn from him. She came back as a healer mage, though not as powerful as he was." Now, Cassian was even more eager to question this family member.


    As he processed the new information about a possible suspect, Cassian couldn''t help but be curious about another matter. "Russe, when did these tremors start happening?" he asked.


    "Why do you care?" she asked, not opening her eyes.


    "So I can find a way to help you. If you tell me more about them, I might be able to," he exined, continuing to massage her soft, mochi-like breasts. He wanted to kiss them, but he refrained, noticing Russe seemed to be deep in thought.


    With a sigh, she finally spoke again. "First, promise me you won''t tell anyone else…"


    "I promise I won''t," Cassian said, his face serious.


    "Well, the tremors are a sort of test from God. I believe how I ovee them each time allows His light to shine on our vige, keeping the evil away," she said, surprising Cassian. He hadn''t expected her to be as religious as the families he had encountered, and this led him to another consideration, one he didn''t voice. She continued, "The test is painful, but it''s a sacrifice I''m willing to make if it means the vige stays peaceful."


    "And what god is that?" Cassian asked, his curiosity piqued. The tremors were real, and he was certain they weren''t caused by some illness. If they were, his massage wouldn''t have helped alleviate them. Illnesses like that were usually linked to the mind, something like seizures, he thought.


    Cassian was certain this wasn''t a seizure, as she was clearly aware during the tremors and could speak through them. This must be the work of some god—or whatever she prayed to, and the person acting as a god. However, to his disappointment, she shook her head and said, "I can''t tell you that…" She grabbed her ne, which had slipped behind her back during the massage.


    "Then can you tell me when you started praying to it?" Cassian asked, a bit frustrated. Continue reading stories on м??


    "Around five years ago," she replied. Cassian''s eyes lit up as he asked, "Don''t tell me Pastor Abraham told you to do that?"


    Russe looked troubled when he mentioned this, not shocked. With a hesitant tone, she squeezed the silver bone ne in her hand and nodded. "He did... but I''m doing it of my own will, not because of him…"


    Cassian looked frustrated as he listened to her. He was confused, unsure of what kind of evil this god was supposed to protect the vige from, or if there even was any. He also wondered why a god would make its followers endure pain as part of the process—wasn''t prayer enough? He couldn''t understand why she believed in it in the first ce.