Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Calamity sequence...

George and old Jack didn't quite understand the meaning of the word, but Isaac had a sudden realization.

There are many conflicts among the churches, and many of them criticize each other as false believers in other gods. However, through the Covenant of the Churches, the signatories—which include all mainstream orthodox churches—have reached some consensus, one of which is the sequence of calamities.

The Cataclysmic Sequence, as the name suggests, is a list of entities that fall under the category of "cataclysms." Most of these are heterodox entities, but some special phenomena are also included. Being included in this list signifies that the churches have reached a consensus on the harmfulness of this entity, making it a true universal enemy.

The total number of calamity sequences is not fixed, but it never exceeds two digits, so they are generally assigned two digits as their sequence numbers, from 01 to the current 87. The sequence is revised at the annual Grand Council meeting. Calamities that cause widespread harm will be ranked higher, while newly emerging or eradicated calamities will be added to or removed from the list.

For some unknown reason, the entire list has not been made public. In addition, only people in the relevant fields are generally allowed to make inquiries to the church. Isaac's knowledge of the Calamity Sequence was limited to knowing that it existed, which he had only heard about from his adoptive father.

Mary the Shepherd, with a Calamity Sequence number of 83, is considered relatively low in the less than 100 sequences, but her inclusion in the Calamity Sequence is enough to prove that her harm far exceeds that of most alien species.

"Sir, if we just report this...some kind of calamity sequence, will the church take it seriously?" George pressed.

Carlo glanced at him: "Anything that can be ranked in the Calamity Sequence, even if it's low, is enough to make any regional head of a church jump out of bed in the middle of the night."

"Although the Golden Bough Church is not a perfect charitable organization, it is considered one of the more responsible churches. At least it doesn't treat information about disasters like trash to wipe its butt."

George and old Jack both breathed a sigh of relief, raised their right hands, and tapped their chests four times in sequence: below, left, right, and above. This was a customary gesture among the followers of the Golden Bough Church, symbolizing the growth of the golden branch, and praising Vicania's protection.

They believe the church is willing to protect them, but they are also well aware that the church has limited resources and priorities, and their requests are often not the most important ones.

Their devout faith and their powerlessness in the face of reality together shaped their contradictory psychology.

Fortunately, if what this kind gentleman said is true, that the calamity sequence can make the church take it seriously, then they can rest assured.

"Shepherd... Mary..." George tried to remember the unfamiliar name. "We will report it truthfully. Thank you for your guidance, gentlemen."

Carlo waved his hand: "If you're going to tattle, hurry up and do it. If you keep dragging it out, next time it won't just be one sheep."

Upon hearing this, George and Old Jack dared not linger any longer. They quickly thanked Isaac and Carlo and then turned to greet the other workers.

The workers were already terrified by what they had just witnessed. Upon hearing the news that they could evacuate, not one of them hesitated and they all ran towards the town in groups.

The foreman had long since disappeared, so naturally no one bothered with him anymore.

Isaac watched the group of workers disappear into the night: "Boss, that 'shepherdess' Mary..."

"What, you want to meet it and have a friendly chat?"

"Ahem—" Isaac still couldn't understand his boss's train of thought. "I mean, what kind of being is it?"

Carlo didn't answer immediately, but gestured to walk towards the dog cart, humming a tune that sounded like a nursery rhyme.

Although there were no words, the lighthearted melody sounded somewhat eerie in the wilderness, under the flickering lamplight.

Isaac didn't understand anything and continued to wait. Carlo stopped in front of the dog cart, turned around and leaned against the cart.

"Mary the Shepherd," according to eyewitness accounts, appears from a distance as a young girl surrounded by a flock of sheep, although no one has ever seen her face up close.

"A church once tracked and investigated her and found that most of the time, Mary would just wander aimlessly with her flock of sheep and had no particular tendency to attack humans. In fact, she would often avoid humans, but sometimes she and her flock would approach humans on their own initiative."

"After long-term observation and verification, the church confirmed that the people who could attract the shepherdess Mary shared a common trait..."

"docile."

Isaac was taken aback: "Meek..."

Carlo turned to the direction in which the workers had disappeared: "What did you think of those people?"

Isaac followed his gaze: "They...are very compliant."

"That's right. Forced by the nobles to work in the middle of the night, they dared not even complain, let alone resist. They were submissive and hardworking, which are the qualities that attracted Mary. She likes gentle people, just like a shepherd likes gentle sheep."

Isaac paused for a moment, recalling the expression on Old Jack's face when he reached out to touch the sheep, that involuntary sense of closeness that seemed more like... identifying with the sheep than touching it.

"When that sheep put its arm around that man's shoulder just now, what do you think it wanted to do?" Carlo asked again.

"Eat him," Isaac replied, the sheep's gaping mouth and gleaming white teeth saying it all.

"That's just an appearance. The person won't die while being eaten by the sheep, after all, Mary doesn't want to kill. The person eaten by Mary's lamb will become one with the sheep, which is Mary's behavioral tendency—to turn docile people into her lambs."

Isaac imagined Old Jack's face emerging from the sheep's body, crawling on all fours, wandering the wilderness with the flock, and a sense of unease rose within him: "So, those missing workers..."

"If they were still alive, they'd probably be grazing somewhere by now," Carlo shrugged.

Isaac didn't ask any further questions, and looked down at the revolver in his hand.

His shot just now shattered the sheep's skull, but what if there was a person inside that sheep...?

He didn't continue thinking about it: "Shall we continue on our way?"

"Well..." Carlo looked into the distance, in the direction where the sheep had appeared, "There's one more thing."

Isaac had a bad feeling.

"The lamb you just killed was Mary's lamb," Carlo said slowly. "And Mary loves her lambs very much. She not only pays attention to the condition of each one, but she also won't leave even a naughty lamb that has run away unattended."

Isaac understood what Carlo meant.

The lamb died.

Mary will know.

It will come looking for its lamb.

The two of them were standing next to the lamb's carcass, one of them having shot the lamb in the head.

"...We need to get out of here right away."

"Clever." Carlo opened the carriage door. "Get in, a chase is coming."