Inside the theater's auditorium, the attendees of the evening party were enjoying the next performance on stage, while Dorothy was currently engaged in deep meditation.
'It seems... there is a bit of a resemblance...'
As she recalled, Dorothy couldn't help but think this as she compared the image information in her memory. Then, she continued with a deeper comparison, bringing up the two images from her memory and overlapping the key details of each.
At this moment, Dorothy's brain was like a computer running image processing software. Before long, the comparison of the two figures was complete. Bill, whom Dorothy had previously met at Buck's house, and the man she had met in the corridor earlier showed a high degree of consistency in many aspects such as facial contours, body proportions, and details of the lower half of the face. They could basically be confirmed as the same person.
'Bill is in this auditorium? What is his purpose here? Are the songs the children sang really related to the Holy Communion Society? Is he the source of the crisis mentioned in the divination?'
All sorts of thoughts began to swirl in Dorothy's mind, and many questions troubled her thoughts at once. After shaking her head, she decided to put other things aside for now and first consider the main issue at hand, which was the crisis Bill might bring.
'First... I need to figure out what form this crisis will take and how it can target me. Either the scope of this crisis initiated by the Holy Communion Society is too broad and includes me, or I have exposed something somewhere and they have noticed me.'
'A large-scale crisis similar to a terrorist attack feels unlikely. Not to mention the high risk of such an action attracting the attention of the Kingdom's central government and even the higher-ups of the Church, the Holy Communion Society was severely damaged due to me before, and they should not have the strength to organize large-scale actions for a while.'
'So... it's possible I exposed myself somewhere... When did I expose myself? How much was exposed? Do they know my identity and location now?'
Dorothy thought this, and then began to look around again, carefully checking the surroundings to see if anyone was searching for her or monitoring her.
Then, she saw a strange phenomenon. At the edge of the audience seats, several theater staff members were currently collecting the audience's invitation letters row by row, divided into sections. Moreover, after collecting each row, they would still organize and record it. The actions of these staff members caused dissatisfaction among some audience members, who voiced their complaints. Although the staff members repeatedly apologized, they continued to collect the invitation letters while explaining.
'Why are they suddenly collecting the invitation letters? Weren't they already checked when we entered? Is there a problem somewhere that requires them to be taken back for re-examination? Ah, no, the evening party has already started, and you're only collecting them now. This is clearly disrupting the audience's viewing experience...'
Looking at the staff members collecting the invitation letters and slowly approaching from afar, Dorothy thought this to herself. In her opinion, disrupting the viewing experience of so many people just to find a few problematic attendees was not worth the effort. This charity event wasn't some secret meeting.
Unless... this problematic attendee absolutely must be found... even if it means disrupting the audience's viewing experience.
If the higher-ups of this theater are controlled by the Holy Communion Society, then perhaps I am the person they must find like this...
Combining with the previous deduction, these people searching for invitation letters might have some method to find me from the invitation letters.
'Then how can they find me just from the invitation letters? Is it divination using mystical means? No... if they could divine, they wouldn't go through so much trouble. Perhaps they can read some information from the invitation letters.'
'And the information that can be read from personal belongings is mostly scent. Only scent can be carried by items.'
Upon deducing this point, the chain in Dorothy's mind connected. She now speculated that the information she had exposed was mostly scent, exposed when she brushed past Bill at that time. It's not strange for an Extraordinary of the """Cup""" to possess items or abilities that enhance smell, and the purpose of them collecting invitation letters now is probably to read the aura of the original holder from the invitation letters.
After all, if someone were to wander around the audience seats, slowly approaching each audience member to smell them, they would definitely be accused of being extremely rude and then angrily driven out of the auditorium. But collecting invitation letters doesn't face as much resistance.
Thinking of this, Dorothy took out her invitation letter and looked at it. The invitation letters for this Cien Orphanage event were distributed by the organizers through various related institutions, so they were not registered with names.
And those theater staff members were collecting them systematically, row by row. After collecting a row, they would also bundle them separately and register them. It was clear that if they found an anomaly in a certain bundle later, they could determine that the problematic person was in that row, and by checking the order from beginning to end, they could know the specific location of the problematic person.
'It seems... this thing can't be handed over easily.'
Looking at the invitation letter in her hand, Dorothy thought this. If the invitation letter were taken away, it would be easy for the other party to smell out her location, and then she would be completely exposed. If she resisted handing it over or claimed to have lost it, it would definitely be noted down, and then Bill might come over personally to confirm.
If she resisted violently, she would be directly exposed. If she slipped away now, there would be an empty seat here, and if they asked the people nearby, they would also get her physical characteristics.
'I feel like things are a bit troublesome now...'
Understanding her current situation, Dorothy thought with a slight frown. Although the staff members collecting invitation letters were still far from her now, they would eventually reach her. In broad daylight and under everyone's eyes, it was difficult for her to resist directly or to run away. If she handed it over directly, she would definitely be exposed. Dorothy felt that she had suddenly fallen into a difficult predicament.
'I need to think of some way...'
Thinking like this, Dorothy fell into contemplation again.
...
On the other side, in the auditorium, inside the Shining Light Church's private box.
Vanya watched the performance on the stage, while several local priests from Igwinte beside her occasionally explained things to her, and Vanya also responded with a polite smile.
"Hehe... How is it? Sister Vanya, this is what the Lord's people look like in Igwinte. It's quite good, right?"
A priest said to Vanya with a smile, and Vanya also responded with a forced smile.
"Uh, it's, it's really great. Captain is very right. Tonight has truly been an eye-opener for me."
"Oh... Really? Then which performance left the deepest impression on Sister Vanya? Can you share your thoughts?"
"Ah... About that, I think the children's choir at the beginning left the deepest impression on me... They were all... Hmm, how should I put it... Very innocent! Very beautiful!"
"The children's choir? Hehe, indeed... Let me tell you, Sister Vanya, these children all come from our Cien Orphanage here. It is a place that strictly adheres to the Holy Mother's teachings. Looking at the spiritual state of these children, you can see how they live under the Holy Mother's grace..."
The middle-aged priest, in his thirties or forties with a large belly, began to speak non-stop, focusing on introducing the achievements of the local Church using the performance as a starting point. Several other priests also occasionally interjected a few words. Surrounded by this group of people who kept explaining and introducing, the inarticulate Vanya could only continue to respond with a polite smile.
It was obvious that the local Church in Igwinte introducing Vanya to attend the charity event this time was to use this opportunity to showcase their local work achievements to an important expatriate from the higher-level institution. Therefore, watching the charity event was secondary; taking the opportunity to boast to the people from the higher-level institution was the main point.
At first, Vanya thought she was just simply coming to watch an evening party, but she didn't expect that it would eventually directly turn into a social occasion centered around herself. In this private box, none of the others besides Vanya seemed interested in watching the evening party. They were all using the party as an excuse to start topics and chat non-stop, making it feel like a dinner party with leaders.
Although the Shining Light Church is a religious organization, its scale and size are simply too large. Any large organization will inevitably become bureaucratic, and the Shining Light Church is no exception.
This is someone from the capital diocese! The Archbishop who presides over the entire Prit Diocese is there! Shouldn't they be properly entertained and take the opportunity to showcase and promote themselves?
This was the idea of the Igwinte priests, but for Vanya, a Sister from the Archives, she simply couldn't handle this. Her personality was introverted, her work was also solitary, and with very little experience in social interaction, she had never seen such a scene. So, she was instantly overwhelmed by these local priests and could only respond with forced smiles and stutters, feeling like crying without tears in her heart.
Driven by her instinct as a Sister, she couldn't help but pray inwardly at this moment.
'Lord! Please save me, I just want to quietly watch a few performances!'
...
Just as Vanya finished praying, Dorothy, who was sitting in the audience, couldn't help but show a surprised expression.