Chapter 10: The Good Heretic and the Inquisitor Knight
After finishing every last spoonful of porridge, Ronda suddenly thrust a finger straight at me with dramatic force, her expression as sharp and solemn as if she were issuing a royal decree.
“First of all, I shall say thank you for the meal!!”
“You’re welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.”
“And now, regarding the duel I proposed earlier…”
A duel, huh.
In this harsh and unforgiving world, I’d heard from the village chief that it wasn’t unusual for priests and priestesses to undergo combat training.
As for me, though, I’d been living here for three years now and had never once experienced real conflict.
Sure, monsters occasionally attacked the area, but the truly dangerous ones rarely appeared around these parts. The weaker monsters that came to steal crops from the fields were always driven off by the villagers before things became serious.
The recent goblin assault had been the first time I’d genuinely felt my life was in danger.
In other words—
I was scared. Completely, utterly scared.
While desperately trying to think of some smooth-talking way to dodge the issue and blur things into ambiguity, Ronda abruptly declared:
“There is no way someone capable of making food this delicious could possibly be an evil heretic!! You are a good heretic!! And if Raphiel-sama abandoned her pilgrimage, then there must surely be another reason for it!!”
…Was it really okay for her entire moral compass to revolve around how tasty someone’s cooking was?
I decided not to point it out. It sounded troublesome.
“Putting that aside, there’s something else I failed to notice earlier because I was starving…”
“Hm? What is it?”
“What is this house!? How are those lights hanging from the ceiling glowing!? Are there candles inside them!? And what is that large, thin board Raphiel-sama has been staring at this whole time!? Why are there people inside it!?”
“She’s got great reactions.”
Raphiel was basically expressionless unless food was involved.
Well, apparently she did get surprised sometimes, but her reactions were so subtle they barely reached anyone else.
Grana, meanwhile, had shown plenty of reactions at first too, but lately she’d gotten used to everything here. Nothing really shocked her anymore.
That was why seeing someone react like Ronda made things strangely entertaining.
“So then, Ronda,” Grana said, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Why exactly were you captured by goblins?”
“As I explained earlier, Grana-neesama. I was traveling toward this village in order to pass judgment upon the wicked heretic who had corrupted Raphiel-sama. Then I got lost in the forest and was captured by goblins.”
“…That’s all?”
“What else would there be?”
“Good grief…”
Grana pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.
“Ah, that reminds me! Right before I left the temple, Cardinal Larsa entrusted me with a letter.”
“…So she predicted Ronda would go on a rampage. As expected of Cardinal Larsa. Still, I wonder why she used a letter instead of the Miracle of Telepathy.”
“The Miracle of Telepathy?”
“A miracle that allows communication with people far away,” Grana explained. “It’s difficult to master, but extremely useful. Though messages can occasionally be intercepted, so confidential matters are usually handled through letters instead.”
Seriously?
So this world basically had fantasy phones?
“So who exactly is this Cardinal Larsa?” I asked.
“She is my guardian,” Raphiel answered calmly. “To me, she is like a parent. In some ways… her atmosphere resembles yours, Eight.”
Ahh, right. The easygoing important person Grana had mentioned during that mixed bath.
…Crap.
The instant I remembered that conversation, vivid images of Grana’s beautiful naked figure resurfaced in my mind with horrifying clarity.
“Forget it forget it forget it…”
“Why has Eight suddenly turned red?”
Tilting her head slightly in confusion, Raphiel accepted the letter Ronda handed over and quietly read through its contents.
“…Hm.”
“Raphiel-sama, what does it say?”
“It says my retirement as a Saint cannot be permitted under any circumstances. It also includes words of apology and gratitude toward Eight.”
“Wow. Sounds like a very sincere person.”
“And apparently the other cardinals are mobilizing the Inquisition Knights. It says we should be careful.”
Ugh.
The Inquisition Knights Grana had warned me about.
Easy for them to say “be careful,” but what exactly was an ordinary civilian supposed to do against something like that?
…Well, I should at least inform the village chief.
At that exact moment, Luca, Nor, and Rio came rushing over in a panic.
“Hey!! Eight-niichan!!”
“Hm? Luca? What’s wrong? And you too, Nor, Rio?”
“A bunch of knights suddenly came into the village,” Luca explained breathlessly. “They looked super dangerous, so the chief told all the kids to stay at your house!”
Wait—
Don’t tell me the Inquisition Knights had already arrived!?
“…No, hold on,” I muttered. “It takes about a month to get here from the royal capital on foot, right? How long on horseback?”
“About half a month,” Grana answered. “However, Holy Knights ride military land dragons, which are many times faster than horses. They could arrive in less than three days.”
“If someone runs continuously at full speed like me, it would take less than a day!!” Ronda puffed out her chest proudly. “…Though I got lost in the forest and captured by goblins, so it took me three days in the end.”
“You shouldn’t use Ronda as a standard,” Grana said flatly. “When it comes to physical ability, she surpasses even land dragons.”
If Cardinal Larsa handed Ronda the letter and the Inquisition Knights departed immediately afterward…
Then the timing matched perfectly.
…I chose not to comment on the fact that Ronda could apparently move at triple the speed of a dragon faster than horses.
“…So the enjoyable time is already over,” Raphiel murmured quietly.
“Raphiel?”
“Eight. Though our time together was brief, thank you for everything. I must resume my pilgrimage journey.”
She paused.
“…Even though I truly, genuinely, absolutely do not want to.”
“Wow… you actually look seriously miserable.”
Raphiel’s face was still nearly expressionless, but lately I’d started noticing the tiny shifts in her emotions.
Sorry, but it was kind of funny.
◆ ◇ ◆
Leading the roughly one hundred Inquisition Knights who had arrived at Papel Village was a one-eyed female Holy Knight with gray hair and a massive scar slashing across her face.
Her name was Zereshia.
Though her true duty as an Inquisition Knight was the execution of heretics, she had ostensibly come here to persuade the Saint who had abandoned her pilgrimage.
However—
The moment Papel Village came into view, Zereshia coldly spoke a single sentence.
“So that is the village harboring the heretic. Kill every resident.”
“…Eh? W-wait, Captain Zereshia!” her vice-captain stammered in shock. “Cardinal Uranos ordered us to persuade Saint Raphiel, did he not!?”
“Are you an idiot?” Zereshia sneered. “There is no reason to let the evil filth that seduced the Saint continue breathing.”
“B-but— gah… w-what are you—”
“Unfortunately, the vice-captain was attacked and killed by monsters. That is what the report shall say.”
Without hesitation, Zereshia drove her sword straight into the man’s stomach for daring to question her independent actions.
The vice-captain collapsed to the ground, choking on blood.
Zereshia slowly swept her gaze across the remaining knights.
“Does anyone else wish to object?”
“No, ma’am!!”
“Good. Then move out.”
Discarding the dying vice-captain like worthless trash, Zereshia led the Inquisition Knights into Papel Village.
An elderly man with a bent back came out to greet them.
Judging by the sickle in his hand, he had likely been working in the fields only moments ago.
It was the village chief.
“Ohh!! That crest… you are members of the Holy Knight Order, are you not!?”
“And who are you supposed to be?”
“I am the chief of this village!! Welcome to Papel Village!!”
“…You there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Zereshia ignored the old man completely after speaking a single word to her subordinate, continuing forward atop her land dragon.
One of the Inquisition Knights remaining behind grinned at the village chief with a vulgar, twisted smile.
“Sorry, old man. Anyone who submits to heretics has to die.”
“W-what!?”
“Die!!”
Following Zereshia’s command, nearly a hundred Holy Knights drew their swords all at once and charged the village.
Their blades descended upon the village chief.
And soon—
Screams echoed throughout the entirety of Papel Village.