Chapter 42 – Faith & Believers (2)

Faith & Believers (2)

The journey was long and arduous.

I traversed the Western Continent, which was not under the influence of the Empire. During my travels from Derios towards the Western Continent, I encountered no fewer than ten battle mages. I brushed past dozens of Imperial troops. After shaking off numerous infiltrations and the brink of battle, by the time I finally reached the Western Continent, a month had already been wasted. Both body and mind were utterly exhausted.

I never thought I would travel this much, except when I was working with the hero’s party.
Anyway, it was a long and perilous journey.

So, did nothing happen after I left Derios?
That wasn’t the case either.

In the Western Continent, it took a whole month just to rescue Valkvogel from a dragon hunter.
A few more weeks were wasted fleeing from an inn town when remnants of the Demon King’s army appeared and the Imperial troops came searching.
I faced experiences that tested the limits of human endurance and various disgusting moments. I thought my tolerance had improved while working for the Demon King’s army, but the Western Continent was beyond imagination every single day.

Anyway, I got involved in various troublesome matters and wasted time, and it was almost six months before I could finally take a brief rest at the northernmost point of the Western Continent.

Even crossing the Western Continent wasn’t the end.
I had to cross the northern part of the Empire to reach the Holy Imperial Court.

That journey, too, was continuous agony. Valkvogel, who had been responsive until crossing the Western Continent, didn’t say a single word when crossing the Empire. It was a journey that wore out both body and mind.

But it was bearable. At least the journey across the Empire was over quickly.
I didn’t encounter any pursuers either.

Especially since I never once drew the holy sword.
There were no battles arduous enough to warrant its use.

For some reason, my physical abilities had greatly increased. Coupled with a continuous supply of high-quality magical power, there weren’t many occasions that necessitated drawing the holy sword.
After all, if I drew the holy sword, I had no idea what kind of trickery the Goddess might pull, so I didn’t even think about drawing it.

Unless I encounter demons, I won’t draw it in the future either.

Anyway, after continuing through such a treacherous journey, I was finally able to reach my destination. The journey of nearly eight months had thus come to an end.

The place I arrived at was Menit.

The fourth city the Saintess headed to.
A small place near the Holy Imperial Court, with no particular attractions to speak of. Why did the Saintess come to such a dull town….

Well, it’s a good story no matter what. After all the hardships I’ve endured, it’s better to be in such a small city than to have Cecilia return to the Holy Imperial Court.

Upon reaching Menit, we pitched a tent on a nearby mountain and settled in for the night.

Ever since the incident where I was almost kidnapped from an inn, I had developed the habit of just spreading out a tent to sleep. Sleeping on the hard ground was uncomfortable, but it saved us the little money we had, so I didn’t complain.
Every morning I woke up with a stiff shoulder, but that was a small price to pay.

When I stepped out of the tent, the sun was already high in the sky.

It was time to get moving and gather information. And when night fell and there were fewer people around, that’s when I would meet Cecilia.

“Ugh, damn…”

I repeated the dry washing of my face several times with my parched hands. Afterward, I wrapped a scarf around my face and firmly put on my helmet.
There was no chance anyone in this backwater town would recognize me, but… with agents from the Holy Imperial Court around, it was better to be cautious. Besides, it was more comfortable to wear it.

During my escape across the Western Continent, several people had been after my neck, all thanks to the damn Tower of Magic putting a bounty on my head.
Because of that, I had developed the habit of covering my face and sleeping in a tent to avoid being recognized.

But not showing my face turned out to be more comfortable than I thought. There was a sense of mental relief. It felt good not to be noticed by anyone.

As I was securing the helmet with its straps, Valkvogel crawled out from the depths of the tent. She had sleepy eyes. It was endearing to see her trying to focus her barely open pupils on me.

“Hey, I’m going. You stay here, don’t follow.”

“Do whatever you want.”

Despite her words, she was getting ready to go out. She had become somewhat more docile since I had somehow saved her from being killed by a dragon hunter in the Western Continent. Perhaps our current relationship was just right.

Valkvogel started to put on clothes that looked like they were meant for children, carelessly throwing off the sackcloth she had been wearing.
Her tail and wings were so tight they seemed to burst through the clothes, but that was only for a moment. Various appendages disappeared. To the outside observer, she looked like an ordinary human.

During our journey, she had recovered enough to perfectly hide her horns, wings, and tail with polymorph—a spell of disguise.
In other words, to anyone who didn’t know better, it looked like I was just traveling with a young girl. We sometimes received strange looks from people, but… it was still more bearable than being relentlessly pursued by dragon hunters.

“When are we leaving?”

She had already come up right next to me, as always, holding onto the hem of my clothes.

Well, even if I tell her not to follow, she’s the type to do so anyway.
After all, if the distance between us grows too much, she suffers from the pain. She’ll desperately cling to the leash and follow.

“Right now. And don’t undo the polymorph, no matter what happens.”

Even on the outskirts, a dragon is still a dragon. It’s better to remain unnoticed. Especially if it involves the Empire and the Holy Imperial Court.

After finishing the preparations for the meeting, I descended the mountain.

The place where the saintess was staying was a small building constructed in the center of the village. Of course, ‘small’ is relative. It was only small compared to the Holy Imperial Court, about the size of a modest castle.

Cecilia was probably outside doing volunteer work. There was no point in going in now.

After spending quite some time outside, I finally witnessed Cecilia entering the building.

Now the real work begins. I left Valkvogel near the building. At this distance, she shouldn’t feel too much pain, and there’s no risk of being spotted by someone.
She seemed a bit regretful. Maybe she dislikes even a slight amount of pain.

Anyway, now it’s time to enter the building.

Proving my identity was easy. I had the royal crest that could be used at any time. Those who questioned my identity did look at me with suspicion, but that’s inevitable. A person with a covered face naturally looks suspicious.

But then, what can you do about it?
With the royal crest, you should just nod and step aside.

I reached the room where the saintess was said to be staying without too much trouble. I was almost worried it was too easy, but then I overheard a conversation about a cardinal staying here, and it made sense.
A cardinal can afford to be this lax with outsiders. If there’s a problem, he’ll handle it.

As I went up to the second floor of the building, the atmosphere changed. It felt more sacred, perhaps.
In front of the door, I presumed the saintess was behind, stood a knight in thick armor, likely in charge of her protection.

Now that I’ve come this far, all that’s left is to meet her.
Before coming here, I was worried about being caught on the way.

The guard knight looked a bit flustered upon seeing me.

“The saintess must be very tired at the moment, please come back tomorrow….”

I casually showed the royal crest and moved towards the door. Then he, as if realizing something, shook his head, pushed me aside, and knocked on the door himself.

“Sigh… Lady Saint, you have a visitor.”

And he stood in front of the door as if to block me.

“She might be getting ready. Until then…”

Getting ready, huh.

-Knock knock.

I dodged the escort knight and knocked on the door.
I had no intention of waiting for her to finish dressing up.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Using a bit of magical force, I lifted one of the knight’s feet off the ground. Then I knocked again.

-Knock knock knock knock knock.

That should have made it clear that I was not to be ignored. I took off my helmet and unwrapped the cloth covering my face.
Without hesitation, I opened the door. The hinges turned smoothly. It was refreshing to hear such a smooth sound after only hearing creaking noises before.

The room I entered was clean. It was so modest that one would not think it belonged to a saintess.

And as I moved further in, there she was on the bed, the saintess Cecilia, with hair as white as snow and eyes like emeralds.
Her posture was awkward, which seemed strange.

“Hey, long time no see?”

Since we were comrades once, I started with a greeting.

Judging by her expression, she hadn’t been doing too well. Her face was tired, and she seemed to have lost weight since I last saw her.

Her face contorted in real-time. We hadn’t had the best relationship since we first met, and she had disliked me for no reason even during our days in the hero’s party, but this seemed a bit much.

“You… you are.”

Her eyes were filled with loathing. I had blasphemed the goddess a bit here and there, but this level of hatred seemed unwarranted.

The Holy Imperial Court folks are crazy about the goddess… Ah, but thinking about it that way, it’s not so strange.

“Look here, you can’t just barge in on the Saint like this…”

I casually ignored the knight trying to restrain me and settled myself on a sofa where I could face Cecilia.

I had wasted too much time getting here. Since I had started with a greeting out of politeness, it was time to get straight to the point.

On my journey here, I had come to think of the goddess as the mastermind behind everything, and while I wasn’t certain, it probably fit the bill. Then, wouldn’t the person the goddess loved the most know about her plans?
That was my deduction so far.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Was the Goddess involved in Troka’s death?”

That was my question.
Did the saintess know that the goddess had intended to kill Troka?

And if so, how much do you know?

I was prepared to use every trick in my book depending on her answer.

“…The rumors are rampant that you’ve been quite unrestrained lately, how did you get in here?”

Despite the sudden question, she only soured her expression a bit more, showing no signs of being flustered. After a long silence, the answer she finally gave seemed to try to change the subject.

“That’s one thing, but about my question…”

“Shall I call the Cardinal right now?”

She interrupted me.

Once, I could let it go.
Yes, I should hold back. For now, let’s take a step back.

“Whoa, that’s a bit too much—”

“The sin of insulting the goddess, the crimes you’ve committed while making your way here, and all the numerous sins you’ve accumulated in the past… You should rot in the imperial prison for decades.”

Twice, I couldn’t hold back.
And she had touched a nerve.

My expression began to harden. However, Cecilia continued speaking without any regard for my reaction.

“Even you, if you truly believed in the goddess—”

“How am I supposed to think about it when Troka’s will, left behind because of that damn goddess’s power, can’t even be opened? What do you make of that?”

She seemed quite surprised, not expecting to be cut off.
It’s like expecting a Jew to tolerate praise of Hitler.

Moreover, it’s my life principle to return what’s been done to me. If she interrupts me twice and all she has to say is that nonsense, there’s no need to listen.

I cut off Cecilia’s nonsense and threw a pure white letter in front of her.

“A will, you say?”

“Yes, because of you people Troka died, and this is the last will he left behind… sealed by the power of the goddess.”

She sounded dumbfounded. It could just be a bit of a shock.

Cecilia looked at the letter placed on the table and then gestured for the escort knight to leave.

He left the room slowly, unable to completely hide his suspicious gaze.

“Is it okay to just let him go? It’s just the two of us.”

No answer came back. The saintess simply looked at the letter, saying nothing.
Well, the me she knew was someone who couldn’t properly catch a demon without thorough preparation. She must think there’s no problem being alone with me.

“Hmm, this is…, indeed… Troka’s…”

Cecilia fiddled with the letter with her small hands and then took out its contents.

Huh?

The letter had opened.
Just like that, it opened.

“…Isn’t this just a letter? It opened without any issue. What kind of seal are you talking about?”

She asked as if she was genuinely curious, touching the letter paper. Seeing that I couldn’t hide my confusion, she continued with a more assertive voice.

“I tried to help, but now there’s a lie on top of it. My displeasure has only grown. How should I deal with this…, should I call the Cardinal after all?”

With trembling eyes, I checked the color of the letter in her hand. Pure white with occasional emerald sparkles embedded in it. It was unmistakably Cecilia’s letter. Not the letter that had already been opened, nor the one that hadn’t been opened before, but her letter that was taken out for the first time…

It opened.
Just in a moment.

Huh.

This… wasn’t part of the plan.