Revelation
Revelation
Thanks to the commotion that had erupted, a matter that needed to be definitively addressed before departure had come up.
I called Bellesica aside alone, and with a little distance from the encampment that was being packed up, I posed a question.
"Young Lady Bellesica, how much do you know about this situation?"
"How much do I know, you ask...?"
"Did you know that you yourself might be a saintess?"
The Holy Light Cross Order primarily established its temples in the frontier regions. It was a tradition born of a truly clerical mindset—to preach the god's teachings in places where aid rarely reached, since the capital and other great cities were already overflowing with the charity of others.
There were, however, cases like Ogwen, where such a village grew into a city and then expanded into a metropolis. The current headquarters of the Holy Light Cross Order had also gone through that process and was now situated in the middle of a massive city.
But regardless of such outcomes, the fact that they fundamentally built temples in remote places and spread the faith remained unchanged. And they looked after people while smashing the heads of monsters and bandits in the god's name.
Not figuratively—they literally smashed them. Since they were people who considered it their duty to protect with force the places where military power or adventurers' hands rarely reached, they smashed away quite relentlessly.
Thus, in the frontier, it was one of the religions with many followers. It was strongly perceived as a religion of the powerless, and since it supplemented a territory's insufficient military force with near-costless labor while even safeguarding the territory's peace, it was popular among impoverished nobles as well.
"In the east and south, there aren't many branches of the Holy Light Cross Order. And what few exist in the south are mostly in cities entangled in the war with the Demonfolk, so I understand they aren't safe."
Since it was the only religious facility in what I could call my hometown, I remembered it clearly. If one looked for the nearest Holy Light Cross Order temple from the parts of the south not directly swept up in the war, only Ogwen at the western edge would come up.
"So you learned that you were a Saintess, and while they were chasing you, you headed for Ogwen?"
Instead of answering immediately, Bellesica lowered her gaze. It was a reaction like a child whose lie had been found out. Thanks to that, I could tell without even needing to hear a reply.
What came back after that brief silence was a question instead.
"Sir Ega, how much do you know?"
"Quite a lot, actually. I know Baron Beneckt has no relatives. I know he has only one child, an only son, and that his sole grandchild is still a newborn. I also know that despite that, you didn't correct my hasty assumption that you were Baron Beneckt's family... and I even know that Ogwen is in the middle of a city expansion project funded by the capital, so privately inviting other nobles isn't permitted."
It was probably a rule that came about because there were so many bastards throwing lavish parties of luxury and debauchery with the money they'd been given to invest in the city.
It was something I learned later, but when the escort unit visited to retrieve Ragnis, the reason they deliberately built an encampment outside the city was said to be for that reason. From the moment one was confirmed as nobility, apart from religious facility visits and temporary visits, one couldn't lodge in any form within the city, apparently. Because of that, Ragnis had said she slept at the encampment too.
"...No wonder I thought it was strange that you knew etiquette yet didn't ask for my family name."
Whether her parents had educated her well or Bellesica had studied diligently, she didn't seem to be stupid. Whether from nervousness, Bellesica, who had been fidgeting with her clasped hands, slowly opened her mouth.
"I apologize for not having given you a proper greeting. I am Bellesica da Rübis. I am the eldest daughter of the Baron Rübis family in the south."
Her family had been devout followers of the Holy Light Cross Order for generations, and they were said to be a family that lived so frugally that their greatest event was visiting Federa—the great eastern city where the sole Great Temple of the Holy Light Cross Order in Itisel existed—to receive baptism in the year one turned twelve.
Bellesica, who had turned twelve this year, had also followed that family tradition. Adjusting the schedule to arrive in Federa in time for her birthday, setting out on the journey with a joyful heart, completing the baptism, and returning home—that had been a month ago. The anomaly had appeared two weeks after that.
Cultists had appeared.
Baron Rübis, who had noticed something strange in their attempts to take Bellesica by every means from persuasion to threats, had accurately grasped the connection between these events and what happened after his daughter's baptism. That she was a Saintess candidate of the Holy Light Cross Order, and that someone within the Great Temple had noticed this and was trying to eliminate her.
Having made his decision, Baron Rübis prepared two carriages and headed for Ogwen with his meager private soldiers. One carriage was for him and his wife to ride as decoys, and the other was to carry the children so they could be sent all the way to Ogwen.
"But... we were the ones who were caught."
Whether it was a meticulously devised plan by someone in the Great Temple using the cultists or a product of coincidence, the bastards had precisely targeted not the decoy carriage of Baron Rübis, but Bellesica's carriage. The loyal private soldiers of the family gave their lives, but it wasn't enough, and she had been dragged to the cultists' temple and faced death before receiving help from Sen and her party.
Hahaha. The kid had a rough fate, but I was something else for getting tangled up in it too. I'd been happy about escaping the nobles' political games, and now power-hungry religious bastards were pulling this shit.
Still, satisfied that she had explained it more clearly than expected and that I had roughly grasped the context, I wrapped up the conversation.
"Thank you for telling me. Knowing you're fully aware puts my mind at ease. Preparations seem finished, so let's depart now."
"...Pardon?"
Bellesica, who had been hunched over like a child being scolded, looked at me with wide, round eyes. What was this? Was there a reason for such a reaction?
"Y-you're still coming with us?"
"...Have you perhaps changed your mind?"
They said a kid's mind changed dozens of times a day, but this was a bit... just as that thought was about to form, Bellesica shook her head vigorously and hurriedly continued.
"No, that's not it. You've now learned what the situation is, haven't you? And yet you're still willing to accompany us?"
"That's... right?"
What's the problem here...?
"Uh, wouldn't that mean Sir Ega is getting entangled in something completely unrelated to you? The people who sold me out to the cultists could be high-ranking members of the Holy Light Cross Order. If word gets out that you helped me..."
Oh? This cheeky little brat was actually worried about me? How admirable. I almost patted her on the head.
"Hahaha. You needn't worry about that. I don't live my life hung up on such things."
"No, this isn't a problem so simple that it can be described as just 'hung up on'..."
"It is a simple problem. Because it'll all be over once you, Young Lady Bellesica, arrive in Ogwen and visit the Holy Light Cross Order temple."
I understood. At twelve, no matter how maturely she tried to act, she was still a kid. The more serious the situation, the easier it was for her perspective to narrow and for her to take it too gravely.
"Given the large-scale movements involved, it's correct to say the possibility that you are a saintess is nearly certain. And yet, the fact that they didn't resolve it at the Great Temple and deliberately acted after your return home means that those within the Great Temple who don't want a saintess to appear are an extreme minority. Unable to garner support, they're trying to resolve it secretly."
If the entire Holy Light Cross Order didn't want a saintess and wanted to eliminate her, they could have just accepted her, dispatched her to the battlefield with some suitable pretext, and arranged a convenient death. The fact that they couldn't manage all of that properly was why they tried to resolve it secretly, and why they even tried to borrow the hands of worthless demon worshippers.
"You become a saintess in Ogwen, and I smash those cultist bastards' headquarters to pieces. That alone will resolve most of it. It's not very complicated."
"N-not complicated, you say?"
"Yes. Honestly, smacking a wyvern on the head from the sky would be harder."
After answering with a smile, I told her not to worry and returned to the encampment where departure preparations were complete.
Behind me, Bellesica wore a puzzled expression and muttered something like 'Isn't aiming for a wyvern's head from the sky obviously difficult...?' but there didn't seem to be any particular need to pay it mind.
"Did you get things sorted out?"
Asilie, who had been stroking her horse while waiting for me to finish talking, smiled and asked. She could have easily eavesdropped on that conversation if she'd wanted to, but the fact that she didn't was probably her own form of consideration.
"Yeah. I think we can just head to Ogwen first. Some annoying things got tangled up in it, but... nothing to be done about that."
"Contrary to what you're saying, Eldi, your face says it's neatly resolved... but that child doesn't seem to feel the same?"
"I gave an example during the talk, and it seems it didn't quite land."
"Hmm. Well, she is still young."
"It wasn't anything major anyway, so she'll probably mull it over for a bit and then let it go."
While I was helping her mount her horse as if it were the most natural thing, Sen, riding alongside Merdela, approached from the side.
"S-so, did the conversation end well?"
"Yeah. It was nothing special. We're heading to Ogwen for now."
Though I didn't particularly like how both of them, upon hearing my answer, wore strange expressions with a reaction similar to Bellesica's.