Traces of Heresy (3)
Yohan's group was about to leave Valifield. Charles looked quite surprised, as if he had only just realized this fact, which he had temporarily forgotten.
"We're going to head back to Junk Town, collect our reward for the request, and then head somewhere else," Falco said, turning her gaze to Yohan.
Somewhere else. Yohan chewed on Falco's words. In truth, he hadn't decided on a specific destination. If anything, he had thought it might be a good idea to use Junk Town as a base to spread the faith of this dummy Goddess.
Until now, he had been frantically hunting for Sacred Relics imbued with her divinity like someone trying to put out a fire. But finding the Sacred Relics of a nameless goddess across this vast continent was, frankly, like finding a needle in a haystack. It was already a miracle that they had stumbled upon two in such a short time. That was why he had considered gathering believers around Junk Town first.
"That's..." Charles started to say something, then swallowed his words. Yohan understood what was going through the boy's head, so he didn't press him.
"Well, I suppose we could wait a few days," Yohan said. At this, Falco and Charles tilted their heads and stared at him.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No, it's just... you literally just said we were leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
Suddenly, the Goddess poked her head between Yohan and Charles. "Why not just be honest?"
"..."
She gave Yohan a sly smirk. Yohan clamped his mouth shut, his brow twitching.
"Hear me, Charles. This man feels a sense of responsibility for punching a hole in the Undercity's ceiling and causing a massive flood."
"Ah." With the Goddess's explanation, Charles finally understood the contradiction in Yohan's words.
"Had he finished the job cleanly, he would have left without a single regret. But he himself is the very cause of this deluge."
Hearing this, Falco also realized Yohan's true intentions and nodded.
"In short, Yohan simply needed an excuse. He wishes to stay in the city for at least a few more days to help clean up the mess."
And that excuse was giving Charles time to make his decision.
The Lord's words made sense. Draining a person's life force was indeed a common method used by demons and their worshippers to amass power.
"At the time, both the reporting soldier and I assumed it was simply the corpse of someone who had been tortured and left to waste away. The denizens of the Undercity fight among themselves all the time, after all."
As expected, there was a criminal syndicate in the Undercity large enough to wage turf wars. Agnes did not miss the detail slipped in the Lord's words.
"But when the Central Church mentioned finding traces of heresy, it suddenly crossed my mind." The Lord spoke as he sifted through the mountain of documents piled on his desk.
"Those who dwell in the Undercity are not officially my subjects." His next words carried heavy implications.
It was said that countless people lived in the Undercity beneath Valifield. The number of flood victims Agnes had seen with her own eyes was at least in the hundreds, and easily reached into the thousands. For such a vast number of people to reside there, the underground space had to be unnaturally massive. At this point, it shouldn't be called a mere underground structure, but rather an underground city.
"But it couldn't have been easy for so many people to live in that underground space without causing major trouble."
"An accurate observation. Indeed, the residents of the Undercity formed their own self-governing groups to live."
This was highly likely a polite euphemism. The "self-governing groups" the Lord referred to were undoubtedly criminal organizations operating in the dark. It was simply not something a lord could openly admit to.
No need to dig into that here, Agnes thought. If she pressed him for more than what he had already volunteered, the Lord would likely clam up completely.
"Well, that is the extent of my knowledge. I do not even know the identity of the corpse found in the river."
"What happened to the body?"
"It was cremated long ago. Unidentified corpses are always disposed of in that manner."
Agnes clicked her tongue reflexively. But she couldn't really blame the Lord. Unidentified bodies were handled quickly and simply no matter where you went. Leaving a corpse to rot risked spreading an epidemic, after all.
"Then I have no choice but to go down to this Undercity and investigate myself." At Agnes's words, the Lord nodded with a grim expression.
"If you wish, I can assign a few soldiers to accompany you. You seem to have arrived alone."
"No, thank you. Though I received a report, my movement here is strictly for preliminary investigation." The real reason was that she didn't want any prying eyes monitoring her.
"I appreciate that. To be frank, we are short-handed as it is, trying to manage the flood victims." Fortunately, the Lord seemed relieved by her refusal, so there was no need to push further.
Agnes stood up and placed the bundle of documents she had set on the floor back onto her chair.
"Of course, just as you suspect, Lord, the corpse found in the river might simply be a casualty of a gang war."
"..."
Despite Agnes's blunt remark, the Lord maintained a calm facade.
"To be honest, we would also prefer it if these traces of heresy turned out to be nothing more than baseless rumors." If things escalated, she, the Heresy Inquisitor, would be the one suffering through the extra work. Agnes sincerely hoped this investigation would turn up empty.
"It seems we are of one mind on that." The Lord also hoped his worries were merely unfounded anxiety.
Agnes walked toward the office door. But just as she reached the threshold, she suddenly stopped.
"However, if we do find heretics, including demon worshippers, in that Undercity... you will not be able to escape responsibility, Lord."
"..."
At Agnes's declaration, the Lord's face twisted in displeasure. But since he couldn't refute her words, he couldn't bring himself to argue.
"I'm sorry. I'd love to help, but there are already a few gang members who know my face. They might not recognize Charles, but they'll definitely know me."
"Then just rest in the room. Anyway, I'm heading out."
"I shall return shortly."
Yohan gave a half-hearted reply to Falco's apology and immediately left the lodging. The Goddess also bid farewell to the other two before instantly turning into her spiritual form.
"Even if he feels responsible, isn't it dangerous?" Charles asked Falco after staring at the closed door for a moment.
Falco shook her head. "It's fine. The only reason Yohan suddenly changed our lodgings and told me to stay by your side was because of the risk that Big Boss might target us."
"Mmh."
Big Boss had died by Yohan's hand, and the Undercity Family itself had collapsed due to the flood. While the gang members hadn't been completely wiped out, the chances of them coming up to the surface specifically to hunt down Falco and Charles were practically zero.
"Unless we go down there ourselves and run into the guys who blocked our path last time, we have nothing to worry about."
"I suppose... you're right. Phew." Charles let out a long sigh of relief.
Falco looked at Charles with pity. This kid had been kicked out of his home before his voice had even cracked. He carried himself and spoke with such maturity that it was easy to overlook, but deep down, he had to be suffering.
Even so, Falco didn't blindly suggest that Charles travel with them. Rather than wandering this dangerous continent with Yohan, it might be better for him to make a new home here in Valifield. Thus, Falco resolved to respect Charles's decision. Though she secretly hoped he would join them, she had no intention of revealing her inner thoughts to anyone.
—It will take a considerable amount of time to fully restore the flooded Undercity.
As Yohan left the inn and made his way toward the Undercity, the Goddess's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Probably."
—Thus, no matter how much you wish to assist, you cannot possibly remain here until the restoration is complete.
"I know, okay?"
In the first place, Yohan wasn't staying a few more days purely out of the goodness of his heart to help the flood victims. If there were other traces of the demon Big Boss worshipped, he had to find and destroy them. The statue put up for auction recently was a prime example. It was highly unlikely that Big Boss had cast only a single fishing hook into the market. Not only that, but he also needed to see how the Undercity Family would act now that they had lost their leader.
—So, my Apostle. How exactly do you plan to help the victims?
"There are plenty of ways. I could buy clothes or food to distribute, or I could go down there and help clean up."
—Oh?
"Or I could beat the crap out of the petty thieves trying to take advantage of the chaos."
—Heh. It seems both you and I find the latter option far more appealing.
The Goddess replied with an amused tone. Yohan immediately understood why she was in such a good mood. Helping the poor was part of the good deeds she encouraged. No, "encouraged" was an understatement. The Goddess absolutely loved helping the weak and impoverished. In fact, when Yohan had first met her and suggested various ways to restore her divinity, the method she liked best was "distributing food to the needy."
"Hey, let us through!"
"Ugh, is someone stuck in the passage? Someone poke them in the ass with a stick!"
When Yohan reached the Undercity entrance closest to their lodging, a massive crowd had gathered around it, making it difficult to take even a single step forward. Honestly, it had been like this right after the flood too. Compared to the sheer size of the Undercity, the number of accessible passages was small, and their width was pitifully narrow.
"They all ran away when the flood hit, so why are they so desperate to get back in now?" Yohan struck up a conversation with a middle-aged man standing next to him.
"They say the water stopped rising. Apparently, the Undercity was designed from the very beginning to withstand floods."
"Huh." Yohan let out a soft exclamation at the man's words.
"But looking at you, buddy, you seem like a surface dweller... You trying to salvage some scrap down there?"
"No, nothing like that. I was just wondering why there were so many people."
Yohan finally understood why the refugees were trying to head back underground. Now that the Undercity Family had collapsed, if they didn't rush back to their homes in the Undercity, all their belongings might get looted. At the same time, this was incredibly welcome news for Yohan. He silently thanked the ancient builders who had constructed the Undercity. He had been deeply worried about causing a massive disaster for innocent people, but since it seemed there were no major casualties, his conscience felt a lot lighter.
"Still, just to be sure, we should go down and take a look, right?" Yohan muttered in a low voice only the Goddess could hear.
—Indeed. The Goddess readily agreed.