I'm an Inquisitor, and You're a Heretic
"I'm glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up," Wilhelm said. "I genuinely thought you'd been captured by an Inquisitor and were being dragged off to the Holy Kingdom."
"I mean, I splashed holy water right on my face and nothing happened," Yohan replied. "I've got nothing to hide, so of course I'm walking tall."
Having returned to Junk Town, Yohan began the preliminary work to hunt down the scum of the wilderness in earnest. First, he visited the sheriff's office to spread the word that his relationship with Agnes had been resolved. Since he wasn't just talking the talk but was actually walking around with Agnes by his side, Wilhelm and the other townsfolk had no choice but to believe him.
With the "misunderstanding" cleared up, Yohan immediately moved on to the next phase of his plan: using the wanted posters in Wilhelm's possession to track down and beat the crap out of the outlaws lurking around Balifield and Junk Town. This was the core of his strategy.
"Anyway, I'm going to be traveling with the Inquisitor lady for a while. Got any troublesome leads or anything around here?"
"In this godforsaken town, there's never a shortage of work."
Wilhelm let out a short sigh as he finished speaking. No matter how much of an iron man he was, maintaining order in an entire town single-handedly was far from easy. In fact, incidents big and small occurred daily in Junk Town, to the point where Wilhelm didn't even bother intervening in minor occurrences like "small explosions in the middle of the street."
"Preferably something that pays well," Yohan added.
At Yohan's words, Wilhelm nodded and opened his desk drawer.
"If it's money you want, I have a few wanted posters sent over from Balifield. Do you want them?"
As the sheriff of Junk Town, Wilhelm kept official wanted posters distributed by the neighboring city of Balifield in addition to the ones he made himself. This was one of the main reasons Yohan had bothered to stop by Junk Town again.
"Perfect. The more, the merrier."
"Well, looking at your recent exploits, these jobs shouldn't be too difficult for you."
In other words, he was saying, I trust you, so I'm dumping all of this on you. Catching the subtext, Yohan let out a sly grin.
"Of course, of course. Just leave it to me."
From Wilhelm's perspective, there was no reason to refuse. A fixer had arrived to clean up criminals who posed a potential threat to Junk Town.
"I don't know what suddenly got into you, but don't overdo it."
"Don't worry. I've just decided to turn over a new leaf and live as a good citizen. Besides, I've beaten up a literal demon. What could a few humans possibly do to me?"
Grabbing the stack of wanted posters, Yohan turned and headed toward the exit.
"You take care too, old man. The town was practically leveled not too long ago, and you've barely finished rebuilding."
He tossed a casual farewell over his shoulder.
"Heh. Worry about yourself, kid."
Yohan flipped Wilhelm off, pushed the door open, and stepped out of the office.
"Yeah, yeah," Yohan muttered.
The Goddess's voice echoed in his mind, practically vibrating with impatience. Yohan gave her a half-hearted reply as he scanned his surroundings. Waiting for him on the street outside the office were Falco, Billy, and Agnes.
"Behold. Our meal tickets."
Yohan approached the group and fanned out the stack of wanted posters. The other three leaned in to inspect them.
"Tracking down and beating criminals isn't fundamentally different from hunting heretics," Agnes remarked.
"Well, that's reassuring. Anyway, let's start with the closest one and work our way down."
Yohan led the group toward the market district. They needed to stock up on travel supplies before setting off on another long journey. However, they couldn't afford to linger in town for too long. The reason, of course, was Agnes herself.
To the outside world, Agnes was still a Heresy Inquisitor of the Holy Kingdom, yet here she was, openly associating with Yohan. It might pass for now, but the longer she stayed in Junk Town, the harder it would be to avoid suspicious glances.
In fact, just a short while ago, Agnes had been openly searching for Yohan, and the residents of Junk Town had been plotting to capture him and hand him over to her at the first opportunity.
Fortunately, Wilhelm had warned him, and they had managed to spin the situation as "clearing up a misunderstanding" and "assisting with her investigation." Still, it was best to leave town as quickly as possible.
Once they secured a carriage to haul their luggage and horses to pull it, they would have no reason to stay in Junk Town anyway. Lodging wasn't an issue, thanks to the dimensional portal leading to the single-room pocket dimension. The cramped space didn't really matter either, since someone would always have to keep watch in the physical world anyway.
Yes. While gathering funds this way, he would compile a holy scripture with Agnes to spread the Goddess's virtues far and wide. And once the Goddess fully restored her past strength...
Perhaps, using his power as an Apostle, he could open a portal. A portal back to his original world.
"..."
Yohan stopped in his tracks, staring blankly up at the sky as his thoughts drifted.
"Watch where you're going, you dumbass! Is that head of yours just a paperweight?"
But there was no time for sentimentality. A pedestrian walking from the opposite direction had nearly collided with him.
"Whoops."
"Keep your eyes open, you prick!"
The angry resident spat out a few more colorful curses before stomping off.
"Whoa, easy there. Calm down. I was distracted and almost bumped into him."
Yohan quickly placed a hand on Falco's shoulder, as she was already radiating pure murder. Falco let out a soft sigh and immediately reined in her bloodlust.
"Alright. I'm going to go pick out a new carriage, so you three don't just stand around. Go grab the things we need."
Stop daydreaming. Focus on the task at hand. Shaking off his stray thoughts, Yohan gave instructions to the other three.
"Wouldn't it be faster if the three of us split up?" Agnes asked.
Yohan shook his head.
"No way. You two have to stick with Falco. If it's just you and Billy, you'll get ripped off left and right."
It might look like a functioning town on the surface, but the residents of this trash heap were far from decent folk. These were the same people who had been ready to capture Yohan the moment they heard an Inquisitor was looking for him.
"I suppose that makes sense. You did say the two of you have lived around here for quite a while."
Agnes quickly conceded and nodded.
"Exactly. So take those two with you and buy everything we need. Got it?"
As Yohan spoke, he handed Falco a pouch filled with imperial coins. Falco quickly reached out, took the pouch, and nodded.
"Yeah. Leave it to me."
"You need another carriage? What did you do with the last one, sell it off?"
"It got wrecked during a scrap with some trolls. Lost the chains I bought with it, too."
Yohan had returned to the same shop where he had bought his previous carriage. Going to someone he already knew was the best way to avoid getting completely ripped off.
"Well, if you're buying, I'm selling. I've got a few out back. Go take a look for yourself."
"Will do."
"Still, what a shame. Both that carriage and those chains were rare finds in these parts."
Yohan nodded in agreement. The two of them headed straight to the back of the shop.
The backyard, which served as a sort of open-air warehouse, was cluttered with all kinds of junk.
"Now, how about this one? Just finished servicing it yesterday, so it's ready to roll right now."
The shopkeeper pointed to a carriage that stood out amidst the piles of scrap.
"It's definitely sturdier than your last one, though the ride might be a bit rougher."
The carriage Yohan had bought last time was a large, custom-built model made for some foreign noble's travels. Consequently, it had offered a surprisingly comfortable ride for a vehicle traveling on unpaved roads.
"Look here. There's a hatch on the roof of the cargo hold, and the window frames have separate shutters. At this rate..."
"Wait a second."
As Yohan inspected the carriage's exterior, he quickly realized its design was highly unusual.
"Wait... isn't this military-grade?"
No matter how he looked at it, this was no civilian vehicle. The small arrow slits cut into the sides, completely separate from the windows, made that abundantly clear. Peering inside the cargo hold, his suspicions were instantly confirmed.
A typical passenger carriage had seats facing forward so passengers could leisurely enjoy the passing scenery. However, the benches inside this carriage ran lengthwise along the left and right walls, resembling the subway cars of his original world. No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't built for sightseeing; it was designed to transport troops and cargo.
"Damn it, it is military. Where on earth did you dig this up?"
"Well, I wouldn't know about that... But anyway, how about it? Tempted?"
First that luxury carriage, and now this. I have no idea what kind of black magic this guy uses to source these things, Yohan thought, stroking his chin.
Well, whatever. Since they had decided to call themselves a knight order, what was the big deal about buying a military carriage? Besides, with such a rugged, intimidating design, bandits on the highway would probably think twice before picking a fight.
"Ah, screw it. I'll take this one. It's ready to go, right?"
"Of course. No repairs needed. Just a quick dusting and it's perfect."
"Alright. How much?"
There was no need to overthink it. Yohan bought the new carriage without even attempting to haggle. He spent the next couple of hours wiping down every nook and cranny of his new ride, leisurely sipping a cup of coffee provided by the shopkeeper.
Eventually, the trio returned, led by Falco, leading four horses. Billy's backpack was bulging so much it looked ready to burst; they had literally bought everything they could lay their hands on.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. We had a lot to buy, so it took some time," Falco said.
"Yeah, I was about to grow a beard waiting. Good job, you two."
Yohan immediately inspected their purchases. They hadn't bought tents, as they would rarely need them. Instead, they had purchased bedding to use when resting in the single-room, with blankets and quilts taking up a significant portion of the bulk. Aside from that, there were spare travel clothes, non-perishable food items, lantern fuel, and multi-purpose oil.
"Great. This should be plenty."
Falco had bought exactly what was needed, just as Yohan had instructed. Thanks to her, they were ready to set off immediately.
"Alright, let's get moving. Sitting around is making me restless."
"This carriage..."
Just as they were about to harness the four horses Falco had brought and hitch them to the carriage, Agnes suddenly spoke up, a look of surprise crossing her face.
"They've repainted it, but this is definitely Kingdom military issue."
I knew it. Hearing Agnes's words, Yohan glanced over at the shopkeeper. The man merely stared back with a look that said, Yeah, so what?
"Well, it is Junk Town, after all."
Yohan handed his empty cup back to the shopkeeper and climbed onto the driver's seat. Falco naturally took the seat beside him, while Billy and Agnes, having finished loading the luggage, climbed into the back.
"Tell me about it," Yohan muttered.
Just as he was about to grab the reins, the Goddess's voice echoed in his mind. Yohan nodded and muttered a quiet reply. There was another difference this time. When they had first set out in a carriage, they had been ambushed by armed bandits almost as soon as they entered the wilderness. But this time, they were the ones invading the villains' den. The thought made it hard for Yohan to suppress a smirk.
"Alright, let's go beat up some bad guys."
"Do not lose yourself in such trivial matters. The task ahead of us is far greater and more grand than this," Agnes's nagging voice drifted through the small hatch connecting the driver's seat to the back cabin.
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
A task far more noble and grand than hunting down criminals: expanding the influence of the Church of the Unnamed Goddess, and ultimately, surpassing the Central Church of the Holy Kingdom.
"Yah!"
Yohan snapped the reins. The four horses, which had been idly flicking their tails, surged forward in unison.