I'm an Inquisitor, and You're a Heretic
"I had no idea the rumors about this 'Knight Order' were actually about you, Yohan."
"That's all well and good, but do me a favor and stop using that word 'Knights.' It makes my skin crawl."
"What's so cringey about it? I think it sounds cool," Charles replied to Yohan's disgust.
Falco, standing beside him, chimed in.
"Shut up, kid. Anyway, like I said, all of this came from shaking down the local bandits." Yohan brushed it off as if it were nothing, but Henry and Charles couldn't help but marvel.
Clearing out numerous criminal organizations with just four people was no easy feat. To begin with, the Lord of Balifield didn't put bounties on petty criminals. This meant that the wanted criminals Yohan and his companions had hunted down were all notorious figures in their own right.
"I knew you were strong, but you really wiped them all out?" Henry asked.
"How else do you think we got all this loot?" Yohan snorted, puffing out his chest.
"Hahaha, fair point."
"Anyway, explaining the whole story will take a while..." Yohan trailed off, casting a subtle glance at Henry.
Henry smiled faintly and suddenly stood up. "Sorting through all this merchandise is going to be a chore. I'll have to close up shop for the day." He muttered in a terribly forced, acting tone. "Since it's come to this, why don't you go out and have a long chat with your friends? I'll handle organizing the goods."
As expected of a merchant, he was quick on the uptake. Yohan secretly flashed Henry a thumbs-up.
"Sure. It's been a while, so let's take our time and catch up," Yohan said.
Charles looked between Henry and Yohan, then nodded vigorously. "Okay."
Having moved to a different spot, Yohan finally told Charles about the enemies he had defeated since leaving Balifield.
"T-That's incredible. You didn't just catch wanted criminals, but you defeated a pure-blood troll and a demon? And you converted an entire village?"
"Haha, and it wasn't just any ordinary demon. The bastards could even fuse together," Yohan let out a hearty laugh.
But a moment later, his playful grin vanished, and his expression turned serious. It was a silent cue to end the small talk and get down to business. Charles understood Yohan's shift in mood and nodded lightly.
"I understand the plan you've put together. You need a distribution network and funding to print books, right?"
"Exactly. Printing anything in these lands isn't easy. Since you're from the Corporate State, I figured you'd understand that better than anyone."
Charles smiled wryly. The terrible quality of the newspaper he had glanced at before opening the shop was proof enough of that.
"Anyway, you've got the best head for finance out of all of us, so I wanted to get your thoughts."
"M-My thoughts...?" Charles stammered, clearly feeling the weight of Yohan's high expectations.
"Well, it's just a thought. Mostly, we just wanted to see how you were doing and catch up. Don't stress over it."
"Phew... Y-You scared me." Charles let out a sigh of relief. Even if he was from the Corporate State and had a sharp mind for business, he was still a kid whose voice hadn't even cracked yet. Yohan hadn't expected him to solve everything on the spot anyway.
"Actually, I have a ton of questions myself," Charles said, turning his gaze to the Goddess sitting among them. "Seeing as the Goddess is here, I assume the other two..."
"Thy assumption is correct," the Goddess nodded.
"Yeah, exactly. This green lump here is Billy. And this lady is Agnes, a Heresy Inquisitor from the Holy Kingdom."
"Hey, why are you calling me a lump? A-Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm Billy, a half-troll."
"I am Agnes. Charles, was it? I've heard about you from Yohan and Falco."
"H-Hello. I'm Charles. Yohan and Falco saved my life, which is why I believe in the Goddess."
The three of them exchanged greetings. Yohan and the Goddess watched the scene with strangely proud smiles.
"A Heresy Inquisitor from the Holy Kingdom... You've come from very far away."
"You came from the Corporate State, so we are in similar boats."
"Ahaha..."
"However, I have decided to leave the Central Church. Now, I only follow the Goddess beside us," Agnes said, glancing at the Goddess.
"Indeed. Since we are on the subject, I have something to say to everyone." Agnes suddenly drew everyone's attention. "I believe I mentioned this to the three of us before, but 'Agnes' is merely a baptismal name bestowed upon me by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."
"So now that you've quit being an Inquisitor, you're going to use your real name?" Yohan asked. Agnes nodded.
Yohan stared at her, trying to guess what her real name could be. Since she was from the slums, it wouldn't be a long, complicated name with a middle name, but since she was from the Holy Kingdom, it would probably have a nice, atmospheric ring to it.
"My real name is..."
"Your real name?"
"Annie. It's Annie."
"Pfft—!"
As soon as Annie—no, Annie's words left her mouth, Yohan burst into laughter.
"What is so funny?" Annie asked, her face darkening slightly.
"Pffft, hahaha! Ahahaha!" Yohan burst into uncontrollable laughter, unable to even answer.
"No, I mean, how can someone's name be Annie... What are you, an anime—urk!"
Before Yohan could spout any more unfiltered nonsense, Falco quickly reached out and covered his mouth. At the same time, Billy let out a soft sigh and shook his head.
"Well, I already knew the Boss had a twisted personality, but..."
"Yeah. That was a bit much," Falco agreed.
The very duo who used to casually hurl racial slurs at each other over vegetarianism were now teaming up against him. Yohan looked utterly dumbfounded by this absurd combination, but with Billy, Falco, the Goddess, and even Annie glaring at him, he didn't have a single ally in the room.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, okay? I really am."
Still, 'Annie' is such a massive gap from her image... Yohan thought to himself, though he dared not say it out loud. If he did, Falco and Annie would probably strangle him.
"Come to think of it, doesn't Falco have a real name too?" Billy asked, trying to break the icy tension.
"Oh, right. It was Peony, wasn't it?" Yohan said.
That one wasn't half bad. In Yohan's eyes, Falco's real name fit the classic image of a forest elf perfectly.
"Should I call you by your real name too, then?" Yohan asked Falco.
"I prefer Falco. Everyone else is used to it anyway," Falco shook her head, unlike Annie.
"Suit yourself."
With the name discussion over, it was time to move on to the next topic.
"I was thinking about the village you mentioned earlier," Charles spoke up, picking up where Billy left off. Yohan nodded for him to continue.
"Since it's a village where the Goddess's believers gather, I think we should provide them with material support."
It wasn't a particularly groundbreaking idea, but because it was so simple, Yohan hadn't even considered it until now.
"Indeed, it would be wise to have a village serve as the heart of our faith. Though faith resides in the people, they must also have a sanctuary to gather in," the Goddess agreed.
"Alright. We'll use the bandit loot for our operational funds, and convert the rest into supplies to send to the village."
"Though it is currently just a village hidden deep in the mountains, it may one day become our new Holy City," Annie remarked.
"But you all need to keep one thing in mind," Yohan cautioned. "If we make the village too big too quickly, it'll only put the residents in danger."
While the Goddess and Annie immediately understood his meaning, Falco and Billy tilted their heads in confusion. Billy, in particular, looked quite alarmed by the idea of the villagers being in danger.
"W-Why would they be in danger?"
"Think about it. I told you back at the village. To the Central Church, the Church of the Unnamed Goddess is a heresy that must be eradicated."
"Ah."
"I have a solution to that," Falco suddenly chimed in.
"What is it?"
"The Holy Kingdom only hunts down religions they haven't officially recognized. So, why don't we..."
She was suggesting they get official approval from the Holy Kingdom.
"Hmm."
It certainly made sense. It would allow the Church of the Unnamed Goddess to survive through peaceful means without having to clash with the Holy Kingdom, one of the continent's two superpowers.
"When you think about it, our church and the Central Church of the Holy Kingdom share the same roots anyway."
They were essentially two sects worshipping the Goddess of Justice, Justia. Similar situations had occurred frequently back in Yohan's original world.
"The idea itself is plausible, but realistically, it is impossible," the Goddess said, casting a wet blanket on Falco's suggestion.
"Why is that?"
"'I'—or rather, the Main God of the Holy Kingdom—will never tolerate a second sect."
Coming from none other than her other half, this was undoubtedly the absolute truth.
"The Central Church's dogma is the same," Annie added. "In fact, they treat those who interpret the Main God Justia in a 'deviant' way far more harshly than they do ordinary pagans."
With Annie's explanation on top of that, Falco could only let out a small sigh.
So they use religion to conduct diplomacy and business, but they won't tolerate anyone else doing the same? Yohan clicked his tongue in disgust.
"At any rate, we all agree on supporting the village, right?" Yohan asked. Everyone nodded in unison.
With that, they had one more task on their plate: turning a secluded mountain village with no roads connecting it to the outside world into a proper settlement.
"So, while we manage the village, we also need to write a book of fables... containing the teachings of our scriptures." Yohan turned his gaze to Annie.
"Do not worry. I will stop by my homeland... no, the Holy Kingdom, and bring back the Central Church's scriptures."
"You catch on quick."
She really was easy to communicate with. Yohan flashed Annie a thumbs-up.
"Alright. We'll split into two groups for a while. I'll head to the Holy Kingdom with Annie. In the meantime, you two handle things back at the village."
"I am more than capable of going alone. Is there a specific reason you must accompany me?" Annie asked.
"If you go alone, who knows how long the round trip will take? And besides..." Yohan shrugged, placing a hand on the Goddess's shoulder. "Our Goddess here seems secretly eager to see the Holy City with her own eyes."