The Goddess Hears Even the Smallest Voice

The Goddess hears even the smallest voice.

"I-I never imagined the honorable Priest Jenkinson would come in person like this..."

Lord Ruzen Oscaville of this territory wiped cold sweat from his brow, eyeing the situation nervously. He had no choice. The monster known as Jenkinson Beckett—the one who had single-handedly resolved the recent demon disturbance in the imperial capital—was standing right in front of him. Though merely a priest, he was no ordinary priest. He was a monster.

At first, when his soldiers reported the incident, Ruzen had thought, Here we go again. Roze operated a fairly large butcher shop that even supplied meat to this town. So when Ruzen heard that the man had fallen victim to the Cabla gang's demonic beast, he simply thought the inevitable had finally arrived.

Of course, as a fellow human being, Ruzen did feel genuine sympathy for what had happened to him. But that didn't mean he could afford to mobilize soldiers on the man's behalf. Especially not to the place where the Cabla gang was holed up. Was he insane? He had been about to persuade Roze to let the matter slide—tragic as it was, it wasn't exactly something that could be handled through proper legal channels—when Roze produced a reverse-cross rosario. The bad feeling that gave him made Ruzen immediately gather his troops and head for the gang's hideout.

What he found there was the once-arrogant Cabla gang rolling on the ground like half-corpses.

"D-Darling... please tell the priest to forgive me. Okay? We... we were happy together, weren't we? R-Right?"

Roze trembled violently as he watched the woman who now called him husband again with a pitiful expression. His teeth chattered with rage.

"Mommy?"

When his two-year-old daughter, cradled in his arms, asked cautiously, Roze hugged her tightly and said,

"That woman is not your mother. So don't look at her."

Roze tried to smile naturally in front of his daughter, but... thanks to the information Priest Jenkinson had given him, every ounce of affection he once felt for his wife had completely vanished. To think she had planned to sell their own flesh-and-blood daughter to a noble family! And according to the priest, that noble house wasn't even seeking children out of any genuine need. They were infamous for gathering parentless children and conducting experiments to raise them as living weapons of war. Roze had been utterly dumbfounded. At least he had managed to save his daughter. That alone felt like a blessing.

"Well then, could you help us move these heretics to the plaza, Brother Ruzen?"

"Ah! Of course. Absolutely."

Though Ruzen bowed and scraped on the surface, inside he was cheering. Thanks to this, he had cleanly swept away the Cabla gang that had long been a thorn in the city's side. There were even additional benefits. Naturally, the priest had ordered that all the wealth the gang had arbitrarily extorted be returned to their rightful owners. But even after that, the illegal profits the bastards had accumulated now belonged entirely to him, the lord of the territory. The amount was considerable... Ruzen had to work hard to suppress the grin threatening to spread across his face.

"Shall we begin, then?"

Following the priest's instructions, moving the half-dead wretches to the center of the plaza was not difficult. Ruzen watched his soldiers carry them while checking his ledger, but soon sensed Jenkinson approaching ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and subtly lifted his gaze from the book.

"And Brother Ruzen."

Whisper. Whisper.

"!"

Jenkinson had already told him in advance what punishment would be given to them. When Ruzen heard the sentence, he was shocked. Among the lords, this priest called Jenkinson was known as a monster of terrifying strength, but... his punishments were famously the most lenient among all inquisitors. Yet the judgment this... priest had handed down was, astonishingly, the most severe penalty an inquisitor could impose.

"I shall now begin the sentencing."

I declared this with a solemn expression and looked at the Cabla gang gathered in the center. Men and women were mixed together, but that distinction would soon become meaningless. The people gathered here were already cheering at the sight of them being captured, while the Cabla gang trembled as they watched.

Wasn't it laughable? These bastards who had killed people at will, mocked them, and drenched them in fear... were now the ones trembling before those very people.

But...

"The Goddess Juno is merciful, so even to the worst scum who may never appear again in this world, She grants an opportunity to wash away their sins."

The Goddess Juno is truly merciful.

"Therefore, I extend mercy to you as well."

At the word "mercy," hope bloomed on their faces. Ah, yes. To these monsters who had no room left for rehabilitation, this punishment would be the greatest mercy and hope imaginable. The Goddess Juno is so merciful that even these pieces of trash...

"Therefore, the judgment I pass upon you is burning at the stake."

For it grants you the chance to be free from fear.

At that verdict, some spat curses, some shed tears, some froze in terror, and some wet themselves. I paid their reactions no mind and waited for the lord to prepare the burning as previously discussed.

However...

"Everyone, bring the firewood! No! Bring straw bundles!"

"The priest said to burn them all! Oil! Bring oil too!"

"Hurry up and tie them all! If they resist, just break their bones!"

The people who had gathered took the lead, tying them up, beating them, and pouring oil over them. The gang couldn't even resist.

Did they hit them too hard?

I thought that for a moment, but decided that what was good was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good and let it pass. Before long, the execution site was prepared in the blink of an eye, and the people began to chant.

Burn them! Burn them! Burn them!

At the sound that filled the entire plaza, those bound together on the straw bundles trembled. Jenkinson lightly summoned a flame in his hand. Then, as if brushing off dust, he casually flicked the flame onto the straw.

Whoosh.

The fire caught beautifully.

"Aaaaaagh!"

"Mommy! Save me!"

"Priest, please! I won't do it again, so please have mercy... Aaaargh! Have mercy, you son of a bitch!"

Pleading voices. Voices filled with terror. Voices twisted in agony.

Yes... the voices of the weak. As a servant of God, one must lend an ear to such sounds. But had they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever listened to those voices?

Someone must have begged before them. Someone must have trembled in fear before them. Before them... most had been the weak. But had they ever listened to those voices? Had they ever shown even the slightest mercy?

They hadn't. If they had, this ending would not have awaited them. At the very least, someone who had received their mercy would have raised a small voice at this judgment, and surely a servant of God would have listened even to that small voice.

But... they had nothing. Not a single thing. Not even the smallest voice.

And that was why they had to die like this.

The Goddess Juno is merciful. Because She listens to even the smallest voice.

However... She cannot listen to a voice that does not exist.

They... had not let God hear their voices. They had not even met the minimum qualification to receive mercy.

I quietly etched the sight of their deaths into my eyes. An inquisitor must not turn away from such things. From the results of the judgment he himself has handed down.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Roze, who had left early because he couldn't bear to watch the burning, came to Jenkinson with a tearful face and expressed his gratitude over and over. His two-year-old daughter, still held in his arms, simply stared at Jenkinson with eyes full of curiosity.

"There is no need to thank me, Brother Roze. All of this is solely the arrangement of the Goddess Juno. A servant of God has simply done what must be done."

"E-Even so, at least let me..."

When Roze desperately tried to press a few coins into his hand, Jenkinson drew the holy sign and said,

"If you truly wish to express gratitude, do not forget to attend worship and follow the teachings of the Goddess Juno."

"I-I understand. Thank you so much. If you ever visit this place again, I will treat you to the finest meat."

In the end, Roze put away the money pouch with a regretful expression and made his earnest request. Jenkinson offered a gentle smile.

"Hehe, that sounds rather promising."

Late at night. Receiving Roze's farewell, Jenkinson headed for the station.

Now then, what kind of matter awaits me next...

There were still many people hoping for God's help. So he would have to keep moving diligently. With that resolve, Jenkinson watched the train approaching from afar and took out a pen and paper from the large bag he carried. For now... he needed to write a report on this incident.

In the Holy City of the Holy Kingdom of Juno. At its center stood the Saint Juno Great Cathedral. It was the largest church on the continent by any measure and also served as the headquarters of the Order of Mercy, where the Pope resided.

The papal chamber, located at the lowest level of the great cathedral, had been placed there to symbolize that the Pope must serve from the lowest place. Sitting there, leisurely trimming the branches of a bonsai tree, Henri murmured softly upon receiving Silvestina's report.

"I see. Burning at the stake... That is certainly an unusual verdict coming from Priest Jenkinson."

"Yes, I've delivered the information this time as well. Really."

Silvestina shrugged as she spoke, and Henri gazed at her quietly.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?"

"...No reason. I was just a little worried about Jenkinson, having learned under a teacher like you."

Though he said that, Henri trusted her completely. She had once been an inquisitor, then worked as an exorcist priest. After being injured during her exorcist duties, she had briefly served as an instructor priest, teaching theology to students at the university. Jenkinson had been one of the twelve disciples who studied under her at that time. And... he was one of the only two who had survived. Of the twelve who studied under her, ten had died during their missions.

That was what the Church was like. Most of the comrades who had become servants of God together either died or disappeared. Sometimes to demons, sometimes to heretics. And... most often to humans.

Yes, sadly, the greatest enemy of priests was humans. They were stabbed by the blades of criminals to whom they had shown mercy. They died from the betrayal of the weak they had tried to protect. They were eliminated by the hands of the powerful. They were killed by soldiers starving for money. They died by the knives of poor beggars. They were killed by the hands of patients driven mad by the desire to be treated first.

Even so, priests bore all those dangers and wandered the world as if on a pilgrimage. Solely to spread the will of God.

Among such priests, there were those who willingly descended to the most dangerous positions to serve. Those who humbly carried the reverse cross and served silently from below. Those were the inquisitors. They were the ones who supported the Church from the harshest places.

Of course...

"It seems it's about time to send that child an invitation as well."

Henri was thinking of sending that child an invitation soon. For the upcoming strategy meeting regarding the subjugation of the high demon Lilith... that child would be indispensable.

"And there is something I need to entrust to him as well."

"En-entrust... something?"

When Silvestina made an uneasy face at those words, Henri nodded. There was one thing he needed to entrust to that child. Since ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had confirmed the child's strength, it was only right to impose upon him a responsibility befitting that strength.