A Madman Has Come
In the lawless land of Yoqheim, it was already hard to call this a church. As I advanced toward the building, I was first struck by the quality of its barricades. Constructed from thick iron, they would not show so much as a scratch from ordinary bullets, and they had been reinforced with high-ranking priests' holy laws, granting them a degree of resistance to magic as well.
With a metallic groan, I lifted the barriers aside to clear a path, then set them back in place.
"Wh-whoa, it's heavy! How did you even lift that?"
Behind me, Yusuba was grunting and muttering as he struggled with one of the barricades, but I paid him no mind. If it were something a greenhorn holy knight could handle, those thugs would have cleared it themselves long ago.
Just as the rumors said—he really is crazy.
I stepped on a trap, caught the flying spear, crumpled it in my fist, and wore an expression of pure disgust. For a high-ranking clergyman to set up traps like this... the man was clearly not sane. I already knew who oversaw this diocese: Bishop Hendrick Beltmeyer. He was known throughout the church as an eccentric, and Bishop Silvestina had once summed him up rather bluntly.
Bang!
"Hey, priest. What the hell are you doing here?"
The bullet that suddenly slammed into the ground at my feet was obviously a warning shot. Facing the fierce-looking old man—who, despite being a man of the cloth, casually held a cigarette between his lips while aiming a heavy pistol at me—I smiled and answered.
"...Does a priest need a reason to visit a church, Your Excellency Hendrick?"
I could feel the holy knights panicking behind me. His Excellency Hendrick laughed.
"Well now, we've got a rare one with actual guts. Come in. Anyone who can carve through the rabble outside has what it takes to survive in a shithole like this."
With a creak, he opened the church's heavy iron door. The fact that he could do so with such ease despite his aged body proved this was no ordinary man.
"Come in. We'll talk properly inside."
Seeing him continue smoking, I smiled. Then I reached out my hand.
Sizzle.
"Before that, why don't you put out the cigarette, Your Excellency Hendrick? Isn't the church the house of the Goddess?"
At my words as I plucked the cigarette from his mouth, His Excellency Hendrick burst out laughing.
"...Ha! So they sent a mad dog. That damnable Henry."
Even as he spoke, he made no move to light another cigarette. Instead he turned to the two holy knights still standing there in a daze.
"You two planning to stand there all day?"
"No, sir!"
Snapping back to his senses, Yusuba marched briskly into the church. Asa came to a moment later and followed after him.
"Dragging two fledglings around with you, eh? Must be exhausting."
When His Excellency asked with a grin, looking at the pair, I shook my head.
"...Well, the hardship is theirs to bear. I'm no mother hen meant to shelter them."
I had not brought them here to protect them. And most likely... that was not the will of the Holy See, either.
"Once they've left the hen's wing, even chicks must learn to stand on their own."
At my smiling words, Bishop Hendrick let out a long sigh.
"A madman has come."
Who was calling whom a madman? Thinking that, I followed him inside in silence. Into the chaotic wreck of a church that this madman had created.
He's a proper lunatic, all right.
Just from their brief conversation, Hendrick instinctively understood that this inquisitor named Jenkinson was seriously deranged. Of course, he had heard the stories. Among the inquisitors there was a psychopath who had dared to break into the royal palace without permission and sent a king to the stake. An inquisitor. Moreover, one from the pathetic family department that did nothing but snoop after other people's scandals—yet the man had committed such a mad act and still kept his head. Honestly, even Hendrick had been curious. He had wanted to see what kind of crazy bastard would do something like that.
But... seeing him in person, the man exceeded every expectation.
"Is that really all you came here to do?"
I asked, utterly dumbfounded by the madman's words. What? After coming all the way to this place to see me, the only thing he had to say was that he would simply continue performing his priestly duties? If he had claimed he would change Yoqheim or plant the seeds of faith here, I would have thought him moderately insane. But... he was just going to keep doing what he always did and investigate adultery?
This was not merely a madman. This was a full-blown lunatic.
"That is my duty, after all."
Even so, the bastard answered with complete confidence. Hendrick clicked his tongue. Coming here and claiming that beating up those thugs counted as adultery investigation work? Looking at this damn fool's brazen face as he said it so proudly, Hendrick could only feel utter disbelief.
"Your identity is already known. They'll make things difficult for you, won't they?"
Doing that sort of thing would become nearly impossible once he poked that hornet's nest. They would harass him everywhere he went. So Hendrick asked with a hint of genuine concern, yet...
"The church is filthy."
This madman was talking about something else entirely. As he evaluated the church's wretched state, Hendrick honestly felt a chill run down his spine. It was like facing a real madman.
"Anyone who cares about the church's appearance in a place like this is crazy."
At Hendrick's remark, Jenkinson smiled and replied.
"First, I think we need to clean the church. Sweep away the dust, wipe up the blood. Oh! Could we find some clothes for these friends to change into?"
"..."
He was completely doing as he pleased. But...
"...The clothes are probably in that room over there. Tell them to pick something suitable. More importantly, what exactly do you want to bring to this country?"
At this point, Hendrick was curious what kind of change this guy would bring. With his own power, maintaining and protecting a single church was the best he could do. In a place where people believed they had been abandoned by God, the church must have seemed repulsive. So Hendrick had fought. All that remained for him now was this church that he had poured his entire life into creating with his own hands.
But... in the end, a church only has meaning when people gather in it.
What could possibly change if he clung to the church alone and died by himself? Hendrick knew that this church had become nothing more than an eyesore with no real meaning, yet he could not abandon it.
Therefore...
"There will be a lot of work to do. For me, and for Your Excellency as well."
Watching this mad priest who even intended to put him to work, Hendrick found himself secretly hoping that this lunatic would indeed bring about some change.
It was ridiculous. He was just one inquisitor. Normally, one person could change nothing. And yet...
"Ha! Trying to make even this old man work for you. You're something else. Fine."
Before he knew it, Hendrick had begun to expect something from this man. That much was certain...
"What should I do?"
Because this country needed change.
Even in the lawless land of Yoqheim, it was not as if there was no one who reigned like a king. Humans naturally form hierarchies when they gather in groups, and in Yoqheim that hierarchy was, in a sense, even more absolute.
Squelch. Squelch.
"Haaang! Too rough, baby. Aang."
The man thrust violently into the woman sprawled before him like a dog, not bothering to hide his irritation. Displeasure was written across his face as he looked down at her.
This doesn't satisfy me anymore.
He had lost all interest in these worn-out whores who had rolled around this place for far too long. There was one woman who had caught his interest. That female holy knight. He wanted to pin down that haughty, tempting bitch right away, but...
"...Yeah, you failed again."
He had failed this time too. And not by dying like before. These damn fools should have just died and saved on food instead of returning alive with only their legs and guns ruined. That made the man even angrier.
Slap!
"Heeng..."
In his foul mood, the man vented his frustration by smacking the woman's large buttocks. Drugged into a stupor, she let out a strange moan and collapsed.
Squelch. Squelch.
"What excuse are you going to make this time?"
Even as he continued moving his hips, the man's eyes grew fierce. The subordinate receiving his full rage trembled violently.
"Th-that is... I'm sorry."
There was no excuse. The man hurled a lantern at his subordinate.
Thud!
It streamed down. Fortunately it did not spark a fire or cause burns, but the lantern that struck the subordinate's forehead was enough to crack his skull. Clutching his bleeding head, the subordinate stood frozen in terror as the man commanded.
"Tomorrow you will bring them without fail. That woman, and... that priest too. Since I heard he crawled into that damn church, burn the place down and drag them out!"
"B-but using fire is..."
"You dare talk back when things have come to this!"
At the man's sudden outburst, the subordinate trembled, said he understood, and fled. The man then shook his hips half-heartedly with the now half-conscious woman, just to relieve his lust, while thinking.
Is that woman a virgin?
Since she was a holy knight, she probably was. And if she was a virgin, she would be incredibly tight. Unlike this loose slut.
Thinking that, the man's erection suddenly went limp.
"...I've lost interest. You get out too."
"Eek!"
The man roughly threw the woman aside. Once she staggered out, gathering her clothes, he put a cigarette in his mouth.
Click.
A waiting subordinate immediately lit it for him. The man thought.
A priest... just one priest...
Why did he have such a bad feeling about this? The man tried to burn away the unease along with the cigarette smoke while calmly organizing his thoughts.
"Hey."
No matter how he thought about it...
"Yes, boss."
"...Cancel my previous order. Instead, look into that priest."
It didn't feel right. Therefore, the man—Bane, who reigned as the de facto king of Yoqheim—gave the order in a cold tone. This time, it seemed he needed to be a bit more cautious.