A Soldier's Homecoming
Love is fleeting by nature. The hometown he had returned to after so long remained unchanged. A damnably tedious village, damnably tedious people. Even so, the hometown he had loved was still beautiful. 'Time to go back.'
The soldier had survived the battlefield—far more tedious than this village—and come home. His only hope that never bored him in this tedious world. His love. To the house where his wife waited.
It was a sudden homecoming, so she probably had no idea. 'She'll be surprised, won't she?' The soldier thought with a faint smile. He loved her that much, and she was his entire world. Her silken black hair, her breasts so full they overflowed his hands, her small frame that fit perfectly in his arms—everything about her was lovely. He took pride in having the most beautiful woman in the village as his wife.
'I wonder what she's doing right now.' Upon reaching the house, the soldier crept quietly toward the door, intending to surprise her. At this hour she was likely preparing dinner. Perhaps he would finally taste a meal cooked by her after so long. The thought of the army's tasteless rations killed his appetite, but imagining her cooking brought a smile to his face. He wanted to see her right away—to tell her he loved her and hold her delicate body close.
"Ahn!"
But that moment was fleeting. Just as he reached for the door, an unfamiliar moan made his hand freeze. He stopped. What… was that sound? A sense of dread crept over him, and the soldier desperately tried to dismiss the thought forming in his mind. No. It couldn't be. She would never betray him. Even as he tried to convince himself, his heart pounded wildly as he pushed the door open.
Creak.
And then… he saw it.
"Ahn! Darling, more."
She lay beneath a naked man, her face twisted in an expression she had never once shown him, moaning in ecstasy. It was the first time. The first time he had seen her look so happy. The sight of her pinned beneath another man, drowning in pleasure like a bitch in heat. A stranger's face was buried in the breasts that had once been his alone, and the place he had believed welcomed only him greedily swallowed another.
Ah… In that instant, the soldier's mind went blank. He wanted to tear out his own eyes. He refused to believe it. His mind desperately denied the reality before him.
Thud. The helmet slipped from his hand, and the soldier simply stood there, staring blankly at the unreal scene.
"D-Dear?"
When she finally noticed him and looked startled, the soldier felt, for the first time, that her once-beloved face was repulsive. His mind had gone white; he felt nothing. The beautiful face he had adored was smeared with another man's saliva, and the body he had held and cherished was stained with another man's seed. It felt as though his memories had been trampled underfoot.
At that moment, the man who had been thrusting like an animal pulled out his grotesque, massive member and glanced back.
"What? The husband's back? Should've died on the battlefield and left us the compensation money."
The man sneered at the soldier before resuming his movements.
"Ahn! Wait a moment. Darling—no, dear, it's not what you think—"
Even as she uttered those pathetic words, her body was lost in the pleasure the man gave her. The soldier watched numbly. He still could not accept reality and drifted in unreality. What finally dragged him back to the cold truth was the sight of her arms naturally wrapping around the man's body. Even in this situation, she had surrendered to the pleasure, panting like a bitch in heat.
What happened next…
Thud!
"Ugh, aaargh! You crazy bastard! What the hell are you—ah, damn—"
Thud!
"Dear! I'm sorry—kyaaah!"
Thud!
After that, he could not remember what he had done. All that remained in his memory were their screams, the sensation of stabbing and slashing wildly, and the house drenched in blood.
--
"Ugh, how horrible. So there are cases like that too."
Asa wore a disgusted expression as she watched the scene of infidelity perfectly recreated by Jenkinson's magic. The soldier who had returned from war had found his wife already in another man's arms. Driven mad, he killed both the adulterer and his wife, then was handed over to the Inquisitors for psychiatric treatment.
"It's fairly common. There's a statistic that eighty percent of soldiers with wives at the border commit adultery."
Jenkinson muttered with a sorrowful face. Perhaps there were even more cases that simply went undiscovered.
"Or sometimes the village collectively rapes and kills the lonely wife left behind… In that sense, leaving a wife alone might not be such a good idea after all."
The world was filled with cruelties far beyond what she imagined. It remained savage. That was why the Church always strove to keep people human even in such a barbaric society.
"…Is it really that good? Enough to betray the person you love?"
Asa murmured in disbelief, and Alkai let out a short laugh.
"You're quite the innocent young lady. Just because a marriage was formed doesn't mean both sides necessarily loved each other."
He was right. Jenkinson found himself somewhat agreeing. Marriage was ultimately a contract. Some sought love, others money, others status. Because each had something they wanted, they bound and restricted one another through the relationship called marriage. But… there was no law stating that what they wanted had to match. In that sense, the institution of marriage might be one that suffered from predetermined side effects.
Thinking this, Jenkinson rose from his seat and stepped off the train. This was Harn. The cold northern air gently enveloped his body.
"Ugh…"
Asa, who had followed him down late, shivered from the cold, but Jenkinson—who wore only his light priest's robes—and Alkai—who had prepared a coat before arriving—were unaffected.
"If you're cold, I told you to prepare a coat."
When Jenkinson scolded her, Asa shivered and made excuses.
"I-I didn't know it would be this cold."
Sighing at the sight of her trembling, Jenkinson removed his black robe and draped it over her.
"Let's buy a coat first."
They couldn't keep walking around like this. Jenkinson spoke as he thought this, and Asa immediately wrapped the robe around herself and expressed her gratitude.
"Ah! Thank you."
'It smells like the priest.' Asa felt a strange sensation as she sniffed the robe. Men and women really were this different, she thought. Now dressed only in his white shirt, Jenkinson spoke in a gentle tone.
"It's fine. I'll just deduct a point."
"!"
Asa's face turned deathly pale at those words, and Jenkinson continued while watching her.
"For reference, if you lose ten points, you'll fail."
"Th-That's unfair!"
Asa protested with an aggrieved expression, but Jenkinson paid it no mind. Lack of preparation for the scene was, no matter how he thought about it, a deductable offense.
'Now then…'
What kind of sinner was hiding here? Jenkinson thought as he began walking. For reference, the soldier from the story they had discussed on the train had been sentenced to death by the kingdom and justified self-defense by the Church. The Church had taken custody of the soldier and provided psychiatric treatment. Which verdict was fairer, no one truly knew. Because Jenkinson, who had not handled the case, did not know what the Inquisitor in charge had witnessed. But… in truth, neither mattered to Jenkinson. Even if their choices differed from his own, he knew that on a larger scale, they did not stray from the Goddess's arrangement. By observing their verdicts, Jenkinson could establish his own values.
--
"…There are almost only women here."
Having bought and put on a thick coat at a shop, Asa muttered while burying her face in it. Indeed, nearly everyone visible on the street was female. That made Jenkinson and Alkai, as men, stand out all the more.
"…This is burdensome."
Alkai spoke while feeling the hostile gazes directed at him. Of course—this was a place where hostility toward barbarians was inevitably strong. Someone had likely lost a wife, a husband, or a child to them. It was only because the priest Jenkinson was beside him that they did not openly display their animosity. Alkai was in the perfect position to be rejected here.
'At this rate, disguising ourselves is out of the question.'
Seeing the city's atmosphere, Jenkinson judged that hiding his identity as a priest would be impossible. If he tried to conceal it unnecessarily, Alkai's very presence would cause friction. For Jenkinson, who wanted to avoid friction as much as possible, there was effectively no choice.
"Then I'll give you a mission."
"Yes! Leave it to me."
Asa answered confidently at Jenkinson's words, and he gave her the order.
"Conduct an investigation. Alone. I'll evaluate you based on how much information you gather."
Jenkinson wanted to test Asa here. He wanted to assess her quick thinking, her skill at gathering information through inquiry, and her sociability in quickly befriending people.
"…Yes?"
But I'm a former holy knight…? Her face seemed to say this, yet Jenkinson remained firm. This test would determine whether she passed or failed.