Not a Heretic, Though (2)
Atmosphere is such a vague, ambiguous thing. Think about it—what exactly do we use to judge it? Subtle shifts in facial expression. The rise and fall of a voice. Eyes that meet or deliberately avoid each other. The degree of tension in someone's entire body. Word choice. The context of the conversation... And countless other "nonverbal cues" all get synthesized into what we call the vibe. It has no clear physical form, so you either learn it through accumulated experience or pick up on it with sharp observational skills. In that sense, I wasn't exactly the quickest on the uptake. The experiences I'd built up in my old life often lost their meaning after crossing into this gender-reversed world, and while I might manage with people I'd known for a few days, I wasn't sharp enough to catch every little change in someone I'd just met.
Still, I thought I was at least better than average...
"By the way, Saint, do you perhaps have any interest in joining the clergy? Your holy sign earlier and the way you greeted us were truly exemplary. I'd love to show it to our apprentice priests if possible."
"Kuh!"
"......!"
I have no idea. I genuinely can't figure out why Elly and Rydia are suddenly on such high alert over some harmless compliment. The mood I'd just managed to lighten has gone ice-cold again...
The male Heretic Inquisitor, who had been praising me to emphasize his harmlessness, saw his smirking face freeze into pure awkwardness. Meanwhile, the older-looking woman—who had seemed merely annoyed and sighing just moments ago—now had a noticeably sharper glint in her eyes. It was like she suspected something was off.
...Do Elly and Rydia actually have some kind of secret? That would be problematic. It's not like I don't have things I'm guilty about, but mine are on the level of eating all my soup during meal service and pretending I hadn't so I could get back in line for a second bowl, or burning that blasphemous goddess statue from before. If Elly and Rydia are hiding something from me, it'd have to be on a completely different scale.
I didn't know the details, but since they'd done so much for me, the least I could do was help them out as much as I was able. I quickly rummaged through my memories for information on the temple. I hadn't tried to rule over it or anything, but since it was basically the ruling power in Labyrinth City, I'd set up quite a few detailed bits about it. Once my calculations were done, I deliberately relaxed my whole body—a clear contrast to Elly and Rydia. It was my way of saying, *I'm not on guard against you.*
"Unfortunately, my vessel is far too small to contain the love of a god. I can't even properly understand human love, so how could I possibly rest in the Goddess's embrace?"
When I answered as if it were no big deal, the male Heretic Inquisitor—who had been at a loss—responded with a relieved smile.
"Oh dear. That's a shame. But the Goddess loves even those who do not enter her arms with perfect fairness. It is enough for you to simply live out your own love, Saint."
"Ahaha! Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. Honestly, everything I said earlier was just doctrine I picked up during meal service. I know it in my head, but I was a little worried since it wasn't backed by true faith. Especially since I was saying it in front of Heretic Inquisitors!"
"Pardon? Meal service... you mean the one where the temple distributes soup and bread once a week?"
"That's right! Thanks to Elly and Lady Rydia, I'm living comfortably now, but back then I had nothing to eat, so I relied on them quite often. Do you happen to know Sister Veronica? Every time she made me memorize doctrine or learn proper etiquette, she'd give me a little extra bread, so I studied really hard..."
In truth, I already knew everything in my head and was just doling it out piece by piece while pretending to learn with great enthusiasm. That way, they'd think I was cute and give me more food!
The guy seemed to recognize the name. He nodded, gazing into the air with a nostalgic look.
"Sister Veronica... you mean that elderly nun? She was already going out to do meal service when I was a child. I'm glad to hear she's still in good health!"
"She's *too* healthy, if you ask me. The last time I saw her, she kept preaching until the soup was practically cold, and everyone ended up with these miserable looks on their faces."
"She does have that side to her... I never expected to hear a familiar name here. This must also be the Goddess's guidance."
He drew a holy sign with a bright smile. The Goddess's guidance, my ass. It was completely intentional. I'd deliberately dropped the name of someone who looked like she'd been around for a while so he'd recognize it. And it was true that Veronica had looked after me in various ways.
...Though I'd ended up running away because she kept trying to drag me into the temple to become a priest.
The person most likely responsible for throwing me into this world was the Goddess of Love, after all. To be honest, it felt a bit awkward.
Anyway, I'd shown a relatable side fitting for my age, built some rapport by bringing up a mutual acquaintance, and yet...
The other one—the female Heretic Inquisitor—was still staring at me with that scary expression. This wasn't the time to keep up the casual face I'd used with the guy. She didn't look like someone who'd only run into trouble a couple of times, so she probably knew exactly how she came across to outsiders. I needed to properly act out how a guy my age would react to a scary woman.
I pretended it was a coincidence and met her eyes, then gave a visible flinch. After that, I kept shifting my gaze around before subtly taking a half-step behind Rydia. Thanks to Rydia immediately moving to half-block me, the whole thing played out perfectly. Now all I had to do was peek my head out, apologize in an embarrassed voice, and say I got startled...
While I was running all these calculations in my head, the other side moved first.
The Heretic Inquisitor gently pushed her junior aside, stepped forward, and stared straight at me as she spoke.
"My name is Karen."
"Uh... I-I'm Yona. Um, this is, well..."
I stammered as much as possible to look frightened, but she shook her head before I could finish.
"The act is unnecessary. Thanks to the grace the Goddess bestowed upon me, I can see through simple emotions. You're perfectly calm right now."
"...Tsk. I didn't realize you had that kind of blessing."
"Whether it's me borrowing the Goddess's eyes, becoming a Heretic Inquisitor, or standing here before you like this—aren't they all the Goddess's guidance? So please, don't look so displeased."
"Oh? I don't know exactly how it works, but it seems pretty useful. I'm jealous."
"You say that, but you don't look jealous at all."
"That's what we call social navigation."
The other three wore stunned expressions as Karen and I exchanged words. Among them, the male Heretic Inquisitor looked almost betrayed, completely shocked.
"What's your name, brother?"
"I-I'm Ian..."
"Ahem! Please don't look at me like that, Brother Ian. I didn't tell a single lie. It's true I learned all that during meal service, and it's true I have a passing acquaintance with Sister Veronica. ...I just set the mood a little, that's all."
To look like a poor orphan who was still living diligently, perhaps even with the seeds of faith taking root.
Karen let out a small snort at the sight of Ian sputtering, then shrugged.
"He's still a rookie who only recently got assigned here. The other Heretic Inquisitors aren't this easy to handle."
"Just looking at you, Karen, I can believe that. ...Shall we get to the main topic? You wouldn't have pointed it out and introduced yourself like that if you didn't have business with me."
"Very well. I have no interest in wasting time either."
With that, Karen pointed straight at Elly—who was now openly glaring—and continued.
"The reason I came is that I wanted to hear testimony from one of the few survivors of the recent large-scale subjugation."
"You mean from back when Elly was in her prime? So, how was it? Did you get what you wanted?"
"No. As the person involved, she knew a great deal, but she didn't know the parts we actually needed. And while there was no malicious intent, it seemed like she was hiding something. ...Now I see that something was you."
"Hmm. I am the light of Elly's life, the flame of her soul, her sin, and her very being."
"That may well be."
I'd jokingly quoted the opening line of a famous novel, but Karen replied in a completely dry tone. Even if that novel doesn't exist in this world, the fact that it's a famous passage shouldn't change... Karen must be a pitiful human with a dried-up sense of sensibility.
I looked at her with pity for a moment before she suddenly asked me a question.
"Have you ever heard of Those Who Swallow the Twilight?"
"Huh? Well... of course I've heard of them?"
Those Who Swallow the Twilight weren't some secret organization. They were pests that everyone knew about but couldn't catch. It couldn't be helped since they had their base in the labyrinth, though.
Karen looked me straight in the eyes. From within her pitch-black, dark-circled eyes, a pink light flickered, radiating an eerie sense of pressure. It felt similar to when I'd faced Eve's Eye of Truth. But it was far looser by comparison.
Well, that made sense. The level would naturally differ between Eve—who had been created when the World Tree crammed its power into her right before dying—and the blessing received by Karen, who was just one of many Heretic Inquisitors.
Thanks to the heavy dose of preventive shots I'd taken, I was able to laugh off the gaze of her blessing. Then Karen spoke.
"I'll ask directly. Yona, what do you think of Those Who Swallow the Twilight?"
A sudden question. But the moment I heard it, I answered without even thinking—pure spinal reflex.
"They're fucking disgusting pieces of shit."
A spark of interest lit up in Karen's eyes.