How a Wizard Survives (33)
How a Wizard Survives (33)
The face of the man who raised his hand was one I didn't recognize at all.
Probably a resident from a neighboring village.
"Are you by any chance referring to the small village near Ravenhill..."
"That's it!"
"I was in Ravenhill."
One of the Eight Swords of Einhold brightened visibly at his words.
Watching this, I felt a belated sense of danger.
'Wait... isn't this a bit dangerous?'
The residents of my hometown had been completely fooled by Ulysses.
By now, they surely think I've been executed...
But even a cursory investigation would reveal the truth.
Unlike the Inquisitors working in the field, the librarians in the archives tended to obsess over records.
They were masters at hounding the rough-and-tumble Inquisitors until they submitted all manner of reports.
Thanks to their efforts, the Inquisition branch kept fairly meticulous mission records.
They'd hang a suspicious person up first, yes, but they'd at least write a report about it afterward!
If someone were to search the archives of the Reshutal Inquisition Branch, Ulysses's little play would be exposed in no time.
'Normally, they'd never show mission records to outsiders... but why does it have to be now, when relations with Einhold have never been better!'
The identity I was using now was brand new...
So there's no chance that mere fact alone will expose me.
But unlike anyone else, Katrina might just catch on to the truth.
Losing her trust was something I desperately wanted to avoid.
'What do I do? Should I frame that bastard for heresy right this instant?'
But it was already too late to intervene now.
Just as I was secretly gritting my teeth, the recruit who'd raised his hand said something completely unexpected.
"Well... the village the officer is talking about no longer exists."
"What?"
"It's been over a year now. Rumor has it an evil mage showed up and burned the whole village to the ground... so there are no survivors at all. The only thing left where the village used to be is a blackened, scorched patch of earth."
It was absurd.
The village where I had lived... had burned to the ground?
Could such luck truly exist?
'Could it have been the Fire Mage Loren... that pyromaniac bastard?'
Luft, one of the Eight Swords of Einhold, seemed to have taken a massive shock and remained silent for a long while... before simply turning around and walking away somewhere.
He was probably going to check the relevant records.
I had survived, for now.
Satisfied with that fact, I mingled with Angelica for a suitable amount of time before returning to the smithy.
My teacher noticed that something had happened just by looking at my face.
"What, you look like you just got a birthday present."
"Master, well..."
Just as I was about to excitedly chatter away to Ulysses, I suddenly felt something was off.
No matter how I looked at it, wasn't my luck far too good?
Furthermore, the village burned down over a year ago.
Since it's been about a year and a half since I came to Reshutal... the mage's attack happened almost right after I left the village.
Excessive luck and timing that was far too perfect.
Taking both factors into consideration, I arrived at a single hypothesis.
"...The village I was living in, you burned it down, didn't you, Master. Because leaving it alone would have endangered you and Lady Ash..."
"So that's what this is about. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. It's just that you react so honestly."
"Sooner or later? You never told me at all... Not that I blame you, Master."
I had no lingering attachment to my hometown by this point.
When the people there abandoned me, I had abandoned them too.
If anything, knowing they were all dead felt strangely refreshing.
Even so, I was still surprised.
For almost the first time ever, I grumbled at my teacher and finished venting my anger.
Had my teacher not taken action in the first place, things could have become dangerous.
My quick-witted teacher caught on to the situation without needing any extra explanation.
"Don't tell me you met your father?"
"No... he was far too young to be my father. At best, he's probably a relative or an acquaintance."
"But he's definitely from Einhold, right?"
"Yes. He's one of the Eight Swords of Einhold, Luft Einhold."
As if he knew the man, Ulysses gave an immediate, definitive reply.
"Right, that gentleman is definitely not your father. He wouldn't even have graduated from the training center when you were born."
"Isn't that so?"
Still, it was clear that he had heard something from my father.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to go looking for someone like me.
Ash, who had come up to rest for a bit, squeezed her eyes shut and left without a word.
I exited the smithy again and observed Luft Einhold's movements.
The conscripts in the square were moving in a long, unbroken line out of the city.
The member of the Eight Swords in question was nowhere to be seen... but fortunately, Angelica remained.
"Jaeger!"
Just like before, she greeted me from far away.
At a glance, she gave off a cat-like impression, but in truth, she was more like a puppy... no, not quite a puppy, more of a cat-dog.
"Has the member of the Eight Swords already left?"
"Yup. He seemed to be searching for someone... but it looks like he came up empty, unfortunately. I've had my eye on a restaurant for a while now, want to go together?"
Angelica's hobby was exploring good eateries, and any restaurant that failed to satisfy her palate had to brace for closing down.
After all, the capital's nobles obsess over the tiniest actions of anyone ranked above them.
Eager to gain a bit more information, I readily accepted her invitation.
"A Heretic Inquisitor can't afford to miss out on such matters."
"Great! If it tastes bad, it's heresy!"
"That's the spirit."
Angelica seemed to have the qualities to become an excellent Heretic Inquisitor herself.
After idly chatting and making small talk for a while...
It turned out that, just as I suspected, Luft Einhold had been asked a favor by someone else.
After spending the day with her, I rested thoroughly the next day and went to work the day after.
Now that I had the Holy Relic, I was thinking I could start training more seriously.
But then I saw Inquisitors who had shown up to work unusually early.
It wasn't even the Inquisition grounds; the temple was already bustling with people.
"Is some kind of event going on?"
"Ah, Squire. It's just about time to elect this year's Saintess."
"Elect... the Saintess?"
I tilted my head at the bizarrely mismatched vocabulary.
There's no way these people would use something like Summoning Magic now...
A temple guard explained it kindly.
"The Saintess is determined by vote, you see."
"Aha. So it's basically a sort of honorary position?"
"Indeed. We select the most beautiful and devout woman in Reshutal. Last year, Her Highness the Princess was elected."
"Well, that was because it was right after Lady Katrina was first appointed. This year could be different."
"I know, alright?"
The guards already seemed to be of a mind to push Katrina for the position of Saintess.
Even so, I did not find the idea entirely pleasant.
If they were going so far as to hold a vote to elect her, they would surely hold a parade or something...
It was obvious that Katrina herself would find it terribly uncomfortable.
"The Saintess, huh. Can't she refuse even if she's elected?" I asked.
"That would be rather difficult. Being the Saintess is a tremendous honor in itself, and besides, the royal family and the temple are the ones overseeing the vote..."
"Why do you ask?" one of them asked.
"It just seems like Lady Katrina wouldn't enjoy it much even if she were elected Saintess."
Always thinking of one's lord is the proper mindset of a squire.
The guards, having seen my reaction, exchanged meaningful smiles.
"Well, that may be true, but..." one guard said.
"Every year, the Saintess is meant to wear the Saintess Robe, and it's quite something to behold."
"The Saintess Robe? Hey, no matter how fancy such a thing is..."
"Ah, there it is right now."
Just then, temple workers came in carrying a statue dressed in the garment.
Finally getting a look at the Saintess Robe, my eyes flew wide open.
The Saintess.
The word had always carried a vaguely lewd feeling, but I had never imagined they would be made to wear something like that.
The Saintess Robe prepared by the temple had a design far too bold for something meant for a clergy member.
A design philosophy so daring it even reminded me of Ash's clothing.
It had side slits, was cut all the way down to the lower back, and exposed a fair amount of the chest.
Yet the fabric and color were so elegant that it did not look vulgar in the slightest.
If Katrina were to wear such an outfit, she would look not like a Saintess, but a goddess.
The next moment, I found myself shouting at the top of my lungs.
"Lady Katrina for this year's Saintess!"
"Hear, hear! This year belongs to Lady Katrina!"
"Everyone, please cast your clean votes for Lady Katrina!"
The men of the temple all enthusiastically echoed my call... before scattering like rats the moment Katrina herself appeared.
As I immediately launched into morning training, I was forced to weather a fierce onslaught from a petulantly annoyed Katrina.
Regardless of how the person in question felt, both inside and outside the Inquisition branch, the only topic of conversation was the Saintess Election.
The rank-and-file soldiers, the Holy Knights of noble birth, and even the librarians were no exceptions.
"Lady Katrina will surely win this year, won't she? Frankly, Her Highness the Princess has held onto the title for long enough."
"Indeed. She's been the Saintess ever since that very first vote..."
"Honestly, I get it. Her Highness the Princess's beauty is no joke either."
But the city folk get tired of things quickly.
By now, they probably wanted to see Katrina in the Saintess Robe more than the Princess.
The librarians, however, felt that victory was far from assured.
"It's too early to think we've already won."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because His Majesty the King won't simply let go of the Saintess Election so easily. When a woman becomes the Saintess, her value on the marriage market skyrockets. Especially since Reshutal elects its Saintess by vote, it naturally serves as promotion to other nations as well."
The marriage market, they said.
Things like this would normally be blasphemy to even discuss...
But today's Heretic Inquisitors were unfettered.
"Even a sly fox of a king like him wouldn't go that far... right, he totally would!"
"That's certainly convincing."
"If he's the king, he'd do it and more."
Was it because of the display he put on at the royal palace last time?
The king's reputation within the Inquisition branch was hitting rock bottom.
Taking advantage of a brief lull in the conversation, I asked about something I'd never fully understood.
I'd roughly grasped the nuance earlier, but I still didn't know the exact details.
"By the way, what is this vote?"
"Ah... do we have to explain from that point?"
"In the Saintess Election, one vote from a noble and one from a commoner are exactly the same—one vote. It's purely a contest of headcount."
"Aha, then we'll definitely win."
Currently, the leading candidates for the Saintess Election numbered about three.
The previous year's winner, the Princess, was included... along with the rising new powerhouse Katrina and Angelica, who appealed to certain special tastes.
These three were the greatest beauties of the capital.
Still, Angelica was a little too young, so the real contest would likely be between the other two.
"Then who exactly has the right to vote?"
"Every citizen of the capital who is not in tax arrears. Naturally, limited to males."
"Ah, so women can't."
"Women... with voting rights?!"
While one of the Holy Knights muttered something rather alarming, Wikia, who'd been watching from a distance, chuckled and interjected.
"Wouldn't it take something like two major world wars before women get the right to vote?"
"I suppose..."
"The vote starts first thing tomorrow, so don't forget to visit the temple."
After finishing our enjoyable chat and heading out on patrol...
Right on cue, that bastard king's scheming was immediately visible.
Promotional banners were already hanging in the center of Reshutal.
They might have been banners, but they were stitched from leather and painted, so they could not have been cheap... yet he had brazenly gone ahead with it.
The star of the advertisement was none other than the Princess of Reshutal.
Katrina pretended not to see it and continued her patrol with visible difficulty.
Whether she liked it or not, the vote began as scheduled.
From the very first day, a massive crowd swarmed into the temple being used as a polling place.
The crush of people was so great that the Inquisition branch had to send out some personnel for temporary support.
"You there! Do you think we wouldn't recognize you just because you changed your clothes?"
"That bastard's a stooge for the royal family!"
"Any campaigning inside the polling place will result in immediate confiscation of your voting rights and expulsion from the premises."
"Ah, those of you who voted for Angelica, please proceed toward the gallows in the plaza over there."
Of course, due to the campaigning prohibition clause, Katrina was on standby within the Inquisition grounds.
After spending the day in a frantic rush, we finally held the long-awaited ballot counting.
Every staff member in the temple swarmed in to tally the votes.
Among them were the innkeeper and his son, whom we had rescued not long ago.
"Sir, you voted for Lady Katrina, didn't you?"
"How could I not. Even beasts know how to repay a kindness..."
"Is living in Reshutal comfortable?"
"It's wonderful. Even if we'd stayed there, we'd have only been killed by mages or conscripted—one of the two, right?"
Now that I think about it, that innkeeper's inn was in a rather poor location.
If it had been smack in the middle of a main road like the place I stopped at on the way, then maybe.
But it was in an awkwardly remote corner, which was why it became a target for mages.
Keeping such thoughts in mind while diligently counting the ballots, I paused to check the tally and clicked my tongue inwardly.
I had expected Katrina to win by a landslide, but the race was unexpectedly close.
"Keuk, Her Highness the Princess is pretty, I'll admit..."
"Ballot counting complete over here!"
"We're done here too!"
Thump, thump.
While my heart was racing like mad, the clergy tallied up the votes from each station.
But instead of announcing the results, they simply began muttering amongst themselves.
The calculation itself shouldn't have taken that long.
"What's the matter?"
"What was the result?"
"Ah, well, Her Highness the Princess has managed a narrow win, but... there's a problem."
As the announcement was made, sighs erupted from all over the voting hall.
I clenched my fist tightly and asked, as if ready to lunge at him.
"A problem? What do you mean?"
"The voter turnout is... far too high."
"The total number of votes cast is much greater than the number of eligible voters. Roughly 140 percent..."
"What did you say?"
It was fraud.
That single thought flashed through the minds of everyone gathered at the polling place.
Moments later, we all began to erupt in fierce, seething fury.