Proselytizing
When Adina saw Luke, she could only stare in utter disbelief.
...Not threatening at all?
She knew perfectly well that he wielded some kind of mysterious power.
She had no choice but to admit that he was stronger than she was.
But to dismiss her so completely... that was simply unforgivable.
Has he never even met the White Hair Tribe?
The White Hair Tribe's racial trait, White Magic, was a unique method of mana use focused entirely on destruction. Not only did the mana itself carry an inherently destructive quality, but it also had the ability to shatter an opponent's mana, which meant ordinary defensive magic couldn't stop it.
He's just a normal human physically. And yet he says I'm not threatening?
Of course, she knew he was an incredible monster of a strong man.
She couldn't possibly not know that.
Even if her mind had gone hazy beneath his crushing presence and she hadn't seen him clearly... it was certain that he had personally dealt with the demon beast she'd glimpsed beyond the boundary.
And yet that only made her more stubborn.
The way he snorted and said she wasn't threatening at all was infuriating.
At the same time, it stirred her curiosity.
She wanted to see the ability he wielded up close, just a little more closely than before.
So Adina decided to test him.
She drew up every ounce of mana in her body.
In other words, she used everything she had.
On top of that, she even brought out her clan's secret art, White Ring, which amplified the power of her magic.
That was, quite literally, the strongest strike she could muster at her current level.
...And yet.
!!!
He was completely fine.
Not even a trace of soot marred him in the middle of that insane burst of firepower.
The gale force should have disheveled at least a strand of his hair, but he remained untouched, as though he stood in an entirely different space from the one around him.
In fact, Adina, who had gone all out, was the one who ended up feeling embarrassed.
"Is that all?"
He stood there and asked her that.
It was only a simple question, but for that very reason it grated even more on her nerves.
It sounded as though he were asking if that little bit was the end of it.
"I-I'm not done yet!"
That was all she could say.
Too late, she pulled her mana up once more.
She wrung out every last thread of remaining mana and scraped together all her strength.
She had always boasted a mana capacity that outstripped most of her tribe, but now she poured everything out until she was nearly empty.
"Haa... haa..."
But all she accomplished was ravaging the training grounds, while his expression never once changed.
Not at all.
He simply stood there, staring at her as if observing a specimen.
That sight sent a chill down her spine all at once.
Before long, he spoke.
"So that's about how long it lasts."
"......"
"Hmm. Still a long way off."
Muttering something incomprehensible, he left the training grounds behind.
With her legs gone weak, Adina collapsed to the ground and stared blankly after his retreating back.
She was still sitting there in a daze when she felt a presence behind her.
"You were called Adina, weren't you?"
A woman dressed like a cleric came walking toward her, golden hair streaming behind her.
Her name was... Elfride Trivia, if Adina remembered correctly.
But why was she coming this way?
"You look terribly down."
"...Can't you see that?"
"There's no need for despair. Isn't it an error in the first place to judge the Great Moon's power by the standards of mortals like us?"
"Great Moon?"
Adina tilted her head, her ears twitching at the sudden odd remark.
"Adina, you have been serving the Great Moon at its closest side all this time."
"...What on earth are you talking about?"
"I respect your efforts until now, but it seems you've not been able to fulfill your role properly."
"...?"
Smiling faintly, Elfride bent her upper body forward.
She lowered herself until her eyes met Adina's, then said, "I can see the shape of a soul."
"...The shape of a soul?"
"A white soul—fierce, yet harmonious with all things under heaven. It's rare, but I have seen such a soul before... White Hair Tribe, am I right?"
Elfride could see the shape of souls.
During her long years at the Holy Order, and later while traveling the continent as a member of the Hero's Party, she had looked upon countless souls.
So she knew very well that every being in this world possessed a soul that was alike in some ways and subtly different in others.
And she knew that the White Hair Tribe's soul had exactly that distinctive form.
"The White Hair Tribe uses a special kind of mana called White Magic, don't they? Among it, they create a white ring called White Ring to amplify its power."
"...How do you know that?"
"I once had ties with members of the White Hair Tribe. So I know quite a lot. Among the White Hair Tribe, some rare individuals are born suffering from an inherited affliction called karma..."
"...!"
"When one is afflicted by karma, they are born with vast White Magic, but lose the ability to control White Ring."
Elfride looked at Adina, who had suddenly sprung to her feet, and continued, "From what I saw earlier, your control over White Ring seemed unstable."
"...What are you trying to say?"
The luxuriant silver tail shot straight up.
Elfride smiled brightly at Adina's wary stare.
"I can cure karma."
!!!
At those words, Adina felt her heart begin to pound violently.
"How? You can really do that? You're lying!"
"Fufu, it's no lie. Are you curious?"
"Curious? Is that even a question? Do you know what I've suffered because of this all this time...!"
With a calm expression, Elfride straightened the upper body she had bent in deference.
"Have you heard of gias?"
"Of course! It's a vow made under the pope's witness, in the name of a god, isn't it?"
"You know your theology well. The method is simple."
Hereditary affliction, karma.
It was the price the sacred beast, ancestor of the White Hair Tribe, had paid for its contract with the gods.
Normally, it was an original sin that descendants would have to bear across generations.
"By gias, I will take your original sin upon myself."
"...You're saying that's possible?"
Adina's doubt was reasonable.
To bear karma in someone else's place?
No ordinary amount of divine power could possibly pull off a vow of that scale.
At the very least, one would need the power of a pope, or perhaps a saint.
But—
"It is possible."
Smiling, Elfride extended her hand toward Adina.
Divine power was pouring from her body in immense waves.
Its purity was such that merely standing before it replenished mana that had been depleted.
Swallowing hard, Adina stared at the woman in front of her with dazed eyes.
"What's the price?"
"You need only help me a little from time to time."
"...With what, exactly?"
"Hmm, simple proselytizing work, perhaps?"
...Proselytizing?
It was an incomprehensible phrase, but Adina had no time to worry about that.
If karma could be resolved, she would finally be free of the restraints that had burdened her all this time and recover the true essence of the White Hair Tribe.
It was the wish she had carried all her life.
There was nothing to think about.
"...I'll do it."
With resolute eyes, Adina took the hand offered to her and gripped it tightly.
Elfride watched that and smiled, her eyes curving with delight.
"I'll be counting on you from now on."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Time passed, and when it was finally time to return, I used a scroll to arrive at the office at last.
The office at the edge of the domain had a more open, vacant feel around it than a true demon landscape.
Once I got there, I sprawled out immediately.
I had nothing pressing to do, and nothing urgent in the first place.
A few demon beasts did wander by from time to time, but this place had more than enough people to deal with them.
When Elfride first arrived at the office, she was given a suitable room and then holed herself up inside, spending the whole time in prayer.
She kept muttering words I couldn't make heads or tails of, but from the fragments I caught, it sounded like she was praying to Kahbila.
As if that would mean anything.
What was the point of praying if there was no god to listen?
There weren't any gods left in this world now.
They were called forgotten beings for a reason.
This was a discarded world.
Only fragments of chaos remained, so it was no wonder the world was hurtling toward its end.
...Should I say this? Or not?
After some long deliberation, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
Still...
Why is that girl acting like that now?
At some point, Adina, who had always kept herself at the edge of things, started trailing after Elfride everywhere she went.
She looked like a pet fox, and what was astonishing was that she had begun trying to imitate Elfride's every move in a clumsy, awkward way.
Don't tell me she's praying too?
She even prayed while swishing her tail.
Elfride seemed to find Adina endearing, because she kept patting her on the head from time to time.
It was all just absurd.
And then, a few days later—
"Great Moon."
"...?"
Elfride came to find me.
Adina was hiding behind her, peeking at me warily while her tail swayed.
"I will step away for a moment."
"All right."
I didn't particularly care.
It wasn't as though I could live sealed up here all day, and I had no intention of placing petty restrictions on things like that.
Elfride bowed her head and left.
Adina trotted after her.
...What is that?
What a ridiculous combination.
Thinking that, I let out a snort of laughter.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A stretch of road at the border between the principality and the empire.
This place was both the road to Blackmore and a passageway from the principality into the empire.
For that reason, quite a few merchant caravans used this route.
Though the road was rough and remote, with plenty of dangers lurking along it, taking another detour would have meant accepting travel times that were twice as long, so many chose to brave the risk and use this path anyway.
And now, in the present—
Hihihihihing—!
A horse bolted down the road.
In the direction it had fled stood half-destroyed carriages, ruined as though they had been caught in a storm.
And behind those carriages—
There stood more than a dozen armed men.
They were guarding against something.
Kieeeeeek—!
...That something was a demon beast.
A notorious-class demon beast in the shape of a wolf: the Black Wolf.
"Haa... haa...!"
The men at the front, swords drawn, were barely staying on their feet, their bodies drenched in blood.
Behind them, a man and a woman who looked like nobles were clinging to a child in utter disarray. The woman had one arm severed, the man had lost a leg, and anyone could see the ruin they had become.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
As the demon beast moved its massive body, the ground shook beneath their feet.
Every time it swung its sickle-curved claws, the men at the front crumpled like leaves in an autumn wind.
Death.
Nothing but death awaited them.
And then—
"R-run...!"
The last man still standing finally collapsed.
After that, the demon beast turned its gaze toward—
"Aahh..."
A terrified couple, and one child.
Just as they were about to clamp their eyes shut against the fear rising through them—
Crackle!
A spiraling bolt of electricity flashed through the air like a phantom trail, then vanished.
Kwa-gagagagagagagak!
Along with a thunderclap that seemed to tear their eardrums apart, tightly compressed lightning erupted with a deafening roar and washed over the demon beast like a tidal wave.
!!!
In the crater-like depression of the ground, dozens of arcs of current crackled and snapped.
The attack was so powerful that the demon beast which had threatened them vanished without leaving even a trace behind, reduced to ash.
"W-what...?"
The couple could only stare in a daze.
It was that alien a sight.
After blinking a few times, they turned their heads toward the direction the attack had come from.
There were only two girls walking toward them.
One was a beastman with fox ears.
And the other was a girl dressed in pure white vestments.
"......"
The girl in vestments approached without hesitation, then carefully took hold of the woman's arm, which had been torn away and now hung limply.
And then—
Fwoosh!
Brilliant golden light burst from the girl's hand.
The nobles immediately recognized the nature of that power.
The power to purify evil and heal disease.
It was divine power.
Vwoooom.
As the white beam wrapped around the mangled wound, red heat and smoke rose from the injury.
The woman convulsed fiercely at the searing pain.
But only for a moment; when the pain faded and she opened her eyes again, she was struck speechless.
!!!
The severed area had regenerated as though new flesh had sprouted there.
Not only had the pain vanished, but the restored arm now moved freely and naturally.
"Wh... what in the world...?"
The couple looked as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
To perfectly regenerate a missing limb in such a short time...
It was a miracle impossible for anyone save a saint called the apostle of god.
Smiling brightly, the girl who had performed that miracle repeated the same action she had done for the woman, this time on the woman's husband and the child in turn.
The horrifically mangled leg was restored, the fatal internal injuries disappeared, and even the child who had been on the brink of death began to stir awake.
It was a scene beyond belief.
While everyone was still reeling in shock, the girl who had wrought the miracle said,
"As the Great Moon wills."
That was all. Nothing more than a single phrase whose meaning they could not grasp.
With that, the two girls turned back without regret and retraced the road they had come by.
The direction they headed was—
......
Blackmore, the demon realm.