The Traitors' Plot Unveiled
Having finished her schedule for the day, Aria lay upon her soft bed and let out a shallow sigh. “Haah… I’m tired.”
She had bestowed blessings on every student at the academy. Even someone with as much holy power as she possessed couldn’t help but feel drained afterward.
Still, I never imagined Baran would have such a casanova streak.
The truth she had heard from him during their counseling session earlier that afternoon. When she considered the full story, Baran hadn’t truly done anything wrong. If anything, the fact that he had saved those people meant he deserved praise.
But.
I didn’t expect him to say they were all precious to him.
Of course she had wondered whether he might reveal some kind of sexual desire, yet that wasn’t the case at all. He had literally meant that every one of them was precious to him.
It was different from ordinary lust.
As she always felt, he was a truly fascinating person.
Almost like a blind saint, in a way.
With that thought, Aria’s gaze fell to the bracelet on her wrist—the gift he had given her as thanks for her guidance. At first glance it was simply a pretty bracelet set with a blue magic stone. The sort of common trinket one might see on any street stall.
I was going to refuse it at first.
When he had offered it, his expression had been so desperately earnest. More than that, she had felt his emotions clearly—an unmistakable wave of concern for her safety. Faced with feelings like that, how could any woman refuse?
Hmm… but why is he worried about me?
Could he possibly know about the confined life she led? The wild idea flickered through her mind for a moment before she shook her head, dismissing it. How could Baran know that the Saintess was kept locked inside the church? Practically no one outside the highest ranks of the clergy knew that truth. And even if he did, there was no reason for him to worry to such an extent.
Haah… Must I live this kind of life until the day I die?
Because of the war against the demon army, the Saintess could not step outside. She understood the danger. Yet no matter how she looked at it, this existence was far too much like imprisonment.
Well, I did hear that several holy knights were killed yesterday.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand the reasoning. Still, she doubted that her remaining here as the Saintess would change anything for the better.
Ugh… I’ll need to have a serious talk with His Holiness tomorrow.
With that resolution, she sat up. But in that instant—
-Kuhk!
A deathly cry sounded from beyond the door. Startled by the sudden noise, she flinched violently.
Is it the same culprit who killed the holy knight yesterday?
She moved to leave the room, only to stop short.
Now that I think about it, my holy power right now…
After granting blessings to all those students, her reserves were nearly empty. To be blunt, they were completely drained. If she went outside in this state, what could she possibly accomplish?
I’d only become a burden.
She still didn’t know the enemy’s objective. Yet the fact that they had attacked this place suggested she herself was the target.
What should I do?
She sank into deep thought, then quickly assessed the situation.
That’s right. I’m going out.
The enemy was clearly overwhelmingly strong. Staying hidden here would change nothing in the end.
Creeeeak.
She opened the door slowly and poked only her head out to survey the corridor. The next moment—
“Huk?!”
The sight before her made her gasp in horror.
All the holy knights who had been guarding her lay dead, their hearts pierced clean through. Had she never seen a corpse before, the scene would have left her frozen in shock.
Huh…? But what is that?
Her eyes caught on a round crystal orb lying among the bodies. Its presence amid the corpses felt intensely out of place. It didn’t seem like a trap—she couldn’t sense any presence from it at all.
She glanced left and right, scanning her surroundings. Once she confirmed no one else was there, she exhaled.
“Huu… Stay calm.”
She didn’t know who had done this, but one thing was certain: the enemy had already left the area. Whatever their goal might be, she needed to examine the crystal orb first. It could serve as evidence.
Heart pounding, she hurried over on tiptoe. Then, quite unlike the noble image she usually presented to others, she scrambled back into her room in a frantic rush.
“Whew… I thought I was going to die.”
Wiping cold sweat from her brow with her sleeve, she breathed a sigh of relief. It felt as though she had shown a side of herself she hadn’t revealed in a long time.
Anyway, that’s beside the point.
Aria immediately focused on the crystal orb and pressed the button protruding from its surface. The next instant—
“W-what is this…?”
She couldn’t help but stare in utter shock at the image floating within the orb. The holy knights shown inside were calmly discussing how best to kill her.
She continued watching the recording in a daze. By the time it ended, she had reached two clear conclusions.
Every holy knight in this recording is a traitor.
And every one of them—including those who had just died—were the same individuals who had been eliminated recently. The realization that all the knights assigned to protect her had been traitors sent a chill racing down her spine.
Gulp.
What was she supposed to do with this information? More importantly, who had saved her? A few names came to mind, yet none of them seemed the type to help while concealing their identity so completely.
Who on earth saved me?
She pondered it for a long moment, then shook her head firmly.
This is no time to be standing around.
She needed to report this to His Holiness the Pope at once. After all, not every traitor shown in the recording was necessarily dead yet.
I must tell him as quickly as possible.
Having organized her thoughts, she headed straight for the Pope—never realizing that the very person who had saved her was watching from afar.
As I watched the situation unfold, a satisfied smile rose to my lips. Miroel, who had been observing alongside me, spoke up.
“Yes. After preparing so thoroughly, it would be rather troublesome for me if things didn’t go according to plan.”
I had recorded the traitors’ entire conversation with the crystal orb. With the evidence handed to them on a silver platter, the Holy Church should be able to handle the rest on their own.
Then I suppose it’s time to deal with the last remaining piece—Chris.
I turned my steps toward the base where Chris was hiding.
At the same moment, Chris—the son of a Demon Army corps commander and a semi-executive officer—was clutching his head in frustration.
“Haah… Who the hell intervened? The academy?”
Everything had been proceeding perfectly. The academy’s unexpected visit under the pretext of experiential learning had been an annoyance, but he only needed to endure it for a few days. In two more days he could have finished his dispatch and joined his superior, Grillish.
Yet suddenly his collaborators—the so-called traitors among the holy knights—had all been killed yesterday. As a result, inquisitors were now locking down the entire city, making escape impossible.
On top of that, I’ve lost contact with several more.
The traitors assigned to guard the Saintess had gone silent. Under normal circumstances he might have brushed it off, but after yesterday’s incident he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
At least I did well to keep the remaining traitors here with me.
He didn’t know who the culprit was, but one thing was certain: their target was him. It was safer to stay with the traitors than to be alone.
Using them as bait wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
Just as he lifted the glass to his lips—
“Kyaaaaak!”
A sharp death cry pierced the air. Startled, he rushed out of the room, only to freeze at the sight before him.
“What… is this…?”
He had assumed an intruder would appear in front of the traitors and begin killing them. The screaming certainly suggested an attack. Yet the traitors were being slaughtered by arrows that simply appeared out of nowhere.
Sniping?
The thought occurred to him, but he quickly grew doubtful. This location was underground. There should have been no angle for a sniper. So why were they dying from arrows?
He couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.
This is no time to stand here dumbfounded.
Whatever was happening, if he stayed he would likely end up dead as well. At that exact moment—
-Vwoong!
A magic arrow formed right in front of him. Chris threw himself into a desperate roll, barely avoiding it.
Where is the sniper even shooting from?
Still questioning, he quietly activated presence detection. His eyes widened so far they looked ready to burst from their sockets.
Because—
They’re shooting from the surface?
Contrary to all logic, the arrows were coming from above ground.
I need to escape first and figure this out later.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, hell descended upon Chris.