Black Mage (1)
If one asked who humanity’s greatest enemy was, every person would answer without a moment’s hesitation: the demonkin.
They were beings that threatened the very survival of mankind. They had even driven the world to the brink of annihilation more than once, so of course the demonkin stood as the ultimate, most terrible foe imaginable.
But if one asked whether the Church’s greatest enemy was likewise the demonkin, the answer would have to be far more ambiguous.
Of course the demonkin were humanity’s primary enemy, and therefore a troublesome opponent for a Church that devoted itself to protecting mankind. That much was true.
Yet the Church had a different representative enemy of its own.
Beings who openly raised the banner of rebellion against the Goddess’s will.
The black mages.
The moment I arrived at the Holy See I headed straight for the Pope’s office. There were simply too many things I needed to ask.
Fortunately, His Holiness was still at his desk.
“Is it true that traces of a black mage have been found in the capital?”
“It is. How little must they think of the Church to dare hide right in the capital…”
The usual gentleness was gone from the Pope’s face as he spoke. It would not have been an exaggeration to say a faint murderous light smoldered in his eyes.
Well, I could understand how he felt. The capital contained the Holy See itself—the very headquarters of the Church—sitting there in plain sight.
Common sense said no black mage would ever set foot near the Holy See. It wasn’t as though there were only one or two Holy Knights specialized in hunting them.
Yet that very thing beyond common sense had actually happened. Of course it was absurd. When I first heard the report I thought it was some kind of April Fool’s joke.
Unfortunately it was no joke. Not only the forces that had gone to the front, but every Holy Knight stationed throughout the Empire had been urgently recalled to the Holy See.
All so they could find and root out the black mage hiding in the capital as quickly as possible.
That was why I myself had been summoned earlier than planned. A celebration? As if there would be one.
“I am deeply sorry for inconveniencing you, Saintess, over a matter that concerns the prestige of the Church.”
“It’s fine. This is something that must be done. I’m more worried that the Holy Knights who suffered on the battlefield can’t get any rest.”
“I am aware of that as well. That is why I intend to guarantee them at least some rest through shifts.”
Well, I said that, but most of the Holy Knights probably had no desire to rest at all.
Could Holy Knights—for whom fanaticism was basically a passive skill—simply accept that a black mage was lurking near the Holy See? They absolutely could not stay still.
I was more worried they would forgo rest entirely and volunteer for the search themselves, so that said everything that needed saying.
Anyway, once the Holy Knights began hunting the black mage, it would not take long to catch their trail.
There was no one better at catching black mages than Holy Knights.
“…Your Holiness? I have one request.”
How long has it been since you came back from the battlefield, and you’re already looking for more trouble?
“Because no matter how I look at it, something’s off.”
A black mage who had survived this long while dodging the Church’s eyes was not stupid. It was more accurate to say they possessed intelligence above that of ordinary people.
Such a black mage had snuck into the capital, where the Church’s influence was strongest? The possibilities I could think of were only two: either they had gone mad from research, or they had some scheme in mind.
And nine times out of ten, the latter was far more likely.
The Holy Knights will handle that on their own. Why do you have to stick your nose in?
“Good heavens. Are you seriously saying we should just leave everything to the Holy Knights and sit around eating and playing? It’s not like we lack the power to help them.”
After saying that I clamped both hands over my mouth as if I had been struck by lightning—exactly the expression one would wear after hearing something only the scum of humanity would utter.
That’s not what I meant.
Even if I’m worried about you, how can you react like that?
“It was a joke. A joke. I have my reasons. If we leave everything entirely to the Holy Knight Order, there’s a real chance we never find out what the black mage is after. You know how they are—Holy Knights have a bit of that fanatic flavor.”
That’s true enough.
“If we leave it completely to them, they might just slaughter everyone without caring about schemes or intentions. And right now the Holy Knights are pretty worked up.”
The Bombardment Fairy had already seen the knights itching to smash the black mage’s skull the instant one appeared, so it had nothing left to say.
We needed to learn the black mage’s intentions. But the very people who would uncover those intentions were half in a rampage. Even the Pope was having trouble holding their reins—that said everything.
In this situation, the only person who could reasonably be expected to hold those reins was one: me, the one called the Goddess’s incarnation.
“Knowing that, the Pope granted my request. He expects me to act as a brake on the Holy Knights.”
When I see things like this I can’t help but admire how well that head of yours works.
“Could I catch the Demon King if I were simple-minded? Anyway, this is also a chance for you to properly see the outside world. You should be the one begging me to get involved.”
Don’t tell me you calculated even that when you made the request to the Pope…?
Of course I hadn’t. That thought had only just occurred to me.
But the Bombardment Fairy had no way of looking inside my head, so if I brazenly claimed it, my evaluation would rise exactly as I said.
There was no reason not to lie.
“Isn’t that obvious?”
For the first time, my master actually looks like a proper master.
“…I have a lot I could say about that in many ways, but I’ll just let it go.”
Does something break out if it simply speaks nicely for once?
Anyway, that was how I ended up joining the Holy Knight Order’s black-mage search. That didn’t mean I could wander around alone, of course.
After walking for a while I tilted my head slightly and looked back.
“So that’s how it is. I’ll be counting on you again this time.”
I smiled brightly at Andreus as I spoke. He returned an awkward smile of his own.
“…Lately it seems I have been looking after the Saintess more than my own daughter.”
…Ah. Come to think of it, at Andreus’s age he would already be married with children. So I had been working a family man that hard?
Suddenly my conscience began to prick me. …I should probably cut down on the training time with Andreus a little from now on.
“Anyway, how is the search for the black mage conducted?”
“Basically it is no different from searching for a criminal. However, unlike ordinary criminals, black mages can erase their traces with magic, so the search is far more difficult.”
“…So that means we can’t find them?”
“Instead, after magic is used, something called a mana trail remains for a certain time. A black mage’s mana trail has the property of repelling when it meets holy power.”
The Church called that “the end of one branded with the stigma.” The moment a person laid hands on black magic even once, they carried that property for life—so it was a rather fitting expression.
“Ah, so you spread holy power widely to find the black mage’s mana trail?”
“Precisely. The moment they use magic to hide their traces, a mana trail remains. If they do not use magic, ordinary traces remain. Once a black mage’s tail is caught, they can never escape the Holy Knights’ encirclement.”
I see. Having heard such a useful explanation, I found myself nodding naturally.
Then all I needed to do was walk around the capital continuously spreading overflowing holy power.
Since I never lacked holy power anyway, I figured I could easily do the work of two people or more.
……Ah. Right.
“…But I don’t know how to spread holy power widely.”
Of course it was a problem that could be solved by learning, yet an ominous premonition settled over me.
It felt exactly like the time I had been unable to learn either recovery techniques or body-enhancement techniques…
“It is not particularly difficult. As long as one can use holy power, it is a technique that can definitely be learned. I shall teach you at once.”
“Ah, yes!”
Right. There’s no way I can’t do this either, is there? No matter what. It’s an essential technique for catching the Church’s main enemy—and the Saintess can’t use it?
Even if the world itself is out to get me, that would be going too far!
And thirty minutes later.
“…Andreus?”
“…Yes, Saintess.”
“Maybe I wasn’t actually the Saintess? Maybe I’m just a bombardment junkie who thinks she’s the Saintess?”
When I completely lost my mind and uttered the words “bombardment junkie”—something a Saintess would never say—Andreus’s face went pale with shock and he immediately tried to correct me.
“Saintess?! That is not true!”
“No, otherwise there’s no way I wouldn’t know how to do anything except bombard!!”
Or did I set a massive flag and get betrayed because I expected success? Is that really what happened?
Thus my expectation that I could do the work of two people or more crumbled far too quickly.
“…It seems we’ve been tailed by the Holy Knights.”
Don’t worry. I have a plan.
“Understood. Then———”