The Holy Relic Knows the Answer (2)
The Holy Relic Knows the Answer (2)
When I mentioned the Inquisitor, the cardinal reacted as if he'd realized I had noticed something I shouldn't have.
That was only to be expected—Inquisitors operated covertly by default.
The world only knew they existed; few knew how they actually went about their work.
Flora and I had picked up on it in an instant.
I had no intention of revealing how we'd caught on, of course.
Telling him would gain us nothing, and who would believe it came down to behavior, habits, an assassin's instincts?
So I planned to use the situation as a weapon.
I savored the tea unhurriedly as I answered the question.
"We spotted them from the cathedral entrance. They followed us steadily right up until we met the archbishop."
"Followed you…? What exactly do you mean?"
"To be precise, it was more like surveillance."
At the word surveillance, the cardinal's expression grew grave, as if he couldn't quite believe it.
"They aren't supposed to be used for personal matters…"
That remark told me something was amiss.
It meant someone was keeping me under watch for private purposes.
I would also need to take care not to draw the Inquisitor's attention myself.
I decided to pass that on to Flora as well.
The cardinal stroked his long, flowing beard, then slowly parted his lips.
"Given the caliber of person it takes to notice them, might I suggest we let this matter rest quietly?"
"And what would you do if I declined?"
I had seized control of the conversation, so I pressed him.
I meant to push and pull slowly, to secure an advantage.
If luck was on my side, I might even uncover the Order's darker side.
Still, there was no reason for me to wade into the mud myself.
What I was after was a card I could play against the Order down the line.
That was how I could get ahead at the negotiating table.
But Cardinal Elion turned out to be a far more devout man than I'd expected.
"As I said before, using them for personal purposes is a transgression. They are the shield that guards the Calde Order, not hunting hounds."
A darker side? The man was a clergyman through and through.
He clenched his fist—probably thinking I had blasphemed against the Goddess.
"I will take responsibility and look into this myself."
"Are you sure that's wise?"
He even showed a willingness to take the initiative personally.
"There have been those who attempted to exploit such things politically and were excommunicated. With a high position comes responsibility. May I inform you of the results at a later date?"
"Of course."
I would have to amend my earlier thought.
He was a clergyman through and through, and one who did not overstep.
The cardinal set down his teacup and inquired gently.
"Returning to the beginning. What is the reason you wished to meet with me, Sir Karon?"
"A problem has arisen in the slums."
"…Please, elaborate."
His expression grew as serious as it had when I'd brought up the Inquisitor.
First, I confirmed the Order's side of things by bringing up the Habel Head.
"Is the Order aware that the Habel Head has been operating in the slums?"
"We are, naturally. We've even assigned an Inquisitor to accompany him before, due to security concerns."
The Inquisitor came up even here.
That would speed things along.
I handed the cardinal the information I possessed.
"Demons have secretly infiltrated the slum the Habel Head visits each time."
"Can that be true?"
"Yes. This information came from dealing with Demons."
The cardinal's eyes went wide, as if he couldn't believe it.
I could practically feel the profound dismay radiating from him.
Times like these called for driving the point home beyond any doubt.
"This is a crest that one of them had on him."
I placed the crest I'd obtained from a Demon onto the table.
The cardinal picked it up with trembling hands.
"Isn't this a crest used only within the slums? And yet I can feel Demonic Energy from it…"
He let out a deep sigh and shut his eyes tight.
He seemed to be making a supreme effort to quell his anger.
He quietly stroked the rosary hanging around his neck, then asked in a voice noticeably colder than before.
"Allow me one question, Sir Karon."
"Ask whatever you wish."
"I do not know much about who you are. I have only what I've heard secondhand from Lehior."
I gave a slow nod. The cardinal continued.
"That you are a capable mage sent by the Imperial Court, currently serving as an outside instructor at the Academy."
Nothing the cardinal said was incorrect.
And at the end of it, he reached a firm conclusion.
"For someone like that to come to me alone must mean there is something that only I can do."
"Exactly."
Then the cardinal met my eyes.
The skin around his eyes might have been lined with fine wrinkles, but his gaze was sharp and bright.
He was likely trying to determine if I was telling him lies.
"Can this old man trust you?"
"You will not regret it."
Our methods differed, but our objective—to kill Demons—aligned perfectly.
At my reply, his face filled with conviction.
"Sir Karon, please, go on."
That settled all the groundwork.
All that remained was to assemble the board I had designed.
I moved the bargain forward at a rapid pace.
"Let's proceed under the premise that this matter was carried out on your initiative, Cardinal. What do you think?"
"Why do you wish to exclude yourself, Sir Karon?"
"There is a somewhat sensitive issue involved."
Rather than probe further, the cardinal simply nodded in acceptance.
Belonging to the Imperial Court was a considerable advantage—I could deflect vaguely and still get away with it.
Riding that momentum, I leaned forward slightly.
"For that reason, I won't be accepting any help from the Inquisitor. I would appreciate your understanding on this."
"In other words, you intend to act alone. Are you certain that's acceptable?"
"There won't be a problem."
That held several layers of meaning.
'Can you handle the Demons alone?'
'What will you do if the plan fails?'
With Demons and human lives at stake, he couldn't help but be anxious about it.
The cardinal would naturally want this handled with certainty.
But for this matter, operating alone was far more convenient for me.
It wasn't a difficult task, and if I got tangled up with an Inquisitor I couldn't control, it would become troublesome.
If he took a hard line, I was prepared to disclose an incident the Order had quietly buried.
It was something Alcyone had reported, so there wasn't an ounce of falsehood in it.
Just as I was idly tapping my thigh and organizing my next move, the cardinal, who'd been weighing the matter for a long while, finally spoke.
"Your competence is already confirmed, so I won't waste words. If there are any accommodations or supplies the Order should provide, name them."
A clean success.
Straight away, I requested an item I could only obtain here.
"Something of the kind an Inquisitor would receive, if you please."
The cardinal nodded readily.
"In that case, I shall prepare Holy Water for you. It will provide ample assistance in subduing Demons."
"No. I'd like to receive something more definitive."
At that, the cardinal tilted his head quizzically.
He was trying to work out what item I had in mind.
Then, as if he'd grasped the answer, he asked in a trembling voice.
"Surely, you don't mean that?"
I answered with a smile no less radiant than the Saintess's.
"I surely do."
"…"
The item I wanted was a Holy Relic.
An Artifact surpassing even Holy Water—with just this one thing, I could send most any Demon off to the side of Goddess Calde.
It was a truly outstanding piece of equipment in terms of performance.
Apparently, the request came as a shock; the cardinal pressed firmly against his forehead.
"Are you planning to subjugate one of the Four Great Demons?"
"If I acted on my feelings, I'd like nothing more right this moment."
"Then what in the world do you intend to…"
"I intend to make those bastards repent, if only a little."
That single line served brilliantly as a firebreak, completely shifting the atmosphere.
The cardinal, who'd been dead serious until just a moment ago, burst out laughing.
"Very well. I like that ambition."
And so, I'd managed the feat of winning his approval, however slight.
I myself was half in earnest, so I merely shrugged.
"I'll fetch the Holy Relic. Please wait just a moment."
The cardinal left his office, and not long afterward, he returned carrying a small wooden box.
With great care, he set the wooden box down on the table.
On the surface, it was plain—no ornamentation, no crests.
And yet, contrary to its humble appearance, he handled it with extreme caution.
The cardinal stressed the precautions for the Holy Relic.
"I will say this again and again: a Holy Relic must be treated with reverence. Do you understand?"
"Of course. I will take it to heart."
Only after I'd answered him several more times did he finally hold out the wooden box.
"Take it."
It had taken an incredibly long time for a Holy Relic to fall into my hands.
This was my first time seeing one in person.
My heart pounding like a child receiving a birthday gift, I opened the lid.
A cry of wonder slipped out before I could stop it.
"Huh. I hadn't expected it would be like this."
Inside the wooden box lay a rosary that felt deeply aged, as if it had weathered long, long years.
Even though I wasn't well-versed in Divine Power, I could feel how extraordinary it was. It was unmistakably a Holy Relic.
I was staring at it blankly when the cardinal cleared his throat and stressed the precautions one more time.
"If anything goes wrong with the Holy Relic, our next meeting may well take place in the Inquisition Court."
"Then you, Cardinal, having boarded the same ship, would be there by my side."
"Precisely why I implore you—please, I beg of you."
This was hugely important on a practical level.
He was saying that if things went terribly wrong, we'd all go down together, so please, for the love of everything, handle it properly.
Naturally, I had absolutely no desire for that, since I wanted to finish my sentence and live quietly.
I was sick to death of the idea of playing tag with the Inquisitor for the rest of my life.
Then, the cardinal, as if suddenly curious about how I intended to use the Holy Relic, asked me cautiously.
"Might you tell me what you plan to do with the Holy Relic?"
"It's simple. The Holy Relic knows the answer."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that…?"
The cardinal's expression betrayed his confusion.
His tilted head and furrowed brow stood as proof of his bewilderment.
I brushed it aside, telling him it was a good thing and leaving it at that.
"What's certain is that the Goddess will be pleased."
"Hmm, well, if that's the case…"
I absolutely couldn't tell him the truth.
How could I possibly explain my plan to use the Divine Power contained in the Holy Relic to turn water into Holy Water, because the Holy Water the Order provides is pitifully insufficient?
Putting it nicely, I'd be holding a Confession session with the Demons. My original intent was to waterboard them with 100% pure Holy Water and extract information.
If I'd said that, the Holy Relic would have been confiscated on the spot.
So I decided to leave the cardinal to his own contemplations.
Eventually, his thoughts would circle around and land on the purpose of protecting the Habel Head.
As I'd expected, the cardinal, unable to grasp what I'd hinted at, wore a worried expression as he murmured.
"May the protection of Goddess Calde be with you."