The New Priest (1)
The Imperial Palace Audience Chamber. Unlike when I had been there before, this time a proper screen partition was installed.
Beyond it, on the throne, sat Empress Elise with an elegant and imposing air that felt completely different from our last encounter.
“Baron Antur. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
The urgent report had come from the southern rail line leading to the Academy. It detailed the extermination of a ghost train and the complete destruction of a cannibalistic cult village. The previous ghost train incident had only required track restoration and related repairs, so it hadn’t demanded much attention. But a village of cannibals that had persisted for decades? That would have been impossible without someone powerful covering for them.
“T-this is unfair! How could a noble ever neglect his sacred duties!”
In a world where demons, monsters, and things far worse actually existed, any claim that one human could be more noble than another had to come with responsibility. Nobles were obligated to exterminate any demons, monsters, or cultists marked by the Heavenly Day Church if they appeared in or near their territories.
Yet this bastard hadn’t just failed to hunt them down—he had joined hands with them and even helped them grow in power?
“I see. Very well. Bring it in!”
At Elise’s command, the doors of the audience chamber opened. A small one-person table was carried in, accompanied by a prepared meal. The taster was none other than Baron Antur himself. In the middle of determining his punishment, the sudden appearance of a meal left him bewildered, but he had no choice but to sit down.
“Many of the empire’s citizens—and even nobles—have died because of you, Baron.”
“Y-Your Majesty…”
“Eat first. You can listen while you eat.”
The meal prepared for the baron was steak. For a criminal who had been dragged here without proper food, it should have been a welcome sight. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to pick up the knife.
“Baron. I distinctly said to eat while listening.”
“The ingredients! What kind of meat is this…!”
“Haa…”
The moment Elise sighed, several of the Crows moved. They pried open the baron’s mouth and forcibly shoved the food inside.
“Ugh!”
While the Crows stuffed the meat down his throat, her indifferent voice settled over the audience chamber.
“If it were up to me, I would have stuffed him with the flesh of the victims. But everyone insisted that would be going too far.”
“Urk… ugh!”
“Still, you were blessed with a daughter and a wife, weren’t you?”
“……!”
As if she couldn’t hear the baron’s silent screams, Elise’s words continued without pause.
“Consider it an honor. Even so, I couldn’t ask an innocent chef to do such a thing, so I grilled it myself.”
“Aaaaagh! You demon! Our family has slain far more monsters than you ever could! If I hadn’t kept that village under control, it would have spread somewhere else!”
“Hmm. Keep talking.”
“We, who have supported this nation for generations, are the true masters of the empire—not those who bought their titles with money or those filthy commoners who are no better than insects!”
The world was changing so rapidly that even demons had begun to fear humanity’s progress. It was pathetic that someone still spouted such nonsense, but Elise did not interrupt him.
“That’s right! You won’t kill me! But that exorcist priest… I’ll at least—!”
Crack.
Elise had already stepped out from behind the screen. With a small gesture of her hand, the baron’s body was crushed flat as if squeezed in a press.
“Do not crush his head. We need to display it in the plaza as a warning.”
“Tsk.”
Elise, who had been about to stomp on the baron’s severed head that had rolled to her feet, turned at Albert’s words.
“What should we do with the baron’s daughter and wife?”
“Must I really instruct you on every little thing?”
The golden light in her eyes pierced through her veil. The other Crows couldn’t bear to look directly at it and immediately bowed their heads. Only Albert barely managed to endure.
“If they were mere thugs, I would leave it to your discretion. But since they are of noble blood…”
“Kill them. It would be a waste of money and time to deal with them.”
“As you command.”
“I plan to retire early tonight, so adjust the schedule accordingly.”
Since the criminal had been brought in immediately upon arrival, the sun was already setting. The maids hurriedly followed Elise as she passed the windows glowing with sunset light.
Normally she would have entered with the maids, changed clothes under their attendance, but today she wasn’t in the mood.
“I will prepare for bed alone tonight. No one is to enter.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Knowing her temperament, there was no hesitation. Once Elise entered her bedroom, two Crows disguised as maids took up guard positions while the remaining maids scattered to attend to their duties.
“Haa.”
The moment she entered the bedroom, Elise familiarly removed her clothes by herself. Now naked, she threw herself onto the bed.
The soft silk enveloped her body, but there was something that brought her even greater comfort. Just in case, a pillow wrapped in fabric embroidered with a portrait of Dante—with black hair and black eyes—lay there.
“If only those nobles resembled you even a little… it would have been so much easier.”
She hugged the pillow bearing his likeness. Inside it were even the clothes Dante had once worn.
“I miss you.”
With her mind growing calmer, she quietly surrendered herself to the approaching drowsiness. Until she woke the next morning, the pillow embroidered with Dante never once left her embrace.
“Hiiik!”
A sudden chill ran down my spine, and I let out an embarrassingly pathetic scream without thinking.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah. No, it’s nothing.”
“More importantly… we’re finally parting ways…”
“Yeah. Take care, Double.”
“It’s Leona! My name is Leona!”
“No. Until you defeat yourself, you’re still Double.”
This was my punishment for not telling her about the dual personality. It was a bit cruel, but I figured a clear condition like this was better than something vague.
“Can I really do it? Fiona is many times stronger than me…”
“I’ll drop by the Academy from time to time to check on you, so train hard.”
“Yes! You have to come! You absolutely must!”
She’d probably be sick of seeing me. Since I’d be staying right next door at the cathedral, if I didn’t see her, that would be a problem in its own way.
After parting with Leona, I wandered through Babylenia alone. The city had a highly developed feel, similar to the imperial capital. The cleanly paved roads and sewage systems prevented pollution, and unlike the neatly organized buildings that looked like a game of Tetris, the people living in Babylenia had quite unique vibes.
“Nothing but shady bastards everywhere.”
It wasn’t just the empire’s own talents. Since it was possible to receive an education in the strongest empire, prodigies from every nation flocked to the Academy. Whether they came as students or staff, as long as they could wedge their way in and secure a position, this place was perfect for gathering information.
I slipped away from the main streets into a deserted area and put on the necklace. Once there were no eyes on me, I transformed into my black-haired, black-eyed appearance and headed not for the Academy’s main building, but for the cathedral tucked away in a corner of the Academy grounds.
It was swarming with suspicious people, but at least it was peaceful. After dealing with that damned enrollment, a ghost train, and those bizarre cannibal bastards, even this level of peace felt like a blessing.
“Oh ho.”
The cathedral I arrived at wasn’t bad. I climbed the steps with a slightly excited heart, but I felt the gazes of female students coming down. When I glanced back, they quickly averted their eyes and hurried away, which left a bitter taste in my mouth.
After what happened with Leona, I had resolved not to misunderstand such things again. Shaking off the complicated feeling, I entered the cathedral.
“Hm?”
Since it was the day of the entrance ceremony, it made sense that there were no students or Academy staff in the cathedral. But the fact that not a single nun or priest was visible was strange.
“Hmm.”
I had a bad feeling. Come to think of it, if they simply needed an exorcist priest’s combat ability, they could have just used one of the Academy’s security guards. Sending an internal cathedral priest here was odd.
It couldn’t be. I hoped it wasn’t as I wandered around inside the cathedral. There was still some time before the entrance ceremony, so a few people who looked like new students came by, but strangely, most of them left without saying a word.
“The chief priest should be here. Where the hell is that bastard?”
Even if the regular priests and nuns were missing, the person in charge had to be present. I unpacked my things and searched every corner of the cathedral, but I couldn’t even find his shadow.
“Priest! Chief Priest, are you there?”
Since anyone coming would arrive through the main entrance, I sat down roughly to wait. That was when someone came looking for the chief priest.
“Priest…?”
“Hello. I’m Abel, the newly assigned priest.”
“Ah! Have you seen the chief priest by any chance?”
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen him either.”
“I’m sorry to trouble you, but every year during the entrance ceremony, we always listen to the priests’ benediction. The chief priest promised to do it this year too, but he’s nowhere to be seen…”
Don’t trail off and look at me like that, you devil!
“So, could I possibly ask you a favor?”
“W-well…”
If it had been my real self, I would have told her to piss off right to her face. But right now I was clearly just a regular priest.
“Please. It really must be done.”
“Haa. Fine, I understand.”
I wanted to ignore her, but it seemed I’d have to go with her if I wanted to ask about the chief priest.
“What kind of person is the chief priest?”
Since I’ve been stuck with this dogshit job, at least give me the necessary information.
“He’s a good person who gets along well with the students.”
“Then why don’t I see any other priests or nuns? Did something happen?”
“For some reason, they never last long and all end up leaving.”
After the pilgrimage where apprentice priests and nuns travel around the empire, very few leave their first official posting. Even if the cathedral disappears, they stay to protect the people there and prevent collapse, even if it means living in a shabby tent. At least, that’s how it is for proper priests. Even the improper ones usually stay because they have connections in the area.
“That’s strange. Most of my juniors don’t leave their first assignments.”
“Right? Thanks to that, the only priest in our cathedral is the chief priest.”
In that case, the main order should have kept sending reinforcements. Or perhaps they had determined there was a problem and dispatched an inquisitor.
Ah!
“That damn old bastard…”
“Pardon?”
“Ah. It’s nothing.”
When the Academy staff member guiding me from the front turned around, I quickly covered it up.
I had thought something felt off. No matter how much the damned old man had eaten from the Pope, it was strange that he would send me—the one who smashed demon heads better than anyone—here.
“Haa.”
In the end, standing in front of the new students seated in the enormous auditorium, the first thing that came out of me was a sigh.
Let’s at least make sure I don’t swear out loud.