Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Fallen Sun
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Pushing past the nuns, I stepped forward, and they hurriedly rushed past me to block the entrance.
With their arms linked together, their resolute stance made it clear they had no intention of letting me pass. It felt less like conviction and more like hatred.
"Step aside."
Even after my heavy warning not to force my hand, they refused to budge.
"We can't do that."
Was it because they served the gods?
I could clearly sense their firm resolve that they would never yield, but unfortunately.
Those who don't bend usually end up breaking.
"Pindenai."
As if she'd been waiting for my call, Pindenai immediately approached with her axe in hand.
"Our nuns are lucky, in a way."
She grinned, swinging the axe through the air with a whoosh—whoosh. Her killing intent seemed utterly genuine, no matter how you looked at it.
"If they die, God will take them, right? Makes it easy to kill without any hesitation."
It was a very Pindenai-like way of thinking, but for now, it was conveniently steering the situation in the right direction.
"Anyway, one of you is disguised as a demon, isn't she? If you all die together amicably, we'll find out who the demon is."
Pindenai meant it as she strode forward to butcher them, and the nuns began trembling violently while closing their eyes and starting their prayers.
I had to respect their will.
Their faith-born resolve to resist despite their fear was surely rooted in their devotion.
I had no intention of killing them, but Pindenai's actions were proving effective enough, so I planned to watch for a bit longer.
"Wait!"
The abbess, who had been standing at the center of the nuns, clenched her fists tightly, her face twisted in frustration, and stepped forward.
"Very well. I'll guide you. But please, don't harm the girls."
"M-Mother Abbess!"
"But that's...!"
"Quiet, all of you. No god would want to lose you here."
"......"
Surprised by her unexpected response, Pindenai glanced back at me. She shrugged her shoulders in disappointment but withdrew her killing intent.
Without responding to the abbess, I proceeded through the path she had opened into the convent.
The interior was remarkably clean.
It had the cozy feel of a small brick house that was always meticulously maintained.
From the entrance onward, prayers to the gods were inscribed alongside a firm declaration that this was holy ground.
"A demon has entered the sanctuary."
I phrased it as an irony, but it must have felt like an insult, as the abbess guided me with heavy, thudding footsteps.
"Don't enter any other areas. Just follow me."
The abbess ascended the stairs. The nuns tried to follow from behind, but this time Pindenai blocked the door and kept them in check.
"One of you is a demon, right? Stay put, all of you. If anyone moves now, I'll start by cleaving heads."
With her menacing declaration and axe at the ready, the nuns could only gulp nervously, unable to react.
"It's fine, everyone. Just stay still and you won't die."
Iluania tried offering awkward comfort from the side with a smile, but it didn't seem very effective.
"How barbaric!"
The abbess ground her teeth upon seeing this, but I merely jerked my chin, signaling to move forward.
[Can you feel it? There's no demonic aura inside at all.]
I gave a small nod at the Black Necromancer's words as she followed. Indeed, the chilling demonic presence that had echoed so eerily from outside was completely absent within the convent.
[For them to pull off this kind of trick, it must be a real high-ranking demon.]
The Black Necromancer placed a hand on my shoulder, tense. I felt no physical sensation, but I could sense her trembling transmitting to me.
At the very top of the Elia Convent.
Where the stairs ended, there were two doors.
One led to the attic we'd seen from outside.
The other was a small door reminiscent of a skylight leading to the rooftop.
They shared one common feature.
Both were locked with padlocks.
The attic door especially had an enormous, sturdy-looking padlock that seemed fit for a precious treasure chest.
But the abbess's expression upon showing it was utterly grim.
She held her hand to the candle placed beside the attic door.
A flame the size of a fingernail rose from the tip of her thin, wrinkled finger, lighting the candle and illuminating the dark staircase.
"Open it."
"...You must promise me something first."
I wondered what now, but this time even the abbess's plea carried genuine desperation, so I couldn't ignore it.
"Please, do not speak of the person inside to anyone outside. This isn't... just my selfish desire. It's for the sake of the entire Griffin Kingdom."
"Quite grand."
But it was a request laced with that much earnestness. Tears welled in the abbess's eyes as she knelt and clutched at my trouser leg.
"Please! I beg you. The one inside must remain a secret until the moment I die. If you are the one chosen by His Majesty and trusted by Saintess Lucia, you'll understand the weight of my words!"
"Hoo, fine."
"Also! Please don't become too engrossed in conversation with her. This is... advice for your own sake."
[I'm curious.]
The Black Necromancer, about to pass through the door to check inside first, was suddenly repelled.
[Kyaa!]
She let out a girlish shriek as she was flung back. It wasn't just a push; faint smoke rose from her body, indicating she'd taken damage.
'This...'
I involuntarily swallowed hard as I watched the startled Black Necromancer compose herself.
It meant the person inside was no ordinary being.
The abbess slowly rose and produced a key she'd kept hidden in her bosom.
The old key creaked as it slid into the padlock, and with a click, the lock came undone smoothly.
"I'll... wait outside."
Eyes tightly shut, hands clasped in prayer, the abbess began her devotions.
I slowly grasped the doorknob and entered.
The interior smelled vibrantly fresh, making it hard to call it an attic.
With the outside so dark, the lamp-lit room was far brighter than the stairs, devoid of the dim, gloomy atmosphere I'd imagined.
A modestly made bed.
And on that bed sat a woman in nun's robes.
Her dull blonde hair cascaded unreservedly from her shoulders down to her chest.
She must have been a woman of striking beauty.
But there was no way to confirm it.
White bandages covered her eyes.
Her left arm and both legs appeared severed.
With her remaining right hand, she clutched a rosary of Goddess Hertia as if it were precious.
At the sound of the door opening, she turned toward me and smiled faintly.
"A guest has arrived."
Her voice warmed the heart.
It was a rare experience—someone offering comfort with mere words.
It was truly divine.
Truly beautiful.
And thus, perilously fragile.
She greeted me, seeming as if she might shatter at the slightest touch.
"Hello, I'm Stella."
A woman left only with the bare name Stella, stripped of any surname.
I'd never seen her in person, but of course I'd heard the name.
No need to dredge up memories. She was far too famous on this continent.
There cannot be two suns on the continent.
When one sun rises, regrettably, the other must set.
She was the continent's sun that had set.
The woman who had received the love of the gods.
The Saintess.
More precisely.
The predecessor to the current Saintess, Lucia Saint.
The retired former Saintess.
My body stiffened.
I instantly understood why the abbess had trembled and begged so desperately.
If word got out that the Saintess who had comforted the continent had ended up in such a horrific state, it must never be known.
If tales spread that the gods had abandoned their most beloved woman, their faith would turn to doubt.
"It's been a while since a male guest visited, hasn't it?"
"Yeah."
As I answered flatly and moved to close the door, Stella smiled faintly and made a request.
"I'm sorry, but could we speak alone?"
"......"
Her head turned toward the Black Necromancer. Even without sight, she'd pinpointed her exactly.
[I-I'll wait outside.]
"Yeah."
The flustered Black Necromancer was politely ushered out, and only then did I close the door.
Thud.
"A kind ghost."
Her smile held no falsehood. To wear such an innocent expression in her condition was impressive even to me.
But precisely because of that, I had no intention of asking about it.
"Three nuns from this convent were sacrificed in a demon summoning."
"......"
"Have you heard anything about it?"
"Hee hee."
Stella covered her mouth with her remaining right hand and laughed.
"How kind. Most would first ask why I'm like this."
"I don't make a hobby of dredging up others' painful stories. So, do you know anything?"
"Oh, yes."
With a playful smile, Stella replied.
"I know there's a demon hiding in this convent, and I know why it came."
My brow furrowed slightly.
She'd answered my question all too easily.
"Because of me."
"Because of you?"
When I asked again, Stella pulled at the collar of her nun's robes to reveal her left hand. The stump, severed even at the elbow, was wrapped in bandages.
"This too."
This time, she lifted her skirt to show her leg. I'd assumed it was severed like the arm, but no.
It was shriveled like a rotten tree root, blackened and withered.
No, it was something too wretched to call a leg. It evoked the image of a wrung-out, desiccated towel.
"And this."
Finally, Stella pointed to her bandaged eyes.
"These eyes too."
Then, placing a hand on her head, she grinned mischievously.
"One more, but that's a secret."
"A secret?"
"Oh, nothing to worry about. More importantly, do you understand what these mean?"
She spoke as if it were trivial, but her next words were shocking.
"They're wounds inflicted by demons on me after my holy power vanished."
"......"
"Do you know? Holy power can only exist in one person on this continent. If the gods took it from me, the next person ascends as Saintess."
But they bear no responsibility after that.
The reason she'd exterminated countless demons and banished evil spirits during her tenure as Saintess was solely that holy power.
Once it was gone.
The demons harboring grudges against her had swarmed in, reducing her to this.
"This demon might have come for my right hand."
Her last remaining right hand. I couldn't help but exhale bitterly.
But it made sense.
The demon had answered the summoning without sacrifices to exact revenge on her.
It lingering hidden here also fell into place.
"How about it?"
"...What?"
She shrugged as if she knew everything.
"Can you protect me from the demon?"
For the first time, a faint desperation colored her calm voice.
Though her eyes couldn't see, I hardened my expression and answered.
"I have no intention of protecting you."
"Hee hee."
"But I do intend to ensure the demon can't act any further."
"Dependable."
Stella's shoulders relaxed calmly. She replied with relief tinged with a hint of regret.
"You probably can't find it right away, huh?"
"Yeah, the demon's hidden quite cleverly."
"Hmm, then I'll see you tomorrow."
Her wistful tone stirred an odd unease in me. As if the misfortunes befalling her weren't over yet.
"Unfortunately, that's all for now."
She didn't even ask my name, instead asking me to leave.
I gripped the doorknob tightly, lips pressed, then released it and asked.
"Does His Majesty know about this?"
"King Operth? Of course not. I asked the church to tell him I'm living well, tending a farm somewhere."
I frowned at her answer.
"King Operth has passed away. His son, Orpheus, now rules Griffin."
Stella covered her mouth with her right hand and chuckled softly.
"I didn't know."
I grasped the doorknob again and stepped out bitterly.
She stood there blankly, head turned toward me despite her blindness.
Thud.
The door closed. The abbess still prayed, and the Black Necromancer watched me with a worried expression.
I sighed and said.
"Keep what you saw of her secret. But I'll need to meet her again tomorrow."
She seemed to hold endless information. She might even know the demon's identity.
But the abbess replied bitterly.
"Probably... it won't be much different from today."
At the time, I didn't know what she meant.
* * *
The next day.
When I returned to the rooftop to see Stella again.
"A guest has arrived."
She greeted me with the exact same words as yesterday.
"Hello, I'm Stella."
Word for word, without a single mistake, precisely as before.
"It's been a while since a male guest visited, hasn't it?"
Only then did I understand the abbess's words.
Why she said it wouldn't be different from yesterday.
Why she warned me not to become too engrossed in conversation with Stella.
Why Stella had said "Unfortunately, that's all" instead of "see you tomorrow."
And what the final demon curse was that Stella called a secret.
"Now."
It was the first time.
Truly the first time my voice trembled so fiercely.
"Who is the king ruling the Griffin Kingdom?"
I needed confirmation.
To be sure my suspicion was correct.
And Stella laughed as if it were out of the blue and answered.
"King Operth, of course."
The former Saintess Stella.
Her time was trapped like a broken clock, endlessly looping the same moment.