Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Midterm Exam (4)
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[ “Should I call you Demon, sir?” ]
“······.”
The Saintess had recognized me.
It was different from Cigarette's case. This wasn't guesswork or suspicion.
Ortella's words carried a strong conviction, as if she had seen me with her own eyes.
[ “W-what are you talking about······.” ]
Roel tried to play innocent for the moment, but Ortella simply smiled.
That smile was a wordless reply. A resounding no way.
Simple denial wouldn't overturn her certainty.
“Jeez······.”
This was the second time my existence had been recognized.
Of course, even if my identity was exposed now, it wouldn't change much. By this point, most people already knew about Roel's “abnormality.”
But the one doing the recognizing was the Saintess. That made things different.
[ “Don't worry, Roel. I'm just here to save you.” ]
[ “Me?” ]
[ “Yes, you. I came for 'other business'······ but wouldn't it be nice to resolve this while I'm at it?” ]
Roel was currently one of the people closest to becoming a Hero at the Academy.
If the Saintess testified that a Demon had possessed such a Cadet, the Church would never stay silent.
They'd surely mobilize every means and every resource to exorcise me.
It was only natural—for the sake of a future Hero.
Since I wasn't a real demon, I wouldn't actually get exorcised, but all the stress from the process would fall on Roel.
That couldn't happen. I couldn't let the protagonist's growth grind to a halt over something so pointless.
“······What do I do.”
If worst came to worst, I planned to fully possess her.
I wasn't sure if my direct intervention would solve it, though.
[ “I can tell you're anxious.” ]
[ “······Me?” ]
[ “Both of you. I can't see what others see, but in exchange, I can see what others can't.” ]
Ortella looked right at me.
It felt like true eye contact. For a moment, I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
Is the Saintess really a saintess?
[ “I'll remove what's dwelling inside you.” ]
[ “Huh? W-wait a second.” ]
[ “Don't worry. It won't hurt or anything.” ]
[ “I'm fine!!” ]
Roel practically shouted it.
Ortella flinched in surprise for an instant, then composed herself and asked a question.
[ “Why? There's nothing good about living with something like a demon.” ]
[ “M-many reasons.” ]
Roel began rambling off my merits one by one.
[ “For starters, it's never boring, it helps out a ton, I got stronger because of it, it saves me from danger······.” ]
Ortella stared in bewilderment at the blatantly biased claims.
[ “······Just hearing it makes me doubt whether it's really a demon.” ]
[ “Right?!” ]
[ “Even so, what's inside you is a demon.” ]
Ortella declared it in a stern voice.
[ “That's how demons are. They pretend to be friendly to let your guard down, then reveal their true nature at the most crucial moment.” ]
[ “But······.” ]
[ “I called you here hoping you wouldn't end up that way. It might already be too late, though.” ]
A small sigh escaped her.
Ortella's gaze, which had been slightly downward, began to rise slowly.
[ “No helping it. I'll have to force it out.” ]
[ “······Huh?” ]
In that instant, Ortella's eyes gleamed with light.
Pupils that seemed capable of devouring any “evil” stared straight at Roel.
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[External intrusion detected.]
[Repel the target.]
「Protect the good and eradicate evil.」
The Church's “first doctrine” took the form of rewarding virtue and punishing vice.
Because it was the most obvious truth of all, it was truth itself.
「Those who torment others will pay the price without fail.」
Humans had received the gift of life from the Creator.
They could walk the earth and breathe. They could feel anger or sorrow.
Life itself, and human emotions—they were all privileges bestowed by God.
Thinking of that grace alone meant they must not shame Him.
Thus, evil was evil, and good was good.
“Saintess, here are the sinners who arrived today.”
Saintess Ortella's blessing existed to uphold that doctrine.
It was a value she must never forget, even if it blinded her.
“Your sins run deep. Your 'penance' is death.”
Three counts of murder and five counts of robbery.
Ortella reached out and caressed the sinner's cheek.
Did this man choose to become a sinner of his own will? Or did the world make him so?
Either way, God would not take the sinner's side.
Pitiful soul······.
“P-please... s-spare me······.”
Ortella could not perceive light, but in exchange, she saw other things.
Karma.
Emotions.
Thoughts.
Good and evil.
“Please, just give me one chance······.”
He pleaded in genuine terror, but no “good” bloomed in his heart.
There was no mercy for one who knew no remorse.
Ortella passed the sinner by.
“No, ah, aaah, aaah!!”
That sinner haunted her dreams for a time, replaying his final death throes.
Days like that continued afterward.
Sorting sinners. Having bad dreams.
They said repetition dulled anything. Before long, Ortella learned not to show her emotions or thoughts.
“Here's today's schedule.”
It was fine to wear down.
As long as she never lost her “value” until the end, any state was acceptable.
She repeated that vow every day.
She only hoped this wouldn't dull.
“Off to the Academy.”
“What's the occasion?”
“A sinner interrogation is scheduled. Seems he uses powerful mental attacks, so no one but the Saintess can handle it.”
“Understood.”
The Academy's atmosphere was better than expected.
They'd had a demon attack recently, but everyone seemed lively enough.
“By the way, the midterm exam is today. Shall we go watch?”
“I'd like that······ but I'm worried it might disrupt the test.”
“It'll be fine. There are spectators even without the Saintess.”
Most of the Academy Cadets were around Ortella's age.
She was curious.
How did other kids her age live? What did they learn? Who did they compete with?
“Let's go.”
She took the highest seat the Academy had prepared for her.
It felt burdensome, but maybe this was for the best.
Everyone would be looking down, so being up high meant she wouldn't draw unnecessary attention.
She watched the match with a more relaxed mind.
Ah, of course, “watching” the match was impossible for Ortella.
But she could at least perceive it.
She read the thoughts of the two on the arena floor. That was enough to grasp the situation.
“······?”
One odd thing: two voices emanated from the blonde girl.
Ortella focused her eyes. She heightened the activation of her blessing.
“Who is that······?”
It was serious.
A jet-black “evil” she'd never seen before had taken root in one corner of Roel's heart.
It looked externally attached.
To put it in words, it was exactly like a demon.
A sense of duty welled up, like an obligation.
I have to help her.
Demons possessing humans was something from ancient Church texts.
If she was seeing this right, it was an unprecedented incident.
Unable to go herself, she asked Baron Beston to bring the girl.
Thankfully, it didn't take long before she met the girl named Roel.
······Just as I thought.
She was convinced.
That evil belonged to a demon.
Roel had already been bewitched.
To think she'd defend it even after recognizing it as a demon—her condition was worse than expected.
She hated being forceful, but there was no choice.
Ortella properly invoked her blessing.
Divine Blessing. It measured sins and punished evil.
“It's here.”
For that purpose, Ortella sent her mind into Roel's inner world.
It was an utterly white space.
Not a speck of dirt anywhere. Pristine.
Such a space stretched out endlessly, beyond her field of vision.
“What in the······.”
This was strange.
No matter how plain a person was, she'd never seen an inner world completely devoid of anything.
Was this even possible?
“Welcome.”
Then, a voice came from behind.
Ortella turned toward the sound.
“······?”
Though blind in reality, she could see ahead when existing as a spirit.
Even so, Ortella doubted her own eyes.
“You're not a demon······?”
The evil she'd seen from outside was nowhere to be found.
As if it had been fabricated from the start, there wasn't a trace of “taint” anywhere in this space.
The man before her wasn't a demon.
He wasn't an alternate personality of Roel's, nor hidden karma.
He was human.
Just an ordinary human.
And yet, he was receiving horrific punishment amid that very ordinariness.
Ah, O God······.
How can such cruel punishment exist?
Before she knew it, Ortella's gaze began to fill with pity.