Emergency Summons
Clara and Lucia had been so dying to hear about the time Kir and I lived together that they kept her cornered until sunrise. As a result, Kir was only able to leave when morning was already breaking.
"Is it alright for you to leave now?"
"Yeah. They've been waiting over there for a while anyway."
Kir pointed toward the roof of the palace across from us, indicating figures clad in black uniforms and black cloaks.
The Demon King's assassin squad...
Among them, I could see long-haired Caren, whom I hadn't seen in years.
"Hey... Hero..."
"Yeah?"
"If I... if I wrap things up someday and come back, will you let me into the Hero's party?"
Unlike when we were chatting in the room earlier, Kir spoke in a subdued voice.
I didn't think she could keep living like this forever.
A long tail eventually gets stepped on.
Sooner or later, the Demon King's army would notice Kir acting as a spy.
When that happened, even with power rivaling the Four Heavenly Kings, it would be difficult for her to survive.
Ideally, she would leave the Demon King's army before something like that occurred...
"Why not just leave the Demon King's army right now? Once the Necromancer Guild moves north and the battles intensify, it'll be hard to keep hiding it anyway."
"..."
"We happen to have an open spot. As for Caren and the rest of the assassins, I'll ask Edwin to secure positions for them."
"Mmm~ I don't come cheap, you know? Can you afford me?"
When I brought up Caren and the assassin squad, Kir stepped closer to me, her face once again brimming with playfulness.
"Not just yet... Give me a little more time. I'll come back with crucial information to bring down the Demon King's army. When I do, will you accept me into the Hero's party?"
"Of course. Don't push yourself too hard, and if things look dangerous, come back right away."
"Okay."
As Kir and I stood on the terrace, spending a long moment just gazing into each other's eyes,
Caren, unable to wait any longer, slowly began approaching us.
"Well, I'll be going now."
"Yeah."
Kir gave me one last wave before leaping up toward the roof where Caren and the assassins waited.
Until she vanished from sight, she kept waving enthusiastically back at me.
Although the time I had spent with Kir wasn't particularly long...
In fact, we had spent far more time as enemies...
I didn't know why I hated letting her go so much today.
In the imperial capital of the Eryther Empire, flags flew at half-mast across all public institutions, including the Imperial Palace and the Holy Temple, mourning the death of the newly appointed apprentice saintess.
The detached palace of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess was no exception...
Meanwhile, Emilia was not wearing her usual luxurious dress dripping with jewels. For the first time in a long while, she wore her Saintess vestments—a white priest's robe adorned with ornate gold embroidery.
Nothing like this had ever happened before,
but according to the laws written in the holy scriptures, if a new apprentice saintess died in an unexpected accident, the retired former Saintess was required to serve as temporary Saintess and pray for all the people.
Thus, in accordance with the law, as soon as the apprentice saintess's funeral concluded, priests from the Holy Temple gathered at the detached palace to escort the former Saintess.
High Priest Radbod also arrived at the detached palace to pay proper respects in escorting the former Saintess.
"Welcome, High Priest."
As High Priest Radbod stepped inside, Emilia gave a subtle glance to the surrounding maids.
Receiving her signal, the maids promptly filed out of the room,
leaving only High Priest Radbod and Saintess Emilia alone inside.
"Saintess, all preparations at the Holy Temple are complete. Once you arrive, you may immediately enter the Saintess's chambers and resume your duties."
"Thank you for your hard work, High Priest."
"Hahaha... Hard work? It was nothing."
"You handled the matter of the apprentice saintess so cleanly... By the way, is there any news from the Arzen Kingdom?"
To Saintess Emilia, the death of the apprentice saintess was of little importance.
It had been handled entirely by High Priest Radbod, and knowing his meticulous nature, there were no loose ends to worry about.
However,
the matter regarding the Arzen Kingdom, where the Hero resided, was a different story. That was a realm beyond High Priest Radbod's influence.
"Yes. I believe they should have sent a reply by now... but let us wait a few more days for the time being."
Time was running out for Saintess Emilia.
Princess Lydia, who had fled from the Jaremiah Kingdom, was secretly meeting with the Crown Prince with increasing frequency.
For some reason, the three of them—Lydia, the Crown Prince, and Emilia—never met together.
The only certainty was that the two of them were plotting something behind Emilia's back...
Between their suspicious behavior and the growing calls both inside and outside the palace demanding the Crown Princess's stepping down, a decisive change was clearly needed.
If she could just join the Hero's party at a time like this and turn the tide of public opinion,
she could secure not only her position as Saintess and Crown Princess, but eventually gain an opportunity to ascend to the throne as Empress...
Emilia spent many sleepless nights consumed by these frustrating regrets.
"Even if it doesn't work out immediately, please do not be too disappointed. In any case, there is currently no one in the Hero's party capable of using healing magic. If we continue to press them, they will have no choice but to accept our demands."
"I truly hope so."
"Hahaha! Now that the apprentice saintess is dead, who else in the Holy Temple possesses enough skill to join the Hero's party? Do not worry needlessly."
"Yes..."
High Priest Radbod displayed absolute confidence,
which allowed Emilia to calm her mind, if only a little.
"Ah! High Priest, have you heard that rumor?"
"What rumor do you mean?"
"There's a rumor circulating that a new Saintess has appeared in the Erupe Kingdom in the northern continent."
"Yes, I have heard it as well... But isn't that the kind of rumor that always floats around during chaotic times like these? Where did you hear it, Saintess?"
High Priest Radbod recalled a report he had received a few days ago, titled The Water Saintess.
A Saintess who healed people with water rather than light-based divine magic like ordinary saintesses or priests...
Though he had felt uneasy when he first saw the report, Radbod had dismissed it as mere folklore passed around by word of mouth, remembering a similar incident three years ago.
In difficult times, people readily bestowed the title of hero upon anyone slightly strong,
and even minor trickery was wrapped in the guise of miracles to manufacture new heroes.
"I heard it at a social gathering held at the Imperial Palace a few days ago."
"At a social gathering?"
"Yes. They said she is a Water Saintess possessing miracles capable of healing refugees who fled from the western continent, making fresh flesh sprout on rotting legs, and curing dozens or even hundreds of people all at once."
"It has already reached the ears of the nobility, then."
"That's not all. From what I heard, there are even rumors that she's an elf..."
"An elf?!"
High Priest Radbod interrupted her with a shocked expression.
He remembered that three years ago, when rumors of a Water Saintess first surfaced, the word 'elf' had also been written in the report submitted to him.
"Yes. They said the Water Saintess is an elf. That's why the noble ladies asked me if elves could be priests as well."
"Is there... anything else you heard?"
Priests dispatched from the Holy Temple resided in temples scattered across the continent. Their primary objective was to secure believers in those regions, collect donations, and send them back to the Holy Temple.
Their secondary objective was to gather local intelligence and rumors to report back to the Holy Temple.
As a result, they possessed an information network second only to the Imperial Intelligence Department.
Even so, catching wind of stories known exclusively among high nobility was sometimes beyond their reach.
"This isn't directly related to the Water Saintess, but..."
"Go on."
"In a certain fief of the Fiore Empire that was suffering from a severe water shortage, someone who controls water reportedly appeared and completely replenished the wells, groundwater, and even the oases."
"Someone who controls water?"
This was a rumor that even High Priest Radbod had not heard.
"Yes. They say the entire Fiore Empire is abuzz because of it."
A second rumor involving water...
For some reason, an inexplicable sense of anxiety began to creep into High Priest Radbod's mind.
Not only had a Water Saintess appeared in the Erupe Kingdom, but someone controlling water had brought abundance to an entire desert fief in the Fiore Empire...
Both were nations that the Hero had either visited or passed through,
or were located extremely close to the Arzen Kingdom where he currently resided.
"This will not do, Saintess. I will dispatch the Heresy Inquisitors to this Erupe Kingdom."
"Pardon? The Heresy Inquisitors?"
The Heresy Inquisitors mentioned by High Priest Radbod were holy knights who possessed the authority to openly investigate and interrogate heretics in any kingdom across the continent.
They were not merely investigators; they held the power to conduct religious trials on the spot and execute punishments immediately.
Calling it 'punishment' was putting it nicely...
In truth, those notorious knights were nothing more than a political tool used to execute anyone impersonating a priest or acting against the Holy Temple under the charge of blasphemy.
"Yes. We must thoroughly investigate this so-called Water Saintess."
"Investigate the Water Saintess? Do you truly believe she exists?"
"I do. Regardless, she is impersonating you, Saintess. And if the rumors prove true, would she not become a massive obstacle in our path?"
"Hmm... That is true. If the Hero were to recruit this Water Saintess into his party..."
"Forgive me, Saintess, but I must take my leave and return to the Holy Temple at once. I need to assemble the Heresy Inquisitors and take measures regarding this Water Saintess before I can rest easy."
"Yes, please hurry. I will head to the Holy Temple as soon as I am ready."
Deviating from his original plan, High Priest Radbod left the detached palace alone. Beckoning his aides who were waiting outside the door, he commanded...
"Issue an emergency summons to the Heresy Inquisitors immediately!"
Sensing the gravity of the situation at the words 'emergency summons,' the aides instantly set off toward the Heresy Inquisitors.
High Priest Radbod waited for his carriage to be prepared and immediately departed for the Holy Temple.