Chapter 161: Heresy Inquisitors (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 161: Heresy Inquisitors (1)
I tucked the stone coffin into my subspace pouch.
Whether it was a technical limitation or an ethical safeguard, living creatures couldn't be placed inside a subspace pouch. Seeing as it went in without any resistance, it seemed there was nothing living inside.
And the first person I encountered after emerging from the secret dungeon with Daisy was…
"What is this?"
"…How should I know?"
It was none other than Useless Boradori.
"……"
"I mean, you suddenly call me out of nowhere, pull out a coffin, and ask me what it is? What am I supposed to say to that?!"
Boradori shouted, breaking into a cold sweat under my icy gaze. However, my expression remained frozen.
"You really don't know?"
"Don't assume a possessor knows everything!"
"The Goddess should have given you a status window or something…"
"I've tried shouting it a few times, okay? Status window!"
So he did try it…
To be honest, when I first heard from Boradori that she was a possessor, I tried it too.
…A status window is just too hard to resist.
Since Boradori was proving to be of no help, I sent her away and called for the next person: Uncle Aeryun.
"What is this?"
"You don't know?"
"I mean, you call me out of nowhere and ask what this coffin-looking thing is…"
Uncle Aeryun, who had been glaring at me with narrowed eyes, suddenly changed his expression. His gaze drifted downward as he lowered his head.
"…Again?"
"Yes."
"You found another one?!"
"Well, it's not like I went looking for it…"
I gave him a rough summary of what had happened with Daisy.
"So. The Saintess lured you to a secluded spot under the pretext of taking photos."
"She’d probably throw a fit if she heard you put it that way, but yes."
"You pounded on a cliffside with divine power, and a secret space appeared."
"Correct."
"And when you went inside, this stone coffin was sitting on top of a suspicious magic circle?"
"Yes."
"…What about the magic circle?"
"Daisy said it felt ominous and obliterated it with a Divine Beam."
"…Haa."
Uncle Aeryun let out a deep sigh and tapped on the stone coffin.
"You brought back something incredibly suspicious."
"That shouldn't be the first thing you say to me…"
"Thaaaank you!"
After receiving a heartfelt thank you and a promise of future compensation—which felt even more heartfelt—he continued.
"Anyway, it's impossible to investigate what this is here. Considering there was a demon involved… I'm thinking of investigating this with the personnel coming to the Academy to save some face."
"You mean that specialized anti-dark mage unit and the Heresy Inquisitors?"
"Yeah. We have to show that we're actually working, too."
"Calling it 'we' is a bit of a stretch…"
The Empire hadn't done a thing; Daisy and I did it all.
"Then, instead of the promised reward, can I just settle this with a certificate of appreciation?"
"Are we strangers now?"
At the very least, until I graduate from the Academy, the After-School Dessert Club and I are one and the same.
"Well, I'm planning to head back right now. Want to come along?"
"Ah, I'll pass on that."
I’d worked hard to earn this break; going straight back to work would be wrong. Besides, I’d already filled my quota by letting Senior Loreliya and Daisy take photos of me.
"I see."
Judging by Uncle Aeryun's reaction, it seemed he hadn't expected much from me anyway.
"First, I have to deal with the demon. I'll hand it over to the Inquisitors along with the ice statue."
I watched Uncle Aeryun's retreating back.
The young ones were all laughing and enjoying their vacation, while the elder was off to work all by himself…
"Is this the weight of being the head of a household?"
Leaving the lonely figure of Uncle Aeryun behind, I returned to my room to rest, only to be met by someone else.
"Adam! I heard you went off somewhere alone with Daisy!"
Prince Ellen arrived, looking somewhat incensed.
"……"
"……"
Behind him, the other RoFan male leads were waiting with similar expressions.
"……"
This was unfair.
They were the ones busy filming The Prince of Tennis or Inazuma Eleven with a volleyball. I wanted to tell them that if they’d spent that time paying attention to Daisy, the romance plot might have actually progressed a little—but I kept my mouth shut.
Damn it, rank is everything.
If it were just the Magic Spammers or Sososo, I could have handled it, but Prince Ellen and Prince Esid were still too much for me.
Therefore.
"…What's going on?"
"I just felt bad for the old man being all by himself."
"I'm certain that's not the reason."
I quietly boarded the ship heading back to the Academy. It definitely wasn't because dealing with dark mage incidents was easier than dealing with the RoFan crowd.
As usual, it had been an eventful final exam period, but the time spent away from the Academy wasn't actually that long.
Ten days at most.
Unlike the Swordsmanship or Magic Departments, the General Department students took their exams inside the Academy, so I didn't think much could have changed.
"……?"
However, upon seeing the Academy as we arrived, I had to admit I was wrong.
I had underestimated this fantasy world. Or, more accurately…
"There are so many people."
"We have to get things handled as quickly as possible."
I had underestimated the labor force of the Empire.
Just looking at the outer walls, there were at least a thousand people; there were likely just as many working on the interior. Even if the Imperial Capital had a large population, there shouldn't be that many people available for this kind of manual labor.
"Did they conscript them or something…?"
"Of course not. This is an Empire where people are still talking about 'liberation' and 'revolution.' If we conscripted people for no reason and ruined public sentiment, it would be a headache. Besides, this is Academy facility work. Most of it is difficult to touch unless you're a skilled worker."
That meant every single one of them wasn't just a laborer, but a specialist.
"They spent a fortune."
"…There's no better proof of hard work than that."
It was pitiful to see them stacking up excuses as if they no longer believed the Academy was impenetrable, but…
"It's a wise choice."
If the Academy blocked every enemy, the story wouldn't progress, so it was a position destined to be unfairly targeted by the plot.
"Anyway, the Church's side has already arrived. Let's go hand over the 'gifts' and introduce ourselves."
They weren't people I’d see as often as the club members, but they were faces I’d inevitably run into whenever an incident occurred. It was better to check them out in advance, and if anything felt off, I could ask Boradori if they were characters from the original work.
"Let's do that."
And so, carrying the demon statue and the suspicious stone coffin, we went to meet the Heresy Inquisitors of the Church.
To be honest, I let my guard down a little.
The Church of Light, commonly known as the Goddess Church, was supposed to be full of corrupt individuals, as befitting a fantasy world. A whole storyline was supposed to revolve around that…
But because of the suddenly awakened Apostle of the Goddess, the Hero… no, the Saintess, Daisy, the Church had been forcibly "normalized" within the first semester of the first year.
In the original sequel, the surviving corrupt priests were supposed to cause trouble, but they had been pulled out by the roots before the second semester even began.
Thanks to that, the Church of Light was in the midst of a religious reformation. In the early stages of such a movement, a high moral standard is usually required of those leading the charge, alongside the inevitable purges.
Therefore, even if the Heresy Inquisitors were famous for being psychos, the people the Holy Kingdom sent to the Empire for their first official diplomatic move would surely be somewhat normal.
"Hello."
But the moment I saw her, I knew.
This person is not normal.
The person with the highest rank was a woman.
Of course, the "fantasy" setting was stronger than the "medieval" setting, so it wasn't strange for a woman to reach a high position. But for the role of a Chief Inquisitor, she looked far too young.
I could understand that, too. In novels, appearances don't always tell the whole story. It was common for the strongest characters to be loli High Elves or loli vampires. So, even if she looked like a young woman, I could accept it if she was actually in her forties.
However, she was narrow-eyed.
While the former president of the Flower Arrangement Club—who had an even more distinct "traitor's face"—was still living a diligent life, this woman was different. Unlike the former president, she had a naturally smiling face and a large chest.
To summarize: the Chief Inquisitor of the Holy Kingdom, dispatched to the Empire in a medieval fantasy setting, was a young, narrow-eyed woman with a constant smile and a large chest.
There was no way a character with this many "settings"—especially a character in a RoFan—was normal.
Therefore.
"Meeting like this must also be the will of our Mother, the Goddess."
As I took the hand she offered with a bright smile, I replied.
"For a Mother, she never seems to answer no matter how many questions I ask."
I threw a light jab.
It was a classic Leon-style opening—acting like an atheist to gauge the opponent's reaction… or so I thought.
"Mothers are usually like that, aren't they?"
"Pardon?"
"Ah, my mistake. I'm an orphan, you see. Since I never had a mother, I could never hear an answer from one."
"……"
Seeing her follow up with an immediate uppercut to my solar plexus, I was convinced. This person was no ordinary nutjob.
There is a saying that he who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.
And if you were to ask who in this world best fits that description, most people would point to the Heresy Inquisitors of the Church.
A group that deals with dark mages who have defied the laws and order of the world. Of course, an Inquisitor would face anything that is an enemy of the Goddess, not just dark mages. But since the most prominent enemies of the Goddess in this world were dark mages, the public—and the Inquisitors themselves—tended to view them as their primary foe.
Anyway, perhaps it was because they had fought dark mages for too long.
"You don't need to worry about it. They say everyone is born with one set of parents. In that sense, wasn't I born as a child of the Goddess from the very beginning?"
As expected, the person before me was a total lunatic.
"Ah, um. I see."
Not long ago, when I was surrounded and hunted by a horde of Magic Spammers, I hadn't felt this pressured. But standing before a woman spouting madness with a smiling face, I couldn't help but send a distress signal to Uncle Aeryun.
"……"
This man wasn't even looking in my direction.
"That's why, when I first learned the Goddess's teachings, I felt it was destiny. An irresistible destiny!"
Destiny, my foot.
Even the Goddess watching from above is probably thinking, 'Wait, even I find this a bit burdensome…'
"Therefore, this must also be a destined encounter."
"……?"
Shit. What was she talking about now?
Surely she wasn't about to drop some nonsense about falling in love at first sight. If she did, I was confident I could run away at full speed.
Fortunately, the "love at first sight" line didn't come out.
"Mr. Adam Smith."
"……?"
Had I introduced myself?
Just as that question crossed my mind.
"The lover of the Saintess, who is the representative of our Mother; a man recognized by the Pope himself; and the one who has hunted more dark mages—the enemies of the Goddess—than our incompetent selves…"
"……"
I didn't even use a telecommunications company here…
Hearing my personal details rattled off like that, it seemed my private information was being leaked in this life just as much as it was in my previous one.
