What Faith Has Always Meant (3)
What's the most idiotic way a person can die? Climbing the Mount of Demonic Beasts alone to grill some meat? Crossing the Desert of Death without water? Or maybe throwing a cake in the Emperor's face?
Iscal was certain of one thing. In that moment, he was witnessing yet another way to die like a complete fool.
...Blaspheming a god in the Holy City? Is this guy actually insane?
It wasn't even his problem, yet cold sweat was already running down his back. The air had gone razor-sharp, pricking at his skin like a blade. The holy knights stationed throughout the chamber radiated a presence as keen as drawn swords — no, their eyes alone looked ready to tear a man apart.
Crazy bastard...
Iscal looked at Count Stultus with fresh eyes. He'd known the man was stupid, but this was almost impressive. What on earth had possessed him to curse a god in the Holy City? Iscal genuinely wanted to crack open Stultus's skull and examine whatever was rattling around inside.
Whether Stultus sensed that sentiment or not, he pressed on with a shameless grin.
"Well, am I wrong? That great gate up ahead, supposedly made by a god — our Empire could whip up something like that in no time if we put enough people on it, couldn't we?"
Please shut up, you maniac!
"And then there's that business about a blind man opening his eyes, or whatever. Haha! At least make it sound plausible. What, a firefly touches someone and suddenly they can see and grow a new arm? If that worked, show me one of those fireflies myself. I'd like to shed a little of this fat. Hahahaha!!"
Stultus slapped his belly and roared with laughter. He was the only one laughing.
Everyone else in the grand council chamber wanted nothing more than to rush over and clamp a hand over the Count's mouth. The holy knights' stares had escalated past tearing him apart — they looked ready to grind him into minced meat on the spot.
"Heh heh..."
Antonio's expression was benevolent. No — not benevolent. His face simply couldn't keep up with a situation that had long since left reason behind. The gentle smile remained, but thick veins had begun to pulse and rise at his temples.
Just as I expected!
Count Stultus smiled inwardly with deep satisfaction. Look at them all, blindsided by his sharp, logical critique! Was this not the very image of the Empire's foremost loyal subject, the man His Imperial Majesty trusted and relied upon?
He recalled the private conversation with the Emperor who had summoned him in secret.
"Listen, Count Stultus. You know how deeply I trust and value you, don't you?"
"If only I had another subordinate as reliable as you to entrust with important work — truly, it would be my dearest wish. Such a pity."
"Which brings me to the point. I need you to pay a visit to the Holy City. Go and confirm whether a god truly exists or not."
"How? Well... go and gently needle the people of the Holy City about whether their god is real. Say a few blasphemous things. Dismiss the so-called miracles as nothing special."
"Divine punishment? Execution? Don't worry about that. Even if something happens, do you really think I would abandon you? Go raise all the hell you like. I'll take full responsibility for the aftermath."
"And when you return, gold and jewels will be the least of it. I plan to put you to great use and even have you reside here in the Imperial Palace. Yes — you will become the power just beneath the Emperor himself... This plan is extremely important. Once this is done, I can give you anything you desire."
"Just do as I've said. And this is truly critical... the fact that I gave you this order is a secret. Yes, a secret operation. That's it. So the fact that you acted on my command must remain absolutely confidential."
"Mm, yes — you must keep the fact that I ordered this completely under wraps. Thank you. With a loyal subject like you, the Empire's future is truly brigh— ahem, bright. You may go. Do not forget that today's conversation must remain secret! You must never say I ordered this. This is a secret operation!"
After that conversation, he thought he'd heard the Emperor's delighted laughter from behind the closed door — but of course His Majesty would laugh with joy at having such a devoted servant, wouldn't he?
A faint murmur of something like "cutting off the tail..." had drifted through the door, but Stultus had simply assumed the Emperor was craving some pig's tail stew. By then, his mind was already swimming in visions of gold and treasure.
Stultus curled his lips into a smug grin. Who would have imagined that the wastrel Stultus would rise so spectacularly?
From the family embarrassment to a loyal subject receiving the Emperor's secret orders!
It had all begun with a deal struck with a suspicious figure. After that strange transaction, a flower-strewn path had unfurled before him.
A bit of a shady character, that one... but he gave me a mysterious power, so he can't have been all bad.
The ability to lay a hand on a patient and have them spring up as if nothing had ever been wrong. The figure in the black robe had taken something from him in exchange — a soul, was it?
Hah. A soul. What a joke.
Trading for a soul you couldn't see or touch? What a complete idiot. Stultus had eagerly accepted the fool's terms. It had been a free lunch.
He'd even signed in blood, pricking his finger and writing his name on a tattered scrap of parchment. The sensation had been thoroughly unpleasant.
Well, the power was real, so it worked out for me.
By healing the dying, he had won the Empress's favor. The patients he cured became his staunchest supporters — from insignificant servants all the way up to the nobility. Everyone trusted and backed Stultus.
The man the people supported, the Empress cherished, and the Emperor trusted — that was him! Count Stultus!
Now then, Antonio! How will you answer my sharp, logical questions?
Stultus's eyes, buried in folds of flesh and tiny as millet grains, flashed sharply. How would this Great Priest respond to his theological challenge?
His thick jowls rippled like waves. It was the sight of a boar in a frenzy, and those watching couldn't help but grimace.
Crrrk—
Huh?
Through the frigid air of the grand council chamber came a sound of something being crushed. As if some great pressure were collapsing something solid. People searched left and right for the source.
Crrrrk—
"Wh-what the hell..."
Iscal muttered a curse under his breath. No one scolded him. They all felt the same way.
"Th-this... this!!!"
Antonio's gently smiling face was transforming into something monstrous. Veins bulged across features once filled with mercy, and so much blood had rushed to his face that it had gone a furious crimson.
"This!!! This!!!"
Antonio was so enraged — a fury he would feel only twice in his entire life — that he couldn't even form proper words. What had that man just said?
A god is nothing special? Calling a gracious miracle a firefly?!
Crrrk—
His fingers slowly punched through the thick book he was holding. But Antonio, lost in rage, didn't even notice. What was he to do with this blasphemer?
"Uh... uhh...?"
Only then did Stultus sense that something was terribly wrong. He shuffled backward — but the holy knights had already formed a wall behind him.
Thud.
"Uh...?"
The cold touch of armor against his back. A stupid sound spilled from Stultus's mouth. Antonio stomped toward him, his face twisted into a demonic snarl.
The thick book in his hands rose high into the air.
"Ah...?"
And came down like a bolt of lightning.
WHAM—!!!
"You blasphemous wretch!!!"
"Gyaaaaah!!"
The heavy tome crashed down onto Stultus's head, and he flopped onto his back like a frog with his tongue hanging out. Standing over the fallen Count, Antonio panted, his face still flushed with unspent fury.
Antonio bellowed at the sprawled Stultus. At that razor-edged presence, everyone held their breath.
"May the grace of the Six Gods be upon us."
The holy knights' chorus completed Antonio's roaring prayer. Those watching felt as though they had glimpsed a sliver of madness.
"Huff... huff... This insolent, disrespectful wretch dares — dares!!"
A holy knight offered a handkerchief to the still-seething Antonio.
"Ah, thank you. Hoo—"
Having wiped the sweat away, Antonio looked out at the assembly with his usual gentle smile, as if nothing had happened.
"...Heh heh. A brief disturbance, everyone. I've shown our guests an unsightly spectacle. I offer my deepest apologies."
"Ah, not at all! Haha, a disturbance? I saw nothing! Say, did you see anything?"
"Hahahaha, no? Did something happen? I'm still overwhelmed by the Great Priest's warm welcome! Hahaha—!"
People forced laughs and pretended not to see Stultus being dragged away by the holy knights. Where he had been hauled off, a long trail of liquid — urine or blood, no one could say — marked his path. His chest still rose and fell faintly, so he was at least alive.
"Heh heh heh. I thank you all for your consideration. I'm afraid an urgent matter has arisen and I must take my leave... I hope your stay in the Holy City is free of any inconvenience."
Antonio made the sign of the cross toward the assembly and turned. As he left the grand council chamber, he murmured something low to the holy knight following him.
The whisper was too quiet to catch in full, but Iscal, standing near the door, overheard a few words that slipped through.
Basement... inquisitor? Torture? Damn, just hearing it gives me chills.
People poured out of the Grand Cathedral in a rush. Cold sweat soaked every back, but no one spoke of it. They only wanted to leave that place as quickly as possible.
Iscal mixed into the crowd and hurried outside. A clear blue sky greeted them, shining bright and pure.
"Hm...?"
That feeling again. The sense that someone was watching him. Iscal's head tilted toward the sky. Naturally, there was nothing in that cloudless expanse.
"...Am I just run-down lately? What the hell is that?"
Iscal scratched the back of his head and turned his feet toward the lodging house.
I'd been wandering around the Holy City watching the residents when I suddenly got bored. So I followed one of my bookmarked residents, and...
"What's with this guy? Why's he so black?"
A room packed with people. Some old man was standing at the front, greeting them or whatever. I wasn't really following that part.
But mixed in among them was a fat resident, and a black aura was billowing off his body in thick, ominous clouds. The resident with the blue aura from earlier was there too, but that chubby one looked bad news at a glance.
"Do I just need to kill that guy?"
In World Exploration mode, I could use the user-exclusive skills I'd bought before — but with my Faith still at zero, I had nothing I could actually cast.
So for now, I just bookmarked the fat one.
"I can kill him later."
I watched the blue-aura resident mix into the crowd spilling out of the building for a bit, then closed World Exploration mode. I had plenty of other things to check.
"Riiight... attendance check got added, didn't it?"
Don't games usually give you that from the start? Why drop an attendance check this late?
A faint, funky smell of something foul seemed to waft up from my nose. I deliberately ignored it and checked the attendance rewards.
Ta-da—!
Attendance Check! Day 1!
Your reward has been delivered to your mailbox!
Getting something from this game felt weird. Was this what being domesticated felt like? With that awkward sensation lingering, I checked the mailbox. After nothing but daily packages, actual in-game currency was landing in there.
As I looked over the attendance reward that had arrived, my eyes went wide.
"Oh...?"
I'd gotten a pretty interesting-looking item.