Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Secret of the World (2)
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Having finished subjugating the succubus as well, I wasted no more time and gathered the members of the true Hero Party.
I didn’t want to sit around pondering things alone now that I’d realized we were the Hero Party, only to scramble and share information after some incident blew up.
If we had information, it was far more efficient to share it as soon as possible and start preparing together in earnest.
“Roger, I’ll fetch them right away.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
The mansion servants scattered at my command to summon the true Hero Party members.
A short while later, the true Hero Party members gathered one by one in the dining hall at my urgent summons.
Rainy, who had been fiddling with Nania’s horns now that her power over life and death was completely stripped away, arrived first.
She tilted her head at the sight of me.
“What’s this about? What do you want to talk about?”
“It’s extremely important.”
Watching Nania tremble at the touch of her horns, Rainy flashed a smile like a child tormenting an animal and asked.
“Finally decided to chop them off? I support your challenge to become Raden’s saintess!”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Tch, boring.”
“I’m serious, for real.”
While bickering with Rainy, who was suspiciously earnest about turning me into a girl, the other true Hero Party members arrived at my summons and began taking seats around the dining table.
Rainy, Laura, Yumi, Nania.
It was an extreme all-female lineup with a shattered gender balance, but if a Hero Party had multiple men, conflicts were inevitable, so this combination was actually better.
A sturdy male dwarf warrior would’ve been fine to include in a Hero Party.
Unfortunately, all dwarves in this world were said to be extinct.
With the yawning Laura stumbling out of her room last, everyone had gathered in the dining hall.
The women, seated in a circle around the table, glanced my way curiously, wondering what I had to say.
Laura, dipping bread into some unknown jar of honey, spoke up as the representative.
“So, what’s the big occasion for calling us? It’s not time to eat yet.”
“Milady. Don’t you find it strange, Milady?”
Laura sucked the honey off her fingers with a smack and tilted her head.
“Huh? What?”
“Look closely at everyone gathered here, one by one.”
Laura surveyed the group and gave her calm assessment.
“These are some incredibly talented people—too good for a mere barony.”
“Exactly.”
As expected of a genius mage.
A cool, concise analysis worthy of a genius.
“Think about it. Right now, in this territory, we have a saintess, a mage, and a thief. All top-tier experts in their fields.”
“I’m just top of my class at the academy? There are plenty better mages in the empire as a whole.”
“Milady… you don’t have friends, do you?”
“Wanna die?”
Ignoring Laura’s tiny fist threat, I continued.
“Anyway, exaggerating a bit, we’re all the best in our fields, right? Doesn’t that make something click?”
Rainy, who’d been watching with arms crossed, jumped in.
“Perfect Hero Party lineup.”
Rainy got three bonus points for grasping my intent so well.
“Correct! I think this group came together because we’re bound by fate as the Hero Party.”
Nania, who’d long insisted I was the hero, wasn’t all that surprised.
Yumi frowned and scratched her head, as if she’d never even imagined it.
Laura, lost in silent thought, finally spoke.
“So, what’s your point in saying this? You want us to head out on an adventure right now?”
I shook my head.
“Not embarking on an adventure yet. But for the future, let’s start preparing little by little—mentally and physically.”
“Hmm…”
Laura, who’d dreamed of a Hero Party, didn’t look displeased.
Seemed she liked the Hero Party title.
Rainy, on the other hand, grimaced.
“Probably won’t be easy, though?”
“Huh?”
“Even if we are the Hero Party, will the world acknowledge us? With me in the mix, the Church—our most important ally—definitely won’t.”
I ignited Purifying Flame in one hand.
“Even with this? According to the succubus, only saintesses or heroes have ever used it.”
“True, but the Church still won’t accept it…”
“No way they’re that rotten—even if they’re corrupt, they’re still on humanity’s side, right?”
“Hmm… my relationship with the Church is worse than you can imagine…”
At this point, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity about what Rainy had done to get chased out.
“What on earth did you do to sour things with the Church so badly?”
Rainy twirled her silver hair and replied.
“The heretical conversion I used on that succubus.”
Everyone’s eyes shot to the heart-shaped mark on Nania’s belly.
Nania scratched her head awkwardly, looking embarrassed, and gave a sheepish smile.
Rainy continued without even glancing at Nania.
“I was gonna try it on the Church higher-ups.”
“Huh…?”
“No, I could tell some high-ranking demons were lurking among them, so I wanted to test it on the suspects?”
“…Yeah.”
“And right then, the plot to kick me out started. Definitely one of the higher-ups colluding with demons got spooked and had me expelled.”
Fair enough.
Reasonable suspicion.
Of course, Rainy’s alcoholism probably contributed a lot to her excommunication too.
Normally, if a saintess got addicted to alcohol, they’d try to cure her.
They wouldn’t go straight to excommunication.
“Yeah, there are a few in the Church colluding with demons.”
Then Nania dropped a bombshell truth.
Rainy’s eyes went wide.
I was startled too and asked.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Nania looked aggrieved.
“Y-You didn’t ask…”
“…”
True, I hadn’t asked…
Hearing there were collaborators, Rainy excitedly shook Nania’s shoulders.
“Archbishop Daib, Vice Captain of the Heresy Inquisition Hakson, Chief Priest of Light District 3—they’re the collaborators, right? Right? No wonder, fuck. Couldn’t believe those bastards were human. Doesn’t make sense unless they’re demons.”
No idea what atrocities they committed to make even an alcoholic ex-saintess curse like that.
Must be some seriously vile priests.
If they horrified Rainy that much, they had to be demons.
“Uh…? They’re all real humans, though…?”
“…What? Those… those guys…”
Rainy stammered, speechless.
She barely steadied her breathing and said.
“They were real priests…? Not demons? Those pieces of trash…?”
“Yes…”
“Lord almighty…”
Even Rainy, who never invoked God outside church despite being an ex-saintess.
Those guys had her calling on God…
Rainy stared blankly into space, her humanity seemingly shattered.
I took over questioning for the dazed Rainy.
“So, who are the collaborators?”
Nania began counting them off on her fingers.
“Hmm, first off… Archbishop Laiton.”
“What?”
Rainy, snapping out of it at the names, urgently cut in.
“Wh-Why…?”
“He’s a collaborator?”
“W-Well, yeah…”
“No way… He was such a kind, respectable man…”
Rainy seemed deeply shocked.
Archbishop Laiton must’ve been a master actor.
Even fooling the prickly Rainy.
“Litton, Heresy Inquisition Administrator…”
“Crazy…”
“And Dunkirk Church Sailor Captain…”
“Fuck… unbelievable…”
Rainy’s hands trembled.
The shock must’ve been immense.
“Saintess, you okay…?”
I supported her worriedly.
Leaning on my shoulder, Rainy muttered with dead fish eyes.
“They were all… so polite and good… the only ones in the Church I could trust…”
“…”
Rainy looked at me again, her dark circles even more pronounced.
“Hey… maybe a world ruled by demons would be better…?”
Uh oh…
This is dangerous.
Rainy was on the verge of the fallen saintess route.
Demon God’s Saintess Rainy route.
I didn’t want to see that.
I hurriedly patted her back to calm her.
“Nah… they were probably all acting. Acting. You don’t really believe in demons, right?”
“Might be better than ones who don’t even pretend…”
“…”
Nania twirled her hair, glancing warily at the shocked Rainy.
She hadn’t even listed them all yet, from the looks of it.
I had a feeling if she kept going, Rainy might cross a river of no return.
With a glance, I signaled her to stop naming more.
Better if only I knew the rest without Rainy finding out.
Thankfully, Nania picked up on my cue and shut her mouth.
Laura, who’d been watching the scene with arms crossed, muttered calmly.
“Those guys weren’t with the Goddess Church—they were Demon God Church.”
“Yes, seems like it, Miss.”
“Hmph, good thing I told those beggars collecting donations to fuck off.”