Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Inquisitor's Invitation
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Lize had her eyes fiercely narrowed, gripping Stella's wrist tightly. The hand Stella had grabbed me with, and the hand Lize had grabbed Stella with, were both trembling violently.
In truth, considering everything Stella had done up until now, it was only natural for Lize to react like this.
Claudia was poisoned and in a dire situation, yet Stella had shown up out of nowhere, declared us heretics, and blocked our path.
Not content with surrounding us alongside the combat nuns and launching a preemptive strike with holy spells, she had mocked Lize amid the clash of attacks.
And later, she had gone so far as to declare she was judging us for heresy right in front of our eyes by stripping as a group—and even forcing my hand to grope her breast.
From Lize's standpoint, it was more than enough reason to be furious.
'Honestly, it's surprising in a way...'
Ever since I possessed this world of Brand 4, the concept of common sense had only known defeat after defeat. It was all because of the mods applied here.
Every woman walking the streets was a flawless beauty, half-naked as if it were the most normal thing, and modern amenities filled every indoor space.
Based on my experiences, judging heresy by doing something like that wasn't all that strange. After all, in the one-eyed village, people with two good eyes were called monsters.
In a world where the heresy inquisitor and her combat nuns went around dressed like that, who could fail to accept whatever happened?
"Are you deaf? I'm asking what the hell you're doing?"
When Stella didn't respond, Lize furrowed her brows deeply and yanked Stella's wrist roughly. The force pushing my hand against her chest seemed to lighten a bit.
The soft sensation against my palm gradually receded, and the back of my hand, hidden beneath her breast covering, began to emerge bit by bit. Soon, Lize completely shook off Stella's hand.
My arm was freed. My palm still felt the lingering warmth unique to a breast. It would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed at all, but I had no desire to show it.
Erika had come to her senses by then, drawing her weapon and warily eyeing Stella and the combat nuns. Her face was just a touch flushed, as a bonus.
In contrast, Stella looked even more dazed than before. She mumbled something blankly, then fixed her gaze on me, ignoring Lize entirely.
"What are you staring at? Look away!"
Of course, Lize immediately intervened. She forcibly detached my wrist from Stella's grip and shoved Stella backward. Stella stumbled back a few steps.
I gently rubbed my wrist with my other hand. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any bruising. It still tingled from how tightly it had been held.
But that wasn't the important thing right now. I looked at Lize, who had plastered herself right next to me like she was guarding against Stella.
"You seem to have snapped out of it now? You were spacing out until just a moment ago."
"How could I stay calm when you were about to get in serious trouble?"
Lize gripped a dagger in each hand. A chill hung in the nearby air. I wondered where Erika had gone—turns out she was by Claudia's side, wiping the sweat from her face and neck.
"What the hell kind of messed-up situation is this, Delta? Why are they stripping down to their underwear in front of you?"
"I don't know. They said they were judging heresy among themselves and started doing that."
"You don't know? For real?"
There was a hint of suspicion in Lize's eyes. Considering everything I'd resolved so far, it was understandable if she thought maybe this time too...
But I really didn't know.
This was my first time dealing with a heresy inquisitor showing up here, and who could have imagined that their method of judging heresy would involve public exposure and groping breasts?
"Hmm... Alright. I'll believe you. You wouldn't lie to us about something like this."
Lize stared at me intently for a moment, then cleanly accepted my words and turned back to Stella.
Stella was still frozen in a daze, mumbling something incomprehensible, while the combat nuns knelt on the ground with their butts planted firmly, looking utterly lost.
It was a scene eerie enough to send chills down the spine.
"So, you don't know why they're acting like that either?"
"That much I get roughly. It seems like they sensed holy power from me."
"...Holy power?"
Lize tilted her head as if wondering what on earth that meant.
"Didn't you say all your stats were regressed, Delta? Why would they sense holy power from you?"
'Oh right, I never told her about this.'
I'd kept meaning to mention it but totally forgot. So Lize still thought all my stats were at 1, which explained her reaction.
"My stats have gone up a bit now. Not 1 anymore."
"Huh? Really?! Then why didn't you say anything until now?!"
"Forgot to mention it."
"..."
Her blue eyes turned sulky as she glared at me. Lacking the confidence to meet them, I averted my gaze slightly.
Yeah, I know it sounds like an excuse. But with incidents piling up nonstop, I genuinely forgot to tell her.
After wrapping up lord business and returning from meeting the emperor, the Golden Twilight Knights soon showed up claiming they were surveilling me, then Inermar appeared after that.
Next came news of a rune discovery, so I went to hunt the rock centipede, and after getting the rune, Aurora and the knight captains schemed to get me drunk and pry out secrets in an absurd turn of events.
By the time the absurdity faded, thoughts of progressing the main story took precedence over confessing my stat increases.
"You look suspicious no matter how I see it, Delta. You knew they were going to do this all along, didn't you?"
"...No, really not."
I protested earnestly, and Lize eyed me with even deeper suspicion before finally looking away. I let out a sigh of relief.
"So, what do we do about them?"
Lize pointed her dagger at Stella. She seemed to have recovered a bit from the shock, but the way she looked at me had completely changed.
Up until now, her gaze had been innocently confident on the surface, but now it was filled with all sorts of anguish and turmoil.
"Well... Can't we just leave them like that and go?"
"Because you groped their breasts and got confirmed as not a heretic?"
"...It was unavoidable. For real. How was I supposed to resist her strength? She's on par with you."
"Either way, you must've enjoyed groping them. Right?"
"..."
Silenced, I shut my mouth, and Lize smiled as she brought her lips close to my ear.
"I'm not going to blame you for that, Delta. It's just a man's instinct, and I can totally understand. So..."
—Touch mine later too.
With that, her lips pulled away from my ear. I stood there blankly for a moment, then looked at Lize with eyes questioning what I'd just heard. Touch what later?
My gaze inadvertently drifted downward. Matching her movements, the ample symbols of motherhood jiggled prominently within her thin white sleeveless top.
The fabric was already thin, and with no underwear beneath, the motion was intense. Stella's were big enough to call impressive, but in actual size, Lize's were probably a bit larg—
"Interested?"
Catching my gaze instantly, Lize gave a meaningful smirk and pressed her breast slightly with her right arm, squishing it. I hurriedly looked away. The smile on her lips deepened.
"...You there."
Then, Stella's sudden voice made us both jolt and turn our heads. Unlike Lize, I hadn't drawn my weapon, but I didn't drop my guard either.
"As for you, it's no longer within my authority to judge."
The combat nuns behind Stella hesitantly rose to their feet. Their faces were still blank, but their movements weren't. With precise motions, they picked up their flails and shields.
"If it's not in your authority to judge, then what? How do you plan to settle this? Another round?"
"That's why—please visit Raphaella Holy Kingdom later. I'll arrange an audience with His Holiness the Pope."
Stella's words startled not just me, but even Lize, who had been growling beside me.
Arranging to see the Pope of the Sun? Considering the Pope's status in the Holy Kingdom, that was a massive concession.
In the game, meeting the Pope required clearing an enormous chain of quests beforehand, and even with shortcuts skipping parts, it was never easy.
I'd been agonizing over how to meet him for the spells I needed, and this was like manna from heaven.
"Head to the largest gate in the Holy Kingdom. Tell the holy knight there that Inquisitor Stella has permitted an audience with His Holiness the Pope. You'll be escorted."
"...Why go that far for us? Regretting it now and feeling sorry?"
"Because you might be the person His Holiness the Pope spoke of."
"What do you mean, the Pope spoke of m—"
Before I could ask what the Pope had said about me, Stella raised her right hand. White light gathered in her palm. Lize, who had experienced that white light and fallen under fascination before, flinched.
In contrast, I stayed calm. This wasn't the form of the holy spell that induced fascination. From my memory, it was probably a healing holy spell.
—May the hand of God touch you.
With Stella's incantation, a gentle white light extended and enveloped Claudia's body.
Just moments ago, Claudia had been coughing as if her lungs were tearing apart, but now her face returned to normal. Erika's eyes widened beside her.
As Claudia recovered, Lize seemed to ease her guard slightly, slowly lowering her daggers. Her expression suggested she still didn't like Stella.
"I sincerely apologize for arbitrarily labeling you a heretic. Please forgive me."
Stella bowed her head to me. It was a complete 180 from when we first met. The knight captains gave her the odd looks, unaccustomed to her sudden shift in attitude.
Honestly, so was I.
"I'll be waiting in the Holy Kingdom. Please visit as soon as possible."
With those words, Stella quietly turned away, leading the combat nuns. We watched their retreating backs in a daze.
"Inquisitor Stella, that man is..."
"I know, Iris."
On the road back to the Holy Kingdom, Stella and her combat nuns trudged along, still half out of it.
She had been certain he was a heretic, but he wasn't—and despite lacking faith, he possessed holy power. The shock to Stella and the nuns was beyond imagination.
"...We must inform His Holiness the Pope of this immediately."
Yes, this incident had to be reported to the Pope as top priority. Stella quickened her steps.
Thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, that man might be the 'prophet' the Pope of the Sun had spoken of.