Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: According to God's Will
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According to God's will...
A sudden explosion prompted people to rush desperately toward the windows, peering out into the night.
Among them were Kazeros and me, who had luckily been seated by the window already, needing only to turn our heads to see.
It was the dead of night, shrouded in darkness.
Yet at that moment, the scene unfolding outside was crystal clear in our eyes.
Even in the gloom, the sight was unmistakable.
A single shop ablaze in crimson flames, surrounded by a throng of shadowy figures.
At first glance, it looked like a crowd gathered to extinguish a fire that had broken out in a building.
But a closer look revealed the horror unfolding was far worse.
The people clustered around the building weren't there to put out the fire.
Right then, they were looting... and mercilessly beating the shop owner and what appeared to be his family.
Among the victims were children, by the look of them, but that didn't stop the mob. They trampled the pleading, screaming survivors without hesitation, ransacking the burning shop for whatever they could grab.
"Wh-what the hell is this...? I can't just sit here. We have to go stop them right now."
As a servant of the faith, Kazeros couldn't bear to watch such brutality. Overcome with urgency, she bolted from her seat, ready to charge outside.
But...
"...Stop. It won't make a difference if you go out there."
In the next instant, Polena grabbed Kazeros's hand, urging her to stay put. Bewilderment clouded Kazeros's face.
"Wh-what do you mean? People are dying out there! Isn't it obvious we should go intervene?"
With that, Kazeros glanced back and forth between Polena and me.
But I could only slowly shake my head in response, holding her back as well.
"She's right. For now, we have no choice but to stay quiet... pretend we saw nothing. Just like everyone else here."
"...!"
Only then did Kazeros seem to take in the atmosphere around us.
Shocked and dismayed, she scanned the tavern's patrons, all silently watching the horror outside.
The night was dark, and the attackers numbered more than a handful, but the tavern wasn't empty either—far from it.
What's more, several burly men who looked like they could hold their own were among the crowd.
Yet not one of them showed any sign of rushing out to help. Instead, as time passed, their faces darkened, and they retreated from the windows to drown their unease in their drinks.
As if they were all too familiar with scenes like this...
As if they knew full well that the smart move in times like these was to look the other way.
Overwhelmed by the incomprehensible situation, Kazeros slumped powerlessly back into her seat.
And then... in a trembling voice, she turned to Polena and me with a question.
"Wh-why...? Why is everyone just watching that nightmare unfold... and not stepping in? People are dying out there, aren't they? Even children... So why is everyone...?"
The gruesome, shocking scene was beyond comprehension—not just the midnight assault, but the way it was being utterly ignored. The realization hit her like a thunderbolt.
Watching her, I—who knew the original story—summed up the situation in a single word, drawing on that knowledge.
"Heretics. That's why."
"H-huh...?"
Kazeros stared, still uncomprehending.
Polena, standing beside her, spoke up in a heavy tone to clarify.
"Heretics... The people getting beaten are followers of heretical doctrine. That's why they're being killed in the dead of night. And the ones attacking them? They're 'devout church followers' who believe all devilish heretics must be driven out."
"Even if we intervened, we couldn't stop them. Their methods may be extreme, but they're acting in accordance with the 'Lord's will.' That's why no one here is saying a word."
Polena and I spoke with grim resignation. Kazeros, dazed, murmured softly in a quivering voice.
"...Th-that... N-no way... How can they... How can people do something like this just because of a difference in faith? And church followers, of all people, acting like demons...?"
Of course, as a church Holy Knight, Kazeros couldn't support heretics—not even in thought.
Even with excommunication looming, she still believed herself a faithful servant of God, unashamed before Him.
Yet even she knew that directly attacking followers of heretical doctrine was wrong.
Throughout her life as a Holy Knight, she'd been taught that church doctrine stood for peace, solace, and embrace—and she'd strived to live by it.
A helping hand to the suffering, understanding and mercy to the wayward...
Thus, Kazeros believed that even those who clung to false teachings deserved tolerance, not blanket condemnation and rejection. She'd made every effort to live that way her whole life.
But now, right before her eyes, a scene unfolded that shattered her devout convictions entirely.
'Devout church followers' plundering property and slaughtering children, all in the name of rooting out heretics.
And soon after, without much time passing, the ordeal ended.
The flames consuming the shop died down, and the bodies strewn along the roadside lay still.
The attackers scattered into the night, leaving the gruesome aftermath behind. Kazeros stared at it all, her face blank, utterly speechless.
And...
Watching her like that, I felt a pang in my chest.
'The real problem is that scenes like this are happening all across the Holy Empire. Not just in church territories, but in heretic strongholds too.'
The only difference was that in those places, it was church followers on the receiving end of the lynchings—precisely the opposite.
In other words, religious tensions within the empire had festered to the breaking point, and now they were bubbling to the surface.
With Emperor Matis dead and the fervent church zealot Sisyphus Ferdinand poised to take the throne, those tensions were on the verge of exploding.
In that light, the horrific display we'd just witnessed was merely the beginning—I knew that all too well.
'Even so... seeing something that was only described in text in the original story play out for real doesn't sit right.'
They might see it as a holy mission fueled by religious fervor, but from a modern perspective, it was nothing short of fanatic madness.
And crucially, knowing that people's stated motives and true intentions don't always align, I was certain the violence wasn't born of pure faith either.
'Truth be told, all that "heretic" talk is just a pretext. There's definitely something—or someone—behind it, stirring things up for their own gain.'
I was lost in those serious reflections on the scene—useless as they were at this point—when...
"...Huh?"
"...!"
In the next moment, Kazeros grabbed my hand tightly, her own trembling.
Startled by her sudden move, I felt a flicker of confusion.
Then, gazing at me with desperate eyes, she pleaded in a voice thick with emotion.
"...Please... help them... I beg you..."