Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: There Is a Way, But...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There is a way, but...
"Please... Santana... I beg you... Please... stop those people..."
Kazeros, clutching my hand tightly, pleaded desperately.
At that moment, tears welled up in her eyes, and her face was etched with such profound sorrow that it felt utterly heartbreaking.
"I know it's a reckless request... But... but I just can't... I can't just stand by and watch something like that. How can they... how can they do such things in the name of the Church? They're people too... all precious children of the Lord..."
Overwhelmed by her surging emotions, Kazeros could no longer continue.
Thick teardrops began to fall from her eyes.
These weren't mere tears of sadness...
They were tears brimming with excruciating pain and the most tangled, complex feelings imaginable.
The shock and fear from that horrific scene just moments ago.
Pure, unadulterated pity for those dying.
And... deep rage toward those committing such atrocities in the name of God.
Pouring out all these emotions through her tears without filter, she earnestly begged me.
To end the nightmare unfolding before her eyes... and the ones certain to continue.
However...
"...?"
"S-Santana...?"
In response to her plea, I slowly shook my head.
"I'm sorry. But even if it's your request, this is something I... we can't get involved in."
"B-But..."
"We're here purely as travelers heading to our destination. We're not residents of this place, so we have no place meddling in this city's affairs."
"Th-That's..."
"I understand your feelings, Kazeros, but there are things we can resolve and things we can't. Regrettably, we have no choice but to pass this one by."
"...Kuh... Hic... Uhn..."
Biting her lip at my words, Kazeros shed tears like chick peas.
However, though she was the one making the request, she must have already known.
That stepping into this matter was impossible, no matter what.
Not only were our capabilities as outsiders severely limited, but we were excommunicated and needed to leave this place as swiftly as possible for the Dragona Empire.
Moreover, with Emperor Matis dead, getting involved to help strangers and dragging our feet could draw us into an irreversible disaster.
Even so.
Despite the dire circumstances, the reason Kazeros made this plea to me was surely because she, as a Holy Knight, could not tolerate the events unfolding before her eyes—events that had happened multiple times in the past and would undoubtedly continue.
And... though I had refused for practical reasons, seeing her like this...
I inwardly reaffirmed just how pure-hearted this woman named Kazeros truly was.
'Even knowing the situation is dire, she tries to do good without regard for personal gain... I've always sensed it, but... she's just too good of a person... this Kazeros...'
In my past life or this one, I'd never met anyone so purely devoted to others.
Sure, countless people might seem to have done greater deeds on the surface, but when it came to the genuine intent behind them, no one could match Kazeros.
Honestly, this was what a true cleric should be, but in reality, almost no one could practice it with body and soul.
'If someone like Kazeros had risen just a bit higher in the ranks, none of those tragedies would have happened. She could have easily prevented that catastrophe.'
Thinking such thoughts, I lamented once more the Church's incompetence and corruption that had even driven a woman like Kazeros to abandon her Holy Knight status.
I took her hand, still immersed in sorrow, and gripped it comfortingly.
"...I'm sorry. This is the only answer I can give."
"Hic... N-No... I... I knew it to some extent... Even if it's an unforgivable horror... outsiders like us have no place intervening..."
Wiping her tears, Kazeros answered with difficulty.
At that moment...
"Um... Could you elaborate on what you just said?"
"...Pardon?"
The next instant, a voice suddenly came from right beside us.
Startled, Kazeros and I turned to look.
There stood her—the one we'd momentarily forgotten about.
Polena hadn't left our side and was gazing at us with curiosity and anticipation on her face.
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop... but it sounded like you two were saying there's some way to do it. Is that true? Is there really a way to stop that horrific atrocity?"
"...?"
"Haa..."
Seeing her, who had apparently overheard our entire conversation, Kazeros's face filled with embarrassment, while I let out a deep sigh.
"Setting aside whether there's a way... as you heard, we're just travelers passing through. An outsider staying at most a day or two can't deeply involve themselves in this city's matters..."
"So... there is a way. That's what I should take it as, right?"
"Ah... no... Whether there's a way or not, this isn't something we can—"
"Just tell me if there is or isn't. Is it really possible? To end that insane hell repeating several times a day?"
Her crimson eyes flashed as Polena pressed with unspoken intensity.
Facing her like this, I felt the same as before—that I couldn't escape without telling her the truth.
And...
"...Haa... Yes... there is. But it's extremely difficult. Crucially, to execute it, you'd need considerable reputation and connections as a resident of this city, plus an intimate knowledge of its internal affairs. Without that, it's impossible from the start."
There was a method, but as outsiders, we couldn't execute it even if we wanted to—and we had no justification anyway.
However...
Right after hearing my explanation, Polena's eyes sparkled with delight as she spoke eagerly.
"If those are the only conditions, then it's truly possible, right? To prevent that wretched situation from happening again."
"....Well... yes... I suppose so."
Truth be told, with the connections in the city and the information I needed provided immediately, I had a few ways to seize control of this situation from my position.
However... as I'd been saying, regardless, I neither could nor wanted to get involved.
Though Kazeros's eyes lit up slightly at Polena's words, lingering here was unwise. Unlike Kazeros, whose compassion overflowed, I wasn't one to act without gain.
As I pondered how to brush this woman off quietly...
"Then it's settled. I'll make a contract with you."
"...Pardon?"
Polena's sudden, out-of-left-field statement left me puzzled, and I responded accordingly.
Looking at me, she smiled and said,
"My one condition is this: end the merciless persecution of so-called 'heretics' happening right now in this Munich."
She declared it confidently.
Intrigued, I asked her,
"...And... what will you give us in return?"
Since she'd used the word "contract," there had to be give and take.
Honestly, I had no intention of acting for pocket change in this situation, but I asked anyway.
And...
To my question, the woman before me—Polena—placed a hand on her abundantly voluptuous chest, smiled, and replied brightly.
"I'll give you myself."