Catching the Thief (3)

Cleaning up after a fight was always more of a hassle than the fight itself. I felt that truth even more keenly after battling the Evil God's followers. They really didn't die cleanly.

Splat.

Nefure and Lier were on the verge of tears as they tried to comfort each other.

"I'm not so sure. That guy was one of the Evil God's followers, after all."

"What? I thought those only showed up at the Academy?"

Her tone suggested that of course they would be at the Academy, which I found amusing. But in this world, that was common sense.

…Come to think of it, it had been common sense in Oh Ji-o's world too, so maybe it wasn't that strange.

"I thought so too, but you saw how he transformed earlier, right? That's one of their classic tricks."

"T-then what do we do? Won't the temple purify us?"

"Whatever you've heard, that won't happen."

I'd spoken reflexively to calm Lier, but then I wondered if it might actually be possible. There had to be a reason why there were no followers of the Evil God outside the Academy district.

No matter what, they probably wouldn't just slaughter the victims… but then again, who knows.

Well, even if the temple had some hidden dark history like that, it didn't matter to me.

"B-but…"

"It's fine. I'm a major figure in the temple. No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠matter what happens, they won't harm you two since you're with me."

As long as I held the status of a pilgrim, neither the temple nor the imperial family could touch us.

"So don't worry about that. Instead, you should hope they get here quickly. The only ones who can get us out of this disgusting place are the temple priests."

"…That signal flare you set off was pretty spectacular, so they'll probably be here soon."

"Haha, exactly. After all, it was a signal flare powered by one of the Evil God's followers."

It had literally been a filthy fireworks show. Even if the temple wasn't coming, something would definitely arrive soon.

Chatter chatter.

"They always say if you want to call someone, just start talking."

A noisy commotion drifted in from far away. I separated the Spiral of Good Deeds, sat down in a suitable spot, and waited.

"Anyone who can use healing magic, stay here! Those who can use purification magic, head inside!"

"Confirmed! Traces of contamination detected! This is an Evil God-related disaster!"

"Damn it, call the holy knights! The rest of you, move the injured!"

"Watch out for secondary contamination!"

"Strip it off!"

Commands echoed from a distance. I'd been a little worried, but the content was surprisingly moderate. Well, of course. The people here had stopped the advance of an Evil God follower and were victims themselves. There was no way they'd slaughter us all.

"Halt! Those over there, please identify yourselves! I must warn you in advance that refusal may result in immediate action!"

"Can't be helped, I suppose. We're at the center of the incident."

Still, it was fortunate they weren't attacking right away.

"What is this pit? Is the follower dead? Answer me!"

One of them got a bit heated, but it didn't matter.

"T-this is…! My apologies!"

Yep. The Spiral of Good Deeds. I'm a pilgrim.

"It's fine. There's a high-ranking official over there, so go check on him. It looked like you were acquainted with the follower."

I spoke leisurely while putting the Spiral of Good Deeds away again, leaving the overly tense priest behind.

"Understood! Priest Alex and Priest Yor, stay behind and assist these people. The rest of you, move forward!"

Having verifiable high status was incredibly convenient. As a bonus, I dumped even more responsibility onto the unconscious pig over there.

Not that he could recover from this anyway.

When I looked around, the entire grand mansion was covered in rotten blood. I couldn't tell if it was purely from the explosion's range or if it was the last grudge left behind by Vagrant. What was certain was that the entire area was contaminated.

Contamination on people could be wiped off and purified, but purifying what had seeped into the cracks between buildings and the ground was going to be a massive headache.

I'd failed at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my plan to half-destroy the mansion when I saw an opening… but this is an even bigger mess, so I guess I should be satisfied.

"We will escort you."

"This way, please. It looks like you need both treatment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and purification."

"Let's go."

I obediently followed the priests' guidance. It was about time for us to pull ourselves together too.

"What happened to the soldiers who were here?"

"We're securing them. No fatalities have been found yet."

"A blessing from the gods."

"Yes, just as you said."

I let out a light sigh of relief. Considering how, in the game, whenever an Evil God follower appeared several people would die, this was truly lucky. Most of the time it was glossed over with a simple script like "several people were sacrificed," but occasionally a connected character would die or suffer serious injuries.

Must be because Vagrant wasn't that strong.

Most followers were fairly powerful, so it seemed plausible.

"Y-you bastards! Do you know who I am?!"

"……………"

"No! T-that's right, that Helisbort brat! The brat who was here is the problem! I, I—!"

Shouts came from behind us. True to form, he was smoothly shifting the blame onto someone else, but the current situation wasn't something that could be brushed off with family name and yelling. Any Evil God-related trouble that occurred in a territory was the lord's responsibility.

Since Vickra Altea was currently the temporary governor of the city, he bore responsibility for this entire incident.

"T-that can't be! I didn't know! I didn't know anything! My brother didn't say a word either!"

"Oh, after passing the buck comes 'I didn't know,' huh."

Was it because he was still one of the great nobles? He was using his political skills quite well. However, this incident was serious enough to implicate even the main Altea family. If he got cut loose as the scapegoat, that would be the end of it. There was no way to smooth this over at his level.

In the end, the pig had been dealt with without me lifting a finger.

"Since I ended up receiving help from you, I wanted to take him down with my own hands this time."

"I thought it was weird how quiet you were being."

When I explained the entire situation at the scene, Diana rubbed her fist with a regretful expression. So that strange sense of unease I'd felt back then had been this. It wasn't that she was picky about who she helped. She just wanted to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠play the pitiful heroine who received help from me.

"The imperial family sent people afterward too. It won't end nicely."

"I'm really disappointed."

By the time the purification at the temple was finished, an official from the imperial family had come to greet me.

"What did he say again… something about being grateful that we suppressed the power of the Altea family, I think."

"…Future foresight is really tricky, isn't it?"

"He said they'd give more power to our family or something like that before he left."

"Oh my, then maybe the Helisbort family will end up like this someday too."

"Well… with an imperial family like that, I guess it can't be helped."

At least, it wouldn't happen while I was alive. Diana knew that too, so she must have said it as a joke.

"More importantly, what pisses me off is that you're completely fine."

"Oh dear. But there was no need for the entire party to get covered in that strange liquid, right?"

"If only you couldn't talk."

I turned my gaze away from Diana. We weren't the only ones in the high-class reception room prepared by the temple.

"In that sense, you two are the true companions in this incident. Did the purification go well?"

"Uhh… yes. It still smells a bit, but it's much better than before."

"They gave us a whole bunch of holy water, so you don't have to worry."

Lier and Nefure answered with lukewarm smiles.

"Thanks for your help. Your assistance was crucial this time."

"No need for empty words. We didn't really do much."

"That's not true. If it weren't for you two, we wouldn't have realized Vagrant was the culprit or that he was going to attack that day."

Lier had gathered the materials, and Nefure had analyzed them to identify the suspect. Although Diana had been the one to pinpoint the culprit in the end, Nefure had been the one to go confirm it. Just because I'd stepped up at the last moment didn't mean their help had been meaningless.

"With that in mind, I have a gift for you. It should serve as proper compensation for Nefure."

"A gift, you say?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the Academy thing."

"That's right. I promised to write you a recommendation letter."

The Academy's admission condition was whether or not one possessed a unique ability. However, not all students had one. In extremely rare cases, admission was possible with ordinary abilities alone.

But those cases are almost nonexistent.

Considering the maximum admission age was twenty, it was difficult to build up the level of ability needed for Academy admission within that time. And those who had accumulated such ability by that age usually didn't cling to the Academy.

"But I'm not going to write it."

"…Well, I can't really complain since I haven't done anything to earn it."

Nefure made a bitter face at my answer. Did she think she'd been tricked? Or had she never believed me in the first place? Either way, it didn't matter. Because I wasn't saying I would weasel out of it.

"When I watched you two fight, I saw that you both have unique abilities. So you don't need a recommendation letter. Just go and show them."

"Unique abilities?"

"To be precise, both of you."

"M-me too?"

"That's right. They seem to be the same ability, don't they?"

At my words, the two of them looked at each other in confusion. The fact that unique abilities were passed down through bloodlines was common knowledge that even commoners knew.

"They look the same, but… I don't have any special power like that?"

"Me neither."

"It's common to misunderstand it that way."

"Misunderstand?"

"Because to the possessor, a unique ability is really no different from just another part of their body."

If it was something easily noticeable like fire-starting or telekinesis, it would be obvious. But if not, people often mistook it for a function everyone possessed. Most commoners who were admitted late fell into that category.

In the game, they enrolled next year, so even if I hadn't said anything, they would have realized it within this year.

The words I'd just given them had simply sped that up a little. A twinge of guilt stabbed at my chest, telling me not to use that passion as unpaid labor, but I deliberately ignored it. Of course, I had no intention of letting it end with just this.

"Separately from that, I told both the temple and the imperial family that your help was crucial in subjugating the Evil God's follower. You'll receive separate rewards."

"N-no, even if you say that…"

Lier looked like her eyes were spinning, as if she could no longer handle it. Nefure, on the other hand, was the opposite. Her eyes sparkled as she focused even more intently on me.

"Rewards? You mean money? How much?"

"You'll get money, and you'll also receive medals. Living in Solbera costs quite a bit, so don't go spending it all recklessly."

"Of course! Oh my god, I'm going to receive a medal… I wonder how happy Mom will be…"

"Umm… I don't want to leave here…"

"That's not possible. Possessors of unique abilities have an obligation to attend the Academy."

"Ugh…"

I comforted the distressed Lier and spoke to both of them.

"Then, let's meet at the Academy."

"Ah, you two are nobles too, so of course you'd be going to the Academy!"

"T-then, does that make us your seniors?"

"No. Wouldn't it be the other way around? You'll be our seniors."

I checked the Spiral of Good Deeds hanging at my waist. The small horn vessel was already filled to the brim with pure white liquid, sloshing gently.

"It looks like it'll take us some time to get back."