The Culprit of the Attack [2]
“It is precisely by preaching the Lord’s gracious words that we help the vampire wash away such wicked thoughts—!”
Celine could not find the words to respond. Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt. She slowly blinked her large eyes. With each blink, she tried to make sense of Harnok’s words, her legs crossed neatly as she focused intently on the effort.
‘So… in other words…’
Attacking people is an evil act → Evil can be removed through evangelism → Therefore, we must evangelize the vampire…? → ?????
Despite her valiant mental sprint, Sister Celine ultimately failed to reach understanding. Her mouth hung open in disbelief at the impossible leap in logic. Then her thoughts turned to the villagers. The moment the realization struck, she shot upright.
‘W-wait…! If he says something like that out loud, won’t the villagers think he’s completely insane?’
Unable to hide the bewilderment in her eyes, Celine turned toward the villagers. And then…
“Hmm… As expected…!”
“Indeed……!”
The sight of the villagers nodding gravely only made her eyes dart about in greater confusion. Watching their reactions, Harnok cheerfully thumped his chest and continued.
“Therefore! There is no need for any of you to worry!!”
The booming sound—like someone striking a drum rather than flesh—left Celine’s head ringing. She briefly wondered how a human body could produce such a noise, then snapped out of her daze with a start. Quickly wiping away the thread of saliva that had begun to escape her crimson lips, she shook her head vigorously until her mind cleared. In a small voice, she addressed Village Chief Perdo.
“U-um…! Chief…?”
“Hm? What is it, Sister Celine?”
“D-do you… not think this is strange?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“I-I mean the knight… the way he’s acting…!”
“Yes……? I’m afraid I don’t follow…”
“I-I mean…! Right now the knight is saying he’s going to evangelize a vampire, of all things…!”
Sister Celine had worried the chief might be shocked by his ignorance, but she quickly realized her assumption had been entirely wrong. Perdo smiled gently and spoke.
“Hoho… Still, if the knight says it, he must have his reasons. How could the likes of us possibly grasp his deeper intentions? After all, he came directly from the Holy City. He even came in person to this frontier village that everyone else avoids. Occasionally—well, perhaps frequently—he uses such metaphorical expressions, but if we fail to understand them, the fault surely lies with us. Besides, he has helped us for eight whole years without accepting a single reward. He would never say anything wicked, would he? Hoho, of course not.”
Eight years was a considerable span of time—long enough for a child in their early teens to grow into an adult, and long enough to grow accustomed to the miracle—or rather, the anomaly—that was Harnok. The villagers had stopped trying to understand things that defied common sense and instead attributed the cause to their own shortcomings. Watching Village Chief Perdo’s good-natured smile, Celine could only nod with a faint smile of her own. Of course, her thoughts were quite different.
‘Waaaaah—!’
Her mind was a sea of tears over everything that was happening. Through the dazed, awkward smile on the nun’s face came Harnok’s distinctive rough and hearty voice.
“……Therefore! As soon as circumstances allow, we will depart to find the vampire—the true culprit behind all these incidents!”
‘We……?’
“W-we…? Who exactly are you planning to travel with…?”
At Celine’s question, Harnok looked at her and grinned, baring his gums. It was the same hearty smile as always, yet for some reason the nun found it chilling.
“Why, you and I, of course! Sister Celine!”
‘Gasp!’
One thread of her consciousness finally gave out and fainted at the far edge of her mind. The faint upward curl at the corner of her lips was merely her body’s last defense against total unconsciousness…
Harnok’s voice calling “Sister? Sister? Is something the matter?” grew distant, like the fading echo of a dream.
“Oho! It seems the sister is completely intoxicated with the anticipation of evangelizing a vampire! I understand that feeling perfectly, Sister! The joy of spreading the Lord’s gracious words to another! It is only natural you would be swept away by such emotion!!”
Perhaps it was a mercy that Sister Celine, half-fainted, did not hear the rest of Harnok’s words.
-Crackle! Pop! Crackle……!
The sound of sparks flying from the campfire brushed past her ears, followed by the gentle bubbling of boiling water. Watching the stew simmer in the small pot set up outdoors, Celine glanced toward the basket. Heavy stones pressed down on it from above and all sides. It was a precaution Harnok had taken in case the bat woke up. As the vampire’s familiar, it was unlikely to awaken in the late afternoon, but one could never be too sure.
Just then, Harnok flung the door open and strode into the hall.
“Sister Celine! The stew is cooked just right. We can eat now.”
Celine accepted the bowl Harnok offered with a gentle smile.
“Ah, thank you.”
‘……?!!?!?’
The moment she saw the stew he carried, she had to be careful not to drop the container. The vessel in Harnok’s hands was less a “bowl” and more the size of the pot itself. If she hadn’t seen the actual pot still sitting outside over the fire, she might have mistaken it for him bringing the entire cauldron. The spoon inside was better described as a ladle.
Noticing her gaze, the barbarian paused his furious spooning and spoke.
“Ah, I thought there might not be enough for both of us to share. When I asked the villagers, they gladly provided more! They truly have kind hearts!”
“Ahaha… Yes……”
Celine nodded awkwardly with a strained laugh and began blowing on her stew before bringing it to her mouth. After a few clinks of the bowl, she gently set it down on the floor. Harnok tilted his head.
“Hm? No appetite, Sister? You’ve barely eaten half.”
“Harnok…”
The nun’s lips moved. Through the window in the wall, the deep red sunlight that had been illuminating her began to shift slowly. Half of her figure gradually sank into shadow.
“Hm?”
“Harnok… how did you end up joining the Church…?”
The clinking of Harnok’s spoon stopped abruptly. The motionless spoon merely scraped against the empty bowl, producing awkward sounds. What Celine had omitted was “even though you’re from the Bahon Tribe.” Though their first meeting had been followed by a whirlwind of events that left little room to ask, she knew that if she let this moment pass, another clear opportunity might not come. Celine was not so tactless as to voice a potentially sensitive matter outright, and Harnok was not so dull as to miss the implication.
After blinking his massive eyes for a moment, Harnok broke into a hearty grin. His crimson gums flashed between his teeth.
“That’s obvious! Because His Holiness the Pope saved my life!”
‘……?’
Before Celine could ask what he meant by that unexpected answer, the basket weighed down with stones began to rattle noisily.
Outside, night had fully settled in.