Chapter 63: The Cleanup (2)
Chapter 63: The Cleanup (2)
I hurriedly stopped them and looked back at Rien. I didn't say anything, but she would've caught on well enough to what I wanted to say.
And sure enough.
'I told her to bring the ones who were at least somewhat sane...'
'These are the ones who are at least somewhat sane.'
She had been beating the members down, and now she answered me straight away with her eyes. I read her blatant look instantly and felt a moment of doubt.
The ones who were at least somewhat sane were these guys? Really? No matter how bad it is, surely there'd be one or two who could at least pretend to be normal?
As Rien had suggested, I briefly rifled through my mind to see if there was anyone better than them.
'...There isn't.'
After confirming Cletter gazing at the medicine scattered across the floor as if it were a waste, I shook my head side to side.
'Really, there isn't.'
Aside from how pathetic my own circumstances felt, I couldn't just keep wasting time here either.
When the commotion had died down to some degree, I glanced at Ran while looking pitifully at the guys who'd had their drugs confiscated and were now dejected.
She caught my silent question asking if she still hadn't changed her mind and gave a small nod. Damn it.
"...We're not killing them all. We have to exclude those who are simply bewitched. So no drugs."
"You are being far too soft, my lord..."
"I now understand why you brought us here. We are indeed suited for distinguishing the poor. However, the situation will be chaotic. Must we really distinguish who is poor and who is not in the midst of that?"
I know, you bastard. But I've got no choice. If the sorcerer won't cooperate, the plan and everything else is over.
"We'll set fire to the inside of the building. Most of those who come rushing out then will be ordinary people bewitched by the religion. Four of you will wait outside and pick out and kill the suspicious ones hiding among them—"
There's no need to take them alive. Even if they aren't ordinary people, if they're at the level of running away like that, they'd be small fry anyway. Losing a few probably wouldn't be a big problem.
Those in somewhat higher positions would have things to hide or take with them, so they'd go deeper inside. I would acquire those 'things to hide or take with them'.
It didn't matter if there weren't any. I already knew the likely locations where such things would be.
"—The remaining six will run wild on the inside. Same thing, just kill the suspicious ones. You can go in when you see the smoke. Ah, and if any of them move in a different direction as if trying to go somewhere, some of you will track them."
"Who shall set the fire?"
"I will."
I had deliberately brought materials that produced smoke well and lasted a long time. I'd just have to set fire to them in some deserted spot and toss them in.
The sorcerer would naturally have to move with me, and Rien would follow even if I told her not to, so that effectively meant no one else was left. Hmm, clean.
"But..."
"Hm?"
"The plan seems a little strange."
Cletter tilted his head.
"It's not that I don't know what I'm supposed to do... it's just, something..."
"Are you questioning your lord's orders right now?"
"No, if you order it, I must do it. But..."
He looked down at his knight uniform with a confused expression, then looked at me.
Ah, I understood what he was trying to say.
"You seem confused because we're letting the poor live, but the objective here isn't to handle things quietly. So you're free to let the whole world know that the Murderer Knight Order wrecked the place."
No, we had to let them know. That was the only way my contributions would be recognized.
Of course, if we went wild like this, the emperor, who was known to favor me, would naturally catch more flak, but that wasn't my problem.
The emperor wasn't the type to care about being cursed at, and even if he did want to reprimand me, I was only following his orders, so there wouldn't be any major issue.
"Then find a suitable spot, take position, and wait."
"Yes."
I left them behind and strode around to the back of the building, touching the windows one by one. I had intended to go in through that open window from last time, but... they were all locked?
'Well, after causing a commotion like that, if security was still the same, that would actually be more suspicious...'
Big trouble! I don't know any other entrances besides the front door!
I glanced back at Rien and the sorcerer. They shook their heads too, indicating they didn't know any other way either.
An awkward breeze passed between us for a moment. Then, as if a good idea had occurred to her in the meantime, Ran spoke up slowly.
"Perhaps you could check if any of the knights you brought know how to open a window?"
"Hmm?"
"I heard all the knights brought here are from the slums. Though I cannot speak with certainty as I haven't been out into the world many times, most of the poor I have met so far possessed a variety of... intriguing skills."
Aha. I got what she was trying to say.
Come to think of it, quite a few members had rather interesting manual skills. Things like pickpocketing, or how to pick a lock...
Without further delay, I went to Rien, told her to check and bring anyone with such skills. But she, who would normally obey immediately, showed hesitation this time.
"I cannot leave you alone again, my lord..."
"I'm not alone. The sorcerer is here with me, as you can see. I'll be waiting quietly, so don't worry, just go and come back."
"..."
"...?"
What was this? It didn't seem like it was just that.
I stared after Rien's retreating figure with puzzlement as she walked away, clearly showing reluctance.
Before long, she returned with one member,
and only then did I understand what had upset her so.
'Rien was a knight.'
This situation of having to pick a window lock like a thief must have been uncomfortable for her.
Since her lord, whom she must always prioritize, wasn't in a dangerous situation, and they might find another way with a bit more investigation, but I'd chosen to pick the lock anyway.
She kept her mouth shut because she knew we didn't have time. If we'd had even a little more leeway, she surely would've cautiously suggested looking for another way.
This wasn't something I could fix by saying a few words. I pretended not to notice Rien's mood, averted my gaze, and looked back at the member who had skillfully picked the lock and now looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
"To think it'd be used here like this...! How moving..."
"Yeah, good work. Now go back."
"Huk, you're too cold, my lord. You could praise me a bit more..."
His mouth grumbled, but his actions followed orders faithfully. I let out an inadvertent chuckle at the sight of him turning away, sulking.
I felt it every time, but those guys were only mad dogs in words. They were awfully good at reading the situation. They had a sharp sense, you could say.
Well, if they had no sense, they wouldn't have survived that battlefield anyway. Still, it was commendable.
Maybe that was why. With a somewhat softened heart, I spoke to the back of his head.
"Hurry up and go."
"Yesss..."
No sooner had the member moved out of sight than we grabbed onto the open window and climbed through. Ah, of course, we had done the minimum checks, like making sure no one was inside.
As if it were a given, my two companions followed me through the window without a word. Ran struggled a little, but Rien lifted her up and over, so there was no major problem.
Since it wasn't the same window I'd climbed through before, the unfamiliar scenery made me stop for a moment, and I fell into brief deliberation.
'Where would be good...'
The fire mustn't be discovered too quickly, but the smoke couldn't spread too slowly either, which would also be a problem.
If I knew the geography of this place, that would be one thing, but I couldn't possibly. While I hesitated, Rien stepped forward first.
"If you would tell me the criteria for a suitable place, my lord, I will guide you."
"Lady Rien? How do you...?"
"Well, last time when I was searching for you, I went through most of the corridors and rooms. I have some grasp of the layout."
And now that was coming in handy. The world really...
I looked at her with a strange expression, then laid out the conditions I had in mind. She listened to my words with a serious attitude, nodded, and then began to guide us.
We moved past several crises without incident thanks to Rien's excellent sense for presences. It wasn't long before she found a suitable spot surprisingly quickly — her claim of having grasped the layout hadn't been empty words.
"This is the place. What do you think?"
"It seems fine."
"Then..."
"Yes."
I set fire to the materials I'd brought. Whoa, the smoke was already really something...
I covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief Rien offered and threw the materials onto the floor.
My vision was already starting to be obscured. I seemed to have prepared the materials spectacularly well. I looked at it billowing out massive amounts of smoke, half uneasy and half proud, then turned my body around.
From now on, it was a race against time. Before the leadership could notice something was off and spirit away important evidence to escape, I had to seize it first.
"Let's hurry."
Thanks to Rien's guidance, finding that prayer room wasn't too difficult.
The interior still had that mysterious atmosphere created by the white walls and purple cloth, but this time, instead of looking around, I immediately sought out what needed to be handled and led the sorcerer onward.
There was nothing more to see here anyway.
On that note, no one was here. There was no way this wasn't the right place. Were they already inside? Or was this a trap?
'...Honestly, I'm not certain any evidence remains.'
Because Rien had caused that commotion. The leadership, put on alert by that previous incident, might have already moved important clues or evidence elsewhere.
Nevertheless, the reason I had come back here was,
'Because it doesn't matter either way.'
Whatever the case, the Salvation Church would be smashed to pieces by this incident. That is, putting aside the possibility of a revival or a second Salvation Church.
If the leadership had moved the key documents, then Cruel wouldn't be able to find them either. So looking at the situation alone, I would end up being the winner of this game.
Key documents? Neither Cruel nor I found them.
The collapse of the Salvation Church? I did that.
So who would be the winner.
Though I was only thinking this to myself, honestly, I hoped the leadership had moved the books. If I found them, they would just be a bonus point, but if Cruel found them, they would become a crucial card that could flip the whole game board.
That was why I had brought out this reckless, flimsy plan and dared call it a plan.
'In any case, I'll know once I go in.'
I went up onto the platform and swept aside the draping purple cloth. Ran's pupils instantly pinned themselves to a single point on the wall.
"It seems to be a spell that uses a gem as its main medium. It has a communication function, a function to immediately send a signal if destroyed, and what appears to be a spatial distortion function..."
"I see. We just need to pass through here. Is it possible?"
"..."
"...?"
"...Just a moment, just a moment... Could you give me a little more time?"
"Is there a problem?"
"There's something... something..."
Her words trailed off.
Her gaze, composed at first, grew serious as if she'd detected something strange. Her calm black pupils were faintly trembling. And before long, it changed to shock.
"...Why... why is this here..."
"What's wrong?"
"Why is there magic cast on this place?"
"...Excuse me?"
"This is not sorcery. It is magic disguised as sorcery."
My head went blank for a moment. This was something entirely unexpected.
Magic? I'd naturally assumed it was sorcery... out of the blue, magic? In the human world?
This was a serious problem. It looked like I'd be heading back to the Demon Realm before long...
'Ugh, my disguise...'
Just thinking about it felt stressful, so I tried hard not to think about it and looked back at the sorcerer and Rien.
As a sorcerer, Ran understood the gravity of the situation more clearly than anyone, and with a stiff face, she was explaining the device to Rien, who had question marks floating over her head. She was explaining, but she seemed lost in thought.
"I became certain upon seeing the spatial distortion function. Do you know the difference between magic and sorcery?"
"I only know that magic breaks the world's laws, while sorcery pays a certain price to slightly twist the rules and use them to one's advantage... Is that correct?"
"Yes, that's correct. To take this spatial distortion as an example — no, it's not even distortion, is it? This is grafting an entirely different space onto it."
"Grafting, you say?"
"Yes. A completely different space has been connected through this gem. If you were to break down this wall, there would probably be nothing behind it."
"Which means, if the gem were broken..."
"It would mean crossing over to the connected space becomes a distant prospect."
I felt unnecessarily stung by those words. Good thing I hadn't broken it.
Anyway, that wasn't what I was curious about right now. There were two things I wanted to know.
Who cast this magic?
And could we cross over into 'that' space through this?