Traces of the Cult
Thud, thud.
“…….”
“…….”
Hadley had said an Executor had arrived.
After hearing those words, Juhan had simply fallen into step behind him without any further protest. Looks like we’re headed for that tent after all. No matter how he considered it, the direction they were walking seemed to lead straight toward the black tent he had been watching earlier. The Executor was supposed to have arrived today, so they must have pitched the tent in advance. Do Executors always stay in black tents? With that idle thought, Juhan kept walking at a measured pace.
“You’d better say you want out right now. If you do, I’ll just throw you outside the village.”
Apparently mistaking Juhan’s quiet compliance for something else, Hadley was telling him to leave of his own free will while he still could.
“…I haven’t done anything wrong. Is it really alright to treat someone this rudely?”
“You started the unnecessary business first, so you’re just getting the treatment that matches. So? What’s your answer?”
Naturally, Juhan was under no obligation to reply. Seems like he’s trying to needle me into causing some kind of scene. He simply gave a light shrug of his shoulders.
“…Hah.”
Perhaps that only irritated Hadley further. The man’s brow twitched, little by little. But no more conversation was possible. Before either of them quite realized it, they had already reached the front of the black tent.
Rustle.
With a natural motion, Hadley pulled aside the tent flap and spoke toward the interior.
“Executor Antara. Holy Knight Hadley reporting.”
No particular answer came from within.
Rustle.
“…….”
The faint sense of presence alone was enough to confirm someone was inside. After a short wait, a short, firm voice granted them entry, as if to say they could come in now.
“Enter.”
“Yes. You too—come in.”
Hadley gestured for Juhan to follow. Having no particular reason to refuse, Juhan quietly moved in after him. Not much to look at, really. The interior he found was nothing special. Aside from the black fabric that set it apart from the other tents, it was no different from the one Juhan himself had been staying in.
Then a man entered Juhan’s field of vision.
“…….”
He wore the same black coat and uniform Juhan had seen on the Executor back at the inn, and he sat there with an indifferent air.
“Executor Antara. Before I hear why you summoned me, may I report one matter first?”
“Speak.”
Looking at the Executor, Hadley pointed at Juhan and continued.
“This one’s identity has yet to be properly verified.”
“An unverified identity?”
Hadley’s voice was thick with dissatisfaction.
“On the sole grounds that he carries Sir Velkras’s token, he intended to roam freely through the village.”
“…….”
“Frankly speaking, I cannot trust this man. The orders we received were clearly—”
He poured out an impassioned stream of words, full of grievance and incomprehension, insisting that this outsider ought to be driven out at once.
“…….”
Yet for some reason, Executor Antara simply watched Juhan without a word—almost as if he were examining something about him. It was not a gaze Juhan particularly enjoyed.
“…Therefore, even now, this fellow should be—”
“Juhan.”
Antara cut Hadley off mid-sentence and spoke a name that had not been offered.
“Is that your name?”
“…Yes.”
“Executor Antara…?”
Hearing his own name spoken so suddenly, Juhan could only nod in confirmation, as was only natural.
A faint snort of amusement.
Having confirmed it, Executor Antara nodded as though he now understood how the situation had unfolded.
“So it was you. The one who caught the Saintess’s interest.”
“…Pardon?”
“…….”
“Velkras told me about it. Said he’d found an interesting fellow, though he didn’t think the man would come to the Holy Kingdom.”
Faced with Antara’s manner, Hadley could only stare blankly at Juhan. Not that Antara seemed to care about Hadley’s expression in the slightest—his eyes remained fixed on Juhan.
“At first I thought it was nonsense, but seeing you for myself… I can’t say I don’t understand.”
“…….”
When Juhan still offered no particular reply, Antara spoke to him again.
“Still, the fact that you came all this way and even showed that token suggests you’ve made up your mind to some degree.”
Antara spoke alone and convinced himself alone. Quietly watching the man, Juhan carefully nodded as if to agree. He had, after all, been planning to go to the Holy Kingdom eventually. There was no need to deny it.
“Hm.”
Seeing Juhan’s assent, Antara seemed to decide further conversation was unnecessary and turned to Hadley.
“Hadley.”
“Yes.”
“I had intended to send you alone, but I’ve changed my mind.”
“…What do you mean, sir?”
Without answering the question, Antara took a document from the table.
Sss.
He pointed to a section of the map as he spoke.
“This shows the traces of the heretics I’ve been tracking, plotted on the map.”
“E-Executor… showing something like this in front of this man—”
At some point, the way Hadley referred to Juhan had shifted from “this fellow” to “this man.” Perhaps he was at least capable of reading the room.
“The other Holy Knights have already received their orders, so I want you to investigate the matter—together with this Juhan fellow.”
“…….”
“It’s an important matter. I’d prefer no private feelings get mixed into it.”
Sss.
Juhan casually turned his head to check the places marked on the map. Looks like they’re all really close by. The map Antara had produced seemed to be a simplified chart of the area around the village. There appeared to be more than five marked locations. Antara was probably heading somewhere more important himself and meant to leave the remaining tasks to Hadley.
“How about using this chance to learn how to cooperate with someone you dislike?”
“…….”
“You said you wanted to become an Executor, didn’t you? Even for people like us, there’s a limit to what one person can do alone.”
Tap, tap.
Having said that much, Antara began tidying his things as if preparing to leave. Before stepping out of the tent, he offered one last piece of advice.
“I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
“…Yes.”
“And the same goes for you.”
Tap.
“I’d like you to prove the worth of that token.”
“…Yes.”
“Then.”
Rustle.
The entrance to the black tent closed once more, leaving only Juhan and Hadley inside. Silence settled over them almost instantly.
“…Tsk.”
For a while Hadley said nothing, simply closing his eyes as if the whole situation grated on him. What he was thinking was easy enough to guess—annoyance, the urge to throw Juhan out immediately, that sort of thing. As for Juhan, he had only one thought. Now that I’ve confirmed an Executor is here… there’s no need to rush.
While he stood there thinking, Hadley finally spoke to him. Apparently even he could not defy an Executor’s order.
“…Follow me.”
“Where to?”
“The place the Executor mentioned.”
Whisk.
Hadley moved faster than before, his manner making it clear he no longer cared whether Juhan kept up or not.
“The forest northeast of the village. Traces of cultists—that is, the heretics the Executor spoke of—were found there.”
The one unexpected thing was that he was still giving Juhan the essential briefing.
A sharp glance.
That was all, however. The hostility in his eyes toward Juhan had not softened in the least.
Thud, thud.
And so their uncomfortable journey began. Hadley walked ahead; Juhan followed behind. After roughly ten minutes of walking—
“Here.”
Hadley stopped in the middle of a deep stretch of forest.
“Here, you say?”
“That’s right.”
To Juhan, it was simply a forest where he sensed nothing at all. The only signs around them were traces of a search that had already been conducted.
“…Hm?”
Yet even among those traces, something seemed different to Hadley’s eyes.
“Until yesterday, this was all there was.”
“Is something wrong?”
When Juhan asked about the muttered remark, Hadley simply looked at him for a moment—then, instead of answering, pointed to one side.
“Look over there.”
“…A red line?”
Where Juhan’s gaze fell, a vivid scarlet line lay as though it had just been painted.
“You’re saying it appeared newly?”
“Yes.”
Hadley’s voice dropped abruptly.
“It wasn’t in the report. I checked it with my own eyes.”
He slowly crouched down and began examining the red line. As he did so, Juhan naturally started looking around the surroundings as well.
“Wait.”
Hadley called him back as if to stop him.
“Something feels off.”
“What?”
“In the present situation, the only people who could touch this pattern are—”
Or rather, he had been about to say that.
KRA-KOOM!
Boom!
A sudden explosion cut Hadley’s words short before he could finish.
“Damn it…”
The blast was not as loud as it might have been. Perhaps the ones responsible had known how many Holy Knights were stationed nearby. It felt less like a trap meant to kill and more like—
Woooom—
Woom—
“What’s this?”
“Shit.”
—like a switch, or a shock, designed to activate some kind of device.
And in that moment—
Saaa—
An intense crimson light exploded outward along the pattern. The red lines linked together in an instant, and before long a single enormous sigil took form across the ground.
The expression that crossed Hadley’s face when he saw it was colder and harder than any Juhan had witnessed from him in their short acquaintance.
“This is…”
And then—
Woooom—!
The completed sigil flared with a blinding radiance that completely swallowed Juhan’s and Hadley’s vision.