The Beast (1)
The day had been utter chaos after the Bishop’s sudden arrival. The moment I finished work, I barely managed to peel away the crowd of people around me before bringing him to the restaurant. Everyone seemed eager to share a meal together, but I asked them to understand that the two of us had private matters to discuss and suggested we postpone until tomorrow.
“Welcome…! Priest!! Oh my, please come in. This way, please. Haha!! Why has it been so long? I’ve been waiting with my neck craned, wondering when you might return…”
“I was busy with a trip to the Labyrinth. Ah, any seat is fine. I can sit anywhere.”
“How could we allow that! Our child is alive thanks to you, Priest. Please, this way.”
We were ushered into a room clearly meant for wealthy patrons, and the food arrived in such staggering quantities that I worried the table might collapse. Master watched it all with open admiration and gave me a thumbs-up.
“Wow~ Priest Arthur, you’ve really come up in the world.”
“It’s nothing special, yet they treat me like this.”
“When a man saves something precious, the debt of gratitude isn’t easily forgotten.”
“The food is excellent, but they always overdo it, so I can’t visit often.”
“Not taking gratitude for granted is admirable too. Who raised such a fine disciple, I wonder?”
I sincerely hoped he wouldn’t shamelessly claim the credit for himself.
“I simply grew up well under your guidance, Master.”
“You little rascal. Look at you, all full of spirit. Haha!!”
It seemed he was genuinely pleased to see me after so long. The playful lilt in his every word gave it away.
“Try the food. You’ll understand why I brought you here.”
“Oh? Let’s see, then.”
The moment the food touched his tongue, Master’s eyes sparkled.
“This meat melts in the mouth.”
“Yes. The meat is especially superb. Everything else is delicious too, of course.”
He must have been quite hungry; he ate in focused silence. The pleasant meal continued until our stomachs were comfortably full. Then Master was the first to bring up that subject.
“I’ve already ordered an investigation into Prince Loras. From now on, don’t concern yourself with anything involving him. Live as if you know nothing.”
“Already?”
“You wouldn’t have spoken baselessly. Besides, the mere existence of such suspicions is a problem. The prince must prove his own innocence.”
It felt as though I had effectively reported Prince Loras. Even so, I had no regrets.
“To be honest, I’ve suspected him for some time. Sister Melody once mentioned that Prince Loras felt… off to her.”
“You mean that heretic inquisitor who serves as your bodyguard.”
“Yes.”
Sister Melody would have been overjoyed to meet Master. She had even asked about him before. Unfortunately, she had taken the day off—technically a vacation, though in truth she had gone to the Holy Empire to deliver her report. The delegates we had requested had arrived today, so she was absent to brief them on everything that had happened and hand over the items recovered from the Labyrinth. And of all days, Master had chosen this one to appear, so I still hadn’t been able to introduce them.
“A heretic inquisitor’s intuition is not to be dismissed. It’s remarkably sharp.”
“She seemed somewhat uncertain.”
“If it were merely a matter of associating with heretics, that would be understandable.”
“While she was still weighing her doubts, I happened to hear the story from a soldier who had entered the Labyrinth with the prince. He was too terrified to speak openly and only whispered it to me.”
“Why would a soldier seek you out to speak about Prince Loras? What connection do you have with him, and how does he even know you?”
Ah. So I had to explain from the beginning.
“I treated him inside the Labyrinth. After receiving my care, he apparently liked my skill and came looking for me again.”
“…I heard Prince Loras and Princess Reciel are on extremely bad terms. Yet you treated one of his soldiers?”
I had tried to gloss over it, but he had to seize on that detail.
“Yes. We met by chance in the Labyrinth. They all looked so exhausted that I treated them.”
“Ha… I knew you were a little strange, but I never imagined you were this insane. Doing something like that inside the Labyrinth, of all places?”
Master shook his head as though my actions were beyond comprehension. It felt unfair to be lectured on eccentricity by the very person famous for being an eccentric.
“What did I do wrong? Isn’t that simply what a priest should do? There was a patient right before my eyes.”
This world has a god, yet it is still woefully lacking in basic humanity.
“To summarize, then: you treated them in the Labyrinth, the soldier remembered you and specifically sought you out for healing, and in return for your care he told you about Prince Loras’s suspicious behavior. Is that correct?”
“More or less.”
“Still… trusting the words of someone so close to Prince Loras feels unreliable…”
He, too, seemed bothered by the fact that the informant was one of the prince’s own soldiers. But if he could see those simple, honest soldiers with his own eyes, he would understand why I had chosen to believe them.
“I’m not trusting them blindly. The reason I asked for your help was precisely so you could investigate thoroughly. This seemed far beyond the scale I could handle alone.”
“Calling me instead of trying to solve it yourself was the right decision. You’ve become an adult without me noticing. I’m impressed. Truly impressed.”
He smiled warmly, pleased by his disciple’s growth, but I was dumbfounded. When exactly had I not been an adult?
“I’ve been an adult for quite some time now.”
“As one ages, one begins to see what others cannot. Simply growing old does not make one an adult.”
He always called himself a shabby old man, yet moments like these made him radiate the solemn dignity of a sage.
Once the meal ended, we left the restaurant and prepared to part ways.
“Can’t you rest for a day? You promised we would have dinner together tomorrow. If you leave like this, how will I handle everyone’s resentment?”
Especially Sister Melody—she would have been delighted to meet Bishop Saul. Learning that she had missed him after he came all this way because of poor timing would leave her deeply disappointed.
“Tell them an urgent matter came up and it couldn’t be helped. Once things settle, I’ll stop by again. We can have that dinner then.”
They said he had been obsessed with work in his youth. Having taken on a new task after so long, his enthusiasm was boundless.
“You must come back.”
“I heard you the first time.”
Now that he could no longer get anything out of me, he waved his hand dismissively as if I were a nuisance. I had no idea where he thought he could reach, setting off on foot so late at night without rest.
As I returned after seeing him off, I suddenly wondered why I felt certain that the Palmore Church would appear in my dreams tonight. That church had become like my hometown, a place I thought I could return to whenever I wished. Dreaming of it would surely be an auspicious sign.
When I informed the others that Bishop Saul had broken his promise and left first, many expressed their disappointment. Even Sister Melody looked visibly crestfallen, which only confirmed that he was entirely at fault this time. Still, everyone seemed to accept the explanation that an urgent matter had called him away. Since I wasn’t certain he would actually return, I chose not to mention that part. It felt better for our next meeting to be as sudden as his first appearance.
“Did the report go well?”
“Yes. I delivered all the items and explained the full situation.”
“What happens now?”
“That is for the higher-ups to decide.”
“In other words, it’s out of our hands.”
“Correct.”
Both last time and this time. I kept getting tangled up in matters involving heretics. If this was an inescapable fate granted by the Sun God, then simply passing everything up the chain would not work forever.
If it’s fate, this matter will eventually circle back to me.
So far I had reported every heretic-related incident to my superiors, but I had no way of knowing when it might return like a boomerang.
Please stop burdening me with these tasks. The Church is already sending subjugation teams regularly—why do they keep dragging me into it?
If they were going to hunt heretics, it would be far simpler to leave it to the Holy Empire’s carefully trained holy knight orders and priests. I couldn’t understand why they kept thrusting these matters before me, someone who worked alone.
That’s exactly why I ended up losing the holy relic so pathetically.
Now that they had realized I couldn’t handle things properly, their interest would likely fade. Wasn’t that why people always said—whether in the company or the military—not to excel too much, but to stay average? It seemed I needed to learn the art of walking the middle path.
“P-Priest!!!”
The sudden shout made me jump. While speaking with Sister Melody, someone burst out from the side. When I turned, I recognized the face. Because she was my bodyguard, Melody swiftly intercepted the man rushing toward me.
“It’s all right. I know him. Wait—what happened to you? You’re injured!”
The soldier of Prince Loras, whom I had treated and sent back in perfect health, now stood before me looking as though he had been tortured. There wasn’t a single uninjured spot on his body. I couldn’t hide my shock.
“This is suspicious. Please step back.”
I was worried about him appearing drenched in blood, but I followed Melody’s instruction. She had a duty to protect me. If I intended to act on my own in situations like this, why have a bodyguard at all? If I wanted to stay safe, I should listen to the professional.
“P-Please, save me!! I barely escaped. Sob… If they catch me, I’ll die.”
“Who is trying to kill you? Speak clearly. If you make even one strange move, I will respond immediately.”
Whether he couldn’t see the sword in Melody’s hand or was simply more terrified of something else, the man fearlessly clung to her leg this time.