They Said She Killed All the Heretics
They said she had killed all the heretics.
“Ugh…”
“If it is too difficult, you may wait outside.”
Sister Melody watched me with a calm, steady gaze, as if she had known this would happen. She looked so composed that she would probably accept it without surprise if I turned and ran right then and there.
“No, I’m fine. I need to get used to it. So I just have to clean this place, correct?”
A sigh escaped before I could stop it. I had come as quickly as I could, yet the price of leaving the corpses unattended was heavier than I expected. Scattered everywhere lay the mangled remains of bodies.
Ugh.
Maggots and flies already swarmed over them. The hot weather was partly to blame, but the real reason was that the heretics had built their den inside a filthy sewer.
“It’s already this bad…”
The space was too cramped to burn the bodies—the easy solution. There was nowhere for the smoke to escape.
With my face pale, I looked at her, silently asking whether there was truly no other way. She nodded, not bothering to hide the pity in her expression.
“…Could we call in workers to clean?”
“No. These are heretic corpses. We cannot entrust them to outsiders when we do not know what their belongings might contain. It would also be troublesome if word of what happened here spread.”
She was right. No laborer who saw this scene would keep silent. If people learned that heretics had entered the Labyrinth City, panic would erupt. There were reasons the Inquisitors’ work stayed hidden from the world.
“I’m already regretting offering to help.”
“Did I not tell you this is not a task for just anyone? Stop now if you wish. This was my duty to begin with.”
It was too late for regrets, and I had been the one who insisted on coming.
“Would I come all the way here only to quit? If I had never started, perhaps. Shall we begin?”
It seemed Sister Melody had expected me to back out the moment I saw the corpses. She looked briefly flustered, then quickly handed me the equipment. She had definitely arrived empty-handed with me, so I wondered where these tools had come from.
“Wear these. Blood does not wash out easily. If you soil your current clothes, you will have to discard them all.”
Since she lived her life stained with blood, she clearly knew what preparations such work required. I changed clothes and began hauling the corpses in earnest.
“Where did you get these tools?”
“I prepared them the first time I came here.”
“Before you even arrived?”
So she had come intending to dispose of bodies from the start.
“Yes. I brought them in advance to avoid traveling back and forth. The resistance was fiercer than expected, so I could not finish then.”
Being a heretic inquisitor truly was not a job for ordinary people. At this point I felt fortunate I had never been qualified for the role. The very idea of routinely carrying tools for corpse disposal was something a normal person could never imagine.
Still, amazement would have to wait. A mountain of work remained, so we needed to hurry.
“This is my first time, so I will be clumsy. Please correct me if I do anything wrong.”
I rolled up my sleeves and began the cleaning in earnest.
The heretics seemed to have built their lair in the cleaner part of the sewer, unable to stand the stench themselves, yet they could not block the pervasive odor completely. Added to that was the filth and vile smell rising from the corpses—more than enough to numb the nose. The insects were revolting, and the internal organs spilling from the bodies were even worse. I set aside any suspicious items found in their clothing, stuffed the corpses into large sacks, and cleaned diligently. I swept the crushed flesh and organs with a dustpan, working hard to leave no residue behind.
During the process I vomited into the sewer three times.
Three times is holding up pretty well, isn’t it?
After stubbornly pressing on, the result was:
“It’s finally finished.”
It had looked endless, but dealing with it piece by piece brought it to an end.
“You worked very hard. Thank you for your efforts.”
Inside a sewer it was impossible to track time, but it was surely dark outside by now. Unfamiliar work always took longer than expected. If Sister Melody had not stepped in when she saw me struggling, I doubt I would have finished today.
“What about the bloodstains?”
Collecting the bodies had already taken this long; cleaning the stains as well would be impossible.
“The bloodstains are not urgent. Leave them.”
“Hmm… I suppose that’s true.”
If someone stumbled into the sewer and discovered this place they would have nightmares, but it would likely cause no greater trouble. With that, I agreed and stood.
“Ha~ How did you ever plan to handle all this alone?”
“Someone must do it. Besides, I have done it many times, so I am fine.”
“…Many times?”
“……”
Had she not said this was her first time entering society after becoming an inquisitor? Why did Sister Melody seem accustomed to everything? She clearly looked young, and there was no reason for her to lie about her experience, so this should be her first time….
Could they have been giving her live training since childhood?
If that were true…
That would be abuse.
Was the position of heretic inquisitor similar in status to those who wielded divine power? Was that why Master jumped at the mere mention of them?
Just as they advertise divine power as all-purpose, they promote becoming an inquisitor as something magnificent, yet the actual work is this horrific.
If children were made to kill from a young age, what kind of mind would they develop?
No, that cannot be right.
I should not doubt. The Holy Empire would never commit acts even demons would commit. If they did, the Sun God would not remain silent.
“What will you do with these sacks?”
I cut my thoughts short before they sank too deep. This was not the time. Dozens of sacks filled with “corpses” sat before me.
“We burn them. Without a trace.”
“We have already emptied the pockets. Shall we burn the bodies tomorrow instead?”
Cleaning the area was only a matter of overcoming revulsion, but moving the corpses was physically exhausting. I could not refuse her help. In the end, I had come all this way determined not to strain any patients, only to fail spectacularly.
Clearing that many bodies alone would obviously take an entire day. The problem was that even though I wanted to help, I no longer had any strength left. Sister Melody, who had assisted me, was equally exhausted. She had only recently recovered from her injuries, too.
“…Understood.”
What surprised me was how readily she agreed.
“Are you truly alright with this?”
“After you have helped this much, I could hardly ignore your wishes. Besides, I know both our bodies have reached their limits. Yours and mine, Priest.”
My pitiful act today had worked perfectly! Seeing her accept the suggestion to rest brought a warm rush of satisfaction. She had not been this obedient a patient originally. As expected, the best way to win someone’s heart was to be sincere.
“Wise decision. Ah… but we need to change and wash. Where should we do that?”
“Follow me. I will guide you to a place where you can wash, avoiding areas with people.”
Fortunately it seemed I would not have to return to my lodging covered in blood. I was tired enough to want to collapse into bed the moment I finished washing, but I knew I would have nightmares if I slept without praying, so I decided to hurry.
The next day.
“Ha. In the end I couldn’t sleep properly.”
I had prayed, but it clearly had not been enough; nightmares still found me. It would not be an exaggeration to say I had lain awake almost the entire night.
Confirming that the sun had risen, I splashed water on my face and rose. A grimy day was beginning.
Washing had cleared my head a little, but when I arrived at work I realized the feeling was not mutual.
“Oh my! What happened to your face? Are you ill?”
“No. I simply slept poorly.”
On top of yesterday’s heavy labor, of course I was exhausted.
“Shouldn’t you rest today? It looks worse than simple lack of sleep.”
“She’s right, Priest. We’ll pay extra attention to the work today, so please go rest.”
“Your face has become so gaunt in a single day.”
“How does losing sleep make someone look this…”
“……”
Had I truly lived without exercising at all? I never imagined a single day of manual labor would draw this much concern. My body and mind had been drained, so it made sense that my face would show it, but I had not realized it was bad enough for everyone who saw me to worry.
“Is it that terrible?”
“I’m not sure if I should say this, but you look rotten!”
“Urk!”
It seemed I really did need a day off.
“Then I will check on one inpatient room and rest afterward.”
“Aigoo~ I’ll go instead. Which room?”
“No, it is fine. This is a patient I must see myself.”
“Make sure you rest right after seeing them!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The inpatient room I headed toward was the one where I had admitted Sister Melody.
I wonder if she managed to sleep.
She had said she was used to such work, so unlike me she might have rested deeply.
Knock knock—
“Excuse me.”
I opened the door after knocking.
“Huh?”
The person who should have been in the room was gone.
Did she already leave to dispose of the bodies?
Honestly, after those nightmares I probably could not have suggested going together. Still, I had planned to give her a generous infusion of divine power and tell her to take care.
It seemed she had moved more diligently than I expected.
“I told her to be careful for a while…”
With no patient to look after, there was nothing to do. I returned empty-handed, napped briefly in the lounge, woke again, focused on work until quitting time, and then headed back to the inpatient room as the hour approached. I wanted to check whether she had returned yet.
“Ah, you’re back.”
“Priest?”
“It looks like you haven’t been back long.”
Her hair was still damp, suggesting she had returned only moments ago after finishing the task.