Memories of Notre Dame Cathedral
I should have just killed them all back then. — From Sirmiia’s Regret Diary
I lied straight to the Pope’s face without missing a single beat.
“I got caught in a teleport trap while exploring a labyrinth.”
“Hmm? Hero, do you happen to know what a teleport trap is?”
The old Pope reacted like he’d never heard the term before, the way old folks do when they run into young people’s slang.
“Yes. It’s a random teleport trap. Dangerous labyrinths are full of them, and you never know where the coordinates are set.”
Even after hearing the Hero’s explanation, the Pope still looked doubtful as he turned to me.
“Then how exactly did you end up caught in one?”
“I’m an adventurer. There was a rumor about a high-ranking labyrinth in the ruined Kingdom of Lobelia, so I put together a party to try my luck.”
I kept spinning the lie without so much as a twitch. At this point I might as well have been an actor. At least, that’s what I thought.
“But right at the entrance I had the bad luck of stepping into a teleport trap and ended up here. I left all my belongings and money with the porter in my party, so I don’t have anything to prove my identity right now.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I did, and you ignored me, you fucking— Ah, sorry.”
“…That crude mouth certainly fits an adventurer.”
The Pope tapped the desk with his index finger in a steady rhythm, meeting my eyes. God, this is uncomfortable.
There was something else making me uncomfortable too. The Hero had been staring at me nonstop, like he was trying to bore a hole through my head. I tried not to notice, but the longer he kept at it, the harder it became. That was uncomfortable as hell too.
What, never seen a girl before? Why the hell are you staring like that?
I kept tugging at the hem of my skirt, suddenly self-conscious about how short it felt. While I was doing that, the Pope stopped tapping and finally spoke, his wrinkled lips moving.
“What does the Saintess’s eye say?”
I flinched and looked up.
“Everything is black—false—except the question about whether she’s human. Even that one looks ambiguous. I’ve never seen something show up gray before, neither true nor false…”
The Saintess’s eyes sparkled turquoise as she spoke.
This is bad…
I never imagined the Saintess would have the Eye of Truth. It was an extremely rare ability that only the first Saintess had ever possessed, so I’d dismissed the possibility entirely. I’d stayed quiet this whole time because I thought once the interrogation was over I could just walk out. After all, my body itself was human, so there shouldn’t have been any leverage against me.
But thanks to the Eye of Truth, I was trapped. That ability was far more dangerous than I’d expected. It was basically a watered-down version of divine authority. There was no way these religious fanatics would believe a single word I said now.
So there was only one thing left to do.
Strike first, win first.
I kicked off my chair, poured mana into both hands, shattered the restraints, and manifested a sword in one smooth motion. Whether it was because of the cathedral’s barrier or the sudden change in my body, it took three whole seconds just to form the blade.
And in that moment, I knew I had lost.
When I looked up, the Holy Sword’s edge was already resting against my neck.
That was fast.
The paladins finally realized what had happened and drew their weapons.
“Put the sword down.”
The Hero’s voice was low and warning, his expression hard.
This little brat…
I wasn’t some old geezer, but my pride was strong. The fact that I’d been defeated before we even crossed blades made the hand gripping my sword tremble. My stomach twisted with rage. The Hero was fast, sure, but what really shocked me was how slow I had become.
Even accounting for the barrier and the mana restraints, my speed had been pathetic. In a fight against a stronger opponent, speed mattered just as much as strength or technique. No matter how superior your swordsmanship or power, if your head got cut off in a surprise attack, the survivor was the winner.
…Tch.
Was my combat ability really this crippled just because my body had changed? The overlapping setbacks made irritation flare. I dispersed the mana and let the sword vanish, then dropped to my knees and raised both hands above my head.
The paladins restrained me and clamped new restraints onto my wrists and ankles. These are heavy as hell.
When I glanced up, the Pope was already looking down at me with an expression that said he’d expected this, while the Saintess watched me with pity.
“As expected, cornered rats show their true colors. Inject the mana suppressant immediately and lock her in solitary with the highest-grade restraints—”
“Would you mind waiting a moment, Your Holiness?”
The Pope’s brows twitched in displeasure before he smoothed his expression back into a benevolent smile.
“Hero, do you have any questions for this demon girl?”
“No. I need something.”
“We can discuss that later.”
“No. I’ll say it now. I need her.”
“……”
The atmosphere turned icy. The Saintess was staring at the Hero like he was trash. A heavy silence stretched. The Hero, either uncomfortable with the tension or finally realizing how his words sounded, quickly added,
“…I mean I need her as a fellow Hero. Everyone’s misunderstanding, right?”
“Ah, no, of course not! I didn’t suspect anything at all! I knew you must have your reasons, Hero! Hehe.”
The Saintess rushed to agree, but the Pope clearly wasn’t pleased.
“…She’s a suspicious girl. Do you really need her? With your strength, I don’t see why you’d require another member in your party.”
“I do. I can’t use magic, but she can. When she manifested that weapon earlier, I clearly felt attribute mana coming from her left hand.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
The Pope looked at me with an unpleasant smile.
“Yes. That’s right.”
I had to agree. This might be my only chance to get out of here alive. I didn’t want to die yet, so I’d ride the Hero’s coattails for now.
Still, the Hero’s eyes were sharper than I’d expected. He’d figured out I was a magic swordsman in an instant. Magic swordsmen were rare enough that most people didn’t even know the class existed. Unlike mages who refined mana through circles and converted it into spells, we manifested mana directly as a sword and poured attribute mana into it—an absurdly straightforward method. Because I was one myself, I’d tried to use my usual lightning attribute earlier, but there hadn’t been time, so I’d canceled it.
The fact that he’d noticed even that split-second flicker meant his dynamic vision was at least on the level of a high-ranking demon officer.
The Saintess, the Pope, and four knights near me. While keeping track of all that dead weight, the Hero had drawn his sword at maximum speed. He’d even checked my mana with his senses to see if I might be a mage, and still managed to detect the attribute mana I’d canceled in 0.5 seconds.
Is he a monster?
If he kept breaking through walls like this and reached transcendence, I couldn’t even imagine what would happen. Of course, he’d still be far below the Demon King.
“Hero, forgive me for saying this, but I still think it would be better to leave this woman behind. There’s a high chance she’s a demon spy.”
“No. She isn’t a demon. The Saintess’s eye doesn’t lie.”
“But it wasn’t white, was it?”
“It wasn’t black either.”
The Pope and the Hero stared at each other in silence. Two grown men arguing about black and white made the conversation feel strangely off.
“Hmm…”
The Pope hesitated. In truth, he had no confidence he could persuade the Hero. The Hero summoned this time was a stubborn lone wolf who didn’t listen to anyone. Even now, his lower body and his reason were at war. Reason told him to give up the girl; his lower half screamed to take her back to the Holy See.
After a long internal struggle, the Pope made his decision.
“Very well, Hero. Take her with you. However, since her identity is unknown and she is dangerous, we will place a holy relic on her for the safety of both you and the Saintess.”
“What kind of relic are you referring to?”
“The Necklace of Harmonia. We’ll have her wear that.”
“…The Necklace of Harmonia.”
It was a necklace that converted mana into holy power. The Hero thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Then let’s return for now. The necklace will be prepared and fitted tomorrow. Until then, we’ll continue using the mana suppressant and restraints.”
The moment the Pope finished speaking, the iron door opened and two paladins entered the interrogation room. They approached me where I knelt and fastened the highest-grade restraints onto my wrists and ankles. This time they were shackles rather than handcuffs, and with so many of them the sight was almost comical.
Then they rolled up my sleeve and inserted a syringe. I considered resisting, but realized it was pointless now and stayed still. The plunger was pushed down, and the drug entered my body.
Unlike the casual thought that it would only sting a little, a terrible pain surged through me.
Fuck.
It felt like mana was flowing backward through my entire body. The mana thrashed so violently I wondered if my circle was breaking. My face went pale from the chilling sensation.
The Pope clasped his hands behind his back and casually moved to stand in front of me, blocking my view while pretending to look elsewhere. The Saintess noticed something was wrong and tried to approach, but the Pope’s guard stopped her.
“Come to think of it, the previous Hero left behind a holy relic at Notre Dame for the Saintess.”
“…Father did?”
“Indeed. He told me about it personally, so now I can finally pass it on to you. He used to brag about you so much. Hohoho.”
What the hell were they babbling about? I was in agony. I wanted to confront the Pope about this bullshit situation, but I couldn’t even speak, let alone move. It felt like every muscle in my body had been paralyzed.
Is it a paralytic…?
The Saintess, who I’d thought might be my savior, had been completely drawn into the Pope’s pace and didn’t even spare me a glance. Having successfully distracted both the Saintess and the Hero, the Pope exchanged trivial small talk with them before suggesting they return to their rooms and left the interrogation chamber with them.
I could only watch their departing figures with a miserable expression.
My body wouldn’t move. I couldn’t even speak. But I’d already experienced something like this through my father. So instead of panicking, I tried to calmly plan how to get out of this situation.
Of course, that was assuming my mana could still move.
Not only my body, but my mana wouldn’t move at all. This was a first. And right now I had neither the demonic energy that protected me nor my overwhelming physical abilities. Fear welled up at facing something I’d never experienced before.
It’s fine… calm down.
The Hero had said he needed me because I could use attribute magic. So the Pope probably hadn’t done anything strange to my mana. This had to be temporary.
“Ah…”
A weak but clear voice came out. When I tried moving my body, it responded, little by little.
Thank god…
At this rate, my mana would come back soon too. Relief washed over me and the tension drained away. Once the tension left, an overwhelming fatigue crashed down.
I want to rest…
So if they’d just leave already… I tried not to worry about it, assuming they’d go on their own, but the two paladins who had entered to restrain me hadn’t left the room.
Only the Hero, the Saintess, the Pope, and the four knights escorting him had followed the Pope out. The two who had come in to put the restraints on me were still here.
Why?
A bad feeling crept over me. Still kneeling, I slowly raised my head.
Fuck.
I’d hoped I was wrong, but I wasn’t. The eyes of the knights looking down at me were filled with lust.
This has to be a joke…
Honestly, I didn’t want to believe it. I prayed the ominous feeling was just paranoia. Just a few hours ago I’d been a man—I never imagined I’d ever receive such disgusting looks.
The two knights exchanged glances and nodded. A moment later, the single iron door closed with a creak.
Move. Please. Please…
Even though I wasn’t religious, I felt like clasping my hands and praying to whatever god might listen. The knights approached one leisurely step at a time.
Please…
The paralysis was fading, but far too slowly. I could only move about two fingers. My voice still wouldn’t come out properly either, so even a simple scream was impossible.
The knights—though calling them that felt wrong for these beasts—finally stopped in front of me. My heart pounded like it was going insane. It was beating faster than when I’d heard my father had died.
Disgusting bastards…
These beasts were cunning. Even though the interrogation room wasn’t that large, they deliberately slowed their steps to watch my reaction. It was a truly vile hobby.
Crack.
“Who do you think should go first?”
First? Fuck off with that shit.
“G-Get… away.”
They looked at each other, then burst out laughing and started removing their armor.
“Your voice will come back completely soon. We put up a soundproofing spell, so screaming won’t matter, but try not to yell if you can. It’s fucking loud.”
Crack.
Once the two beasts had stripped down to just their undershirts and pants, they approached me.
“You know why the previous Saintess died, right?”
One of them said that, and the other grabbed his stomach and laughed like a maniac.
What the hell is he talking about?
I didn’t know why, but a chill ran down my spine. Saintess Teria—the wife of the previous Hero and mother of the current Saintess Aria. Ten years ago, during the final battle with the Demon King, the Hero had perished together with him. She had spent years wasting away from grief before finally passing. That was all the information we’d gathered in the demon realm. It was also the story widely told in the human world.
“Saintess Teria. She was a good woman!”
“A widow who lost her husband. Such a shame, wasn’t it?”
The two beasts cackled at each other.
“So we made her a kid so she wouldn’t be lonely!”
“Too bad the kid died too.”
“We should’ve made sure she didn’t break.”
“His Holiness made a mistake there.”
Crack.
Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. I feel sick. What the hell are they saying? The Saintess who saved you, the Hero’s wife—how could you rape someone else’s wife like that, you disgusting bastards? And you’re supposed to be knights of the cathedral? Aren’t you ashamed? Crazy bastards. Every last one of you should just die. Doing things even demons wouldn’t do without batting an eye. If this is what humans are, if this is what humans are, I wish they’d all just die.
My stomach churned. Humans were insane. Molesting the Saintess? The actions of creatures worse than beasts made bile rise in my throat. The thought that these things called themselves proud knights of God was horrifying.
“Ah, enough with the depressing talk. Let’s have some fun too, haha.”
The beasts unfastened their pants and tossed away their underwear, the last line of defense. Like they thought they were Homo sapiens or something, two monkeys in their primordial state approached me with sick grins.
I couldn’t use mana. So I only had one chance.
Crack.
One of the monkeys—the one-eyed bastard with a scar over his eye—knocked me to the floor and climbed on top of me. The other one—the cripple missing his pinky—dragged a chair over and sat beside us, looking down at me with a disgusting smile.
The one-eyed bastard’s revolting thing kept brushing against my stomach.
Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting.
A shiver ran through me. I wanted to bite that disgusting thing off right now. But I had to endure.
Not yet… not yet.