The Judgment (1)
The feeling was like a ten-year-old blockage finally breaking loose from my chest—clean, refreshing, almost euphoric.
Just seeing the bastard already surrounded by heresy inquisitors made all the hardship I’d endured feel suddenly worthwhile. I couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with myself.
Of course, the one even happier than me was the warrior who had received the goddess’s revelation: Cardinal Basel.
A strange trace of joy hung over his face. Maybe he thought he’d fulfilled the mission entrusted to him at last, since he’d been able to overturn the dark future he’d once seen.
“Well done! Well done!”
But this wasn’t the end of it.
“No, no. It’s too early to celebrate! I’ll dispatch the Holy Knights and the heresy inquisitors to the free city of Celia at once. Archbishop Jessica, formally take command of the Holy Knights’ deployment.”
“Yes, Your Eminence.”
“It is a holy crusade. A crusade.”
As I’d said before, what Cardinal Basel wanted wasn’t simply Ito Souta’s death.
He wanted to root out the devils embedded in the free city and tear them out by the roots.
It was only natural that he’d want in on an event this huge.
When I quietly glanced over at Kasugano Yuno, she gave a small nod as if she understood exactly what I was thinking.
“Cardinal Basel, if I may be so bold—would it be all right if the Yozora Guild joins you?”
“Ah!”
“We don’t know when the devil’s lackeys might slip out of Celia. Time is short, so we’d surely be a great help.”
“Oh… thank you. Kasugano Yuno, I appreciate your aid. The goddess will never forget this.”
If I’d been guild master, I would have dragged Blue Guild into the heresy inquisitors’ procession too, but Hyunsung and Deokgu had their own duties to handle.
Hyunsung aside, softhearted Deokgu might struggle with something like this.
“Black Swan will lend its strength as well.”
“Red Mercenary is the same. Since this is a free city, we’d need Yozora Guild’s approval, of course, but if it’s acceptable, I’d like to send troops.”
“Of course, everyone.”
Nice.
Black Swan and Red Mercenary joining this big event was absolutely the right move.
An entire major guild was about to be erased from the map.
When you considered all the resources, items, and gold they’d accumulated until now, there would still be plenty left to carve up, even after the pie was divided again and again.
And it went without saying that as the chief contributor, I’d be getting a slice of the action too.
Most of what Kasugano Yuno received would ultimately flow over to my side, and Lee Jihye would surely set aside something for me as well. Red Mercenary would probably be generous too.
With so many of Blue Guild’s ongoing projects already on hold because of capital problems, the gold from Illusion Potion and the spoils from Yamato Guild, when roughly combined, might leave me enough to ruin several businesses over and still have money left over.
“The future of the Holy Empire looks bright with all of you here.”
“It’s only right that we do this, Cardinal Basel. This is a perfect chance to cut out the cancer rooted in the Holy Empire. I’m simply glad to be able to lend a hand.”
“Hah hah hah.”
“I’ll send a letter to Yozora Guild right away.”
“I truly appreciate it. This isn’t exactly a time to be at ease, but thanks to all of you, I feel like I can calm down a little. Whew….”
I should probably move too.
Ito Souta, screaming and cursing as he resisted the heresy inquisitors’ restraints, was already out of my mind.
I’d wanted to have a little conversation with him, but order-wise, this came first.
Gotta secure my merit.
It was wiser to calculate what I could get out of this than to bask in momentary satisfaction.
The moment I casually stepped forward, attention naturally turned my way.
In particular, Cardinal Basel greeted me with an unmistakably delighted expression.
“Ah! Lee Kiyoung, the believer!”
“You seem to have shed a little of your burden, Your Eminence.”
“Ahem… ahem…”
“Your expression has looked terrible for days now. Seeing you like this puts me at ease at last.”
“There’s still much to be done, but the biggest burden has been lifted for now. Thanks to you, Lee Kiyoung. Hah hah hah.”
“Haha. All I did was move according to the goddess’s will. Isn’t this all the will of Goddess Benignore? I do wish Blue Guild had been able to take part in this crusade as well, though… it’s a shame we’re still unable to move.”
“Nonsense. Don’t apologize. You, Lee Kiyoung, are the greatest contributor to this entire affair. If not for you, could we have exposed those devils? Hah.”
I had done a lot, that much was true.
I’d healed a city on the brink of devil corruption with Illusion Potion, and I’d also played a part in revealing Ito Souta’s true identity.
I’d gifted Cardinal Basel a revelation from the goddess with Holy Wine, and I’d presented solid evidence at this trial as well.
If I exaggerated a little, you could say there wasn’t a single step in this whole affair that hadn’t passed through my hands.
“This is terribly embarrassing.”
“Not at all. You accomplished a deed worthy of praise. And wasn’t the shrinking of Blue Guild’s influence caused by Yamato Guild in the first place? Domestic affairs must be handled first. I understand your feelings better than anyone, Lee Kiyoung.”
What I wanted wasn’t empty praise.
My throat kept circling the words “give me a reward,” but for now I just kept smiling brightly, and immediately the cardinal’s voice followed.
“There will be compensation from the Papal Curia.”
“Ah.”
“No, not just from the Papal Curia. Since you’ve done such a great service for the Holy Empire, you should also receive a reward from the royal palace. I should probably let the others know as well. Ah! If there’s anything you want, you may speak up.”
“I didn’t do any of this for a reward, Cardinal Basel.”
“Hah hah hah. Surely I know your heart, Lee Kiyoung. Still, it would be right for you to receive proper compensation for what you’ve done. It would ease my conscience a little.”
“Ah….”
“You’ve truly suffered, Lee Kiyoung.”
“Not at all. Haha. You’ve had the harder time of it, Cardinal Basel.”
Nice.
The situation was beautiful.
If a priest of cardinal rank was making such a bold promise, then I could already see roughly what sort of reward I was about to get.
Hard to say exactly, but I’d probably be getting something like ministerial treatment.
Of course, I’d have to open the gift box before I knew for sure, but at the very least I’d be treated on the level of a major guild master.
I still didn’t know the details of all the privileges those people received, but at this rate I might get a griffon and even my own room in the royal palace.
And there was no denying the extra bonuses that would come bundled with that.
Sweet.
This was worth staking my life on.
Even standing still, I could feel a smile creeping onto my face, and I had no choice but to keep smiling happily.
When I glanced to the side, Ito Souta was being restrained by Heresy Inquisitor Helena and the other inquisitors.
The area around us was in utter chaos.
Those cleaning up the hall after the sudden fight came into view, and Holy Knights were busily running around the royal palace to arrest the remaining Yamato Guild members.
I didn’t exactly have anything to do, but in a situation like this, pretending to be busy was fine too.
“Let go of me! I’m innocent, I tell you! Let go! Cough, cough.”
“You filthy devil worshipper. If you keep flapping that tongue, I’ll crush your mouth.”
“Damn it… damn it!”
Even then, Ito Souta’s voice kept ringing out.
It was a pitiful sight.
He no longer looked like the guild master who had once been adored by everyone and wielded absolute power.
He was covered head to toe in blood, still vomiting it up from his mouth.
One kick from Cha Heera had completely shattered his insides.
The only reason he was still clinging to life was that the priests, worried he might die too quickly, kept pumping holy power into him.
He must have realized by now that he was utterly finished.
Even his face made it obvious how stunned and aggrieved he was.
What had gone wrong?
Where had he made the mistake?
He was probably asking himself those questions, but I doubted he’d ever find the answer.
He’d been the one looking down on everything. In the end, his nature and mine were the same.
A cautious strategist.
Mind’s Eye didn’t give me a precise interpretation of personality, but after seeing so many different kinds of people over the years, I had a rough sense of what sort of disposition produced what sort of character.
There were things you couldn’t reduce to a single label.
Right from the start, trying to understand a human being through just one disposition was dangerous.
In my case, I only assumed I was closest to the kind of nature I could see with my own eyes.
For example, Lee Jihye, whose trait could be summed up as a selfish ambitious type.
She had a strong hunger for power, was greedy by nature, and didn’t care what means or methods she used to achieve her goals.
And yet, unlike the disposition shown in her status window, she wasn’t purely selfish.
If she were hiding herself perfectly, I might be the one misunderstanding her, but the point was that “selfish ambitious type” didn’t fully describe Lee Jihye.
You and Ito Souta are the same too.
The trait we shared was cautious strategist.
We both liked scheming from the shadows and always considered multiple variables before committing to anything.
I was the type to think of the worst-case scenario first, and I wasn’t sure whether he did too, but he was probably similar to me.
Of course, there were differences between him and me.
Player Ito Souta didn’t like throwing his own body into the fire.
Honestly, I wasn’t much of a gambler either. But the difference between him and me was whether we were willing to roll the dice or not.
If I’d been in his place during the Yuliena incident, I would have taken the wound instead of one of my guild members.
If I’d been in his place, I would have pushed myself hard enough to move personally and kill myself if necessary. I’d have ignored public opinion and the eyes around me and acted more aggressively.
His first mistake was that he couldn’t give up one option in order to protect his image.
He could always clean up the aftermath later.
But instead, he boldly discarded the options he considered too much of a gamble.
For Ito Souta, his own safety and reputation came first.
The reason the difference between him and me would inevitably show itself was obvious.
I’m desperate.
Unlike him, who already had so much, I had no choices.
I didn’t have loyalists pledging themselves to me, and I wasn’t as strong as he was.
Unlike me, who had always been willing to take risks, he had never once taken a risk in this fight.
That’s the difference between you and me.
That was why he was screaming through a mouth full of blood while I could look down on him from above.
I didn’t feel anything special. As I began walking beside Cardinal Basel, Ito Souta’s writhing figure, still tightly bound, came into view.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll never forgive you… cough, cough.”
I ignored the nonsense I couldn’t even be bothered to hear.
When I spoke quietly, the answer came at once.
“It seems his brain has been corrupted by devils as well, Cardinal Basel.”
“Yes. It’s clear the corruption has already reached his bones.”
“What will happen to him?”
“He’ll likely be executed immediately.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, at once. Of course, we’ll need to decide on an appropriate method… but I’m sure there’s a punishment fitting for this devil.”
Just then, I thought of a punishment myself. I couldn’t say whether it was fitting, but if nothing else, it was novel.
When I spoke quietly, the cardinal’s face brightened in my line of sight.
“What about putting him in holy water?”
“Oh…?”
“It would suit a man who insulted and belittled the goddess’s holy water as if it were a drug.”