The Inquisitor (1): Heresy Interrogation Record
Interrogator: Lenka Zelezny
Subject: Lucie Riccioli
Reasons for Interrogation:
I. Self-identifies as a Saint despite not being formally registered as one by the Church.
II. Claims to have resurrected from death of her own accord.
III. Suspicious circumstances surrounding the resurrection. Heresy suspected.
IV. Exhibits behavior and conduct incomprehensible to any faithful believer.
“Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Just wait a damn minute.”
“Yeees? Is something the matter all of a sudden?”
“No, the other reasons I can somehow swallow if I try hard enough. But what the hell is that last one supposed to mean?”
The woman who had introduced herself as an inquisitor—Lenka Zelezny—tilted her head and tapped her index finger against the desk with a rhythmic tok tok tok.
“To me, that final reason resonates far more deeply than the rest.”
“What part of me is so incomprehensible?”
“That would obviously be…”
Two hours earlier.
Inside Viscount Jindrich’s office in the Silenia fortress, the usual familiar faces had gathered once again. There was only one reason: to receive an unwelcome guest who had just arrived in Silenia.
“The Saint will… be all right, won’t she? Nothing bad will happen, right?”
Milos Pensler, whose arm was still wrapped in bandages even though his condition had improved, looked at Jindrich with anxious eyes.
“Uh, um… probably… or maybe not… hm… uh, yeah!”
What a thoroughly un-reassuring answer. That friend of mine is going to get pinched by Adjutant Dolia again. I thought to myself, and sure enough, Dolia, standing beside the viscount, twisted the roll of fat around his waist.
“Ow! Ah! Th-then! N-nothing bad will happen!”
When I glanced at Milos sitting nearby, the tremor in his pupils had grown even worse than before the answer.
“The capital never lifted a finger to help us when the demon king’s army attacked, yet the moment the demons leave they send an inquisitor. This is really too much.”
Even Sir Jiri, who was usually solemn and spoke little, let out a complaint.
“Yeah. This is way too far, damn it.”
I was about to chime in since Sir Jiri had already spoken, but everyone suddenly turned to look at me.
“Saint, you mustn’t use such language in front of the inquisitor. You know that, right?”
“Saint, it seems you’ll need to be more serious today.”
“Saint… I beg you.”
“Saint…”
“All right, all right! I get it, so stop calling me that!”
Knock knock—
At that moment, the sound of someone rapping on the office door cut through Milos’s quiet mutter of “I didn’t even say anything…”
While Dolia silently pressed a finger to her lips and signaled “shh” to the others, Jindrich took a short deep breath, lowered his voice as much as possible, and spoke.
“Enter.”
The door opened and someone stepped inside.
“Hello, everyone.”
A brighter, cheerier high-pitched voice greeted them with sunny innocence.
“I am Lenka Zelezny, inquisitor affiliated with the central headquarters of the Triangular God Church. Please feel free to call me Lenka.”
The inquisitor standing at the door was a remarkably tall woman with long black hair tied low and draped over one shoulder. Her attire consisted of a simple white monastic robe covered by a heavy black cloak, cinched tightly at the waist with a leather belt. Yet the stark contrast of colors, the weight of her title as inquisitor, and the constant smile on her face combined to create an instinctive sense of intimidation. Most striking of all was the enormous hammer slung across her back. Even though it was wrapped in cloth embroidered with the silver triangle symbol of the Triangular God Church, its shape was unmistakable.
…Honestly, it looks pretty cool.
“Uh… h-hello. I am Jindrich Pavern, lord of this fortress. This is my adjutant Dolia, and the people seated over there are…”
I really need to do something about that stuttering habit of his while I’m here.
“I am well aware, Viscount. You are the renowned hero who held the final bastion of the northwest front and protected the empire’s safety.”
“No, I’m hardly that impressive… am I…?”
“What are you saying? Your feats in defending the empire are already so famous in the imperial capital that children sing songs about them.”
“R-really? Is that true?”
When the flustered Jindrich asked, Lenka smiled brightly and answered.
“Of course it was a joke, Viscount. How delightfully naïve you are!”
…What the hell is this crazy woman doing?
“Inquisitor Lenka, this is the borderlands. The viscount is the one responsible for defending this fortress that protects those borderlands. Therefore, please keep in mind that rude behavior toward him will not reflect well on you either.”
Dolia, naturally unwilling to let it slide, delivered a barbed remark.
“Aha, it seems my imperial-capital-style humor was unfamiliar to all of you. How pure you are.”
She’s clearly mocking us as uncultured country bumpkins.
“Still, it puts my mind at ease. Given my position, I truly adore pure and innocent people…”
The moment she finished speaking, Lenka’s eyes—previously hidden behind her smile—narrowed slightly for the first time. The green irises concealed within them swept across every person in the room in that brief instant. Probably only I noticed.
This woman is clearly no ordinary person.
“Well then, now that we’ve finished the introductions, shall we get to the main topic? In my opinion, among these people it’s probably…”
Lenka strode straight toward the chairs where I, Milos, and Jiri were sitting.
“Hmm.”
She stopped in front of me, looked down with that unchanging smile, and pressed me beneath her considerable height.
“It must be this person here—the so-called ‘Saint Lucie.’”
I heard Milos swallow hard beside me.
“That’s correct.”
“Heh, hehehe, hmmm~”
Lenka openly scanned every inch of my body with her eyes while humming an unidentifiable tune.
“Such a pretty child calling herself a Saint. Isn’t that just too adorable?”
She then casually set her massive hammer against the wall in one corner, turned the empty chair beside me so its back faced forward, and sat down on it.
“All right. Lucie, the girl who mistakenly believes she is a Saint. We’re going to exchange a few questions and answers.”
“I am not a child, so there is no need to speak to me in that lecturing tone.”
“Oh my, oh my, don’t you know how cute that remark was just now?”
Ah. The irritation is starting to build.
“Haha, I can see the annoyance written all over your face. Very well, I’ll stop teasing.”
Lenka pulled a book from within her robe, opened it, and held it up.
“Now then, Lucie. You call yourself a Saint, yet our Church only recognizes those who have been officially acknowledged and granted the title of ‘Saint’ by the Church itself. However…”
Lenka licked her finger and flipped through the pages with quick, wet sounds.
“No matter how thoroughly I search the register of Saints, I cannot find the name ‘Lucie Riccioli’ anywhere. How would you explain this?”
“Unfortunately, I have no answer for that. My memories have been incomplete since my resurrection.”
Well, my body and mind are essentially strangers to begin with.
“Exactly! That suspicious resurrection is precisely one of the points where heresy is suspected!”
Lenka pulled her chair even closer, leaning toward me.
“I read the testimonies several believers sent to the Church headquarters while I was still in the capital. You resurrected from a stone sarcophagus inside an underground chapel in some nameless ruin, correct?”
At those words, Milos—who had remained silent until now—shot up from his seat and answered in my place.
“Yes, that’s correct. I saw it clearly with my own two eyes.”
“Ah, so you must be Milos Pensler, the guard from Zelewald.”
Though her face still wore that smile, Lenka’s voice dripped with obvious disinterest.
“But Milos, there’s something rather strange, isn’t there? That underground chapel you claim existed—I went to the ruin myself to verify it, and…”
Lenka deliberately trailed off, shaking her head as if observing our reactions.
“There was no underground chapel.”
Milos’s face looked as if he had been struck in the back of the head with a club. He denied it fiercely.
“Th-that’s impossible! I saw it clearly with my own eyes!”
“Yes, yes. I also saw it clearly with my own two eyes. Are you suggesting mine are merely decorative? If you truly cannot believe me, feel free to go confirm it yourself. I’ll be happy to wait.”
“H-how can this be…”
“Well then, the questions have grown rather long thanks to that unnecessary interruption. Lucie, the next matter is truly, truly important.”
Lenka rested her chin on her hand, elbow propped on the chair’s backrest, and stared straight at me.
“Show me your divine power.”
“…In what manner would you like me to show it?”
“From what I’ve heard… Lucie, you were said to be less like a Saint and more like a wild beast…”
Lenka’s long fingers, not currently supporting her chin, slowly extended and pointed somewhere.
“That method seems the most convenient—for both you and me.”
What Lenka pointed at was the spot where she had just leaned her enormous hammer against the wall.
“…Must we really go this far?”
I had no particular desire to avoid a fight.
But I also didn’t particularly want this fight.
Although this inquisitor named Lenka had an odd attitude and didn’t seem likely to conduct a normal interrogation, she was still an imperial subject doing her utmost to fulfill her duty. The fact that I would have to beat such a woman down with my axe didn’t sit well with me at all.
…And honestly, from the Church’s perspective, the current “me” has more than a few suspicious points. They’re doing their job properly. You people really struck the core of the matter.
“Why? Are you scared?”
But damn it, you really shouldn’t have said that.
“Ha, I swear…. Come at me, you bitch.”