Fanatics Blinded by Heresy - 4
Having successfully secured approval from the higher-ups, the “Tactical Temporary Totem: Tanian” project now faced its final obstacle.
“You have to go alone. The others can’t come with you.”
We needed a justification for only Tanian, among all the Baking Club members, to head into the forest. The Baking Club was notorious for swarming off on group excursions at the drop of a hat, but there was no way the entire club could move together for this particular affair.
Tanian’s participation had somehow been forced through by the perfect storm of four conditions: his own request, his useful abilities, his position as the party directly involved, and the Foreign Affairs Minister’s accelerated hair loss from bracing for protests out of the Holy Kingdom. Everyone else, however, was absolutely out of the question.
Prince Armein and Prince Juven taking the risk of injury by joining an operation between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom? That would be a diplomatic catastrophe without equal for the next decade. We would get to watch the Foreign Affairs Minister get replaced on the spot.
Fortunately, the final hurdle proved easier to clear than expected.
“I’m going to visit the church.”
“Sure, have a good trip!”
And that was the end of it. There was nothing strange about the next Saint paying a visit to a church, and no one was likely to insist on tagging along. If Luise had wanted to come it might have been a different story—but Luise herself had cut him off the moment she heard the word “church.”
Honestly, stopping by a church in the middle of a trip was pretty boring.
Reliable as always.
Thanks to that, Tanian obtained a perfectly legitimate reason to leave the Imperial Capital without drawing a shred of suspicion. For me, the single word “work” was more than enough.
“I expected it, but I still feel a little hurt.”
“It’s a bit much to demand a priest’s piety from civilians.”
Tanian seemed to have taken a small emotional wound from being given a free pass the moment church was mentioned, but it wasn’t important, so I let it slide.
The way the Mukgwangdae converged the instant Tanian and I stepped outside the capital gates was a little terrifying. Anyone would jump when dozens of people in pitch-black clothing suddenly glued themselves to you without a sound. Tanian flinched too.
The Division 4 chief, who had been wandering around in a maid outfit for a while, was naturally among them. She had still been wiping windows right up until we left the mansion, yet somehow she had moved faster than I had.
“Allow me to escort you.”
“Right.”
Following the Division 4 chief’s bowing lead, we moved to the temporary headquarters set up for intercepting the Twilight Cult. Headquarters was a generous word—since the whole thing would be over in a few hours, it was nothing more than a handful of tents.
“Reassuring.”
Tanian smiled faintly as he took in the grim atmosphere of the camp.
It was reassuring. The air was vicious, but the killing intent was aimed at the Twilight Cult, not us, which only made it better.
The Holy Knights have moved as well?
Glancing toward a corner, I spotted a group in silver armor. The Holy Knights of the Dawn Church, stationed at the heart of each archdiocese. The contingent from the Ausen Archdiocese had been dragged into this operation as well.
The Twilight Cult was an enemy the Dawn Church wanted dead just as badly. Even if the subjugation was taking place on Imperial soil, there was no way the Dawn Church would simply sit on its hands. Of course, none of them had expected Tanian to join.
Wish granted, then.
Among the Holy Knights I spotted the unfortunate soul who, three years ago, had not only lost a promotion but been forced into retirement. Congratulations, former legion commander. Looks like you’ll finally get to tear them apart with your own hands, just like you swore. Once a person nurses a grudge, they become that tenacious and terrifying.
“Chief.”
“Ah, right.”
The Division 4 chief’s careful voice snapped me back. I had gotten distracted watching someone passionately living his second life.
“Let’s head in. The Demon Duke should be here; it wouldn’t do to keep her waiting.”
Among the sparse tents, the largest one in the center. All the higher-ranking types were gathered there. Strictly speaking, no one outranked me except Her Grace the Demon Duke—but that single superior happened to be a duke.
“This is the Audit Department Chie—”
“Our country knows nothing of this matter.”
“Our side also reached this decision only after careful deliberation. We regret it.”
“…ief.”
The moment I entered the tent I felt a faint urge to turn right back around. The heated argument between a man in silver armor and a man in Imperial Army uniform was enough to cow even someone who had just walked in.
What made it worse was that I immediately understood why. Even without hearing the preceding conversation, the picture snapped into place. The Foreign Affairs Ministry had chosen to ask forgiveness rather than permission after explaining the situation to the Holy Kingdom.
And because I had chosen that exact moment to introduce myself with perfect clarity, both verbal combatants’ gazes locked onto me at once. My mistake. Let’s pretend that greeting never happened.
“Audit Department Chief, you’ve arrived.”
“I greet the Lord’s son.”
The man in Imperial uniform addressed me; the man in silver armor addressed Tanian. Their eyes were still burning from the argument.
Or maybe they were burning hotter precisely because the subject of the argument had walked in? If so, this was not a great situation.
She’s not here yet.
I gave a light nod and scanned the tent. The Demon Duke had not arrived. No wonder—no one would dare start a shouting match in front of a duke.
For a brief moment I felt a twinge of resentment toward Mother Demon Duke. If the old lady had shown up earlier, I wouldn’t have had to witness this spectacle.
“Saint Tanian, there is no need for you to involve yourself personally in a matter like this.”
While I was nursing that small grudge, the man in silver armor hurried over to Tanian. He must have decided that persuading the principal party to go home would be easier than continuing an argument with someone who only repeated “we regret it.”
He was in for a harder time than he thought. Tanian was a terrifying hybrid of a high-ranking official’s my-way-or-the-highway streak and a cleric’s unshakable conviction; his stubbornness was something else.
“They came looking for me. Is it not proper that I greet my guests myself?”
“Those creatures are neither guests nor people to be treated with propriety. You know that full well, do you not?”
“Exactly. I am stepping forward precisely because I know what they are.”
I quietly stepped aside from the one-sided pleading happening right next to me. Good luck with that futile persuasion. Judging by his presence here, the man was probably the Holy Knight commander. I was mildly curious how hard a mere Holy Knight commander—not even a cardinal—could push Tanian.
Shifting my gaze away from the subordinate’s desperate wailing, I found the Imperial officer in my field of view. Looking at the shoulder boards… a senior commander?
“Senior Commander Francis Neville of the 1st Imperial Guard Legion.”
Ah, right.
When our eyes met, the senior commander bowed his head. The legion commander himself hadn’t come, but sending a senior commander meant they were taking this seriously.
If the current legion commander had shown up in person it would have made for an awkward scene—a reunion between former and current legion commanders.
“Audit Department Chief Karl Crassius. I look forward to working with you.”
I returned the senior commander’s greeting with a slight bow of my own. The Mukgwangdae, the Holy Knights, a portion of the 1st Imperial Guard Legion, and the Demon Duke who would arrive shortly.
It was over. This force could crush not just the Twilight Cult but an entire regular legion if one decided to advance. If anyone actually managed to punch through all this and assassinate Tanian, we would have to thank them for stopping at just killing Tanian.
“Please do not worry. Even if I die, Brother will bear no sin.”
“Saint Tanian, that is not what I am worried about…”
I deliberately pretended not to hear the horrific statement coming from beside me.
The Holy Knight commander ultimately failed to persuade Tanian and went down in glorious defeat. The result was so expected that I felt neither surprise nor pity. Expectation only ever leads to greater disappointment.
“Cross-referencing the intelligence provided by the Holy Kingdom with what the Empire has gathered, the Twilight Cult forces heading for the capital total thirty-two.”
Whether the Holy Knight commander burned white-hot or not, the Demon Duke had casually clocked in and taken her seat, so the operational briefing began.
“And among them, the cult leader of the Twilight Cult has also been confirmed.”
“A big fish, then.”
I nodded at the Demon Duke’s remark. Even looking at the entire history of the Twilight Cult’s activities, the cult leader rarely moved in person. For more than thirty of them to act as a group instead of the usual ten or so was equally unusual.
There were points that didn’t sit right. Targeting the Empire again after the Great Subjugation War had already ended, even if they had scored successes in the capital; moving with such haste that they blundered into both nations’ intelligence nets. It looked less like a meticulous plan and more like a desperate, spontaneous thrashing.
But it didn’t matter. The fact that the cult leader was leading a large force straight into death remained unchanged. Whatever circumstances they might have, we would wipe them out today.
“Thanks to Saint Tanian, the Twilight Cult has lost its greatest advantage—stealth.”
Since this was an official setting I attached the proper honorific and turned my gaze toward him. Every eye in the tent immediately focused on Tanian, who spoke with calm composure.
“I can use it at any moment.”
That answer was enough. Tanian’s tracking holy magic could not cover the entire continent, but it could certainly cover a range large enough to catch everything racing toward the capital.
“The moment Saint Tanian activates his holy magic, Her Grace the Demon Duke will deploy large-scale barrier magic.”
This was the same Demon Duke who had already been prepared to rewrite the entire local topography. A mere barrier or two—or three—was well within her capabilities.
The only minor issue was that while the barrier was up, neither the Twilight Cult nor we would be able to leave. Since we had no intention of leaving until every last one of them was dead, it was irrelevant.
The operational briefing wrapped up there. With nothing but conditions under which losing was literally impossible, there was no reason to drag things out.
“There is no place for filthy heretics to set foot in the Empire blessed by Enen!”
After that came the usual relay of speeches by the higher-ranking figures in front of the assembled forces, but—
“One large silver per neck. Two for live capture. Five for the cult leader, dead or alive. Paid immediately.”
I kept mine short. No point in making a long speech to people who were about to fight.