The Newly Appointed Heresy Inquisitor (2)
The office used by the Special Task Force was a room tucked away at the back of the Forbidden Archive.
It had originally been a storage closet for cleaning supplies, they told me, before someone converted it into a workspace.
We sat gathered around a table, eating the cake that Samuel, the head of the Storage Division, had given us.
Dorothy and Agnes — the two girls cursed to transform into beasts — tore into theirs with abandon, while Alexander took dainty little bites befitting his delicate features.
Watching the contrast, all manner of rude observations floated through my mind, but I made a determined effort not to voice any of them.
"…In the Church, attaching a title to someone's name is considered proper etiquette, but among ourselves we just use first names. …Please do the same for both the Baron and Dorothy."
Veronica, captain of the Special Task Force, sat across from me as she spoke.
Over the past month, she had been issued an additional silver ring. Dorothy had received one as well and was wearing it now.
Veronica's curse inflicted pain on anyone she conversed with, so the ring was necessary for her to hold a conversation at all. There was no way, however, to block the pain that came back to her — which was why she always paused before speaking.
"Why am I the only one called 'Baron'?"
"…That was Agnes's idea. …There are exceptions, after all. …Even I'm called Captain instead of Veronica."
"I already told ya! We get treated like dirt on a regular basis! The Baron's gotta make it real obvious he's with us!"
"…So long as this isn't some scheme to freeze me out, I'll accept it."
"…Of course not. …We all think very highly of you, Baron. …Truly. …Not in that sense, though."
"…"
When Veronica had left the Manfred Barony, I had made a careless remark she could easily have misunderstood. She seemed to be enjoying needling me about it.
"…Heh."
Veronica could hold a conversation far longer than I had expected. When we first met, she had tired almost immediately — but that had probably been the accumulated exhaustion of the journey. They had often been forced to camp out, unable to secure proper lodgings.
"…The Special Task Force's ordinary duties are exactly as Agnes already explained to you."
"Organizing books and tools related to dark magic, correct?"
"…That's right. …When the Storage Division inquisitors bring items in, we identify what they are and compile an inventory. …Using the tools is forbidden, but you're free to read the books as much as you like."
"Oh… I already finished everything for today… B-Baron… you must be tired… I didn't want to put you straight to work…"
"Thank you. …But isn't there still quite a bit of the workday left?"
"…The rest is free time."
Ordinary duties light enough that one person could finish them all before noon. It sounded like a dream job.
"…Also, Her Holiness the Saintess sometimes assigns us personal missions. …Our previous trip to the Barony was under her orders as well."
"And sometimes we get stuck with the grunt work other divisions don't wanna do."
"M-Mostly the Deliberation Division… hands us missions…"
"…I suppose we should explain the other divisions. …Alexander, would you?"
"O-Okay…"
Alexander began his explanation.
I had already heard from Agnes that the Heresy Inquisition had four divisions: Inspection, Deliberation, Enforcement, and Storage.
The Special Task Force fell under the Storage Division, which managed dark magic texts and tools confiscated by the Inquisition. In the old days, the division had been storage in name only — no one wanted anything to do with dark magic knowledge, so they simply burned everything. Proper archiving had only become possible after the Special Task Force was formed.
Because the work was relatively easy, the Storage Division was staffed mostly by inquisitors nearing retirement or those recovering from injuries. Samuel, the division head, qualified on both counts.
The Inspection and Deliberation Divisions determined whether a given group or individual was engaging in heretical acts. Inspection handled clergy belonging to the Lumenic Church; Deliberation handled everyone else.
The Enforcement Division dealt with those judged heretics by Inspection or Deliberation. The popular image of a heresy inquisitor — the burnings, the torture, and so on — came largely from Enforcement.
"B-But… when Deliberation has low-priority missions… we end up taking them instead…"
"You said Deliberation handles non-clergy, correct?"
"Exactly! And wouldn't ya know it — a mission came down today. Got it right before we went out to meet ya."
Agnes shoved a thoroughly crumpled sheet of paper at Veronica. Veronica frowned and carefully smoothed it out to read.
"…Agnes. …I've told you not to carry documents around all crumpled like this."
"Looks like our first mission, Dorothy."
"Dorothy! First mission! I'll work hard!"
Dorothy answered with an expression brimming with enthusiasm. When I reached out and ruffled her hair, she flattened her wolf ears in contentment.
"H-Huh…? But Baron… I worked so hard so you could rest today…"
Agnes laughed heartily and clapped the now-crestfallen Alexander on the back.
"…It says we're to depart today. …They clearly know you've arrived and are doing this on purpose. …It's nearby, though, so it shouldn't take long."
Loading supplies onto the carriage and anything else that required muscle was handled entirely by Agnes and Dorothy. Their physical abilities were so far beyond ordinary that no one else needed to lift a finger.
The carriage seated four. Veronica, Dorothy, Alexander, and I rode inside. Just as when I first met the Special Task Force, Agnes had transformed into a black bear and pulled us along.
The Church would have provided horses without complaint, but Agnes wanted to burn off her surplus stamina. With Dorothy able to take over in wolf form, we could cover far greater distances in a single day than before.
"…Ordinarily we'd have to request an escort from some other idle department. …But with the Baron here, that won't be necessary."
"Th-This is so nice… The priests… always look so uncomfortable around us…"
"Is our destination in Imperial territory?"
"…It is."
I was a noble of the Laviart Empire. Being cursed was hardly enough to cast doubt on my identity — and I wasn't merely a member of a noble house, but a titled baron in my own right. Guaranteeing the identities of cursed individuals would be no trouble at all.
"I felt a bit embarrassed wearing it out in the open, so I'd put it away."
I drew the medal from my breast pocket and hung it where it could be clearly seen — the insignia marking me as an Imperial baron.
"W-Wow… That's so cool…"
"Hmm… We're not headed for a city, are we?"
"…Is there a problem with cities?"
"No… not exactly… It's just that in places with proper etiquette, people call me 'my lord' or 'Your Excellency.' I'm still not used to hearing that."
"Y-Your Excellency…! I want to call you that too…!"
"Please don't…"
Alexander, hooded in his cloak the same way he had been when we first met, seemed oddly excited. Perhaps he had always harbored some romantic notion about the nobility.
"…Where we're going is a rural area similar to the Manfred Barony. …It isn't a noble's territory, but it is a Lumenic parish. …Your Excellency."
"I said stop that."
"…Heh."
Veronica seemed to have developed a real taste for teasing me. She pulled out the crumpled document Agnes had given her and looked it over again.
"…This mission appears to be a missing persons search combined with a monster subjugation."
"The Heresy Inquisition handles monster subjugations too?"
"…There's a report from the local parish that the missing person is suspected of having engaged in heretical acts before disappearing."
"S-Since the subject is missing… th-the information is unreliable… so they dumped it on us…"
"If you take on missions like this as well, don't you end up with far too much work?"
"…We do. …But Her Holiness the Saintess created the Special Task Force precisely to take on these neglected assignments. …She also wants to establish Special Task Forces in other institutions, not just the Inquisition."
"Th-There's actually a backlog of missions too. W-We couldn't resolve them because of escort assignment problems…"
"…Going forward, we'll need to clear those with you, Baron. …There aren't any other missions nearby this time. …But from now on, we could plan a route and knock out several at once."
Until a moment ago I had thought this was a dream job. Clearly I had been mistaken.
"…Dorothy. I think we picked the wrong workplace."
"It's okay. Dorothy will protect you."
"I appreciate that, but I need a more practical solution."
"…Don't worry too much. …We rarely go anywhere that isn't a Lumenic parish. …Most of them are regions close to Lumenon."
The Lumenic parishes within the Empire were concentrated along the western frontier. Statia, where the mental hospital I had been admitted to was located, was the same. East of that, there were no parishes at all. The Empire kept the Lumenic Church in check, allowing parishes only near Lumenon itself.
Two of the continent's greatest powers could hardly be expected to get along.
"Do you ever travel to other countries?"
"…Ordinarily we only go within the Empire. …Other nations have large parishes of their own and often handle things independently. …Occasionally, though, Her Holiness assigns us a mission that requires going abroad."
"In those cases you'd need to find an escort again, the way you used to."
"W-Why…?"
"Because no country is on good terms with the Empire. Revealing that I'm an Imperial noble would only make things more dangerous."
"I-I didn't know… I'm not well-informed about international affairs… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"No… there's no reason you would know. It's not your fault, Alexander."
Aside from a handful of vassal states, no nation was friendly with the Empire. The wars of expansion had made enemies of every country on the continent. Midway through those wars, the appearance of the Undead King had inflicted catastrophic damage on the Empire, forcing it to halt the fighting under the Lumenic Church's mediation. As a result, every nation except the Empire itself regarded the Church favorably.
Even so, being affiliated with the Church did nothing to change the fact that the cursed were unwelcome wherever they went.
Just as Veronica had said, the destination was not far. With Dorothy and Alexander taking turns pulling the carriage, we reached the First Parish around sunset.
We secured rooms at a nearby inn first, then set out to find the cathedral. The cathedral here was as small as the one in the Manfred Barony, they said — too small to house all five of us.
"All five of you are cursed?"
There was no Imperial law requiring the cursed to disclose their condition, but the Church had such a rule. As ordained clergy, members of the Special Task Force were forbidden from deliberately concealing their curses. The beast ears atop Agnes's and Dorothy's heads would have made hiding it difficult regardless.
The innkeeper made no effort to hide his displeasure — until I spoke my next words.
"I am Baron Karl Manfred. As a noble of the Empire, I will personally guarantee their safety. Should any incident occur, House Manfred will provide compensation."
"Ah… aah! Now that you mention it, that medal… P-Please wait just a moment. I'll have the room keys for you right away."
The fact that I was a noble was more than enough to reverse the innkeeper's attitude. The inquisitors of the Special Task Force stared at me as though seeing something genuinely new.
"…I was going to say I looked forward to seeing you newcomers in action tomorrow. …But I hardly have the standing to say such a thing. …Your Excellency."
"I told you to stop…"
"Your Excellency? What's that? Like His Holiness the Pope?"
"Th-They call the Baron that in the cities…"
"Ohhh! That's cool! Your Excellency!"
"Haa…"
It seemed I was going to be stuck enduring this kind of teasing for a while yet.