Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Annoying Mosquito Swarm (2)
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When she heard the news, Renee couldn’t hide her dazed expression. The timing was too perfect, wasn’t it? Just as they were about to open a new path forward, right before the imperial envoys arrived...
The filing of a heresy report and the start of an official investigation was never a positive development for a lord. The imperial court would begin to doubt the duke’s governing ability, and his already tenuous political position would evaporate completely.
Renee bit her lip slightly and said to Fernandez.
“Is there a possibility of sabotage...?”
“Not much. If someone knew of a plan that hasn’t even been implemented yet, that would mean there’s a spy. The only ones who know the core of this plan are the lady, me, the great chieftain, and the duke. None of them could be spies.”
“So you’re saying this is really just a sudden heresy incident?”
Renee frowned as she spoke. Fernandez nodded gravely.
“The current state of Libye and the surrounding settlements creates the perfect environment for black mages to infiltrate. Heretics and cultists always seek out such cracks.”
Their behavior was like cockroaches. In fact, what they did was even worse. They burrowed into shadows and dark crevices, spreading plagues and chaos.
“What do you plan to do? If the imperial envoys find out about this, everything’s over. Do you have another way?”
“We need to find them before the envoys arrive and hand them over to the church.”
-Or abandon you.
Feizashi whispered lowly. Yes, that was an option. Fernandez nodded faintly. In this plan, Renee and Libye were replaceable. While Libye’s location and the duke’s conditions fit the operation well, substituting them with other frontier lords wouldn’t cause major issues.
When Fernandez said that, Renee narrowed her eyes and studied him.
“You’re thinking of abandoning us.”
Just as Renee had once told Fernandez that his eyes were different, he now felt the same about hers as he looked into them. Her eyes were unlike others.
To borrow the description she had given him—“eyes that look farther ahead”—the eyes he saw in Renee now were “eyes that look deeper.” Into the depths of the heart, perhaps even into instinctual territory.
The eyes of a sage. And Fernandez knew people with such eyes before. ‘Heroes.’
‘Too valuable to give up.’
-Have you grown fond of her already?
‘Of course not. Even if we leave, this woman won’t collapse. She’ll find another way somehow. And even if she doesn’t ascend to the throne afterward, we’ll lose influence in the empire’s south and west.’
Renee Filipa was not the type of woman to crumble under trials like this. Moreover, she was someone destined to hold sway over this region. Abandoning her would mean Fernandez losing control over imperial territories near the wasteland in the future.
All relationships were transactions. Mutually beneficial ones. And the basis of any deal was buying low and selling high.
With a small gesture of goodwill now, he could buy the loyalty of a future hero at a bargain price.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t we become friends?”
“...You don’t strike me as the overly righteous type.”
“I don’t make friends easily.”
At this point, the only ones who had boldly approached Fernandez as ‘friends’ were Vicente, Darian, Lofton, and Renee. The king of the east, humanity’s strongest, the northern reaper, and the future emperor.
-Your circle of companions is better than in your past life.
‘Maybe this is the reward for living virtuously.’
-Hah, that’s rich.
Fernandez chuckled softly and set down his teacup.
“We can cooperate with the Beitasser Church. If we wrap this up quickly, keeping it quiet should be straightforward.”
“You have connections in the church too? Those guys don’t lift a finger without profit. Especially in political matters.”
“Something like that. Don’t worry about them. The problem is...”
“How to catch that black mage. That’s it, right?”
“Summon the court mage. I need to investigate the site myself.”
“I’ll come too. You’re a warrior, not a mage. Though your actions are pretty mage-like... Fine! Let’s do it.”
Renee clapped her hands and stood up. Vitality had already returned to her eyes.
“Let’s go collect some taxes from that black mage or whatever he is, daring to use magic without permission in the grand duke’s territory!”
“Taxes, huh.”
An amusing way to put it. Fernandez chuckled at Renee’s words and rose from his seat.
* * *
Libye’s court mage, Antien, was an old man whose unpretentious personality was etched into his face. This former professor from Filaineil University leisurely guided his horse toward the abandoned settlement.
“It’s here! I investigated the area with that ghost priest.”
“Anything unusual?”
“Everything was unusual! There were no signs of bandits or thieves in the village. People just vanished? That’s bizarre.”
“Then why didn’t you report it that way?”
“What was I supposed to say? The ghost warlord claims innocence, no traces of magic when I checked. But people disappeared... What does that sound like?”
“That the tenant farmers joined rebels or bandits en masse?”
“No other explanation fits. Do you know Libye’s recent tax rates? Excessive taxes even for a small settlement like this. Think there are just one or two abandoned places like this in the whole territory?”
“What about the rumors of ghosts and skeletons wandering at night?”
“Those rumors circulated even when the territory was normal. Just in our land? Every village, even the capital—common tavern gossip.”
Citizens always enjoyed ghost stories and strange tales. It was their entertainment, and rural villages especially preserved odd customs and folklore.
In that sense, the old mage’s words made sense. Overzealous taxes leading to fleeing settlers. Baseless rumors, no traces of magic...
Logical. But not in this case. Fernandez turned his horse toward the village interior.
* * *
The village roads were impeccably clean. No animal droppings or pedestrian trash anywhere. Just weathered roads overgrown with weeds, neatly maintained.
To be expected. Filth and garbage only accumulate where living things dwell, and the only beasts here were...
‘Stray dogs.’
Wild animals that had made homes in the abandoned village. Amid the weeds sprouting in the village interior, signs of life stirred within the houses.
-Caw, caw.
A crow cried noisily and flapped away. Perched on a wall, it cocked its head and watched the group approach.
“I heard even the food vanished from the tables.”
“That must be why so many beasts gathered. Stray dogs, cats. Ugh, rats too!”
A rat scurried through a wall crack with a skitter. A eerie scene. And a familiar one.
Fernandez rode with eyes closed. The ordinary wasteland smell: rotting animal carcasses and the musky scent of wild beasts. A stray cat gazed at him lazily.
-Clop.
Even as he approached on horseback, the cat basked in the afternoon sun without alarm. Fernandez bowed his head, eyes still closed, and whispered to it.
“Resourceful one.”
The cat tilted its head and slowly rose. Its yellow eyes fixed on Fernandez’s face. It looked like any ordinary stray—perhaps a bit bold.
“Menderson of the corpse tower.”
-Shrieeeek!!
The cat let out a chilling hiss and bolted away. Fernandez didn’t pursue. Its presence had already vanished.
Black mages mastered something before magic: concealing their presence. Before learning spells, all black mages first perfected hiding their aura and magical residue.
And older black mages became experts in it. How perfectly they hid their existence measured their skill.
His master, Gian-Kel, had disguised himself as a city bishop without detection. Such elite black mages couldn’t be tracked by conventional means.
To hunt a perfectly hidden black mage required traditional Heretica investigations or another black mage analyzing the concealment traits.
-Or already sensing the hidden presence.
Heretica investigation methods, Beitasser priests’ unique senses, an old black mage’s expertise, future knowledge. Fernandez smiled as he watched the fleeing cat.
‘My old friend. Did some tasty morsel bring you all this way?’
-A corpse fly. I never liked that one.
“Find something?”
“Nothing.”
Fernandez answered Antien approaching nearby and remounted. Nothing more to see here.
Renee, walking beside him, drew close cautiously. She glanced at Fernandez and whispered.
“What did you find?”
“What do you mean?”
“There must’ve been something.”
“Just suspicions for now.”
Renee narrowed her eyes at him, stared briefly, then huffed and walked ahead.
He couldn’t bring them on the pursuit. They’d use magic, and his wasn’t the kind to show others.
Anyway. Solving the crisis came first. Fernandez gave the village one last glance from his horse heading back to Libye.
* * *
-Whoosh!!
Right before the grand duke’s palace stood a pyre. By the time Fernandez arrived, wails and smoke filled the courtyard. People screamed, waved hands, and cried out.
“What in the world...!”
“Stay put.”
Fernandez grabbed Renee’s arm as she tried to rush forward and pressed on. Guards recognized the lady and court mage, shoving citizens aside to clear a path.
At the path’s end lay the pyre, lined with charred corpses. Fernandez walked through with a coldly set face.
“Aaaagh!!”
One person, bound on the pyre and screaming in flames, blackened into a corpse and tumbled down. Before the fire died, another kneeler was dragged out by soldiers.
“S-spare me! I don’t know anything!!”
“The accused insults the court by claiming innocence despite clear guilt. Sentence: execution.”
“I-I’m innocent! Please!! I didn’t do anything!!”
A familiar voice. Fernandez clicked his tongue, dismounted. Guards moved to block him but flinched at his face and backed off. He shoved aside the limp spear aimed at him and stepped forward.
“I declare this court adjourned.”
“...By what authority?”
Heretica Pascal smiled softly, gazing at him. Blood stained the Saint Metal longsword in his hand. The resistant ones had likely fallen to it before the pyre.
Fernandez stood before Pascal and looked at the dragged citizen. Anak trembled, face smeared with tears and snot. Fernandez gripped his chin briefly, inspecting forehead, mouth, and eyes.
“No signs of black magic use on this woman.”
“...Well-versed in black magic? Who are you?”
In his special operations role, Fernandez wasn’t an inquisitor. Pascal frowned, treating him as a stranger.
“Envoy of the Beastman Tribal Alliance.”
“Don’t meddle in foreign affairs, heathen.”
“Our alliance seeks no disturbance. I request dialogue.”
“Mind your place.”
“I am.”
Renee, who had chased after, watched in quiet admiration as Fernandez faced the fearsome Heretica without flinching.
Coming from an eastern kingdom, he surely knew inquisitors’ infamy. This wasn’t a spot for mere goodwill.
“Fine. Follow me.”
As Pascal yielded, Renee’s eyes widened. An inquisitor mid-execution backing down? Unheard of. She approached Fernandez anew and whispered.
“Are you sane?”
“We must prevent greater damage.”
“Worried about our territory’s people just now?”
“No. Official inquisitions always leak rumors. Think the imperial envoys won’t notice?”
Anyway, the immediate issue was the envoys. Needing imperial support for wasteland reinforcements, a heresy trial was unwelcome.
Fernandez clicked his tongue and followed Pascal to the outer camp tents.
* * *
“Brother, what is this?”
As Fernandez entered the tent, Pascal frowned and said. He tapped the piled reports on the table.
“All had at least one charge. And you’re not in a position to interfere like this.”
“At least the woman you were about to burn is innocent. Brother Pascal. The church doesn’t want this incident to blow up.”
“The church wants no heretic fragment infiltrating civilized society. Do you realize your actions could be seen as suspicious?”
“Report me to the inner council. But not now. Your operations are hindering my mission.”
Pascal snorted at his words.
“Are you saying the church tolerates heresy? Dangerous words.”
“Isn’t executing innocents without proper investigation dangerous too?”
“Who proves innocence? Did you investigate before me? I lead this case, brother. To burn one heretic, we’d clear hundreds more innocents as kindling. Recall the Inquisition’s teachings.”
Yes, that was them. Fernandez smiled coldly. They’d slice living flesh without hesitation to excise rotten sores.
He recalled Aria’s village burning in his past life. The many hanged on gibbets. Fernandez shook his head.
“Grant me one more day.”
“Caught a lead?”
“I’ll confirm it, brother. I swear on the Holy Pantheon not to interfere after.”
“...Fine. One day. I’ll wait.”
Fernandez left the tent, leaving Pascal behind.
* * *
Kirhas was pacing anxiously. With an acquaintance Heretica rounding up and burning the duchy’s people indiscriminately, she could do nothing as a foreigner.
She bit her lip, staring at the smoke rising beyond the walls. She wanted to stop it. But by what right? She was the beastman great chieftain now—and even without that, just a torchman.
Then the door burst open. She quickly schooled her face to coldness and glared sharply. Soon, her expression softened. It was Fernandez.
“Kirhas.”
“M-my benefactor, it’s terrible!”
“I’m coming from there.”
Fernandez strode in with sunken eyes, grabbing his gear from the room’s corner. He buckled on his sword belt and slung the greatsword over his back.
“Time to do the inquisitor’s work. Kirhas.”
“Brother Pascal too?”
“No. Just us.”
Too coincidental. A heresy incident perfectly timed as his operation launched. An inquisitor dispatched immediately upon filing. A flashy trial visible to all, right before imperial envoys.
Coincidental to the point of suspicion.
‘Someone else is here.’
Beyond Menderson. Someone who could file and expedite the heresy report and dispatch. Someone wanting to sabotage his plan. Lurking in this territory.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, benefactor.”
Whoever it was, they wouldn’t outlive this day. Fernandez stepped out under the darkening evening sky. Dusk and dawn were the inquisitor’s hours.