There Are Just Too Many Heretics
There Are Just Too Many Heretics
Lu Niginna.
Rugin, if you call me comfortably.
The sole survivor of a village slaughtered by demon worshippers and their wicked magic.
The Chief Inquisitor, head of the Heretic Inquisitors who ruthlessly punish those who oppose the Three-Eyed Goddess Church.
Hailed as the end of heretics, revered as a devil in an angel's mask, the Goddess's most ferocious and sharpest sword.
That is me.
But.
This is the appearance shaped by the choices I made to survive.
What kind of person was Lu Niginna in the original novel, anyway?
I recalled a conversation I had with my brother a long time ago.
─ Here are the names of the key characters: Leo Kibushi ... ... ... ... Triana Oquel ... ... ... ... ... Prun Pertasia ... ... ... ... ... Merian Saladian ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Begul Gelbistan ... ... ... There, that's it.
...
Of course, I've forgotten a lot, but no matter how much I thought about it, the name Lu Niginna didn't come up.
Is this just an extra?
Or did I just forget?
Hmm.
Well, I don't know.
Does it even matter now?
Anyway, I...
─ Brother, please read it just once! I really want to show it to you. Please!
─ Sorry, brother. I don't want to see that kind of stuff. To be precise, I'm really not into that nerd-like stuff.
I didn't read a single letter of my brother's novel.
I know nothing but the world genre, the rough plot, and a few characters.
So, even if I knew that the name Lu Niginna or Rugin was a key character, nothing would have changed.
Because I don't know what kind of person that character is.
Still, if I have one wish, I hope it's not a character who dies in vain or has a miserable, tragic fate.
Since living a peaceful, leisurely life seems out of the question, I hope they are a character who becomes a winner in the end or meets a valuable and noble death.
Of course, retiring halfway and enjoying a peaceful retirement life would be the best.
I thought that and looked at the clock on the wall.
The hour hand was already pointing at '3'.
"Shit."
A curse slipped out automatically.
How did the time get like this?
I hurriedly turned off the lamp by the bed and rested my head on the soft pillow.
I ended up sleeping late again after having all sorts of useless thoughts.
Work is in a few hours, and even though I come home dead tired every time, I can't sleep when I try to.
This must be the sorrow of office workers.
Even the personnel belonging to this Goddess Church Headquarters work year-round under the pretext that the Goddess doesn't sleep, so there's no hope for a day off.
There are a few days off a month at least...
But that feels more like a vacation.
...
Wait, does this make sense?
Working all year round?
If this were my past life, wouldn't this be a case for reporting to the Labor Board?
...
Damn it.
It's not my past life and it's not modern times, so what does it matter?
"Ha... Brother, you should have included a 5-day workweek system or something when you were setting up the system."
I closed my eyes.
Then, like a chain reaction, another thought covered my head.
Why on earth did I reincarnate into my brother's novel?
What on earth was my brother's novel?
Could my brother be the Goddess...?
...
Ah, fuck. I imagined it.
The appearance of the Goddess depicted in this world is so beautiful that it's no exaggeration to call it the embodiment of beauty.
But the thought that my brother, an overweight, bespectacled otaku, was behind such a Goddess flashed through my mind for a moment.
It was a truly horrific thought.
Even imagining it for a brief moment was comparable to a powerful mental attack.
I immediately shook my head violently to erase it from my mind.
It's not like some VTuber. That can't be.
The Three-Eyed Goddess must not be my brother's VTuber avatar.
That would be too cruel a truth for the believers of the Three-Eyed Goddess Church living in this world.
I pulled the blanket up to my chin.
Let's stop these horrific thoughts and get some sleep.
I have to go to work tomorrow again.
+++*
Early morning, I went to work and saw a pile of documents on my desk.
I checked them, and they were all information, reports, and rumors related to heretics.
I hurriedly looked away and stared out the window.
And muttered quietly.
The words I said every morning.
"There are just too many heretics."
"That again! Rugin-nim, it's noisy! I have to organize all this information and give it to you, but Rugin-nim, you just have to sign it!"
But Juliana, a woman with curly white hair who didn't miss that small sound, stopped writing documents frantically next to me and glared at me, scolding.
"Who said anything? I was just talking to myself."
"...Ugh, seriously! Why are there so many reports and notifications!"
She shouted as if she couldn't hold back her anger and focused on the documents again.
She seems very angry from the morning.
But that's not just her problem.
"Ah, I just got off work, and I'm here doing this again!"
"I'm also tired to death. And aren't we going to the western coast today? A report came in that a necromancer appeared."
"My sword really won't run out of blood. Inquisitor! Do we not have to use swords today? My sword will be stained red at this rate."
"Relpo, a southern city of the Golar Empire, Dalglatu city, Heiran Mountains, Obeang Forest. Just the places we're going today are four. We might get off work even later than yesterday."
"...I can't go... No? I won't go."
The rest of the 1st Special Inquisition Department members are also complaining with faces that look like they ate dragon shit.
I drank the coffee I bought on my way to work and thought.
Always the same morning.
Always the same commute.
Always a fuck ton of heretics..
Always fucking late off-work.
When does this endless cycle end?
When can I escape from this hellish work hell?
There is a resignation letter in the drawer that I wrote a long time ago, but I couldn't even dream of resigning due to the rules of the Goddess Church Headquarters that one cannot resign unless the Goddess permits it.
This is the same for the Pope and the Saintess who are at the pinnacle of the Goddess Church.
We are all beings subordinate to the Three-Eyed Goddess.
Forever...
...
"No!"
I jumped up from my seat and shouted as if having a seizure.
A drop of cold sweat slowly flowed down from my temple.
Juliana, who was writing documents next to me, wiped the sweat from my temple accurately without even looking at me.
"It's one drop today."
A natural action as if she was very used to it.
The members of the 1st Special Inquisition Department also looked at me, who showed 'abnormal behavior', calmly, and then stood up from their seats one by one.
"Finally, you had a seizure. I was waiting to see when you'd do it."
(Wearing armor, holding sword and shield).
"Yeah, it's time to mobilize. Ah, I'm tired. I really want to finish quickly and get off work today."
(Packing priest robe and staff).
"Pfft, I wondered why you were so late today. Me."
(Wearing a white robe and holding a book).
"Isn't it really amazing? Every time you have a seizure like that?"
(Packing bow and arrows).
"Haha, that's right. I was surprised at first, but now I'm so used to it."
(Packing a huge hammer).
"The Chief must be tired because there is a lot of work. It's not particularly unusual."
(Wearing gauntlets on both hands).
"Ha! What do you mean a lot of work? The Deputy Chief Inquisitor does everything. The Chief Inquisitor just plays around. And then acts like it's the hardest thing in the world."
(Putting down the document, packing a cross).
They left the office.
I watched their backs for a moment...
I brought my hand to my waist.
The silver ring-shaped 'Halo' was hanging there.
After pulling it a couple of times to make sure it was hanging properly, I followed them.
A day where I want to die again...
It begins.
The Heretic Inquisitors rode the aerial transport, the Yellow Dragon, to the Golar Empire.
Since the Goddess Church Headquarters is located on a huge island, Losparian, we had to use water transport or fly through the air to leave the Holy Inquisition Bureau located inside the headquarters.
But moving by water didn't suit the nature of Heretic Inquisitors who had to move urgently.
Because it was not suitable for speed or the stealth required to move without being noticed.
That's why we Heretic Inquisitors ride a small dragon called a Yellow Dragon.
A small dragon the size of which only 1-2 people can ride.
It could be said to be similar to a small airplane.
But it was fast because it was small.
"It's the Golar Empire territory again today. Why is there so much trouble in Golar land?"
At the words of Veronica, a woman with tanned skin and short red hair, I answered as if it were natural.
"Because it has the largest territory. It's also the land that receives the most blessings from the Goddess and is the most abundant. Since there are many humans, there are bound to be many heretic bastards."
To that, Han Jun, an Asian man with brown hair, smiled and said.
"If it's going to be like this, wouldn't it be better to put our office in Golar? Commuting to the headquarters seems very inefficient."
I sighed and shook my head at that.
"Do you think I haven't suggested that? But the Golar Empire opposes it, saying that people get anxious if Heretic Inquisitors are in any city in the Golar Empire."
A Heretic Inquisitor is such an existence.
The church's wild dogs that chase until the end and bite the neck if suspected of being a heretic.
Cruel fanatics.
The sharpest blade for the Goddess.
A madman who commits massacres in the name of God's will.
That is the image of a Heretic Inquisitor that this world thinks of.
And it's not exactly wrong.
But there are too many heretic bastards in the first place.
We can't help it either.
How many regions do we have to visit just today?
Relpo, a southern city of the Golar Empire, Dalglatu city, Heiran Mountains, Obeang Forest.
There are four places.
And those are just the four most important ones based on the information that has come in, and there are more reports or notifications about other heretics.
So you have to understand a little.
Even if we are a little rough, hysterical, and do a little crazy things, it's all for world peace and the Three-Eyed Goddess.
"We've arrived."
Then Juliana said, pointing to the front with her index finger.
While flying while thinking about other things, I arrived at Relpo before I knew it.
"Let's stop the small talk here. Southern city Relpo. Heretic forces will be hiding in the basement there."
I asked, stroking the silver ring Halo at my waist.
"Heretic forces are hiding in the basement... Then are they in the sewer?"
Then Juliana answered very coldly.
"It was in the report I uploaded this morning. Inquisitor Rugin, did you not read it?"
"..."
That's right.
I didn't read it.
I felt a cold gaze in an instant.
I coughed a couple of times and hurriedly twisted the point.
"Juliana, then did you contact the mayor's office? Who is the mayor?"
Then Juliana said in a low voice with an even colder gaze.
"The mayor is the one who reported it. He reported that traces of heretics were found in his city. I even put the magic communication paper that I communicated with the mayor in the report. The mayor is Count Selvinto."
"..."
At this point, I can't twist the point anymore, and there is no room for excuses.
At this time, there is no way to escape from Juliana except by pretending to be crazy.
"Alright, alright! Let's all stay sharp, the rats hiding in the city have guts that have popped out, so if we're not careful, we'll get hurt!"
"He's doing that again."
Ignoring Juliana, who shook her head, we arrived at Relpo.
Today's first task has begun.