New Assignment
New Assignment
The Chief Inquisitor is busy.
Really busy.
There is, quite literally, a mountain of work.
The workload is truly murderous, to the point where I have to work from the moment the morning sun peeks over the horizon, past sunset, and well into the night until the moon hangs high in the sky.
So, I couldn't quite grasp the words His Holiness the Pope uttered in the audience chamber after I was urgently summoned.
"The Saint's escort duty...?"
How on earth am I supposed to juggle escort duty on top of this busy schedule?
I have to go on field trips 4 to 5 times a day to handle heretic inquisitions, and if I repeat that tedious process of tracking, interrogating, and executing every single time, it easily eats up 3 to 4 hours per case.
Which means on the worst days, when work unfortunately overlaps, I sometimes end up working over 20 hours out of a 24-hour day.
But what was that? Add escort duty to this murderous schedule?
I stared at His Holiness the Pope with a look of utter despair, unable to believe it.
But he just nodded gently with a benevolent smile, as if to say I had heard him correctly.
"Rugin, you heard correctly."
"..."
"I entrust the Saint's escort duty entirely to you."
A terrible dizziness washed over me, making my head spin—ping-.
My position is Chief Inquisitor, the role that oversees and commands the 1st Special Inquisition Department, the elite of the Goddess Church.
So, I cannot just abandon the core duties of the 1st Special Inquisition Department and leave my post.
And now you want me to perform close-protection escort duty on top of that?
And not even within the Goddess Church Headquarters, but escort duty that requires me to reside all the way at the Sepenteria Continental General Academy?
Does that mean I have to split my body in two?
Of course, that's not technically impossible.
Surprisingly, I can manifest a clone by splitting my body using the Halo, a holy artifact.
However, the duration is by no means long.
Handling the holy magic power of the Halo is nearly impossible for a human body in the first place, and I can barely use it only because my body is rigorously trained and, luckily, has a phenomenally high assimilation rate.
In other words, even for me, manifesting the Halo for a long time to split my body in two exceeds physical limits.
Yet His Holiness the Pope is nonchalantly demanding a workload that would only be possible if I split my body in two with the Halo for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
It was nothing short of divine torture, demanding I make the impossible possible.
But naturally, I couldn't voice a refusal in front of His Holiness.
The Pope's will is the will of the Goddess Church.
Refusing that will is no different from being a heretic.
And I, the Chief Inquisitor who leads the Heretic Inquisitors, am refusing the Pope's order?
It wouldn't be strange at all to be branded a traitor and have my neck in a noose on the gallows by tomorrow morning.
I bowed my head deeply, hiding my trembling fists.
"Y-Your Holiness. I will obey your command."
"Haha, as expected of Rugin. Thank you for your devoted attitude."
Still, I had to at least try to express that this order was logically impossible.
I opened my mouth cautiously, with a very polite attitude.
"However... Your Holiness. In my humble opinion, there is one point of concern."
"Oho, Rugin's concern. I am curious about the Chief Inquisitor's perspective. What is it?"
"I am currently serving as the Chief Inquisitor of the 1st Special Inquisition Department. The number of interrogation cases the 1st Special Inquisition Department handles daily is at least three, and the time required is over 10 hours in total. However, for me to take on escort duty as well, physically and temporally..."
"You mean it seems impossible?"
"That is correct."
His Holiness the Pope put on an expression as if he were deep in thought for a moment.
As soon as I saw that expression, a sense of relief washed over me, thinking, 'This is it.'
The Chief Inquisitor is a very rare, top-tier asset even within the Church.
Because it is the position that suppresses and commands the lunatic Heretic Inquisitors, like the mentally ill, murderers, and psychopaths.
Therefore, one must possess combat power stronger than the combined strength of all the members, as well as the charisma to overwhelm them and the intellect to properly utilize such unique human resources.
So, if the Chief Inquisitor is absent, it is nearly impossible for that Inquisition Department to function normally.
Therefore, the Chief Inquisitor is an existence that must never leave the interrogation field.
His Holiness the Pope wouldn't be able to ignore this realistic pressure.
It's embarrassing to say this myself, but I am the Chief Inquisitor of the 1st Special Inquisition Department, the highest department of heretic interrogation.
Surely His Holiness the Pope will tell me to withdraw the escort duty...
"It doesn't matter. You can just carry out the heretic interrogation duties and the escort duty simultaneously."
"Yes, since it is difficult for me to take on the escort duty exclusively......... Wait? D-did I hear you wrong?"
I was startled by the answer, which was completely different from my expectations, and jerked my head up.
His Holiness the Pope shook his head gently, still wearing his benevolent smile.
"You heard correctly. Rugin, you just need to do both."
"H-how can I do both... It would be possible if I split my body in two, but the duration..."
"Haha, Rugin. There is no need to split your body."
"Y-yes?"
I felt like the conversation was sinking into a bizarre labyrinth.
There's no need to split my body, yet I can simultaneously perform escort duty that requires 24-hour close contact and intense heretic interrogation work?
My limited intelligence couldn't fathom by what principle that was possible.
What kind of mysterious secret plan is His Holiness the Pope hiding?
Or is it just a stubborn 'There's no such thing as impossible in this world. Just do it!' attitude?
If it's the former, I would feel amazed by His Holiness's insight and strategy.
If it's the latter, I felt I would feel fear and worry toward His Holiness.
Because the Pope, the supreme religious leader of the Goddess Church, becoming a senile old man is a huge disaster for the entire Church.
"Haha, Rugin. You are very flustered. Don't worry. I haven't gone senile yet. You can rest assured."
"... I-I didn't think that, Your Holiness."
"Really? Hoho, if it were me, I think it would have looked exactly like that."
"... I did think that a little bit."
As I nodded slightly, His Holiness the Pope burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! As expected of Rugin. Your honesty is very pleasing to see. It is even stated in Chapter 314, Verse 31 of the Heavenly Scripture. When the Goddess created humans, she molded us honestly, but the Evil God gifted us the wine of lies. Therefore, isn't honesty true faith, and lying equivalent to apostasy? Isn't that right, Saint?"
His Holiness the Pope turned his head and spoke to the Saint, who was fidgeting with a nervous expression in the corner of the audience chamber.
The Saint seemed to look around for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.
"......That is correct."
"Haha, since the Saint, the daughter of the Goddess, says so, it must certainly be true."
"Your words are correct, Your Holiness."
I also nodded.
The Saint is the reincarnation of the Goddess, the daughter of the Goddess, and the benevolent mother of all believers.
If such a person says it is correct, it becomes an absolute truth.
If the Saint confirms a verse written in the Heavenly Scripture, that verse becomes a holy testimony.
"So anyway, returning to the main point, it is entirely possible for Chief Inquisitor Rugin to perform both the escort duty and the heretic interrogation duty simultaneously."
"I am listening."
I was curious.
The Pope wasn't senile, nor was he forcing the issue.
Then what on earth is the method?
The Pope turned his head toward the Saint in the corner and continued.
"There are countless heretics lurking all over this world. They are those who do not believe in the Goddess who created this world, but instead believe in Evil Gods, demons, and mysterious Monstrosities that make the world turbid."
There are a great many heretics in this world.
Terribly many, to the point where I am genuinely sick of them.
"And although they each worship different beings in different ways, with different powers and different ideologies, they share one common goal."
But even those ragtag heretics have one common goal.
"It is the severance of the Goddess from this world, the usurpation of the rights of the main god of this world from the Goddess, and beyond that, the eternal slumber of the Goddess. That is the one common goal shared by the heretics."
They want to sever the connection between the Goddess and the world, usurp the Goddess's power, and ultimately desire the Goddess's death.
"And one of the essential procedures they must perform to achieve that goal is..."
"The assassination of the Saint, or some nefarious event using the Saint."
"Correct."
Hearing this much, I was finally able to guess what His Holiness the Pope was trying to say.
"Your Holiness, by any chance..."
His Holiness the Pope nodded with a quite serious expression.
"That is correct. However, the Saint is now leaving the Goddess Church Headquarters and heading to the Sepenteria Continental General Academy. In accordance with a very noble and sublime mission."
"Ahem..."
The Saint lets out a cough.
It didn't seem like it was purely because of a noble and sublime mission, as His Holiness the Pope said.
"But if that happens..."
"Countless heretics will target the Saint and attack the Sepenteria Continental General Academy."
"Yes, that would certainly be the case."
The countless heretics existing in this world will target the Saint like beasts that have discovered their prey.
"Therefore, Chief Inquisitor Rugin, you can perform the Saint's escort duty and your duties as Chief Inquisitor simultaneously."
"..."
"Because protecting the Saint will be no different from performing the duties of the Chief Inquisitor."
The logic was that the act of escorting the Saint itself is directly linked to the Chief Inquisitor's duty of attracting and hunting heretics.
"How about it, Chief Inquisitor Rugin? Will you protect the Saint with your life? Will you guard the Saint from those wicked heretics?"
Therefore, I had no choice but to bow my head with a miserable feeling.
"I will do so."
+++*
After having an audience with His Holiness the Pope and the Saint, I visited the Escort Headquarters to fill out the relevant paperwork as the person in charge of the escort mission.
I asked the staff member who gave me the paperwork with a look of utter confusion.
"Brother, why am I the only one on the escort team? There are seven members in the 1st Special Inquisition Department, including me."
To that question, the Escort Headquarters staff member replied with a look that said it was obvious.
"According to the school regulations, the number of people who can accompany an incoming or current student at the Sepenteria Continental General Academy is only two. One attendant to handle chores, and one bodyguard. No additional personnel can enter the Academy. That is the Academy's iron rule."
"..."
The number of people an Academy student can accompany is only two.
Just one attendant and one bodyguard to protect the student.
So, I, alone...
All by myself...
It means I have to protect the Saint and simultaneously wipe out all the swarming heretics.
As I faced the miserable reality, only this thought flashed through my mind.
'Fuck... I really don't want to live.'