The Punishment Hall (13)
The Punishment Hall (13)
"......."
I held back my words. Rather than answering quickly, I bought time.
Dimona trusted me. If she had planted a confidant here, she would certainly have told me.
Someone secretly hidden away? There was no way that could be the case. If she were the type to hide something like that, she wouldn't have come all the way to Paramer to save me in the first place.
Which meant that guy's identity was fake, but...
How did he know about me?
The only people here who knew my current situation were Veronica and Monica. Neither of them was the type to leak information to others.
They were fundamentally tight-lipped people. They wouldn't go spilling unverified facts to anyone.
That left only one possibility.
The only scenario that fit perfectly was that this bastard had intercepted the letter.
"......"
"No need to be suspicious. You can speak freely. There's only one reason I can't help but know who you are, right? I received word from the Judge in advance. To look after you well."
I stared blankly at Warden Rupes. I quickly organized my thoughts.
Probing my intentions—he seemed to be trying to figure out what I was after...
But why? Why go out of his way to contact me and spin a lie that would be exposed? It was obvious that if he contacted Dimona even once, he'd be found out immediately.
Wasn't this the worst possible move? Something only an idiot would do?
"...Warden Rupes."
I lowered my voice.
"Is it true that Divine Judge Dimona really sent you?"
Rupes grinned broadly.
"I told you so, didn't I? Why can't you trust people? Hmm?"
A stupid expression. The kind of face someone makes when they think they're being meticulous.
Could he actually be a real idiot?
"But no matter how I think about it..."
I deliberately drew out my words. The fact that he was going out of his way to pry into my purpose and intentions meant he had to have backing.
The church was currently divided into two factions.
A dwindling minority faction led by Cardinal Arpina.
And the majority faction centered on the rapidly rising Archbishop Dwayne.
Divine Judge Dimona also appeared close to neutral at a glance, but in practice she leaned toward Cardinal Arpina's side. Seeing how he was spinning lies just to dig into my purpose... he seemed to be one of Dwayne's people...
Even without certainty, I could grasp roughly what kind of person the man in front of me was.
If it had been Dwayne, this was an order he would have told him not to carry out. No, wait.
It was an order anyone would have told him not to carry out. Who in their right mind would openly try to extract information in front of an enemy?
He did seem like an idiot, but...
Just as he was testing me, let me observe his reactions a little longer. Then something would give me a clue.
"Can you prove it?"
I controlled the tone of my voice. I whispered quietly. I added a hint of hostility, as if I couldn't accept it.
Rupes flinched.
"P-prove? What proof could there be? The moment I know who you are, the conversation's already over, isn't it?"
"The mission Divine Judge Dimona entrusted to me is a special one. I cannot speak of it to anyone who has not clearly established their identity."
"A special mission...? Wh-what is it? She didn't tell me about it?"
"Must I really say?"
"Who knows? Maybe I can help. You'll need me too, won't you?"
Rupes pointed at himself confidently.
"I'm currently one of the wardens of the Punishment Office, you know? I'm different from the other nobodies. Not just Director Veronica—you could say this entire Punishment Office runs according to my will."
"You hold that kind of immense power?"
"That's right! Isn't it only natural? I wasn't meant to be someone stationed here in the first place. I'm only staying temporarily. I can return to church headquarters whenever I want, you know?"
The bluff oozed out of him. His expression was full of confidence, as if he believed his own words.
Did he really believe that? No. Bullshit.
When he looked like he couldn't say a word in front of Veronica?
"So speak candidly. Hmm? If it's something I can help with, I'll help. I already know everything, you know? What you're trying to do."
"If you already know everything, then I wouldn't need to say anything, would I?"
"W-well, that could be true, but... th-that's right! The operation you were assigned could actually be something else, couldn't it? Right? I'm just trying to confirm whether it's something I can definitely help with."
A flimsy excuse. It was so unconvincing I almost yawned.
It was certain.
This guy was an idiot whose brain only half worked!
He must have wanted to earn credit. Reporting that I was here probably seemed insufficient, so he had tried to pad out his lacking report.
A stupid choice. If it were me, I would have kept my mouth shut and observed instead. I didn't know who had planted him, but I could see why he was here.
Judging by competence alone, he was a man who would top out at a mid-level post. That was about it.
I finished my assessment. I looked at him with suspicion in my eyes.
"Don't tell me... Divine Judge Dimona mentioned 'that'?"
I tossed out a few clues to let him draw his own conclusions. I mixed false information into the story.
I'd already been found out. So there was no need to hide any longer. Instead, let me use this situation.
The enemy who received the false report would certainly be thrown into confusion. I didn't know what they were planning, but they might make a mistake while listening to my story now.
And to hide my true purpose, acting like there was something going on was the best move!
"If it's that..."
"That thing beyond the city of Tantalos... ah, no. There's no way she would have told you that much."
"Sh-she did! She told me! So hurry up and say it!"
"...Don't tell me she even mentioned that thing west of Tantalos... no, it's nothing."
Yeah.
There was nothing there, let alone surveillance. Ah. Well, there was something.
There was a snow-covered wasteland.
Rupes spoke urgently.
"You can tell me! I told you! I'm the Judge's direct subordinate, hidden here personally by her!"
I had thrown out as much as I needed to. Let me leave room for his imagination.
"I will verify it separately."
"Th-there's no need to verify! I'll report to Judge Dimona myself, so just assume that's how it is!"
Rupes fled. Judging by his muttering about surveillance, it seemed to have worked.
So I had applied a temporary fix. Since I had planted false information, his superior would certainly send people to the area around Tantalos.
I didn't know what kind of person he or the one behind him was, but if I followed the clues, the outline would eventually reveal itself.
Uncovering that wasn't my job.
It was Divine Judge Dimona's job.
I set down Maya, whom I had been holding.
"Maya. I have a favor to ask."
"A favor?"
"Could you deliver a letter for me? To Dimona."
Even letters sent to the Punishment Office were being intercepted at this point. It wouldn't be strange if a letter sent from here was intercepted at church headquarters.
Sending someone in person was safer. And among those, the most trustworthy person was ultimately Maya.
I couldn't turn back now. After coming all this way, I couldn't leave empty-handed.
Having already stirred up so much trouble, I had to take responsibility. If I ran away now, Veronica would certainly drag Dimona into the blame as well.
"I'll call a carriage for you... could you head toward church headquarters?"
"...I don't want to leave the boss's side."
A small sulk.
I stroked Maya's head.
"Right now, the only person I can truly trust is Maya. Help me out just a little."
"...Only Maya?"
"Yeah. Because out of everyone I know, you're the strongest and the coolest."
I held out my hand. I hooked my finger around hers and made a light promise.
"I promise. I'll come back before it's too late. And once I'm back this time, we'll be together for good."
"...For good?"
"Of course. I'm Maya's nest, after all."
"......."
Maya, her lips jutting out in a pout, gave a small nod. I added.
"Once you deliver the letter, just follow Dimona's instructions. Until I get there."
"...The platinum blonde?"
"Right. Once she reads the letter, Dimona might ask you to do this and that. If it's something you can do, help with all of it. Can you be patient and wait?"
"Yeah... Maya will try hard. Don't worry. Boss, relax your face."
Maya stroked my face.
"Maya is devoted only to the boss. If the boss is in trouble, Maya is in trouble too. So Maya will help the boss."
"...How admirable."
Maya closed her eyes. She stayed quiet until the stroking stopped.
A hand trembling slightly. But she looked up at me as if steadying her resolve.
"...Maya will wait. Don't be too late, okay?"
"Of course."
I smiled brightly.
"I'll come get you. Maya. Don't worry."
. . .
Dwayne crumpled the letter. Inquisitor Zahard.
He had been sighted in Tantalos now?
"......"
Rupes was a stupid bastard. All bulk and no brains.
He was all show. Addicted to gambling and drink, and because of his frequent mistakes, he was someone who had been sent to the Punishment Office director for a simple surveillance assignment. In terms of efficiency, he was a man who scraped the bottom.
But even so, he wasn't the type to openly mix lies into his reports. He was the kind who wagged his tail endlessly at the master who fed him.
The chance of betrayal was extremely low, and to think that planting him in Tantalos would prove useful like this.
"...But."
What was this?
Dwayne unfolded the letter that had followed. Something incomprehensible was written in it.
"West of Tantalos... there's something...? A surveillance mission...?"
Truth or lie.
He couldn't tell. But the Grand Scheme was now right around the corner. A situation where even a single error would mean disaster.
The core of this plan was, above all, Tantalos. He couldn't proceed without knowing what Divine Judge Dimona was after.
"...Zahard... Inquisitor..."
It was said to be information he had personally leaked. Dwayne ground his teeth.
If it had been him, he wouldn't have made contact in the first place. He would have simply followed behind and observed what the man was doing.
It was as good as going out of his way to do something unnecessary. This stupid fool!
"...Every last one of them is utterly useless...!"
It was uncertain information from an enemy's mouth. Openly believing it would be even more foolish.
But even so, the Grand Scheme was right around the corner. Now that he had heard it, he couldn't simply let it pass.
Dwayne summoned his direct subordinates.
"Depart for the Tantalos border."
"Your Excellency. What is there?"
"I don't know either, which is why I'm telling you to look into it. And before you return..."
Dwayne whispered to the paladin order commander.
"At the appointed time, personally raise the 'beacon fire.' I will leave the handling of Warden Rupes to you. Do not forget to kill all witnesses as well. Keep in mind that 'we' must have no official connection to this matter."
"...Understood. Your Excellency."
The paladin order commander nodded heavily.
"May the light of Ra be upon all things."
. . .
"Hey. Ra."
-What is it now.
I lay on the bed and called to her.
"You know those disrespectful bastards who don't listen. Can't you just strip all their Sacred Power away?"
-It is impossible.
"Then why did you give those guys Sacred Marks in the first place?"
-I never gave them. They were simply born with them of their own accord.
"...Excuse me?"
-Everything is coincidence. It is merely the result of a sliver of my power crawling into a soul, causing them to be born with a Sacred Mark.
"Then what's that about? The saying that a Sacred Mark loses its light if priests of the same church fight each other?"
-A play on words. Even if you kill a fellow priest, the Sacred Mark still shines. It is merely a fabrication the churches created to control their priests. Killing a priest of the same church is a grave crime anyway. It results in an immediate death sentence with no possibility of deferral. In another sense, it is the same as the light of the Sacred Mark going out.
"That's way too sloppy."
-Are humans not all like that?
Ugh. Forget it.
I rolled around. I had sent Maya off late at night in a carriage, avoiding the eyes of others.
I wrote most of what I had learned in the letter and sent it. Someone of her caliber would handle things well on her own. A capable woman. Honestly, even without my involvement, she was probably already handling her work efficiently.
She was strong in combat too. She had Rosemary, whom I had powered up, and Radatok, who diligently chased after her, at her side.
And that wasn't all. The average capability of the Fifth Inquisition Office was far higher than the other inquisition offices.
Even without me getting involved, it was a faction that would run well on its own. There was no need to worry separately.
"...Let me just sleep."
I sprang up from the bed. I turned off the light. But just before getting into bed, I heard a knock on the door.
An abandoned living quarters close to Cellblock 10, unused by any guard. There were no visitors who would deliberately come to a place where I was the only one sleeping.
...Could it be Rupes?
"Who is it?"
"You're still awake, I see."
A familiar voice came from beyond the door.
"It's Monica. May I come in?"