The Serpent Church (1)
The Serpent Church (1)
Irene let out a shaky breath. She'd deliberately avoided him for the past few days, keeping her distance so she could calm her heart and organize what she needed to say.
Then she heard he was leaving first thing tomorrow. Mierkant told her she couldn't put it off any longer.
「Are you sure you can let him go like this?」
That single question made Irene decide what she had to do.
The moon was bright.
Just like the day she first met him.
"Zahard?"
"J-just a moment."
Her heart was racing strangely fast. Whenever a man spoke to her, it usually sank into an icy stillness, so this felt wrong.
Was it because he'd helped her? Or because he was the first man to pull her out of that nightmare?
She had thought it was something no one could solve. But he had reached out his hand as if it were nothing.
As if it were only natural that he should.
The city was quiet. This walking path was a secluded place only she knew, surrounded by silent woods.
"...Zahard."
Irene found her own voice terribly unfamiliar.
She could hear the pointless tremble in it herself.
"Once you get to church headquarters... what are you planning to do?"
"What do you mean, planning? I'll just tell them everything exactly as it happened."
He grinned as if he didn't have a care in the world. Irene quietly turned her head away.
For some reason, she couldn't look him in the face.
"There's proof he's guilty, and if I go there and lay everything out clearly myself... it'll all work out fine, won't it?"
"Bishop Brody will be at church headquarters. He's Beverick's father."
"Bishop Brody or whoever, if he did wrong, he should take a beating. Maybe they'll punish him too while they're at it."
Irene laughed before she could stop herself. His way of thinking was so uninhibited that it could be hard to keep up with him.
A fascinating person. A mysterious boy.
What would happen if a few more years passed like this? What kind of person would he become?
...What kind of man would he become?
"Zahard."
"Yes?"
"There's something I'm curious about. How old are you now?"
"...You're asking that now?"
"I-isn't that allowed? I don't know the other children's ages or Priest Mierkant's. I've never asked anyone their age before, so I don't mean anything else by—"
"It's fine. Really. I'm not hurt."
Soft footsteps rustled through the grass.
Irene carefully turned to look at him.
"...Really?"
"Come on, really. Would a manly guy like me get hurt over something like that? I'm just... maybe a little sulky?"
"S-sorry. I really didn't mean anything else by—"
Zahard laughed.
"I'm joking. You have a cute side, you know."
"Wh-what did you say?"
"You were so stiff with me at first, remember? I thought you were a doll. Being pretty isn't everything. You need a little humanity too."
"Human... what?!"
"See? You should get angry like that sometimes."
Zahard poked Irene in the side.
"How's that? Feeling a little less tense now?"
"...Huh?"
Irene blinked. Come to think of it, her voice wasn't trembling anymore.
Had he noticed all along and deliberately helped her relax? Irene shot Zahard a sharp glare.
"I still can't forgive what you just said. I'm much older than you."
"Who'd know you're older?"
"I do. No matter how I look at you, you don't look older than fifteen."
"...You sure? What if I'm older than that?"
"I'm sure. If you were older than that, you'd be taller than me."
"I grew another 0.5 centimeters since yesterday, you know?! Just wait a year. I'm going to be looking way down at you, so prepare yourself."
"Heh heh."
Irene stopped walking. She looked at Zahard, who had been following beside her.
"Can I look forward to it?"
"...Look forward to it?"
"Yes."
"Height? Surely I'll keep growing, right? If I don't, I'll go chew out a god or something."
"That's blasphemous."
"I'm pretty close with her."
Close with her. If anyone else had said that, Irene would have frowned. Yet strangely, she couldn't get angry at him.
She became more forgiving around him. Whenever she stood in front of him, her expression softened on its own.
The words she had to say.
The words she couldn't put off any longer.
"...Thank you."
Irene reached out. She quietly stroked his hair.
"Thank you, Zahard. I'll never forget that you helped me and protected me. Any of it."
"Don't worry about it. I did it for myself. I didn't like that bastard either, remember? I've never met garbage like him in my life."
"Still, thank you. If it hadn't been for you... I probably would have lived the rest of my life cursing that day."
The black hair brushing her fingertips was soft. Even the slightly sharp eyes looking up at her were adorable.
Irene quietly, slowly stroked his hair.
"I'll repay you for this."
"I told you, it's not a debt."
"Then what is it?"
"...Respect?"
"Respect?"
"You taught me a lot. Honestly, at first I thought you wouldn't teach me anything. But even when I deliberately got under your skin, you still did your duty as my teacher."
Zahard took a step back. He looked up at Irene and tilted his head.
"I like people like that."
"L-like...?"
"I respect them."
"You didn't have to correct yourself that quickly."
Irene whipped her head around. Zahard asked, as if it had just occurred to him.
"By the way..."
"What is it?"
"What's my score?"
"...Score?"
"You know the score you gave me on the first day? All those point deductions. You haven't said it once lately... Does that mean I've finally graduated from being a bug?"
"What do you mean, a bug?"
Irene lightly rapped Zahard on the head with her knuckles.
"What's in front of my eyes..."
The words stuck in her throat. It was embarrassing, but she wanted to say them anyway, so Irene forced herself to finish. Her voice shook a little in the middle, but surely that was fine.
"...is an adorable boy I've grown very fond of."
"...Ahaha."
Zahard quietly turned his head. His ears were slightly red.
"That's a little embarrassing."
"Embarrassing?"
"Come on. It's not like nothing ever embarrasses me."
"Really? Is that true?"
Irene gazed at him intently. Ah, O Ra.
Talking with him made me realize it. Please forgive these improper thoughts.
"So how old are you, really?"
"Fifteen. What about you?"
"I'm eighteen, so we're three years apart."
I had planned to live my whole life without ever knowing a man, but surely this counted as self-defense.
Please have mercy.
"Three years. That's just right. Perfect, even."
"...What is?"
"There's something else. It looks like I'll be the one sent out on the next dispatch. I suppose I broke my promise to you."
"I knew I couldn't go the moment I threw that punch. Well. It's fine. I'm a genius, so I can learn anywhere."
"...That's true. You're a genius, so I'm sure you'll learn a great deal. I'll study hard too—enough that I can teach you again when we meet."
"So our branch might finally produce a paladin?"
"It definitely will."
She had gained another goal. Paladins were among the best-off priests even at the Sun God Church's headquarters.
If she earned enough, she could surely manage it. She could buy a house in the city where the church headquarters stood.
There, just the two of them, reading scripture together every night.
"When everything is over, I'll come get you."
"...Huh? Why?"
"You asked about your score earlier, right?"
Irene walked a few paces ahead, then spun around to face him. Her silver hair scattered in the breeze, and starlight gleamed beautifully in her blue eyes.
For a moment, time seemed to stop. Against a night so beautiful it looked made real, she whispered.
"It's a perfect score. Congratulations."
. . .
...Was that a proposal?
No way. Probably not.
I settled into the carriage and left Venelda while Mierkant and Irene saw me off, both looking strangely relieved.
Come to think of it, hadn't I arrived here by carriage too? Heh heh. Well, well.
A triumphant return!
No, wait. I don't have a hometown, so... maybe not quite.
"C-could you loosen this a little..."
"Shut up! Heretic!"
I smacked Beverick as he squirmed beside me. The inquisitors flinched but made no move to stop me.
"He's a heretic... so I suppose he deserves it."
"He's lucky we're not pulling his nails out."
"Wasn't he supposed to be a devout man?"
"There's a reason for the beating. Yep."
All that buttering them up had paid off. Even the meticulous Radatok didn't say a word!
He just opened his eyes once and closed them again. That was it. I smacked Beverick around whenever I was bored. Considering everything he'd put me through, no amount of beating was enough.
Now this is real stress relief! You bet it is!
The carriage pressed steadily onward. The Church of Ra's headquarters was in Ainkad, one of the wealthier cities.
It was far enough away that we changed coachmen several times. There weren't always villages to stop in, so we sometimes camped along the road.
Do you know how annoying it is to grill meat every single night?
I tried to quietly set the tongs down, but the inquisitors immediately started staring me down.
"I'd like to taste Brother's meat."
"Ah, suit yourselves. I've already grilled so much for you."
"The meat anyone else grills just isn't as good."
I grilled meat with tears in my eyes. These bastards. Just wait until this Divine Trial business is over.
I'll never grill for you again!
On the sixth night after leaving Venelda, I was grilling meat as usual. These damn inquisitors really were Dimona's people—every one of them was a formidable fighter.
Every night they went out and caught beasts without seeming to tire. They felt more like hunters than priests.
With tears in my eyes, I grilled wild boar. I went full barbecue, skewering it on wooden sticks and turning it over the fire.
The inquisitors gathered around with their mouths watering. Then several of them abruptly stood.
"...A presence."
"Someone's nearby."
I poked my head out from between the big men. Ahead was a long merchant caravan, its carriages stamped with the Sun God Church's emblem.
"...A merchant company under the church?"
But why do they look like beggars?
The people dragging the half-wrecked wagons along spotted us and rushed over. One man sprinted up and threw himself flat on the ground.
"Oh! Priests! I was certain we were going to die, but I never expected to meet you here!"
"...Has something happened?"
At Radatok's question, the man answered, bowing and scraping.
"Those damned bandits attacked our caravan! They stole every offering we were taking to the church! If we go back like this, we're all dead! Please help us!"
"We'd like to help, but... we have urgent business of our own right now..."
"B-but! While we were fighting the bandits, we saw Sacred Marks on some of them!"
"Caravan master! Th-that's...!"
"Didn't you say you saw it! I believe you!"
The man cried out desperately.
"It was the Serpent Church! Those rotten vipers attacked us!"
"Serpents... You don't mean..."
Radatok's face hardened.
"The Church of Naga... is that what you mean?"
My face hardened too. I spat out the pork I'd been eating.
No, shit!
Of all the people to get tangled up with, why did it have to be those fanatics?!