The Punishment Hall (2)
The Punishment Hall (2)
I rubbed my head. That hurt. She put some real feeling into it.
"Is that a no?"
"How could that possibly be a yes?! What kind of superior gives a subordinate permission to go commit a crime out of nowhere?! No! Absolutely not! Do you even know where Apprentice Priest Beverick is locked up?"
"No idea?"
"The northern border city! He's locked up in the First Punishment Office in Tantalos! Do you have any idea how dangerous the warden there is?! And what the hell is this?! Break a criminal out?! I'm getting angry all over again just thinking about it?!"
She grabbed me by the collar. Shook me back and forth.
Oh, I'm getting dizzy. I flopped down onto the bed.
"W-wait a second?! Zahard?!"
"Ugh... uuugh..."
"D-don't tell me you really were hurt?! Maybe somewhere I didn't see...!"
"Uuugh...!"
I spread my hand open.
"Joke."
"Drop deaaaaad!!!"
Two lumps formed on my head. It hurt, but I didn't openly heal them. I might just get pummeled more for no reason.
Dimona was fuming. Even so, the hand that rummaged inside my bandages, just in case, was gentle.
"You were attacked by Serpent Church paladins in the middle of the night, and you're telling me you don't have a single wound? Where are you actually hurt? On top of that, Serpent Church swords are always coated in vicious venom, which makes them incredibly troublesome to treat...!"
"I'm telling you, there's nothing. My capable subordinate handled it properly. Seems like you don't need to worry about my body anymore."
Maya snapped her comic book shut.
She planted a hand on her hip. Lifted her chin slightly.
"Maya. Capable. Boss's most treasured kid. Employee of the Month."
"Aigo! My baby! Well done! Well done!"
"Ahem."
After applauding Maya, whose nose had shot way up into the air, I grinned.
"Well, a request is just a request... I just need you to write me one letter. Saying that I'll be going to the Punishment Office in secret. I'll handle everything else myself."
"...No... aaaaaargh!!"
Dimona tore at her hair. Glared at me.
"First of all, it's true that you're not hurt anywhere, right?"
"I'm telling you, I'm completely fine. There aren't many people who can beat me in the first place. Even within the Church, I'm at a level you could count on one hand now."
"...You've gotten that strong? No... no... now that I think about it, it's entirely possible... aah... I went and took in a tiger cub for nothing... I have no idea where this little bastard's going to leap off to, so the stress is piling up..."
Dimona squeezed her throbbing eyes shut, then opened them.
"Why do you want to smuggle out Apprentice Priest Beverick in the first place?"
"To use him as a weapon."
"Use him for what?"
"I just have a plan. A weapon to collapse things from the inside, step by step. I'll tell you the rest later. So? You won't help me?"
"...If I tell you to stop, will you not do it?"
"Well..."
I smiled brightly.
"I'd just do it in secret!"
"This little bastard, seriously!"
Dimona let out a sigh. Pressed and kneaded the space between her brows.
"...Fine. I'll write you a letter. But promise me one thing."
"Yes?"
"If my acquaintance there, the warden of the First Punishment Office, doesn't give permission, don't smuggle him out in secret. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely no smuggling him out in secret. If you don't promise, I won't send you even if it kills me."
"Hmm... well, that much is fine."
"Promise. Right now."
"I promise."
There are ways to win over the warden without necessarily smuggling him out in secret. The warden of the First Punishment Office was one of the main NPCs I knew.
"I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely will not smuggle him out in secret. Divine Juuudge Dimona."
"Don't stretch out the ends of your words. It makes me want to hit you more."
Dimona, who had been growling, sprang to her feet.
"You're planning to slip out in secret, right? On paper, you're supposed to be here. I'll handle that separately too."
"As expected of my lovely boss."
"...Don't say it like you're mocking me. Leave the paperwork and the rumors to me. I'll pick out an escape route for you too, so wait quietly."
As she left the room, Dimona muttered.
"Is this a bundle of luck or a bundle of misfortune...?"
"The former."
"Let me just talk to myself in peace!"
. . .
Tap, tap.
The pen swept lightly across the paper. The scent of autumn drifted in through the window.
Archbishop Dwayne finished the last of his paperwork. After tidying it to the side, he stared blankly at Bishop Brody, who was trembling on the floor.
"So the assassination failed."
"N-no, Your Excellency!"
Brody slammed his head against the ground.
"Inquisitor Zahard was at least gravely wounded! There is an unending stream of eyewitness accounts that he headed to the Fifth Inquisition Office covered in blood!"
"But you did not manage to kill him."
"Among the sightings, there were even reports that he vomited blood from his mouth! Your Excellency! Think about it! You know how vicious the poison used by the Serpent Church paladins is!"
"...Hm."
Dwayne nodded. That was also true. The poison used by the Serpent Church paladins was vicious. They said they coated their swords with venom forged directly inside their bodies using Sacred Power.
Even a graze meant grave injury. If it penetrated deeply, he had heard that not even a high-ranking priest could treat it.
If he had been covered in blood, it probably meant a bloody battle had taken place. If he had vomited blood less than a day after being struck, it meant the poison had already penetrated deep into his body.
"...A dead man walking, then."
It would be safe to regard him as such. At the very least, there seemed to be no need to worry for the moment. It would also make a suitable message to send to Divine Divine Judge Dimona.
It had not gone perfectly as intended, but this was not bad either. A visible threat came to mind more often than an invisible one, after all.
"What became of the six paladins who attacked him?"
"I heard that a large amount of vicious bloody fluid was discovered near Inquisitor Zahard's room. It seems the remaining ones, faced with capture, carried out suicide..."
"That is not certain, is it?"
"N-no! They were raised that way from the start! If their information was about to be exposed, they were made to take poison fitted inside a back tooth! No trace would remain! It is certain! Your Excellency!"
Dwayne leaned back against his chair.
Then there was no need to worry about leaving traces.
Well, even if they were discovered by some chance, only Bishop Brody's name would come out of their mouths. A tail he could cut at any time.
"Well, it is fine. Bishop Brody. Since your plan succeeded, at least in part, let us be satisfied with this."
"Th-that means..."
"When that day comes, I will retrieve Apprentice Priest Beverick from the Punishment Office. Stay quiet until then."
"Th-thank you! Thank you!"
Dwayne turned things over in his head. Divine Divine Judge Dimona had returned in the midst of his steadily progressing plan, but he had no intention of stopping.
He had fed her an appropriate warning, so even if strange movements occurred within the Church, she would not pursue them. Rather, it was clear she would stay silent to preserve her life.
Move. Now was the chance. To devour the entire Church and rise to the seat of cardinal.
If he could just drive out Arpina, everything would be over. The Day Priestesses would obviously be a nuisance, but if the justification was on his side, they would not interfere.
What they valued above all was the Pope.
They were people who cared about nothing but the Pope's safety. Even if Tiela and Arpina were old friends, Tiela was not private enough to maintain a relationship even in the public sphere.
What were the Day Priestesses in the first place? Weren't they an order forbidden from using private force except to move the Pope as they wished?
"......."
The preparations for the long-cherished ambition he so desired were nearing completion.
All that remained was one step forward.
"...Perhaps before this winter ends."
Dwayne glanced behind him.
"Everything may be over."
. . .
Dimona moved busily. Starting with a mount for my escape, she even fabricated charts manipulating my periodic condition.
As expected, life is easy when you live with a capable woman. All I had to do was laze around with Maya and savor my freedom for the first time in a while.
If I needed anything, I just had to tell my loyal servant Austin to bring it.
I coughed, pretending to hack. Tears welled up in Austin's eyes.
"B-boss! Is there anything in particular you'd like to eat?"
"Maya. What do you want to eat?"
"Maya..."
Maya, who had been looking at the flyer Austin brought, drew her hand across it in a long line.
"Everything from here to here."
I handed Austin a coin purse.
"Go buy it. Get something for yourself too."
"I'm fine!"
Pig party. I decided to call it that. Maya had wanted freedom as payment for being hired by me, and that included eating as much of whatever food she wanted.
"Is it good?"
"Mm-mm."
"Drink something too."
It was curious how all of that fit into such a small body. Maya, who ate without stopping, took a nap once she was full. When she woke up, she casually opened the comic book Austin had bought.
Seeing the corner of her mouth occasionally twitch upward on her expressionless face, she must be satisfied with her current life. I asked casually.
"Maya. Anything uncomfortable?"
"Nothing. Boss. This place is paradise."
Where did you even learn a word like that?
The comfortable days flowed by. Dimona had told me to wait for a week, was it?
Today, as always, I opened a comic book. The picture books here are actually pretty well made, you know.
They're fun to rea...
"Move aside. Radatok."
A cold voice flowed in from outside the door. Radatok's heavy voice accompanied it.
"Rosemary. This is not a place you can barge into so recklessly. Please remember that Brother is currently a patient with grave injuries."
"That's exactly why I'm saying I'll check his condition. I'm an inquisitor too. I've learned basic healing arts."
"Even Divine Divine Judge Dimona said we should observe his progress for now. There is nothing you can do even if you go in."
"I'll see for myself and judge."
"You cannot."
Rosemary... was it?
But something was different. Unlike her usual sharp voice, she sounded very sad. There was even a slight trace of tears mixed in.
"I just... I just want to see his condition. What kind of condition is it that even Holy Arts won't work? Did he get hit by Serpent Church poison or something?"
"...Rosemary."
"I'll see for myself, and if there's anything he needs, I'll go get it. I haven't spent money in a long time, so I've saved up a ton. If it's medicine, I can get as much as needed. If it's a situation that requires magic, I'll hire a healing wizard separately."
"...Bringing a wizard into the Church goes against doctrine..."
"I'll just bring them in secretly! What, am I a walking pile of germs right now?! I disinfected everything before I came! I purified all my clothes too! Move! I can't take it anymore! I'll check his progress myself!"
Oh crap.
I immediately whispered to Maya.
"Maya! Formation A!"
Maya sprang up. Dived under the bed.
"Formation A clear."
"As expected of my Employee of the Month! Nice mobility!"
I immediately lay flat. The door slammed open a split second later!
"Rosemary! This recklessness...!"
"Move! I'll see for my..."
The pink cat ears stopped short. I met eyes with the cat, whose cheeks still bore moisture for some reason.
I let out a small, dry cough. Thanks to having smeared blood I'd brought in advance onto the bandages, my preparations were perfect.
"...Rosemary. It's been a while."
"Ah... aah..."
I immediately signaled Radatok with my eyes. Radatok nodded heavily.
"...I will wait outside."
The door closed. Rosemary sat in the chair beside me. Then she flinched in surprise and stood back up.
The cherry drink Maya had spilled. At the sweet scent wafting up from the liquid on her rear, Rosemary's voice trembled.
"Th-this is..."
I coughed roughly. No. If I get caught here, I'm dead.
"While changing the bandages... by mistake... it got mixed with the medicine..."
"H-how badly are you hurt?! Who on earth did this to you?!"
"Ambush... I didn't see who... b-but it's fine... Rosemary..."
I smiled like a man on the verge of death.
"It's... nothing... I'll get up soon... and join you... so maybe you should head out for now..."
Plip.
Something fell to the floor. Rosemary bowed her head deeply. What began as a single drop soon became many.
"Hic... hic... hnngh..."
A sobbing sound, as if she was forcing herself to hold it in.
Hey. She's actually crying.
I slowly spread my hand open. Raised my upper body and wrapped it around Rosemary. This is bad. I didn't know she'd actually cry.
"I-I said it's fine, right? I think I'll be all better after just two months of suffering!"
"...Hngh.... hnnngh..."
"L-look! Wow, I'm all better! I'm already all better?! S-so stop!"
Shit! I'm screwed!
I didn't know she'd worry this much!
"R-Rosemary...?"
The crying stopped. The tears stopped too. When Rosemary raised her head, her eyes were unfocused for some reason.
A muttered monologue, as if she was thinking about something. I couldn't hear it well, so I leaned in.
"...Please rest."
She slowly lifted her axe.
"I don't know who attacked you, but I'll make them regret it for the rest of their life."
...Did I just...
step on a landmine?