Until the Day My Blade Runs Dry
Who the hell…
Of course, that was Bella’s magic.
She had been hiding the entire time, waiting for her opening before loosing the spell. Dealing with mages was always a headache, so seizing the initiative like this made the fight far cleaner.
Still, she managed not to get spotted. Impressive.
Mages were more sensitive to magic than to presence, so Bella had kept herself concealed without casting a thing. Against someone used to real combat, she should have been found out—yet she had hidden well.
“Magic? From where, exactly…?”
I corrected Labeck with a voice gone cold and heavy.
“The Goddess just delivered divine punishment.”
Labeck looked ready to believe it for a moment, then thought better of it and pieced things together.
“You have a deacon with you. Inquisitors usually travel with one.”
“Damn. Caught.”
“Isn’t it the fool’s fault for falling for it?”
“I was counting on you being that fool.”
“…….”
Labeck’s mouth twitched as if he were fighting a smile. He swallowed whatever he felt and spoke again.
“I never imagined it, though. That a deacon would be a mage… How did the Holy Empire ever grant her the rank?”
“She was an ordinary deacon. The talent only surfaced after she was already ordained.”
If the Holy Empire had known Bella was a mage from the start, they would never have ordained her. But stripping the rank after the fact, purely because she was a mage, would have been too blatant even for them—awkward for the Church itself.
“Still, the clergy must be talking.”
“That’s exactly why we’re out here catching people like you.”
I pointed the flaming sword at him.
“I’ll change the Holy Empire’s view of magic my own way. Even if it takes forever, if we just keep walking like a turtle, something will shift.”
I wouldn’t lose sleep over it, of course. I would simply do what I always did, and worry about it now and then. Sooner or later someone would notice.
“A hollow dream.”
“We’re that kind of people by nature.”
Labeck was silent a moment, then said,
“Your deacon is lucky. You’ve given her so many chances.”
“Yeah, more or less.”
“I never even got the chance. The hatred the Holy Empire created drove me into the shadows.”
Labeck looked at me with those moon-pale eyes.
“So why not give me that chance as well?”
“…What?”
“I’m offering to serve under you. I’ve only got one arm left, but I can still be useful.”
I hadn’t asked because I failed to understand the words. I simply hadn’t expected them.
“You really want to live that badly?”
“I’m serious.”
Looking into his eyes, I believed him. Accepting him was another matter entirely.
“We’ve come too far for that. You know it too.”
“I haven’t killed anyone yet.”
“So that thing back there was a monster, then?”
I pointed to the charred corpse behind him—killed by Labeck’s own magic. He nodded.
“A monster. A beast ruled by greed.”
“And you used that beast to throw everyone else into chaos.”
“…….”
Labeck’s mouth clamped shut. Even he couldn’t argue the fact. And this would hardly have been the first time.
“So in the end you’re going to kill me.”
“If you’re only realizing that now, we’re in trouble. Maybe my wording was too soft.”
Flames rippled quietly along my blade. Labeck watched them and asked,
“May I ask one thing?”
“If it’s a last word, go ahead.”
He gave a short snort of laughter.
“When you said you would change the Holy Empire’s view of mages—were you serious?”
I tilted my head.
“What have you been listening to this whole time? Am I talking to a wall right now?”
“…….”
“Wow. Walls these days even bleed.”
I marveled at the blood dripping steadily from his shoulder. He let out a long sigh.
“…I see.”
Then he began to draw up his mana. I immediately shifted into a guard, ready for the spell.
Whoooosh—!
Hot flames blossomed from his fingertips. I raised my sword to cut them down—yet the fire was not aimed at me.
Flames swallowed Labeck’s entire body.
It wasn’t Bella’s ambush. Labeck had turned his magic on himself.
The blaze that used him as kindling lit the forest dark. Inside the fire, a black, wavering silhouette spoke as if smiling.
“I hope that day comes someday.”
After that he made no further sound. Only the soft crackle of burning wood and the smell of char drifted through the trees.
Little by little the flames died, and what remained of him collapsed like a spent log. I sheathed my sword and walked over.
“…….”
The Moon Shadow Group was a band of mages gathered to destroy the Holy Empire that persecuted their kind. In my past life their goal had failed, and more than a few of them had been garbage no different from any other villain.
But at least this one truly believed in changing how mages were seen.
That didn’t mean I forgave the harm he had done to completely unrelated townsfolk.
Hm? Come to think of it…
In this entire incident, I had not killed anyone with my own hands.
Jacob had died by Labeck’s hand. Labeck had died by his own conviction.
What a peaceful way to settle things.
I hoped every day could be like this, but the world would never be that kind.
Goddess… someday, may the blood on my blade finally dry…
A man needs at least one empty dream in his chest if he wants to keep walking forward.
The Goddess seemed to cheer me on, sending a trickle of holy power my way.
“Inquisitooor!”
At the voice I opened my eyes.
The Goddess who had been hiding in the forest… no, Bella was running toward me.
“Why did he suddenly cast magic on himself?”
I looked down at the fallen Labeck and answered,
“Beats me. Maybe he just couldn’t stand his own stupidity any longer.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Either way, the biggest headache in Haven City was finished. If I hadn’t drawn him out today, I might never have caught him.
“……?”
I felt a gaze and turned. Bella was staring straight up at me.
“Hehe.”
“……?”
“Hehehe.”
I had no idea what was going on, but she was clearly in a good mood. Reminding me of the village dog that used to look at me with the exact same eyes.
Is she fishing for praise because she used her magic well?
Her offensive spells had definitely improved, but I never handed out treats too easily. Bad habits were hard to break.
“Did you eat a fly agaric or something? Why are you grinning like that?”
“It’s nothing!”
Fine by me.
“We’re heading back. Keep the Moon Shadow Group’s involvement quiet.”
No point giving people who already hated magic any more bait.
“Yes, sir!”
Bella’s answer was bright as moonlight, just like always.
The first thing I did upon returning to Haven City was round up every merchant tied to Jacob.
A few of them tried to run the moment they saw me, but the instant I drew my sword they miraculously came right back and submitted to arrest.
Had someone enchanted this blade? A spell that made the guilty suddenly well-behaved?
I gathered the captured merchants in one place and said,
“Anyone here who feels they’re being treated unfairly—raise your hand.”
“…….”
“Don’t be shy. Speak up. No point staying quiet and getting dragged off for something you didn’t do.”
One man raised his hand. I idly stroked the hilt of my sword and asked,
“You feel wronged?”
“N-no… It’s just… what happened to Mr. Jacob?”
I dropped my voice into something deep and cold.
“Curious, are you?”
“…No. Not at all.”
“Good. All of you will go to the parish office and enjoy a thorough interrogation. If your crimes are light, you’ll be out soon enough.”
I had people escort the trembling lot to the nearest parish office.
The next day I announced the truth to the city: someone had deliberately cornered the market for profit, and I had caught them. With the testimony of merchants who had been squeezed by the scheme, no one doubted my word.
Removing the threat to the city did wonders for public sentiment toward the Luminara family. It improved overnight.
“Good morning, young master.”
“Fine day, isn’t it?”
As if to prove it, townsfolk now greeted me without hesitation whenever I walked the streets.
One problem remained, though.
The largest trading company in Haven City had collapsed. Prices of all sorts of goods were bound to climb. If that wasn’t fixed, goodwill would sour again.
But that wasn’t my problem to solve.
“You handle the rest. You’ve had plenty of time to rest.”
Scriben, skin looking suspiciously plump and healthy, pushed his glasses up.
“Leave it to me, young master. I’ve already mapped every distribution channel. All we need are people to run them.”
“Good.”
“I’ll prioritize merchants who resisted the pressure. They never bent under temptation or threats, so they won’t try to skim unfair profits.”
“Do that. Call me if anything like this happens again.”
“No need to worry. I can handle it from here on.”
I stared hard at Scriben, then gave his shoulder a couple of firm pats.
“Look at this bastard working so hard just to stay alive.”
“Haha. Dying isn’t exactly on my agenda.”
“True enough.”
“By the way, young master—before coming here you visited the Bishop-Marquis’s territory?”
“Went to buy clothes. Why?”
“Oh, nothing. Just wondering if you’d gone to arrest the Bishop-Marquis as well.”
“If there’s a problem, even the Pope isn’t safe.”
“R-right. Of course.”
That finished my business. The rest could be left to Scriben.
“See you alive, then.”
“Yes. I fully intend to stay that way.”
“Good.”
I smirked and turned away.
I had entered this city in silence; I left it under the greetings and gazes of its people. Something warm rose in my chest together with the holy power.
The moment we left Haven City we headed straight for Ritvel territory. There was important business waiting.
In my past life, right after the Demon God descended, I often traveled with Ludian. By then he no longer even had an excuse to hunt me, so he had simply prioritized bringing the Demon God down. Along the way he would tell me all sorts of stories. I never knew why—perhaps even someone who looked as solid as a sword needed to talk just to keep going.
Anyway…
One of the things Ludian said stuck with me.
—If the Saint of Prophecy hadn’t taken her own life, things might have been a little better now.
—You know the reason?
—Not the details. Maybe she simply carried too much responsibility for someone so young.
I had thought a moment, then asked,
—Any chance someone engineered it?
—None. Because the matter was so grave, the Saint of Truth interrogated everyone involved. No one had murdered her or driven her to it.
—I see.
—But…
In my memory Ludian looked up at the blood-red sky.
—When she received her Stigma, she saw her own future. A future where she wept and drove a dagger into her own stomach.
—…
—And that future never changed.
Silence followed until I spoke.
—The Goddess screwed up.
—What?
—If the Goddess hadn’t given her the Stigma, she never would have met that future.
—That’s…
—Tsk tsk. Why dump such a heavy burden on a fragile little girl? She should have just given it to me instead.
Ludian looked like he had a lot to say, but since I wasn’t exactly wrong he simply shut up and kept walking.
That day, I won.
“I’ve been wondering for a while—how do you know all these things, Inquisitor?”
Bella’s voice dragged me back to the present. I had already told her we were going to see the Saint of Prophecy.
Fair enough. She must be curious. I’ve been moving as if I already know where every holy relic is.
Honestly, it was stranger that she hadn’t asked until now.
I gave her a half-assed cover story.
“When I left home on pilgrimage I saw and heard a great deal. I just put the pieces together as I go.”
“Ahh, that makes sense.”
Even though it was stuffed full of truth, the excuse was still pretty flimsy. Bella accepted it without much doubt and kept walking.
I intended to hide the fact of my regression as long as possible. I didn’t even know why I had returned; once that got out, the headaches would multiply.
“…….”
Ritvel territory was small, yet packed with people. Pilgrims came because the Saint of Prophecy lived here. Right now we were simply two more faces in the crowd.
Most of them will go home without ever seeing her face, though.
The Saint of Prophecy was famous for locking herself indoors. I was still figuring out how to get an audience myself.
Time to play the connections card…
I held out my hand to Bella.
“Deacon Bella. Communication magic tool, please.”
“Yes!”
She dug into her pack and produced the small crystal orb Cardinal Barun had given us.
“Here!”
“Thanks—”
Thud!
Something smacked into my rear end.
Bold little bastard. Even with this many people around, someone had dared to put hands—or rather, an entire body—on an Inquisitor.
I slipped the communication orb into my coat and turned.
“Who just grabbed my a—”
I scanned the shameless sexual assailant.
A girl with long, messy hair covering her eyes sat on the ground, rubbing her head.
“Why is there a wall here…?”
She had apparently been running full tilt and slammed straight into my backside.
So… does this count as sexual assault or not?
While I seriously debated the legal classification, Bella offered the fallen girl a hand.
“Are you okay? Did you hurt any—”
“Eek!”
Thump-thump-thump!
The girl fled as if she had just seen something unholy. I watched the sexual assailant vanish into the crowd.
“Kids these days have no manners…”
I had been prepared to let it slide with an adult’s patience if she had simply apologized. That little stunt, however, required a scolding.
I was just about to go after her when a man’s voice rang out.
“Lady Sena!! Stop right there!!”
A man who looked like he had been chasing her came sprinting toward us.
Sena?
I tilted my head.
As far as I knew, the Saint of Prophecy’s name was Sena. Her age roughly matched as well. I had never seen the Saint of Prophecy in person, so I didn’t know her face.
The man shoved through the crowd, spotted us, and bowed several times in rapid succession.
“I’m so sorry! So very sorry!”
Armor and a sword—he was clearly a knight. If my guess was right, he was the knight assigned to protect the Saint of Prophecy. Which meant the girl who had crashed into me was almost certainly the Saint herself.
“Lady Senaaa!!”
The man took off after her again.
For some reason a knight was now hunting down a fleeing Saint of Prophecy. It was odd that he couldn’t catch a single girl, but that wasn’t my concern at the moment.
First I need that apology in person.
I dropped into a low stance.
“Mind if I borrow your shoulder for a second.”
“…Pardon?”
Thankfully he agreed at once. I kicked off the ground, used the knight’s shoulder as a second springboard, and launched myself into the sky.
After a brief, pleasant moment enjoying the blue sky, I dove like a hawk toward the small figure fleeing below.
I had always taken catching sexual assailants very seriously.