A Bit of a Predicament
I borrowed a horse and set out for the capital of the Holy Empire.
I was going to sit the examination for the Inquisitor corps.
If I want free rein to move while the family is still intact, there's no better post than Inquisitor.
An Inquisitor held authority that answered to no rank. If one of them suddenly demanded to open a ducal warehouse, even a duke would think twice before refusing. An Inquisitor could investigate heresy on suspicion alone, without a scrap of hard evidence.
Of course, pushing it that far could still invite sanctions.
Still, the crucial point is that it gives my actions a legitimate pretext.
In my past life, dealing with House Skallen had been simple enough: ride in, cut their throats, and ride out. Back then there had been nothing in the world but me. Now, with things I had to protect and a place to return to, that path was closed. If I became the Sword Demon again, the people around me would pay the price.
But as an Inquisitor, I can brand Baron Skallen a heretic and dispose of him by the book.
Branding a man as respected as Baron Skallen wouldn't be easy — but it wasn't impossible.
He won't hit the territory while I'm gone. According to Scriben, the baron's currently in the capital, and with everything shifting so fast, word won't travel easily either.
Two days of hard riding later, I entered Rimentia, capital of the Holy Empire.
Unlike our territory, most of Rimentia was built of stone. People prayed or sold goods more often than they tilled fields, and their faces looked at peace.
Hm?
Midway through the crowd, I stopped before a vast cathedral packed with people.
"I hear the Saintess of Truth is hearing confessions in there right now."
"She's in Rimentia? Maybe I should stop by."
"They say the offering to get in is a whole gold coin."
"What? Even if it's the Saintess herself, isn't that a bit much?"
"If they didn't charge that, everyone and their mother would be stampeding in."
The Holy Empire had five Saintesses, each granted a Stigma by the Goddess Ella. The Saintess of Truth bore the Stigma that discerned truth from falsehood in speech.
The Saintess of Truth, huh…
Ordinarily I would have walked on by. But with her ability, bringing Baron Skallen down would get a good deal easier. It was only a confessional — hardly the place to forge a lasting bond — but better than doing nothing.
And I've still got time before the Inquisitor exam.
I pushed through the crowd toward the cathedral. The line snaking from the entrance made the Saintess's renown easy enough to feel. I paid the attendant one of the gold coins I'd taken from Pleasure Village and took my place in the queue.
I yawned, drummed my fingers on my crossed arms, and dozed with my head tipped back. Before I knew it, my turn had come.
"Brother, this way, please."
At the nun's guidance I left my sword outside and entered the confessional. A screen divided the space so that neither of us could see the other. A small window in the screen slid open.
"Greetings, Brother."
Through the frame I saw, first, the Saintess's pale hands folded neatly together. On the back of one hand was the mark of a set of scales. Everything above was hidden by the screen.
"Greetings."
"Yes."
Her voice continued, gentle and even.
"The Goddess looks clearly upon every step we mortals take. Trust in Her mercy, Brother, and confess in truth the sins you have committed."
I considered for a moment, then answered.
"I'm in a bit of a predicament."
"Why is that?"
"Because the sins I've committed are far too many. If I listed them one by one, we would spend the night in this confessional."
"That would indeed be difficult. I have other appointments today myself."
"Same here."
A brief silence settled. The Saintess spoke first.
"Then perhaps today you might confess only those you consider your greatest sins."
"And that would absolve them?"
By regressing, every sin of my past life — every act — had been wiped clean in an instant. Did that mean the sins themselves were gone as well? Could I look the people I had passed by in that life in the eye and lift my face to the sky without shame?
"Confession is a rite by which one admits wrongdoing and resolves to walk the path of good. Whether that is enough depends on your conduct from this day forward, Brother."
"I see."
My wretched temperament was beyond fixing, but I had already decided to live differently from my past life. I had watched how that life ended, after all.
I closed my eyes and folded my hands with what passed for reverence.
"I have taken many lives."
"What manner of people were they?"
"Ones who deserved to die. Left alive, they would have done nothing but harm others."
I went on quietly.
"One crushed another's talent with power out of envy. Another murdered for greed. Another forced his lust upon women."
"…"
"And another kidnapped children to feed other men's desires. So I killed him. I tore out his nails, cut off his feet, crushed his cheekbones, and at the end I took his throat, slow—"
"Brother."
A cool voice slipped through the heat rising in me.
"Please, compose yourself."
I opened my eyes and drew a long breath.
"Anyway. That was how it was. And to tell the truth, I no longer clearly remember whether everyone I killed was truly a villain."
"I see."
She spoke with perfect calm, giving nothing of her own feelings away.
"In the Goddess's teachings, murder is unquestionably a sin — yet it is not without room for righteous interpretation. When the act is grounded in justice rather than private passion, the sin may be forgiven."
"Hm."
"The scriptures, however, offer no clear standard for killing, and even within the Church opinions diverge. Each interprets according to their own faith."
"And which side are you on?"
She answered.
"I was opposed to murder. I believed no human had the right to weigh the value of a life the Goddess had given."
"…"
"But after hearing you just now, my thinking has shifted a little. It felt as though I were looking into an abyss I had never known. If I had stood in your place, Brother… I no longer know what choice I would make."
Was my darkness staining even a Saintess? Or was she simply deeper than she seemed?
"Brother… how many lives have you taken so far?"
She had met me with sincerity, so I answered honestly.
"Around a thousand, I suppose."
Her hands twitched.
"Pardon?"
I added,
"If you count monsters and demons, more than ten thousand, maybe…"
"Excuse me?"
"That's how it turned out."
Her fingers fidgeted. Then a shadow fell across the small open window. Blue eyes and blonde hair appeared in the gap. The moment our eyes met, she jerked back in shock and snatched her face away.
"This is my first confession — is there usually a moment when people look each other in the eye?"
"…No. Forgive me."
Fair enough. She'd be curious what sort of man I was. I'd walked in and claimed a thousand human lives and nine thousand monsters.
"So. What's the verdict?"
She recovered her composure and replied,
"Yes. You have a striking appearance."
I corrected her, dryly.
"Not that. Whether killing a thousand people can still be forgiven."
"…Ah."
She cleared her throat softly.
"As I said a moment ago, interpretations of murder differ among the faithful. Perhaps the Goddess has left that matter to us."
"And so?"
She hesitated, then spoke.
"This is only my personal view, but I believe you need first to forgive yourself, Brother. Then the Goddess, too, will show you mercy."
"Hmm…"
In my past life I may have raged not only at others, but at myself — at the weak, foolish man I had been.
I turned her words over for a while, then rose from my seat.
"Thank you. I take your meaning well enough."
I hadn't forged any special bond with the Saintess of Truth, but I was still glad I had come. Simply speaking my sins aloud to someone for the first time had made the darkness inside me feel thinner by the width of an ant's feeler.
"Brother."
As I turned to leave, she called me back.
"I hope we have the chance to speak again."
I gave a rough nod and stepped out. The screen meant she couldn't see it, but that hardly mattered. There was no need to bury more of my darkness in someone still standing in a field of flowers.
Renika, the Saintess of Truth, finished every confession and stepped out of the booth.
"You have worked hard, Lady Renika. I trust nothing troubled you?"
"No. Thank you."
She smiled faintly.
"I must go observe the examinations next. May the Goddess's fortune go with you."
"Thank you. Travel safely."
Outside the cathedral, Renika boarded the carriage waiting for her.
There was someone unusual today.
She took confessional duty from time to time, and through it heard every kind of sin people committed. Most were petty — theft, coveting another's lover, and the like — though murder did appear now and then.
But the brother I met today was different from all the rest.
Even among killings, the scale set him utterly apart. A thousand lives? No ordinary person could manage such a number. She had assumed he was lying — yet the emotion in every word of his confession had been genuine. Merely listening had felt like being swallowed by an ocean of rage.
And so curiosity had risen in her. Was what he said truly true?
So I used the Stigma.
The Stigma that discerned truth in speech. Before Renika, no one could hide a lie.
But his story was pure, unbroken truth.
Then what did that mean? Anyone who had killed on that scale should have left rumors, for good or ill.
Is he someone the Holy Empire is keeping hidden?
It was possible. The Church was not as pure as people liked to believe. The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow it cast.
What matters, in the end, is this…
His words had been true, and he was thinking hard about what he had done. How he had killed so many, how a man still young could carry such vast emotion — she could not know.
Only this.
Renika closed her eyes and prayed in silence.
Goddess, grant him only trials a human being can bear.
Having submitted my application for the Inquisitor examination, I waited in one of the capital's cathedrals.
Ordinarily, even filing an application required years of proven devout service. As the eldest son of the pious Luminara house, I was free of that constraint.
Hm.
Around me, some fifty candidates were praying or talking among themselves. Most had come from monasteries across the land hoping to become Inquisitors. Heavily muscled men and people bristling with weapons made up the majority. If a demon appeared in this hall right now, they looked ready to cave its skull in with a mace on the spot.
"Everyone, brothers, your attention, please."
A man who looked to be in his forties stepped up onto the dais.
"Ah… I am Cardinal Barun, appointed chief examiner for this Inquisitor examination."
Applause rose; Barun lifted a hand lightly to still it.
"You will shortly move to another location to take the examination that will make you Inquisitors. This gentleman will explain the details."
Barun stepped aside, and a middle-aged man approached the dais. Hair parted neatly down the middle, a crisp black clerical robe. He wore a constant, genial smile that gave him a soft impression.
"Baron Skallen."
Mordin Skallen.
At present he was steadily expanding his standing within the Holy Empire as a devout follower of Ella. In my past life he had absorbed the ruined Luminara territory, founded a bishopric, and risen to the rank of bishop-marquis — both bishop and marquis.
"Haha. A pleasure, brothers."
Mordin stood on the dais, smiling as he spoke.
"It truly delights me to meet such outstanding followers of Ella—"
His words trailed off. His pupils blew wide. Our eyes had met.
I smiled faintly and shaped the words with my mouth.
Smile, you bastard.
Unless you want to die right here.
I had known from the start that Mordin would be here. Scriben had told me in advance.
Mordin's original plan had been to finish with the Inquisitor examination and then set about dismantling our territory in earnest. But he could not influence the examination itself. He was no cardinal; he had no authority to select Inquisitors. Observation and a briefing were the extent of his role.
"Baron Skallen?"
"Ah — forgive me. Standing before so many of the faithful is a first for me. I was a little nervous."
"Hm. I see. If you've recovered, kindly explain the examination to them. The schedule is tight."
"Of course."
Mordin turned back to us.
"The Inquisitor examination will be held at ruins some distance from here. There you will be divided into ten teams. You are to defeat monsters and seize a mock relic."
He continued.
"There is only one relic; only one team can complete the mission. However, only a single Inquisitor will be chosen from this examination. The cardinals will weigh various factors and select the Inquisitor; the remaining team members will be ordained to the rank of deacon."
Clerical ranks ran deacon, priest, then bishop. Archbishop, cardinal, and pope were offices, not ranks.
"What an Inquisitor requires is the insight to identify heretics, and the strength to subdue them."
"…"
"To that end, the cardinals have planted someone in each team to play the role of a heretic. The heretic will subtly obstruct you and sow discord. When the mission is complete, you must identify who among you is the heretic."
I raised my hand.
"May we identify them during the mission?"
Mordin answered with forced calm.
"…Of course. However, pointing out the wrong person will cost you points."
"So if you're going to be wrong, better not to point anyone out at all?"
"Precisely."
He looked away from me.
"The heretic may already be among this gathering."
I muttered under my breath.
"Self-introduction?"
"Judge with the cool-headed caution befitting an Inquisitor."
The monastics nodded. I tilted my head.
"Then let us all head outside. We will take carriages to the examination site at the ruins."
The monastics moved out with devout expressions. I remained standing alone, watching the cardinals and Mordin leave the cathedral.
A question had surfaced.
Will he really leave me alone? After I was abducted and then turned up here like this?
No. The Baron Skallen I knew would not. He was no cardinal, so he could not stop me from becoming an Inquisitor — but other methods existed.
Killing me before I become one, for instance.
The risk would be high, but he might decide it was still better than letting me take the office. Once I was an Inquisitor, he couldn't know what I would do to him.
Even so, the odds of him moving aren't that high. From what I just heard, she is here. Even if he had a way to clear himself of suspicion, it would still be dangerous.
But if he truly made a wrong move in this place…
This place will become your hell.
I know everything about you — how you eat, how you move, every habit and pattern.
Struggle all you like.
In the end, you are already in the palm of my hand.
Footsteps sounded. I adjusted my sword and walked on.