The Clown's Performance Begins
In the depths of the Usot Forest, located on the path from Ravendi to the Adventurers' Union, dozens of figures moved busily across a hidden clearing. Unless one had sharp eyes, the open space would have been impossible to spot. Every single one of them wore a violet robe embroidered with a strange pattern on the back. These were the people the Clown and the Prophet referred to as their followers.
“Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~”
The Clown was in high spirits. There had been variables in the plan, but thanks to the Prophet’s support, it seemed he would gain far more than his original goal. He spread a silence spell around the area to prevent any sound from leaking out, then shouted.
Silence Magic — Area Deployment
“Come now, my dear followers~ A little faster! Put more effort into it! There isn’t much time left until showtime!”
“Yes, Apostle-nim!”
“You idiots! I clearly said I hate that title! Call me Clown!”
“S-sorry!”
“I was in such a good mood too…!”
The moment he heard the title Apostle, the Clown’s soaring mood crashed straight to the bottom. If he could, he would have picked someone at random and taken his anger out on them, but he held back. He still couldn’t stop the performance yet.
“Clown-nim.”
While he was suppressing his rage, one of the followers approached him.
“What is it?”
“The followers who went to inspect the actors have returned.”
“Didn’t I say there was no need to report something like that every single time? Haah… I thought the ones the Prophet sent would be competent, but they’re all just idiots who can’t even understand simple instructions?”
“Forgive me, Clown-nim. However, there is something unusual…”
“Unusual?”
“Yes. There are new actors mixed in among them.”
It meant that among the people the Clown had lured here, there were individuals not part of the original plan. A variable. But that much had been within expectations. What mattered to the Clown was who these new actors were.
“Who?”
“A person who appears to be a member of the Holy Front Knights… and Carlo, the Divine Fist.”
“Is he alone?”
“He is moving together with two of the existing actors.”
The corners of the Clown’s mouth tore upward in a grotesque grin the moment he learned the identities of the new actors.
“Khhit… khaahait!! As expected… as expected! Is this what they call local procurement?! That priceless Divine Stone has come looking for me on its own!”
“What will you do? The preparations are almost complete.”
“What else? I’ll have to retrieve the precious item myself before someone else snatches it!”
“What about the lead actress?”
A follower asked the Clown as he began to move.
“I’ve taken measures to ensure she won’t wake until the performance begins, so don’t worry. I’ll bring materials to expand the stage, so have everything ready.”
After leaving those additional instructions, the Clown vanished in an instant, leaving only the sound of rushing wind behind him. The follower who had been watching him turned to the others in the clearing.
“Move quickly. We will finish before the Apostle-nim returns.”
“Yes!”
“Move aside. I’m asking nicely.”
“I cannot do that.”
“I told you it’s urgent. So move.”
“In that case, send only Sir Cheska. Saintess Candidate Levia cannot pass.”
Convinced that the Clown was up to something, I had set out with Cheska to join Cardinal Dominic. Although our encounter had been brief, I had a clear grasp of what kind of bastard he was. He treated people like toys and regarded human lives as utterly worthless. A fucking piece of shit. If we didn’t find him quickly and respond, there was a high chance of massive casualties.
Yet despite the situation… the Holy Knights from Benika’s side who were guarding the checkpoint had blocked the entrance, preventing me and Cheska from leaving.
“Why can’t I go?”
“You may be too young to understand, but since you asked, I will answer. You are a hostage.”
“Hostage?”
“You are currently suspected of being involved in the disappearance of Saintess Candidate Benika.”
In other words, until it was proven that I had nothing to do with Benika’s disappearance, I could not leave Ravendi. Of course I had expected this. Everyone from the Entat Parish had considered the possibility, so the measure was reasonable. I could fully understand and accept it.
If only the Clown weren’t involved.
“I clearly said that everyone who went out to search fell into a trap. And that right now, I’m the only one who can stop it.”
“Hah! Although I am a Holy Knight who serves Saintess Candidate Benika, I have heard plenty of rumors about the other candidates as well.”
“What exactly do you think you know?”
“Saintess Candidate Levia. Aren’t you the child who was only given the title of candidate through the favor of His Eminence the Cardinal and His Holiness the Pope, despite having no divine power at all?”
Behind the Holy Knight arguing with me, mocking laughter rang out.
“And someone like you claims she can save people trapped in a trap? Even the dwarves who love jokes more than anyone would refuse to use that as drinking snacks. Oh, is this too difficult a story for a five-year-old child?”
“How dare you insult Lady Levia!”
Cheska flared up at the unbearable sarcasm.
“That’s enough, Cheska.”
“Sir Cheska. Weren’t you a Holy Knight with a bright future ahead? Why would you pledge loyalty to such a half-baked little brat? How about joining our side while you still can?”
“Shut your mouth right now!!”
“Cheska!!!! I told you to stay quiet! Put that sword away immediately.”
“But…!”
“Did you not hear me?”
“…Understood.”
“Ooh… you’ve got quite the spirit, little Saintess Candidate. Well, you were full of spirit from the moment we first met.”
The sarcasm continued.
“Or should I say you have no manners? You told Benika-nim she smelled. If you think about it, it’s because of you that Benika-nim went missing.”
“Stop talking and move aside.”
“If you hadn’t said she smelled, Benika-nim wouldn’t have gone to bathe and she wouldn’t have gone missing…!”
The knight’s accusations disguised as mockery showed no sign of stopping. The moment he tried to pin even the disappearance on me…
BOOOOM…!
A thunderous roar split the dark night sky, followed by a streak of light tearing through the darkness. Both Cheska and I instantly recognized what that flash was.
“Lady Levia… that’s…!”
“Yeah. It’s Grandpa Carlo.”
Carlo’s version of the Divine Punch.
“What the…!”
Not only the knight who had been hurling accusations at me, but every single person blocking the checkpoint fell into panic. It was too late. No matter how you looked at it, the fact that Grandpa Carlo had used his power meant a battle had broken out. The Clown had finally made his move.
“See? It’s already started. I told you it’s urgent! This is your final warning. Move.”
“Hah! As expected from a child, your evidence is pathetic… You people are the ones threatening our—”
The knight who had been criticizing me couldn’t finish his sentence.
BAM!
Because I had leaped forward and slammed his head into the ground.
“Ughhh…”
I did say it was my final warning.
“You son of a bitch.”
BAM!
“You still!”
BAM!
“Don’t get the situation?!”
BAM!
“S-stop…”
“With senses as pathetic as a rat’s dick, you think you can protect a Saintess Candidate?”
CRAAAAASH!
After slamming his head into the ground several times, the knight who had been insulting me finally lost consciousness. The moment my venting ended, the surroundings fell deathly silent. The laughter that had been egging him on abruptly cut off.
“After seeing this, decide whether you will continue to block me or step aside.”
The Holy Knights exchanged glances at my words and finally made their decision.
—Shing
“I see. Your courage is admirable. You’ve got quite the backbone. Or is it because you outnumber us so overwhelmingly that you’re acting tough?”
There were roughly a hundred Holy Knights at the checkpoint — the ones from Cheska’s side and the reinforcements from Ravendi.
“Wow~ Even our Holy Front Knights say they have to protect a child in a situation like this, yet you people are drawing your swords?”
I had kept some distance from the Holy Front Knights because most of them weren’t exactly sane, but now I saw they were practically saints. They were crazy, but at least their madness had some elegance to it.
“Cheska.”
“Yes, Lady Levia.”
If I had the time, I would have loved to personally crack all their skulls open myself, but there was no time.
“We’re breaking through quickly.”
At my words, Cheska drew his sword.
“Do you really think the two of you can break through us?”
What was this idiot saying? He looked like he’d lose to a single one of the dozens of monsters I could handle.
“Want to bet? Thirty seconds is more than enough for the likes of you.”
Cheska. Start the timer.
“Wow~ Even the former Archbishop Carlo, once called the Divine Fist, is helpless without divine power.”
In the clearing deep within the Usot Forest — the place the Clown had lured them to — Archbishop Carlo stood covered in large and small wounds.
“Or should I praise you instead? Unlike those worms, you are fighting me with nothing but physical strength.”
The place the Clown pointed at with the sword in his hand was where the Holy Knights who had moved with Carlo to find Benika stood, bleeding.
“Do not… call me the Divine Fist. I abandoned that name long ago.”
“Ooh… we have so many things in common. I abandoned my old name too, you know.”
“So you are the Clown that Levia spoke of.”
“Oh dear, I’ve been found out. How did you know? This toy is different from the one back then, isn’t it?”
“There are many ways to know, you brat.”
WHOOOOSH!
Without caring that his wounds were tearing open, Carlo threw a punch at the Clown. The Clown lightly dodged it and kicked Carlo, sending him flying backward. Carlo’s knees buckled for a moment from the impact, but he stood up again.
“Who are you calling a brat, you old fossil? A puppet who can only rely on divine power!”
“Now that I know you are the Clown, I cannot let you be!”
Carlo swung his fist again. He poured all his rage toward the mastermind who had tried to harm Levia, but unfortunately, his fist never reached the Clown. Just as the Clown had said, without divine power, a mere physical body had no way to fight back. Even so, Carlo’s fists did not stop.
“Why are you so angry? Because of Levia? That child has nothing to do with you, does she?”
The Clown dodged every one of Carlo’s punches, then gathered mana into his fist instead of his sword and drove it into Carlo’s solar plexus.
“Ugh!”
Carlo collapsed. The Clown stepped on his fallen body, then planted his foot on Carlo’s chest and pressed down.
“Ah. Or is it because you’re reminded of your dead granddaughter?”
“How do you… know that…?”
“I’ll be sending Levia to that place soon as well, so don’t worry. Your granddaughter will have a good friend…”
“Kuh… KHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”
Before the Clown could finish, Carlo suddenly burst into laughter.
“…Why are you laughing? Have you finally gone senile?”
“I see… so you don’t know! KHAHA! Of course you wouldn’t!! Because Levia has been avoiding us out of fear of you!!!”
“What… did you say?”
Who was afraid of whom?
“You? Someone like you? Who is afraid of whom? KHAHAHA! You, who aren’t even the main body but merely a shiny shell hiding inside? How foolish, you brat!”
“I… was hiding? You old bastard!!”
Enraged, the Clown rained down mana-infused punches on Carlo without restraint.
THUD!
“Say it again! Who am I afraid of?! That little brat?! You think I’m scared of her?!”
THUD! THUD! THUD!
“You… will… fail again. At that child’s hands.”
Even as his consciousness faded from the terrible pain, Carlo did not stop speaking.
“This old man needs some rest, so do as you please. The one who will be destroyed today is you.”
“This old bastard!!!!!!!!”
“Clown-nim!!! If you kill him, we won’t be able to use the Divine Stone inside this human’s body!”
A follower stopped the Clown just as he was about to pierce Carlo’s heart and end his life. The Clown’s sword halted right before it could stab through.
“My my. I got unusually excited. I almost let a plan that could have been even more perfect stop at merely perfect. Thank you, follower… uh… Mr. A.”
The follower called A looked moved, not because the Clown couldn’t remember his name, but because he had been thanked.
At that moment, a pitiful girl’s voice rang out.
“What… is going on here?”
The girl the Clown called the lead actress. Because the silence magic was still active, she had only seen the fight between the Clown and Carlo and hadn’t heard their conversation.
“Who are those people?”
The girl pointed at the followers standing there. According to the original plan, she should have woken up much later. This too was a variable. But the Clown did not panic and began acting just as he always had. After all, he could make full use of this variable.
“It was an ambush.”
“Isn’t that Archbishop Carlo? Why…?”
“He said something about… eliminating competitors. So I got angry and may have been a bit heavy-handed.”
“Then these people…?”
“They are my collaborators. People who have helped me gather information for a long time.”
“I… see.”
The girl offered the Clown her gratitude. More precisely, she offered it to the toy the Clown was playing with.
“Thank you always, Sir Ryolk.”
“Haha… You know why I do this, Lady Benika.”
“You’re finally calling me by my name.”
“Eh? Did I? I’m sorry.”
“Hehe… It’s fine. No need to apologize.”
Benika waved her hands with a smile.
“So, have you made your decision, Lady Benika?”
“Yes. I will… judge my father… no, the Grand Inquisitor… with my own hands. That is the right thing to do, and that is my revenge.”
The seed that had been hidden inside the bracelet for ten years finally bloomed and began to consume Benika.
“I will help and protect you no matter what happens, forever.”
‘It would feel terrible if someone stole my toy, wouldn’t it?’
“Thank you, Sir Ryolk.”
“Over there! Saintess Candidate Benika is over there!”
After a long search, Dominic and the Holy Knights came running. They had followed the light Carlo had launched before he lost the ability to use divine power. These were the actors the Clown had spoken of.
“Benika!!!!”
The supporting actor who would decorate the ending. Dominic’s voice.
The Clown’s performance had begun.