A Whisper from the Grand Inquisitor
The Holy City of Arcadia. A city named after the fallen.
This city, untouched by any and owned by none, had always bustled with those eager to learn the teachings of the divine.
In the grand conference room of the Light Church’s Grand Temple at its heart, elderly priests in spotless robes sat around the long table and spoke in grave voices.
“Undead sightings have been increasing lately.” “Reports of black magic traces have surfaced at temples in every city.” “Monsters tainted by mana have begun straying from their usual hunting grounds and attacking humans.”
Once, the young priests had burned to spread the divine will above all else. Now there were none left to take their place.
Only the aging men remained, seated at the table, their faces lined with time and the bitter words they exchanged.
“What is the Holy Knight Order doing?”
One of them asked, and the scarred Holy Knight Commander drew his lips back in a snarl.
“The Holy Knight Order is already stretched thin by the war with demons. While you sit here exchanging pleasantries, our young brothers are bleeding out there.”
“Pleasantries? Commander Vener! What— what in the name of—!”
“We were never meant to carry the world’s safety. You priests were supposed to handle that. How can you expect us to take on your burdens?”
“Ugh…”
The priests could only groan at the Commander’s unyielding words.
Vener narrowed his eyes as he watched them, his voice low.
“I wonder what use you make of that overpriced Inquisition Council. You can’t even find a decent spy with all the scrutiny you bring to bear.”
“Commander! Watch your tongue! We are only—!”
“You’d rather funnel glory to Grand Inquisitor Veronica, wouldn’t you.”
Veronica.
The name made every priest’s face harden. Vener shoved his chair back, stood, and swept them with his glare.
“That ancient feud over black-market relics is enough to make a saint weep. These so-called apostles of the divine, rejecting the most devout among them out of petty jealousy…”
“Hey! What nonsense is—!”
“And Veronica herself harbors no such intention. The way she keeps you in check is actually rather amusing.”
“Careful! I will have you removed!”
“I was planning to leave anyway.”
*Bang!*
He kicked the door open with a resounding crash and rounded on the priests inside.
“Forget the teachings the divine gave us. The only thing you must always fear is what lies within this room.”
He gestured to his own chest, then turned and strode out.
Unlike the others, bent nearly double with age, the Commander crossed the temple corridor with the straight-backed posture of a man half his years. The acrid stench of tobacco made him wrinkle his nose, and he bellowed,
“Veronica! How many times do I have to tell you—no smoking inside the temple!?”
“Sorry, sorry. Lately the craving just won’t quit.”
She stepped out from around the corner, a tall woman with sparkling silver hair swept into a single braid and eyes like light lilac. Her long ears twitched faintly as she caught his voice. The Commander shouted again.
“How many times must I remind the brothers and sisters of the temple that you are not a monster like the rest of them! I’ve told you a hundred times—people start coughing the moment they catch that scent!”
“Other people? Around the conference hall where the Inquisitors gather…”
“Veronica!!”
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll finish this one.”
She pulled the cigarette from her lips, examined the wrinkled face of the old priest, and continued.
“I heard your bickering carried all the way to the city gates.”
“Tone it down. Only you have the guts to say such things.”
“Aigoo, you’re overrating this old backwater again?”
The priest eyed her with open disapproval, and she curled the corner of her mouth in a smirk.
“Have you rested enough? It’s been ages since you last faced a demon.”
“True. With my disciples multiplying, I barely get to see that face anymore.”
Disciples.
The moment the word left her lips, Vener fell silent and stared at her. Even his short temper had its limits.
Veronica caught the look and grinned.
“Still, it’s thanks to them that I’ve finally gotten a taste of the outside air. Thank you, Vener.”
“…My disciples? They’re supposedly in Carpe. Light Church Inquisitor’s disciples playing at being adventurers…”
“Adventurers? These days they call themselves adventurers—how fashionable.”
“You and I both know ‘adventurer’ is just a prettier name for mercenary.”
“True.”
She snapped her fingers, then rolled the cigarette between her lips. Her friend noticed and spoke up.
“A report came in from the Carpe temple. A chimera appeared.”
“…A chimera. It’s been a while since I heard that name.”
“You’d know what it means. Those damned rat-like black magicians are finally showing their faces.”
Vener clenched his wrinkled fist.
“Veronica, you have to be careful. The moment they revealed themselves, there had to be a reason.”
“Save the sermon. I already know that.”
“…Guard that useless disciple of yours well. There are plenty of people who want to snatch her up. Even the temple—”
“I know that too.”
Vener shook his head at the cigarette clamped between her teeth.
Veronica smiled, the expression lazy on her beautiful face.
“I was just thinking I’d rested long enough.”
“…You’re in for a storm.”
“There’s no running away from it forever. I have work to do.”
Her eyes were fixed on the sunlight pouring through the window.
“Before that, I think I’ll go see my runaway disciple’s face.”
●
“Ugh…?”
“…Is something wrong, Lord Ahin?”
“Ah, nothing. Just a chill.”
The sudden shiver that had run down his spine made Ahin shake his shoulders, then he rubbed them twice to chase away the gooseflesh.
Lise, the guild clerk, watched him with emotionless eyes. She continued in her usual flat tone.
“Then… may I continue?”
“Wasn’t it… about promotion to iron rank?”
“Yes. Your achievements have met the requirements. An iron-rank plate will be issued today.”
Iron rank.
The second-lowest rank in the adventurer system, yet the one with the most holders by far. Most adventurers stayed here until retirement or death, so the very idea of crossing into higher ranks felt like standing at the starting line.
With so many adventurers already at iron rank, the guild could simply promote internally without extra requests. Was that good news?
Ahin’s eyes widened as he grabbed his fist and puffed out his chest.
“From iron rank, it’s clear I’ll be able to—”
“You’ll be able to rent a room at the guild’s dorm and enter the archives. However, very few rare books are available to iron-rank adventurers.”
“I know. Crap, I finally get to sleep under a roof.”
Only a month ago, Er had moved into a high-end inn in Carpe thanks to the guild’s lodging support. Jina, using her priestess title and temple funds, had bounced between temples and inns, so Ahin was the only one waking up to morning dew every day.
Technically he had been a priest too, but the real pain had been abandoning the temple and the others just to escape their company.
“…Aren’t you going to ask your colleagues for help? Even the two of you alone should be able to handle a room.”
“I’d rather drop dead.”
Despite the shiver, Lise kept her face blank and said,
“The guild business ends here. There is one more matter I need to mention.”
“To me?”
“To the entire party registered as ‘Er’s party’.”
Lise reached under the reception desk and pulled out a few documents.
“I’m not usually the one to deliver even iron-rank promotion news. Even I have a fairly high rank.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. Normally I would deliver it to party leader Er-nim, but it makes little difference who receives it.”
She spread the papers and began.
“First, the chimera sighting. This information comes directly from the palace and temple, not the guild. They sent investigators because the black magic used to create it was confirmed in its mana crystal.”
“What happened?”
“Traces of a necromancer were found on the mana crystal. It’s only natural, since the chimera was created with necromancy.”
Exactly as Lise had said.
In this world, only black magicians created chimeras.
Ahin had already assumed the chimera Er had slain had no mana crystal because it lacked a heart, but the crystal had simply been planted where its eye had been.
Once chimeras appeared and the guild and temple began their usual panic over black magicians, they could not resist handing over the crystals.
The crystal from the chimera Ahin had helped destroy had already been moved to the temple and analyzed.
“So that’s it? No ‘a black magician is loose, be careful’ warning?”
“Yes. The result is that the Grand Temple has dispatched an investigative team.”
“Of course. The old timers… once they hear the name ‘black magician,’ they lose their minds.”
Ahin tapped his fingers on the desk.
“Then why tell us? It’s only adventurers.”
“This is a designated request.”
“…It smells fishy.”
Lise’s expression didn’t change.
“Designated request for iron-rank adventurer Ahin and scrap-iron-rank adventurer Jina.”
“…Both of us?”
The words sent a chill down his spine.
“The requester is Grand Inquisitor Veronica of the Light Church’s Grand Temple Inquisition Council.”