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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 13: First Mission (2)
The soldiers of the Margrave blocked the road, leaving Ray and his companions tilting their heads in confusion.
Why are regular troops standing in our way?
While everyone stood dumbfounded, unsure of the reason, Father Moro stepped forward.
"I am Moro, dispatched by the Solar Theocracy. What business do the Margrave Violet’s soldiers have with us?"
"…A priest, I see. I am Sir Zenon, a knight under the Margrave Violet."
The knight leading the soldiers nodded curtly.
"By order of the Margrave Violet, the northern territory of Violet is hereby sealed. No one is permitted entry."
"That’s unusual."
"Therefore, I must ask you to turn back, Father."
The knight’s tone was polite but firm.
"We are here on official duty. There have been reports of a witch."
"There are no such heretics as witches in the Margrave’s domain. You must leave."
"That won’t be possible."
"…I said it was Margrave Violet’s command."
At Moro’s unwavering refusal, the knight’s brow furrowed.
"Command?"
Then, Ray spoke up. He stepped down from the carriage and asked in a deliberately puzzled tone.
"Sir Zenon. Are you, by any chance, a heretic?"
"W-What?!"
Did he just call him a heretic out of nowhere?
Aaron and Jenny gaped at Ray, but he paid them no mind.
"If not, then perhaps… Margrave Violet himself is a heretic?"
"You bastard! How dare you!"
Heresy was the gravest crime in this world.
In a continent united under the monotheistic faith of the Solar Theocracy, the word of God was absolute.
Heretics were automatically excommunicated, and the consequences were severe.
If the Pope declared, "You are excommunicated!" even the Emperor would have to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
"We are here to interrogate a vile contractor of demons. By obstructing us, are you siding with heretics?"
"T-That’s absurd! Margrave Violet’s orders are.."
"Placing a man’s decree above divine will? Is Margrave Violet then a heretic?"
"W-Watch your tongue!"
The knight and his soldiers bristled.
Ray, however, grew thoughtful at their awkward "performance."
Why aren’t they attacking first?
Their souls were stained black-red proof of their allegiance to demons.
Judging by the depth of the corruption, there likely wasn’t a full-fledged warlock or witch among them.
But the fact that they were trying to persuade the clergy to leave instead of slaughtering them outright was suspicious.
There’s something more to this.
"Your actions are highly suspicious. Despite hearing our purpose, you refuse to even report to the Margrave Violet and insist on driving us away."
"A-A noble’s authority operates differently from the Church’s doctrine!"
"Sir. May I test one thing?"
"What…?"
Ray pulled something out of the carriage, a large jar. The sloshing of liquid could be heard inside.
"What is that?"
"Holy water, prepared for this interrogation. I’ll sprinkle some on you now."
"…!"
The self-proclaimed knight paled at the mention of holy water.
Ray grinned and stepped closer.
"Heretics melt when splashed with holy water. But a faithful believer would be unharmed."
"W-Wait! I have no reason to undergo such a-!"
"Die, heretic!"
"Gyaaah!"
Ray abruptly dumped the jar’s contents onto the knight, who recoiled in horror.
But it was too late. The liquid drenched him, and he screamed before freezing in confusion.
"You damned dogs of the g-! …Huh?"
A sour, vinegary smell filled the air.
"W-What did you pour on me?! What is this stench?!"
"Pickled egg brine. More importantly, did you just call us ‘dogs of the gods’?"
Realizing he’d been tricked, the knight’s face flushed red with fury.
"You little-!"
His words were cut short as Ray smashed the jar over his head.
CRASH!
The jar shattered, and so did the knight’s skull.
"Guh!"
His eyes rolled back as he collapsed. Ray shouted,
"These bastards are heretics!!"
The soldiers, now panicking, raised their spears but Aaron and Jenny were already moving.
"Gah!"
"Sir Baron…!"
The soldiers fell one after another. But they soon rallied and counterattacked.
"Dammit, kill them!"
"Ugh!"
Aaron hesitated when a soldier lunged at him.
Despite his swordsmanship training and the 〈Sun's Blessing〉 he faltered.
"Quit hesitating! Finish them off!"
In the end, it was Jenny’s halberd that cleaved through the soldier’s neck.
Her expression, devoid of hesitation as she swung at a person no, at heretics was starkly different from her demeanor during sparring.
"Die!"
Jenny’s savage swings sent soldiers reeling.
Her ferocity was overwhelming.
‘I should join in. ‘
Just as Ray drew his sword to assist.
"To encounter heretics so close to the Margrave Violet’s lands… This is troubling."
Father Moro stepped forward, a pair of deadly warhammers now in his hands.
"Kill the old man first!"
Three soldiers charged at once. But in the blink of an eye.
SPLAT!
A skull burst open. A face caved in.
Father Moro’s strikes were so swift and precise that even Ray with the 〈Sun's Blessing〉 couldn’t keep up.
No wonder he’s an armed priest.
Unlike the Holy Knights, Eclipse’s priests often operated alone.
Given that hunting warlocks and witches was their specialty, their combat prowess was extraordinary but taking down three men in two seconds was beyond expectations.
It didn’t take long for the four of them to subdue the heretics.
"Gaaah! My leg! My leg’s broken!"
"Stay still, or I’ll cripple you for good."
Jenny’s sweet smile contrasted sharply with her deadly threat.
"…She’s terrifying."
Aaron’s muttered remark earned a silent nod from Ray.
"Well done, everyone. Especially Brother Ray had it not been for his quick thinking, this could have ended badly."
Father Moro praised Ray for exposing the heretics.
Without him, they might have walked into an ambush.
"It was nothing. If it hadn’t worked, I’d have just apologized and moved on."
Of course, Ray had been certain they were heretics; his actions were justified by the result.
"Now then, gentlemen. Care to explain why you were stationed here?"
Father Moro’s gentle question was met with sneers.
"Kill me, dogs of the gods. You think we’d tell you?"
The heretics spat in defiance. Ptui!
Ray stepped forward.
"Shall I make them talk?"
"Oh? And how would you do that?"
"Drive an awl under their fingernails. Most would start singing after that."
Gulp!
The heretics flinched at Ray’s chilling suggestion.
"Hahaha, Brother Ray, you have the makings of an inquisitor!"
"Ah, you flatter me."
Why the hell are you blushing over that?!
The heretics stared at the two with uneasy eyes.
"Heretics impersonating Margrave Violet’s soldiers to block the road, that's no small matter. But we can’t waste too much time here."
"What do you suggest?"
Father Moro raised his warhammer. The cold steel glinted in the sunlight before crashing down on an unguarded heretic’s skull.
Crunch!
Blood gushed from the man’s nose and mouth. Instant death.
"We have plenty of prisoners. We’ll keep smashing skulls until someone talks. Sister Jenny, care to assist?"
"Gladly, Father!"
Jenny brandished her halberd. The same woman who had cut down heretics without hesitation.
"W-Wait! I’ll talk! Just-just stop!"
Fear of death finally broke them.
Just as the knight acting as their leader took a deep breath to speak,
Guh!
"Huh? What the-?"
Aaron recoiled as the knight suddenly coughed up blood. Father Moro shouted,
"Everyone, fall back!"
The three quickly retreated at his command.
But it wasn’t just the knight. One by one, the captured heretics began choking, blood pouring from their throats before collapsing.
"G-Gaaah!"
"P-Please! Spare me-!"
Their pleas were cut short as their flesh tore open and hundreds, no, thousands of cockroaches came pouring out.
Not just one. All of them. The insects erupted from every orifice, swarming over their bodies.
"What in the?!"
The cockroaches, having killed every last heretic, quickly scattered.
"A curse. And a powerful one at that."
"Could it be… the work of the witch they supposedly captured?"
Father Moro shook his head.
"A curse of this magnitude requires immense power. If she were truly captured, she wouldn’t be capable of this."
Then who was behind it?
With no answers, the group had no choice but to leave the corpses behind.
Shortly after, the group arrived at their destination Sanghela, a city serving as a gateway to the northern territories.
Given its role as the seat of the Margrave Violet’s fortress, the city was sizable.
But from a distance, the atmosphere was anything but peaceful. Smoke rose from funeral pyres, and the stench of death hung thick in the air.
"Halt!"
Guards stopped their carriage. Judging by their equipment, they were the Margrave Violet’s men.
After halting the carriage, the guards bowed slightly upon seeing Jenny’s nun habit.
"Are you from the Solar Theocracy?"
"Yes. We heard a witch was captured here."
Father Moro stepped forward. The sight of an actual priest visibly eased the guards’ tension.
"Finally… Divine punishment for that witch."
"Please, go in and execute her! The city is in chaos because of her!"
Everyone seemed desperate for the witch’s immediate death.
Before proceeding, Father Moro asked the guards,
"Brothers, have there been any imposters claiming to be Margrave Violet’s soldiers blocking passage nearby?"
"Huh? No such orders were given."
‘Just as I thought. ‘
Those men weren’t the Margrave’s soldiers.
Heretics had been posing as troops to control who entered the territory.
With growing unease about the sinister plot lurking in this city, the group headed for the prison.
"Ugh… I’m a little nervous about seeing a witch."
"Don’t jump to conclusions. She might not even be one."
Aaron chided Jenny, who shot back,
"You don’t know that! Something’s clearly wrong in this city!"
"Assuming guilt before proof only creates innocent victims."
He’s right.
Ray respected Aaron’s rationality.
For a noble-born clergyman, such level-headedness was rare.
Inside the city, Father Moro first met with the mayor and the accusers to hear their side.
"Recently, a plague struck our village. Many died."
"What made you suspect it wasn’t a natural plague?"
"Huh? Well… it just appeared out of nowhere!"
"Is that all?"
"What more proof do you need?!"
"……"
This feels off.
Plagues do appear suddenly.
Since when do diseases need a reason?
Even in modern times, mutated viruses have triggered global pandemics more than once.
What’s more, the accusations against the witch were bizarre.
"That witch Margaret spread evil herbs under the guise of curing the plague!"
"May we see these herbs?"
Ray sighed upon inspecting the plants.
He recognized them.
"Father Moro."
"Ah, Brother Ray, you recognize them too? What about the rest of you?"
Jenny raised her hand.
"Our convent uses these often. It’s just ragweed, a simple fever reducer."
"Hmm, the monastery occasionally used it too. Though I never caught colds."
The recruits’ knowledge of herbs was solid, given their self-sufficient upbringings.
Aaron, raised in privilege, lacked such practical wisdom.
"To think I’d be outmatched by commoners…"
Not that he’d admit it.
"Indeed, as you’ve said, these herbs are harmless. Fever reducers are standard during outbreaks."
"T-That can’t be! Margaret was growing all sorts of strange plants in her home!"
"I saw her feeding weird grass to pigs! It must’ve been for some dark ritual!"
The accusations piled up, but the more they spoke, the more it sounded like a witch hunt fueled by baseless fear.
Then came the clincher.
"Who was the first to accuse Margaret?"
A young man named Ronald stepped forward.
"I-I did."
"What was your relationship with Margaret? Lovers?"
"L-Lovers? N-No! We were nothing!"
His hasty backtracking didn’t go unnoticed. A villager interjected,
"Wait, Ronald, didn’t you confess to Margaret last time? She flat-out rejected you."
"W-What nonsense! That witch rejected me? I dumped her!"
"How does the person getting rejected claim to be the dumper?"
"Anyway! That evil woman is definitely a witch! Ever since I met her, I’ve been sick at night!"
"……Wow. What a loser."
Jenny’s blunt assessment was unanimous.
The whole situation reeked of pettiness.
The prime accuser, Ronald, had likely cried she was a witch after being rejected.
The evil herbs were just common medicine.
And how would ordinary villagers even recognize a witch?
Father Moro and the recruits shared the same thought.
"Let’s meet this ‘witch’ Margaret first."
"N-No need! Just burn her alre-!"
"Brother, falsely accusing someone of witchcraft carries severe penalties."
"T-That’s not-!"
Ronald paled and stumbled back.
Tch. Pathetic.
To brand someone a witch over a rejected confession utterly despicable.
"But… she is a witch! Margaret has to be one…!"
Even now, Ronald clung to his delusion.
Ray and Father Moro proceeded to meet the imprisoned woman.
"I’m innocent, Father! I only gathered herbs to help the villagers!"
A young woman, dressed in rags, sat pitifully in her cell.
Given what they’d heard, the group already leaned toward her innocence.
But then,
"Many people recovered after taking my medicine! I can prove it!"
Deep black-red.
The same color as the warlock who had spread the plague in Obello.
Oh, come on. She’s the real deal?!
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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