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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 54: Attack
A week later, Ray joined a mission that even a Saintess was participating in.
"Oh wow, as expected of the Saintess, even her business trips are extraordinary."
The carriage that Iris, the Saintess of Radiance, was riding in was as luxurious and flamboyant as a noble's.
Ray's party sometimes used horses, but the Saintess's carriage was on a different level entirely.
"Is this your first time traveling by carriage?"
"I rode in one with Father Moro once, but it was practically a cart."
Ray, who had been contemplating buying a carriage for his party members soon, felt like he had just witnessed a luxury limousine before even acquiring a compact car.
"But aren't all the Saintess's movements supposed to be confidential? Is it alright to travel in such a prominent carriage?"
The carriage was a high-quality item, subtly designed with meticulous care.
Unlike Father Moro's carriage, it clearly bore the hallmarks of significant expense.
Such an item would typically be used only by wealthy merchants or nobles, meaning it would undoubtedly attract attention.
"It's fine. In fact, we need something like this."
While Ray tilted his head in confusion at Iris's words, Inquisitors began loading several boxes into the carriage's luggage compartment.
"There's a lot of luggage. Hmm? Are those dresses?"
"There are clothes for you too, Ray."
"For me too?"
Ray, who usually only carried spare priest robes that had been newly issued to him, tilted his head.
Traveling with as little luggage as possible was generally the most efficient approach.
However, holy robes were always respected no matter where he went, so Ray consistently wore them.
Yet, the clothing boxes being loaded into the luggage compartment seemed too numerous to simply be spares.
"Eclipse... are you going to join?"
"Uh... I haven't decided yet."
Maintaining his current status and receiving support from various organizations was such a sweet deal that Ray intended to postpone making a decision for as long as possible.
It was a truly cunning idea, but thanks to the heads of the organizations who doted on whatever Ray did, it didn't pose a significant problem.
Ray was, after all, a genuine super rookie.
"What do you believe is the Inquisitors' mission?"
"Uh... burning heretics with the flames of the Holy Spirit?"
"That too."
So it did exist. My faith was not mistaken after all.
"When dealing with monstrous beings of different species, merely finding them is a task in itself. Warlocks, witches, werewolves, vampires... they usually look like humans."
"Right."
As Iris explained, the specters that had integrated into modern society typically concealed their true forms, masquerading as humans.
Even on Earth, it had been a considerable amount of time since specters directly revealed themselves. Why?
'They can't compete in terms of numbers.'
The moment they openly revealed their existence and began operating in this world, they would be ganged up on and exorcised, regardless of whether they were demons or not.
If they wished to avoid a full-scale war with the continent's most powerful religious group, they would undoubtedly hide their true forms.
After all, specters were a minority.
"If you go to a place where heretics are hiding, wearing your holy robes, what do you think they will do?"
"Hide... or run away?"
"Exactly. So we also approach them disguised as other people when necessary, for information gathering."
'So they are like plainclothes police.'
The method was more intelligent than he had anticipated.
He had initially believed the Inquisition would simply barge in, create chaos, and overturn everything, but this seemed more akin to the special operations of an intelligence agency.
"We are heading to Baron Enfield's territory in the Albion Kingdom."
The Albion Kingdom was situated near the Solar Solar Theocracy and was also Ophelia's and Aaron's home country.
Apparently, traces of vampires had been discovered in a barony there.
"You have to be cautious when stirring up trouble in a noble's territory. Nobles typically dislike us."
"I suppose so."
Indeed, no matter how much they claimed to be the shield of faith, from the nobles' perspective, the Solar Theocracy's Inquisitors would likely be seen as nothing more than interference in internal affairs or an infringement on their autonomy.
It was only because the Solar Theocracy possessed overwhelming military power that even the Empire's emperor would kneel before them, but the ruling class has no reason to view the Solar Theocracy favorably.
"So... when a 'noble' is suspected, you have to thoroughly collect evidence. That's why we hide our identities."
"Ohh..."
He hadn't imagined it was a job where they simply went around smashing things and shouting, ‘Hand over the heretics!’ But it was a more rational group than he had initially thought.
"Wait, a noble?"
"Yes."
According to Iris, the individual suspected of being a vampire this time was within the Enfield baronial clan.
In other words, someone among the noble clan members, or perhaps the entire baronial clan, could be a vampire's den.
Since they couldn't be certain who the vampire was, they had no choice but to infiltrate the territory and investigate.
That was why they had brought various disguises and civilian clothes.
'Vampires...'
Ray had considered that if he had his spirit vision, it would be easy to discern a vampire's soul, but that was not entirely true.
Vampires, while wicked monsters, were a separate species from demons.
Their souls were generally red, but this alone was not enough to definitively identify them as vampires.
This was because among humans, red souls were abundant.
If he indiscriminately attacked anyone with a red soul and they turned out not to be a vampire, legal problems would become a huge headache later on.
'Among the wealthy and nobles, red souls are quite common.'
It was said that it was harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
It wasn't that wealth itself was a sin, but that people were easily corrupted in the process of accumulating material possessions.
Especially among medieval nobles, the tendency to treat people as less than human was stronger than in modern times.
While not everyone was like this, it was a structure where it was easy to accumulate evil deeds.
Therefore, discerning a vampire based solely on the color of their soul was not easy.
"Disguises... looking at my clothes, it seems the concept is a noble and a servant."
Besides that, there was a knight's formal wear and leather armor, so it seemed the concept was a noble lady on vacation with her escorts.
Indeed, considering Iris's visual appearance, there was no other suitable role for her than a noble lady.
"But will you continue to wear your eye patch? It seems too conspicuous."
"Taking it off would be even more conspicuous."
That was true.
Iris's eyes were unusual.
Anyone could see the Sol Invictus's stigmata imprinted on her eye, so even an outsider would recognize it.
Moreover, her visual presence, which could not be hidden even with her eyes covered and wearing dull black clothes, made her unsuitable for investigation.
In other words, Saintess Iris was the executioner who would be deployed once the vampire was identified.
The investigation would be handled by the accompanying Inquisitors and Ray.
'If we say we're a noble lady on vacation, we wouldn't have to wander outside.'
Not a bad plan.
When brute force was necessary, the Saintess was the ultimate weapon, so there was no need to worry about vampires or anything else.
At any rate, the Solar Theocracy's carriage, specifically made for the Saintess, was comfortable and cozy.
Ray felt bad for the escort knights and Inquisitors disguised as coachmen and tried to help pull the carriage, but they deterred him from getting out.
"Father Ray is still young; please stay inside the carriage."
"That's right. Please treat us as your escorts."
He had expected the Inquisitors directly under the Saintess to be mechanical and cold, but surprisingly, they were all friendly.
In fact, they were already treating Ray as their superior.
Ray was the one who had annihilated an Archdemon, defeated an Alpha Demonic, and subdued many warlocks and witches.
Moreover, as high-ranking Inquisitors, they knew that Ray was a Saint candidate who had manifested the stigmata.
In their eyes, Ray was an unparalleled hero sent by Sol Invictus and a future Saint, so they had no choice but to be respectful.
However, from Ray's perspective, he simply wondered if a rookie could act this way.
Besides, he had to travel with someone like a distant director in the same space.
'It's a burden...'
Still, thinking of her as a senior who would soon be promoted to the same rank, he felt a slight familiarity.
'With a face like that, she has sliced up human flesh so much.'
Ray recalled the first time he met Iris.
Although the man deserved to die, Iris, who had sliced him up so extensively, watched with an intrigued expression as Ray conducted his holy blood experiment.
Torture was surprisingly mentally exhausting, and it was not easy for even the most wicked person to endure.
But Iris eagerly tried to teach or share torture methods with Ray.
Indeed, she was truly the Saintess of the Inquisition.
'In the worst-case scenario, she is the hardest person to reason with. I need to be careful.'
Ray quietly hid his left hand, where the stigmata was located.
Although it was covered by a glove, he would always have to be careful in front of Iris.
Thus, their somewhat uncomfortable journey together soon reached a midway point.
Along the paved roads extending throughout the continent, centered around the Solar Theocracy, there were churches serving as relay stations at intervals.
Here, if needed, one could receive food and activity funds, but they were typically used for lodging.
"Welcome, brothers and sisters."
The priest of the church greeted the Saintess's party with a benevolent smile.
Although they hadn't revealed the Saintess's itinerary, simply showing the insignia of the Armed Organization was usually enough for priests to be cooperative.
The problem was...
'He's not a priest, is he?'
Ray felt a sense of dismay upon seeing the priest who had come out to greet them.
A blazing red soul.
The light of evil deeds hidden behind his benevolent smile shone ominously.
A priest of the Solar Theocracy would never have accumulated such evil deeds, so he was clearly a fake priest.
The problem was how to expose him.
'Holy blood only works on warlocks or demons, so it's useless.'
There was no basis for simply stating he wasn't a priest.
Should he then stay the night and try to find some evidence?
If he had been alone, he would have just broken something and seen what happened, but there were too many eyes: the Saintess and the Inquisitors.
'Should I just set fire to the place and insist this guy is a heretic?'
Since he possessed the power of holy flames, wouldn't they believe him if he insisted?
"Is it just the priest in the church?"
Whether she knew Ray's feelings or not, Iris spoke to the priest.
"Yes, there are others, but they went home for the day."
"Really?"
Iris looked around the church and then walked gracefully towards the priest.
Events unfolded in an instant.
"Sister...?!"
Stab!
Suddenly, a dagger plunged into the fake priest's belly.
Iris had produced a dagger from who knows where and stabbed the fake priest.
"Wh-what...!"
"You..."
Iris whispered into the ear of the fake priest, who had been subdued in an instant.
"Who are you?"
Grind, grind!
The dagger Iris plunged in twisted inside, tearing up his internal organs.
The fake priest screamed in agony as his insides were shredded.
"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! You bitch!"
The fake priest shrieked and pushed Iris away.
The dagger was pulled out with a thump, but the fake priest also produced a dagger from his pocket and lunged at Iris.
"Saintess!"
But the worry was pointless.
Iris easily dodged the fake priest's swinging dagger and then stabbed him again and again.
Stab! Stab-stab! Stab! Stab-stab-stab!
"Guh! G-gasp!?"
The fake priest stumbled, unable to breathe.
He could only gasp in terrible pain.
Thud!
Finally, the fake priest knelt.
Realizing he couldn't possibly win against Iris, he looked up at her with a face full of despair.
"H-how..."
How did she know he was fake? Ray was curious about that too.
"I know the faces of all ordained priests in Albion. You're not among them."
"That's impos...sible."
How many priests were ordained in Albion?
How could she possibly memorize all of them?
There must be at least a thousand.
"P-please save me... I'll tell you anything..."
"No need."
"...!?"
Without a hint of negotiation, the dagger came down, piercing the fake priest's head.
The fake priest instantly died, collapsing with blood-filled eyes.
Just then, Ray spoke.
"Shouldn't we... have interrogated him?"
"We can do it with the others."
At her words, Ray subtly glanced outside the church.
The village had been eerily quiet, but now a group carrying torches was approaching from all directions.
All of them were red.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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