There’s nothing easy in life, they say, but isn’t it human nature to want to coast as much as possible? No matter my current situation, I really want to avoid having more responsibilities piled on me.
If I were still working a regular job, I could somewhat understand having additional tasks during work hours. But here I am—just a minor, a student, and it’s even summer vacation.
Yet, somehow, this break feels busier than the school terms!
I chose to dodge work only to be faced with an even bigger mess waiting for me. Is this some kind of hell? I saved a kid about to be run over by a truck in my previous life, only to end up here. I’m not joking!
Sure, my salary is three times what I used to make, but still!
Ah, at least there was one good thing.
“……”
Well, maybe calling it ‘good’ is a stretch.
The next day, unlike my previous visit to the government office, this time the local representative actually came to visit our camp. The mess of the local government had been completely turned around since I last came, so the camp remained peaceful even with the representative’s arrival.
I had this nagging feeling that it was because I was here. Somehow, I ended up as the leader—feels like I’m the one making all the decisions now.
A vibe lingered: ‘There’s someone really important from the church at the camp, so a representative coming is nothing compared to that.’ Is it good that we didn’t have to tidy up for the representative’s visit, or should I worry that my political standing is solidifying even more?
“……”
Well… now that I’ve fretted over something I can’t change, let’s talk about the local representative’s reaction to the visit.
Naturally, he wore an extremely serious expression.
Given that the representative was at least twice my age, even if I added up my previous life’s years. Living in a Confucian country for over 20 years had made stiffness and hierarchy deeply ingrained in me. It made me very uncomfortable to see a much older man looking so serious in front of me.
It’s basically a societal reflex, so no matter how much I assured myself that I was in a more powerful position politically and didn’t have to be intimidated, those feelings were hard to shake off.
Plus, I was subconsciously aware that I’d just dragged in a foreign army into another country without thinking twice.
Power is dangerous like that.
I usually treated the Knights casually, but I’d summoned them this time as if it was nothing.
…And here I am, feeling unsure. Did I just recklessly form a government-church agreement while being unfamiliar with power? I’m explicitly bringing an armed force into a region populated by another race. This is speaking out of both sides of my mouth, right?
Both forces may have fewer numbers objectively, but they’re practically elite troops within the church. If anything goes wrong, it could escalate significantly. Think back to when we stormed the government building and captured a demon. Wouldn’t it be strange if people familiar with that incident weren’t worried about my actions?
This time, since it was definitely crucial information that didn’t need to leak out to others, I borrowed the priest’s office again. The head priest nodded with an absolutely pale face.
…I should say something nice to him the next time I go to the Central Church.
“First of all, may I ask why you’ve deployed forces at the border between regions?”
“Uh…”
What answer should I give to the representative, who was sitting across from me with a serious face?
Well, saying that I didn’t actually plan to deploy them but was thinking of invading wouldn’t go over well.
Lucky for me, he looked more like he was lost in deep thought rather than blaming me… or is that even lucky?
As I twisted that around in my head, I finally gave a deep sigh and replied.
“Actually, I was short on personnel for what I wanted to do…”
As I said this in a shaky voice, the representative momentarily appeared dumbfounded.
“So, you meant that you actually intended to operate within the region?”
“Uh, yes. I’m sorry.”
I quickly apologized.
“……”
The representative stared at me silently.
He kept staring.
“……”
“…Uh.”
After a long pause, when I was about to say something just to relieve the pressure, he finally spoke heavily.
“Have you discovered any disturbances in this area?”
“Yes, that’s it!”
As expected of a person who had been in politics for decades. He articulated what I wanted to say perfectly.
“I thought so.”
The representative sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair.
“I figured if it were simply a matter of personnel being insufficient, you would have requested assistance from us. Instead, you called upon troops specifically specialized for anti-demon operations.”
Uh… the truth is, I just took the easiest path without thinking, but I figured saying that would be more advantageous.
I nodded solemnly, trying to wear the most serious expression I could muster.
“Could you provide more details?”
“……”
And I froze, maintaining that serious expression.
Because 100% of it was Rina’s achievement.
The highest-ups in the church likely knew that Rina was a demon, but I couldn’t tell what the government knew. They might have their own ways of gathering information, yet the details about the nuns were treated extremely confidentially within the church. Once Rina became a nun, she would be clearly protected afterward.
But if it was information before that, they might be able to find out.
“……”
But even if the central government might have information on Rina, I doubted the local beastman government would have any.
So, I maintained my most serious expression and replied.
“There were divine revelations from the Goddess.”
“……”
The representative sealed his lips tight.
I could hear Paul Uncle, who was standing behind me along with Andrea, slightly rustling his armor, but I ignored that for now. The representative’s response was far more crucial.
“Is that so…”
Unlike your average person who would gasp and panic at my words about divine revelations, the representative remained calm.
And rightfully so, because the church didn’t have much influence in the beastman area. Sure, there were believers, but the existence of a goddess and people who devoted themselves to her wasn’t ‘common knowledge’ for these folks.
To put it bluntly, it would be like gathering troops in front of an atheist and saying, “I’ve received revelations from the goddess saying we should invade your home. Please allow us.”
At least the homeowner would likely permit that, but…
The tenant’s rights are still rights, you know?
On another note, weren’t there once clerics among beastmen in the past? They say that there are people who can use holy power too. How can one use holy power without actively believing in the goddess?
…Is there some rule I’m not aware of here?
I’ll just ask Ariel about it when I have time later.
“Truth be told, we have no means to actually impede the actions of the Saintess.”
The representative sighed as he spoke.
“Central government orders already came down, you see. Whatever the Saintess does, unless it’s extremely nonsensical, we’ve been instructed not to interfere.”
From the perspective of my former world, moving troops under the pretext of divine revelation would definitely count as ‘extremely nonsensical’, but therein lies the problem—that’s not the case in this world. There’s no doubt that within the central government’s notion of ‘common sense’ lies the concept of divine revelations. After all, I had already achieved results through that revelation.
But could the beastmen completely relate to that sense of commonality?
At least if the beastman society had believers among them, and those believers can utilize holy power, it might be plausible, but whether that would justify projecting military force is another matter entirely. For someone who has lived solely within the beastman society, my ‘achievements’ are well out of reach.
“Thus, I have a few requests, and I would like you to consider them.”
The representative asked me seriously.
“……Please, go ahead.”
I prompted in response, and he nodded heavily.
“I cannot arbitrarily stop the Knights from operating in this area. I have heard of the achievements of the Saintess, and the central government has instigated this, after all. And with existing knights already serving in this area.”
The representative looked over at Andrea and Uncle Paul for a moment as he continued.
“However, the presence of fully armed knights moving about is a separate issue. As you know, the residents here harbor extreme feelings against humans. And even among the beastman society, there are people who oppose excessive human influence permeating their region.”
I nodded in understanding. While they wouldn’t openly attack church members, there were definitely hostile feelings directed toward us.
“So, I would appreciate it if you could minimize armaments. And, unless it’s truly unavoidable, please refrain from violent actions.”
“……”
I turned to Andrea and Uncle Paul. When our eyes met, both nodded.
To me, asking for this level of consideration while operating in civilian areas felt reasonable.
“And, we would like our police and soldiers to participate in this operation as well.”
“…Uh…”
“Oh, of course, our people won’t hinder the Knights’ activities. It’s merely a precautionary measure to protect the Saintess in case anything unexpected happens, so you need not worry too much.”
And by ‘unexpected,’ I meant both from the disgruntled beastmen and the armed knights.
“……”
I turned back to Andrea and Uncle Paul once more. Both remained serious and nodded.
In that case…
I nodded at the representative.
“Thank you.”
Despite the age gap, he bowed deeply towards me.
*
As a result, the search party nearly doubled in size.
Of course, while the majority of those increased numbers were working alongside the Knights without expanding the search area, I like to think we were now better equipped to handle any unforeseen situations that could arise.
The search time initially slated to start early morning was postponed to the afternoon. Although having the Knight’s camp stationed outside the perimeter posed no significant problems, it did take time for the troops that the local government had agreed to send to arrive.
“…This is uncomfortable.”
Rina grumbled, but it couldn’t be helped.
Other search teams were composed of two knights and two local government personnel, totaling four members, but my group consisted of me, Aurora, Linnea, and Rina, making just four on the base level. Add Uncle Paul, Andrea, and one knight from each of them plus two more from the local government, and we ended up with ten in total.
“This is unavoidable. All the key personnel are here.”
Andrea said, addressing Rina.
Right. There was no way around it. Splitting them up felt awkward since Linnea effectively served as my personal protector while Aurora was clearly meant to assist the Saintess.
Naturally, Uncle Paul should stick with me in such circumstances, and bringing along one knight from the Knights was common sense. The same went for Andrea.
Rina was undoubtedly the most important figure in this search, and the government members were helplessly bound to follow the representative’s request.
…Sure, if a demon saw us, they would likely flee at once, but given we were heading into the witch’s den, it shouldn’t be a huge issue… I hoped.
“…Let’s start from the alley where the orphans appeared most frequently.”
Since we’d claimed to be searching for orphans to rescue, I couldn’t just outright reveal our original mission in front of the government personnel.
…Definitely uncomfortable, though.
*
—Three hours later.
That was enough time to search that relatively small section of the slum several times over. And surprisingly, our efforts weren’t completely in vain.
“……”
“……”
However, what we uncovered was rather… disappointing.
Not in the metaphorical sense of “disappointing,” but in a literal sense—it smelled like something rotten was coming from it.
“……”
We stood silently, gazing down at a manhole cover leading to the sewage below.
“Wait, so… we actually caught a whiff of this before, right?”
“…Yeah.”
To my question, Rina openly confessed.
“So, you waited and walked around for ages, pretending it didn’t exist because if you said anything, we’d be diving straight into that mess?”
“How could that be for nothing?”
Rina wrinkled her brow.
“I was just trying to find a proper place instead of this one. Not a spot where I’d be wading through sewage up to my ankles, but somewhere people could easily get to.”
Naturally, it didn’t matter to her since she was a demon, but still…
“……”
I continued looking wordlessly at the manhole cover.
“So… did you find anywhere else?”
“…If I had, would I be saying it’s here?”
…I suppose.
It certainly was a plausible location for all those missing orphans to vanish in an instant. And it could also explain those kids claiming they didn’t smell anything coming from themselves.
“Honestly, think about it.”
After staring at the manhole cover for a long while, Rina piped up.
“What?”
“Are you thinking of going down there?”
“……”
Well… I didn’t really want to go down there.
But if someone asked what other options we had, I wouldn’t have much of a retort.
“…I should change clothes first…”
At my suggestion, Rina slapped her forehead in annoyance.
“If you really don’t want to, there’s no need for you to follow me down.”
Feeling bad, I said that, and Rina sighed deeply.
Originally, she ought to be at the convent, yet here she was caught up in this odd affair because of me. I wasn’t one to ask her to explore the sewers out of inconvenience.
But…
“…Look, if I don’t go down there, who’s going to track the scent?”
Her words left me speechless.
Although I knew nothing of how complex the sewers were, having Rina on the ground was obviously much more efficient than combing the entire sewer system ourselves.
“…Could you go in for me?”
Ultimately, I managed to ask in a small voice, and Rina let out an exasperated sigh that felt like it could suck the earth in.
So we turned around and made our way back to the waiting group behind us. Given our task secrecy, we had agreed that Rina and I would step aside to converse quietly when discussing anything that might be difficult to share with others.
Once we returned to the group, I glanced around at them.
I stole a quick look at Rina, but…
“What are you looking at?”
Her cold reply came back.
Under normal circumstances, I’d have reacted, but considering the hardship coming ahead, I couldn’t afford to pick a fight.
I took a deep breath and declared in a way that sounded like a sigh.
“…We’re going to have to check the sewers.”
About 60 percent of the group was visibly shaken.
The remaining 40 percent was me, Rina, Andrea, and Uncle Paul. Though Paul had a worried expression directed toward me.
“We’ve searched through the whole area, and not one of the missing orphans has been found. Our entire group of over a hundred people couldn’t find them!”
“…What if they escaped to another district or outside the region?”
One of the local members interjected.
“That’s possible, but the only area we can thoroughly search is below—through the sewers.”
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence fell over us.
I mean, it is ridiculous, right?
I’m just as amazed!
If they were merely hiding out somewhere, why would they choose a dirty and disgusting nook that would force me to crawl through the sewers?
Well, they must have thought they wouldn’t be discovered there but…
No matter what their reasons were, whether they’re witches or demons, should I meet them, I guarantee they won’t be left unharmed!
Absolutely!
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