“…Did someone scream in there?”
As I stepped out of the reception room, Rina looked at me with a suspicious expression and asked. However, I could not meet her gaze directly, knowing that she might become an important pillar of the Church in the future.
“I’m sorry! I think I made a poor choice, just as you said!”
Well, not just a poor choice, but…
I felt like I had turned the history of the Church upside down!
But if I were to say that directly, Rina would probably bolt out of here, so I just shook my head.
“I’m sorry, but if you run away, something really big might happen. No matter how much of a Saintess I am, if you ask me to found a new sect with my own hands, I’d desperately oppose it.”
But if no one else takes care of it, I guess I’ll have to do it all myself.
“Sorry, Rina, but you know they say that sharing pain makes it half as heavy… I did achieve my goal of ‘creating a shield to protect Rina,’ so I suppose success is still success.”
It was just that the excessive success was causing a backlash, which was the real issue.
“Will you come in?”
Andreiya, who had come out to greet me with a bright smile, looked like the Grim Reaper.
Of course, Rina didn’t seem to realize that. After all, she didn’t know what conversation had transpired inside.
…Could it be that she called me out separately to make it impossible for Rina to escape?
I didn’t know the exact intention behind it, but if that was indeed Andreiya’s aim, then she had achieved it flawlessly. Just look at Rina entering the reception room with an utterly rotten expression.
Once Rina, who had been looking at me resentfully, went into the reception room, the hallway became suddenly quiet.
“…So, uh, is all the testimony done?”
Trying to ease the awkwardness, I asked, and Jian nodded.
“Yeah, not much to ask.”
Was that so? I thought someone like Jian would have many more questions.
Well, only someone who knows about Jian’s strength and importance, like me, would understand that. A person who doesn’t know the truth wouldn’t have a clue. The only one who really recognized Jian’s power was Andreiya.
And Jian probably doesn’t even know it himself. He knows he’s strong, but maybe he hasn’t realized he could beat a Demon one-on-one since the Demon never told him. I mean, even if I’m a God, I wouldn’t blatantly say, “You are the strongest in this world.” Such statements lead to arrogance and eventual defeat, a well-known cliche since ancient Greece, right?
“Oh, you were already out.”
Just as I was worrying about how to kill time waiting for something, Selena approached with the Mother Superior beside her.
“You took longer than I expected.”
Jian said to Selena. Indeed, Selena was among those who knew the least about the situation. Of course, it wasn’t like I had deliberately left her out… Everyone who gathered here happened to know the truth, and Selena just happened to be stuck among us.
“Yeah, I had tons of questions since I didn’t know anything.”
Swinging her long hair back behind her shoulder, Selena looked me in the eye and said.
Uhm… I feel like I’ve seen those eyes somewhere before.
Right, those eyes reminded me of the news anchors who report on strange facts. It’s like when they say, “I hope the truth is revealed soon,” just before a breaking news segment.
Those were eyes demanding the truth, literally.
“…What did you hear?”
I thought of Selena, turning the tables and questioning the Miracle Investigator. She was quite fitting for it; no one demanded the truth from a secretive person quite like her.
If I had secrets to hide here, I would have to reveal them someday anyway. Most of what I might keep quiet would eventually slip out, and revealing the truth to family or friends through other means, like gossip or media, is the worst way possible.
“I hardly heard anything. That person was really tight-lipped. He didn’t look much older than me.”
Still, that guy had to be at least in his twenties, but pointing that out to Selena would only hurt her feelings, so I let that go.
“Anyway, he ignored all my questions and kept asking his own, so I just summarized what I saw and left. Surprisingly, they let me go easily.”
That makes sense. She wasn’t a part of the Church, and after all, she was a child of two heroes who sacrificed themselves for humanity. Maybe her ancestors had been sacrificed in the same manner. To become heroes often requires some level of talent, and talent is usually passed down from parents to children.
Her upright nature may have stemmed from that.
No matter what power was in front of her, if her beliefs were different, she’d gladly challenge it. If I hadn’t drop-kicked the Cardinal when we first met, Selena wouldn’t have held back either.
And that upright nature was not applied differently to each person for her convenience.
“If you want to hear what I know—”
“I want to hear it.”
Before I could finish, Selena interrupted, and I had no choice but to nod.
“Then let’s start with the location—”
“Claraaaaa!”
Before I could finish my proposal, a commotion erupted from inside the door. The source of the commotion was, of course, Rina, having heard something from Andreiya.
I could guess what it was about. It probably asked her to stay at the Church and cooperate from now on, and there might also be some subtle intimidation about possible disadvantages if she didn’t.
“—Let’s move. It’s going to get noisy in here.”
I said calmly, and Selena and Jian nodded, looking a bit flustered.
…Reflecting back, that scream was the first time Rina ever called me by my name instead of using a pronoun.
*
How many times do I have to explain the same thing?
I was starting to get the hang of how to explain my identity. I was slowly learning how to pinpoint the core details, and it felt like I could even do a presentation if asked.
“Um…”
After summarizing what I had already said in front of Linea and Aurora and adding a few recent events, I finished my explanation, leaving Selena in deep thought with her arms crossed.
Thankfully, unlike the Pope, she didn’t burst into tears, faint, or look like she had just come out of liquid nitrogen. Surprisingly, she processed things even more calmly than Linea and Aurora. Selena was a believer, but she wasn’t a clergy or monastic. Ironically, that very fact helped her absorb my words faster than other clergymen.
“I think I understand why the Church is in such an uproar. Honestly, I can only guess how serious it is.”
Well, I was in the same boat, so I don’t think I could point fingers at her for that.
If I had known every detail about the Church’s inner workings, I would have acted much more cautiously.
…Of course, that would mean I would have to study and work hard to learn all those details, and I had no intention of doing so, which would explain why there are things I don’t know and why I can’t determine what would blow up in the future and what wouldn’t—
What is this minefield?
As I wore a grim expression considering the future, Selena smiled softly.
“Still, I know you’re struggling.”
“Well, thank you…”
It seems that even those within the Church are aware of this, but somehow, every time they move, it feels like my workload increases, and that’s not just my imagination.
Of course, every time I move, it’s not just me who creates work for them, and that’s not my imagination either.
But comfort from someone who doesn’t add more tasks to my plate always feels sincere.
Just when I was feeling a touch of comfort from Selena—
The prayer room door blasted open.
No, to be precise, it exploded open. But as the phrase ‘like an explosion’ suggests, the sound of it made us all flinch as it echoed through the room where we were seated.
Turning my head toward the source of the noise, of course, it was Rina standing there, her expression as if she was ready to explode.
With the central aisle in the prayer room left empty, I was genuinely worried that she might dash and demolish the crucifix in the middle of the room.
Of course, the real concern should have been my side and not the cross.
“You, you, you…!”
Rina was literally at her breaking point, repeating the same word like a broken radio.
“Hey, Rina, just calm down…”
No matter how much I said that, Rina stomped over in my direction. The only reason she didn’t smash through all the chairs between us was probably that she was exercising all the restraint she could muster.
But that amazing restraint couldn’t stop her from grabbing me by the collar.
“What did you do…?”
Faced with Rina’s furious face so directly, I felt slightly dizzy. I could almost feel her heavy breaths and the veins bulging on her forehead––
“C-Could you please calm down and listen for a moment?”
But knowing I had caused this mess, I couldn’t shake off her grip.
“What’s all this about the convent and that there could be a new sect?”
With those words coming out from her clenched teeth, I opted to stay silent. Well, she was right; I messed up there.
“Plus, I heard you telling the new priest that you wouldn’t cooperate with writing something like a thesis…”
No, Priest! Can’t you read the room?!
“…I mean, I was just trying to create a minimum level of protection for you…”
As I tried to explain myself, Rina’s furious eyes became cloudy, and she loosened her grip, allowing me to escape.
Covering her face with her hand, Rina let out a sigh as she plopped down on a chair in the prayer room, making a sound that resembled air leaking from a balloon. Ouch, that must hurt her rear.
Well, surprisingly, Rina didn’t seem bothered.
“Okay, okay. I get it. You didn’t mean any harm. That’s always been the case with you…”
Her voice sounded like she had given up the fight, and I felt a pang of guilt hit me.
“But why does it always have to go overboard…?”
“That’s… I’m really sorry.”
It’s true, I had been causing quite the fuss lately. Just this summer break, I had been ambushed by demons and beasts. Instead of escaping from trouble, I ended up creating new problems, and I even couldn’t help but catch a witch.
If someone were to ask if I was overdoing it, I wouldn’t be able to deny it at all.
For a while, Rina remained frozen in that position. During that time, I couldn’t sit down or get up, and Selena and Jian maintained their silence, occasionally glancing nervously at either of us.
“Well, alright. Fine then.”
Finally, Rina, seeming to have finished her thoughts, removed her hands from her face. Her expression was much calmer than when she entered the prayer room, which eased my worries a bit. I figured she wouldn’t hit me…
“I’ll blame all of this on you.”
Huh?
“…What?”
Not understanding what she meant, I asked, and Rina clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. In a voice so calm and gentle that you wouldn’t believe it came from her, she said:
“I owe my awakening of Holy Power to the Saintess Clara Anderson, who receives the grace of the Goddess and the Demon. All of these miracles are due to the Saintess’s grace, so it would be more appropriate to consult her about it.”
Having said that, Rina peeked at me with one eye half-open.
“Um…”
Before I could retort, Rina closed her eyes again and said,
“Oh Lord, if there is any grace I can receive, please give it all to the Saintess. I am but satisfied with merely having awakened true faith.”
Suddenly opening both eyes, she looked at me and said,
“—So, if there’s something important, just let her handle it. Not me.”
Ah.
And then, I finally realized what Rina was saying, and I went pale.
“No, but what does that…?”
Seeing I was frozen, Rina grinned in satisfaction as she shot up from her seat.
“Then I’ll be going now. I have a lot to think about by myself, no need to see me off. My school uniform is already in my bag. So, Saintess, let’s do our best from now on.”
Saying this, Rina smirked, quickly darting out of the prayer room.
“Wait a moment…!”
I didn’t even get a chance to stop her.
Close combat usually ends in a draw, not because of equal abilities but because Rina’s speed allowed her to evade efficiently while I tried my best to block her advances.
In other words, I couldn’t catch up to her even if I ran.
Damn it.
Having predicted what would happen due to Rina’s attitude, I buried my face in my hands and sat down in the chair Rina had just occupied.
“…You guys are really going through a lot.”
Selena pat my shoulder and said.
“Sigh.”
I took a deep breath, trying to sort out my thoughts and come to a conclusion.
Alright, that’s how it is now?
Of course, I wasn’t entirely blameless…
Well, if I had to be honest, I was at fault…
To put it metaphorically, it was like being a malicious cultist dragging someone who doesn’t want to come to the Church.
…
Ah, anyway, I just wanted to give my best protective measure as a friend.
But if they come at me like that, I have things to say too. While I didn’t intend to lead Rina high in the ranks of the Church, I still need to defend myself if I’m attacked.
The more they attack me, the more they’ll realize that their strange actions could lead to consequences.
If it comes down to it, I could always put her in my plan for making a break for it five years later, though I’ve only got a name for it so far.
As I lit the flames of determination in my eyes, Selena stopped patting my shoulder, looking rather apprehensive.
*
After the stormy times ended and the Cathedral quieted down, we finally stepped outside the prayer room.
Jian and Selena said their paths were the same for a while, so I felt comfortable sending them off. After all, even though Selena was alone, no random civilian could challenge her and win.
Receiving the cool autumn breeze, I turned around and ran into Andreiya and her underlings from the Inquisition as they exited the Cathedral.
“…Wait outside for a bit. I’ll just exchange greetings with the Saintess.”
At her words, the investigators bowed slightly and moved to Andreiya’s side. When passing by me, they bowed even deeper.
“You’ve worked hard today. Is your throat alright?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
If I get hurt, I can just heal it.
I couldn’t tell whether Andreiya was referring to the pain from yelling or if she was considering that Rina could’ve choked me too… she wouldn’t, right?
I answered with a somewhat sour expression, as a sudden thought popped into my head.
“By the way, isn’t this the job of the Miracle Investigator? Why is the Inquisition involved?”
“There’s only one Miracle Investigator so far. Since their assistant ran off, we have no choice. Besides, the distance from the Central Church to here is pretty long. Even if we set out now, it would take a while. We are just delegated to handle it in the meantime.”
“Can’t you investigate at a later date?”
“It’s best to hear the testimony on the spot while it’s fresh.”
That sounded like a true investigative agency’s response.
“So, did you gain anything from all this?”
“Honestly, not much. Today’s investigation was just the beginning. A new scripture about the Demon might be written.”
“…”
And of course, I, Rina, and perhaps Jian’s collaboration would be desperately needed for that book.
“Well, most of it will be sorted out by the theology department, but the concept of ‘heresy’ needs careful reevaluation.”
“You guys sure have a tough job.”
“It’s nothing. It’s way better than just declaring innocence for people showing up with false accusations.”
“…”
Observing Andreiya made her seem like a total workaholic.
“Well, it’s getting late and my subordinates are waiting, so I should be off. Stay healthy until we meet again.”
“Yeah, you too, Chief.”
Even with my somewhat dull response, Andreiya just smiled back.
“…”
I gazed at Andreiya’s shimmering blonde hair as she walked away, then turned toward the convent.
In a way, today was even more exhausting than capturing a witch.
I’m pretty sure I’ll sleep deeply tonight—
…Of course, after I finish explaining everything to Aurora and Linea, who will be waiting for me.
…I wonder why problems keep peeling away like onion layers.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.