Chapter: 279
The moment I saw the message that the inquisitor was coming here, the first thought that popped into my head was this:
Why? Why are they coming here?
There’s no reason for them to visit the Burrow family.
Inquisitors from the church are basically the troubleshooters for the church.
Inquisitors, who are tasked with suppressing heretics, carry out all sorts of nasty work that can’t be done in the light of day.
As those who should never be exposed, the position could only be attained by those deeply loyal to the church, but things are a bit different now.
They’re not appointing those faithful as inquisitors; they’re cultivating loyalty from the get-go to create inquisitors.
It’s not strange at all, considering today’s church even makes its own saintesses.
Anyway, these guys are usually only sent when they’re supposed to carry out dirty work.
They’re the ones who help collaborators maintain eternal silence or quiet down someone with rather outspoken opinions, or, like the origin of their title, they only move when interrogating heretics.
So why are they coming to the Burrow territory?
It’s clear that the church hasn’t grasped the Burrow family’s ideals.
This is something that was cross-verified by Johan, a bishop of the church, and Isabel, who has ties with the church.
So there shouldn’t be any reason for the church to take an interest in this territory. Why?
No. Wait.
I can think of the reasons later.
What I really need to worry about is how to respond to the appearance of the inquisitor.
If the inquisitor reaches the Burrow territory, a lot of things are going to get complicated.
First off, there’s the problem of my identity getting exposed.
I’m not strong enough yet to oppose the church’s influence.
If I were to be found out as an apostle in such a situation, I would disappear without a trace like Grandpa said someday.
But that’s not the only problem.
If what happened in the Burrow territory gets exposed, I have no idea what kind of sacrifices might occur.
There’s also a strong possibility that Phoebe and Johan, who might have just helped me, could be hurt.
Aaaah! Damn it! My head hurts!
[Young Lady, what’s the matter?]
‘…Something bad has happened.’
When I told Grandpa about my situation, he let out a sigh.
[Seems you’ve gotten into a bit of a hassle.]
‘Seriously!’
I just barely escaped from death, and another crisis is coming!
What’s more irritating is that this crisis isn’t caused by the Evil God!
Why do I, an apostle of the Lord, have to fear the church’s people!?
I should be revered as the first apostle of the Lord, not looked down upon!
This is all because of that sloppy, incompetent Lord!
Why can’t that guy manage his own followers properly!?
How can you call yourself a god if you don’t enforce discipline when your followers act against your will!?
I’m seriously asking here; it isn’t because you old geezers stink and nobody wants to talk to you, right?!
If that perverted, loli-loving bastard’s pride is rejecting association with those gramps, I swear I’m really going to lose it!
I’ll risk my life to spread your true nature to this world!
[Young Lady, are you listening?]
‘…Huh? What did you say?’
[Sigh. This isn’t just your problem, is it? First, go outside and inform others.]
Grandpa’s words were definitely correct.
This isn’t just my problem.
Moreover, it’s better to discuss with multiple people rather than just think about it alone.
Closing the window, I stood up and brandished my mace while glancing at Nakrad’s head.
“Now, to satisfy my… What?! Didn’t I do everything you said?! Wait! Stop!…”
If I hit like this, he should pass out, right?
*
After Lucy went into the dungeon, Phoebe kept kneeling in front of it and praying.
Since it was all she could do, she kept asking the Lord to protect Lucy.
Ignoring all advances to eat, drink, rest, or do anything else, she maintained her vigil.
Time had passed to the point where she didn’t even know how long it had been when a warm aura flowed out from beyond the dungeon door.
As soon as she felt it, Phoebe hurriedly opened her eyes.
Standing there was undoubtedly Lucy.
Her flowing red hair was a mess, stained with blood.
The blood that flowed from her head covered half her face.
The armor she wore was dented here and there, making it hard to recognize what it once was.
Yet standing at the entrance of the dungeon was without a doubt Lucy.
She tossed the two dolls she had slung over her shoulder like baggage and met Phoebe’s eyes with a grin.
“What’s up, sloppy saintess? You….”
“Young Lady!”
The moment Phoebe saw that smile, she dashed towards Lucy and hugged her.
Lucy didn’t care that she was getting her clothes dirty with blood. The overwhelming joy left no room for that thought.
“Do you know how worried I was?!”
“No.”
“You said it was nothing, yet you took so long to come back!”
“Sleep.”
“Aaaah! Really! I’m so glad you’re safe! Young….”
“Hey! Pig saintess! Can you back off a bit? You’re suffocating me!”
Only after Lucy yelled did Phoebe regain her senses and realize how rude she had been.
What’s with this disrespect towards someone who just fought against an apostle of the Evil God!?
“I’m so sorry! Young Lady!”
“…Sigh. That’s enough. Where are the other shoddy ones?”
“The others are…”
“What? An employer? It’s urgent?”
Just as Phoebe was about to answer, a voice suddenly came from behind.
Karia, the informant following Lucy, peeked in from beyond the door.
“Yep. It’s as urgent as Auntie’s life.”
“…My life isn’t that urgent, you know?!”
Karia, sounding as if stabbed in the back, raised her voice, while Lucy casually instructed her to gather the others.
Phoebe, unable to interject in the conversation, subtly turned to see the faces of those Lucy had brought with her.
One was Jack Burrows.
The prince of the Burrow family who fell for Tariki’s temptation but was given another chance by Lucy.
The other was…
“Puh?!… Cough! Cough!”
Faced with the apostle of the Evil God, Phoebe was so surprised that she choked and coughed several times.
What the… What on earth is this?
Karia, who had approached behind Phoebe, lightly patted her back as she questioned Lucy.
“Employer, what on earth is this mess?”
“How should I know what this perverted stick is thinking?”
“…Is this their personal taste? Seriously?”
Karia shook her head in horror at the sight of Nakrad sprawled on the floor.
And thus, silence fell in the room.
Phoebe, distracted by her previous blunder, avoided Lucy’s gaze, while Lucy, with a furrowed brow, was deep in thought, staring at the floor.
Ugh. Silly Phoebe. Why do you keep messing up even during a moment of reunion that should bring joy?
Thanks to that, I got scolded by the Young Lady.
Sigh. Pig saintess, indeed.
…However, now that I think about it, the Young Lady doesn’t stretch the truth too much, so she never lies.
Oh? Did I just… gain weight?
“Young Lady! Are you alright?! Are you hurt anywhere?! This sword! I’m so worried about you!”
Breaking Phoebe’s thoughts was the mad rush of Karl, who burst in.
As soon as he entered the room, he made a fuss, only to be subdued by an irritated Lucy.
Not long after that, Alsatine made her appearance.
Johan entered silently, followed by the master of the forest and the spatial magician.
“Prete that pervert is finishing up.”
And finally, when Karia showed up, Lucy spoke with a somewhat serious expression.
“The dogs of those trash pretending to serve that sloppy Lord are coming here.”
*
“Seriously… no need to ask about its authenticity.”
The first to speak was Karia. Having the ability to read people’s intentions, she quickly realized my claims were true and turned her gaze to Johan with a sigh.
“Bishop, if the inquisitor sees the situation in the Burrow territory, what will happen?”
“Hm.”
Johan was equally doubtful of my words.
He seemed to have judged my words to be true, immediately responding to Karia’s inquiry.
“They won’t miss the signs of Tariki. Then they’ll question our actions without notifying the church.”
“This is gonna be annoying.”
“It’ll be worse than that.”
“What about persuading them?”
“Impossible. The same goes for suppression. We might win against the inquisitors, but there will be casualties.”
“Sigh. Then…”
“Hey.”
Amidst the rapidly progressing conversation, when Phoebe spoke up, everyone’s attention shifted towards her.
It would be understandable if she felt the pressure from everyone’s stare, yet Phoebe continued with a smile as usual.
“I’ll stay behind to testify. Then we can make the Burrow Duke a wronged victim, and there won’t be any arrows flying toward the Young Lady…”
‘No way.’
“No, sloppy saintess.”
“That’s not good. Saintess.”
As soon as Phoebe proposed this, Johan, Karia, and I shook our heads in unison.
“Why… why not?”
“First, the scale of the incident is too big for the saintess to handle alone.”
“It’ll raise suspicion, and investigations will proceed from behind. That’ll just cause more trouble.”
While it wouldn’t be directly stated, even if Phoebe’s proposal were accepted, it would be troublesome.
The church wouldn’t welcome the claim that a false saintess discovered and defeated the apostle of the Evil God.
What could those bastards do if they decided to take action when a mere tool tries to gain consciousness?
“Then I’ll step up!”
As the objections piled up, Phoebe was at a loss, when the door suddenly swung open.
The apostle of beauty and art—or rather, the goddess of beauty and perversion—made her late entrance.
“If I take the lead in this matter, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”
“…The apostle?”
At Phoebe’s questioning, the one who offered a soft smile nodded and stepped into the middle of the room.
“I came here after receiving word from the goddess herself, so any questions about how I knew are pointless. Moreover, with my track record, no one will doubt that I handled everything. We will assert the Burrow family’s innocence and, of course, we can use our church’s strength to prevent the church from intervening.”
There was nothing flawed in what she said.
If this guy takes the forefront, many issues would be resolved.
Moreover, the important thing is, this guy is outside the influence of the Lord’s church.
Even the inquisitors couldn’t act strongly against an apostle of another god, so if she boldly steps forward, they would have to retreat.
“Whatever the reason you don’t want this to come to light, this is the cleanest way, isn’t it?”
Is this really the same pervert who rushed at me the moment we met?
The one who shocked me with nonsensical remarks can articulate this logically?
It’s utterly astonishing that a beast can speak human words, and just as I was gawking, Karia sighed.
“If you’re going to do this for us, that would be best, but what’s your angle?”
Huh? Angle?
“It’s a debt of gratitude for saving my life.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Do you even realize who’s standing before you?”
Karia possesses the ability to read intentions through body language. She’s exceptional enough to even grasp my innermost thoughts.
That Karia is raising her voice means…
What? Was this guy not just showing gratitude? Was there an ulterior motive?
…No. No way. Wait a second. If this pervert has an angle, then surely…
“Hurry up and spill it, you perverted bastard. We don’t have time.”
“Um. You see, while chatting with Lina, I heard that Young Lady Allen decided to reward the master of the forest with an unforgettable appearance.”
Hey.
Sloppy fox.
You crazy woman!
Did you just boast about that while I trusted you to handle things?!
I glared at her without hiding my anger, and the sloppy fox awkwardly averted her gaze.
You did say it! You really said it! You hopeless perverted fox!
Although I wanted to rush at her and swing my mace right now, unfortunately, that wasn’t an option… because the goddess’s apostle had yet to finish speaking.
“I want to immortalize that scene in a painting. If Young Lady gives permission, then this Prete will do anything.”
…
Sigh.
Fucking life, seriously.
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