6. Proof of Existence (14)
Scenes float above the pure white field of view.
Severed images were passing through like unorganized papers. The sound of gasping for breath and the thumping of my heart made me think that my excitement was excessive.
A voice came from afar. A clear and sweet tone, I had heard it somewhere before.
“… … You had a sister?”
From this point on, the world began to be colored. In the tent where the lanterns shimmer, a woman with a bottle of wine in one hand was sitting across from him. The light pink eyes were impressive.
Inflammation and remorse were oozing from his sullen face. Even in those eyes, a look of annoyance was evident.
Life itself seemed boring.
That’s why I didn’t know if he was doing all kinds of eccentricities. I remembered that he was once an exemplary priest, but the woman I hadn’t seen in a long time was very different.
The story that I heard as a gift was also splendid.
He hit the archbishop on the crown of his head with a bottle of wine when he rebuked him for his frequent drinking, and he often fought with the residents in the slums where he went to volunteer, such as assaulting a believer who came to confess.
How did it get so bad?
I couldn’t help but offer advice out of curiosity.
“Can I continue drinking? I heard that the Holy Land doesn’t like it… … .”
“If you twist it, excommunicate it.”
Snorting, the woman vigorously tilted the bottle in her hand. It was to the point where I could hear the sound of it running down my throat. Soon after, the woman wiped her mouth with a puha, and smiled pessimistically.
“Can the front be maintained without me? Cowards who borrowed the name of God, let’s see how long they’ll be stuck in the castle town… … .”
“You are talking too much.”
“Yes, yes, please report it to His Majesty the Emperor… More than that, what about your sister?”
Instead of answering, I tipped my glass. It was a euphemism for not wanting to talk, but the other person just crossed their arms as if they were interested.
She was a woman known for her bad temper.
Knowing better than anyone that resistance is futile, I turned my gaze to a sign of surrender.
“… … I am missing.”
“Is it about the Percus Territory Incident? Hmm.”
The saintess brought up my painful memories as if it were nothing special.
It was an act without hesitation. To bring up the horrors of that day so casually in front of an aristocrat who had lost his family and land.
It was embarrassing and dumbfounded.
As I smiled, the saintess’ mouth opened, which had been deep in thought with her chin resting on her chin.
“I can’t help it, I have no choice but to obey.”
I was crying, and there was an emotion that filled up to the throat.
Do you mean ‘obedience’? I was the one who had lost my family, my estate, and even the teacher I respected and the lover I loved. The words to accept even this strange fate felt so violent.
I inadvertently spoke defiantly.
“Is that God’s will?”
At my question, the saintess looked at me blankly, making a strange noise.
long time to do that.
His lips parted, and another question was thrown.
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“… … Isn’t that obvious?”
It was a voice that warmed up after a while. The flames were drawn to the emotions that had gradually worn out.
Even so, the saintess rather smiled.
“Oh, nice. So it looks human. I didn’t know because I always had a hard tone.”
If left like this, they would clap and laugh. As my expression grew even colder, the saintess suppressed her laughter with a chuckle.
Then, one piece of advice filled with compassion.
“It’s just a pity. Because the fetters of fate do not end with a single blow.”
Once, I’ve already been through it countless times.
I couldn’t even imagine a life worse than this. So I just kept silent, drinking my glass in silence.
Yes, that was until then.
Until he reunites with his sister on the battlefield, holding a sword and an axe.
A girl covered in blood was smiling.
“Hi oppa.”
There were dozens of crushed corpses around me, and I faced those golden eyes and froze.
It was the monster’s eye.
**
Brains and flesh spurted out around the ax blade that had been slammed down.
The smell of blood and the sensation of minced meat sticking to the skin was unpleasant at any time. Panting, I searched for the next victim.
Along with hellholes, there were corpses dressed in black. Humans whose facial skin had been ripped off had a bizarre side to them. But now it was all dead.
The hellholes that penetrated into the tent were smaller than the hellholes outside. It was a monster that was modified to be easy to surprise. I couldn’t contain my excitement as my self-consciousness was terrifyingly visible.
who dare to touch
was my sister I had no intention of losing it to anyone.
never, no matter what
won’t make it that way Before I knew it, bloodshot eyes stood in my eyes.
When he turned around wildly and tried to find the enemy again.
Suddenly, the image of my sister came into view. A faint fear could be read in the eyes that were staring at me in awe.
A trembling voice tickles my ears.
“Oh, brother… … .”
Only then did my mind clear.
Leah was a merchant. I wasn’t familiar with combat, and I’d never seen a scene where I fought in front of my eyes. So it must be the first time in my life to see me running amok with a hatchet.
As soon as I realized that fact, I inadvertently let go of the hatchet. A stammering of words then escaped my mouth.
“Uh, um. therefore… Leah?”
My sister was still trembling. Seeing this broke my heart even more.
“… … it’s okay?”
At my kind tone, tears welled up on Leah’s retinas.
Soon after, the girl came into my arms crying loudly.
“No, it’s not okay! Ugh, black… Go, the monsters suddenly came… Aren’t faceless people coming and screaming… Whoa… … !”
I hugged Leah, who was crying sadly. Leah’s crying didn’t stop even when I stroked her hair with a gentle hand. Even in the midst of that, my gaze was quietly drawing the scenery inside the tent.
Four hellholes, three unknown figures in black.
Given Lia’s fighting prowess, she had plenty of time to kill or seriously injure her. Even so, it seemed that no bloodstains were splattered inside the tent until I entered the scene.
Because the blood that had just fallen was bright red.
The purpose, then, was clear. It means that he tried to take Lia without touching her as much as possible.
why the hell
But there was no time left for me to delay any longer.
A humming vibration was transmitted through the ground. It was clearly a sign that it was getting closer this way.
these are hellholes
I immediately took Leah into my arms. I wanted to project an aura underground, but I had already used too much mana today.
For now, there was only one place that was safest.
The place where the headquarters of the military camp is staying.
That night the battle continued all night. The hellholes were tired of chasing me and Leah. It wasn’t until dawn the next day that the attacks of the hellholes stopped, and corpses formed a mountain in the military camp.
The corpse of a non-human monster.
It was a great victory that I hadn’t even expected. Cheers resounded throughout the military camp commemorating the victory.
It was also a voice praising the performance of Mr. Reynolds and me. I was released only at night, and I was listening to the priest’s explanation next to Lia, who was soundly asleep.
“I was just a little surprised. There is nothing wrong with the body itself.”
“Did you also examine the corpse in the black robe?”
The priest slipped away from my gaze and remained silent. Of course, it was a futile defiance.
“Don’t you know who I am? My sister was attacked, and the beast was probably… … .”
“The Dark Church is right.”
These were the words thrown by the middle-aged paladin who had removed the cloth covering the entrance of the tent. It was the paladin whose arm was broken while trying to escort me. And he’s the one I saved.
Upon hearing this, the priest stood up in amazement.
“Vice-captain! But that’s to say that the higher up should be careful about sharing information… … .”
“Hiding such important information from the victim and the hero of our camp? Even considering the relationship with the Empire in the future, this is impossible.”
As if there was no room for refutation, the priest’s head dropped. He seemed to want to tell me the truth.
The paladin who was called the ‘sub-captain’ let out a long sigh.
“Go out and see. I’ll tell you the rest.”
After the priest left the tent with a short nod, the vice-captain immediately bowed his head deeply.
“I apologize, Sir Ian. Being involved in a scandal in one’s home country… … .”
“Fine. Because I was the one who forced it.”
I quickly dissuaded him and said so. There were other things I wanted to hear more than that.
“First, tell me about the Dark Church. Isn’t that the most important thing?”
“Yes. I know. I will tell you right away.”
To summarize the information I heard from the vice-captain, it was as follows.
As expected, the black righteous people who had their faces ripped off were related to the Dark Church. As a result of the inspection by a priest dispatched from the Holy Kingdom, traces of forbidden magic were found.
I couldn’t figure out the detailed formula. However, looking at the original record, I could only guess that it had to do with the contract that received power from a demon in exchange for mind and body a long time ago.
Its meaning was as follows.
“Then, are you saying that those people in black were manipulated by the Dark Church?”
“Once upon a time it must have been. However, judging from the traces of magic, the general consensus is that it was already too late. Both mentally and physically, it had already been eroded to the root. So even if you live, you don’t live.”
My body and mind move according to the will of others.
You couldn’t call it alive. I might have been better off just killing him.
Even so, the discomfort that did not go away, I clicked my tongue and kicked it.
It was a somewhat rude act, but the vice-captain looked at him with understanding.
“It is a very subtle magic. It’s impossible to even detect unless you dissect the body.”
“Wouldn’t it be easy to hide the traces of magic that manipulates others?”
“Because it is a voluntary contract.”
The vice-captain continued his explanation in a bitter tone.
“Forcibly implanting and manipulating magic is obvious because the consciousness must be subdued. However, this spell only activates when the caster voluntarily agrees to the contract.”
“Are you talking about giving yourself body and soul?”
“Yes, it is. It is unknown what kind of manipulations were involved in the process, but… At least that’s what Seongguk found out.”
I swallowed a groan, sweeping my face away.
Everything the Dark Church did was unpleasant and gloomy. Inducing humans to sacrifice their bodies and minds, and then using them as discards.
It was after I heard all the information I could hear. A polite greeting flowed from my mouth.
“Anyway, you must have suffered a lot. They say there are few casualties, but the property damage must be enormous.”
Then, the vice-captain waved his hand and smiled. It’s like don’t worry.
“Surprisingly not. The monsters were thoroughly targeting humans, and they also collected many corpses of demons. If you sell it, it’s enough to make up for it… Oh! Sir Ian also deserves compensation according to his criminal record… … .”
“Fine. I just did what I had to do.”
“Heh heh, that’s troubling. I just heard something similar from Reynold-sama.”
The vice-captain stroked his chin, then slapped his palm as if he had come up with a good idea.
“Then, how about selling the stock to your sister’s business at a bargain price? There just aren’t many corps that can handle that amount of supplies, and since it’s like repaying the favor in the Holy Land, the face will stand.”
“Is that okay? I know that several guilds gathered to bid for the demon corpse… … .”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. Isn’t bidding always taking into account the possibility of failure?”
I pondered for a moment, then nodded my head obediently.
There was no reason for me to refuse to help my sister. Also, since the justification was clear, there would be no talk behind the scenes.
The person who had trouble with this decision was an unexpected person.
The next morning, a person from a certain company hurriedly visited me and politely put down a crystal ball. Then, the light of magical power began to drift, and a clear image began to emerge from there.
Real time communication magic.
The figure seen on the other side was a woman whose face he had seen some time ago.
“… … Nice to meet you, Sir Hatchet Stupid Fool.”
A silver-haired beauty with a shy expression.
Siene Alpenhauser senior.
The puzzle was coming together piece by piece.