I’ll Have to Check This Myself.

“If you’re the person Archbishop mentioned, I have no reason to lay hands on you either.”

Oh my, it seems this person is likely the promised partner the Archbishop mentioned.

In my current mercenary status, he’s a figure I’ll have to rely on in the future.

In fact, I’ve essentially committed an act equivalent to swinging a sword at such a collaborator.

‘It seems I’ve made a mistake.’

Let’s apologize first.

Having made that judgment, Celia removed her hand from the handle and immediately bowed her head before him.

“Oh my, my hand moved without me realizing. I apologize for my rudeness.”

At least outwardly, it should be an acceptable apology.

The man who engraved that sight in his eyes said while pushing up his glasses.

“No, it’s my fault for speaking from behind. Let me express my sincere gratitude to you for giving me an opportunity to reflect on my own conduct.”

Fortunately, the other party was taking an attitude of not minding such rudeness.

Seeing that he even considers it his own fault, it seemed that despite his tired impression, his attitude as a religious person was thorough.

“…However.”

Yes, if it hadn’t crossed a certain line of tolerance.

“That just now was quite vicious for a counterattack out of surprise. I think it would be good to be careful with your conduct in case you use it on others.”

Was it too strong for a check?

Celia smiled ambiguously and apologized again at his words as he pushed up his glasses.

“I’m sorry. Actually, I’ve been practicing a technique recently, and it’s become second nature, so my hand moved without me realizing.”

“A technique, you say?”

“Yes~ It’s a technique I learned while training in the outer continent.”

Thinking that talking about her interests might help improve relations, Celia slightly raised her scabbard.

“It’s a technique called Battojutsu, where you use the force amplified by the friction when drawing the sword from the scabbard like this to cut down the target in an instant.”

“…Force is amplified by friction?”

“I think you experienced firsthand how effective this swordsmanship is, given the power you just felt.”

Celia expressed pride in her technique with a confident smile.

The man who heard that question frowned and tilted his head slightly to the side.

As if he didn’t understand what she just said.

“It’s certainly a powerful strike, but there’s an error in the part about force being amplified by friction.”

“What? An error, what do you mean?”

“Well, friction itself contains the meaning of ‘resistance’. Resisting the applied force… That means weakening the force, so it’s impossible for power to be amplified by friction.”

“…Hmm.”

“You seem to believe that this technique called Battojutsu amplifies power, but from my perspective, it seems that the act of Battojutsu rather weakened the power of your sword…”

The man derives results based on knowledge without a hint of wavering.

Celia’s gaze, sweating coldly, gradually began to move to his side.

“I-I don’t know about such difficult things.”

“…Difficult, you mean friction?”

“You can live just fine without knowing such things! What’s important is romance, romance!”

“Ah, yes. Romance… you say?”

Although he answered as if he understood, for some reason, a strange pity was felt in his eyes as he pushed up his glasses.

At the moment when her body began to tremble due to feeling unnecessarily intimidated.

For Celia, who lacked aptitude for arguments, it was an extremely frustrating situation.

‘Anyway, young people these days study too much. In my time, except when I was carrying that child, I never let go of my sword…’

Grumbling. Celia muttered while pouting her lips.

How much time had passed after that?

Having barely composed herself, she faced the man in front of her again, maintaining a serious atmosphere.

“By the way, hearing your words now, I can roughly guess your identity.”

“Guess, what do you mean?”

“Usually, religious people rather build walls against specialized knowledge like friction.”

“Ah, yes. Special… specialized, you say?”

Although she was ignorant of science, since her entire family had been at odds with religious groups like Lagrid, she couldn’t help but know even if she disliked it.

Religious people basically stay away from academics.

Rather, for them, all things are thought to have meaning only as they are in nature.

Trying to delve into that completeness is essentially no different from rebelling against God.

If there are people capable of such things, they would be those who follow relatively purpose-driven studies like medicine.

“Yet, if you don’t feel much hesitation in mentioning such knowledge… Yes, it means you’re an ‘Inquisitor’, right?”

Inquisitor.

A group that, despite needing to prioritize faith over knowledge, is allowed to learn heretical knowledge to punish heretics.

As a status allowed to possess forbidden knowledge as a means of countering external forces, it was entirely possible for a clergyman to be knowledgeable.

“…Please omit the ‘heretic’ part.”

But the man couldn’t hide his displeasure at that title.

“Since 5 years ago, our order no longer defines other orders as heretics, and rather seeks to promote peace with them. The activities of inquisitors like myself are now focused solely on punishing forces that directly threaten the order, or those who commit apostasy without going through procedures, rather than punishing heretics.”

“In other words, you no longer antagonize other religions, is that right?”

“We intend to have minimal consideration and respect for any culture or ideology, not just religion. As long as they respect our doctrines.”

After continuing that far.

Soon, the man said while taking a proper posture and pushing up his glasses.

“I’m late with introductions. I am an inquisitor active in the Maris branch of the Lagrid Order and hold the position of bishop, my baptismal name given by the order is ‘Joseph’.”

Bishop.

In the hierarchy of the Lagrid Order, it’s the position just below the Archbishop.

If there are high-ranking clergy called priests above the general believers, he could be said to be the leader who practically guides the believers above them.

‘In other words, he’s in a position to command all the inquisitors of Lagrid settled in this Maris.’

Essentially the leader of the inquisitors.

The moment she realized this, she felt her hand, which had been lowered, twitch.

‘Should I just kill him here?’

That thought couldn’t help but occur.

The Lagrid Order branded her, who suffered from a disability, as cursed, but it was none other than the inquisitors who arrested her husband who tried to save her.

The person in front of her was essentially no different from a descendant of her enemy.

Should she, who still harbors resentment for that time, show mercy?

“Nice to meet you, Joseph. I’m Setsuha, a mercenary who came as an envoy of Bertayu.”

The answer she arrived at after deliberation was ‘let’s observe for now’.

No matter how much grudge she holds, she’s in a position where she needs to hide her identity due to personal business.

For the sake of not worrying her beloved husband, she would have to observe for now.

‘I wonder what our daughter thinks of inquisitors.’

Above all, wouldn’t it be good to create as many potential son-in-laws as possible for her daughter’s sake?

---

“Achoo!”

“…Are you alright?”

“Ah yes, it’s just a light sneeze, no need to worry.”

My nose suddenly got itchy, did someone talk about me?

-Tap tap tap.

No, it’s because the night air has gotten cold again.

As a cold sensation hit me while roaming the dark streets, my gaze naturally turned towards the sky.

It seemed to have just stopped, but is it going to pour again?

“It looks like it’s going to rain, is it still far?”

“We’re almost there. This way…”

Eventually, following the Saint, we arrived at a house located in the residential area of Maris.

Although it’s close to Haide’s temple that I visited before, the atmosphere was almost the opposite.

Unlike that place which felt grand for serving God, the place we actually arrived at didn’t show anything special at all.

“Is this where the person you mentioned earlier is?”

“Yes, for now I’ve accommodated her in my residence.”

“…Residence? Is this where you live, Sepin-san?”

“To know the world, one must stay in various places.”

Huhu, the Saint turns to me with a faint smile.

It was an expression that could never be made if one felt aversion to where they stayed.

Well, most people who awaken divine power tend to prefer a simple life.

The radical NPC’s of Lagrid I saw in the game were deluded by vanity, mistaking God’s glory for their own power, but… In the current era, such guys are rather ostracized, so I don’t need to worry about them.

“Vincent, I’m sorry to ask this when it looks like it might rain, but could you please watch outside?”

“I will follow your order, Saint.”

Then, before entering the residence, Vincent, who had been guarding the rear, answered the Saint’s words and took his position in front of the entrance.

Seeing that there was no change in how they addressed each other, it seemed they maintained formality even in private settings.

Of course, since the basic mindset of religious people is that God watches from everywhere, they probably don’t distinguish between public and private matters.

Our Cle doesn’t have eyes so I’m not sure…

-Arf!

Ah, come to think of it, did I bring this pup too?

“Mr. Vincent. Could I ask you to take care of Gaechu for a moment?”

“…Gaechu?”

“Yes, Gaechu please.”

“Oh, um. Alright.”

Although he looked confused, Vincent eventually accepted Gaechu into his arms.

After that, following the Saint into the building, the Saint raised a match to light a lantern leaning near the entrance.

“Since we’ve almost arrived, I’ll ask again.”

I carefully asked while watching this.

“You said you wanted to resolve the grievance of the person who came to the confessional, right?”

-Fizzle.

The Saint turned to look at me after lighting the lantern.

She seemed cautious about opening her mouth, just as she had maintained silence on the way here, but in the end, it was only a matter of time.

Calling me here essentially means that my help, as the only doctor in this vast city, is desperately needed.

“As a religious person yourself, Seine-sensei, you probably know that according to the rules of the confessional, neither the one hearing the confession nor the one confessing can face each other.”

Soon, the Saint began her story.

“But I could tell just by hearing the voice. That the person who visited the confessional at that time was not acknowledging their sin, but someone in an unjust situation.”

“…You mean about becoming pregnant while being a virgin?”

“Yes.”

The Saint nodded and closed her eyes while holding her breath.

As if recalling the words she heard at that time.

‘Saint, I swear I have never had relations with a man in my life. Nevertheless, for some reason, my belly has been swelling more and more, and now it has become so heavy that even walking is difficult.’

‘I couldn’t understand why this was happening. Even if I were to tell those around me something I myself can hardly believe, they probably wouldn’t listen. Saint, please give me an answer. What should I do from now on?’

“…Have you accommodated that person in this residence?”

“Yes, although it was late, she looked so desperate that I couldn’t bring myself to turn her away. No, rather, she seemed afraid to even leave the confessional.”

Is it that you called me to understand the detailed cause because she looked so wronged?

Although I understood the situation belatedly, coincidentally, I couldn’t give the answer the Saint wanted based on just this conversation.

“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but it’s still hard to believe. Claiming to be pregnant without having had relations.”

“Do you think it’s impossible?”

“Yes, at least as far as I know, there are no medical cases of conceiving a child without having relations.”

Even though sexual knowledge falls under the category of medicine, the act itself belongs to the realm of instinct possessed by living beings.

Therefore, I couldn’t help but think that the person who came to her was either lying or had relations without realizing it.

“The person who visited me in the confessional was a believer of Lagrid.”

Of course, there are cases where the stomach swells due to illness, but the following words completely ruled out such possibilities.

“…A religious person?”

“Yes, and that person who claimed innocence showed me the use of divine power while praying to the god they serve in front of me.”

Divine power.

A power that can only be grasped by those who clearly follow their own values and conscience, and whose faith towards God is desperate.

“…I’ll have to check this myself.”

Just by the fact that she used that power, I had no choice but to consider the possibility that this incredible claim might be ‘true’.

Having divine power means having strong resistance to most symptoms that occur postnatally.

Such power cannot be grasped if one is not upright to oneself…

For example, it’s a power that cannot be grasped by those who repeat lies for selfishness.

“It’s here.”

We finally arrived at a room located deep on the second floor of the residence.

The Saint soon pointed a key at the entrance door, preparing to unlock it.

As if there was something to hide even in a residence where she was staying comfortably.