Good Friends (13)

One day to bring incident records from the capital church archives. A week to find and compare incidents matching the victims’ testimonies in the countryside. And the first trial that took place after another week had passed.

Ashuria thought it was fortunate that the Demon King’s army hadn’t shown much movement during this time. If there had been even slightly suspicious movements, they would have had to return to the front lines, and then she wouldn’t have been able to see this trial.

“That day, the whole family came out to the field. We were going to have lunch in the empty field because all we had to do was thresh the remaining wheat and move it to the storehouse. I remember the day was particularly clear, and because my husband loved sandwiches, I packed lunch boxes diligently.”

The woman who stood at the witness stand had demon body parts transplanted onto her arms and legs. Her arms were distorted into grotesque shapes, and her legs were much longer than other people’s, so she had to sit at the witness stand to speak.

Among those who came to the courtroom, some seemed to have come to see the witnesses’ bizarre appearances, as there were people whispering while looking at the victims. The woman continued speaking, regardless of their looks.

“When we filled the cart with wheat, suddenly soldiers swarmed in. People wearing clothes with church marks suddenly barged in, grabbed my husband by the collar, and shouted like this: ‘Filthy devil worshipper. You and your family will be investigated from now on.'”

She was panting as she spoke. Her eyes were red, and her chest moved steeply. Her panting was mixed with crying, making it difficult to speak properly. The elderly priest was looking at the air with an indifferent face. This time seemed to feel less valuable to him than mass time.

“And the soldiers dragged us away. They broke my arm and beat me, trying to extract evidence that I had worshipped the devil. They tried to persuade me, saying that if I just nodded, everything would be easier. So confess your sins obediently.”

Ashuria covered her face with trembling hands. Wearing a nun’s habit, she was drawing people’s attention even from the gallery. But the reason she couldn’t raise her head now wasn’t because of people’s gazes.

“My husband said he had done wrong and begged them to at least spare me and the children, saying he would sign the papers.”

Where had she heard a story like this before?

Ashuria had clearly heard a similar story somewhere. When she had just started her role as a heresy inquisitor, there was definitely such an incident. An execution platform piled high with oil-soaked torches and firewood. The man was tied up with a resigned face, sentenced to be burned at the stake, and sparks were scorching the ground.

People who seemed to be family members grabbed Ashuria’s skirt, crying, and said:

Please save him. Please save him.

If you save my husband, I’ll do anything. He’s innocent. He knows nothing.

Ashuria couldn’t move forward because they were pulling on her clothes.

So she forcibly shook off their hands and moved forward.

Screams could be heard from behind.

“They didn’t listen no matter how much I begged.”

The woman’s resentful voice brought Ashuria back to reality.

Her fingertips were trembling white. All the deeds she had done, intoxicated by righteousness, had become karma weighing her down. How proud she had been of herself as a heresy inquisitor, believing that violence was the only true guidance and love.

She had believed without doubt that the history of violence and killing done by her hands would touch a corner of the holy war.

“They executed my husband after driving me and the children away. No one would listen even when I said it was unjust. Our house suddenly had the lord’s flag in it, and rumors spread in the village that our family was evil devil worshippers.”

The woman was a strong human being. Even though her arms and legs had changed into demon parts, even as she recited the atrocities she had experienced on the church platform that had killed her family, she suppressed her emotions. With tears streaming down and her voice trembling, the woman who finally finished her story nodded and said:

“That’s all.”

And as she went down the stairs, she finally couldn’t hold back her tears, collapsed, and began to cry bitterly.

The crying continued for a long time. Ashuria wanted to rush out of her seat immediately, but she didn’t. The reason she was here was to face her sins. As Lena had said, it was to look straight at her sins, to properly reflect on and apologize for the things she had done.

There were no longer any spectators who looked at the woman’s appearance as strange or ridiculous. There were only those who sympathized with the sorrow created by one human being, bowing their heads or shedding tears along with her.

In the sad and gloomy atmosphere, only the old priest and the investigator’s expressions remained unchanged. The investigator stood up and said:

“After examining the records of this case and the accounting ledgers of the domain at the time, we found that the local church had a considerably large debt at the time. And this debt was paid off by the local lord after the execution of this case was carried out. The entire property of the farmer judged to be a devil follower was transferred to the domain’s property, and rent is still being collected to this day.”

The woman barely managed to move her difficult steps to the waiting room. There were still many converts waiting to testify.

The investigator continued to recite the investigation results, moving his gaze following the woman’s figure.

“Moreover, we confirmed that Villager A, who testified as an eyewitness in this case, was employed as a tenant farmer manager under the local lord and is living with generous compensation. Also, we found that the heresy inquisitor who arrived in the region when the trial was held was related to the lord. The object of devil worship submitted as decisive evidence at the time was not sent to the capital church according to the rules but was destroyed on the spot, and we confirmed that no separate purification work was carried out despite it being a domain where a devil worshipper was present.”

With each word from the investigator, more and more people pointed fingers or shook their heads. Some people were crying as the trust they had built in the church crumbled, and some just kept sighing and closed their eyes.

Amidst all this, Ashuria looked at the old priest with her head held high. She knew that priest. He was a priest who had been a parish head in a local church and was spending his later years teaching orphans in the capital.

The investigator said:

“Priest. You were the parish head of this local church at the time. Do you admit that there were inadequacies and suspicious points in the case?”

The old priest rolled his eyes. Looking at the investigator with eyes like a fish soaked in water, the priest shook his head and said:

“I don’t remember.”

“Priest. You have a duty to answer sincerely. On what grounds did you not carry out purification work at the time? And what was the reason for bringing in a heresy inquisitor who was related to the lord for this trial?”

“I don’t remember. I don’t know about it.”

At the priest’s parrot-like answers, curses flew from all directions. Some people were throwing things, and some were trying to get up and drag the priest down. Ashuria was watching the scene in the courtroom with a strange expression that was neither angry nor disappointed.

If the hero or other party members were here, she would have asked them to hold her hand. But the only one here was Ashuria alone. It was because she had asked to watch the trial by herself.

Because if someone hugged her, she felt like her heart would crumble, using that warmth as an excuse.

Because in a space where harsh whipping and reflection should continue, she felt she would become a pitiful and cowardly person wanting sympathy and comfort.

“You worked as a heresy inquisitor at the time. Is that correct?”

The trial was continuing.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The person who stood up this time was a face Ashuria knew. He was a person from a local noble family who was said to have dedicated himself to society and the church as a heresy inquisitor. He had a smooth face like a valley stone that had weathered many years.

“Were you unaware that your relative would gain vested interests in this case?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Does it make sense that you didn’t know what your relative was doing and where?”

“I was busy, so I didn’t know.”

He too repeated similar words. Every time this happened, Ashuria felt strange. This was neither anger nor sadness.

It felt like watching a friend who had been playing with your toy suddenly throw a tantrum claiming the toy was theirs.

Like facing a friend you had trusted shamelessly behaving in front of money.

“Priest. Then, why wasn’t purification work carried out here? What was the basis for your judgment? Why didn’t you even follow the basic manual?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Heresy inquisitor. Have you ever privately employed criminals to silence the victims even after this incident?”

“I don’t remember.”

Please save him. My husband is innocent.

You are the only one who doesn’t know he’s a sinner. Accept the sinner’s end and atone for the rest of your life.

This can’t be! There must be some mistake!

The church’s investigation is absolute and fair.

“…I’m… sorry.”

Ashuria’s lips trembled. Tears welled up, and her shoulders shook. If her companions hadn’t encouraged her, she would have broken down here.

“Priest. There are records of several meetings with the lord a month before this incident occurred. What did you discuss?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Why did the lord pay off the church’s debt? Why did that debt arise in the first place?”

“I don’t remember.”

The justice she had believed in and relied on was, in the end, a being that became infinitely weak and shameful in the face of private interests.

The bare face she had never tried to see before made her feel disgusted.

Disgust rising even amidst sadness and self-contempt.

Ashuria wiped her tears and stood up.

She was disgusted by the priest repeating that he didn’t remember. The heresy inquisitor nodding as if it was natural, the high priests making wronged expressions as if the priest was innocent, all of them were disgusting.

And she hated herself so much for having joined them without knowing their disgusting aspects until now.

“That’s…”

As she stood up, silence fell over the gallery. Even the investigator who had been fiercely pressing the priest was taken aback and closed his mouth.

“Sister Ashuria. We’re in the middle of a trial. Please sit down.”

She didn’t listen to those words. One step forward. One step. She began to move forward, pushing through the chairs. Neither the old priest nor the investigator understood her movement, and Ashuria stepped into the sacred courtroom.

“W-wait…!”

The investigator opened his mouth in surprise, and the old priest’s eyes widened.

Ashuria twisted her waist greatly and threw a punch.

The old priest couldn’t even react to the incoming fist and just gaped, and the fist pressed deeply into the old priest’s face as if hitting a sandbag. His face was crushed like kneading meat dough, and the priest’s body bounced towards the wall.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“T-trial suspended! Trial suspended!”

Amidst the commotion, the stained glass shattered and collapsed. Priests who were hit by sharp fragments screamed, and Ashuria broke off the necklace she was wearing.

The cross dangled upside down.

Ashuria knelt once again before the converts who were watching the situation from the waiting room.

And with her head bowed, she began to offer a prayer of atonement.

Thud.

The cross fell to the floor.