Ch.118Chapter 118 – Heresy Verdict (1)

Thanks to the bandits, we were able to travel peacefully for five days.

We walked along the road, eating jerky and biscuits to avoid Christina’s porridge, without lacking much of anything.

“Mr. Kay, are you really feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

During our journey, I discovered something while examining my body.

“I think my poor complexion back then was because the aftermath of that battle was severe, making my body quite unstable.”

After that, having rested and consumed proper nutrition, I had no trouble moving my body.

I felt like I could even fight without much difficulty.

In fact, I was stronger than before, probably because I was now in a state of almost constantly using the red lightning.

To put it bluntly, even though I was supposedly terminally ill, my physical condition was such that no one would believe it.

“Still, please be careful.”

Christina cautioned me from beside me.

“According to Lady Beatrice’s analysis, you’re barely alive right now because you’re constantly maintaining that red lightning.”

She raised a finger as she approached me.

“If your condition worsens or you push yourself too hard, your body could deteriorate rapidly, beyond just getting worse—your life could be in danger.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Christina might seem overly worried, but the truth is, my body isn’t in a normal state.

I needed to be cautious, as she said.

I might look healthy and not be dying immediately, but in reality, my body could give out at any moment.

That’s my current condition.

“I can see it there.”

Beatrice said with barely concealed joy as she spotted the city gate ahead.

“Just a little further. Helmet will buy us a drink.”

“Why? Me?”

When she suddenly dragged me into it, I asked, and Beatrice answered with her chin slightly raised.

“I have too many debts to treat anyone.”

“But we got money from those bandits.”

“That’s for this big sister to pay off her debts.”

Beatrice licked her lips slightly, saying the profit was surprisingly good.

“I should use that trick more often.”

I got the feeling Beatrice would periodically go hunting for bandits as we passed through the guards at the gate.

Most of us had lost our identification, but fortunately, Sera had her Alchemist Association card in her possession, which allowed us to pass through without much difficulty.

“We’ve arrived! I miss beds!”

Beatrice shouted loudly.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people around, so no one gave her strange looks.

It seemed like it had snowed a little in the fortress while we were away; the ground was slightly frozen.

Looking at the sky, it was overcast, as if snow might fall at any moment.

“Our winter preparations won’t go to waste after all.”

“Indeed.”

I said that to Sera as we decided to head to the guild first.

We had left our belongings there since we’d be away for an extended period.

We also needed to get our identification cards reissued.

So we turned our steps toward the guild.

I helped Christina up after she slipped on the slightly frozen ground.

We walked through the quiet streets for a while.

We were almost at the guild entrance when it happened.

‘What’s this?’

I felt a gaze.

No.

I felt ‘gazes.’

Gazes that seemed to be looking at prey.

“Mr. Kay?”

“Yes?”

“Is there something over there?”

Sera asked with a slightly worried and frightened expression.

“No, nothing.”

I said to reassure her and opened the guild door to enter.

Perhaps because it was winter, there weren’t many people in the guild.

Accordingly, many staff members were absent, but there was one familiar face.

“Nina.”

“Ah!”

I approached the guild receptionist I hadn’t seen in a while to greet her.

She quickly looked around and then shouted loudly.

“It’s been a while, ‘Kai’!”

“Pardon?”

What is this woman saying?

“Um, my name is—”

“It’s Kai! Kai! I couldn’t possibly be mistaken!”

Nina came out from behind the counter, smiling as she took my hand.

Behind me, Sera’s expression darkened slightly, but I couldn’t focus on that right now.

“Um.”

“Ah, is it about losing all your party members’ guild cards in the dungeon? They’re already ready. Here!”

Nina pressed guild cards into my hand.

Somehow, there were five of them.

They had the names and ranks of myself, Beatrice, Sera, and Christina.

And one more.

‘What’s this?’

The name at the top read [Kai].

It was strange.

I was touching that name tag, noticing something odd, when:

“Hey, Kai!”

“Ah, Mr. Haven.”

Haven’s party emerged, perhaps from the tavern, smiling.

“Perfect timing. Let’s go for round two!”

“What?”

“Come on, we promised to drink together!”

“Um…”

At Haven’s words, Sera and Christina looked at me strangely.

And Beatrice narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Have you forgotten already?”

“Well…”

“Leader, how can you forget so easily? Your wife has a hard time because you keep forgetting things!”

Beatrice jumped into the conversation, agreeing with Haven’s words.

“Um, Ke—”

I saw Beatrice quickly cover Sera’s mouth as she tried to call my name.

And I caught Beatrice’s meaningful glance.

“Sorry. I forgot. Shall we go?”

I nodded to Haven and turned toward the door with my companions.

Looking back slightly, I saw Nina bowing.

“Well then, Nina. I’ll see you next time.”

“Yes, please be careful.”

Nina smiled as she saw me off.

I glanced at her slightly as I passed through the door.

Her face was full of concern.

“…”

I could tell that something ominous was happening.

+

And so, captured by Haven’s group, we headed deep into the alleys, turning corner after corner.

‘The gazes have decreased.’

Noticing that the gazes had clearly diminished, Haven pulled us into some tavern.

It was an underground establishment.

Opening the door, I looked around.

There were no customers inside.

No bartender either.

It was an empty tavern with only an impressive sign.

“Um.”

As Christina spoke nervously, Haven hastily waved his hand.

“Don’t worry, Miss Christina. We’re not enemies.”

“Enemies?”

At Haven’s gesture, Ravi and the other party members leaned against the doors and windows, keeping watch outside.

“What happened?”

“First, take this.”

I received a paper that Haven handed over.

And I had to resist the urge to tear it to pieces.

“These bastards…”

The paper was a statement—no, a wanted notice—issued by several religious orders, including the Emiris Order.

Essentially, only the Evgenia Order and the Hati Order were not involved.

“Adventurer Kay”

A paper with my name and rank.

A paper with my description.

“This person is recognized as a heretic and a bounty is placed on them.”

“They’re really determined to sink me.”

No wonder there were so many gazes.

Now I understood why Nina had acted strangely.

“The good news is that since you usually wear a helmet, your description isn’t very detailed.”

“But the hair color and height are quite accurate…”

Sera said, examining the wanted notice carefully.

“Winter is already a time when adventurers don’t go out much. And with this bounty…”

“Damn it.”

“Anyone with nothing better to do would be frantically searching for you.”

The bounty listed was enough to buy three houses.

Enough to afford a luxurious house in the capital.

“Talk about bad timing.”

I hadn’t expected them to declare me a heretic and put out a bounty so quickly.

Haven sighed and said:

“You were really lucky.”

“Why is that?”

“This just started circulating this morning.”

Beatrice nodded slightly at Haven’s words.

“It seems they’ve only just distributed it to places like the Adventurers’ Guild, Alchemists’ Association, and Merchants’ Guild.”

“That’s right. Ordinary citizens don’t know about it yet.”

That was fortunate, given how slowly news travels here.

“And since it’s a church bounty, the guards would have ignored it.”

“We were truly fortunate.”

Given the situation, things had changed.

We needed to leave the capital quickly.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Without you, we’d all have been killed by that dragon.”

Haven smiled and pointed to a spot in the tavern.

“If you touch that wall there, a secret passage will open. Escape through there.”

“What about you, Mr. Haven?”

“We’ll pretend to drink here and then pass out. To confuse anyone who comes after you.”

“That’s dangerous…”

“Not as dangerous as your situation.”

Haven said that and then patted my back.

“Just go.”

“Oh, this!”

Ravi, as if suddenly remembering, pulled out a hooded cloak from his chest and threw it.

“It’s better than nothing!”

“Thank you.”

I quickly put on the hood.

Seeing this, Haven and Ravi nodded.

“It reminds me of when we first met.”

“Does it?”

“Compared to then, your face has improved a lot. We should have had a drink to celebrate.”

“That’s right, Leader.”

Haven and Ravi spoke with regret.

Meanwhile, Sera and Christina seemed to have opened the secret passage.

“Mr. Kay.”

“Well then.”

I greeted Haven and turned toward the secret passage.

“Make sure you escape safely.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s really drink together next time.”

“Yes.”

“You seem more relaxed now compared to then, so it should be fine.”

“Take care, sir.”

Haven, Ravi, and his party members each said a word.

It’s not like we’ll never see each other again, but it feels like we’re saying goodbye, which makes me a bit melancholic.

“Stay well.”

With that, I turned and left the building through the secret passage.

+

I could feel the gazes concentrated on that tavern from earlier.

‘So all those are gazes trying to catch us.’

“Will they be alright?”

“They’ll be fine.”

Surely they wouldn’t harm innocent Haven.

He must have hidden us because he could handle it.

I had to believe that as we moved.

“First, where should we go?”

“Which gate is closest?”

As I asked to determine our direction, Christina exclaimed:

“The eastern one from here!”

“This way!”

We quickly began moving toward the eastern gate.

We passed through alleys and reached a main road, following it rapidly.

Since the area in front of the gate would inevitably have a main road, it was impossible to keep moving through alleys.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people around, and earlier they had said that the royal knights weren’t interested in church bounties, so we should be able to pass through easily.

Before anyone could recognize us, quickly…

“Wait. Stop right there.”

At the sudden voice, I slowly turned my head.

And an unexpected person was looking at us.

“Lady Diana?”

“Yes. It’s you. Thank goodness.”

Diana approached us.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Why are you here?”

“First, I came to report that the dragon has been slain. I just arrived.”

I frowned slightly at Diana’s words.

“You mean it was slain?”

“Idea. That man finally caught it.”

She didn’t seem to be lying.

Indeed, that platinum-haired man showed no signs of struggling against the dragon.

If it was about capturing an injured and weakened dragon, it was certainly possible.

“By the way, where are you all going?”

“Well…”

As I was wondering how to explain, Christina spoke up:

“Actually, a ridiculous accusation has been made against our benefactor…”

“I suppose the Emiris Order has branded him a heretic?”

“Along with several other orders.”

Diana nodded gravely at Christina’s words.

She seemed to be conflicted about something.

Soon, she spoke:

“You’ve been through so much.”

“Yes.”

“You shouldn’t go to that gate now. Follow me this way.”

Diana began to lead the way.

We quickly followed her.

After thinking for a moment, Diana spoke again:

“As expected, the Emiris Order’s influence has spread to other orders.”

“Why is that?”

“Simply put, it’s a matter of power and scale.”

Since that order seemed to be the most powerful church in this world, it sounded like others were being cautious around them.

“Next, it’s because of the Holy Maiden’s divine power.”

“Divine power?”

“After you left, I learned that the current Emiris Order’s Holy Maiden has divine power far superior to the holy maidens from other orders.”

Diana paused briefly to catch her breath.

“Similarly, Aria, who also holds the position of Holy Maiden, possesses a holy relic, so she’s not inferior in authority, but other orders don’t have personnel of that caliber to put forward. In reality, only the Jeolei Order and the Hati Order are somewhat less cautious.”

“Is divine power that important?”

“Yes. It’s seen as a symbol of how connected one is to God, how deep one’s faith is, and how much one is loved by God.”

Diana took another breath.

“So, once a Holy Maiden brands someone a heretic, it’s almost impossible to reverse.”

“That’s…”

“When the person with the strongest divine power directly claims someone is a heretic, it gains credibility. That’s the argument.”

Looking at Christina, I saw her nodding cautiously.

It seemed this was common knowledge to people of the orders here, though I wasn’t familiar with it.

“Unless the Holy Maiden herself revokes it, or someone with even stronger divine power appears… anyway, it’s unlikely that the heretic label can be removed.”

“Damn it.”

“Don’t curse. The effect only applies among the orders; it doesn’t extend to the royal family.”

Diana said this as if to reassure us.

“Well… except for those in the royal family who are influenced by the orders, of course.”

I nodded at Diana’s words.

Even if they can’t directly influence, there might be indirect connections or behind-the-scenes links.

“In any case, we need to leave this place.”

The capital is quite large, but if the orders keep searching, we’ll eventually be found, and even if we’re careful, we’ll just starve to death.

We can’t hide here forever.

“But there’s one problem.”

Diana spoke to us:

“Outside that gate, there are bounty hunters and holy knights sent by the orders waiting in formation, so it’ll be difficult to escape.”

“Then…”

“If we go this way, there’s a sewer used by the capital.”

Diana said with a small smile:

“If you go through there, you should be able to escape safely.”

Christina smiled happily and tried to take Diana’s hand.

And I quickly grabbed Christina’s hand, pulling her away from Diana.

“Benefactor?”

“Lady Diana, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

Diana answered nonchalantly.

“You said you just arrived, right?”

“Yes. I just arrived and was resting inside for a moment.”

I carefully moved my companions back.

Sera and Beatrice seemed to sense something was off and followed obediently.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Lady Diana.”

Only Christina, not sensing anything suspicious, remained with an ambiguous attitude.

“Um, well…”

“The information about my bounty was distributed by the orders just this morning, I hear.”

Diana’s eyes widened slightly.

Then she gave a small smile.

“I thought you were going along naturally, but I guess not.”

“I’m sorry, but I noticed something was off from that point.”

That’s when I felt suspicious.

And Diana said with a small smile:

“Yes. As you say, I knew in advance that you would be designated a heretic.”

“Could it be…”

As I was about to take a combat stance, Diana raised both arms.

“Don’t misunderstand. Princess Liriel obtained such intelligence and informed me.”

“…”

“Why would I betray you? It makes more sense to trust you than Somnus.”

Diana lowered her arms and continued:

“Somnus did propose a deal, asking me to help him.”

“A deal?”

As Beatrice growled, Diana nodded slightly.

“My daughter and granddaughter. The former Holy Maiden and her daughter are alive, and if I wanted to know their whereabouts, I should cooperate—that kind of deal.”

“That’s…”

“Honestly, I admit I was very tempted.”

Diana said this.

“But it’s Somnus. He’s not someone to be trusted carelessly.”

She added that she had refused.

Her voice trembled slightly, suggesting she had struggled internally with the decision.

“After that, hearing Princess Liriel’s intelligence, I tested you a bit in my own way. I apologize.”

I felt relieved at Diana’s apology.

I could imagine that especially Christina would have been sad if she thought we had been betrayed by an acquaintance.

Indeed, Christina was currently showing great relief.

“I’ll continue guiding you. Follow me.”

And as we turned a corner with her, that’s when it happened.

Several knights were standing there.

“Damn it.”

Diana muttered as if dismayed.

“Are they the First Prince’s faction?”

Diana growled, looking at the knights ahead.

“Could it be…”

“As I mentioned earlier, they’re the ones touched by the Emiris Order’s hand.”

At her words, Beatrice’s eyes lit up slightly.

And Diana took a step forward.

“At this rate, the sewer is already occupied.”

It seemed the escape route Diana had prepared was no longer usable.

Since knights were blocking our path from the start, that judgment didn’t seem wrong.

“As expected. You didn’t trust me from the beginning.”

“Lady Diana?”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Diana stood in front of us protectively.

“Don’t think about helping me fight; just focus on escaping.”

“But—”

“No. If we delay even a little, they’ll swarm in like a pack of dogs.”

As the knights began to charge, Diana stood in front of us with her spear.

“Escape somehow.”

Christina seemed reluctant to flee, so I quickly pulled her along.

As we turned the corner, I heard the clash of weapons.

“Are enemies everywhere?”

It seemed the enemy was planning to use overwhelming numbers.

And then:

“There they are!”

“Capture the heretic!!”

Holy knights from the Emiris Order, perhaps already searching, began to emerge from the alleys one by one.

As Diana had warned, enemies soon began to gather from all around.

“Damn it.”

I changed my weapon to a halberd and charged toward them.