Ch.138So····cializing?

    In truth, completely eradicating the influence of cultists from society is nearly impossible.

    Because… these cultists are essentially vanguards planted on earth by transcendent beings who deliberately use all sorts of bizarre methods to exert their influence.

    If they don’t act out first and live quietly in hiding, there’s virtually no way to distinguish them from ordinary people.

    Unless there’s a severe mutation, it’s impossible to visually differentiate between an average citizen and an ordinary cultist. The only existing method of identification is through the cult detection magic used by the pantheon priests.

    However, casting this cult detection spell on someone is tantamount to openly declaring suspicion, and while a powerless civilian might accept it, forcing it upon another person of power is itself a bundle of political risks.

    Especially since many high-ranking cultists have developed their own evasion methods against this magic, meaning that no matter how intensely one focuses on rooting out cultists, some will inevitably slip through the cracks.

    It’s no wonder that many hardline inquisitors apply collective punishment to captured cultists, burning entire groups.

    ‘To protect 10,000 innocent people, we sacrifice 99 innocent souls and one cultist.’

    This creed of hardline inquisitors has become firmly established, and what makes it more vicious is that it actually produces results based on databases formed through years of burning people.

    In reality, when a confirmed cultist and their acquaintances are burned, it’s common to find that their family and friends have also been tainted.

    Even with such extreme measures, these cultists keep reappearing from somewhere like cockroaches. Strictly speaking, there’s nothing strange about finding traces of cultist activity that appears to be the work of someone inside the village.

    The possibility that cultists have infiltrated our village in some form is extremely high in the current situation, and it’s quite common in cities for them to be discovered while clumsily plotting something.

    Contrary to public perception, most cult groups are either at the level of mere hobby clubs or have chaotic internal organizations. In reality, only about 0.01% of cultists’ plans ever come to fruition.

    Subordinate rebellion, organizational betrayal, cutting loose ends, reporting the organization to eliminate competitors, simple carelessness, interference from other cult groups, and so on…

    Even within the same organization, conflict and betrayal have become everyday occurrences in typical cult groups, so it wasn’t surprising that their plans were discovered before they could be properly executed.

    Anyway, as I rushed to the scene where these traces were found, I simultaneously demanded an explanation from Pierre about this incident.

    “Explain, Pierre.”

    “Yes! I’ll tell you everything!”

    Fortunately, he faithfully followed my instructions and kindly explained the circumstances of this incident as he knew them.

    According to Pierre, these “cultist traces” were a magic circle drawn in blood on the floor and several tools scattered around the area.

    It was discovered by a farmer who was heading to work at the village’s communal slaughterhouse, located in a somewhat secluded area. Recognizing it immediately as cultist activity and knowing he would be a prime suspect, he voluntarily reported it.

    “…Is the farmer innocent?”

    “Yes. The examination proved his innocence. Priestess Joanna said that holy water had no effect on him, and magic showed no reaction…”

    “Hmm, that does seem conclusive.”

    Although there are methods to deceive such cultist detection tests, they’re certainly not universally accessible to just anyone.

    The very fact that these detection methods are still in use today proves that this deceptive ability is not common even among cultists.

    Especially the holy water test, which checks for physical reactions that can’t be hidden. This means that low-level cultists absolutely cannot evade both the detection magic and the holy water test simultaneously.

    “…It seems he truly is innocent.”

    After briefly considering and moving the man to the edge of the suspect list, I arrived at the scene where the blood-drawn magic circle was located—

    “You’ve arrived, Lord Alzar.”

    “Ah, Priestess Joanna.”

    Upon finally reaching the scene, we met Priestess Joanna who had arrived earlier and was controlling the crowd. Only after confirming our innocence through the two cultist detection methods were we allowed to enter the site.

    ※ ※ ※

    The first thing I witnessed at the scene was a magic circle drawn with blood that had already begun to turn brownish with age.

    ‘…Hmm.’

    The magic circle consisted of two circles of different sizes and a pentagram, with text written in a language unknown even to me between the two circles.

    Additionally, small pebbles drawn with ink were placed throughout the scene, presumably marking the positions of objects that were there when it was discovered.

    ‘…This is quite elaborate.’

    If this were anywhere else in the world, I might think differently, but when it comes to cult-related matters, they’re not only suspiciously steeped in madness but truly transcend eras. As I was taking in this scene with my own eyes…

    “…Ah, Lord Alzar. You’ve arrived?”

    “Yes, Lord Corin. Given the nature of this incident.”

    I encountered Corin, who had apparently been leading the investigation as he had some experience as a field investigator in cult-related cases.

    Recently, he had begun showing some progress in chimera training, but at the cost of appearing extremely tired. Even in this investigation, he clearly wasn’t in the best condition.

    Honestly, bothering him when he already looked so exhausted pained my conscience, but even if Corin were to collapse from overwork, cult issues must be resolved without fail.

    And since Corin himself was ignoring his fatigue to focus on the investigation, instead of expressing concern, I immediately began discussing the matter at hand.

    “Lord Corin, has anything been discovered?”

    “Discovered… you ask?”

    “Yes. Evidence from the scene, or perhaps suspects identified from such evidence?”

    After I spoke, he began calmly explaining the investigation results to me, suggesting that some aspects of the investigation had been completed.

    “Well, we found a knife at the scene.”

    “A knife… Has the owner been identified?”

    “It’s been determined to belong to a farmer living nearby, but he claims to have lost it a few days ago…”

    “…Is he lying?”

    “Everyone in the vicinity consistently corroborates his story. Nothing was detected in the ‘tests’ either, so for now, it seems the farmer is not the culprit.”

    I admired his textbook investigation methods while examining the confiscated knife, and then brought up a few additional considerations.

    “What about the nearby residents?”

    “The investigation is ongoing, but nothing has been determined yet. We’re planning to examine everyone in the village as a precaution, and that process is currently underway.”

    “…I see. Please continue with that.”

    And as I concluded our conversation and gazed at the blood-drawn magic circle for a moment.

    I felt a strong sense of what could only be called incongruity.

    Thinking about it, something was off. While I might have been overly focused due to the cult-related nature of the problem, the more I considered the situation, the more inconsistencies began to emerge.

    First, my intuition, which almost always reacts to major issues like cult activities, showed no movement whatsoever.

    Of course, intuition isn’t infallible and might not react if there’s no immediate threat, but it’s certainly strange that there wasn’t even the slightest reaction despite what appears to be a cultist ritual having taken place.

    If cult forces were operating in the village, my intuition should be ringing alarm bells, and this would be true even if it were a lone perpetrator.

    My heightened sensitivity combined with enhanced intuition has long been overpowered for what might be considered normal abilities, so I would likely detect such a major issue in advance with high probability.

    But beyond this somewhat vague reason of my intuition not reacting beforehand, there was another reason why I truly questioned this matter.

    ‘…Oh.’

    Specifically, this magic circle didn’t emit the unpleasant aura typical of cultist work, and furthermore, the drawing of the circle itself seemed somewhat amateurish.

    In short, I was beginning to doubt whether this truly had any connection to cultist activity at all.


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