Ch.148Chapter 148 – Eyewitness Account

A few hours after Beatrice and I returned to the inn, the rest of our party had all woken up.

Of course, everyone except Eve looked tired and in poor condition, but since we had agreed to leave early, no one complained.

Several hours after leaving the village early in the morning, we stopped the carriage to eat lunch when it was almost noon.

“Now, let me share the information I’ve gathered.”

Despite having driven the carriage since early morning when she should have been sleepy, Eve showed no signs of fatigue as she looked around at us and spoke.

“First, Count Metis is apparently conducting a large-scale expulsion of Emiris Order members.”

“The Order?”

When I expressed my surprise, Eve nodded.

“He doesn’t seem like someone who would do that without reason.”

“From what I heard, a priest who visited the Count’s residence behaved rudely and insulted the Count’s family.”

“Insulted the Count’s family?”

There are many ways to commit suicide, but insulting a noble?

And not just any noble, but a Count?

As I asked with some surprise, Eve nodded.

“Whether the insult was real or not, I’m not sure which rumor is true—that the Count personally beheaded the priest on the spot, or that he was beaten by the servants.”

Based on the circulating rumors, it seemed they probably just beat him up and drove him away, but the information itself appeared to be mixed.

“Will you be alright?”

“Probably.”

Though Eve said this, her face was somewhat dark.

‘It must be because of Eve.’

It seemed the Count was keeping the Emiris Order in check for the sake of his daughter, Eve.

Eve must have noticed this and was worried that her family might suffer because of it.

“Well, you don’t need to worry too much.”

Beatrice said as she put down her bowl.

“The Emiris Order is the largest religious order on the continent, so most nobles wouldn’t carelessly offend them, but that doesn’t mean a priest from there can do whatever they want to a noble.”

Beatrice briefly searched for a cigarette in her pocket.

Sera grabbed Beatrice’s hand and glared at her.

“Please don’t smoke during meals.”

“…Sorry.”

Sera let go, and Beatrice shook her hand.

Looking closely, I could see that Sera must have gripped it quite firmly, as Beatrice’s arm was slightly red.

‘That must hurt.’

As I thought this, Beatrice blew on her hand as if it really did hurt, then continued speaking.

“That Order is notoriously arrogant, so even though they were in the wrong, they’ll try to subtly harass the Count for touching one of their own. But at most, they’ll just stop sending priests or holy knights to the Count’s territory for free. Someone of the Count’s position can simply ask other Orders for help if he needs the assistance of clergy.”

“So it’s not such a devastating blow.”

Beatrice nodded at my words.

“But why did the Order visit the Count in the first place?”

“…They probably went to persuade the Count to gain achievements.”

Everyone focused their attention on Christina as she spoke.

“From what I’ve heard, Emiris Order priests need to achieve results to advance easily in rank, so they can be quite aggressive when it comes to performance metrics.”

So they visited the Count to request cooperation.

If that’s the case, then what needs to be considered is…

“I suppose capturing heretics is also included in their achievements?”

“Yes. Actually, that’s true for other Orders as well.”

Christina nodded.

“But they probably didn’t act with certainty. I think they overreacted after intercepting internal memos or news.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The larger the Order, the more desperately they pursue achievements.”

Christina seems to know their ways well, being in the same line of work.

“In an Order as large as Emiris, the money and status that come with promotion are substantial, so they’re even more obsessed with results.”

“So basically, it’s the rampage of people blinded by achievements.”

That meant they weren’t acting with precise knowledge about us.

‘Well, if they had figured it out, Somnus himself would have come.’

Or at least his elite agents.

Since he was the type who would try to get the Philosopher’s Stone or information about it from Sera by any means necessary, it was obvious that he would have pursued us immediately if he knew our location.

“If they knew our location and went to harass the Count, I would have been really surprised.”

“Since we moved through a warp gate along the way, there’s no way they could know our location yet.”

Sera agreed with my statement.

Beatrice cleared her throat softly and continued.

“Still, the people in the territory will complain a bit. After all, the Emiris Order regularly dispatches priests and holy knights to provide free medical services and monster subjugation.”

That’s why the Emiris Order has the most followers and highest prestige on the continent.

At least from my perspective, they’re secretly filthy and dangerous, but they’ve really packaged themselves well.

“…That’s their method—eliminating hostility from each person one by one, while taking everything behind the scenes…”

Beatrice spoke as if lamenting.

“You seem to know a lot about it?”

“Because I’ve experienced it firsthand.”

Beatrice waved her hand as if she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“The Count wouldn’t have acted without thinking. He’s probably making contact with Princess Liriel behind the scenes.”

“…Since the Princess is anti-Emiris, my fath—the Count might be showing his intention to join her faction.”

Eve affirmed Beatrice’s analysis.

Then she added with a smile:

“The larger the forces that the Emiris Order cannot touch, the more constraints they’ll face.”

“I was worried that we might be causing unnecessary trouble for you.”

Eve nodded slightly at my words.

Hearing this, Beatrice spoke quietly.

“Based on what we’re hearing, his movements are so quick that you’d believe he had been preparing for years. Perhaps he wasn’t showing it before and was just waiting for the right opportunity.”

I don’t know much about it, but the Count’s movements seemed to be quite swift.

“He must have prepared well, so you don’t need to worry too much, Miss Guild Master.”

“…That’s a relief then.”

Eve’s face relaxed after hearing Beatrice’s words, seemingly reassured.

“Let’s focus on our task now. Seraphina’s grandmother’s hometown is right ahead.”

“How long will it take if we keep going from today?”

“Considering our pace, it should take about 3 to 4 days.”

Eve said this and then smiled again.

“And fortunately, I was able to meet someone who originally lived in that village.”

“When?”

“As it happens, the cook working at the inn where we stayed was from that place. Other merchants told me about him, so I went to see him briefly.”

It seemed luck had been on our side.

However, the news that followed wasn’t so good, as Eve’s expression darkened slightly.

“First, from what I heard, people left that village because monsters frequently invaded it.”

“Ah, I already know about that.”

That was what Rudger had told me.

So it seems that information was correct.

“And recently, there was a landslide in that area.”

“A landslide?”

“Yes. It was quite large, but since no one was living in the village, there were no casualties, and the news spread late.”

Since the villagers had already left because of the monsters.

So there wouldn’t have been any human casualties.

“Instead, the monsters must have suffered.”

“Yes. I was told that a few days before the landslide, there were reports of monsters moving in large numbers, though this news came out later.”

It’s well-known that animals can detect disasters and evacuate in advance.

It wouldn’t be much different for monsters.

“Then, has the village entered the reconstruction phase?”

Christina asked.

It was easy to think that if the monsters that frequently invaded the village were gone, some people might want to return, so reconstruction work might have begun.

However, Eve shook her head.

“Unfortunately not.”

“Why not?”

Eve quietly answered Christina’s question.

“There was an attempt by the refugees to gather strength and rebuild the village after the landslide.”

“You say ‘attempt’—does that mean it failed?”

“Yes. I heard they decided to cancel it right before implementation.”

Sera’s eyes became thoughtful at Eve’s words.

“…Rural people don’t usually abandon their hometowns easily, so they would have tried to return under normal circumstances. That’s strange.”

“Indeed.”

Yet they ultimately gave up.

“Do you know why it was canceled?”

Eve hesitated a bit at my question.

Then she quietly opened her mouth.

“Apparently, a stone monster was wandering near the village.”

“Monster?”

“Yes. A stone monster. There was no further information.”

Is it the same kind as what Sera and I saw in the mine before?

I briefly recalled the stone turtles we had seen so many times.

‘But those weren’t that strong.’

They’re creatures that could be easily defeated by hiring adventurers.

So it’s one of two things.

Either they didn’t have money, or these monsters were something out of the ordinary.

Beatrice nodded at her words.

“That matches the information I received.”

“Then the credibility… Wait, when did you collect this information?”

“Early yesterday morning when I couldn’t sleep.”

When Eve asked in surprise, Beatrice smiled.

“According to the information I gathered, they apparently ambush suddenly from underground.”

“No matter how I think about it, all I can imagine is a Rock Turtle.”

Those also ambushed from underground.

I never fell victim to their surprise attacks because I had good instincts and noticed them quickly.

However, Beatrice shook her head.

“If it were Rock Turtles, people wouldn’t be making such a fuss.”

Beatrice stated firmly.

“Then what kind of creature is it?”

“Well, according to the eyewitness account of someone who actually went there…”

Everyone’s attention focused on Beatrice’s lips.

“Stone knight monsters appear without any warning, wielding weapons and attacking anyone who approaches.”

Not particularly pleasant information.

+

The Emiris Order church in the Kingdom of Mikea was in a state of emergency.

“How could Metis County…”

A priest was lamenting.

The political situation had suddenly changed.

Count Metis, who normally maintained a neutral stance toward the Order, had suddenly begun to reject the Emiris Order.

His stated reason was that someone from the Emiris Order had insulted the Count to his face.

They had urgently contacted priests and holy knights in the area to understand the details, but even they couldn’t grasp the exact situation.

Even if they wanted to resolve it well, they couldn’t understand what was happening.

“It’s happening too fast to respond…”

The priest sighed, lamenting his situation.

It was like playing chess against an opponent who already knew every move.

Before they could block communication with other Orders, the Count had precisely drawn in another Order—the Hati Order, which had recently weakened in influence due to its negative view on a heresy judgment. When they tried to restrict and pressure him politically by bringing in allied nobles, he had already joined Princess Liriel’s faction and begun to lend his support.

The priests of the Emiris Order lamented the Count’s rapid and drastically different actions compared to his previously quiet demeanor.

Metis County was by no means a small territory.

Count Metis, who ruled that land, was a noble who could certainly be counted among the great nobles in terms of both scale and power.

For such a great noble to openly antagonize the Order was a tremendous political burden for the Order as well.

“I hear that other baronies in the area are also trying to align with Princess Liriel’s faction, following the Count…”

“Damn it.”

Hearing his passing colleague’s words, the priest vented his frustration.

He wanted to grab by the collar whoever had been crazy enough to insult the Count to his face.

“Because of that bastard, we who are chosen by the gods are suffering such humiliation.”

The priest heaved a deep sigh.

‘And what am I supposed to do now?’

There was another reason for his distress.

It was because there was no one to give them orders.

They had been working under the direction of Idea and Somnus since they came to the Kingdom of Mikea.

However, recently, they had temporarily returned to their home country.

Following that, Hakan, the general of Triagiena, had also returned home.

There was a Saint, but she wasn’t someone who would step forward and act directly.

In the end, the subordinates had no choice but to handle it themselves.

“…Well, there is one person who just returned.”

The priest recalled someone who had recently returned to the Order.

However, he didn’t want to get involved with her.

“My, what are you doing here?”

“Eek?!”

Startled by the sudden voice, the priest turned around.

The first thing he saw was dirty gray hair and gray eyes.

It was a woman with half-closed eyes and dark circles.

“Uh, well.”

“I already heard about it. Count Metis is suddenly defying us, right?”

The woman smiled as she took the paper the priest was holding.

With a somewhat dazed smile, she tilted her head.

“…Interesting. I heard they’ve practically imprisoned our priests out there, preventing us from sending reinforcements.”

Had she already heard everything?

The priest was inwardly flustered.

‘Can’t be helped.’

Since he was already involved, he might as well ask for a solution.

“What should we do?”

“Well~.”

The woman smiled vacantly as she spoke.

“I guess I’ll have to go there myself.”

“Will that be alright?”

“It’s not like I have anything else to do. That Saint is, honestly, quite boring.”

The woman spoke leisurely.

But the next moment, she raised her eyes.

“Somehow, I feel like interesting things will happen if I go there~.”

“Ah, yes…”

This person is hopeless too.

Thinking he should avoid getting further involved, the priest began to carefully step back.

At that moment, threads ensnared him.

“Huh? What?”

While he was panicking in surprise, she approached.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh, well?”

The priest couldn’t answer further.

The woman firmly held his face with both hands and examined it carefully.

She seemed to be analyzing something.

“Hmm, maybe the teeth could be useful?”

“What?”

“Decided. You’re mine now.”

Just as the man shouted for her to wait, magical threads bound him and turned him into a cocoon.

The threads briefly expanded as if he was thrashing his limbs about, but soon became still.

Then the woman raised her head as if remembering something.

“Oh, yes. I’ll use that too.”

The woman began searching for something in her pocket.

After a moment, she pulled out a glowing purple jewel.

“Yes. This is good.”

She smiled, saying this would make the job easier.

And at that moment, the cocoon dissolved.

The priest emerged from it.

However, he was different from before.

The priest’s body, which had clearly been made of ordinary flesh, muscle, and bone, now appeared to be made of wood.

“Uh…ah.”

“Oh my, what a mistake I’ve made.”

She smiled as she looked at the priest who could no longer be called human.

Then the next moment, the color of her eyes changed.

Yellow eyes with black sclera.

“This puppet doesn’t need a tongue.”

“Uh…save…”

As the thing that was once a man tried to speak, it was wrapped in a cocoon again.

“It’s bothersome to go the long way, maybe I should take a warp~.”

Without even glancing at the cocoon, the woman smiled.

“I hope I’ll have some nice encounters~.”

She spoke as if preparing for an outing.