Ch.18Saint of Purification (2)

# Chapter Translation

The military chaplain who introduced herself as Tiria Kasten pulled out a staff in front of me. The object adorned with gold decorations appeared out of nowhere.

“Baculus. One of the sacred artifacts. A divine item that the Goddess bestows only upon the highest-ranking clergy.”

What’s this? Is she going to attack me right away?

While I was extremely tense, the Holy Maiden added:

“This proves it. That I am a Holy Maiden.”

“Is that what that object is?”

“Yes.”

Well, since she calls herself a Holy Maiden, I should address her as such.

Actually, it might be more advantageous if this woman truly is a Holy Maiden. If I can somehow win over someone who belongs to the church’s highest echelon, following the Valkyrie, it could work out well for me even if I become a prisoner later.

“The Baculus only purifies or judges the dead. It’s useless if I swing it at you who possesses a living body. You shouldn’t expect anything beyond its physical force.”

As the Holy Maiden waved her hand, the staff disappeared. Where the sacred artifact had been, only particles of light remained floating like afterimages.

“I am one of only six Holy Maidens in the Holy Spirit Kingdom, and simultaneously a military chaplain officer. I have both the right and ability to execute mages on the spot.”

That sounds like she’s saying she’ll kill me immediately if I do anything that irritates her.

I swallowed hard. I shouldn’t assume someone is kind-hearted just because they’re pretty. Of course, being a Holy Maiden, she must have some decent character, but it’s different when facing a mage.

After all, the Holy Spirit Church’s doctrine still views mages as servants of evil. The history behind this would be endlessly long if I were to explain it.

The Holy Maiden spoke haltingly.

“I came. Living people. Looking for. Tatangkur. Strange cause? Currently exists. On this island.”

[‘Interpretation: I was dispatched to the Tatangkur Waters to rescue missing persons. It seems there’s a strange cause existing on this island.’]

A strange cause, she says.

“Are you referring to the fog?”

“Fog!”

The Holy Maiden nodded.

“You know about it? Suspicious!”

“What’s suspicious about that?”

“You’re a First-Class Mage. I’ve heard that from First-Class and above, mages are treated as top-priority personnel by the Magic Kingdom. Your mere presence here is enough to raise suspicion. Did your country send you?”

“Colonel.”

At that moment, the Valkyrie interrupted and whispered to the Holy Maiden.

“The mage has been with me for an entire month. During that time, I never felt like he was deceiving me.”

The Holy Maiden nodded thoughtfully and continued.

“I think. Confining something. Confining something?”

“Prison? Cage? Barrier?”

“Yes! Barrier! And forbidden!”

“By forbidden, do you mean Forbidden Spell?”

“That’s right. I’m also here to investigate whether the Magic Kingdom is committing forbidden acts for large-scale magic. Surely you’re not preparing underhanded tricks to win the war, are you, mage?”

“Absolutely not. In our country, that would result in at least imprisonment, maximum execution.”

This is content that’s included in the Pledge of Jeriem. Since the founding of the Magic Kingdom, the vast majority of mages have adhered to that pledge. At least I have.

The Holy Maiden shook her head.

“People above the law. Changing according to need, full of contradictions, that’s exactly what you are. Because you’re a mage.”

“No. That’s different.”

“How so?”

“We are mado-sa. Not mages.”

“I don’t appreciate wordplay.”

“Then I’ll speak more directly. Even if the Magic Kingdom were creating terrible magic here, I would desert.”

“Desert?”

“I’d escape from the military.”

“Why?”

“Would a country that abandons human ethics to win a war govern humanely?”

For the first time, the Holy Maiden’s consistently gray eyes changed color. To orange.

But they soon returned to gray.

“Are you somehow different?”

“Any mage would say the same thing.”

“But you created them. Killing magic stones.”

The moment I heard those words, I was left speechless.

Military magic stones aren’t quite at the level of forbidden magic. But just because they’re not forbidden doesn’t absolve one from the responsibility of taking lives.

“It’s not entirely your fault, but you bear responsibility too. You made things difficult for people in our country, and for me as well.”

The Holy Maiden muttered. I could barely hear the rest of what she said. However, I could see that her eyes were simultaneously glowing with red and blue light.

Lumina.

Classified as a sub-species of half-elves, they were famous for their irises changing color according to their emotions.

I could easily tell that the Holy Maiden currently hated me deeply and was also saddened while recalling past events.

My conscience was pricked, but I needed to stop before the atmosphere became more heated.

“Let’s dry ourselves by the fire first.”

***

Holy Maiden Tiria spent her childhood confined in the church.

She communicated with the outside world only through the church. Whenever she went out, she was always accompanied by five or six guards, and if she had a letter to deliver, it had to be through her assigned maid or another clergy member.

It was suffocating.

However, as she became an adult, opportunities opened up for Tiria.

She learned that if she served as a military chaplain, she could freely go out into the outside world. It was her only chance to leave the temple with its purifying fire and briefly explore the world.

As it happened to be a time of tense relations with the Magic Kingdom, Tiria was able to leave the cathedral where she had been confined for 15 years and become a military chaplain officer without much difficulty. Since military chaplains follow the rank of their clerical position, she was commissioned as a colonel.

The battlefield she encountered for the first time was terribly horrific.

People killing people. Soldiers from the Holy Spirit Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom becoming entangled corpses. Bodies turned to mush and sank into the sea, leaving only unredeemed souls lingering in place.

Tiria’s role was to save such souls.

Peace for those who believed in the Holy Spirit Church during their lifetime.

For those who didn’t, she gave them a chance for atonement, and if they refused, cold judgment.

For evil spirits who had learned even a little magic and sold their souls to demons after death, she delivered merciless destruction.

How exhausting and arduous that process was.

Almost all the evil spirits were soldiers from the Magic Kingdom. Whenever they encountered Tiria, they would pour out all manner of curses before being exorcised.

[-You narrow-minded, filthy woman. And they call this a Holy Maiden. If you’re going to perform rites like this, why not switch careers to a prostitute who comforts men’s bodies?]

[-May you be captured by our country’s soldiers and die after being fucked like a dog!]

[-Your country will fall, and you too will writhe in pain before being buried in the ground. Hahaha!]

The curses of vengeful spirits contained powerful mana. Mana was both the antithesis and weakness of clergy members.

She blocked most curses with holy power, but because of this, Tiria’s eyes were always dark with fatigue. She had developed insomnia. Chronic insomnia at that.

But vengeful spirits weren’t the only cause of her sleeplessness.

-The mages took not only my younger sibling but also my life. I’m too devastated and wronged to return to the Goddess’s embrace.

-Holy Maiden, please avenge me. *sob sob sob*

There were also souls who, despite being believers of the Holy Spirit Church, couldn’t achieve peace because they were too grief-stricken. As she listened to each of their stories and helped them resolve their grudges, Tiria absorbed all that stress.

She had never met a living mage, but she had seen thousands of their corrupted souls. She had heard countless tragic experiences, like grains of sand on a beach.

Because of this, she thought that actual mages wouldn’t be much different from what she had heard about them.

But then.

-Then I’ll speak more directly. Even if the Magic Kingdom were creating terrible magic here, I would desert.

-Would a country that abandons human ethics to win a war govern humanely?

Since she hadn’t properly learned the Magic Kingdom’s language, she didn’t know many words. But the first mage she met in her life was vastly different from her prejudices.

Erich Lohnstein.

A name she had seen in documents. The very person who had developed numerous military magic stones, leading countless innocent young people from the Holy Spirit Kingdom to their deaths.

The man was famous even in the Holy Spirit Church. In a bad way, of course. His thesis on the circulation of mana and Sephiron had long been designated as a banned book in the Holy Spirit Kingdom.

The first emotion she felt upon seeing such a man in person was, well, complicated.

She deliberately spoke to provoke him, implying that he had used magic stones to kill young people from the Holy Spirit Kingdom. Yet the man didn’t make excuses. Instead, he looked deeply troubled.

That came as a shock to Tiria.

The Holy Spirit Church teaches that all mages are shameless, self-serving, cunning, and inevitably evil because they’ve sold their souls to demons. She herself had fully absorbed these teachings.

“I lived on that island for about a month.”

Tiria kept her lips tightly sealed as she warmed herself by the campfire. Only the man was talking.

“I don’t know why the monsters that had disappeared have reappeared. I nearly died fighting that Valkyrie over there. I lost consciousness in the storm, and when I woke up, I found myself here.”

The man was speaking slowly and clearly, being considerate of Tiria. The vocabulary he used was also simple and clear. Thanks to this, it wasn’t difficult to understand.

Tiria examined the man’s appearance. He had exactly a month’s worth of beard growth. His officer’s uniform was not just shabby but tattered, and oil dripped from his hair and face. He looked filthy.

Headquarters had considered ordering the immediate execution of a mage, especially one who appeared neat and clean.

She finally understood why the higher-ups had established “neat appearance” as a criterion. With this appearance, it was unlikely that this man was directly connected to the barrier on this island.

After much deliberation, Tiria decided not to draw her gun.

She still didn’t know where this place was. She couldn’t tell what dangers might be lurking.

Even if there were no threats, she had to consider the possibility that a rescue ship from the Magic Kingdom might arrive first. Building goodwill with this man might ensure humane treatment later if they were rescued by his people.

Rachel subtly remarked.

“He’s a person with at least basic decency. At least he has been so far. If he suddenly changes, I’ll subdue him immediately.”

There was no need to hastily decide how to treat the man.

Tiria organized her thoughts by offering a prayer to the Goddess of Healing.

***

Perhaps because the Valkyrie was with her, the Holy Maiden was more docile than expected. However, she still looked at me with sharp eyes.

A murky red.

Emotions mixed with hatred and suspicion were conveyed directly through her irises.

Honestly, I didn’t want to be in this situation, but it seems I’ll have to humor the Holy Maiden for the time being.

“So… you were tasked with searching for soldiers who disappeared in battle, then encountered a storm that capsized your ship, right? Is there any possibility of other rescue ships coming?”

“Yes. Many of them. The Holy Spirit Kingdom places great importance on the lives of high-ranking clergy. As soon as news reaches headquarters that the ship I was on has sunk, they’ll immediately organize a new rescue team. Just wait a little.”

The Holy Maiden sighed and continued.

“But I don’t know. If they can come. The weather, they said it was good. Because of the storm…”

A storm during my time with the Valkyrie.

A storm during the Holy Maiden’s time as well.

It’s still ambiguous to call it inevitable.

“Colonel, survival is the priority now.”

“I suppose so. Let’s scout this area first.”

“With one more mouth to feed, we’ll need to move diligently.”

“Hmph, if only that man weren’t here.”

The Valkyrie said something, and the Holy Maiden nodded. Both women stood up simultaneously. Their conversation continued afterward.

Soon, the Holy Maiden said:

“Mage, you stay here.”