Ch.20Report on the Fall of Innocence (7)

# The High Inquisitor

The man introduced himself as “High Inquisitor Father Haspel.” Living up to his “high-ranking” title, he had brought four carriages. Two carried ritual implements, one transported his servants, and the last was his personal carriage.

While people in the Inquisition’s distinctive red robes busily moved luggage, Haspel invited Kain and Lily into his carriage set up in the open space. He had his servants ensure no one approached them—an extra precaution.

“I’ve heard you’re Agents Kain and Lily from the Imperial Security Bureau, is that correct?”

Kain nodded. The middle-aged man wore as many decorative emblems as he had beard hairs and wrinkles. They were memorials to years gone by. Among them was one with a white cross on a red ribbon, signifying his membership in the crusade formed to defeat the Demon King.

“I received a letter about your exploits yesterday. You provided much valuable information. I was particularly impressed by your method of handling the patients. I believe we can use the same approach with Abbot Arius.”

This meant the Order hadn’t extracted a single piece of information from “Temperance,” who had been attacked three months ago. Haspel rubbed his brow.

“You may have heard that His Holiness the Pope is preparing for the canonization of the Seven Heroes. But I’ll be frank with you. That’s just pretty packaging—in reality, it’s essentially a complete reinvestigation into what they were doing. No sanctuaries, no boundaries, no limitations. Everything is legal and conducted under His Holiness’s blessing.”

“Father Haspel, how much does the Order know about this matter?”

Haspel didn’t readily provide an answer. Rather than hesitating to respond, he seemed like someone who knew too much and was considering where to begin. Finally, he slapped his palm on the seat.

“Let’s start with the Knight of Chastity. To get straight to the point, I’ve come to determine whether the demon has touched those victims and Archbishop William. That’s also why I’m preparing the ritual.”

“Is it an exorcism?” Haspel shook his head at Lily’s question.

“An exorcism is performed only when we’re certain someone has fallen into the devil’s clutches. Just as it’s meaningless to prescribe cold medicine to a patient who doesn’t have a cold. Instead, I’ll perform a blessing ritual, praying for blessings upon their souls and bodies. It’s a ritual that drives away evil and strengthens the power of good. We believe those poor souls are being tormented by demons.”

“Will you perform it yourself?”

“I understand it might sound strange for an inquisitor to bestow blessings.” Haspel smiled at Kain’s question.

“Of course, I’ll perform it myself. The Mercy Knights will stand by in case of emergency, and you will attend as the Empire’s notaries. That’s why I specifically called you here.”

“That’s hard to believe,” Kain spread his palms. “We’re having this secretive conversation just because we were selected as observers? Father, we don’t have time. Let’s get straight to the point.”

“You’re in a hurry! Such a hurry!” Haspel rubbed his hands together, laughing.

“Very well. Let’s do that. But I must ask—how much do you know about inquisitors? I need to know how much you understand so I can explain more comfortably.”

“They’re the world’s best mediators and the Order’s prized firefighters.”

Lily looked at Kain with an incredulous expression. She was even more surprised to see Haspel laughing while holding his stomach. Soon enough, she composed her expression as if thinking, “I should have expected this.”

“You know well. This will make our conversation easier. The reason I brought up inquisitors is because of William, the Knight of Chastity. I’m not sure if you know, but this hero has quite an unusual background…”

William the Chaste. His full name was William Chester, the fourth son of a count’s family.

Chester County was small and impoverished, made worse by famine. Count Chester had taken a loan from the Mercy Knights but couldn’t repay it by the due date.

The knightly order then demanded one of two things: either gather money to repay the debt somehow, or pay with a person. Paying with a person meant inducting a family member into the order.

William Chester was chosen. As the fourth son, he was far from the line of succession, young, and had a violent temperament that his parents didn’t appreciate.

Despite his violent nature, William Chester had talent—talent as a holy knight.

“It’s difficult enough to become a knight, but to become a holy knight, one must know how to use ‘holy power.’ Despite extensive research, we don’t know how or what kind of person can use this power. What we do know is that someone who has used it once can continue to use it, that few people can use this power, that it cannot be taught… but once learned and mastered, one becomes more proficient. In other words, those who can’t use it continue to be unable, while those who can use it become increasingly skilled.”

Kain recalled the rude red-haired knight.

“Can Brother Aldric, the Lord of Herburg, use it as well?”

“I believe he cannot. That’s why Aldric continues to be pushed into minor positions. Rather, the apprentice knight he keeps has the qualities of a holy knight. He can perform miracles, albeit weakly.”

That must refer to the apprentice knight who was beaten. If so, why was he treated so poorly?

“What are these ‘miracles’ that holy knights use?”

“It’s the only power that can defeat demons, wizards, and witches. It contains the authority to defeat evil things. It has no effect on the innocent and the devout, but it reacts only to evil and the devil’s minions.”

Kain noticed the High Inquisitor grimacing. Something seemed to displease him.

“William the Chaste could use miracles too, right? That’s why he was selected as one of the seven heroes who defeated the Demon King. I heard he could perform powerful miracles.”

“He could. It was a tragedy.”

“A tragedy, you said?”

Father Haspel nodded.

“Agent Kain, forgive me for speaking in metaphors. People in this world each have a vessel. But some people receive so much grace that their vessel overflows. Grace that cannot be fully contained becomes a curse that devours the person… That’s exactly what happened to William the Chaste.”

“What exactly happened?”

The story Haspel told was horrific.

The Pope’s knightly order, while consisting of knights, is primarily classified as clergy. If defined strictly, they are fighting monks, warrior priests.

And William the Chaste, though a holy knight of the Mercy Knights who defeated the Demon King and one of the seven heroes who received the Veneration of the Sword, was essentially a clergyman. This meant he had to follow the virtues of the clergy.

Yet wherever he went, obscene rumors and accusations never ceased.

“All of them. Every single one was related to sexual matters. I thought they were slander. Some were clearly absurd defamations that anyone could see through, but many were of uncertain veracity. What’s certain is that many people wanted to bring William down.”

“I don’t understand. A hero?”

“Heroes may withstand great storms but can’t endure persistent drizzle. No one can withstand that.” The High Inquisitor shook his head sadly.

“As I mentioned earlier, to become a holy knight, one must be able to perform ‘miracles.’ One must know how to use miracles as weapons. It’s certainly an honor for the individual, but it also guarantees promotion. However, since it’s not something achieved through effort but considered almost innate…”

Haspel trailed off. Lily completed his thought.

“He must have received a lot of jealousy.”

“That’s right, Agent Lily. William the Chaste knew how to perform miracles powerful enough to defeat the Demon King. But he didn’t know how to bear the weight of the shadow cast by his brilliant glory. That’s why he transferred to the Inquisition… It’s not a common practice. To use an analogy you might understand, it’s like transferring someone from the Security Bureau to the Treasury Bureau just because they’re both Imperial civil servants.”

Kain and Lily simultaneously made sour expressions. Of all comparisons, the Treasury Bureau? But putting it that way did make sense.

William had essentially been demoted.

“Even at the Inquisition, the scandals didn’t stop. They actually got worse. An inquisitor isn’t someone who burns people like firewood. Rather, their main duty is theological debate with heretics who interpret faith and scripture to suit their own interests.

Catching witches and wizards is also part of the job, but more often we receive requests to verify someone they’ve already captured as a wizard or witch. Out of 10,000 people, 9,999 are neither wizards nor witches.”

“Then what are they?”

“People falsely accused of being wizards and witches. And by none other than members of their own community.”

This is why inquisitors are known as mediation experts and firefighters. They clarify misunderstandings and conflicts between people that secular authorities cannot handle, and they stop private trials.

“It’s appalling. People who slander others because they don’t want to repay borrowed money, those seeking revenge after being humiliated when their ill intentions were rejected, people who are beaten by villagers and half-burned at the stake simply because they’re considered ugly and repulsive… regardless of gender.

People who dislike someone without reason and so accuse them of being ‘wizards’ or ‘witches.’ It’s sickening. There are no wizards or witches anywhere. There are only people who slander each other as wizards and witches, and in fact, that’s exactly what the devil aims for.”

The devil. Kain frowned. He could catch criminals, but catching devils wasn’t his area of expertise. Such talk was somewhat unfamiliar to him.

“Agent Kain, Agent Lily. That’s exactly how the devil works. The devil never operates openly. People would all rush to the Order’s cathedral the moment they saw a devil.

All the devil did was whisper, ‘There are bad things called wizards and witches in the world, and they might be your neighbor.’ People do the rest themselves. They starve, beat, cut, and burn without reason or evidence.

They have no such authority. They are not judges. They merely borrow God’s name, wear the mask of justice, and do as they please. That’s exactly what the devil wants—to make people believe they are righteous, instilling the absurd justification that they can harm others freely.”

There was a knock from outside the carriage. It was a signal that preparations were complete. Haspel cleared his throat.

“Anyway, I’ve talked too much. What I wanted to say is that William the Chaste became an inquisitor and actively interacted with other nobles and commoners. Amidst that, incredible rumors abounded. The most representative being that he inflicted sexual torture.

With so much gossip, he was transferred to become a diocesan archbishop. An archbishop typically associates more with nobles than common people, and nobles wouldn’t spread such empty slander.”

“But it didn’t work out well.”

“It didn’t work out,” Father Haspel pulled out a sheet of paper. It was an accusation letter and a will, written in beautiful and meticulous handwriting. Before reading the entire content, the priest put the paper back.

“This is Countess Lorentz’s accusation letter. It contains allegations of… physical relations with Archbishop William the Chaste. After writing about how the archbishop molested her, she jumped from the castle walls. That happened a few days ago. There are hundreds of such accusation letters. Including those that were destroyed, there might be thousands. As a result, even the most devout have begun to doubt.”

“Is that why you’re performing the ritual?”

“Yes,” Haspel leaned back in his seat. “Such slander against someone who has already suffered terribly. I can only think that a demon is attached and tormenting him. So, the purpose is to cleanse the heavy burden carried by this pitiful hero through purification and blessing.”

Another knock was heard, followed by a voice.

“The Southern Regional Commander of the Mercy Knights has arrived.”

“Commander Marco? Already? He came quickly.” Haspel flung open the carriage door.

“Good. We can save time. You just need to be comfortable… well, ‘comfortable’ might be a funny word, but think of it as attending a mass. Just sit quietly and observe the ritual, that’s what I mean. It’s just an ordinary mass—what could possibly go wrong?”

“Of course nothing will go wrong.”

Kain smiled gently. They headed toward the cathedral where the patients were waiting, thinking that since it wasn’t an exorcism but simply a blessing, it would probably be quite a boring mass.