Ch.243Pride (1)

    The beginning of the incident was a warning from an unusual intuition I suddenly felt while doing paperwork as usual.

    It was certainly weaker and less directional than the kind of warning one feels when an incident has already occurred, but nevertheless, it was unmistakably a premonition of some event.

    Upon feeling this, I set down the documents I had been processing on my desk, my expression hardening as I rose from my seat. Noticing Charlotte’s puzzlement at my sudden movement, I spoke to her in a low voice.

    “…Charlotte, I think something’s happened.”

    “Is it that thing you’ve mentioned several times before?”

    “…Yes, I believe so.”

    My mysterious intuition had become well-known among most villagers by now, and especially for Charlotte, who could be considered my close aide, this tendency had grown even stronger.

    “Then… I understand. I’ll take care of these documents.”

    “Thank you. I appreciate it, as always.”

    Thanks to Charlotte’s consideration—having witnessed firsthand how my hunches about trouble always proved true—I hastily donned my transformable armor over my formal attire, grabbed my equipment bag that had become part of my daily routine, and visited my destinations in order.

    “Is the priest here? It’s urgent!”

    First, I stopped by the village temple to have them confirm whether there truly was “evil” (cultists) present where my intuition had led me.

    Of course, the detection abilities of lower-ranking priests can be unreliable, but the temple’s special environment and the priests’ ability to track cultists is one of the few powers that transcends the limitations of their rank.

    Calculating precise coordinates and projecting images is the domain of wizards, but finding evil and exposing their identities to drive them out belongs to divine magic and priestly power.

    That’s why, not long after I visited the temple to request a search, they delivered rather shocking news to me.

    “…My lord. Those are indeed cultists. And they’re exactly in the direction you mentioned.”

    “Thank you. Thanks to you, I should be able to deal with them quickly.”

    “You flatter us. …Is there anything we should prepare separately?”

    After the priests confirmed that the evil presence I sensed was indeed that of cultists, just as my intuition had suggested, I made a few requests of them, which seemed only natural.

    “I’d like you to bless… the rocket warheads. And perhaps prepare a couple of pouches of holy water as well.”

    “…What about evacuating the residents?”

    “From what I can sense, it doesn’t seem to be extremely severe. However… if possible, please help reassure the people. If they feel threatened, that too could become a seed of corruption.”

    “…Understood. We pray for your safety, Lord Alzar.”

    Blessing equipment and replenishing holy water—sure to be effective against cultists and their minions—along with the crucial task of maintaining public morale that only the temple could perform.

    Having finished my business at the temple by making these requests, I headed to Gretel’s witch workshop to begin tracking them in earnest.

    “Oh, you’re here?”

    “Yes, Gretel. Good morning.”

    When I visited her, who operates her personal research workshop separately from her potion shop, she was wearing an apron stained with various colors, suggesting she had been experimenting with something. She promptly removed it and approached me.

    And I immediately got to the urgent matter that brought me there.

    “Cultists have appeared near the village. Probably in the unexplored territory. Can you activate the tracker as quickly as possible?”

    “O-Of course!”

    Though she still had a slight stutter, she had certainly improved from before. Gretel Wolfblood faithfully followed my instructions, leading me to a familiar room to prepare the activation of the ‘tracker.’

    The ‘tracker’—commissioned by me when I determined we needed magical detection capabilities to monitor outside the village—is a magical drone-like device that combines witch familiar magic with several geomantic arts.

    Through remote control of a virtual familiar with only detection abilities, it can detect enemies across a considerable range, while also using various objects as pseudo-radar to deploy a surveillance network in nearby forests and such.

    Of course, the enemies we need to detect are located beyond the area where the surveillance network is deployed, but even so, we can still fully utilize the familiar’s pseudo-detection capabilities.

    So as I watched her activate the ‘tracker’ from behind, Gretel operated it with a composure that seemed too calm for someone once known for being timid, scanning through the suspicious locations I had mentioned.

    And the place we finally reached was a particularly remote location on the outskirts of the unexplored territory.

    “I-It’s around here.”

    Along with the explanation that cultists were present in this place—which had few visitors due to its lack of special products and general danger—she cast a spell to share her vision with me, allowing me to see what she was viewing through the ‘tracker.’

    And the scene revealed clearly what kind of master these people served.

    There were between 30 and 70 people wearing pristine white robes with hoods resembling, if I had to compare them to something, those of the KKK.

    They had set up what appeared to be a deliberate encampment, with properly constructed tents and makeshift buildings scattered about, drainage ditches dug, and a modest bonfire of wood that produced very little smoke at the center.

    Of course, up to this point, it might just look like an illegal campsite with oddly dressed occupants, but…

    ‘…What are those things?’

    Even from my perspective, having witnessed all sorts of madmen, this campsite definitely looked bizarre.

    First, on one side of the camp were several cage-like prison cells that seemed out of place with the atmosphere. Inside were men and women in shackles and handcuffs, wearing rags that could barely be called clothing.

    A middle-aged male halfling. A young female cat-person. A goat-person child who looked barely over 10 years old. And a sturdy male half-orc.

    They all shared scars all over their bodies that appeared to be traces of torture, and each had what looked like a seal branded onto their faces, as if burned with a hot iron—a mark I seemed to recognize from somewhere.

    ‘…Human supremacists?’

    While I harbored some doubts since nothing was certain yet, looking at the situation, the only ones who would do such things were likely the human supremacists, a well-known cult organization.

    As the name suggests, they’re a group of fanatics classified as delusional individuals indoctrinated with human supremacist ideology.

    Their ideology is so extreme that they’re rejected by mainstream culture, and moreover, these guys are cultists from their very foundation.

    One of the seven demon lords of deadly sins, considered the pinnacle in fields like scheming rather than political or combat power—”Pride.”

    The human supremacist organization was originally created by this “Pride,” and the connection between the two cannot be consciously severed.

    “Pride’s” specialty is taking the sense of superiority that any intelligent being naturally possesses, somehow causing it to run wild, and ultimately manipulating it to follow his will—he is a deceiver and strategist.

    As a result, even though they know their leader “Pride” is not human but a demon, they display the typical foolishness of humans seen everywhere—justifying themselves through self-rationalization.

    And what makes them most vicious to me is—

    ‘…Don’t these bastards perform human sacrifices?’

    While rescuing people imprisoned by cultists, especially those being tortured like this, is obviously the right thing to do, what’s important is that these self-proclaimed human supremacists enjoy what they call “witch hunts”—in other words, human sacrifices to “Pride.”

    In short, if left in this state, there’s a 99% chance that human sacrifices will take place within days, so the urgency of the situation remains unchanged.

    “—Gretel!”

    “Yes! I-I’ll inform our comrades!”

    And so, from the moment I recognized the scene, I began moving quickly.

    I swiftly received the blessed equipment and holy water pouches from the temple, replenished any lacking supplies, and prepared to set out alone if necessary.

    “Basilisk Squad! Deploy for support as soon as you’re ready!”

    “Right, I wish you luck!”

    The Basilisk Squad, authorized to operate the Basilisk Composite Golem Armor in my absence, was under Gretel’s command.

    After instructing them to follow later, I immediately moved to the stable where Gus was kept, completing my preparations quickly even if it meant setting out personally.

    When innocent lives are at stake, taking action without hesitation is my iron rule. That was the chivalric code I followed as a knight—the one principle I strove to uphold above all else.

    And exactly 30 minutes later.

    From one corner of the village, a pegasus soared into the high heavens.


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