Ch.246Episode 12 – The Strongest Mage in History

# The Child Who Used Sorcery

Once again, the child who had been caught by the Inquisitor for using sorcery caused trouble. This time too, he was caught by a cleric while attempting to use sorcery.

But the boy explained that he had learned sorcery from a cleric of the Church.

“Priestess Rebecca, I’m just asking to be sure, but the theological college doesn’t teach idolatry, does it?”

“Of course not.”

Black magic used in the Abbas Phrygia Street department store bombing.

The murder cases in northern Kiyen Empire.

Church clerics identified as suspects in the murder cases. More precisely, apostates.

Hormoz’s intelligence about finding a monk wandering in remote places late at night.

Stories that seem unrelated on the surface yet strangely interlock. I wish it were just my imagination. Looking at the state of the world these days, I get the feeling that if something’s gone wrong, it’s gone terribly wrong.

Still,

“…Let’s call the Saint first.”

If there’s a job to be done, it must be done.

## Episode 12 – The Most Powerful Magician in History

Meeting Lucia wasn’t difficult.

“You called for me?”

“Yes, Saint.”

Lucia, who had been protecting the child, came to find me immediately after receiving Priestess Rebecca’s call.

“How is the child’s condition?”

“Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any problem.”

The child who was caught trying to use sorcery—in the religious sense—showed no particular abnormalities.

He was healthy both physically and mentally. Just to be sure, they had called in an Inquisitor to observe the child closely, and the report came back that he was in excellent condition.

“He has no injuries, and sacred objects showed no reaction. Apart from being a little startled, he seems completely fine.”

“Sacred objects?”

Lucia carefully opened the front of her pure white cassock and pulled out something that looked like a necklace. A consecrated silver cross.

It was the same cross she had used to identify black magic at the department store bombing site.

“That’s a great relief. By the way, why do you keep that cross tucked inside your clothes?”

“Because I have nowhere else to keep it.”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

I don’t understand why she keeps such an object inside her clothes. She has to open her cassock every time she takes it out. Not only is it inconvenient, but it startles me every time I see it.

Anyway.

I stopped the small talk and got to the point.

“Saint Lucia. What activities are Church people conducting in the north?”

What I wanted to ask her about was the movements of the Church clerics. More precisely, their methods and range of activities.

The child from a remote northern village had clearly used sorcery in the religious sense and testified that he had learned all knowledge of sorcery from a monk of the Church.

“You mean the priests?”

“No, not just priests, but including monks as well.”

“Monks…”

Lucia closed her eyes gently and began to think carefully.

“As far as I know, the priests and monks here move according to the instructions of the Archbishop, who is the diocesan head.”

“Ah, perhaps the one we met at the cathedral before…”

“Yes. Archbishop Theodosius.”

The Church clerics operating in the north move according to the Archbishop’s instructions.

Holy Knights, Inquisitors, Battle Priests, and Exorcist Priests belong to the Inquisition and therefore receive direct orders from the Inquisition. But ordinary clerics dispatched for healing and relief are supervised and managed by the local diocese.

“He was also a professor at the theological college, and having worked in the diocese for a long time, he’s very knowledgeable about northern affairs. When I first came here, I was also under his supervision.”

Lucia briefly mentioned what ordinary clerics do in the north.

“The ordinary priests and monks are basically responsible for conducting masses and relief activities for refugees. They mainly work in hospitals and shelters, but because there are so many patients, most stay in cities where hospitals and shelters are concentrated. Except for field hospitals near the front lines.”

Ordinary priests, monks, and nuns generally operate in cities. This is because accidents occur due to the influx of refugees, and epidemics break out, especially during summer and winter.

When it comes to treating people, no one can match the clerics.

Regular hospital doctors can’t hold a candle to clerics. Just look at how Veronica reattached my severed finger in one go when doctors couldn’t save it. If there were more clerics in this world, the profession of doctor might have disappeared long ago.

Even mass-producible potions can’t match a cleric’s healing.

The potions sold by alchemists in the market are nowhere near effective enough, and only high-grade potions used by the military can barely compare to the healing of an ordinary cleric. Unless we’re talking about the elixir that appeared like a comet during the Independence War and saved the lives of countless magicians.

But the elixir is a lost technology.

I nodded and listened carefully to Lucia’s words.

“They usually operate in cities. That’s the easiest way to understand it.”

“What about field hospitals or remote areas?”

“They take turns going out.”

Lucia explained that clerics staying in the north take turns going to field hospitals and remote villages. Sometimes the diocese makes plans for them, but since the situation on the ground is challenging, they exercise some flexibility.

I checked the location of the village the child came from.

The village, whose name I couldn’t place no matter how hard I tried, was located quite far from any city.

“Hmm…”

At this point, I asked Lucia a question.

“Saint Lucia. Could you find out if any priests or monks have recently gone from the city to this village?”

“Of course.”

“Just one more thing. Do clerics ever move alone?”

“Alone?”

Lucia tilted her head.

“As far as I know, there are no clerics who operate alone. Even though it’s the rear, it’s still a conflict zone. For safety’s sake, it’s better to move together. That’s why clerics often form teams.”

“Are there no exceptions?”

“Well, they might go out alone briefly for errands… but that only applies when moving within the city for a short time.”

She was saying that when they go outside the city, they never go alone but always move in groups.

As Lucia said, there were no clerics operating alone, visiting remote villages. I asked around, stopping clerics as they passed by, but they all said there were no priests or monks who operated that way.

And the same was true for clerics from the Inquisition.

“A cleric operating alone? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Priestess Rebecca said there were no Inquisitors operating alone in the north. It was a measure for the safety of the Inquisitors, and she added that it was unimaginable for an ordinary cleric, who wasn’t even a powerful Inquisitor, to wander around alone.

“Hmm…”

No matter how much I thought about it, the questions remained.

Would no one have stopped the monk from teaching sorcery to a child? If what Lucia and Priestess Rebecca said was true, the monk would have definitely moved with other Church clerics. But none of the monk’s companions stopped him from teaching sorcery to the child.

So did the monk move alone?

Perhaps he secretly left the city, wandered around remote areas spreading sorcery, or something like that.

I wasn’t certain and lacked evidence, but it didn’t seem like an implausible hypothesis. I’d know once I confirmed whether any clerics had visited the village. I’d asked Lucia to check, so an answer should come soon.

I waited for Lucia to return from the city where she had gone for confirmation.

And when she returned from the city, I got my answer.

“I just checked, and they say they haven’t dispatched any clerics to the child’s village in the past year. Instead, they’ve been sending relief supplies regularly.”

“Are you sure, Saint?”

“I asked Archbishop Theodosius directly. I also checked the registry.”

The Church had officially never sent clerics to the child’s village.

Which means,

“…”

The one who taught sorcery to the child was not a cleric managed by the Church.

*

The Church secured the personal information of the monk who allegedly taught sorcery through the child. Priestess Rebecca obtained a basic profile and a general description.

“Could it be the work of an excommunicated cleric?”

“I’m not certain. It could be a Church cleric, or as you suggested, it might be the work of an apostate hiding in the north.”

Normally, this would be a case where the Inquisition could officially investigate, but since the area was under martial law and the child hadn’t completed the sorcery or caused any harm, the Inquisition wouldn’t officially intervene in this case.

That means they intervened unofficially.

“All possibilities remain open. We’ll need to investigate all clerics dispatched here to get a clear answer.”

“That will take a long time.”

Priestess Rebecca decided to proceed with the investigation considering all possibilities. She said she would gather other Inquisitors to conduct an internal investigation, separate from tracking apostates.

Meanwhile, I gathered my subordinates to investigate other people.

“Here’s a list of members of religious organizations other than the Church, obtained through northern civil servants.”

Pippin and Jake collected information about other religious organizations through northern public institutions.

Although the child who used sorcery explained that he had received knowledge from a Church cleric, there was still a possibility that he had mistaken a cleric from another religion for a Church cleric, so it was worth investigating.

Number of believers, number of clerics, main areas of activity, special notes, and so on.

Information like religious population distribution was easily obtainable from public institutions, so there was no chance that Pippin and Jake would arouse suspicion from counterintelligence agencies for this task.

“The data hasn’t been updated since before martial law was declared, but it still contains a lot of useful information.”

“What’s useful about it?”

“Things like the number of religious people by region or the distribution of believers by religion. The address list of religious facilities too… Even though people have scattered due to evacuation, analyzing it should be helpful.”

“Then analyze it.”

Pippin organized the collected data and conducted information analysis.

While she analyzed the information, Jake went outside to check the locations of religious facilities, the status of visitors, and the movements of clerics. The intelligence Jake collected was then delivered to Pippin and used as supplementary material.

Of course, there was quite a lot of information for Pippin to analyze alone. But the amount of information wasn’t a problem at all.

“Hieeeek! There’s too much paper! This is truly massive environmental destruction… At this rate, the forests where bees live will disappear!”

“Charnoi, have you finished the analysis?”

“Not yet…”

Although Charnoi wasn’t a formally commissioned officer like Pippin, she was a civilian employee in the military intelligence division. Military intelligence agencies often entrust information analysis and security to civilian employees.

Charnoi, who had been transferred from the inspection office of the Military Intelligence Bureau to the overseas department, proved that she hadn’t won her position as an inspector through gambling. She analyzed an enormous amount of intelligence in the blink of an eye.

“Pippin, do we have results?”

“Yes.”

After a considerable amount of time spent on the tedious work, the results that Pippin and Charnoi presented were as follows.

And.

There was no twist.

“There are various religions in the north, but in the area you specified, the influence of religious organizations other than the Church is minimal.”

“…”

“In other words, the possibility of clerics from religions other than the Church operating in that area is almost non-existent.”

A result that was no longer surprising.

*

After Pippin and Charnoi’s dedicated analysis, it was revealed that religions other than the Church had virtually no influence in the child’s village and surrounding areas.

Although various religions coexist in the Kiyen Empire, considering the Church’s activities in the north over the past five years and geographical factors, this was a result that could be considered natural.

“It’s undeniable that the Church has the strongest influence on the continent. The Empire is geographically adjacent to the Church, and believers of other major religions are mostly composed of immigrants or foreigners.”

“I suppose so.”

It’s similar to how Islam or Hinduism don’t form the mainstream in South Korea.

“Of course, this might not be an accurate analysis. You should take that into consideration.”

Pippin added a caveat that the results of the information analysis might be inaccurate due to the difficult situation in the north that made proper data collection challenging, but I didn’t care about that right now.

I shredded Pippin and Charnoi’s report and let out a soft sigh.

“Haa…”

I had hoped it wouldn’t be, but it’s the Church again.

The mastermind behind the bombing, suspects in murder cases, sorcery that could lead to dangerous accidents.

In all these incidents that could lead to major diplomatic disasters if made public, Church clerics are implicated.

I sat in my hotel room, desperately trying to find some hope.

“…”

There’s almost nothing certain yet.

While the murder cases are official since the Inquisition made an announcement, there’s no direct evidence implicating Church clerics in the bombing or the sorcery issue apart from Hormoz’s intelligence and the child’s testimony.

That’s the crucial point.

“If we can’t prove that the Church caused these incidents, we won’t suffer any harm, right?”

“Probably.”

No matter how much of a bastard the Church is, that bastard is our bastard right now.

It was the Church that vouched for Camilla’s identity, and it was also the Church that vouched for her relationship with Francesca and me.

Lucia is openly associated with the Church. She is a cleric and a saint of the Church.

If the Church’s authority is shaken here, no one knows what kind of accident might occur.

The Empire, wary of the closer relationship between the Church and Abbas, might diplomatically challenge us. Other religions, fearful of the Church’s growing power, might cause disturbances.

Perhaps hardliners within the Magic Tower might clash with the Church. There are many other concerns as well. The Church traditionally has many enemies.

The important thing is that the more precarious the Church becomes, the more awkward my position becomes. More precisely, Camilla becomes troubled.

For now, I decided to quietly cover up this issue.

“Report to the company and request that I handle this matter myself for the time being.”

“To the Overseas Department Director?”

“Yes. I’ll talk to Leonie separately. Just include that in your recommendations.”

“Understood.”

Pippin gathered the reports, bowed politely, and left the room.

The documents will soon be delivered to the embassy via courier. If the report is sent to the Military Intelligence Bureau through the military attaché’s office, there’s no risk of the Guardian Office intercepting it. I decided to entrust Charnoi with this role.

“…”

After sending Pippin away, I was checking my equipment in my disguise bag when one of my subordinates knocked on my hotel room door.

“Chief, may I come in?”

“Oh, Jake. Come in.”

It was Jake.

The blonde, tanned rascal opened the door and entered. Jake handed me a bundle of documents he had been casually waving in one hand.

“Here’s the information on northern nobles that you asked me to look into.”

After meeting with Hormoz, I had instructed Pippin and Jake to investigate individuals who might be backing the Palm Tree Trading Company in the north. The documents Jake handed me contained that information.

“Oh? Let me see.”

While I checked the documents Jake handed over, he summarized their contents for me.

“Most of the nobles in the north left before martial law was declared. They’re all natives with roots in the north, and since most of their assets are tied up there, they’ve either seen their families ruined or sought refuge with relatives in other regions.”

“Their assets are tied up?”

“Real estate makes up a significant portion of their assets. Buildings and land, that sort of thing.”

Jake pointed to the section on northern nobles’ asset status in the documents.

Many nobles had taken out loans using land or houses as collateral or had constructed buildings.

“They were making money off money. Why so many loans?”

“They had lived in the northern region for a long time, and their status was secure, so it was easy for them to get loans.”

Collateral is a legal means to prevent default on debt. It’s also referred to as a mortgage or guarantee.

“But with martial law declared and land values plummeting, not to mention no buyers appearing, what do you think happened?”

Jake sighed deeply and muttered.

Indeed, even I wouldn’t buy land in the north while demon bastards are running around. No matter how cheap it is. I might not only be unable to move in right away but could even die living there if I’m unlucky.

It must be frustrating for the nobles too. Interest keeps accumulating with no source of income, and if repayments are delayed, collection agencies will come after them.

The lives of northern nobles described in the Military Intelligence Bureau’s documents were filled with content that couldn’t be read without tears.

Anyway,

Jake summarized the content of the report in one sentence.

“There are almost no nobles who can do anything in the north now. They don’t have the means.”

I see.

I flipped through the report since there wasn’t much else to see. As I was turning through pages full of collected intelligence and analysis, a strange document caught my eye.

“What’s this?”

I showed Jake the report I had stopped flipping through. He stretched his neck out to read the document, then answered as if it were nothing significant.

“Ah, that’s data investigating the Grand Duchess of the north.”

“I know that. But why is she included here?”

“Because she’s a noble.”

“The Grand Duchess?”

After checking the report again, I chuckled.

“She’s royalty.”

The Grand Duchess of the north is not a simple noble. She is the aunt of the current Emperor, Nikolai VI.

In other words, the Grand Duchess of the northern Kiyen Empire is a person born with royal blood. She’s also a great magician who made a name for herself in the war between the Church and the Magic Tower a hundred years ago.

“The Grand Duchess is not just a noble. She’s royalty, born with the blood of dragons.”

“I know that. I included her just in case.”

Jake read through the information on the northern Grand Duchess collected and analyzed by the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Investigating foreign royalty could cause major diplomatic disputes, but when have intelligence agencies ever cared about such things? Jake recited the documents in a dry voice, and I listened to the report while checking my equipment.

“The Grand Duchess, both royalty and a great magician, has remained in the north since the end of the war between the Church and the Magic Tower. Her activities during the early stages of the conflict with the Demon Realm were widely reported in the Empire’s official media, but after martial law was declared, her activities decreased. Currently, even her whereabouts are unknown.”

“Her whereabouts are unknown? Is she alive?”

“She seems to be alive, but there have been no media appearances showing her activities. Currently, the headquarters analysts believe she is in seclusion at the fortress in Novo Nikolayevsk, the administrative capital of the north. This fact of her seclusion has not been confirmed either.”

This part is similar to the Emperor.

Adding a side note, Jake detached a photo from the document. It was a facial photo of a young woman with distinctive royal features, and I recognized her at a glance.

“A photo of the Grand Duchess? When was this taken?”

“It was taken three years ago, just before martial law was declared. You recognize her?”

“I majored in military history, so I’ve often seen the faces of great magicians. In textbooks.”

Having majored in military history and served in the Empire for three years, I couldn’t help but know her.

The Grand Duchess photographed three years ago was young and beautiful, making it hard to believe she had lived for over a hundred years.

I’ve heard that clerics or magicians who have reached a considerable level stop aging and have increased lifespans. The Grand Duchess probably falls into that category. She is a great magician, after all.

At this, Jake, the blonde, tanned rascal who was carefully examining the photo, began to share his impressions.

“She’s really young. Look at those eyes. Aren’t they like sapphires? And silver hair too. Silver hair is truly rare.”

“Is she pretty enough to make your eyes roll back?”

“Yep.”

“Get a grip, you bastard.”

I smacked the back of Jake’s head. What’s so good about a chicken coop-smelling old lady that he’s grinning?

“Taeeeeng mama…”

Jake, who had been hit on the back of his head, retreated while muttering bizarre nonsense. He also glared at me as if asking why I was acting crazy toward him.

“What?”

“You have high standards, Chief. Is it because you have many women around you?”

“Look who’s talking. Aren’t you dating Pippin-“

“Ah! We’re not dating.”

“Then why are you two stuck together in the office? You might as well get caught. Do I really need to hear complaints from the Magic Tower attachés? Sigh…”

I raised my fist but then let out a deep sigh. This isn’t the 1980s, so I can’t use violence. And I can’t beat him with a birch stick like the instructors would.

I sighed deeply and went back to checking my equipment.

After making sure everything was working properly, I stuffed the items into my bag and gave instructions to Jake.

“Stop monitoring the chicken coop-smelling old lady. She’s probably not connected to the black market.”

“Yes.”

Jake said he would stop the investigation as instructed.

After checking all the documents, I handed the papers to Jake, and he immediately shredded them and then burned them.

With that, all the documents about northern nobles and royalty that the Military Intelligence Bureau had illegally collected and analyzed (espionage itself is illegal to begin with) were burned to ashes. Along with Pippin and Charnoi’s reports.

“Um, Chief.”

“What now?”

“Will you be alright?”

Jake asked an unexpected question. I stopped packing my bag and turned to look at him.

Jake, who had shredded the documents, pointed at the luggage I was packing. Then, with a clearly worried voice, he continued.

“Working with the Inquisition, I mean.”

“Ah.”

“They’re clerics.”

“That’s right.”

“Our equipment might not be enough to deal with them. You should request support from headquarters.”

I answered while neatly organizing my belongings in the disguise bag.

“If we use company equipment in the north, the counterintelligence agents will suspect us. Maybe even the Imperial Guardian Office.”

Intelligence agencies continuously develop and introduce new equipment for smooth and successful operations. This disguise bag is a good example. Even if counterintelligence agents search my luggage, they will never find items hidden in predetermined locations.

But the problem with such equipment arises not when it’s being used, but after it’s been used.

Acquiring and analyzing foreign intelligence agencies’ equipment found at the scene is something counterintelligence agencies do routinely. Information about the equipment itself could leak.

Therefore, intelligence officers performing secretive operations that need to hide their backing often carry minimal equipment. Of course, there are those who pack everything with the mindset that it doesn’t matter if they get caught. Usually, that’s what Americans do.

But I’m not American.

“If we cause trouble in the north now, there’s no way out.”

“…”

“And this isn’t a paramilitary operation, so what would we use the requested support for? Are we going to wage war in the north?”

“But why are you packing a gun?”

“Got to have insurance.”

I placed the pistol in my shoulder holster and ordered Jake.

“Stand by with Pippin. I’m going out on field work, so answer promptly if I contact you.”

After gathering my gun and bag, I left the hotel. Then I walked toward the cathedral.

And so I arrived at St. Basil’s Cathedral.

Inside the cathedral, which was deserted in the late night, the mint-haired priest was sitting in the front row as always.

I quietly crossed the corridor and sat down next to the priest.

“Priestess Rebecca.”

“Military Attaché.”

“Are you ready?”

Priestess Rebecca silently bent down. Without showing any sign of exertion, she pulled something out, and a heavy luggage bag emerged from under the seat.

“These are the items received from Dvork.”

“Good.”

I placed my luggage on top of her bag.

“Let’s go.”

Leonie will surely entrust this matter to me, so I just need to do what needs to be done.

“Let’s go see that monk’s face.”