Ch.36Devotion Offered by the Sword (11)

It had been quite a while since Kain and Lily returned to the streets. The sun was setting beyond the city of Magdeburg. Kain walked a step ahead of Lily.

Lily didn’t ask where they were going. She simply followed Kain’s lead. The story they had heard from Judge Malachia was so bizarre that some of it was hard to accept.

There had been too many complicated events today. The day had been too long. So walking around like this to organize their thoughts didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Touring downtown Magdeburg was a bonus.

The more they walked, the more they could feel how different it was from the capital. This place was like a massive amusement park. Every area was bustling, and happiness, love, and laughter overflowed everywhere.

The buildings were tall. People swarmed everywhere. Every street had parades and festivals. Perhaps because they were happy people, they were generous to others. Like well-fed people with warm backs becoming elegant.

Even the buildings were much taller than those in the capital.

This city was where money made money. The people of Magdeburg wanted to build taller and more splendid buildings. Both the religious order and the city wanted this. Even for a city built on flat land, they couldn’t expand infinitely.

However, they couldn’t break the rule that no building should be taller than the city hall’s bell tower. So the Empire and the religious order solved this problem by building the city hall on a high hill, making it as magnificent as possible.

There was a benefit to this. The bell that announced the current time could be heard clearly throughout the entire city.

Again. Arms tapping, tapping.

Another parade procession passed by. But unlike the earlier procession of jesters, this one seemed to be carrying a criminal. A procession of atonement. A procession of punishment. Public humiliation.

His eyes were covered with a blindfold, his upper body was stripped bare, and his body was tied to a chair. Yet he was carried on a palanquin held by people wearing armor and helmets.

“I am a sinner!”

The bound man shouted.

“I am the financial officer of the Magdeburg office. One month ago, I embezzled precious tax money. I used the embezzled money to pay for my mother’s medical treatment and to cure my tuberculosis. I am a sinner!”

There were boos all around. Whatever his reasons, he was a criminal. Boys and girls with baskets cheerfully darted between people. The baskets contained rotten tomatoes and eggs.

“Disgusting bastard! Other people’s blood money!”

People playfully threw garbage while giggling. Some threw wooden blocks, and others even picked up pebbles and hurled them. The heavily armed people moving the sinner’s cart seemed to be prepared for stray projectiles.

“Got him! I hit him! See, I told you I could do it!”

A group of jubilant people could be seen. They were well-dressed dignitaries who would be welcomed at any party. Servants quickly wiped their hands clean.

A basket came toward Lily too. She shook her head. The boy shrugged and ran off with a whoosh. Someone pulled on Lily’s shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

It was Kain.

They turned at an intersection. Though they turned, it wasn’t like a back alley. This street was also bustling. But there was no parade here. It was relatively quiet.

“Learn from me, take a lesson from me! I am a sinner, so do not commit the same sin as I did!”

The punished man announced his sin to the world, and in doing so, he experienced salvation and ecstasy. The world’s condemnation became a response that confirmed his confession.

Isn’t the punishment given to someone who considers himself a sinner a solid self-affirmation?

Even though they had moved away from the procession, Lily didn’t leave Kain’s side. Actually, this wasn’t a problem. They were still disguised as a flashy merchant couple. Their fancy clothes remained unchanged.

There might be people who sneered, ‘Look how tasteless these nouveau riche are,’ but no one openly criticized them. There were too many people passing by and too many interesting sights to see.

There was also a practical reason.

It was a given that they had been followed since leaving the inner castle. They had stayed in Inquisitor Heinrich’s room longer than expected.

Someone who blindly followed the Pope’s will might find it suspicious, and someone like the Inquisitor with a legitimate investigation team would have no trouble assigning people to track them.

That’s why the two didn’t return to the branch.

Kain hadn’t told Lily yet, but he had another plan. To find a good hotel. To find a splendid and fancy hotel, and then secretly slip away.

Such hotels were often frequented by dignitaries, and dignitaries had their own separate security. There was no better place to shake off pursuers.

But the hotel Kain was looking for seemed somewhat special. They had already passed more than ten splendid hotels. Finally, Lily couldn’t contain her curiosity.

“Where are we going?”

“I think we need to go a bit further.”

Lily didn’t argue. If Kain said so, then that was that. Instead, she tugged at his collar. Kain gave a hollow laugh. It reminded him of when she had pulled his collar in front of Malachia.

“You did well earlier. But…”

But it was a bit awkward. Lily had played her part well. To the inquisitors, Lily probably appeared to be Kain’s superior. But it was also true that she kept interrupting Kain’s flow.

‘And it happened to be when I was really angry.’

So she had tried to prevent him from making a mistake. Should he be angry about her presumptuous intervention? Or should he praise her for doing well? It was a difficult question.

“…but you don’t need to pull my collar here. Let’s be comfortable, like a normal couple. By the way, why did you pull it earlier? When I was muttering to myself.”

Praise or reprimand? It’s difficult. He decided to postpone the decision.

“Did I mess things up?”

If he had been an arrogant bastard like Godfrey, he would have hit her on the head saying, “Yeah, you did.” But Kain wasn’t someone who distorted facts to protect his pride.

“No. That’s not it. It was actually timely. Thanks to you, I was able to control my anger, and we got additional information from Malachia.

But… I wasn’t giving you any signal at that time. In a way, it was your spontaneous action. I’m asking why you did that.”

“Because you looked hurt and sad.”

Lily answered, looking straight ahead. Kain shook his head. Lily was indeed too kind to be an agent.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for that old judge. It was his choice and decision. Of course, it was a brave act, almost rebellious, to try to give us information, even if reluctantly. Even if it was within his discretion.”

The response was unexpected.

“No.”

Lily looked at Kain quietly. Kain couldn’t understand her gaze. When the delayed realization came, he couldn’t walk any further.

“…What do you mean? Don’t tell me you meant I looked that way?”

“It was barely noticeable, but I could see it. You looked hurt and in pain. That’s why I did it. I wanted to lend what little strength I could.”

“Whet… Lily.” Fortunately, there was no one passing by right next to them. It was quiet for a bustling area, and everyone seemed busy with their own business.

“You shouldn’t do this. This is wrong. Why are you arbitrarily judging my emotions, why are you stepping in without permission?”

“Because I saw it.”

She didn’t back down a bit. He knew she was stubborn, but he didn’t know it was to this extent.

And Kain couldn’t understand why he couldn’t scold her sharply.

“When you saw the apprentice knight who collapsed at the monastery. When you were angry at me. When you saw the pitiful countess in the courtroom. You had the same expression each time. And each time, you lost your composure a little, to the point where it was outwardly noticeable. If it was wrong of me to draw your attention, if it was presumptuous, I won’t do it again.”

Only then did Kain realize why he hadn’t gotten angry at Lily. It wasn’t that he wasn’t angry; he was too ashamed to express it.

Because it was entirely his fault. In fact, the one who lost composure and fell apart was Kain himself. Lily had simply pointed it out calmly. And like people who have been hit right where it hurts, Kain chose to blame Lily rather than reflect on himself.

‘You idiot.’ Kain berated himself. ‘Now you’re even being called out by an apprentice?’ It wasn’t even the Shadow pointing it out. Kain thought it was pathetic even by his own standards.

“I really did make the right decision to retire…”

“Please. Stop that.”

Lily grabbed his arm forcefully.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry for interrupting.” Lily lowered her gaze but didn’t turn her head away. “But those words. Please don’t say them again. It hurts me too, too much.”

‘So this is the expression I had.’ Kain understood. An expression of anger mixed with sadness.

But he couldn’t let Lily’s reaction slide. This was clearly wrong. Both as an agent and in her attitude toward a superior.

“Lily. You can’t act on your emotions all the time. This is wrong. If you do this again, I’ll really get angry. You shouldn’t reveal your emotions. If you act on your emotions, you’ll be read. Figured out. When you’re in danger later, when an enemy tries to manipulate your emotions. If you give in like this then, you’ll be in danger.”

‘Bullshit. Weren’t you the one who taught that it’s wrong to be figured out? What right do you have to criticize when you’re being called out by an apprentice?’

Kain ignored his inner voice.

“…I’ll let it go this time. But there won’t be a next time. Don’t do this again.”

It was embarrassing, but he couldn’t show it. Because you shouldn’t act on your emotions. Because he had to at least stand by what he had just said.

“I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“And. I’m sorry.”

Lily stared at Kain blankly.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Unable to bear the embarrassment, Kain turned his head away. He spotted a bench they could sit on.

“…Are you tired? Let’s rest a bit before continuing.”

Lily moved silently. The two sat on the bench. Lily slightly raised her head to look up at the sky. Kain looked at her profile for a moment, then gazed in the same direction.

To think that something so hideous had crossed such a clear and beautiful sky somewhere.

* * * * *

Judge Malachia had told a very bizarre story. It was about the Apostle of Temperance, Abbot Arius.

Malachia himself hadn’t seen it directly; he was merely relaying what he had heard in a confidential meeting.

Three months ago. On a moonless night. Off the coast of Venelucia, the capital of the Eastern United Republic.

On moonless nights, when light is dim, ships navigating the night sea must keep their lights brightly lit. A fishing boat with three fishermen was no exception.

But then, a pleasure boat suddenly cut in front of them. It was fortunate that the fishing boat was small and could turn easily, or they would have collided head-on.

The pleasure boat had all its lights off, yet hymns were echoing from the deck. ‘These people must be crazy.’ The three excited men climbed up the side of the ship using the nets and rope ladders.

And they saw it.

Instead of cloth sails, there were people with their back skin flayed. Men and women alike, naked and skinned, hanging like bats with their skin membranes spread out.

Yet they were quietly singing hymns. ‘Holy, holy, holy!’

Two of the fishermen had already lost their minds by then. The remaining one tried hard to help the other two. Then, he encountered the Apostle of Temperance, Arius.

Arius was hanging in place of the ship’s figurehead. With his chin blown off, flicking his tongue and rolling his eyes, his words were still perfectly clear.

‘Why not enjoy more before you go? The entertainment is just beginning.’

Arius burst into laughter. How a person with a missing lower jaw laughed is unknown. Perhaps it was the fisherman, the fisherman who had already half lost his mind, who laughed.

In any case, the fisherman jumped from the ship into the sea. Fortunately, the sea was calm, so he was able to climb back onto the fishing boat.

And he saw it. Countless hands extending from the side of the ship, hands stretching out like centipede legs, rowing through the sea, then floating up and crossing the night sky toward the north-northwest.

North-northwest from Venelucia is the direction of the Demon King’s wasteland.

“…That figurehead was wearing a monk’s clothes, and the cloak had silver thread embroidery. A scale, the symbol of the Temperance Monastery, and the silver thread embroidery meant that he was the abbot.

And there’s no doubt that the people who chartered the pleasure boat were from the Temperance Monastery. I don’t know why he rented a place where all kinds of intemperate entertainment is possible if you just pay.

But… anyway. According to the testimony, he and the people on that ship became one with the vessel and flew through the night sky like a ghost ship.

I thought it was crazy talk. If it hadn’t been a secret meeting, I would have dismissed it as nonsense. Moreover, even the fisherman himself went insane after giving his testimony, so it couldn’t be considered reliable.

But there was one thing I couldn’t ignore.”

“What was that?”

“There were endless strange sightings in the night streets of Venelucia. Before complete darkness fell, a horse ran across a building rooftop, with a black knight riding it, holding something blunt like a wooden sword. Yet no matter how closely they examined the rooftops of Venelucia buildings, they couldn’t find any horse hoofprints or broken tiles.”

Malachia rubbed his brow.

“But if that wooden sword-shaped shadow was a scabbard…”

* * * * *

On the bench, Kain thought about Malachia’s words two, three times.

There was a commonality between the two incidents.

Every moonless night. A knight with a scabbard. Someone who either borrowed the Demon King’s power or was the Demon King himself, attacking heroes.

Whether it’s a two-month interval or a one-month interval is unknown. But the fact that the Demon King’s power strengthens on moonless nights has already been proven in the 5th Crusade.

Either stop it. Or find it.

But among the remaining five, it’s impossible to know who will be attacked next. Especially now that the religious order is systematically erasing and eliminating the heroes’ activities.

They need to find a clue. To do that, they need to search Haspel’s office. The emblem is still in his hands. Heinrich was very sad, but he accepted the persuasion that Kain would hand it over along with the belongings he had collected from the monastery.

“Whetstone.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s share a room tonight.”