Ch.443Why Are They All So Useless?

Three guards were waiting for us at the bottom of the wall after we carefully climbed down. Their attention was focused forward rather than upward, so they hadn’t noticed us yet, but now that we were on the ground, we couldn’t enter the town without getting past them.

“…This is troublesome.”

“Not that troublesome.”

Judging by how they were chatting while burning Mana Herbs, they didn’t seem like professional guards. Such fellows could be easily evaded just by diverting their attention for a moment.

Like this.

– Rustle!

I picked up a pebble and threw it toward some bushes outside their line of sight. Their conversation abruptly stopped at the sudden noise.

“Huh? What was that sound? I heard something like footsteps…”

“Maybe it’s just a stray cat?”

“Well, it could be, but we should check it out anyway. Rookie, you go look.”

“Yes, sir!”

The guards, proving their incompetence, focused their attention on the bushes. They really weren’t trained properly. With three of them there, at least one should have kept watch on their surroundings.

We managed to slip past while their attention was diverted toward the bushes. We encountered a few more guards afterward, but we detected their presence early and avoided them, so we weren’t discovered.

—-

After escaping the surveillance network, we headed straight for the hideout Mayer had told us about.

Given the late hour, there were few people moving about in the city.

At most, there might be some drunks or a few priests. Avoiding their gaze was as simple as breaking a child’s neck.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes. It matches the address Lord Mayer wrote down.”

The Crusader’s secret safe house we finally arrived at was a small brick building disguised as a clothing shop.

A clothing shop, not a bad idea.

Members could make contact naturally by posing as customers, and if agents left the shop with different clothes, it wouldn’t raise suspicion at a clothing store.

After knocking on the firmly locked shop door in the predetermined sequence, someone peered at us through the crack before opening the door wide.

“…Come in.”

A middle-aged man in civilian clothes. Judging by his lack of muscle development, he was probably a priest rather than a Paladin.

He exuded a gloomy atmosphere.

Lacy glanced at his face and nodded while tapping my shoulder.

She must be confirming he was one of her members.

We followed him into the clothing shop.

—-

The interior of the clothing shop wasn’t very spacious, but it was fully equipped with everything necessary.

I thought it was just a simple disguise, but it was more elaborate than I expected.

One wall was filled with everyday clothes made of leather and cloth, while shelves fixed to another wall were stacked with various fabrics sorted by type.

Opposite the entrance was a counter with a small door, which seemed to lead to a space used for taking measurements for custom clothes or changing.

“Joachim at your service. It’s an honor to see you again, Lady Elmaine.”

“It’s been a while, Joachim.”

After a brief greeting with Lacy, Joachim led us to the basement of the clothing shop.

The basement was a hideout disguised as a storage room, with a large table on one side and makeshift beds arranged in two rows on the opposite side.

On the table were numerous documents and what appeared to be a floor plan, with a woman holding a quill pen drawing strange symbols and sketch-like lines across it.

“Greta, Lady Elmaine is here.”

“Ah, Lady Elmaine! You’ve finally arrived! I’ve been counting the days until your arrival!”

“It’s good to see you again, Greta. You seem much brighter than before.”

While Lacy greeted Greta, we unpacked our belongings on one side of the basement as Joachim directed.

Though “unpacking” just meant taking off our coats and placing them on the beds.

“Infiltrating the city center with church members to set up such a hideout… I’m not sure whether to admire the skill or question the intent. This seems more like a method spies would use rather than clergy.”

Agnes whispered to me cautiously, furrowing her brow slightly as if uncomfortable with the existence of the Special Crusader Unit.

Well, she wasn’t a foreigner like the rest of our party, nor was she affiliated with the Church of Elpinel.

As a candidate for sainthood in the Church of Menes, she would naturally be uncomfortable with the fact that Lacy was operating what amounted to a private intelligence organization.

Secret organizations are typically used for sinister purposes like assassination or inciting rebellion, after all.

“There’s no need to view it so negatively. When any organization grows large enough, it’s natural to develop an intelligence department. You might not know it, but the Church of Menes probably has a similar organization.”

“Is that so…?”

The churches in the Holy State are rulers equivalent to grand dukes in the Empire.

When you think about it, it would be stranger if they didn’t have intelligence organizations.

…Though perhaps not to the extent of having privatized forces like Lacy’s.

Well… that’s actually hard to know for sure.

Someone of cardinal rank could establish a private organization without much difficulty.

—-

Anyway, after exchanging greetings and settling in, we immediately began planning our next move.

“First, we need to find out what the Church of Grimnir is doing with the poor people they’re gathering. Though it’s extremely unlikely, they might genuinely be caring for them.”

As Lacy said, there was a non-zero chance they had suddenly discovered compassion and were looking after the poor.

I don’t think that’s the case… but ordinary people like me can’t predict the thoughts of madmen.

Among the religious people in this world, few seemed sane, and among mages, virtually none were in their right mind. The followers of Grimnir were a combination of both, so how mad must they be?

They must be madmen among madmen.

Nothing they might do would surprise me.

“So, either we disguise ourselves as poor people and blend in naturally… or we secretly infiltrate a branch of the Church of Grimnir to investigate. Which would be better?”

“The latter would be better. If they’re using magical means to subdue and control the poor, we could be in danger too.”

That’s possible.

If we infiltrate disguised as poor people, we wouldn’t be able to resist rashly whatever tricks they might pull.

What if they cast mind control or paralysis magic that my mana resistance couldn’t block?

That would be the end of my life.

At best, I’d be killed outright; at worst, I’d become their tool or be used as a vessel to extract superior bloodlines.

With my mana resistance, I might be fine… but whether my resistance could perfectly block magic activated by holy power was something I couldn’t know without experiencing it.

Just a few months ago, I had suffered greatly after being caught by Isabella’s authority despite relying on my mana resistance.

Not to mention the other members of our party who didn’t even have anything resembling mana resistance.

“You have a point. So we need to sneak into a branch of the Church of Grimnir…”

I quickly surveyed our party members.

“…Agnes seems to be the only one suitable for this kind of work.”

Demian and Millia, Agnes and Lena, and Lacy.

…All of them were forces specialized in direct confrontation.

If I entrusted infiltration to them, they’d be discovered within five minutes.

Millia would probably charge in claiming the place was overrun with kobolds, and Demian had rarely given me reason to trust him.

Lacy was also not suited for this kind of work.

“Excuse me. I’m here too…”

Hush cautiously raised her hand and spoke nonsense.

Why nonsense?

“You’re not human.”

How could a half-black, half-demon be considered human?

I’m just a mixed-race human of Eastern and Western descent, but Hush is a hybrid who can’t even bear children.

She couldn’t be considered human.

“How could that be…”

She might want to claim she’s human… but then she should demonstrate the power of Karma.

She can’t, right? So she can’t be called human.

“Infiltration mission… honestly, I’m not confident either.”

Agnes expressed mild anxiety.

Indeed, taking her along raised questions about whether she could handle things properly if something went wrong.

As befitting a saint candidate, her holy miracle output was impressive, but as she herself had said, her combat experience was limited to sparring with a few Paladins.

She had never learned infiltration techniques, and killing Paulus the Cardinal was her first time taking a life.

It was impressive that her first kill was someone so significant… but I was still uncertain about her abilities for such dangerous work.

I wondered if it would be safe to send her in relying solely on her invisibility.

If she were to die, it would be a catastrophe.

Taking a saint candidate on what was supposed to be a pilgrimage experience only to return her as a cold corpse would throw the Holy State into complete chaos.

“…It’s better if just Hush and I go.”

I could only sigh as I pointed at Hush.

After considering all options, this seemed like the best choice.

“The rest of you wait here and… support us if a commotion breaks out. In case we’re discovered, there could be a conflict.”

If we’ve misunderstood and the Church of Grimnir is innocent, they probably won’t try to kill me.

They might try to gain some diplomatic advantage using our unauthorized infiltration as leverage.

People who have committed no crimes wouldn’t want to make enemies by targeting a high-ranking imperial noble and core force of the Church of Elpinel.

Conversely, if they are up to something evil with the poor, they will definitely try to kill me.

They would need to silence me.

In that case, the entire city would become hostile.

Even hiding here, you couldn’t miss such a commotion.

“Um, so I’m going too…?”

Hush tilted her head and broke into a cold sweat.

What, were you planning not to go?

After claiming infiltration was your specialty?

“Of course. Why, don’t tell me you don’t want to go? Surely you’re not about to say you don’t want to go right in front of me? I don’t believe it.”

She had no human rights, and those without human rights have no right of refusal.

Looking dejected, Hush shook her head like a wet dog.