Ch.69Save me

Decades ago, a Demon King appeared. And to defeat it, a Hero’s party was assembled.

A Hero with the ability to see the best choices.

A Thief who could read other people’s thoughts.

A Beast-person with no known facts about them.

A Cleric who could create shields with divine power.

Among these, who do you think was the strongest? It was the Cleric.

They would wrap multiple layers of shields around their fists to form gauntlets. Then, with tremendous strength, they would deliver judgment upon the heads of enemies.

The sight of them smashing demons’ heads with their fists made them look several times more heroic than the actual Hero.

That’s how they earned the title “God’s Fist.”

This title wasn’t given to signify delivering divine judgment. It was given to mean they could turn opponents into cripples.

Anyway, after defeating the Demon King, this Cleric rose to the position of Archbishop.

As they aged, had children, and took on administrative duties rather than combat roles, the Archbishop naturally weakened, but they still remained formidable.

To what extent? Even in the war against the Demon King’s army 11 years ago, they achieved the second greatest accomplishments after the Hero.

But age cannot be deceived, and now they can no longer fight as they once did, so they’ve truly retired.

Nevertheless, the Archbishop is still more powerful than most active fighters.

Anyway, this living legend is now furious about the defiled faith.

***

As soon as the Archbishop told them to bow their heads to the ground, Agath and Rebecca immediately slammed their heads to the floor. But Leo stood firmly in place.

“Aren’t you going to bow your head?”

“Well… I outrank you…”

“Don’t you have any respect for your seniors?”

“I’m a Mage.”

“Weren’t you a Hero…?”

“I’m a Mage.”

Even in this situation, Leo stubbornly insists that he’s a Mage. Isn’t that true madness?

The Archbishop, seemingly tired of Leo’s attitude, spoke with a suspicious expression.

“Fine, you haven’t caused any major incidents yet, so I’ll let it slide. You can leave now.”

“Thank you!”

With that, Leo instantly ran to the door. Just before opening it to leave, he pointed at Agath and Rebecca and said:

“You two are already dead.”

After Leo left, the Archbishop’s expression became sterner than before. Meanwhile, Agath and Rebecca’s expressions grew much darker.

In this incredibly heavy atmosphere, the Archbishop opened their mouth with a calm voice.

“Do you two have anything to explain?”

“…Honestly, it’s strange to worship something that doesn’t even exist…”

BOOM!

When the Archbishop took one step toward Rebecca, the floor shook violently.

…Is that person really human?

“…I think it’s right to pass judgment on all heretics who think like that.”

Rebecca, seemingly feeling instinctive fear toward the Archbishop, suddenly became full of faith.

“Then you agree that you should receive judgment too, right?”

“…The Goddess is merciful and forgives sinners who repent.”

“Then how will you repent?”

“…Reading the scripture 125 times?”

The Archbishop, who had been looking down at Rebecca with a solemn gaze, sighed and said:

“This Friday.”

“What?”

“Prove your faith in the Grand Cathedral by this Friday.”

“Does that mean…”

“First, write down what you plan to do for the sermon or prayer and have me check it.”

As soon as the Archbishop finished speaking, Rebecca wore an expression of having lost everything.

“Why are you making that face? As a saint, this is something you should naturally do.”

“…Yes. I’ll do it gladly.”

Rebecca answered with a forced smile. But deep resentment could be felt in her voice. Anyway, the Archbishop turned their gaze to Agath.

“And daughter, do you have anything to say?”

“The Goddess is merciful…”

“You’re not a saint.”

“…I followed the doctrine well.”

When Agath answered with an awkward smile, the Archbishop let out an incredibly deep sigh. Then, as if feeling somewhat regretful, they spoke:

“I’ve been too negligent with you all this time.”

“…Dad?”

“Always busy with work, we never talked to each other, and I never thought about what you really wanted.”

The Archbishop looked at Agath with a distant gaze. Is Agath’s twisted personality due to parental neglect?

“I was the worst father, forcing you to do things you didn’t want to do, talking about duty to power and whatnot.”

The Archbishop continued speaking self-reproachfully, avoiding Agath’s eyes. Then Agath opened her mouth as if feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Um… your acting is too obvious…”

“…If you knew I was acting, couldn’t you at least play along for the sake of my public image?”

“No matter what I say, I’ll end up getting beaten anyway…”

“Do I look like the kind of father who would mercilessly beat his daughter?”

“So you’re not going to hit me this time?”

“No.”

Something layered up on the Archbishop’s arms, transforming into what looked like gauntlets. Then the Archbishop looked at Rebecca and me and said kindly:

“Could you perhaps step outside? I’d like to have a sincere conversation with my daughter.”

“…You know that domestic violence is forbidden in the doctrine, right?”

“This is discipline, though?”

“How is this discipline in any way?”

“Then what about making sex jokes while the doctrine forbids obscene acts?”

“The Goddess didn’t directly forbid sex jokes, right? Besides, the standard for obscene acts…”

As if realizing she had said something wrong, Agath quickly covered her mouth, but she had already said too much.

“Then since the Goddess never directly said violence is forbidden during discipline, it should be fine, right?”

“…Waah, save me.”

“Or make one promise here. Then I’ll truly give you one last chance.”

“I’ll do anything!”

Life returned to Agath’s eyes. Well, no matter what, she’s still a precious child, so physical violence would be too much.

“Live as a noble holy knight without ever making sex jokes again…”

“Ugh, just kill me!”

Agath rejected before the Archbishop could even finish speaking. Now we’re about to see a parent beating their child.

“This time I’ll beat you to the brink of death. Still want to resist?”

“Even if I die here, I absolutely cannot give up on that.”

“You’d risk your life for mere sex jokes?”

“That’s enough to risk my life for.”

Suddenly, Agath took a stance and shouted:

“Come at me as much as you want!”

Seeing this, the Archbishop put a hand to their head as if dizzy. Then they said to us in a weak voice:

“If you don’t want to get involved, leave.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

So Rebecca and I hurriedly went outside. There, we saw Leo leisurely drinking coffee.

And Leo sent Rebecca a sly smile and said:

“Sweet.”

—BOOM!

The floor suddenly shook violently. But Leo and Rebecca continued their conversation calmly.

“It’s started. Want to bet on how long she’ll last this time?”

“Sure. Loser buys late-night snacks. I’ll bet on 30 minutes.”

“I’ll go with 45 minutes. Want to join in?”

Leo tried to draw me into the conversation as well.

“What are you betting on?”

“We’re betting on how long Agath will hold out against the Archbishop.”

“…Isn’t that a bit harsh for a teammate?”

“So you’re not in?”

“I’ll bet on 52 minutes.”

The Archbishop was certainly terrifying. But Agath is a Holy Knight. And one who has reached a very high level at that.

Truly, apart from her personality, Agath could be considered flawless. Incredible endurance, vast stamina, and terrifying strength.

So it’s obvious that Agath won’t go down easily.

And I believe in Agath. She’ll definitely be able to hold out for a long time.

“By the way, what does the Archbishop do?”

“That’s a long explanation…”

***

Now I know what the Archbishop does. But can they really be called an Archbishop? No, can they even be defined as human?

While we were chatting and drinking coffee despite the excessive shaking of the floor, the tremors eventually stopped.

And surprisingly, the Archbishop came out of the room looking neat and tidy. I was sure they would be covered in blood.

Anyway, I checked the time on my watch and saw that 16 minutes had passed. That’s how long Agath had lasted. Weaker than I thought. Did I overestimate her?

No, her opponent was beyond common sense to begin with. Actually, lasting 16 minutes might be impressive.

“You lost, buy the snacks.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy them.”

“But isn’t this unfair? I didn’t know who the Archbishop was.”

While I was expressing my grievance, Agath walked out of the room.

Her condition was surprisingly decent. I thought she would be smashed beyond recognition.

Anyway, Agath approached me and said:

“I want to apologize for all the atrocities I’ve committed. Can you forgive me?”

Agath spoke with her usual playful demeanor completely gone.

“…What exactly happened in there?”

“I made a bet with my father. If I fail, I’ll live a pure life forever, and if I succeed, I’ll return to my normal life.”

“What was the bet?”

“Whether I can live as a noble holy knight until this Friday.”

Finally, I’ll be free from these damn sex jokes. It’s been really tough.

Agath definitely won’t be able to do it. She’ll fail miserably and live an ascetic life.

I believe in Agath. She’ll definitely collapse miserably within 3 hours.

While I was inwardly cheering, the Archbishop spoke kindly:

“Why don’t we all go inside and talk?”

Indeed, talking outside the door doesn’t look proper, so it would be better to talk inside.

So we went into the room, and I saw the severely destroyed interior.

All the furniture was completely smashed, countless holes were punched through the floor and walls, and several pillars had collapsed.

…How did Agath survive this?

“Do you know why I called you here?”

Suddenly, the Archbishop addressed me. And I felt immense fear. If I were the Sun, I would have fainted on the spot.

“N-no…”

“I called you regarding the Hero’s trial. I’ll explain about it now, so listen carefully.”

My survival instinct is screaming that I must understand everything.

So I focused as much as possible and listened attentively to the Archbishop’s words.