Ch.79The Saint Candidate’s Speech, Elpinel’s Mercy.

There are days like that.

Days when, despite a cloudless clear sky, looking up only makes you feel more depressed.

When worn down by hardship, when recalling memories you’d rather forget, when a damp melancholy soaks into your body, people look up at the sky.

Hoping that the unresponsive heavens might offer them even a small comfort.

Like a drowning person lifting their head toward the water’s surface.

And then sinking again. Endlessly.

That morning, when the beating sunlight felt not like warm comfort but like an unpleasant heat.

On that day, all citizens of the Empire must have fallen into the same sentiment.

As if revealing the scar marks branded in their hearts.

Recalling the gnawing sorrow and endless resentment they had forcibly turned away from for dozens of days.

In this gloomy atmosphere where all kinds of emotions surged, the funeral mass finally began.

—-

There were no bodies.

They had long since been burned due to concerns about epidemics.

Without leaving even a trace of ash from the bones.

Identifying them would have been impossible anyway.

There were hardly any remains with proper forms left.

Therefore, this mass was merely a ceremony praying for the souls of all the deceased to safely ascend to heaven.

In the vast square in front of the Extrashafel Cathedral, a massive memorial was erected.

Countless people had gathered, but none of them opened their mouths.

Not even the sound of crying could be heard. It wasn’t time to shed tears yet.

The ceremony was conducted in solemn silence.

“—Thus, may all ascend to heaven and find rest. Though the gods they serve may differ, we pray here that they may reach their respective heavens in the embrace of their deities. We believe that Carlos the Great and Great’s Twelve Knights will guide them. And may such tragedy never occur again.”

The one conducting the mass was Lacy Elmaine Stardolf, a candidate for sainthood in the Church of Elpinel.

Unlike usual, she wore a black habit instead of her pure white holy garments, with a black veil covering her head.

With her eyes closed and head bowed in prayer, she truly looked like a saint.

Following her, all priests participating in the funeral mass prayed, each calling upon their own deity.

As if in response, eleven pillars of light pierced down from the sky.

Thinking rationally, it was probably just a performance staged by the priests.

However, to the bereaved families barely holding back their wails, it must have seemed as though the gods were answering their prayers.

For a while, sobbing echoed throughout. Tens of thousands of people collapsed, crying and calling out the names of the victims.

A concert of grief resonated across the square.

The priests did not stop them.

This was a place to pour out all their sorrow, and then to stand up again.

I just watched the scene with a blank feeling.

Each tear held a tragedy.

The names contained in each sob echoed in my ears.

I will probably never forget this sight for the rest of my life.

—-

Gradually, the pillars of light subsided.

As if matching this, people’s crying also diminished little by little.

Although no one suggested doing so, it was as if everyone had already agreed to it.

Perhaps the strange sense of unity entangled among them brought about this phenomenon.

The funeral mass continued like that.

The bishops of each church expressed their condolences in succession, and finally, the Emperor himself appeared.

The Emperor of the Empire, Ferdinand II, was a man with an evident sickly appearance.

Though only about fifty years old, he looked well over sixty.

White beard and thinning hair. Sunken cheeks and a slightly hunched back.

If not for the crown on his head, it would have been hard to believe this man was the Emperor.

He walked forward wearing a black cloak over his mourning clothes, holding the royal scepter.

Four Masters and twenty knights followed behind him. They were the Royal Guards.

“Eight hundred years ago. Our great ancestor, Carlos the Great, and Great’s Twelve Knights took their glorious first steps right here, in front of Extrashafel Cathedral.”

The Emperor began his speech.

Though his voice sounded tired and weak, everyone listened attentively.

“Decades from then. Humanity fought endlessly to preserve dignity, not for their own survival but for the peace and stability of all mankind… and finally created the Karl Las Empire, a glorious sanctuary that would never disappear. From that day until today, such a catastrophe had never occurred, nor could it have. Humanity has always been victorious against any enemy.”

And then he bowed his head.

The most noble person in the Empire, to everyone.

“In this glorious land where not even a single sword cut was permitted. The scars left on Extrashafel happened because of my lack of virtue. I cannot help but feel grief and shame. I bow my head in apology to the ancestors who protected this land, and to all of you who have lost family.”

After finishing his speech, the Emperor approached the monument and poured holy oil beneath it.

As if praying that a final blessing would accompany the deceased.

Seeing him like this, he must have been quite a decent Emperor when he was younger…

—-

After the Emperor left, having paid his respects, Lacy stepped forward again.

“With this, we conclude the funeral mass, and finally, I wish to convey my earnest plea to all of you.”

She seemed about to deliver a closing speech.

The bereaved families held their breath and listened attentively to her words.

“Your grief resonates deeply with me as well. However, Elpinel has said: ‘Blessed are those who forgive their enemies.’ That is the mercy of Elpinel, and the righteous heart that people should possess.”

…This is a bit strange.

Is she going to tell people to forgive the Werebeasts at this gathering?

People in the crowd began to stir, perhaps thinking the same as me.

“I understand your confusion. To forgive the Werebeasts seems too difficult to bear. But that is not what I mean.”

Lacy shook her head. With her eyes half-closed, solemnly.

“He also left these words: ‘Hate the sin, but not the sinner.’ Do you understand what this means?”

Does she mean hate the massacre but mercifully forgive the Werebeasts?

I don’t think these people will accept that.

“Do not hate… people. Yes. What we should not hate are only people!”

Huh, what?

What did she just say?

“Then what should we do? To follow His will, we must forgive our enemies. But if only people can be forgiven, if only people should not be hated, then what we must do is clear. We must make them, the Werebeasts, into people!”

People raised their heads to look at her.

I too looked at her.

“There is only one way. The eleven gods have already spoken: ‘Those who die in devotion to the gods will ascend to heaven and rest in their embrace. At the judgment seat there, they will either enter heaven or fall to hell according to their lives. However, those who do not believe in gods, animals without faith, will forever die and be reborn, repeating the cycle of reincarnation until they reach faith!’ Yes! This is the answer!”

Lacy’s voice grew increasingly powerful.

An immense self-conviction dwelled in her speech.

That conviction was gradually spreading to the public, making them sympathize.

That Lacy’s speech might be right.

The square grew increasingly heated. It was a vivid emotion, different from sorrow.

I watched with bewilderment the candidate saint’s speech and the people sympathizing with it.

“Werebeasts are the most evil among all races existing on Earth! They kill even when they don’t need to eat, devour those they could speak with, and enjoy their screams and bloodshed! Terrible evil creatures living only by instinct! They are truly no different from beasts! Therefore, to forgive Werebeasts, we must kill them all, removing them from the path of beasts until they finally reincarnate as people!”

The heat turned into anger.

Clear hostility bloomed on the faces of people remembering the past atrocities.

“This is the belief and will that the human Empire has preserved for eight hundred years. When those who exhausted their strength on the battlefield fell, young people who inherited their swords rose again, burning themselves like the sun, fighting and endlessly preserving this one resolution!”

Lacy spread her arms wide to the sides as if making a declaration.

A pure white halo shone behind her back. Like an angel’s wings.

It wasn’t particularly Elpinel’s will, but rather the holy light that Lacy herself emitted.

“One race! One world! One faith! That is the right future humanity must pursue! Therefore, we must exterminate all Werebeasts from this world! Without leaving a single one, until they are reborn as people! Until they become human and finally earn the right to be forgiven! That is the true mercy of Elpinel!”

Everyone praised her with tears in their eyes.

I was simply perplexed.

Because finally, I could understand the truth behind her name.

Lacy Elmaine Stardolf.

In other words, Lacy Stardolf… chosen by Elpinel.

Lacy… St ardolf.

I see.

Racist Adolf…!