Ch.90Combat Pilgrim (5)

Several days had passed since I subdued the fake Inquisitor with my own hands.

And during those days, naturally, I was busy cleaning up all the mess this bastard had created.

“Go back, pilgrim. I will not tolerate any more misconduct.”

“…Step aside.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

First and foremost, I drove away the combat pilgrims who had been following and supporting the self-proclaimed Inquisitor.

Of course, at first they were quite belligerent, shouting and posturing as if they were some kind of righteous force, behaving with utter disrespect…

—SLASH!

“Say that again. What did you just say?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

No matter how stubborn they were, after witnessing me swing my sword and cut down dozens of trees with an extended slash, they seemed to regain their senses. After that, they obediently followed orders to disperse and return to their own lands.

Meanwhile, Priestess Joanna had reportedly used the direct communication network to the Pantheon to inform them about the appearance of a mid-tier Inquisitor impersonator.

The response from their side was that they would dispatch personnel to retrieve the impostor within a few days.

…Of course, part of me would prefer to simply execute him cleanly and be done with it, but if I want to resolve this incident as neatly as possible, this is the best approach.

Impersonating an Inquisitor is such a serious crime that it would be unwise to act rashly, and choosing this method could also earn me some goodwill with the Pantheon.

In a world where spiritual authority of religion is so strong that even the insane notion of “fanaticism is virtue” can gain serious credibility, maintaining smooth relations with a massive religious organization like the Pantheon adds stability for a ruler.

After all, governance and religion are domains that simply cannot be separated from each other.

Anyway, the fake Inquisitor, now confirmed to be taken away by the Pantheon, is currently being “preserved” with his entire body surface petrified by my Evil Eye.

It might seem excessive, but considering that a mid-tier individual could cause massive damage even if successfully subdued, this is actually the most effective method.

And today was the day when the Pantheon’s personnel would visit the village to escort this fake Inquisitor away…

“Pleased to meet you. I am a Holy Knight of the Pantheon, Dorthea, serving Lord Chronima, the God of War.”

“…Dorthea? Could you possibly be THE Lady Dorthea?!”

“Yes. I have earned some modest renown, inadequate though it may be.”

The person who came to escort the criminal was someone so famous that even I, who tend to be somewhat oblivious to current affairs, had heard of her reputation.

It was about 25 years ago, I think. Anyway, around that time, during the Great Orc Invasion of the Eastern Plains, there was a druid who defeated the most powerful Kagan, who had been overwhelming all orcs of that era and those that exist today.

Lady Dorthea first gained fame by serving under that druid during the campaign and achieving considerable success. Unlike the druid who later went into seclusion, she continued to build her reputation through various activities.

This middle-aged (50s) Holy Knight standing before me, with beauty that belied her age, held such high status that she was renowned even among the typically proud knights.

Well, being a Holy Knight alone would make her worthy of such respect.

A Holy Knight is, simply put, “a priest who has awakened to aura.” They cannot reproduce mysteries using aura, but instead combine the powers of both priest and warrior, making them the Pantheon’s secret weapon, so to speak.

Among the already limited number of priests, one must have an aptitude for aura, and a fully realized Holy Knight can function as a well-rounded hexagon, capable of dealing damage, tanking, and healing all by themselves.

Anyway, this remarkable being (Holy Knight) Lady Dorthea, dressed in armor symbolizing the “Blood-Soaked God” from head to toe, spoke those words and then asked a question after seeing the petrified impostor.

“Lord Alzar. This may be impertinent, but may I ask how you achieved this petrification?”

“Ah. It’s a power derived from a by-product I obtained after vanquishing a basilisk, a former master of another realm. My zweihander is also made from that by-product.”

“I see… I must apologize for my potentially disrespectful question.”

“Not at all, Lady Dorthea. It’s… quite understandable…”

Skillfully deflecting any potential suspicion of heresy, I handed the stone statue over to her attendants.

Some might argue that handing him over in this petrified state is inappropriate, but the priests of the Pantheon could easily break this petrification curse anyway.

And so, one incident came to a close.

※ ※ ※

After Lady Dorthea, Holy Knight of the War God “Chronima,” took away that fake Inquisitor, the village naturally returned to its normal routine.

…The feeling that the abnormal had outweighed the normal lately was probably just my imagination.

Anyway, with the incident concluded, I returned to my private quarters and sat on the bed, examining the greatest trophy from this affair.

I’m referring to this enchanted pistol I now hold in my hand.

This pistol, with internal components so complex that even with my “Goblin’s Dexterity” I couldn’t fully understand it, was not only a rare and valuable weapon but also something close to the pinnacle of Imperial magical engineering.

In the Frankish Kingdom, with its territory-based economy, there’s a tendency to avoid adopting gunpowder weapons due to cost issues, but that doesn’t mean gunpowder weapons are completely disregarded.

In our territory alone, numerous knights and cavalrymen have purchased pistols as personal armaments, and the lord’s guard’s standard weapon is a rifled musket, so one can hardly say they’re disregarded.

It’s just that with the Frankish Kingdom’s economic power scattered across territories, proper adoption of gunpowder weapons is difficult unless the territory is wealthy, so adoption is relatively limited except for stone cannons.

Occasionally, some fanatic emerges questioning how a knight could dare use such a cowardly ranged weapon, but aside from such exceptions, there’s no public sentiment that despises gunpowder weapons.

Therefore, while there’s no stigma in using this perfect pistol, there is one very minor issue—the issue called budget.

The specialized alchemical powder used to fire this pistol is obscenely expensive. It’s so expensive that even I hesitate to approve such expenditures.

Moreover, such niche substances as alchemical powder are sold by few alchemists, making them difficult to obtain, and despite this scarcity, they remain disgustingly expensive, making this pistol difficult to use casually.

Additionally, while this pistol’s power isn’t bad, rather than spending a fortune on it, one might be better off simply throwing a dagger.

Assuming I were to use either, both would have similar power and range, but with throwing knives, I could benefit from the “Blade Demon” trait enhancement.

Meanwhile, through the process of hunting down this impostor… I was able to physically realize another fact.

‘I… I’ve really gotten stronger.’

This realization came from how easily I was able to subdue that impostor in this battle.

Objectively speaking, I certainly had advantages in this fight.

Heavy versus light armor. The qualitative difference in supporting troops. The difference in mindset approaching combat, and the gap in catalog specs between me and the Inquisitor impostor.

When examining all these conditions, the power difference was significant enough that losing would have been strange, but that doesn’t justify how easy the victory was.

Honestly, no matter how much weaker that fake Inquisitor was compared to me, he was still a naturally developed mid-tier who had experienced his fair share of battles.

The pistol, capable of rapid fire with just a slight delay and powerful enough to be effective even against mid-tier opponents, was just the beginning.

A magical coat made of monster hide, sturdy plate armor, what appeared to be a dwarven-crafted parrying dagger with engravings.

As if proving that he hadn’t been impersonating an Inquisitor for nothing, he possessed enough military power to defeat a decent mid-tier knight after a fierce battle.

The fact that he used such power for the inexplicable purpose of impersonating an Inquisitor made him look not just pathetic but downright foolish…

What’s important is that my power has reached a realm not easily approached by ordinary mid-tier individuals.

And as I sat there, clenching and unclenching my fist in that dazed yet strangely unreal situation, I finally felt a powerful urge.

In common parlance, it’s called the desire for growth.