Ch.9292. Where You Are (1)

A Life of Killing.

Marianne’s life had always reeked of blood. Every time her spear pierced someone’s lungs, she felt the trace of a life being severed. Bishop Andre told her not to think too deeply about it. So Marianne decided not to think deeply. She had nothing left but to follow the orders of the bishop and the Blue Orthodox Church.

“You called for me, Bishop.”

On a summer night filled with the noise of insects, Marianne stood behind Bishop Andre after receiving his summons. The bishop was sitting in a church chair, smoking a cigarette. For the past few years, there hadn’t been any large-scale heresy that required the deployment of inquisitors. Perhaps a major heretical movement had finally been discovered.

“Sit down over there for a moment.”

The bishop pointed to the chair across from him. As Marianne obediently sat down, the bishop extinguished his cigarette, placed it in an ashtray, and turned to face her.

“I’m thinking of assigning you a new mission.”

“Yes, I will accept anything.”

Bishop Andre looked at Marianne and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“Aren’t you curious about what the mission is?”

“I simply carry out the missions given to me. I don’t question them.”

Is that so. The bishop let out a small laugh and leaned back in his chair. It was a laugh that came more from the thought that Marianne’s attitude was futile rather than pleasing.

“This mission has nothing to do with hunting heretics. Naturally, it will be a long-term mission, and it could be very dangerous. You might have to risk your life.”

Marianne listened to the bishop’s words like a wooden statue. Well, when was an inquisitor’s mission ever safe? Bishop Andre muttered as he placed his hands on his knees and stood up.

“I’m thinking of sending you to the hero’s party. Isis… the Saint has left the hero’s party due to certain circumstances. I want to send you to fill that vacancy for now.”

Marianne nodded with the faintest hesitation.

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

“No.”

She would simply follow what she was told and do as she was ordered. Marianne had no reason to question. Bishop Andre clasped his hands behind his back and walked to a corner of the church.

“I have a new weapon to lend you.”

The bishop picked up a cloth-wrapped spear that had been placed on a table in the corner of the church and handed it to Marianne. It was clearly no ordinary weapon at first glance. For the first time, a small change appeared in Marianne’s expression. Seeing her reaction, Bishop Andre smiled as if amused.

“It’s a Holy Spear. We’ve been wondering who would be worthy to use it since there hasn’t been a suitable candidate for a while. It seemed a waste to let it rot in storage, so I decided to lend it to you for this opportunity.”

“…I see.”

Marianne answered as she unwrapped the cloth from the Holy Spear. As the cloth fell away, the sacred magical power of the Holy Spear was fully revealed. Marianne gazed at it with emotionless eyes.

“I’ve already informed that old man. If he finds out later, he’ll throw another fit, so I’ll have to lay low in the Kingdom of Kairos for a while.”

By “that old man,” the bishop was referring to the Pope. Andre Bishop nodded slightly as he looked at Marianne holding the Holy Spear.

“You’ll need that to be in the hero’s party. You’ll be fighting battles completely different from what you’ve done so far. You’ll have a chance to meet the hero soon.”

A different battle. Marianne didn’t know what that meant. Looking at the bishop’s meaningful smile, she nodded.

==

Five days had passed since Ilroy entered the fog. Marianne sat in Ilroy’s room rather than her own. Huddled in the corner of the cold bed, Marianne exhaled a chilly breath. She didn’t want to go outside. She hadn’t touched any food. Light came through the window and darkness followed, repeating over and over.

“…Hero.”

Marianne looked at the compass placed at her feet. The compass had been oscillating around the same area for days, but for several days now, it had stopped pointing at the same spot. That motionless state was making Marianne anxious.

Tick.

Like this, the needle would twitch slightly just once an hour. What was happening? Was Ilroy really alright? What was she doing here?

Marianne placed her finger on the compass. The atmosphere in the Holy Kingdom was quiet and depressed. Everyone was desperately waiting for news of the hero. No one wanted to go near the fog behind the papal office anymore. Perhaps it was easier to forget about him than to wait.

Knock knock knock.

A sound of someone knocking on the door. The door opened, and as Marianne slightly raised her head, George was standing at the doorway with a plate of food in his hand.

“So you’ve been sitting like that too.”

George sighed and entered the room, placing the plate on the desk. Marianne glanced at the steaming plate and then turned her head back to the compass, showing no interest.

“Daphne has been reading that grimoire from the storage room for days. With completely bloodshot eyes. I was worried she might collapse, and now I see you’re in a similar state.”

Clank. The sound of a spoon being placed on the desk was heard.

“Ilroy wouldn’t want you to worry like this.”

George said as he put a glass of water next to the plate.

“He would want us to trust him and wait. Just as we’ve always trusted him. Think about when he rode off to save Duke Quenore.”

George spoke with self-deprecation.

“…Back then, Ilroy entrusted his back to us.”

George took out Ilroy’s letter from his pocket and waved it.

“My best option now is to trust Ilroy and wait. That’s how I repay the sincerity Ilroy has shown me, and it’s the only way to help the hero who’s trying to save the world.”

George tapped Ilroy’s chair a couple of times and walked back to the doorway.

“…Eat while you wait. If Ilroy hears that you and Daphne have been starving yourselves during his absence, he won’t feel at ease either.”

With George’s words, the door closed. Marianne buried her face in her knees again.

==

“…Thank you, Sister Marianne, for protecting our castle too.”

That was when Marianne first realized she was fighting a different battle. It was when Karin, with a shy blush, greeted each member of the hero’s party.

It was a battle where she didn’t kill people. Marianne realized this fact and looked down at her hands. What stained them wasn’t human blood. What she heard weren’t groans filled with hatred and contempt.

“Yes, we protected it together.”

When Marianne turned her head, there was Ilroy sitting in a wheelchair. Such a smile was something Marianne had never seen before. It wasn’t a bitter or awkward smile. It was a satisfied smile coming from the purest joy, devoid of all other emotions.

“Is that so.”

The “Is that so” that came from Marianne’s mouth also carried a different resonance than usual. Marianne didn’t want to lose this feeling. She couldn’t understand why seeing that person’s satisfaction affected her so deeply. Was it because he was running toward a place so different from her own, or…

‘I’ll be back.’

Was it because he had eyes like someone who could disappear at any moment? Like firewood that shows light and warmth but disappears with that light.

“What’s wrong?”

Marianne looked at Ilroy and shook her head.

“Take care of yourself.”

Ilroy opened his eyes wide, then looked down at his wheelchair-bound body and chuckled.

“…Thanks for worrying about me.”

.

.

Another scene flashed through Marianne’s mind.

“As you’ve seen Marianne’s skills firsthand, she is one of our strongest inquisitors. She’s a great asset to us and can play an important role in apprehending heretics.”

They were telling her to return to a life of killing people. Marianne had to follow that. Her life was something newly given to her. Since the Blue Orthodox Church had saved her, she had to live as theirs.

Ilroy was different.

He would save someone and then just leave. He didn’t try to calculate the weight of those lives even as he shouldered it.

“I don’t have enough information to nod right away. There’s no need to give a hasty answer when I have time to think.”

And when he saved someone, what he always put up as collateral was himself. Marianne vaguely realized that hidden precariousness.

Marianne disliked that sacrifice. It was the first time Marianne could think “I dislike” something of her own will.

Marianne grabbed the compass and staggered to her feet. She denied Ilroy’s order. She couldn’t sit and wait. She would find him and somehow hold onto him and tell him. Don’t go. If he was going to sacrifice himself, at least let her join him.

“…Ugh.”

Marianne picked up the Holy Spear leaning against the wall. She regained her strength by infusing magic into her body. Putting the compass in her bosom, Marianne left the building. Complete darkness covered the world. Marianne walked toward the towering papal building. She walked slowly, step by step, toward where the ominous energy of the fog could be felt.

“Why are you here?”

And, behind the papal office, Marianne encountered an unexpected figure.

“I thought some fool might try to enter the fog against Ilroy’s wishes. Your presence feels different from usual.”

Daphne, along with the papal knights, blocked Marianne’s way and spoke with a slightly hoarse voice. It seemed to be the aftermath of crying alone in her room. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was haggard from not eating or sleeping well, just like Marianne’s.

“So here’s one fool. Go back, Marianne. Ilroy’s promised deadline hasn’t even arrived yet. If you go in there now, you might even get in his way.”

Marianne bit her lip firmly.

“Do you really think the hero is doing well?”

“…I believe in Ilroy.”

Marianne gripped the Holy Spear as she lowered it.

“He needs help. The hero needs it now.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to help him.”

Daphne said with a distorted face and a painful voice. Again, tears were welling up in her purple eyes.

“I’m afraid I might get in his way. I’m afraid that instead of helping Ilroy, I’ll only be a burden. That’s what I fear.”

Daphne drew up her magical power and looked at Marianne with determined eyes.

“I can’t let you in, Marianne. You can condemn me as a coward if you want. But I absolutely cannot do anything that might become an obstacle to Ilroy. I’m also looking for a way. Some way to help him.”

Marianne gripped the Holy Spear firmly with both hands. Golden magical power flowed through Marianne’s body and swirled at her feet.

“…You won’t listen, will you?”

Daphne’s tear-soaked eyes reflected the light of the magic, making them sparkle even more. Marianne felt that much stronger pressure and aimed her spear.

“…I don’t want the hero to leave.”

Marianne spoke her first self-made resolution, precarious but calm. Daphne pressed her lips together as she looked at Marianne.