No to Being the Suffering Heroine! – Chapter 159

Ganagl Peytan was originally the archbishop of a cult called the Deep Sea Church.

Though it’s amusing how they act like a systematic religion with cardinals and archbishops despite being a cult, isn’t it natural for such people to be obsessed with impressive-sounding titles?

They were the same. Though Ganagl was particularly obsessive even among them.

To the point of accepting the blessing of the abyss with his entire body to gain power for a higher position.

“―The results weren’t so good. They say Ganagl, who accepted the abyss’s blessing too deeply and too intensely, became greatly twisted and broken both physically and mentally.”

A body transformed into a horrific form. Intelligence reduced to that of a young child.

That was the price Ganagl paid to gain power. Though Ganagl himself probably never expected to pay such a price.

Well, anyway, he did manage to devour all his superiors with that power and become the church leader, so maybe he was satisfied in his own way?

Though since he transformed into a stupid and impulsive monster, they say his role as church leader was closer to just being a symbol, but still, a leader is a leader.

After the Exorcism Reversal Society drew in such a Ganagl as their member, the Deep Sea Church became their subordinate organization and gradually increased their power.

Though their combat ability was poor as befitting a cult, their scale alone was unmatched within the Reversal Society.

Although many branches were destroyed by the Goddess Church’s inquisitors and Heid, they still had numerous secret branches spread throughout Hervor.

“They have a branch in this city, Svinaland too.”

Edgar explained while pointing at the map on the table during the operation briefing.

“Boldly disguised as prostitutes and masseurs, they use drugs to draw in tourists as followers. Some also run inns and taverns.”

What a sinister method. They’re saying they drug unsuspecting tourists until their bodies can’t live without the cult.

“You knew this and just left them alone?”

“They’re just small fry anyway. You can’t fish without bait just because the bait is disgusting, can you?”

He was saying they deliberately left them alone to use for occasions like this.

Since destroying one branch wouldn’t bring down the Deep Sea Church, acting on misplaced sense of justice would just lose a useful bait branch with no real benefit.

“…I understand. Let’s move past that issue.”

Though I’m not particularly happy about these practices… I’ll have to let it go. What’s the point of questioning the morality of an assassin from an assassination organization?

If they were going to strictly follow ethics and morals, they would have become priests, not assassins.

“So, we just need to strike those places?”

“No. Do you see this empty space on the left side of the map? We’ll be heading there.”

Edgar shook his head and pointed to the edge of the map. A small mountainous area several kilometers from the city. Saying that’s where our operation target is hiding.

“The execution is at midnight tomorrow. After completing all preparations, arrive there by midnight wearing these.”

Edgar pulled two cloaks and a mask from his pack and handed them to us.

A black cloak covered in feathers, perhaps modeled after a black eagle, and a metal mask with only eye holes. The Black Eagle Shadow’s official uniform.

“Then, I’ll see you again at that time.”

After I received the cloak and mask, Edgar bowed politely with his hand on his chest and slipped back out through the window.

Though his actions seemed a bit crude, he was a man with very swift movements befitting one of Argentir’s assassins.

Well, that’s probably why he was mobilized for the Abyss Priest subjugation operation.

Unlike Hugh Casvail who had nothing but fraud skills and necromancy, or Ord Zenbel who heavily relied on monster armies, Ganagl was the type with overwhelming personal combat power.

A day passed.

After finishing dinner, Friede and I immediately left the city and headed to the rendezvous point Edgar had told us about right after confirming sunset.

Covering our entire bodies with black feathered cloaks and hoods, equipped with the steel spear we had purchased from the weapon shop and the Edelmut received from my adoptive mother.

We reached the vicinity of our destination around nine o’clock.

“Around here maybe? Perfect place for hiding.”

“Seems good for surveillance too.”

Indeed.

I turned my head and looked around through my helmet.

Traces of crumbling old stone walls and thickly grown trees. Cliff-like overlapping rocky hills and small caves occasionally visible through the undergrowth.

With the brilliantly risen moonlight blocked by the shadows of trees and hills, everywhere was dark as pitch.

It might have had its own charm if we came during the day… but whether because it’s night or because it’s too quiet, rather than charm it just looked eerie.

Like an undead or forest witch might jump out at any moment. The complete absence of even small insect sounds created a strange sense of dissonance.

“…Let’s climb up there and wait for now. We did arrive a bit early.”

I lowered my voice and pointed to the rocky hill Edgar had mentioned. He said we would watch the surroundings from there and strike the moment the Abyss Priest appears.

Once we climbed up, it was indeed terrain perfect for surveillance, with thick vegetation but a clear view overlooking below the hill.

“As expected, no one’s here…”

“They’ll come if we wait.”

We lay flat on the ground, hiding our bodies in the undergrowth, watching below the hill while waiting for Argentir’s subordinates to arrive.

For a whole two hours.

“…”

“…”

…Maybe we came too early.

Lying still and waiting for over two hours was mind-numbingly boring beyond imagination.

We might have chatted if we could, but we had to minimize talking since enemies might hear us.

Rustle.

“…The promised time was midnight, Lady Kriemhilde.”

“It was closer than I thought.”

The Black Eagle Shadow’s combat personnel arrived about ten minutes after that.

Edgar whom we met yesterday and one man standing behind him. Seventeen assassins standing one step back, presumably the man’s subordinates.

A total of nineteen was all the personnel assembled for Ganagl’s subjugation.

And even among those, only Edgar and the man beside him were actual combat forces.

The other seventeen were merely auxiliary forces for dealing with the cultists guarding Ganagl rather than Ganagl himself, they said.

Indeed, looking them over, only Edgar and the man beside him seemed to have decent skills.

His name was Veinum or something? Originally belonged to the Goddess Church apparently, though he wasn’t a paladin or priest.

He was raised as an assassin from the start? They said he was an assassin from the Secret Holy Apostolic Society, a special forces unit that secretly eliminated enemies of the church.

Impressive that he managed to get out of there. Since the existence of the Secret Holy Society itself is classified, it’s an organization you can only retire from by dying. Perhaps Argentir helped him escape.

Anyway, he and Edgar were people usable as actual fighting forces.

Perhaps lowest elite rank if comparing to knights. Though they couldn’t defeat a regular kingdom knight order knight head-on, they looked capable of assassinating them if conditions were favorable.

Their forces seemed a bit insufficient for facing Ganagl… well, that just means Friede and I will have to put in that much more effort.

“Then, now…”

“We should wait for the signal from over there, right?”

Edgar lay down pointing toward distant Svinaland. As if waiting for the signal fire that would announce the start of the subjugation operation.

Veinum also lay prone at a slight distance, while the remaining seventeen went down the hill and scattered.

About ten minutes after that.

Small flames rose from various places in Svinaland.

The signal announcing the operation’s start. Signal fires rising from the Deep Sea Church’s workshops burning throughout the city.

Ganagl and the cultists hiding somewhere in these hills must have seen those lights too.

At first they’d probably think it’s just a small fire accident, but after some time they’d realize their workshops were being attacked.

Then what would happen?

Would Ganagl, who fled all the way to Svinaland avoiding Heid and hid in a secret base outside the city out of caution, stay quiet after seeing that?

Rumble…

Right, of course not.

I smiled in satisfaction at the faint vibrations coming from somewhere on the rocky hill. Ganagl himself was kindly showing us his location from where he was hiding so securely in his secret base.

“…Lady Kriemhilde, found him. Northeast, below the long split in the rocks.”

Edgar tapped my shoulder and whispered in a slightly excited voice.

Ganagl, mistakenly thinking his pursuer – Heid – had followed right to his doorstep, burst out from his hiding place.

The workshops in the city were bait from the start. Both for us and for the Deep Sea Church cultists including Ganagl.

They probably planned to leave traces at the workshops to lure Heid there, then escape from their secret base while Heid was destroying the workshops.

It was a fairly well-thought-out plan. If it really had been Heid attacking the workshops, they could have bought time to escape.

Their only mistake was failing to account for the existence of a third party who had roughly figured out even the location of their secret base.