Chapter 70

Episode 70

The Lady was lying on the carriage seat. She seemed to have fainted.

Her face was pale. To someone unaware of her true nature, she would appear genuinely terrified and unconscious.

But I was a transmigrator, and I knew her secret.

This wasn’t the outcome I had expected.

She should have been sitting calmly, waiting for my arrival, ready with a witty remark…

‘Well, that would be strange too.’

It would be ridiculous for a delicate lady, untrained in swordsmanship or magic, to be dragged away by a demonic beast and remain perfectly composed.

I entered the carriage and checked on her.

I brought my ear close to her nose and heard faint breathing. Her heart was beating slowly but steadily.

“My Lady, are you alright?”

Jericho and Selendis arrived, panting. I nodded.

“She doesn’t seem injured, but we should examine her just in case.”

“I’ll do it.”

*Buzz!*

Jericho immediately cast a healing spell.

He then activated his mana and scanned her body. I had heard that with enough concentration, even the smallest scratches could be detected.

Thankfully, a smile appeared on Jericho’s face.

“She’s fine. There are no injuries! This is a miracle!”

“Yes, it is a miracle.”

“Why do you sound so unenthusiastic?”

“What do you mean?”

“You sound skeptical. Shouldn’t you be happy in this situation?”

I just smiled. Jericho tilted his head in confusion, but Selendis seemed to understand my thoughts.

“We’ll discuss this later. For now, we need to get the Lady out of here.”

“You’re right. I’ll prepare the signal flare.”

I carried the Lady on my back. I activated my aura, but she was so light that it wasn’t a burden at all.

I ignored the soft sensation against my back and started walking.

As we retraced our steps, we reviewed the battle.

Even a 1-star demonic beast was a formidable opponent for ordinary knights. Just like they had resistance to magic, they also had resistance to aura.

We were able to defeat it so easily thanks to Jericho.

The Tulu family’s secret technique, “Binding Magic,” seemed to not only restrict movement but also negate resistance.

“Wow, I’ve never seen anyone fire six Energy Bolts at once. And the power was incredible. How did you do it?”

“I just thought about it, and it happened.”

“Ha…”

I knew how he felt.

It was like a student who scored perfect on the college entrance exam saying, “I just studied the textbook.”

But it was true. Even though I didn’t have a UI-based status window, I could sense the skills and magic I possessed conceptually.

If I thought about a skill I wanted to use, it would materialize.

That didn’t mean I hadn’t put in any effort.

I had been practicing diligently ever since I learned the “Enclave” spell from Jericho.

Through practice, I realized that magic was also a kind of “skill” with levels. The fact that I had fired six Energy Bolts in the previous battle was proof of that.

At first, I could only fire one. The number increased every time I had a breakthrough. After countless repetitions, I could now fire six.

In other words, this game world had a leveling system.

However, I hadn’t figured out how to learn higher-level magic beyond Energy Bolt. I had no clue. It was a frustratingly unhelpful system.

Anyway, I had improved my proficiency in non-elemental magic to some extent. Now, I planned to practice basic spells of other elements.

The problem was time.

“What are your thoughts on this incident?”

It was a blunt question, but Jericho’s concern was clear.

I had told him to request assistance from the church branch before we came here.

That’s why we brought the severed horn with us.

“Are you worried about the church?”

“Oh, no. We’re fine since we defeated the demonic beast. But you’re the Lady’s savior.”

Where was this conversation going?

It was definitely a good situation.

There had been a lot of pressure to punish me after the vassal meeting in the Dukedom. I had injured a prince, after all.

But what if I had rescued the Lady from a demonic beast without a single scratch?

With a bit of exaggeration, I could even expect the Duke to offer me his daughter’s hand in marriage.

“You’ll definitely get promoted. The Duke is strict, but he’s also generous. I think a barony is within reach. Hahaha!”

“Why are you so happy about my promotion?”

“If you succeed, we succeed too. Right, Lady Selendis?”

“I agree. I feel sorry for putting the Lady through this ordeal, but it seems like things will work out in the end.”

Selendis wasn’t usually one for long speeches, so her words reassured me.

‘Could this be the mastermind’s doing?’

Perhaps she had orchestrated this fake kidnapping to help me out of a tight spot.

Anyway, I would have to confirm everything after the Lady regained consciousness. For now, my priority was to get her to safety.

We exited the cave and fired the signal flare. Moments later, the knights arrived, their auras blazing.

They cheered upon seeing the Lady safe and sound.

***

We had to stay at the Caribe villa for the next few days.

We should have returned to the Dukedom immediately, but the church “politely” blocked our path.

This world had various religions and sects.

The most popular one was the church that worshipped the goddess Lamirach. It was the state religion of the Empire and wielded significant influence.

It wasn’t as powerful as the Imperial Family, but it was strong enough to pressure the nobles.

So, Selendis, Jericho, and I had to cooperate with their investigation.

“You are the only witnesses to the demon’s demise. Thank you for your time.”

“As you know, the Lady has been through a lot. She needs to return to the Dukedom as soon as possible to recover.”

“I’m aware of that. The church will contact the Dukedom separately. Please cooperate with our investigation for the time being.”

We agreed to cooperate, considering the incident in the Cliff Viscounty. The Lady, fully recovered, also ordered us to assist the church as much as possible.

And so, the church officials began their formal investigation.

There were three of them: a devout priest, a burly paladin, and an inquisitor who exuded authority.

“Just to be sure, is there anything you haven’t mentioned in your report?”

“No, there isn’t. Jericho is the scribe of the Lucius Inspection Unit and a top graduate of the Kalisto Academy. I can vouch for the accuracy of the report.”

“Hmm, but this is a strange case. I’ve been with the church for over thirty years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The speaker was Godfrey, the inquisitor of the Caribe branch.

He introduced himself as a former paladin, and he had the physique to match.

To be precise, he looked capable of personally carrying out torture.

The difference between a priest, a paladin, and an inquisitor lay in their authority.

Priests focused on public outreach. They were pacifists who prayed for peace and humanity.

Paladins, on the other hand, served the Supreme God through force.

Inquisitors possessed both authorities. They spread the Supreme God’s will and purged evil through violence.

In short, the church was taking this matter seriously.

“I heard from the Lord of Caribe that there was a large-scale monster extermination operation recently. It’s unprecedented for a demonic beast to appear in an area where monsters have been eradicated.”

“Perhaps that’s what provoked the demonic beast.”

Jericho, the demon expert, countered. Godfrey tilted his head.

“Provoked? How so?”

“It’s rare, but demonic beasts sometimes establish their own territories. It’s possible that the demonic beast, after its minions were eradicated, went into hiding and then launched a surprise attack.”

“Hmm.”

Godfrey groaned. Jericho’s point was valid.

But the stubborn inquisitor didn’t like Jericho’s attitude.

“But how did you three manage to defeat a demonic beast? Even a 1-star one wouldn’t be easy.”

“Because we’re skilled?”

“…”

I wanted to stop Jericho’s flippant remark. He needed to know when to be serious.

“I’ve hunted demonic beasts many times before. On a different continent, though. So, it wasn’t difficult to deal with it. Lady Selendis here is a high-ranking knight, and the Inspector recently made a spectacular debut by defeating Prince Arthur in a duel. You must have heard about his heroic tale.”

“Hmm, I have.”

It seemed like his doubts about our skills had been dispelled. Jericho carefully concealed his demon hunter lineage.

“Then, how did you track the demonic beast? It’s not easy to follow the demonic energy of a single entity.”

“I just told you. I’ve hunted demonic beasts many times before. You learn these things naturally.”

“What’s the highest star rating you’ve hunted?”

“I’ve hunted up to 3-star, but ugh! It was a nightmare. I never want to face one again.”

He was exaggerating, but it wasn’t a complete lie. Thankfully, Godfrey didn’t press him further.

“Then, my next question is this. Lady Lucia was rescued safely. That means the demonic beast didn’t harm her. Why do you think that is?”

“We were just lucky. I guess you could say heaven was on our side.”

“Your explanation is insufficient. Considering the ferocity of demonic beasts, it’s strange that she’s unharmed. It wouldn’t be surprising if she had been torn to shreds.”

That was unpleasant to hear.

It seemed like I had to intervene.

“Sir Godfrey, is it my imagination, or are you hoping that the Lady was harmed?”

“…What?”

“We’re recording everything, just like you. For the Duke’s review. What do you think he’ll think when he reads this part? I suggest you consider how much House Kalisto donates to the church every year.”

Religious organizations in this world were no different from those in my previous life. Money talked.

House Kalisto, one of the most prestigious families in the Empire, made substantial donations to the church every year.

If their donations decreased because of a careless remark, Godfrey would be held accountable.

“Hmm, I was out of line. I apologize. I’ll retract my statement.”

“We’ve recovered the demon’s horn, so the investigation should be sufficient. We simply pursued and defeated the demonic beast. We’ll leave the rest to the experts.”

“Alright. We’ll call you again if we have any further questions. You’re dismissed.”

We were temporarily freed from the church’s harassment.

But as the inquisitor had said, they would summon us again.

“We’ll be stuck here for a few days. This could get complicated. I guess it’s too much to hope for a reasonable inquisitor.”

“The Lady ordered us to cooperate, so we have to obey.”

“The church folks are more demonic than the demons themselves. They wear holy robes, but their hearts are black.”

“Save those comments for when you’re in front of them.”

I sent Jericho and Selendis away and headed towards the Lady’s quarters.

I had orchestrated this entire incident from the beginning. To expose the Lady’s true identity.

It was time for the final act.