episode_0108

After a tumultuous incident at the Central Church, the bishops of the seven churches gathered once again.

There was a slight delay due to some mishaps, but they could no longer postpone the selection of a new saint.

The bishops convened another interim council to review the candidates for the saint and finally elected a new saint.

And so, the new saint was brought to the Central Church.

A beautiful and devout young woman received baptism at the Central Church.

From now on, as the new saint, she would pray to find the “true hero” and await the goddess’s revelation.

“It’s only a matter of time before we find the hero. This time, we must find the real hero….”

The bishops expressed their hope that the new saint would quickly find the hero.

However, no one in the Central Church knew.

That the newly chosen saint would never receive the goddess’s revelation.

They firmly believed that they still had the authority to choose a saint.

But as long as the saint who received the hero’s revelation already existed, the saint they had chosen was just a “fake saint.”

* * *

Guild Master Algot decided to help me.

The main reason she agreed to cooperate with me was because of my ultimate goal.

To create a world without heroes or demons.

Whether that was truly possible was beside the point. Algot said to me,

“If that really happens, we might even be able to make a peace treaty with the demons.”

The reason why humans and demons had been fighting each other for a long time.

At the center of it all were the demon king and the hero.

If there was no reason to fight, could we not make a peace treaty with the demons and interact with them like any other different species?

Algot envisioned such a future after hearing my story.

If we could stop fighting with the demons, perhaps the demons at the Demon Protection Shelter could come out into the world and live normal lives.

Although she had not met the goddess in person yet, it was uncertain if such a thing was truly possible.

Since then, Algot had been using all her connections to find the whereabouts of the exiled saint.

If she had been exiled from the kingdom, she might have been driven to unclaimed lands or towards the demon realm.

The thought that she might have already died in the worst-case scenario crossed my mind when the narration came in.

“The saint who received the exile sentence from the kingdom was still alive.

However, she had not been exiled yet and was still within the kingdom.

In a situation where she might have thought it would have been better to be exiled, she had accepted her fate and given up everything.”

Although she had received the exile sentence from the kingdom, she had not actually been exiled?

But what did it mean to be in a situation where she might have thought it would have been better to be exiled?

It was an important clue.

If she did not leave the kingdom and the situation worsened to that extent, there were not many options available.

“Mr. Algot, do we have any clues about the whereabouts of the exiled saint?”

“No, not yet. It’s a bit strange. If a figure like that were to be exiled from the kingdom, there should have been witnesses. There’s no reason to keep it so secretive.”

“Is there a possibility that someone intervened in the process?”

“The saint’s exile was probably carried out directly by the Central Church without delegating it elsewhere. Unless it was someone from the church, it would be difficult.”

According to the narration, the saint had not left the kingdom.

So there must have been something that happened during the exile process.

And it was something bad.

If someone had helped the saint, the narration would not have said, “It would have been better to be exiled.”

According to Algot’s words, the banishment process was likely handled directly by people from the Central Church.

Ordinary people tend to think of church people like bishops and priests as sacred, holy, and always right.

But from what I have seen and heard so far, I knew that the church in this world was not like that.

One possibility came to mind.

In the underground waterways of the kingdom’s capital, Pifnel, there was a huge underground lawless city.

It was a place where all sorts of illegal activities that could not see the light of day were rampant.

That’s why Algot operated an extremely sensitive facility called the Demon Protection Center in the underground waterways.

And there was also a slave market in those underground waterways.

“Yunoa pointed to the slave market in the underground of Pifnel as the whereabouts of the banished saint.

It was a conclusion that could never have been reached by mere speculation.

I wonder if he knows that he didn’t reach the right conclusion because of his cleverness.”

With the unnecessary voice of criticism that didn’t need to be narrated, my deduction confirmed that it was the correct answer.

Well, it was true that I could know thanks to the narration, but… it felt like they were deliberately throwing out information to catch the tail.

“Mr. Algot, what do you think about the possibility that the church people in charge of banishing the saint sold her as a slave?”

“Surely, the Central Church is the center of the seven churches. No matter how great the sin of appointing a fake hero, would they do such a thing to someone who was once a saint?”

Algot shook his head upon hearing the truth disguised as the possibility I raised.

Indeed, human prejudices are a scary thing.

But if even heroes have trashy personalities, wouldn’t it be surprising if bishops and priests also had trashy personalities?

Based on the facts confirmed by the narration, fitting the pieces together in my head, selling a former saint as a slave had quite a merit.

If I were a slave trader, I would prefer women of high status like the princess of a ruined kingdom or a former saint, as they could fetch a higher price.

Seeing a rare and exceptionally beautiful Meruru among the water folk, it was the same principle that made slave traders drool.

The more beautiful and rare the slave, the higher the value.

And if the slave had a story that could make one feel a sense of pity or conquest, their value would increase even more.

“Yunoa, under the pretext of thinking about why the saint was sold as a slave, immersed himself in the perspective of a slave trader in his imagination.

Yunoa, who needlessly imagined the value of a slave in detail, had the qualities of a slave trader.

If he had not become an adventurer and had fallen into a bad path, he would have remained the most villainous human as a slave trader.”

Yeah, yeah.

I get it, sorry.

I can at least imagine to that extent.

Thinking about it, if you could just sell someone as a slave, wouldn’t it be much more profitable than just banishing them from the kingdom?

It could easily happen if there were corrupt priests or bishops in the Central Church.

“Mr. Algot, how can we enter the slave market in the underground waterways?”

“Do you really think the saint is there?”

“We have to explore all possible places. If there are no traces of banishment outside the kingdom, we need to search internally as well.”

“Sometimes Mr. Yunoa seems to have an unusually reckless confidence.”

Algot said, looking at me.

Well, of course, because I already know that the saint is there.

Feeling a prick and a pang from Algot’s words, I involuntarily shifted my gaze elsewhere for a moment.

“Sometimes there are people like that. Should I say they have a good intuition? This time, let’s trust Mr. Yunoa’s intuition.”

“…Thank you.”

It seems that Algot has been perceived as someone with good intuition unintentionally.

Well, if they think of me that way, I guess it’s not a bad thing.

I decided to head straight to the kingdom’s capital, Piphnel, to bring back the saint who had been sold at the slave market.

Although Algot had guild master duties to attend to and couldn’t accompany me, he helped me plan how to enter the slave market.

She operated a demon shelter in the underground waterway, so she was very knowledgeable about that area.

“Piphnel’s slave market is the darkest side of the kingdom. Even if you go to the underground waterway, it won’t be easy to get in. Since the other party is not a monster, using violence to attract attention won’t do any good. And if you draw too much attention, the demon shelter could also become dangerous, so please try to minimize any issues.”

For that reason, Algot recommended a plan for undercover infiltration to approach the slave market.

“So, if you want to get into the slave market, it’s best to disguise yourself as a customer. If you disguise yourself as a fellow trader and casually look around the market, you might be able to find the saint without attracting too much attention.”

Due to the highly secretive nature of the slave market, Algot’s opinion was that it would be impossible to enter through conventional means.

So, the proposed method was to disguise as a slave merchant coming to sell slaves.

However, if I were just an ordinary slave merchant, I could be rejected at the Piphnel slave market, which only dealt with the best goods.

Therefore, Algot promised to prepare an ‘irresistible product’ that could never be rejected at the slave market.

Shortly after, Meruru entered the office where Algot and I were discussing.

“No way….”

“Yes, we’ll take Meruru. A rare and beautiful mermaid from the Helvetica Island, she’ll be the best product.”

“Isn’t that too risky? And shouldn’t we hear Meruru’s opinion too?”

I never thought it would come to using Meruru as bait to disguise as a slave merchant.

I had my doubts about whether it was necessary to go to such lengths, but Algot smiled and said, “Yunoa can protect Meruru, right? We’re not actually selling her as a slave.”

“Um….”

“Yunoa! Meruru is a good thing! Trusting Yunoa! And when we go there, you can see your sister again!”

Meruru smiled widely and clung to me.

Her fluffy ears twitched as I tickled her face, making her look like she was about to sneeze.

Well, with Meruru by my side, I would probably look like an ‘irresistible product’ that would be hard to reject at the slave market.

Even if something slightly embarrassing were to happen, as long as I stayed on high alert and protected Meruru, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

After finishing our business there, I could even visit the demon shelter as Meruru suggested and reunite with my sister.

“Alright. Let’s take Meruru with us.”

“Wow!”

Meruru exclaimed, raising both hands above her head excitedly.

She’s way too excited for someone playing the role of a slave….

“Since it seems like the decision has been made, I’ll have someone take care of the details for you. When you arrive in the capital, head straight to the demon shelter. We’ll have disguises prepared for you there.”

Algot said.

With Meruru ecstatic by my side, I decided to depart for Piphnel immediately.