episode_0161

Wayne went in to offer his prayers to Stella and I waited for her in the main hall of the cathedral. There was so much to say, so much time had passed, but Wayne showed no sign of coming out.

‘It’s frustrating.’

I wanted to hear the story about the magic sword alone, but there was no way he could tell me the inside story, as I was not a warrior and was just an outsider. Of course, if you show the ring of Venus, you will no longer be an outsider, but if you really do that, it is clear that there will be an uproar over the appearance of a saint and the time to hear about the magic sword will be even further away.

“Hmm….”

“Brother looks very worried. When I see you sighing like that. How about praying to Goddess Stella and pouring out your inner feelings? I’m sure you will listen to me.”

“Ah… no. I will only accept it with gratitude.”

It’s not that I don’t know the hearts of the priests who work hard to propagate, but I still think it would be a good idea to encourage faith in other gods. If I really want to talk, I just have to meet in person rather than pray.

“Oh, it came out.”

From a distance, I saw Wayne coming out leisurely. It seemed as if all the guilt that had been building up for a while had been relieved, and my gait had become considerably lighter.

“You waited a long time, right?”

“What. It’s been a while since I met you…Goddess, so there must have been a lot to talk about.”

“May the blessings of the stars be with you. Hero. Cardinal Altanio is waiting for you.”

As soon as Wayne left the prayer room, the priest who had first guided us appeared. We followed him to where the cardinal was.

“His Majesty the Cardinal. The warrior came to visit.”

“Oh, please come in.”

The cardinal’s voice sounded quite young through the door, and he was actually very young, around 30 years old. Of course, the Order of Stella does not have a one-to-one correspondence with the Catholic Church on Earth, but if he were a cardinal, he would be right next to the Pope, and since he was that young, he probably seemed like a very faithful or capable person.

“May the blessings of the stars be with you. There is a warrior and his companions. My name is Altanio Balber, the Cardinal who is in charge of the Potera branch of the Stella Order.”

“Yes, Cardinal. This is Wayne, a warrior of our time.”

We bowed our heads and greeted each other, but even though I was the only one keeping my mouth shut, the picture was strange, so I introduced myself. If the other person was a cardinal, there would be no problem with security, so it was right to introduce oneself properly rather than as an elementalist or bard.

“This is Eugene.”

It was a simple introduction with just a name, but the meaning changes when you show Venus’ ring. Sure enough, Cardinal Altanio froze on the spot and could not take his eyes off the ring.

“…Guidance of the great Stella….”

Finally, the cardinal prays into the ring. No, looking at the example of not getting drunk even by a hero, it seems like ‘living saint’ is so outside the standard.

“Then I feel burdened. Please raise your head.”

“I expected that he was an unusual person since he was said to be with the warrior, but he far exceeded my expectations. Haha.”

If this had just been introduced as a spiritist, it might have been more disappointing.

“Let’s get to the main topic. I heard that there is something I would like to ask the hero.”

“Wow, it looks like it has already spread to believers. It’s true.”

The cardinal began to talk. As the priest had guessed earlier, the topic was about the magic sword. I mostly just listened, while Wayne and the Cardinal talked.

“Recently, movements of subversive forces have been detected in Potera.”

“What do you mean by a subversive force?”

“…I am a kidnapper.”

Kidnapping. The crime is very bad. At the same time, I felt a sense of deja vu somewhere. The fact that I kept reacting sensitively to the keyword about the magic sword from a while ago was like a feeling that something was coming.

“Has someone been kidnapped?”

“That is ambiguous. People who suddenly start disappearing are adventurers who do not have a lot of income or vulnerable people who barely live in slums. But not long after, he reappeared.”

“Then isn’t it a bit absurd to call it kidnapping?”

“Just because you returned safely does not mean that the crime of kidnapping people goes away. Moreover, people did not return smoothly.”

“It looks like something has changed with those who were kidnapped.”

“Yes. They all showed signs of malnutrition and anemia. In severe cases, some people came back with more than half their body weight lost. It’s almost like it’s a shame to be alive.”

“Hmm….”

“The survivors all testified that their captors used strange weapons to harm their limbs.”

From what I heard, it seemed like the phenomenon was related to the magic sword.

“So that’s the work of the magic sword?”

“It was a sword that radiated an indescribably evil energy, so for convenience, it was called the Demon Sword within the church, but now everyone calls it the Demon Sword.”

“Something is a bit strange. Why kidnap someone, injure them, and then let them go…? I can’t say this in front of the survivors, but kidnapping and then killing seems more natural…”

Wayne trailed off like that. Of course, it is always better to be alive than to be dead, but it is not wrong to call something strange strange. In reality, it was quite unnatural.

“But that made things more troublesome. Since no deaths actually occurred and all of the kidnapped people have returned, the Lord of Potera is not actively taking action.”

“Hmm… The fact that the victims are socially disadvantaged probably also plays a role.”

In some ways, you could say it was cold, but it was also an extremely realistic situation. The lord’s private army may be thought of as a very powerful and absolute force, but since the country of Berfia is run very normally (except for the fact that the middle of the granary area became a wasteland thanks to someone), the lord uses his private army as a strong and magnificent force. There was no need to pack it up at all.

Of course, unless it was something serious, it was inevitable that the lord would have to move his troops. The military is a waste of money, with maintenance costs incurred just by standing still, but even more money is lost the moment it is operated.

“I don’t know if the subversive forces have taken all of that into consideration, but first of all, the church is pursuing them through the Holy Knights. However, it is a hopeless situation with no way to figure out their identities.”

“…There is a high possibility that it is not an ordinary force.”

I also nodded to Wayne’s opinion. The only paladin I saw properly was a man named Heltica, who attacked Rare on his own in the past. He died helplessly, but at the time, his divine power did not work for me, and considering that it was Arjen who finished him off, Stella The name of the church’s paladin would not be so light.

The fact that he was able to deceive their eyes and continue to use drugs in secret meant that he was not just fooling around.

“I understand the gist of what you said. I guess it’s something I need to do my best to do.”

To sum up the story, it was enough for a warrior to step forward. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with me, so I felt like I had to step forward.

If the thoughts of the two coincide, what happens next is natural. Wayne and I decided to dig into the demon sword commotion.

“Thank you so much. If you need any support, please let us know at any time. We will help the church in both material and spiritual ways.”

“Then, could you help me broker a house in a slum?”

“In a slum…a house?”

The cardinal looked puzzled at my request, but then nodded, seemingly understanding my intention.

“Indeed. It would be faster to go straight into the tiger’s den. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before.”

“Well… it’s a strange picture to have someone do something like this. Even if you thought of it first, it would have been difficult to put into practice.”

If the person being kidnapped is a vulnerable group, the quickest way would be to blend in directly. Wayne and I entered a shack located in a slum through mediation through the church.

“Wow… I wonder if the rain won’t leak.”

To exaggerate it a bit, it was a shabby house that looked as if it would collapse when the wind blew. Of course, I purposely requested a house like this to make it look appetizing to the other person, but when I actually encountered it in person, it felt confusing.

“Well, it’s better than sleeping with the sky as your ceiling.”

Wayne looked around the house without paying much attention, as if he really had a lot of experience living on the street with nothing. As soon as I could calmly look around the house, I heard a noise outside. The sound of someone yelling, hurried steps, a dog barking, and even the sound of a trash can falling over were all heard in the ears of the two of us inside the house without any filtering.

“Hmm. There is no soundproofing at all. This is a bit of a pain in the ass.”

“Why?”

“The fact that the outside sounds can be heard without filtering means that the sounds we make also leak outside.”

“What does that matter?”

“Who cares? Don’t you feel embarrassed when you work at night.”

Wayne’s eyes widened at my words.

“Is this what you want to do in this situation?”

“I don’t know what. Normally men don’t care about the situation.”

“…….”

I’ve heard that women are very moody, but unfortunately, I’ve never been a woman before, so it’s none of my business. On the contrary, when you watch movies, there is a cliché that the man and woman who mix each other are the first to suffer trouble, so if you are proactive, wouldn’t it be easier to face the forces holding the magic sword?

Of course, my opinion didn’t apply to Wayne, who couldn’t relate to things like movies, but we hung out anyway. Eventually, that night, I heard an angry man swearing loudly outside.

“Do it in moderation, you fucking bastards!”

I’m sorry about that. It will be difficult to sleep for a while.