Chapter 26

“You kept your promise.”

Ono, whose dark circles looked even darker than when he had left, said.

Hamel looked at him in puzzlement and asked,

“What happened?”

Even to Lettria, the order from here was more than a week’s distance.

So how could a bishop have arrived here so quickly?

Ono snorted and replied,

“A lot happened. The Pope personally stepped in and opened the gate.”

“…..”

Hamel fell silent, not knowing what to say.

The long-distance travel gate was last opened years ago when a super-class demon appeared in the imperial capital.

It was that much beyond the Pope’s normal remit and, above all, a matter likely to draw scrutiny from the imperial court.

Ono watched the flustered Hamel for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, it just means the order didn’t want to lose you that badly, doesn’t it?”

Surely the order hadn’t borne such political trouble purely for Hamel’s sake.

A secular lord who holds a priestly position is a very advantageous position from the order’s perspective.

Putting those political dynamics aside, it’s true the order had shown him great favor.

“…Thanks to you, Mr. Ono.”

Hamel bowed his head to express his gratitude.

Even if the gate was used, it was possible because Ono had ridden without rest for three days and nights.

Thanks to that, he could avoid abandoning his priestly status.

Ono, having received the thanks, clicked his tongue lightly and turned away.

“Enough. In any case, since we caused such a fuss over you, make sure you get the lord title. I’m off to get some sleep.”

Shortly after Ono left.

—thud thud

Daniel approached, leading his horse.

“I’m ready. Hamel, are you all set?”

“What is there to prepare?”

It was half a day’s ride to the salt mine, and they’d had more than enough rest.

The day was unusually clear.

Hamel inhaled deeply the damp, earthy scent and set off.

With lighter steps than usual.

“Hmm, I wonder if they left by now.”

Antonio murmured from his bed.

“I wanted to see them off, at least…”

Muttering in regret, Antonio was stuck in his room receiving treatment from the senior priest, unable to move.

It was then.

—creak

At the soft sound of the door, Antonio pushed himself up and asked,

“Bishop?”

“Oh my, no. I’m afraid I’m the one inconveniencing you.”

Antonio tilted his head in puzzlement.

It was the voice of a man he had never heard before.

The calm, settled voice suggested he was of considerable age.

“Who are you?”

“Who knows. What does it matter? Rather, may I ask you something…?”

The man with the voice suddenly stopped speaking and slowly approached Antonio.

Then, in a slightly surprised voice, he opened his mouth.

“You are… Antonio of the eastern order, aren’t you?”

“Yes? That’s right. Did you come knowing that…?”

Antonio found it strange that the man who had come to find him seemed not to know him.

Then a possibility crossed his mind.

It might be someone newly dispatched from the Papal Curia.

He had heard that people from the southern Papal Curia would come, not just with the bishop.

‘Well,’

Outside the door, the Pilgrim Knights were keeping watch.

There was likely no one in the domain safer than himself right now.

“So you’re from the order.”

“…..”

“Oh? Aren’t you?”

“…No. I am.”

For some reason, the man’s answering voice sounded reluctant.

The man was silent for a while.

As if pondering something.

Then he suddenly asked an unexpected question.

“Those eyes… are they completely blind?”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Apparently, with treatment one could later wear prosthetic eyes.

They said that would allow one to see the world composed of mana, but to Antonio it still sounded like a far-fetched tale.

After a moment, the man exhaled heavily and flopped down into a chair.

“There’s no need to make a fuss about it. That’s why I’m asking—you must answer me plainly.”

“If it’s something I can help with.”

Antonio nodded.

He didn’t know what fuss the man meant, but it was probably related to Hamel.

As expected, the man began asking about Hamel.

Antonio briefly summarized the events that had occurred.

Hearing it, the man muttered as if surprised.

“Hmm. Hamel and Daniel will be pursuing a man named David, I suppose.”

“I suppose so?”

“…That was just to myself.”

He pondered something for a moment longer, then stood up.

Then, as if having made up his mind, he said.

“If things are unfolding that way, there should be no immediate danger. I’ll be on my way.”

“Ah, take care!”

The man left without replying.

Still, Antonio felt relieved.

He didn’t know what it was, but it seemed to have been resolved.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes, it’s even sooner than I remembered.”

Daniel and Hamel nodded as they looked at the distant mountain.

It was a low, rocky mountain with little in the way of trees or grass.

It looked unremarkable, but this mountain contained large deposits of rock salt that had sustained the local people for centuries.

Hamel traced his memories as he looked at the mountain.

Childhood memories came unbidden.

He remembered licking rock salt handed to him by a miner and recoiling at the taste.

He remembered gripping a pickaxe and digging rock salt himself.

He even remembered sneaking into the mine to explore and being caned by the steward.

‘I’ve had quite the lot happen.’

Hamel shook his head at the thought.

From somewhere came a low, sobbing sound.

Hamel and Daniel exchanged glances and rode toward where the sound came from.

They reached the entrance to a small village that had grown up near the mine.

An old man sat with his face in his hands, crying.

Hamel dismounted and approached the old man.

Only then did the old man, sensing someone’s presence, weakly lift his head.

“…Who are you?”

“I am…”

Hamel hesitated for a moment.

Should he introduce himself as the lord or as a priest?

“I am a priest. From the order.”

Hamel gave a brief introduction.

Come to think of it, he was not yet the lord of this place.

Daniel stood beside Hamel and added.

“We came at the imperial court’s request. What’s happened here?”

“Eh? The order and… th-the imperial court?”

The old man, surprised by the unexpected identities of his visitors, hastily rose to his feet.

As he tried to kneel, Hamel stopped him.

The old man bowed clumsily and apologized.

“This old body failed to recognize such distinguished people; I’m truly sorry.”

“No, it’s nothing. We’re not so important—please don’t apologize.”

Hamel jabbed Daniel in the side.

It wasn’t untrue that it was someone sent from the court’s interior office, but calling it the imperial court felt exaggerated.

It felt overly grandiose.

Daniel shrugged lightly and smiled.

As if thinking, when else would you dare invoke the imperial court’s name if not now.

‘So he has this side too.’

Hamel, amused by this side of the unfamiliar Daniel, turned his attention back to the old man.

The gaunt old man looked wasted, as if he hadn’t eaten or slept properly for days.

The calluses embedded in his palms like stone showed he’d worked the mine for a long time.

“What’s happened to the village?”

“…The miners haven’t returned for two days. My son included.”

Hamel’s shoulders twitched.

It was certainly not a normal situation.

If the mine had collapsed, there would be nothing he could do to help.

“…Did the mine collapse?”

“No, it’s not that. The truth is… this is clearly the work of demons.”

“Demons, you say?”

Hamel looked at the old man and asked for more details.

The old man, as if having already lost hope, continued weakly.

“It began about a month ago.”

One day.

A miner disappeared.

He had clearly left the mine with others the day before, but did not come to work the next day.

The other miners, finding this odd, went to his house, but even his family was gone.

“Household goods and valuables were all left untouched. Only the people had vanished—it was very strange.”

‘They vanished with their families.’

Hamel stroked his chin and fell into thought.

If they disappeared with their families, one would normally suspect a midnight escape.

But if it were a midnight flight, leaving valuables behind would be odd.

If there were no signs of kidnapping or murder, there was a possibility they’d been bewitched by demons.

Imitators who mimic voices to lure prey.

Or an Ermeda fox that bewitched minds.

‘No, even without traces you can’t rule out that they were dragged away by force.’

Hamel considered several possibilities and asked the old man to continue explaining.

“Weeks passed. A second miner disappeared. His family too.”

“Then…”

“Yes, and within days a third miner vanished.”

With the successive disappearances, the mood in the village turned grim.

But unlike before, during the third disappearance there was finally a witness.

“It was me.”

The old man spoke with a pained expression.

“One night I stepped out briefly, and a group of people happened to be entering the mine.”

And, of course, they disappeared from the village that same day.

The old man relayed this to his son.

The village chief, his son, immediately gathered the miners.

They decided to search the inner parts of the mine to rescue the missing.

Hamel, having listened in silence, frowned and asked again.

“The inner mine… do you mean the forbidden zone?”

“How would they…”

“…..”

Hamel recalled memories from his childhood.

The forbidden zone was a kind of legend passed down in this area.

They said there was black salt deep in the salt mine, and near it a demon slept.

It was an old tale, but people avoided going near it.

They could mine rock salt elsewhere, and black salt had little commercial value anyway.

“It’s my fault for mentioning it. I should have kept quiet… no, I should have stopped them somehow.”

The old man began to sob quietly again.

Hamel gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll go. Don’t worry. If it’s only been two days, they may still be alive.”

“…Really?”

“We’ll do our best.”

Hamel proved it with action more than words.

“Climb on.”

Hamel helped the old man into the saddle by the hand.

Then he tightened the reins and rode off like the wind.

“He’s off again.”

Daniel clicked his tongue at Hamel and hurried after him.

Soon they saw the mine’s entrance.

There, the families of the miners who had disappeared were gathered.

They all looked haggard as if they hadn’t eaten or washed, and their hollow eyes were full of despair.

Unable to enter with them but unable to give up, they simply waited here, helplessly.

People’s attention focused on Hamel’s arrival.

“…..”

Hamel hesitated, wondering what to say.

How could he speak to reassure and comfort them?

But Hamel didn’t need to say much.

“A priest from the order has come.”

The old man on the horse told the people.

The people’s eyes lit up.

“Sir, is that really true?”

“I-it’s a priest!”

“Someone from the order has come!”

The people turned to Hamel with hope.

They looked at Hamel as if grasping at a straw.

What had once been only a burden felt different now.

He simply thanked the god who had led him to be the one to help them.

Hamel dismounted and headed straight for the mine.

Pausing briefly, he bowed slightly to those watching him and said,

“I’ll be back soon.”

“…!”

Cheers erupted behind Hamel as he entered the cave.