Chapter 4

“……”

Hamel stared at the corpse for a moment, then slowly looked around.

There were no signs of murder.

No sign of intrusion, no sign of a struggle.

Gail was, before being a butler, an excellent mage.

Silencing him without a sound would not be easy, and besides, as this place was a temple, it would be difficult for an outsider to break in.

‘Suicide.’

There was no other explanation.

However, the smiling expression.

That alone bothered him.

It was by no means the typical expression of someone who had killed themselves.

Swoosh

Hamel dabbed holy water and smeared it over his eyelids.

When he opened his eyes again, a world made of divine power and mana came into view.

But.

‘None?’

Hamel frowned.

It was not the work of a demon.

There was no trace of demonic energy on Gail’s body.

This was far from what he had expected.

Then had Gail gone mad?

Perhaps he had been coerced.

Or perhaps……

“……”

Meaningless suppositions.

Realizing that, Hamel lowered Gail’s body from the ceiling.

He could not leave Gail hanging there forever.

Thud

The rope snapped and Gail’s corpse fell to the floor.

In truth, he felt little sad.

He had encountered countless deaths and had grown numb in the end.

He kept repeating that it was for revenge and simply moved forward.

Now, to be shocked by a single corpse would be impossible—the piled-up deaths were too heavy and thick.

Yet he was, after all, a priest.

Sss

He had not completely forgotten how to pray.

Hamel quietly clasped his hands.

He knelt with his eyes closed and began to speak.

Though he could not wield divine power and the ritual meant little to him, he silently offered prayers to praise the god and honor the dead.

It was a solemn, unwavering prayer.

It was clear he had repeated these prayers for a long time.

The prayers of the cleric who called himself a half-wit were more perfect than any priest’s.

Soon, faintly, divine power began to pervade the room.

Flash

Then a light burst from the inner pocket of Gail’s jacket.

“…What.”

Hamel immediately stepped back, on guard, but the yellow light flickered and vanished.

He slowly approached Gail and searched the pocket; an item that hadn’t been visible earlier appeared.

“A stealth-type spell, is it?”

A magic that reveals itself when certain conditions are met.

The triggering condition was likely divine power.

Hamel opened his palm and examined the item Gail had been carrying.

It was a familiar-looking ornament.

Hamel recognized it immediately.

The gold ring engraved with the harebell motif could not be forgotten.

It was the head of house’s mark, the Gilmore family’s signet ring and heirloom.

---

‘I must hurry.’

Leaving the room, Hamel headed straight for the chamber where the bishop stayed.

Lettria, in the eastern part of the empire.

He, the bishop of Lettria, was one of the few people in the order Hamel trusted.

A former exorcist priest, he had always been a solid supporter of Hamel.

Clop clop

“……Hm.”

“…Ahem.”

He had merely walked down the temple corridor.

But every priest who saw Hamel turned away as if they had not noticed him.

The corridor, already quiet, was now filled only with silence.

If they met his eyes they’d nod awkwardly, but no one greeted him.

The deacons feared Hamel’s cold, impassive nature, and the priests were intimidated by how young he was.

And the fellow exorcist priests…

Felt pity for Hamel.

A once brilliant and promising genius had lost his wings and fallen.

The exorcists were disappointed and at the same time felt sorry.

Though he had special abilities, fighting demons without divine power was tantamount to suicide.

At the same time, the exorcists privately dreaded going on missions with Hamel.

Worshipping a god doesn’t make one godlike.

Yet Hamel had survived until now.

Even without companions, he continued to carry out exorcisms alone.

Completely by himself.

Hamel himself didn’t care about such reactions, but he did not want to make others uncomfortable.

So he avoided meeting anyone’s eyes and walked briskly down the corridor.

Before long he reached the inner sanctum of the order.

Hamel knocked on the wooden door of the study.

Knock knock

A knock sounded, and a kindly voice answered from inside.

“Come in.”

When he opened the door, a neat room came into view.

Tidy bookshelves and a desk.

The smell of old paper brushed his nose.

The bishop, bathed in sunlight from the window, smiled warmly.

“Hamel. You’re safe.”

“……”

Hamel gave a short nod.

He was one of the few people in the order Hamel trusted, but they were not close.

In fact, Hamel had no close acquaintances to begin with.

The bishop knew this well and got straight to the point.

“Was the issue in Barina village resolved?”

“Yes.”

“That’s very good to hear,”

“However, there is something peculiar.”

The bishop looked puzzled at Hamel’s words.

After a moment, he nodded as if he had an idea.

“A mid-level demon appeared.”

“The Redcap and the White Lady operated together.”

“…This is new to me. Did they seem connected to one another?”

“Not certain, but it appears the White Lady exploited the Redcap’s habit of stealing children.”

When the Redcap stole a child, the White Lady fed on the child’s flesh and blood.

That was not all.

The White Lady’s smile when she found Hamel and the village head in the forest carried a strange dissonance.

It was less the joy of an unexpected prize and more like the joy that comes at the end of a long wait.

If she had targeted parents or villagers who chased into the forest, her reaction would make sense.

It was certainly not the first time.

“I see. This is quite troublesome.”

Until now, incidents attributed to Redcaps were handled by ordinary priests or deacons.

Low-level demons were not hard to deal with if one had divine power.

But from mid-level demons onward, it’s a different story.

Without an exorcist priest, even a priest’s life would be in danger.

The bishop, wearing a solemn expression, gave a bitter smile and thanked him.

“We’ll have to find a way to solve this. Thank you for reporting this, Hamel.”

“Not at all.”

Hamel answered calmly and looked at him steadily.

“……”

“…?”

The bishop’s puzzled gaze and Hamel’s met in the air.

A brief silence passed.

The bishop spoke first.

“Is there more you wish to say?”

Hamel parted his lips.

For some reason the words wouldn’t come easily.

“The truth is…”

Hesitating, Hamel brought up the matter about Gail from earlier.

Once he began, speaking became not so difficult.

His relationship with Gail.

Their meetings.

The letter and the message, and then the suspicious death.

He strove to convey only the facts, brief but clear.

“…Hm.”

The bishop who had listened in silence nodded after a moment of quiet.

“It certainly is unnatural.”

The suspicious circumstances were clear.

First, the handwriting looked as if written in haste, as though chased by something.

Hamel’s father was unmistakably neat enough to be called a fine penman.

The letter’s handwriting could not possibly be from the same person.

And above all, the seal on the letter.

The sealing wax was broken.

“It’s likely a switch.”

Hamel guessed this, and the bishop slowly nodded at the answer.

“So the contents of the letter cannot be trusted.”

After a moment, the bishop hesitated over something and then spoke.

“There’s news you should know, Hamel.”

“Yes.”

“Coincidentally, a mission related to the Gilmore estate, Haidern, has come in.”

What a coincidence.

From his experience, that was unlikely.

He strongly felt this mission was connected to the letter.

“Strange things seem to be happening all over Haidern.”

“I’ll go.”

There was no need to hesitate.

He had been worried because of the letter anyway.

If he took the mission, it would give him justification.

“However… the letter and everything about it give a bad feeling, as if someone is trying to lure you, Hamel.”

The bishop said this with an uneasy, anxious expression.

And that worry was likely justified.

Whether it was truly his father or not, someone wanted him to return to the manor.

If so, he would feign being overcome and fall for the provocation.

“No problem.”

To peer into an abyss, one must enter it.

Hearing Hamel’s reply, the bishop paused and let out a long sigh.

Then, as if resigned, he made the sign of the cross and spoke.

“I’ll assign you one deacon and send two nearby exorcist priests as backup. Please don’t overexert yourself.”

“……”

Hamel bowed to the bishop and then turned to leave.

He was tired, but not so much that he couldn’t depart.

‘I haven’t even unpacked, so I’ll just grab my things… Horses will be faster than a carriage.’

He was making plans quickly when—

The bishop, standing behind him holding the doorknob, murmured softly.

“Even if you are a priest, you don’t need to hide your emotions.”

“…?”

Hamel turned to look at him at the bishop’s remark from behind.

The bishop, meeting Hamel’s puzzled gaze, smiled bitterly and said,

“You look like you’re about to cry, Hamel.”

Only then did Hamel notice his own reflection in the window.

His bloodshot eyes had not blinked and his mouth was clenched tight.

A familiar expression.

The face of someone who, even in sorrow, still has things to protect.

‘Ah.’

Only then did Hamel realize what he was feeling.

The death of an unnamed infant.

The death of the butler Gail.

The deaths of all those he had failed to protect.

And his mother’s death, which had been the beginning of it all.

No matter how accustomed he had become, all of it piled up like snow and made Hamel sad.

Grit

And it made him feel worse than anything.

Feeling emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time, Hamel clenched his fists until they hurt.

It took him quite some time to compose his face again and leave the room.

By then, the crimson sunset had poured down behind Hamel.

---

The next morning, in front of the order’s temple.

“Ah, greetings! It’s an honor to meet you!”

“…Yes.”

Hamel gave a small nod to a deacon.

He was a boy with blond hair and striking golden eyes.

Dressed well in pure white priestly robes, he held the reins of two horses.

After pondering the situation for a while, Hamel remembered.

It seemed the deacon the bishop had assigned yesterday was this boy.

‘This was unexpected.’

Hamel stared at the boy.

On average, deacons had to graduate from theological college, so being at least 25 was a reasonable minimum.

But the deacon before him was clearly no more than about 15.

Was he a similar unusual case to himself?

Faced with the unexpected, Hamel had to choose his words carefully for a moment.

“What’s your name?”

“Antonio. Priest!”

The boy’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Hamel.

Not now, but in the past there were often people who looked at Hamel with such eyes.

A gaze of admiration.

Hamel found such looks burdensome.

Before and now.

And it would be so in the future.

He would almost prefer people mock him instead.

But this was also something he could endure.

Hamel showed no sign and greeted him.

“I’m Hamel Gilmore. Pleased to meet you.”

“I-It’s I who should be pleased!”

Antonio bowed deeply to greet him, and books and various items tumbled from his bag.

“Oh, oh? S-sorry. I’ll tidy them up… Ah, w-wait!”

While the deacon flustered, the horses started to bolt and the reins slipped from his hands.

The deacon made panicked noises as he alternated between the runaway horses and the scattered items.

Hamel discreetly swallowed a sigh and mulled over the bishop’s words.

‘He is an exceptional boy. He hopes to accompany you, Hamel. Please watch over him.’

While Antonio gathered his things, Hamel caught the runaway horses and calmed them.

“… He’s not the sort to give empty praise.”

Hamel, returning with the horses, muttered in doubt at the bishop’s assessment.

Hearing this, Antonio tilted his head.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

Hamel shook his head and offered his hand to Antonio, who had tightened his bag strap.

“The bishop told me. You’re taking the priestly exam.”

“Yes! Only the final exorcism trial remains.”

The deacon, rising with their hands joined, answered briskly.

The Path of Exorcism.

It is the final test deacons take to receive ordination.

It involves undertaking a mission alongside an exorcist priest or priest and confronting a demon.

Whether one passes is judged by the supervising priests who accompany them.

Hence Hamel’s question.

“Why me?”