#5: Chapter 5 — The Wandering Priest in a Dark Fantasy World

Hamel couldn’t understand.

In the priestly trial called the Path of Exorcism, the exam supervisor was both the beginning and the end of the test.

Therefore, the deacons were usually careful when choosing the priest to oversee them.

Since it was a life-or-death exam, they preferred someone highly skilled.

Or someone who got along well with the deacons, or at least someone likely to grade generously.

Those were the types the deacons favored as supervisors.

And Hamel—what of him?

He wasn’t highly rated within the Order, nor did he have outstanding achievements.

He was obsessed with gathering information about his mother’s death and constantly took on dangerous missions beyond his abilities, always scraping by from the brink of death.

He was even younger than most deacons.

Hamel’s youth made him undesirable both in terms of reliability and the deacons’ pride.

Because some deacons missed the exam due to a shortage of supervisors and were reluctant to be examined by Hamel, this was the first time he was to take the role of supervisor.

So Hamel was curious.

“Why me?”

What was this young deacon thinking when he chose Hamel?

Antonio cocked his head in response to Hamel’s question.

It was a look that said he didn’t understand.

“Because it’s you, Mr. Hamel?”

“…I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You’re the Order’s youngest exorcist priest! You became a priest three years younger than me!”

At hearing that, Hamel felt his breath catch.

Even though he had expected it, he couldn’t help the reaction.

“That’s all there is to it. I’m not the kind of genius you think I am.”

His mouth felt bone dry as he spoke.

It was as if he’d taken a mouthful of sand.

“You should change the supervisor even now.”

Just as Hamel shook his head and spoke, it happened.

“No! I want Mr. Hamel!”

Antonio clenched his fist and cried out loudly.

Hamel flinched at the unexpectedly strong reaction.

Antonio seized the moment and poured out his words.

“I joined the Order only to be recognized by you, Mr. Hamel!”

“?”

What was he saying?

Feeling Hamel’s puzzled look, Antonio scratched his cheek with an ‘oh’ expression.

After hesitating briefly, Antonio sighed softly and began to speak.

“Actually, I’m from Decaria Village.”

“…!”

Decaria Village.

Hamel remembered it.

It was the village he had visited on a mission when he was about the same age as that boy.

‘And that place…’

It was also the place where the two priests who went with him had died in a fierce battle.

“I saw you there, Mr. Hamel.”

“It probably wasn’t a good first impression.”

“You were a mess. Your whole body was soaked in blood from the fight, and your face was covered in tears and snot.”

He didn’t remember.

At the time, he had only been fighting fiercely.

Antonio smiled faintly as if chewing over the memory and continued.

“When you returned carrying the priests’ bodies on a cart, the villagers were all in despair. They thought all the priests they trusted had been taken.”

Was that so?

Hamel searched his memory but couldn’t recall anything.

Antonio clenched his fist and met Hamel’s gaze.

“But you didn’t give up. You left your comrades’ corpses behind and went after the demon again.”

“…”

Hamel couldn’t look away from Antonio’s resolute gaze.

What it held wasn’t mere admiration, but respect.

Feeling an inexplicable déjà vu, a scene flashed through Hamel’s mind.

Decaria Village, to which he had returned after cutting down the demon’s throat.

There he saw—

a blond boy with golden eyes shining, staring at him from among the crowd.

‘Was it that boy from then!’

Hamel was startled for a moment, and Antonio spoke clearly.

“I don’t want to be a genius or the strongest exorcist. I want to be you, Mr. Hamel.”

Hamel stood there for a moment, unable to reply.

He felt as if his head had cleared.

The suffocating pressure on his chest and the gritty dryness that felt like chewing sand had vanished.

“Is that so.”

Hamel turned and tugged the reins.

“Mr. Hamel?”

Was that not the response he’d expected?

Antonio’s firm expression vanished as he trailed behind with a worried look, calling Hamel’s name.

Hamel calmly handed him a rein.

“Can you ride a horse?”

“…Yes?”

Antonio looked dazed for a moment.

Then his face lit up into a bright smile.

“O-of course!!”

“I’ll go quickly. Keep up.”

Hamel leapt onto his horse and, contrary to his words, began to ride slowly.

Antonio scrambled onto his mount and, wobbling, chased after him diligently.

A breeze blew along the road they took.

A warm zephyr ruffled their hair as if blessing their journey.

─Prururu (the horse shook)

The horse shook its head tiredly and whinnied.

At the same time, Antonio’s exhausted voice came.

“Mr. Hamel… ugh, are we still far from the location?”

Hamel stroked the horse’s nape and answered.

“We’re almost there.”

Soon enough.

The land that borders the southern part of House Gilmore’s domain, Haidern.

The Rengbaster lands.

It was a place they had to pass through to reach Haidern.

“This is my first time in Rengbaster. What kind of place is it?”

Hamel pondered briefly and answered plainly.

“There are many trees.”

“…Yes?”

Antonio repeated with a somewhat stupid-sounding tone.

Perhaps the answer wasn’t what he expected.

He soon showed a disappointed expression.

But there was no other way to describe the domain.

Rengbaster was covered in dense forests.

In this land, which relied primarily on forestry, excellent timber and fine mushrooms grew.

A green canopy that provided cool shade even in summer.

Clear water trickling through rock crevices.

Birdsong and, in the distance, the steady thud of a woodcutter’s axe.

Hamel quite liked the scenery here.

Perhaps because of that, he felt a bit more cheerful than usual and added:

“The inn we’re stopping at today is famous for mushroom roast rich with lard. You’ll surely like it.”

“Heh. Really?”

Antonio’s Adam’s apple bobbed as if his mouth watered just imagining it.

Of the five-day journey, they only stayed in inns for two days.

The other three days they camped and moved quickly.

Unless one was a pilgrim or ascetic.

Few clergy could endure the harsh schedule of the exorcist priests.

Hamel felt grateful to Antonio for following without complaint.

Two more days of travel and they’d reach Haidern.

They could rest well today, right?

─Rustle

The sound of crunching leaves suddenly snapped Hamel out of his reverie.

Something was off.

Sensing the strangeness, Hamel scanned the trees along the road.

And he quickly identified the source of the unease.

“…Antonio, what’s today’s date?”

“The date? August 15th.”

“We’re far from autumn, then.”

“Yes? Of course. Autumn won’t come for another month.”

He was right.

This was the season when trees should be heavy with ripe fruit.

So why—

“Are the leaves already withered?”

“Eh? Oh? Now that you mention it, that’s strange.”

Antonio tilted his head as if puzzled.

“Let’s hurry a bit.”

“…Yes!!”

Hamel shifted the mood and pulled the reins.

Antonio quickly realized and followed after him.

After a while.

They spotted a village enclosed by sturdy wooden palisades.

“W-who’s there?”

They rode to the gate, and an old man called across the palisade.

His voice sounded terrified.

“My name is Hamel Gilmore. I’m a priest of the Order.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, priest. I’ll open the gate now!”

The old man hurriedly unlatched the gate without further questions.

─Creak

“Welcome, priest!”

With the rusty hinges squealing, the old man greeted them with a bright expression.

Relief and joy shone on the old man’s face.

There really was something going on.

Hamel dismounted and entered the village, looking around.

For whatever reason, in a timber-reliant village like this, it would be normal to be busy cutting wood when leaves fall.

Trees without sap make good timber.

But the village was unnaturally quiet.

The air felt tense and fearful.

Used to that atmosphere now, Hamel asked the old man.

“What’s happened in the village?”

“Ah? You were not informed before coming here?”

No wonder he hadn’t asked their purpose earlier.

There must have been some misunderstanding.

“We didn’t. We only stopped here on our way to the Haidern lands.”

“I see…”

A momentary look of discomfiture crossed the old man’s face.

Not only the old man but also the faces of those listening in turned dark.

Hamel said calmly to the old man.

“First, tell us what’s going on.”

“That means…”

“Depending on the situation, we’ll help.”

Exorcist priests of the Order swear an oath under the name of Ehurshika, the god of order and death.

They vow not to turn away those suffering from evil.

Hamel had never broken that oath.

At Hamel’s words, hope returned once more to the old man’s face.

The old man prostrated himself before Hamel and Antonio on the spot.

“Thank you! May you be blessed, priests!”

“P-please stop, sir.”

Antonio didn’t know what to do with the repeated thanks.

Watching Antonio, Hamel felt a strange sentiment.

He wondered if he should call him childish.

Although they weren’t far apart in age, Hamel thought the boy who had just gone on his first exorcism looked young.

Priests quickly become numb to such reactions.

Partly because of status differences, and because repeating acts of charity makes one increasingly used to being thanked.

Yet thanks to that, Hamel could recall the first time years ago when he had saved people.

As Hamel briefly regarded Antonio’s reaction as refreshing, he asked the old man for details.

The old man slowly ruminated over his memories.

“…In my old memory, it started with that knight.”

“A knight?”

Antonio, looking intrigued, asked the old man.

The old man looked uneasy but did not stop speaking.

“He always wears a helmet, so I’ve never seen his face… but ever since the lord hired him, strange things have been happening in the village.”

“Strange things?”

The old man’s face hardened.

“…People who went into the forest to cut wood were found dead.”

“May the gods watch over them.”

Antonio made the sign of the cross, and the old man followed suit.

Hamel also offered a brief prayer before asking the old man.

“What condition were the dead found in?”

“Their upper and lower bodies were cut as if cleaved by a blade. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

“A blade?”

Antonio murmured and visibly flinched.

The old man hesitated a moment, then spoke to Hamel.

“That knight drove the villagers out of the forest. He still patrols it now.”

Hamel listened and nodded quietly.

It was certainly suspicious.

Was something being hidden in the forest?

Hamel pondered briefly and asked about the withered leaves he’d seen earlier.

“On the way here I saw the trees— they were bare. The leaves had withered like dead foliage.”

The old man sighed deeply and nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. The forest has become strange. Leaves are drying, trees are losing life, and even the animals have disappeared.”

“What is the lord doing about it?”

“…Nothing. The lord’s manor is inside the forest, so we can’t see what he’s doing. Winter is coming, and if this continues, the whole village will starve.”

He looked up to check the sun’s position.

There was still time before sunset.

They might as well visit the lord’s manor and check the forest.

“We’ll go and take a look.”

“…Thank you, but will the two of you be alright?”

Unease couldn’t be hidden on the old man’s face.

The Order’s power and influence were certainly strong.

Even a priest could command respect such that a small-domain lord wouldn’t dare act freely.

But to the old man, they appeared to be two youths, barely adults, perhaps even boys.

It was natural he didn’t find them very trustworthy.

“It’s fine. I…”

Just as Hamel was about to reassure him—