159

The man’s black hair and silver armor formed a strange harmony. His eyes drooped slightly at the corners, giving him an impression of kindness even when he was still. But I think I understood what Lord Osoi meant by ‘sallow.’ Even now he was smiling, but it was a mechanical, hollow smile.

‘Shall I try provoking him a bit?’

I poked Priest Nora in the side. He sprang forward as if on cue and began to act.

“Good day, Lord Urael. We received an anonymous tip that something strange is happening in the mausoleum, and behold—young novice priests are being held captive! I’ve heard that under the guise of a ‘special baptism’ an absurd practice of sexual exploitation is taking place. We must rescue these children and report this to His Holiness the Pope and the Royal Family at once!”

Urael, who had looked like he might strike us at any moment, faltered.

“A priest, are you.”

“Yes. I’m Nora, an intermediate priest newly assigned here.”

The kindly-looking smile on his face deepened. He shifted from an aggressive posture. Yet he was clearly scrutinizing us sharply.

‘He’s gauging how much I know.’

“They say the Grand Minister is behind this. They say he’s coming soon, so we don’t have time. Commander, inform the authorities at once!”

Priest Nora urged us on. I had thought him fussy and blunt, but his acting was excellent.

“That can’t be.”

‘Play it off for now.’

“I’ll escort the novice priests to their lodgings. Will you send them this way?”

His tone had shifted to a respectful form, but it was still coercive. Remembering the reputation I had heard about him from Lord Osoi, it was clear this situation had put him considerably off balance.

I tapped Priest Nora’s shoulder as he chose his words and cut in.

“The idea that the Grand Minister is behind this is terrifying, Knight Commander. In this situation, I’m not sure whether I can trust you.”

“You… are the Chancellor.”

I smiled faintly.

The author knows me. Even though they’ve only stayed in the temple and shouldn’t have had many opportunities to see me.

“It’s difficult to explain in detail, but I was the one who received that anonymous tip.”

It’s not entirely untrue—Lemer gave me something like a tip in the form of an oracle. I considered revealing his name if I had to, but for now it seemed better not to show my hand. I doubted they’d believe me anyway.

“I asked Priest Nora and the Duke, who I was acquainted with in the plague region, to come and verify this. My eldest brother is Yuno’s Grand Minister, so I shouldn’t have to prove my devotion.”

It was a load of nonsense, but I made it sound plausible.

“And as the tip says, events clearly contradict Lord Lemer’s teachings, so we must report this and set things right. Isn’t this an extremely serious matter? I trust you understand my meaning. So… Knight Commander Urael, why have you come to the mausoleum at this hour?”

Skerk.

Clang.

He drew his sword a little from its sheath and slid it back in repeatedly.

“I received a report too. That intruders had entered.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m also unsettled, so I should verify the situation first. For now, send the novice priests this way.”

He smiled faintly, but there was no warmth. A thoroughly trained smile. If he’d shown up as a normal office worker, everyone would have noticed on the first day, but as a parachuted-in knight rather than a clerk, people seemed willing to let it slide.

He walked slowly toward us. His heavy approach made me feel a sudden sense of danger. Through the gap of the silhouette that entered I saw something.

I frowned.

“You say you only came to verify a tip—why did you kill the guards?”

The moment the words left my mouth, Urael drew his sword and charged at us. Ren instantly sent me back and blocked his blade.

Clang!

It was the first time I’d actually seen Ren use a sword. His movements were light yet weighty. He used a solid, firm swordsmanship that matched his personality.

“Not bad.”

And he had the advantage. Ren pressed him relentlessly. Urael then threw an artifact at him that seemed to use holy power.

Snap.

But it was split in two by Ren’s sword in an instant.

“Full of criminal intent, he couldn’t have practiced properly.”

He kicked Urael in the stomach and sent him out the entrance. Meanwhile the rest of the party hurriedly fled.

Beep!

Sensing he was outmatched, Urael gave a signal. The knights surged in immediately. While fleeing, a question popped into my head.

‘Are these knights aware of the truth? So many of them… all of them?’

Then I noticed a novice priest standing behind Marcella.

“Ren! They’re fakes! Fakes meant to take the novice priests!”

Priest Nora added support.

“That’s right! I just tested with some power and felt not an iota of holy energy from them!”

Then suddenly someone yanked my body. When I looked up, I was in Ren’s arms.

‘When did he get here?’

“Coco, stay alert!”

Marcella shouted loudly from beside us. A dagger was embedded in the spot where I’d just been. Ren had saved me when he saw the blade flying.

“Ria, go on ahead.”

He kissed my eyes and sent Ria to Marcella.

“Ren! But…!”

“I’ll finish this quickly and follow you.”

‘Still, it’s far too many against one….’

I was worried, but I quickly guessed it would be harder to fight while protecting us. There was no time to hesitate, and I didn’t want to be a burden.

“We’ll wait at the starting point!”

Ren nodded once and plunged back into battle. Some of them would surely follow us. We had to move quickly.

“Let’s go.”

Panting as we ran, my thoughts kept racing: I believed Ren would return safely, and I wondered who those people were.

If Urael is Count Cassius’s adopted son then….

‘They must be either the Royal First Knights or Count Cassius’s household soldiers.’

The Crown Prince is indeed making efficient use of his subordinates—enough to gnaw one’s teeth in frustration.

How long had we run? The temple is damn huge, and the more urgent I felt, the farther the destination seemed.

“We’re halfway there! Once we pass the priests’ quarters, we’ll be practically there!”

My excitement rose briefly. Then I stopped in my tracks.

“Chancellor?”

“Coco?”

Lemer’s power was pointing toward the Grand Minister’s residence.

‘Lemer, you really….’

He was really milking me for all I was worth.

But this was certainly going to help me too. Lemer wouldn’t send me knowing he’d die, so my hesitation was brief.

“Brother, take the novice priests and go ahead. Priest Nora and I will infiltrate the Grand Minister’s residence.”

“Coco!”

Marcella protested that this was absurd. But there was no time for a long explanation.

“Lemer’s power is pointing here. We have to go.”

“Damn, why does that god always do this to you?”

I’d never seen him this angry before. It was worse than when Olgard happened. I grabbed his shoulder and looked him in the eye.

“There is no time, brother. Before we joined here you swore you’d obey the commander unconditionally, didn’t you?”

“Still, this is…!”

“The deity told us to go. You wouldn’t just leave him to die, would you?”

“Hey…!”

“If we let this slide now, we might be in greater danger later. I will never let my people go through what Rio did. Hurry up, brother.”

I couldn’t bear to look at the despair and worry in Marcella’s eyes, so I turned away first.

“There’s no time! Go!”

“You… if you don’t come back I’ll blow the whole temple to pieces!”

“Ah, please, I beg you, do that.”

I forgot all about looking back, waved once and, together with Nora, entered the building. I searched silently for the Grand Minister’s name I’d confirmed from Angelina. There were security doors verifying priest status here and there, but thanks to Priest Nora we passed through them smoothly.

Perhaps because it was the dead of night and everyone was asleep, fortunately there were no priests wandering about.

“What on earth is Lord Lemer thinking?”

Even devout Nora couldn’t help but scowl at the situation, which repeatedly invited danger.

“At least he’s clearly obsessed with efficiency.”

It felt like introverts who, when they finally go out, try to take care of every errand at once.

“Here it is.”

Fortunately there weren’t many Grand Ministers, so finding the room wasn’t difficult. Instinctively I had a feeling I could open the door. When I put my hand to it, it clicked and opened. I swallowed involuntarily.

‘If the Grand Minister comes out, let Priest Nora stall him, then knock him out by striking the back of his neck with a small Lemer statue from the room.’

I made the flimsy plan and stepped inside slowly. The lodgings, as lavish as his rank, were fortunately empty.

“They say the Grand Minister would arrive soon, but it seems he has already left his quarters.”

That seemed to be the case. Whether it was a Lemer buff or not, the timing was exquisite.

“What should we do here?”

“Well. I wasn’t given specific orders either. He’s one of the backers behind the crime, so there should be many suspicious things—let’s search.”

“Yes. Understood.”

I began rifling through the Grand Minister’s room with Priest Nora. He wasn’t sloppy; there was nothing easily incriminating to be seen. There wasn’t even a safe in the room. He might have used magic as when we infiltrated Rinus before, but if he’d done that, Lemer would have made sure I could sense it.

“As befits a Grand Minister’s room, there sure are a lot of books.”

Priest Nora admired the bookshelf that filled one wall. It was an impressive amount. I skimmed the books nonchalantly.

“Why would someone who’s studied so much use it to commit crimes, and as a priest at that…”

As expected of a priest’s room, most were theological works: prayer books, scriptures, Lemer’s words, repentance, the temple’s history—titles that were boring just to look at. As I scanned, I noticed a very thin book at the edge of the shelf and absentmindedly pulled it out. Judging by the title, it might contain something personal.

“I wish we’d find a diary at least… This is…?”

Priest Nora came over to look and gasped, swallowing hard.

“Isn’t this the temple’s political funding ledger…!”

It was exactly that. A record of the offerings entering the temple and the amounts of some portion of them handed over to Lawrence!

It was a veritable jackpot! I closed the book to check the title.

“The Book of Atonement.”

A chill ran down my spine.