Chapter 95

“Were you planning on becoming a saint , not a young master?”

“Were you listening from outside the whole time?”

What the, how unpleasant. I frowned, but then decided to wave a white flag, thinking he said it out of concern for me.

“If I were a saint, the world would be ruined.”

Unless I were to become the god of a new world.

For that to happen, it would have to be a world where Albedo likes apples instead of beef jerky.

“Then why do you do such reckless things without batting an eye? What if he’s the Pope’s spy?

Do you really have the ability to read minds, Young Master?”

“It might be possible, but I don’t plan on it.”

It might be possible. But the moment I do, my humanity will begin to erode.

I really wanted to avoid that. Because humanity is a precious thing that makes people more human.

“Then why do you trust people?”

“You trust Hartain and me, don’t you?”

At my point, Fel has a puzzled expression. He smiled slyly, but I saw right through it.

“You two are exceptions.”

“Am I already an exception when we’ve known each other for less than a month?”

“I’m not sure about that. For some reason, I feel at ease in front of you, Young Master.”

“Huh?”

“When I’m wary of you, it feels a bit absurd. Like, who are you to make me go this far?

So it feels a bit foolish, and my guard just naturally lowers.”

What is this? Is he insulting me or complimenting me? I can’t tell which.

“Just now, you were thinking, ‘What on earth is this kid talking about?’, weren’t you, Young Master?”

“Is another one of the Sword of Doctrine’s abilities telepathy?”

“Of course not. Anyway, what I want to say is… that’s just why I come to trust you, strangely easily and quickly.”

It wasn’t an insult, but a compliment. A deep, sincere one. It was enough to make my face feel slightly flushed.

“But other people are different. Young Master, so I’ll ask. How on earth do you trust people?”

I knew well why Fel was asking such a question.

The first kindness Fel, a young orphan, ever received must have been from the Pope.

But it was a kindness with a very clear purpose.

The second kindness—the female priest—was thoroughly trampled.

She was murdered while trying to protect Fel and the other orphans.

So, not being able to trust people wasn’t Fel’s fault. If anything, he should be praised for trusting two people.

“Humans are trash.”

“Huh?”

“I know one person who is upright and good, but he’s a special case. Usually, everyone has a flaw somewhere.”

That’s why I dared to think.

“Even I, honestly, don’t have any major flaws in my character, but my personality isn’t that great.

Even Zephyros and Lerwon-sunbae aren’t perfect in every way.”

That we are all lacking in some way is not God’s mistake, but God’s intention.

What I’m saying right now could just be empty words I’m spouting.

“Even knowing that, I trust and help the three of them.

So what if I get betrayed?

I’ll just live with a slightly flatter back of my head.”

I wanted to believe that life was about lacking people relying on each other, backstabbing each other, crying, and eventually reconciling. At least, I wanted to believe so.

* * *

He wanted to shout, “Don’t talk nonsense!” For the first time in a long time, Fel felt a strong urge to curse.

“I’m not trying to force you. Think it over carefully. What will be most beneficial to your life.”

“……”

He had never once thought about it like that.

“I’ll respect your choice.”

His lips parted and closed. Words didn’t come out easily. As if any word would be meaningless.

“I’ll take you to the prison, Young Master.”

In the end, he avoided it without even being able to say he would think about it.

He thought walking a bit might clear his complicated mind, but he still felt like he was rolling in the mud.

“You look very tired, so get some rest today. I think my father is planning to pick up his next card.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“No need to thank me. Between you and me, Young Master.”

Fel, who had been smiling as usual, suddenly put on a frighteningly colorless expression, turned around, and leisurely left the prison.

How unpleasant! How unpleasant!! How unpleasant!!!

Fel, who had been walking almost at a run for a while, didn’t see the person in front of him and bumped into them, falling over.

“Your Eminence the Sword of Doctrine.”

The one he had bumped into was Benaya Ignos.

When he extended his hand, Fel fumbled before finally grabbing his hand and getting up.

“To think you would come all the way to the prison to watch over a heretic, as expected of Your Eminence the Sword of Doctrine.”

An empty compliment.

“As expected of the one who will succeed His Holiness the Pope.”

In the end, it was just a stepping stone to praise the current Pope.

“Does Hartain assist Your Eminence well?”

“Impeccably.”

“That is a relief.”

Benaya smiled a picture-perfect smile. A dry and brittle smile.

Hartain’s father. As father and son, they were very much alike.

But, they were not alike.

“I could not ask for more if Hartain could assist Your Eminence well as an Ignos.”

The reason Hartain follows Ferdiel is not because he is a ‘Levian.’

That day, Hartain pledged his loyalty to Fel as Tan.

He must know the truth, but Benaya thoroughly ignored it and saw only what he wanted to see.

Perhaps the one who couldn’t see was not Fel, but Benaya.

“Where were you headed, Sir Ben?”

“I had an errand from His Holiness. Do not worry.”

“About what?”

“I know that the morale of the Heretic Inquisitors has dropped because no heretics have appeared for a very long time.

This time, we will make it known across the continent and even to the sea that God’s stern punishment still exists on this land.”

“For His Holiness the Pope?”

“For the Church.”

To Ignos, the Church is the Pope—Levian—so he wasn’t lying.

“I will trust and leave it to you.”

Fel, who had bowed his head, immediately turned his back on Benaya and started walking briskly again.

He still felt like he was rolling in the gutter. But, strangely, his head was clearer than ever.

Yes, this is fine. Fel strode forward with a fierce momentum.

So he didn’t know. That Benaya, who normally never stopped on his way back from the Pope’s errands, was standing there, following Fel’s back with his eyes for a very long time.

* * *

《You have a way with words.》

“What, you were listening to everything?”

《Of course, I’m not a scarecrow!》

Albedo expressed his displeasure, flicking his tail.

Actually, I do think of him as a scarecrow, but if he knew my thoughts, Albedo would be seriously sulking, so let’s not say anything.

“I haven’t been able to give you beef jerky for a long time, are you okay?”

《I don’t need to eat in the first place, so don’t worry.》

“That’s a relief.”

This damn prison didn’t even provide proper meals. It was a shame in many ways to give up the meat, which was as small as an ant’s booger in the stew, to Albedo.

“So, did you observe the Pope and the other cardinals well?”

《Yes, they were all so greedy and honest about their desires, it was hard to believe they were clergymen.》

“Are there any who are worth keeping, not destroying?”

《At most, fifteen. If you narrow it down, about ten.》

There should be 50 cardinals, so that’s not even half.

“I can just grind them up three times over anyway.”

It would be nice if things ended with just the Pope’s ousting.

But, unfortunately, in a medieval-based world, religion is usually rotten.

It’s not for nothing that so many medieval-era novels cry out for a religious revolution.

And, what Ferdiel wants right now is a mini-religious revolution, and it was good to check out the rotten flesh to be cut out in advance.

“Heh, this is some service.”

《Weren’t you just annoyed by the biased atmosphere and wanted to vent your anger?》

“……”

Ehei, this lizard’s insight is too sharp.

Sometimes in life, you have to tell some plausible lies. This lizard must be a definite T.

“Well, it’s a bit of both.”

Beat up the guys who were creating the biased atmosphere, and check out the rotten flesh to be cut out during the mini-religious revolution.

Good for the sister-in-law, and good for the brother-in-law! I get my revenge, and Fel normalizes the Church of Light!!

“I’ll need you to be my stand-in again today.”

《Again today?》

Albedo showed his reluctance.

Since the prison can’t be empty while I’ve secretly escaped, the method I came up with was to have Albedo disguise himself as me and put him in the prison.

“Until I become a righteous thief, please.”

《I’ll do it as long as you don’t mention that righteous thief nonsense.》

Albedo, who had already transformed into my appearance, appeared in the prison and plopped down on the floor.

A demon is a demon, after all! His disguise is perfect!

“Then, until I become an unrighteous thief, please!!”

《…Fine.》

As I was leaving the prison, I think Albedo looked at me with rotten eyes, but it must be my imagination!

* * *

For decades as a Heretic Inquisitor, and a lifetime as Caelus Levian’s right hand, Benaya knew the human body much better than most doctors.

Modern heresy interrogations don’t require torture, but Benaya learned torture and had killed dozens of people.

One of the reasons the people of the Church avoided Benaya was because there was no mercy in his hands.

That’s why he was able to find a very fleeting strange point.

The fleeting moment when the eyes shook after looking up and confirming it was Benaya before even speaking.

And, there was nothing Benaya hid from the Pope. What Benaya knew, the Pope should also know.

“So that’s what happened…”

“I thought you should know.”

“My son is going through puberty too, I suppose.”

Ferdiel’s sight might have returned.

At that fact, the Pope calmly began to tidy the flowers. Snip, snip, with each cut of the scissors, a flower fell to the floor and was trampled under the Pope’s feet.

If Ferdiel’s sight had returned, it was a joyous occasion. It was better for the masterpiece, completed by sacrificing countless people, to have no flaws.

However, if there was a problem—

“Who fixed that flaw?”

Who could have restored Ferdiel’s sight, which couldn’t be fixed even with the help of a demon, which couldn’t be returned because it had been offered as a tribute to God?

By the time the floor was completely colored with flower petals, the Pope finally burst out laughing as if he had realized something.

There was one person. The last person Ferdiel met.

He may have gotten away with it, but in the end, the one person who even defeated the Hero of the Holy Sword.

“Benaya.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“It seems we must invite one more person.”

Snip, the last flower falls to the floor.

The color of that last petal is so white.

Like the hair color of the one he had hated for so long. And like the hair color of someone who had stood in court today—

“I have an errand for you.”

A benevolent and warm smile played on the Pope’s lips.

—————–

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