【Church Side】
The story goes back to around the time Absolute linked up with Chris and the others.
For this exercise, the Church had set up a temporary base in the forest, where the Saint and her followers were now overseeing the progression of their plan.
“Reporting in. Princess Leone has apparently retreated to headquarters.”
Upon receiving the report from the Holy Knight, Saint Elizabeth opened her mouth with a hint of disappointment.
“It seems the plan has failed. …Bishop Sirius?”
The man, called Bishop Sirius by the Saint who was easily a decade younger than him, simply continued to bow his head. Her voice sounded gentle, but Bishop Sirius felt a certain pressure emanating from it, and he stumbled over his words.
“I never imagined Princess Leone had such capable individuals by her side.”
“Indeed. To think that they could single-handedly defeat all those Superior Species… Just what is that maid?”
The Saint maintained her usual gentle expression as she listened to the report of the Superior Species monsters being defeated. Bishop Sirius shrunk back at the Saint’s words, even though it wasn’t his fault. He remembered Saint Elizabeth as an ordinary girl who had simply been brought from a remote town in the Rainana Kingdom to be appointed as a Saint. But now, he felt she was somewhat… off, as if she had become too devoted to the Rainana Church.
In recent years, the Rainana Church had felt… strange. In the past, they weren’t so strict, even towards those who were evil. But ever since Cardinal Nemuria returned, the Rainana Church had even begun conducting behind-the-scenes purges based on their own judgment. Even this operation—taking action against nobles—would normally be unthinkable. Honestly, his true desire was to run away as soon as possible.
“According to Prince Michael’s intel, it’s likely Maria Stella, Absolute Ark’s slave and maid,” added Anya, Saint Elizabeth’s bodyguard and classmate.
“Stella… Wasn’t that a family that had produced excellent knights for generations? And I’ve heard of Maria Stella before. I recall she was such a talented individual that the Knights Order was already trying to recruit her when she was ten. Why is she a slave of the Ark House?”
In the original plan, the main force of Superior Species monsters was supposed to surround Mist and the others, cutting off their escape routes before attacking. However, that didn’t happen due to two incidents. One of them was the presence of Maria Stella. She single-handedly defeated almost all of the main force of Superior Species meant to attack Mist and the others before they could even surround them.
The Church hadn’t imagined that someone capable of defeating so many Superior Species monsters would be mixed in with them, aside from Absolute himself. Due to that incident, they were forced to urgently deploy a total of three hundred monsters, which they had originally kept in reserve as a backup force.
“It can’t be helped that the Superior Species were annihilated. But Bishop Sirius, why didn’t you transfer the monsters closer to them? Because of the delay before the monsters reached them, Princess Leone escaped, you know?”
Saint Elizabeth reprimanded Bishop Sirius, who was in charge of monster taming and Transfer, with a smile on her face.
“Well… Unique Magic can’t be used near them. I suspect some kind of skill or Magical Item is at work.”
“So you believe they have a way to block Transfer?”
“Yes, a Teleportation Inhibition Magical Item… It’s possible that someone among them possesses one. Suiloku Kingdom likely created them as a countermeasure against the Hero of Space, so Princess Leone may have one. That country suffered terribly from the Hero of Space in the past.”
“The Hero of Space… I never imagined that a Teleportation Inhibition Magical Item meant to counter the Hero would still exist.”
The second unexpected incident for the Saints was that they couldn’t transfer the monsters to the location they were originally supposed to, resulting in them having to Transfer from a distance and giving Mist and the others time to escape.
Of course, that wasn’t a coincidence. Absolute knew in advance that the Church would use a method similar to Transfer. Therefore, he had placed the Teleportation Inhibition Magical Item, which he had used when capturing the Negotiator, in his luggage as a Transfer countermeasure. As a result, he succeeded in buying time and allowed Princess Leone to escape.
“We haven’t heard from the Holy Knights we asked to deal with Christina and the others either, so I suppose this is it for today. Bishop Sirius, please withdraw before you’re found. We’ll return to the exercise.”
“…Understood.”
“Excuse me for interrupting. Saint, magic was launched from our group’s location. I believe there is an emergency.”
“Is that so? Then we must return quickly. Bishop Sirius, I’ll see you at the Church.”
With those words, Saint Elizabeth took her bodyguard, the Holy Knight Anya, and returned to her group.
Once the Saints left, Bishop Sirius checked to make sure no one was around and took a breath. Released from the stress, strength instantly drained from his body.
“Haa… I’m so tired. I really want to go home. The Saint is so stressful because she indirectly blames me, and I’m indirectly forced to kill people using monsters. I can’t deal with this.”
Bishop Sirius was an easily swayed man. He had joined the Church at his parents’ behest, only did what he was told by his superiors, and drifted along with the factional strife within the Church, eventually belonging to the upper faction and rising through the ranks to become a bishop.
He reluctantly obeyed the orders of the higher-ups, but he truly didn’t want to kill anyone, even if they were evil.
“To think they’re even targeting people outside the Ark faction… I don’t know which side is evil anymore.”
Sirius was about to raise his heavy waist to prepare for withdrawal while mocking himself when he heard a youthful female voice from behind him, where no one should have been.
“If you don’t know which side is evil, I’ll tell you. You’re the one who is unilaterally doing bad things.”
The sweet, whispering voice came from right next to Sirius’s ear.
When he realized it, a blade was pressed against Bishop Sirius’s neck.
(Huh? No way… When did she get behind me?)
“Don’t move. If you open your mouth or move without permission, I’ll kill you. If you understand, nod slowly.”
As he was told, Bishop Sirius nodded slowly. Then, the person behind him deeply stabbed the blade that had been pressed against his neck into Bishop Sirius’s right shoulder.
“GIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
Blood spurted out as he was stabbed with the blade.
(Why? I did as I was told… Why was I stabbed?)
“I told you not to move, didn’t I? Are you deaf?”
(You told me to nod! Damn it… This is bad. Too unreasonable. I have to escape quickly.)
He tried to escape using his Unique Magic, but to do so, he had to slip past this person’s eyes.
“I’ve been observing you, and I’ve learned that you have to create a hole and go through it to Transfer. So, I’m going to injure your entire body so you can’t move, and then take you away.”
Sirius anticipated what was about to happen to him and trembled. He had been stabbed in the shoulder, so the blood drained from his head and his breathing became ragged.
“Don’t think you can die easily after laying a hand on Uru’s master. I’ll never forgive small fry like you for laying a hand on my master. All of my master’s enemies will be annihilated.”
(What is this person saying… And laid a hand on? Is this person… from the Ark House? Ah, it’s over… Where did I go wrong in my life?)
“This is your punishment for trying to hurt Uru’s precious person. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. My master would get angry.”
After that, his throat was crushed first so that he couldn’t scream, and then all of his bones were broken. Fortunately, he lost consciousness midway through, so the time he spent feeling pain was short. The sound of bones breaking continued to echo within the base.
“I’m done… Newbie, send Uru and this guy to the mansion.”
“Ah, yes, ma’am.”
The Negotiator, who had been watching Sirius being tortured from a distance, used Transfer to send the two to Absolute’s mansion at Uru’s command.
After Uru and the culprit were transferred, the Negotiator drooped his shoulders in the bishop’s base, where no one was left.
“Senior Uru was also a dangerous person… As expected, the Ark House is dangerous. …Ah, I want to go back to my comrades.”
The Negotiator muttered powerlessly while looking up at the night sky.
◆
After parting ways with Bishop Sirius, the Saints headed to the campsite to rejoin their group.
When they arrived at the campsite, they detected the scent of blood.
What entered the vision of the Saints, who had sensed the abnormality, was an unbelievable sight.
The Saints’ campsite had turned into a sea of blood.
Scattered in the campsite, which had turned into a sea of blood, were the corpses of the Holy Knights who had spent a long time with the Saints… And within it was a monster covered in blood and flesh, devouring the corpses of the Holy Knights. The Holy Knight Anya, a woman with glasses who had opened her eyes wide, and Saint Elizabeth, who was quietly watching the scene with cold eyes.
“What in the world… What happened?!”
The monster, which had been eating flesh, noticed the Saints at Anya’s angry shout. The monster turned towards the Saints. It was an ogre with black skin.
“That’s a ‘Superior Species’ ogre? There shouldn’t be any besides the ones the Church released in this forest… Where did it come from? Well, whatever. Anya, can you handle it alone?”
The Saint, unfazed by the deaths of her comrades, tried to calmly order the subjugation.
It was far too reckless, but Anya, her bodyguard, calmly advised her while shining her glasses.
“To be honest, it’s impossible for me alone. The ogre’s level is said to be around thirty, depending on the individual. My level is exactly thirty, so normally, I could do it alone. However, the ogre in front of me is a ‘Superior Species’. I believe its level is about ten levels higher than a normal individual. Of course, I will faithfully carry out the order if I’m ordered to go, but in that case, annihilation will be unavoidable.”
“Is that so? Then will you die with me?”
If she, the only one who could fight, said that she couldn’t win, then it was truly impossible.
There were things she still wanted to do, but there was no choice. She would steel herself.
Before the Saint, who had resigned herself to death, Anya stood in front of her as if to protect her and held up her sword.
“As I said earlier, I can’t win alone. But if it’s the two of us, we still might.
Please, won’t you lend me your strength?”
“I see. Understood. Anya, the Saint’s Shield. I bestow upon you the Saint’s Blessing.”
The Saint activated her magic and skills in succession, strengthening the Holy Knight Anya.
A fierce battle unfolded between the strengthened Anya and the Superior Species ogre. No matter how injured she was, the Saint healed her and gave her strength. Even if her arms and legs were torn off, no matter how much blood she shed, Anya continued to fight.
And after a fierce battle, Anya emerged victorious against the Enhanced Species.
“In the end, I don’t know what that ogre was.”
There was a possibility that it was an assassin sent by someone, but she frowned, feeling that the intent to kill was somewhat lacking for someone trying to kill the Saint.
After thinking for a while, the Saint headed towards the corpses to grasp the names and number of the Holy Knights who had been sacrificed. Eight were sacrificed. The total number of the Saint’s group was ten. It meant that everyone except the Saint and the Holy Knight Anya had been sacrificed.
Among them were Evan and the others, who had been ordered to eliminate Christina.
(Why even Evan and the others, who I asked to eliminate Christina and the others? Perhaps there’s a possibility that Sirius acted alone.)
The Ark House might be the mastermind, but she had heard that Absolute was running around trying to save his comrades. She thought it was impossible for the Ark House to direct monsters towards them.
The eight who had died this time were the Holy Knights who had supported the Saint both publicly and privately since they were children. The Saint made a sad face and offered a prayer for the souls of her dead comrades to find salvation.
(Since when… have I been unable to grieve the deaths of my comrades? Even though comrades who spent so much time together have died, I don’t feel anything. A heartless person like me being a Saint is laughable. I’m just an actor playing the part of the ideal Saint now. But that’s fine… I just want the evil people in this world to disappear.)
The Holy Knight Anya, unaware of the Saint’s true feelings, cried out loud as she looked at the Saint offering a prayer for her comrades.
Afterwards, the Saint and the others were protected by the teachers who came to rescue them. The teachers all wore sad expressions and sympathized with the Saint, who was offering a prayer with a grieving expression, and no one doubted that she was a victim.
But that, too, was an act by the Saint. She was playing the part of a pitiful woman who was saddened by the deaths of her comrades and wounded.
She was good at playing both victim and perpetrator, while also gaining the sympathy of those around her. That was Saint Elizabeth.
(For now, let’s start by investigating the identity of the enemy. Perhaps from within the Church, first.)
The Saint thought of other things while praying for her comrades.
The Negotiator, the one who had released the monster, was observing the Saint’s state from a distance in order to report the results to his master.
♢
“And that’s how the Saints survived. I disposed of the bodies of the four people Ark-san killed so that it would look like they were killed by monsters. In addition to that, there were four people killed by Superior Species monsters, and the prisoner captured by Senior Uru, so that’s what we accomplished.”
After the exercise ended, the Negotiator was in the soundproof room of the Ark House’s mansion, hearing about the state of the Saints from Absolute.
Absolute had entrusted the handling of the Saint’s entourage, the Holy Knights, to test the Negotiator’s abilities. As a result, the Negotiator, like the Church, had used monsters to attack the Holy Knights.
(I was asked to capture some monsters in preparation, so this is what it was for. As expected of the Negotiator. A person who can be entrusted with this kind of work, not just Transfer, is valuable. It was the right choice to capture him.)
“Was it really okay not to kill the Saint?”
“Yes. This plan wasn’t created by the Saint alone, after all. I left the Saint to swim so I could see the scale of the enemy, but there’s no doubt that the entire Church is involved. I gathered evidence this time to prevent them from escaping.”
“Wouldn’t it be over if Ark-san killed them behind the scenes again?”
“That would have been the end of it if it was a low-ranking Holy Knight, but we have to be careful when dealing with people with positions like Saint or Cardinal. Besides, there are various things to do when dealing with these kinds of people. Religion is such a pain.”
The main things to do were gathering evidence and filling in the gaps.
He had recorded the Saint being with the bishop, who was the ringleader, with a video Magical Item. If he had evidence of the Cardinal, there would be nothing else to say, but even this was enough to legitimately eliminate the Saint.
As he was wondering what to do, the Negotiator called out to him.
“Ark-san, would you like to make a deal?”
“Hoh… Let me hear it.”
“Currently, you don’t have any evidence to take down the Church, right? If so, I’ll bring you evidence that will prevent the Rainana Church’s upper echelons from escaping. In exchange, will you release me from being a slave?”
Absolute pretended to think for a moment.
(The Negotiator doesn’t make deals he can’t make. That means he’s somewhat confident about the evidence.)
“Negotiator, I command you to tell me everything you know about the evidence.”
The Negotiator, who was currently a slave, couldn’t disobey the orders of his master, Absolute.
“There’s something called a Secret Ledger at the hideout of the Suiloku Kingdom’s dark organization, Black Fairy, and I’ve used it to traffic humans with the Empire several times. Cardinal Nemuria’s signature is in there. I thought that might be evidence.”
The Negotiator spat out everything he knew about the evidence with a frustrated expression. In his status as a slave, he couldn’t make equal negotiations with his master.
(Suiloku Kingdom, huh… That was the place for the next event, where the Hero would save the country from the dark organization. Unlike the original story, the Hero, who has no connection with Princess Leone, won’t be able to get involved in the event. So honestly, I don’t care about this event. But if there’s evidence, it might be worth going there during a long vacation.)
“I understand the situation. If you can really bring that, I might release you.”
“Really?!”
“However, the release will be ten years from now.”
Absolute was acting on the premise that a war with the country would occur in the future. The number he had come up with based on that was ten years.
The Negotiator despaired at the long period of ten years.
“Can’t you do something about that?”
“I can’t budge on this. Or, anything else is fine, you know? Well, that’s the end of the conversation. I’m being called to the academy for questioning, so tell Maria and the others that I’ll be late.”
The Negotiator was a useful piece for Absolute. Therefore, he had intended to make the maximum concession.
The conversation ended, and Absolute left the room. The Negotiator continued to stare at his back.
