Chapter 489

After finishing her story, Lacey decided to rest for half a day and fell asleep. She needed to soothe her tired body for the long journey ahead.

Agnes bestowed Menes’s blessing upon Lacey so she could sleep peacefully. Having experienced Menes’s mischievousness firsthand, I was suspicious of this blessing. I wondered if it would cause her to have some strange dream, even if not a nightmare.

“Ugh… inferior species… if you don’t meet your quota, you’ll be turned into meat… hehehe…”

…It seems like she’s having a dream a hundred times weirder than I expected. Watching Lacey sleep-talk with a satisfied smile, I couldn’t help but think of someone with a toothbrush-shaped mustache, which left me feeling uneasy.

Well, Lacey does have a toothbrush-shaped mustache too. It’s white instead of black, and it’s not on her nose but somewhere else.

Anyway, Agnes and I left Lacey to sleep peacefully, dreaming of a future where humanity is happy, and headed downstairs to where the rest of the group was waiting. We needed to inform them of our upcoming plans.

Arvil… that was probably Rana’s hometown. I wondered if it was okay to bring Rana along. She might be shocked to find out her hometown has become a den of heretics and a place of debauchery.

—

“So, you’re saying you have no such feelings at all?”

“Of course not, Sister Rana. How could I dare harbor such impure thoughts towards someone bestowed with the Mark of Order? You can rest assured.”

“The girls who secretly clung to Damien used to say the same thing…”

Downstairs, an impromptu hearing was in full swing.

Rana and Milia interrogated Seilon, who had come claiming to be a beloved family member, like they were welcoming a blond thug. Seilon was sweating bullets, insisting on his innocence.

Poor Seilon. If he had stayed as a Judge, he would have been respected. I feel sorry for him.

“Were there such girls…?”

As Damien tilted his head and muttered, Milia glanced at him and smiled.

“Don’t worry about it, Damien. They’re gone now.”

…Why are they gone? Milia, what did you do in your childhood?

Anyway, the four of them were chatting like that, while Hersh, who seemed uneasy about the concept of a Judge, hid alone at a corner table, sulking. Being naturally dark-skinned and hiding in a shadowy spot, she was almost invisible.

“Rana, don’t torment Seilon too much. He gave up his honor and position to follow me.”

I defended Seilon and approached Rana. It’s good that she’s concerned about me, but interrogating him like that makes Seilon pitiful. He’s a man who vowed to serve only the goddess and remained celibate for thirty years.

“Sister! Are you done with your story?”

Rana turned her head sharply, smiled at me, and ran over to hug me.

Seilon, who was watching this 180-degree change in her attitude, forced a smile. I nodded at Seilon, signaling him to be understanding since Rana is still young, and then gently pinched Rana’s cheek.

Ah, it’s so soft. Rana’s cheek is almost as soft as my chest. Is this what baby fat feels like?

“Ouch…!”

“Rana. Is it okay to scold my escort knight like that? Especially someone much older than you. I don’t want you to grow up to be such a rude child.”

Seilon flinched at the mention of age. What, is he sensitive about being in his thirties? For a knight, that’s practically the prime of life.

“I’m sowwy…”

Rana, with her cheek stretched like mochi, mumbled an apology.

“That’s good enough.”

I released Rana’s cheek and smiled, stroking her pink hair.

—

After that, I explained our upcoming plans to the group. We would head to Arvil ahead of others, eliminate the cultists hiding there, and return triumphantly to the Holy City.

Rana, who was excited about going to Arvil, was shocked to learn it had become a den of heretics and began making the sign of the cross, calling on Shaulite. Come to think of it, this plan essentially screws over the Shaulite Church… does she not realize that?

“It’s okay! We’re rooting out the seeds of evil that have infiltrated our church, so Shaulite will be pleased!”

When I asked, that was the response I got. Well, I guess you could think of it that way. The church’s influence and reputation might take a hit, but after cutting out the corruption, only the faithful will remain.

Probably.

—

While Lacey rested to regain her strength, we went outside the inn to shop for travel supplies at the market. We bought a large carriage, food for the journey, camping gear like sleeping bags and pots, and spare clothes for emergencies. It was perfect preparation.

The market vendors waved their hands, refusing payment from those who had defeated the Grimnir Church, but Seilon insisted that paying for goods was the right thing to do, and they eventually accepted the money.

By the time we returned to the inn, Lacey had woken up.

“Did you have a good dream, Archbishop Elmain?”

“Yes. It was… a really good dream. Thank you, Miss Menesilia.”

Lacey’s complexion, which had been sickly, had returned to normal, as if she had a very good dream. …Let’s not ask about the dream’s content.

After that, we washed up in the bathroom, enjoyed a late lunch, and finished the last tasks before leaving Nasiriya. The tasks were simply entrusting the city’s management to the Special Operations Unit members staying behind and sending a letter to the Holy City.

The letter informed them of the current situation and our plans. It instructed Richard, the next Cardinal, to negotiate with the Keres Church and ordered Nigel and Leonor to leave the Holy City and join us.

Both are master-level knights, so if they move quickly, they should be able to meet us before we reach Arvil. The core forces of the heretics are all gathered in Arvil, so we need to gather as much strength as possible.

“Is that really okay? You left behind those loyal to Cardinal Drexler, worried they might cause trouble in your absence.”

“There’s no need to worry about that anymore. Thanks to Sir Richard’s active efforts, the church is already under control.”

“Really…?”

According to Lacey, even if Drexler regained his health and returned, there would be no one left in the Holy City to follow him.

Of course, Richard didn’t kill all of Drexler’s loyalists… he either persuaded them to join our side or exiled them to the countryside. It might not be the most desirable method, but it eliminated all the unstable elements.

—

“Then we’ll depart immediately. Princess Ha-shal-leur, please rest well.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

After entrusting the letter to a swift Sacred Order member to send to the Holy City, we finally left Nasiriya and headed for Arvil.

Seilon volunteered to be the coachman, and Damien, after glancing at Seilon and us, naturally headed to the coachman’s seat. He looked like a private rising at a command, but given the group’s composition, it was a natural outcome.

With six women inside the carriage, sitting among us would only make him feel awkward. Damien probably found the coachman’s seat more comfortable than being a sack of rice among us. Or not.

Anyway, thanks to the two of them handling the coachman duties, the rest of us could relax comfortably inside the carriage.

We traveled through the snowfield with Divine Light, setting up camp at night for six days. Hersh handled the meals, and everyone except Rana took turns keeping watch at night.

Milia always chose the shift after Damien, waking up twenty minutes early to whisper affectionate small talk.

I knew that Milia’s relationship with Damien was one-sided, but I didn’t want to tell her the cruel truth, so I kept quiet.

Maybe the truth doesn’t need to be known. Even if Damien’s feelings are just an act, if he never stops acting, it’s no different from the truth.

…Maybe, someday, Damien will realize what love is. Even if it’s still too early, someday.

I let my worries drift away with the cigarette smoke and idly passed the time by the campfire.

—

On the morning of the sixth day, we arrived at the prearranged meeting point—a small village on the way to Arvil—and stayed at the inn for half a day. We washed our bodies, which hadn’t been properly cleaned in six days, and replenished our dwindling food supplies.

Nigel and Leonor arrived around two in the afternoon.

Having rushed here without rest after receiving the letter, the two looked like beggars. Their bodies were drenched in sweat, steam rising from them, and their cloaks were covered in dust and snow, making it hard to tell their original color.

I warmly welcomed the two, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, and Leonor grinned as soon as she saw me and spoke.

“So this is the famous lady’s lover? Hmm, not bad looking. A bit old, though.”

“That’s not it…!”

It was a joke meant to ruffle my feathers.

Leonor, who knew full well that Seilon and I weren’t in that kind of relationship, teased me while Nigel, with a more serious expression than when facing Ka`har’s army, demanded an explanation.

I told them to rest first and then I’d explain, ushering them into the inn. After they started washing up in the bathroom, I explained what had happened in Arad and showed them the Holy Mark engraved on my chest.

Nigel was impressed, while Leonor burst out laughing, saying Astraea must be crazy.

It was blasphemous, but I thought the same, so I didn’t scold her. I just advised her not to say such things in front of Seilon.