Chapter 194 - Chapter 193: The Church's Aim
※This time, the protagonist is absent.
The first day of the Water month, the fifth week.The day after Mika was captured by the church.Even in broad daylight, Rosalinde was chattering at the gambling hall.
"There has to be cheating... Why won't a five come out there...?"
She was guzzling sake at the bar counter attached to the gambling hall, and the regular customer, an old man, sitting next to her, gave a bitter smile.
A gamble where two dice are thrown twice, and the payout is decided by the resulting numbers.
With additional bets, one can also wager on which throw will be larger between the first and second, rolling doubles, or hitting a specific number.
One can also bet on other players, making it one of the most popular gambles among commoners.
"Rosalinde-chan... Don't say such things so lightly... Look, the shop staff are glaring at you."
"I don't care... Anyway, give me back my money."
Saying that, she gulped down the fire-fruit juice mixed with sake, glug, glug...
"Puh-ah... Master, another round~."
Rosalinde waved her empty glass, ordering a refill from the master.
"Hey, hey... You're drinking too much, Rosalinde-chan. Besides, do you have that much money? Just now, you said you lost almost everything..."
"Noooo... Hey, old man, lend me some money."
"Huh!?"
Startled by the sudden request for money, the old man's eyes widened in shock.
"I-I don't have that much either!"
"What is this~? You can afford to spoil your mistress, but you can't treat me?"
"Ah, please don't say such unkind things like 'mistress'..."
The old man denied it with a panicked face, but he actually understood.
Rosalinde was just saying things casually.
He knew that, but still, being hit right at the core makes anyone panic.
The old man placed only his own bill on the counter and left the spot as if fleeing.
"Tch... Stingy..."
Rosalinde grumbled, and the master placed the refill in front of her.
A paper coaster was laid beneath the glass.
Rosalinde took the glass in her hand and casually flipped over the coaster.
Then she crumpled it with a squish and shoved it into her pocket.
"............I'm sobering up..."
She muttered softly and drained the glass in one go.
She glanced briefly at the master, but the master said nothing, silently wiping the glass.
Rosalinde, leaving the gambling hall, walked unsteadily with slightly shaky steps.
Leaning against the wall to support her body, she checked her surroundings with a casual gesture before slipping into a narrow alley.
And thus, she entered a dilapidated shop through the back entrance.
It was unknown what kind of shop it used to be.
Broken shelves were lined up, and large wooden boards were propped up.
In the space created like that, a woman was waiting.
The woman was about the same age as Rosalinde, or perhaps a little older.
Her hair color was golden, or rather, orange-ish.
In the dimly lit shop, it looked even more so.
And she exuded a tense atmosphere.
However, this woman was always like this.
"What's the sudden rush? If it's next month's report, I haven't finished it yet."
Rosalinde spoke in a cold voice.
She showed not a shred of the unsteady steps she had until now, keeping her guard up and watching her surroundings carefully.
Ignoring Rosalinde's demeanor, the woman opened her mouth.
"I need information urgently. About the adventurer known as 'Dispeller'."
"'Dispeller'...?"
"Yes, that's right. I have a hunch they are an adventurer in the capital. I'm currently checking with the headquarters and the First Branch. Do they fall under your jurisdiction?"
Hearing the woman's words, Rosalinde let out a soft sigh.
Rosalinde belonged to a certain organization.
It was not the Adventurer's Guild.
In the common world, they were called the King's ears or the King's eyes, but in reality, they had no name.
"Nil Nomen".
Since the current king did not particularly give them a name, they remained an organization without a name.
They were also said to be called Nameless, No-Name, Anonymous, etc., but ironically, the lack of a name led to a proliferation of nicknames.
Even though they belonged to an organization, they usually didn't do anything significant.
Just collecting and compiling trivial gossip.
Gathering how the citizens thought about the country and the king.
Collecting rumors flowing within the huge organization of the Adventurer's Guild, and when she was in Sarbengeal, even gathering rumors about the local lords.
Analyzing and utilizing the gathered information was the job of the boss.
It was not something for someone like Rosalinde at the bottom.
The organization did not move immediately based on the gathered rumors.
Even if the information led to a crime.
If they moved every time, it would be obvious that there were ears inside.
They quietly watched, predicted the spread of influence, and used it to put out fires early or stoke them.
Originally, Rosalinde was in charge of Sarbengeal.
But the Adventurer's Guild in the capital expanded its branches.
Ears had already infiltrated the headquarters and the First Branch, but they couldn't send anyone to the newly created branch.
Moreover, instead of hiring new staff to increase numbers, they rotated existing employees.
The organization, slightly troubled, caught information that they would replenish from Sarbengeal, and Rosalinde, who was in charge of Sarbengeal, was chosen.
They swapped her with the employee originally scheduled to move and made her handle the processing.
Such direct actions leave footprints easily.
So, normally they wouldn't do that, but they must have been in serious trouble.
The ear at headquarters must have been sweating profusely.
Rosalinde was a gossip lover.
She was talkative and loose-lipped.
That was the correct evaluation of Rosalinde by those around her.
Normally, ears who collected rumors acted quietly and tried to be inconspicuous.
No one would leak important information to someone loose-lipped.
But in reality, it was the opposite.
Everyone wanted to talk.
The more secret it was, the more they wanted to tell someone.
Rosalinde just skillfully tickled that feeling.
But revealing a major secret required courage.
It was hard to talk to someone who took heavy matters seriously.
That was why everyone talked to Rosalinde casually.
Even heavy matters, just a fragment of them.
Gossip lovers gathered around gossip lovers.
Gathering two or three pieces from five or six gossip lovers resulted in over ten pieces.
With that much, it was easy to guess the original shape.
Originally, the organization was also gathering rumors.
Credibility was secondary, tertiary.
Finding the truth from the massive amount of gathered information and verifying it was the job of another person.
Rosalinde turned her cold eyes toward the woman.
"What about the 'Dispeller'?"
"Do they fall under your jurisdiction?"
"...Yes."
Ignoring Rosalinde's question, the woman continued to ask.
Rosalinde could not lie.
And thus, Rosalinde helplessly told Mika's information.
Attending the magic academy, the ability to defeat many magic beasts, and everything else she had investigated herself, laid bare.
The organization had already shown interest in Mika.
Even if she hid it, it would be discovered soon anyway.
There were ears at the guild headquarters and many others.
Usually, the ears at headquarters investigated the organization of the Adventurer's Guild.
Ears at the branches did not particularly write individual adventurer information in the reports.
Because there were no adventurers worth writing about in the first place.
"Breaking curses...?"
"That's what they say. They use 'Dispel'. That's why 'Dispeller'. Also, they've taken things out of a Magic Bag that shouldn't be retrievable."
Hearing Rosalinde's words, the woman wrinkled her nose.
"...I remember there was an incident involving adventurers and curses due to breach of trust and embezzlement at the Adventurer's Guild last year?"
Rosalinde clicked her tongue inwardly but kept her cold gaze on the woman outwardly.
"The report should have been submitted?"
"What is the connection between that incident and the adventurer called 'Dispeller'?"
"There is. That 'Dispeller' was the one who started it."
The woman glared at Rosalinde, who said it so casually.
"............I've never heard of the nickname 'Dispeller' before?"
"Was that so? 'Pretending to be an adventurer skilled in 'Curse Exclusion', using a fake guild card to steal the name.' I might not have written 'Dispeller' specifically. I don't remember writing adventurer names one by one anyway."
Rosalinde retorted, "You were like that from the start, weren't you?"
Of course, normally individual adventurers didn't attract that much attention.
So, saying there was no opportunity to write it was a natural explanation.
It seemed the ears at headquarters had also focused on summarizing the executives involved in the incident and didn't write in detail about the adventurers.
As an organization, they were only interested in the situation where executives of the huge Adventurer's Guild were arrested and resigned one after another, and didn't pay much attention to the adventurer who started it.
Combined with reports from the Fifth Knights Order, their eyes were only on the upper echelons, and they didn't care about the adventurers below.
The woman's glaring gaze and Rosalinde's cold gaze crossed.
In the tense air, the two stared at each other without moving.
And thus, the woman let out a sigh.
"......Well, never mind. Is there anything else you're hiding?"
"That's unkind. Of course, there are plenty of things I'm hiding."
Rosalinde said as if to say, "Don't say the obvious."
"Is there anything else you haven't mentioned related to the 'Dispeller'?"
"No."
The woman nodded at Rosalinde's reply.
"From now on, it would be helpful if you wrote down important things before being asked."
"Will you tell me the criteria for what the organization considers important?"
Implicitly, "Since you won't teach me anyway, don't say unnecessary things."
She warned her like that.
The woman shrugged and passed by Rosalinde.
As she passed, she gave a single piece of advice.
"......It won't produce good results. For both of us."
"None of your business."
However, even that advice was rejected by Rosalinde, and the woman shook her head weakly.
She seemed to want to say something, then thought it would be none of her business anyway, and left silently.
After a while, she turned back, confirmed that the woman had left, and Rosalinde slumped her shoulders and sighed.
"Finally, they found me..."
That unique [Skill].
Dispelling curses was one thing, but the ability to retrieve items from a Magic Bag regardless of magic registration was bad.
If they wanted to use it, they could use it however they wanted.
But there was a fear they would be judged as dangerous.
Many people put secrets related to the organization into Magic Bags.
Even in the worst case where they suddenly died, the secrets would be buried in darkness.
But Mika's ability exposed those buried secrets.
Anyone planning to misuse it could misuse it however they wanted.
And how would the King and the organization, who held many secrets, view Mika's existence?
Of course, they would use him.
But after using him once...?
Thinking that, Rosalinde intentionally avoided mentioning Mika's existence when writing the report during the guild's breach of trust and embezzlement incident.
So that attention wouldn't be drawn.
So that no one would pay attention.
Rosalinde waited a little while, then left the shop herself.
She slipped into a different road than the one she came, then emerged onto a slightly larger road.
She met Mika five years ago.
Her colleague Yunressa was strangely concerned about a child adventurer, that was all.
A childish recklessness, "He's so reckless," was the first impression.
She thought he was an interesting kid with a funny contrast between his cute appearance and his behavior.
A strange child who seemed to be somewhere common, yet rarely seen.
Mika suddenly changed when he came to the capital.
When he was active in Sarbengeal, gathering herbs was his main job, and she was impressed that he earned well for once a week.
Rather, considering his age, one could say he earned quite a lot.
That accelerated even more in the capital.
Without the qualifiers of "once a week" or "considering his age," he simply entered the category of earning purely as an adventurer.
And that, solo.
Honestly, Mika's earning pace had reached the amount adventurers earned when forming parties.
Around the time he helped alleviate the congestion in the capital, a consciousness arose not just as an adventurer and guild employee, but as someone who came from the same Sarbengeal.
They began talking personally, and she felt as if she had gained a younger brother or sister.
At that time, he even gained a nickname like "Dispeller."
Before she knew it, she felt a strange mix of happiness and sadness thinking, "You've become an amazing adventurer."
But that was as far as she could purely celebrate Mika's growth.
When he became able to retrieve items from a Magic Bag ignoring magic registration, she clearly thought, "This is bad."
Not only the organization, but there was a possibility that others plotting bad things would make contact.
But she couldn't give advice rashly.
That action would deviate from Rosalinde.
She couldn't take actions that deviated from the character of Rosalinde, a gossip lover, talkative, and careless.
No matter that they were acquaintances, she couldn't take that risk.
At that time, that incident happened.
The fraud and breach of trust/embezzlement incident involving the guild headquarters.
Rosalinde casually reported the adventurer who started it on purpose.
But there was a possibility that someone would submit a detailed report.
In that case, it was unavoidable.
Rosalinde herself could not hide Mika's existence even if she went against the organization.
However, fortunately, the organization did not pay attention to Mika.
She thought she could live in peace for a while longer with that...
"......It didn't even last a year."
She muttered.
Rosalinde entered her usual shop, bought a mix of nuts and cheese, and smoked meat as snacks, and went home.
She flattered the shop owner's father casually and got some trial samples of delicacies... about five portions.
Leaving the shop, she started walking toward the main street.
"I can only protect you this far, sister. From now on, you have to work hard yourself, since you're a boy."
Rosalinde consciously raised her face and looked up at the clear sky.
Then, humming a tune, she went home with bouncy steps.
So that no one would realize she was thinking, "Writing reports is troublesome."
■■■■■■
Leventein family, the villa in the capital.
In Cleiria's room, besides the two escort knights, about six knights had gathered.
Cleiria was receiving a report from the gathered knights.
"So, that is the Information Broker Guild's prediction..."
Cleiria turned pale at the terrible report brought by one of the knights.
"We cannot confirm a direct connection. But, since the timing is too coincidental, it is likely..."
Upon learning that Mika was captured by the church, Cleiria ordered the Leventein family knights to gather information.
However, no valuable clues were obtained from that side.
But yesterday, Kistil, who relied on Yaroibarov, used the Information Broker Guild and grasped valuable information.
That was...
"Inquisition...? Is the church seriously going to do such a foolish thing...?"
Inquisition.
It is said to have started as a tribunal established for the purpose of debate regarding the interpretation and understanding of doctrines in ancient times.
However, its form changed slightly with each era, and a thousand years ago, inquisitorial tribunals were installed in the Great Cathedral of each diocese, becoming a place to condemn those who turned away from the teachings under the bishop's authority.
And thus, an incident occurred.
After one bishop was appointed to a certain diocese, inquisitions suddenly increased.
Under the bishop's authority, nearly a hundred residents were sentenced to death by burning.
That bishop condemned residents one after another through inquisitions at his appointment post.
Such things were done in a diocese where there was no sign of it before.
The residents' dissatisfaction, fear, and hatred toward the bishop turned toward the church.
The church could not say "We were wrong" to those who had once been certified as heretics and sentenced to death by burning, nor could they punish that bishop.
However, they could not leave it as is, so they transferred the bishop to a sinecure.
And thus, the system of inquisition itself was reviewed, and it was made impossible to conduct it by the bishop's sole discretion.
Three cardinals of the Ministry of Sacred and Evil Inspection investigated, and if deemed necessary, requested the Pope to hold an inquisition.
Until recent years, the Pope and all cardinals would gather to hold inquisitions in public.
Therefore, it seems they held the form of trying several people together within a certain period once a year.
However, since the current Pope, the conditions for holding an inquisition had been relaxed.
Gathering all cardinals was troublesome, so it could be done with fewer people.
And the inquisitions held in public became private.
Therefore, only the Pope and some cardinals know when inquisitions are held and who is declared a heretic.
"It seems there are movements to proceed with preparations for an inquisition. It is unclear whether it is intended for a boy named Mika or someone else..."
Even the Information Broker Guild seemed to have grasped that the church was making strange movements for some time.
But they didn't know what purpose or what they were trying to do.
However, they seem to have guessed "for this reason" upon the fact that Mika was captured by the church.
"But why the church... Mika? And an inquisition, of all things."
"Cleiria-sama. What is important now is not that."
Confronting the bewildered Cleiria, the knight pushed forward an even harsher reality.
"It seems there is a procedure for inquisitions. Without following that procedure, they cannot hold an inquisition."
The knight paused there, taking a deep breath.
"But, once the procedure is fulfilled, they can hold an inquisition."
"!? "
"If held, the result is already clear. No, that is the very purpose of holding it."
They had no intention of holding a trial from the beginning.
Certification as a heretic.
Condemnation by that was the goal.
"............It is useless to ask 'why', isn't it?"
At Cleiria's mutter, the knight nodded heavily.
At the terrifying plot of the church, Cleiria's legs trembled.
Nevertheless, standing up firmly, Cleiria walked toward the door.
"Please gather the main captains, including Mustajif. We will consider a response. There is no time. Hurry."
At Cleiria's dignified voice, the knights saluted with their hands and immediately ran off.