Chapter 273 - Chapter 272: Fragments of Truth 1
A message came in from Chirensta-san, using the communication device that had been handed over to the Minister of Military Affairs.
Why?
Could it be that Chirensta-san was someone important enough to move the army?
That was absurd.
Things were becoming unclear, but for now, Mika headed toward the Kingdom Army’s garrison.
The Kingdom Army’s garrison was located somewhere between the protective wall and Sarbengeal.
The Domain Army’s garrison was also in the middle area, but slightly closer to the protective wall.
On the road leading from Sarbengeal to the protective wall, the side closer to Sarbengeal on the north was the Kingdom Army garrison, and the side closer to the protective wall on the south was the Domain Army garrison.
The two garrisons were about five kilometers apart.
Mika landed in front of the Kingdom Army garrison, called out to the sentry standing at the entrance, and had him show the way.
He was guided to the newly established Communication Command Room.
It was set up next to the strategy room, a place to relay the status of the protective wall to the strategy room and instruct Mika on the order of repairs for the destroyed sections of the wall.
When Mika entered the Communication Command Room, about three soldiers saluted him.
"Lord Apostle. Please use this."
"Thank you. Have you heard what the matter is?"
"No, I have not heard."
Mika picked up the communication device placed on the desk and held it to his ear.
Immediately, a familiar voice came through.
‘Ah, ah... M-Mika-kun...?’
"It has been a while, Chirensta-san. I never expected to receive a call from you."
There was tension in Chirensta’s voice.
Was he nervous because he was unused to the communication device?
Or perhaps the Minister of Military Affairs was right beside him?
‘Um... I heard that Mika-kun is currently near the border...’
Ah, crap.
(Come to think of it, I had suggested flag signals and semaphore to Chirensta-san as a method for long-distance communication.)
Despite there being a much quicker method, it would appear he had been hiding it.
Well, strictly speaking, he had begun researching the communication device because Chirensta-san had mentioned it.
To Chirensta-san, it must have looked like he had been hiding it all along.
"I apologize, Chirensta-san. This communication device..."
‘What is it? There is no need for you to apologize, is there?’
Chirensta-san assured him that there was no way he could speak of such an amazing thing so lightly.
‘However, if that is the case, then this is... Should I say it is convenient, or troublesome?’
"What is?"
He understood why being away from the capital was "troublesome," but convenient?
‘Actually, this is a designated request for the "Dispeller."’
"...A designated request?"
Well, he expected designated requests to come in, but what did it mean that they were going out of their way to convey it using the military’s communication lines?
‘Ideally, I should explain properly, but right now, here... um...’
"Is there someone nearby, making it hard to speak?"
‘Ah, yes... That is correct.’
Mika did not know how Chirensta-san had borrowed the communication device, but surely they would not let him be alone.
"How did you manage to borrow the communication device, Chirensta-san?"
‘Eh? Ah... I told the Information Broker Guild that I wanted to contact Mika-kun. They said it would take some time.’
"Did you tell the Information Broker Guild the contents of the request?"
‘Roughly... To make them understand that it was absolutely necessary to make contact, I revealed a little about the client...’
He leaked the client!?
Was it so necessary to contact Mika that he went that far?
And the Information Broker Guild had approved it.
(I had told Lebrantes about the communication device, so that must be why they made that judgment.)
A request came into the Adventurer’s Guild, and they consulted the Information Broker Guild.
The Information Broker Guild might have used their connections in the Soiree to inquire with some high-ranking official in the country.
It was possible that the Minister of Military Affairs had connections with the Soiree, but broadly speaking, that was likely the flow of events.
(...The Minister of Military Affairs knows that I am reinforcing the protective wall. Did he still think it necessary to make contact?)
Even though the survival of the nation was at stake?
(This has probably been reported to the Crown Prince as well, hasn’t it?)
If the Crown Prince or the Minister of Military Affairs arbitrarily judged and rejected it, and Mika found out about it later...
Regardless of whether he accepted the request or not, they might have thought that if they did not at least convey the message, he would sulk.
(He probably thinks bitterly, "I really don’t want to inform him of this.")
Even so, they might have judged that offending Mika would be more detrimental.
With a threat looming before their eyes, they were likely trying to show a cooperative stance for now.
Mika thought for a moment and asked Chirensta-san.
"Who exactly is this client?"
He heard Chirensta-san gasp.
After a short pause, Chirensta-san muttered in a heavy, low voice.
‘It is the Council of the Am-Tast Trade Alliance.’
■■■■■■
The Am-Tast Trade Alliance.
It was a union of nations lined up narrowly along the coast in the south of the continent.
Originally five small-scale nations, they formed an alliance to counter the great powers that divided the continent in two.
Although each country had a royal family, the politics were managed by the Council.
They selected several representatives from each country, who received trust from the kings.
The alliance was steered by the consensus of these individuals.
The members of the Council were basically the presidents of large trading companies.
Or, people under the influence of those presidents.
Or so it seemed.
"It has been a while."
Mika looked down on Shaksara, the capital of the Am-Tast Trade Alliance, and muttered.
He had never been there, but he had looked down on it like this before.
He remembered thinking things like, "I want to eat fish."
The ones who had made the request to Mika this time were the Council of the Am-Tast Trade Alliance.
But strictly speaking, that seemed incorrect.
It seemed the Council had merely lent their name.
The Council recognized it as an important matter and issued the request to the Adventurer’s Guild under the Council’s name.
The Trade Alliance had its own Adventurer’s Guild, but it was a separate organization from the Adventurer’s Guild in the Kingdom of Ektrem.
However, their relationship seemed deep; they exchanged information, and if adventurers created a guild card in either country, they could easily coordinate.
Just as the Adventurer’s Guild card allowed coordination with banks and the Bounty Hunter Guild, the procedures were completed quickly.
It was rare for requests to be issued across national borders, but it was not entirely unheard of.
Previously, he had seen a request for a series of disappearances come from the Adventurer’s Guild of the Seven Duchies Federation.
The Adventurer’s Guild of the Seven Duchies Federation also seemed to be a separate organization.
Well, the Kingdom, the Alliance, and the Federation were friendly nations, and economically, they seemed to be quite dependent on each other.
Taking the Adventurer’s Guild and the Information Broker Guild as examples, the only completely independent ones were the guilds in the Gronoir Empire.
However, previously, Yusubart of the Assassin’s Guild had referred to it as the "Seven Duchies Federation Branch." Was the Assassin’s Guild the same organization even across national borders?
It seemed this varied depending on the organization.
Mika landed a short distance from the city of Shaksara and entered the city from the main road.
Shaksara seemed to have a large flow of people, and no checkpoints were being conducted.
It was lively, but there was a stark difference in people’s appearances.
The gap between rich and poor was severe, and behind the glittering streets, shady characters kept a sharp watch.
It seemed like a chaotic city.
Mika walked down the main street, looking around curiously.
First, he had been told to meet with one of the councilors.
This councilor was quite influential, apparently a heavyweight of the largest faction in the Council.
Mika searched for the councilor’s office and walked along.
Somehow, the congestion of this city reminded him of Sarbengeal.
It was a city that felt like the capital, Sarbengeal, and Yaunasun combined.
Thus, he stood in front of a splendid building.
It was a five-story building, resembling a hotel.
He entered, showed his guild card to the receptionist lady, and stated his business.
"We are expecting you. Please wait a moment."
The lady entered the door right next to her and returned immediately.
She held an envelope in her hand and offered it to Mika.
"Please take this."
"What is this?"
Mika asked as he accepted the envelope.
"I apologize. I have not been informed of the contents. I was only instructed to hand this over when Lord "Dispeller" arrived."
I see.
Mika opened the envelope, and inside was a single letter.
The letter stated, ‘Seek out Mr. Warterelam.’
It seemed that if he showed this letter to the innkeeper at his lodging, arrangements had been made for him to be guided there.
The letter also listed the inn where Mr. Warterelam was staying.
Apparently, this person named Warterelam was the true client.
This time, the request had come to the Adventurer’s Guild in the Kingdom of Ektrem.
And that request had been mediated by the Guild Master of the Adventurer’s Guild in the Am-Tast Trade Alliance.
From the Guild Master of the Trade Alliance to the Guild Master of the Kingdom.
Because it was an extremely important request, such special measures had been taken.
Furthermore, because it was important, the Council of the Trade Alliance had lent their name as the client.
Although there was a different true client, this was to clearly show that the Council also regarded it highly.
Everything about the handling was exceptional, but the reward for the request was also exceptional.
They had offered one hundred million Raatz in the Kingdom’s currency as a reward.
The Adventurer’s Guild and the Information Broker Guild in the Kingdom of Ektrem had tilted their heads, wondering what was going on, and had used emergency means to contact Mika, deciding that they had to make contact with him no matter what. That was the situation this time.
Since a carriage had also been prepared, he obediently boarded it.
With so many exceptions, question marks flew around in his head.
After being shaken by the carriage for thirty minutes.
He arrived at an inn on the outskirts of Shaksara.
Although it was on the outskirts of the city, it did not feel like a slum.
It was close to the main street and had a calm atmosphere.
Mika thanked the driver and sent him away.
Then, in the inn’s lobby, he showed the letter and his guild card.
He was guided by a gentle-mannered man, resembling a hotelier, to the fifth floor, the top floor.
The innkeeper knocked on the door of the room at the very back.
"Lord Warterelam. A guest has arrived."
After a short wait, the door clicked open, and a dark-skinned man in his mid-forties peeked out.
The man looked at the innkeeper, completely ignored Mika, looked left and right, and then lowered his gaze.
Mika felt slightly irritated.
"Are you the one called "Dispeller"...?"
"Yes, that is correct."
Mika answered somewhat bluntly.
The dark-skinned man made a subtle expression but quickly composed himself and dismissed the innkeeper.
Then he stepped back and invited Mika into the room.
"Teacher. Lord "Dispeller" has arrived."
Inside the spacious room, there were several men.
Four men who looked very much like adventurers.
At the large table in the center, two men were writing something.
The man in the foreground had his back to Mika, so his face was unknown.
The other man looked up at Mika and made an obviously suspicious face.
"What is that tiny thing? Isn’t he just a brat?"
"Teacher Lambaluel. That is rude."
This rude old man seemed to be named Lambaluel.
Good.
If this guy had been the so-called Warterelam, he would have turned around and left immediately.
"It seems you are called various things, such as "Apostle" or "Messenger of God," but where is the apostle in you?"
"Teacher Lambaluel."
The dark-skinned man rebuked him, but Lambaluel directed an impolite gaze at Mika and stared at him intently.
(I’ve shown my face, so maybe I should just go home now.)
He had gone to the place he was told to go.
Since the person there was a rude old man, he had come back.
As Mika thought such things, the dark-skinned man called out to the man in the foreground.
"Teacher. Teacher Warterelam. Lord "Dispeller" has arrived! Teacher!"
Apparently, the man in the foreground was Mr. Warterelam.
He seemed so absorbed in his writing that he hadn’t even noticed Mika’s arrival.
"Hmm? What is it, Sestendof? Making such a loud voice."
"It is not "what is it," Teacher. Lord "Dispeller" has come for us."
"Oh? Oh!? Is that true!"
Saying that, Warterelam turned around.
Warterelam froze for a moment upon seeing Mika.
He blinked his eyes and opened his mouth in astonishment.
"...You are... ah, no, no, you are "Dispeller"...?"
"That is correct."
Warterelam’s face clouded as if he were troubled, but he quickly tightened his expression.
"...Yes. It is a stroke of luck that even 【Dispelling】 remains. Thank you. I am happy that you have accepted the request."
Hearing that, Mika extended his hand, palm facing Warterelam.
"I apologize, but I cannot accept it yet. I have not accepted the job."
"Eh!?"
"Then why has the brat come all this way!?"
When Mika said he had not yet accepted the request, Warterelam was surprised, and Lambaluel complained.
"I have not yet received an explanation of the request. I came because the Guild asked me to "please come and listen no matter what.""
"What do you mean? Didn’t you receive an explanation at the Guild?"
Warterelam asked in return, but Mika remained silent.
He could not explain about the communication device, nor could he explain the situation where he had come just to listen because he was close to Shaksara.
Normally, such a situation should not occur.
To avoid letting them realize the impossible situation where he had been away from the capital but only knew that a request had arrived, Mika gave no explanation.
When Mika remained silent, Warterelam pondered.
"I see... However, that might be rather convenient."
Muttering that, Warterelam looked straight at Mika.
"If you like, may I explain from the beginning? Rather than just hearing the contents of the request, knowing the circumstances might make it easier to understand."
"Yes. I do not fully understand, but there is no such thing as too much information."
When Mika answered so, Warterelam nodded.
He was recommended a sofa in a corner of the room and moved there.
Thus, Mika and Warterelam sat facing each other on the sofas.
The adventurers in the room remained as guards, but Lambaluel and Sestendof left the room.
That was because...
"You said you had wings?"
Asked so by Warterelam, he had shown them.
However, Lambaluel became extremely excited upon seeing Mika’s wings.
"Oh!? What is this!?"
"It’s transparent!"
"Can I touch it!? What is going on!"
He made a huge fuss.
Since it became impossible to talk, Lambaluel was made to leave.
The man named Sestendof was a supervisor.
"...M-my apologies."
"No..."
Somehow, he felt exhausted before even getting to the request.
Pulling himself together, Warterelam moistened his throat with diluted fruit wine.
Then, after clearing his throat lightly, he began to speak.
"First, there are a few things I must apologize for."
"Apologize?"
Was he talking about that rude old man from earlier?
If possible, he wanted an apology from the person himself (Lambaluel), not from Warterelam...
"If you were a devout believer in the Church of Light, this would be an unpleasant story."
"Unpleasant...?"
He had already experienced unpleasantness.
Because of that old man.
"Also, the content I am about to speak of includes many speculations. There was evidence to support it, but I lost it on the way here to the Trade Alliance. Therefore, I cannot show you the evidence."
"...I see."
Without evidence, it was just speculation.
He could appreciate the attitude of informing him of this in advance.
It conveyed that Warterelam felt sorry for making a request in a one-sided, presumptuous manner.
Warterelam took another sip of his diluted wine.
"I served as a Cardinal in the Church of the Gronoir Empire."
"A Cardinal of the Gronoir Empire?"
Mika’s heart rippled in an instant.
Reacting to that, the adventurers twitched slightly.
"Although I say Cardinal, I bought it with money. I consider myself a theologian."
"A theologian?"
"Yes, I was researching the history of the Church of Light. I bought the title of Cardinal because there were things that could only be investigated by a Cardinal. It was like a permit."
Buying the title of Cardinal with money was a bold story, but it seemed different from simple self-interest.
...No, was this also self-interest?
He had bought it to satisfy his own intellectual curiosity.
"If I said that the history of the Church of Light has been distorted by concealment and falsification, would you believe it?"
"Concealment and falsification..."
Asked by Warterelam, Mika pondered for a moment.
Well, since it had a fairly long history, he thought concealment and falsification were common occurrences.
"There is probably some of that. I think such things are unavoidable as long as humans are involved."
He gave a safe answer.
Hearing Mika’s response, Warterelam seemed slightly relieved.
If he were too devout a believer, would he not accept such things?
"Then, what about a Pope with a reign of nearly one hundred years? Can you believe that?"
"One hundred years? Surely that is some kind of mistake?"
When Mika answered so, Warterelam nodded.
"Yes, as you say, that was a mistake. In reality, during those one hundred years, there were twelve other Popes."
"I suppose so. Twelve is certainly surprising."
"Yes. I also could not believe it when I learned of it. However, there were other such examples, and I was investigating them."
"I see."
Did this self-proclaimed theologian investigate such ambiguous matters as a hobby?
Well, he couldn’t help but wonder if buying his way up to Cardinal was really the right way to go about it.
"The history of the Church of Light can be traced back approximately three thousand five hundred years. Probably, the Church of Light arose a little before that, but for now, it is three thousand five hundred years."
"I have heard that."
"Then, how do you think we investigate matters from that time?"
"How?"
To know things from so long ago, basically, one could only infer from excavated artifacts, couldn’t one?
"Infer from excavated items?"
"Yes. That is also one of the powerful pieces of evidence. Sometimes, fragments of parchment contained in jars from that time remain. We decipher them from those parchment fragments."
"Does parchment from so long ago still exist?"
"I can only say it depends on the item. If one is lucky, items in quite good condition are sometimes excavated."
"Heh..."
It was a steady, overly steady task.
Frankly, Mika would probably get bored of it immediately.
Archaeologists really couldn’t do their job without patience.
"That is what I meant by the speculation I mentioned earlier. There are few parchment fragments from that time in good condition, and furthermore, they are written in a language different from the current one. We decipher from fragments and fill in the missing parts with imagination. We must do so to decipher them."
"I think that is somewhat unavoidable. It is difficult to accurately decipher information from such ancient times."
"That is correct. However, I have tried to eliminate such speculative parts as much as possible and have gathered evidence. For over thirty years."
"Thirty years..."
It was an immense period.
Unless one truly loved it, one could not continue for that long.
"The aforementioned Lambaluel has been at it even longer than I. About forty years. There were others who had continued such research for over fifty years. Recently, he passed away due to old age, but we have inherited the results of his research."
"Fifty years?"
Mika was genuinely impressed.
Could this not also be called "knowledge of the common people"?
Shining a light on the truth of the Church of Light’s history.
Oh no, he was getting a little excited.
However, in contrast to Mika’s rising spirits, Warterelam tightened his expression.
"From that research, a certain fact has come to light."
"A certain... fact...?"
"Yes. That is the history of the Church’s concealment and falsification."
Cold water was suddenly splashed on Mika’s elevated mood.
So the concealment and falsification he had mentioned earlier meant that.
"What is the Church hiding?"
"Because they have hidden various things, unless we decipher them, you will not believe it suddenly. It will be a bit long. Do you mind?"
"Please go ahead."
When Mika nodded with a serious expression, Warterelam also nodded.
"First, three thousand five hundred years ago. That is, our ancestors were fighting against someone."
"Fighting? A war?"
"In a sense, it could be called a war. I think it is different from the current wars between nations, but it was a force called Imprecatio."
"Impre...? What is that?"
"Imprecatio. I think the nuance is "cursed child" or "accursed child." The word Imprecatio itself means "curse.""
"Curse..."
Had curses existed since so long ago?
(...Rather, it seems like there were probably more curses back then than now.)
It would not be strange to think that all mysterious phenomena were the work of gods or demons.
"These "accursed children (Imprecatio)" wielded a power called "Word (Vocabulum).""
"Voca... bulum?"
He had heard that!
Wasn’t it Hibujiza who referred to small explosions and Mika’s magic as Vocabulum?
Mika’s chest stirred with anger.
Warterelam looked at Mika, who closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath, with a suspicious gaze.
"...Is something wrong?"
"Phew... No... It is nothing."
He had not expected such a connection to emerge from a story about a battle three thousand five hundred years ago.
"What does this Vocabulum mean? You said they wielded power."
"It seems they exercised some great power by speaking words."
That alone made it seem exactly the same as Mika’s magic.
Was there nothing more specific?
"Is it different from [God’s Miracle]? That also exercises power by speaking words, doesn’t it?"
"At first, we also thought that "Word (Vocabulum)" and [God’s Miracle] were the same thing. No, even now, the general idea is that they are the same, but they are probably different. [God’s Miracle] does not require incantations, and furthermore, initially, there was no [God’s Miracle]."
"[God’s Miracle]... did not exist?"
Wait a moment.
So, [God’s Miracle] was something created by someone?
"In ancient times, they... were fighting against a force called "accursed children (Imprecatio)." The "accursed children" used "Word (Vocabulum)," but [God’s Miracle] did not yet exist? ...Does that mean they were being beaten unilaterally?"
"Yes. Although they seem to have resisted to some extent, it seems people lived in fear."
If those "accursed children" used magic and people did not possess [God’s Miracle], they would simply be killed unilaterally without proper resistance.
Even with [God’s Miracle], one-on-one battles were disadvantageous.
Unless they fought extremely well, they might lose even ten against one.
(But... come to think of it.)
Mika recalled the history of [God’s Miracle] he had learned in class.
"Wasn’t it said that [God’s Miracle] was granted to Hildinlander by the gods? Yes, I believe that was a story from three thousand five hundred years ago."
He remembered learning it that way.
"Ah. Certainly, around this time, people obtained [God’s Miracle]. But it was not Hildinlander."
"Is that so?"
Wasn’t Hildinlander the one who first received [God’s Miracle] and thus became a saint?
And the Emperor-Pope and others, taking advantage of that, arbitrarily claimed the title.
"Rather, Hildinlander was an "accursed child (Imprecatio)." He was on the side that used "Word (Vocabulum)" and was an enemy of the people."
"Whaaaaaat!?"
Mika was so surprised that he inadvertently shouted loudly.
At the shocking fact, Mika widened his eyes and froze for a while.