TOM Chapter 23

There are people in trouble.

And I have the ability and evidence to resolve that situation.

What would you do?

"Ah, I should add one premise."

By the way, we're enemies.

My ancestors had such a bad relationship with them.

Originally I only knew it to that extent, but thanks to being called an evil god, I feel twice as bad.

"It's bothersome and I don't really want to make a fuss either."

If there were gains to be had, I'd move, but all I'd get is giving the Council of Elders the finger.

Even in this very idle situation, it's still troubling.

I rolled back and forth on the bed while pondering.

Just then.

"Hm?"

I felt a commotion from far outside the window.

"I repeat. You cannot meet the young lady without an appointment. This is your final warning."

The security guard's voice became clearer as I approached the main gate.

My shoulders straightened at the feeling of being treated with respect. Ahem!

"Please, I beg you. At least let me make contact. This side is a matter of life and death... Ah!"

The person arguing with the security guard spotted me.

He was a youth with an extremely suspicious appearance.

Like I had done at the harvest festival, he wore a robe with the hood pulled deep so his face couldn't be seen.

At least he didn't look like a dark mage.

"Miss Siora, you mustn't go near. Please step back."

"What's going on?"

As I approached, the youth immediately moved.

Thud, the sound of him dropping to his knees was loud.

I wonder if his knees didn't get scraped on the stone floor.

"Please help me just once!"

"Who are you?"

"Ah, I am..."

He hesitated a bit before throwing back his hood.

Then surprisingly!

"Really ordinary."

"...Yes, I'm a really ordinary believer of Rekaenon."

"Aren't you under interrogation at the temple?"

"All the priests have been taken away, only ordinary believers remain."

I nodded and looked him over again.

Poor quality clothes and rough skin.

He couldn't quite meet my eyes and kept trembling, but he didn't seem to be lying.

I crouched down to meet his eyes.

"When did we ever meet that you're asking me for help?"

"That day, you came wearing a lion mask to watch the puppet show, didn't you? Rumors about you two spread throughout the entire capital, so I could tell."

"Aha. So."

"If you happen to still have the holy water bottle you received then..."

"You came to ask for it? Normally they wouldn't even meet with you, would they?"

"I was desperate enough to grasp at straws. I was afraid all the priests would be executed."

Mm, that makes sense.

They distributed poison—though it's a false accusation—there's no way they'd let them live.

If it weren't for the inter-religious issue, they would have been dragged to the imperial investigation room and sentenced to death long ago.

Though I doubt the results would be different even with a religious trial.

"If you just give me that holy water bottle, I'll consider it a lifelong favor and quietly return."

Do I have to keep talking in this state?

I looked back and forth between the really ordinary youth kneeling and the security guard.

If I let him inside, there might be bad rumors about harboring heretics or something.

"First get up and talk."

"No, I came to ask for a favor, so I'll speak like this."

"Well. Me feeling burdened doesn't increase the probability I'll help."

"That kind of thing..."

"Rather it drops. Oh, it just fell 5%. 10%, 15%—"

"I, I, I got up!"

The youth jumped to his feet.

Let's just give him the bottle.

Just as I was deciding, the sound of horse neighing caught my attention.

A four-horse carriage led by four white horses.

On the splendid carriage's exterior was drawn a clock pattern filled with pure white sand.

And the person who got out of the carriage was.

"Oh? It seems you have a prior engagement."

It was Kruelo.

Coming by carriage, how unusually normal of him.

The security guard, flustered by the unannounced visit, looked back and forth between me and Kruelo.

I asked instead.

"What brings Your Grace here?"

"What brings me here, you ask. I came to be charming."

"That's really an expression that doesn't suit Your Grace."

"Wh-Whitedesert Duke Your Grace"

How notorious must he be for even a commoner who'd never meet him to recognize him?

The youth chattered his teeth while trembling.

I'm proud, Kruelo! Your prestige is truly brilliant.

"Shall we go inside and talk? If it's alright, it would be good to bring that friend along too."

A Rekaenon believer?

Since someone who could take responsibility had appeared, I didn't particularly refuse either.

Of course, I didn't forget to add one thing.

"If anything bad happens, it's Your Grace's responsibility."

We moved to the reception room.

A low-ranking Rekaenon believer, Kruelo, and me.

When you put it together, it's truly a strange combination.

Leaving the two of them behind, I went to separately fetch the holy water bottle from my office.

"First, this is the holy water I received."

I held up the bottle so they could see it clearly.

The clear liquid sloshed.

Joel—that's the believer's name—looked at my fingertips with earnest eyes.

"But what are you going to do with this?"

"The poison must have been switched by someone. If it's a holy water bottle that you, a noble, possessed, the temple won't suspect it, so they'll acknowledge the truth."

That doesn't seem like it would be so easy.

Though he said that, Joel's expression was also dark.

"I don't even know why the priests were arrested. They all use holy power, so their good will should have already been proven."

"Don't they have different orientations from the current temple?"

Kruelo interjected in a lukewarm voice.

Ah, that's right.

Rekaenon is the god of discipline and temperance.

It's a religious order with values different from modern people, to the extent of punishing late rising or overeating.

That was Rekaenon's 'goodness,' the standard for being able to use holy power.

For reference, Phebula's doctrine is 'naturally,' so it's not much different from modern times.

"How could distributing poison to people be goodness by any standard..."

"I'm not of that faith, so I wouldn't know. It could be a problem you're hiding."

Kruelo said coldly.

Knowing who's behind it, his acting is quite excellent.

It might be that he's trying to test whether Joel has been recruited by the Council of Elders.

Since I didn't call him to interrogate him, I brought the conversation back on track.

"Actually, I think I know how the holy water became poison."

"Is, is that really true!"

"I can help you, if you answer just one thing for me."

"I'll answer anything! Please ask."

"Who is the evil god that appears in 'The Sacrifice of Molmoro'?"

Kruelo burst out laughing.

But I'm serious.

Though I concluded it with self-rationalization, it was a very important matter as a believer of Phebula.

"The story is based on true events, right?"

"Huh? Why suddenly about the play..."

"Quickly!"

"I, I don't know well. The priest who created the puppet show script is currently under interrogation."

"Of all times? Then what about other people?"

"No one besides the priests would know. We only study the current doctrine... you see."

Not helpful!

I let out a big sigh and leaned back against the backrest.

Oh Phebula, this person doesn't know.

Then wouldn't it be right for you, the party involved, to give me an answer?

But my god still had no answer.

Am I worse than a furry beast?

I wanted to vent my anger at the world, but instead of tormenting an innocent person, I opened the holy water bottle.

And I showed Joel the bottom part of the stopper.

"See the black stuff stuck there? That's the poison."

"What?"

Over time, the poison naturally dissolves.

Since it's plant poison, I couldn't notice it just by sensing either.

"B-but it's holy water. There's no way the pinnacle of regenerative power could be contaminated by poison..."

"It was subtle enough to make it possible. Even if the holy water resisted at first, once the poison accumulated over time, the contamination would spread and overwhelm it."

"Then... how is your bottle safe, my lady?"

"The pocket of the robe I was wearing was narrow, you see. My maid also has this obsessive thing about proper storage, so she kept it upright in a ventilated box."

She said it was originally a potion storage box.

Though it wasn't intentional, my holy power probably also unknowingly bolstered the holy water's energy.

Joel's expression brightened as if he thought it made sense.

"Then we can prove the priests' innocence!"

"We can also prove the method of the crime."

"What?"

"Who would have applied poison to the inside of the stopper? It's obvious it was an insider."

If not that.

Did someone sneak in, open the holy water bottle, apply poison only to the stopper, then escape without being caught?

The Council of Elders might have that ability, but why would they?

It would be much simpler to recruit an insider believer.

I don't mean to disparage him, but Joel's attitude doesn't seem like that of a believer serving the god of discipline.

If the overall level of faith is this much, it wouldn't be difficult to entice one immoral person either.

"Moreover, since it's just an ordinary believer's word, they won't even listen."

"Then... what should I do..."

"You have someone with influence on that side, don't you? Saint Mamik?"

That person the temple set up as a symbol of embracing heretics.

Sure, it's influence they deliberately handed her, but there's no reason we can't turn it to our advantage too.

Thinking back to the harvest festival, Rekaenon put her to good use as well.

But Joel's expression soured.

"That woman is not a believer of Rekaenon. She has no connection whatsoever with our religious order."

"Eh?"

"She suddenly appeared with a Rekaenon relic and claimed to be a descendant of Saint Molmoro. She's clearly a figure created by the temple to exploit Rekaenon's reputation."

"Oh. So you're saying the relic is fake?"

"A fake... doesn't seem to be the case. The temple claims they've completed their authentication."

"Did she perform some miracle? What kind of power is contained in it?"

"Even the priests don't know that. I heard the records were erased..."

The more I hear, the more Mamik seems legitimate.

Could it be that these guys are the fakes?

"Anyway, she's on the temple's side, so there's no way she'll help us."

"But at the puppet theater, they said it was Mamik who distributed the holy water."

"Th-that! We were also upset about being unilaterally exploited..."

Wow, she uses holy power even while committing fraud?

...I was about to say that, but I swallowed those words.

It's definitely not because I felt guilty.

"Still, she became a saint by selling Rekaenon's name, so let's meet her."

"I've been trying to meet her for a long time just in case, but she wouldn't even see me."

I nodded at Joel's resentful voice.

It seems there really is something she feels guilty about.

But even if she avoided it normally, the situation is different now.

If Rekaenon ends up branded with this poison scandal, it's bound to backfire on the person who rode their reputation to sainthood.

What to do.

This is getting interesting.

Since the person who wrote the play script is also under investigation at the temple, shall I go take a look at the relic for a bit?

"Then let's go meet her."

"Your Grace? Did you just say 'let's'?"

"You're planning to go, aren't you, darling. Your eyes have changed."

I reflexively touched around my eyes.

I'm being read!

"Are, are you helping me?"

Joel jumped up and bent his waist 90 degrees.

"Thank you, thank you!"

I guess I can't refuse now.