TOM Chapter 26

I stopped in my tracks without realizing it.

"Hey, woman! What are you doing just standing there instead of moving!"

"Ah, yes! A mouse appeared. I'll go quickly."

I walked again.

However, unlike before, a hopeful hypothesis was blooming in my head.

Originally, no one knows what the miracle of a holy relic actually is.

That means... whatever happens, I can pretend it's a miracle, right?

I looked at the approaching bandits.

Three steps left.

As they got closer, I caught a faint scent of dark magic from them.

As expected, they're not followers of Rekaenon either, so that's good.

Two steps, one step, and stop.

"Should I hand it over now?"

"Hurry up and give it here!"

The leader threw aside the hostage he had been holding and reached for the holy relic.

At that moment, I gathered my holy power without reservation.

No need for incantations.

Release!

"Aaaahhh!"

The truly resounding screams made my heart feel refreshed.

A brilliant light burst forth as if the sun had risen in this place.

It was bright enough to temporarily blind ordinary people, but it would be much worse for dark mages.

The massive holy power affected the back area too, distorting the gate.

Since a follower of Rekaenon couldn't possibly be harmed by Rekaenon's holy relic, I could clear my name too.

"H-how did this...!"

"Now's our chance, capture the ruffians!"

"Oh, God!"

The priest and holy knights who had been in a daze rushed toward the bandits.

They were already helpless, so they were caught easily.

Hahaha, my heart feels so refreshed—

"Cough!"

I spat blood.

"H-holy follower!"

Huh?

Red liquid slid down over the holy relic I was holding tightly in my arms.

Why? I didn't overexert myself at all?

While I was puzzled by the sudden hemoptysis, the cause belatedly asserted its presence.

The source was the snow-white donkey head.

What I felt from within it was holy power of a completely different nature.

And anger.

When I realized it, rather than getting angry, I found it funny.

"Ah, right. It hasn't disappeared yet."

Rekaenon must be quite angry that I put another god's holy power into his holy relic.

That was welcome.

Regardless of my mood, my knees buckled and my vision blurred.

Someone supported me.

"A-are you alright?"

I saw a hazy giant brown and red dot.

I realized a bit late that it was the hostage who had been captured by the leader.

My vision went black.

It's only been a short time since I became Siora, but this is already the second time I've lost consciousness.

I blinked my eyes looking at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Where is this?

I still seem to be Siora though.

Someone spoke to me.

"Are you conscious?"

It was Mamik.

She was using the wall as a desk, writing something on paper.

Hmm.

"...What's that?"

"A report. They asked me to organize what happened."

"I see. Was I lying here for several days?"

"Of course not, exactly three hours. This is the infirmary, and I was waiting for you to regain consciousness because I wanted to have a brief conversation."

Mamik smiled.

There was something strangely anxious about that expression.

"I should start by thanking you. Thanks to you, Rekaenon was cleared of false accusations."

"It wasn't me, the holy relic did it."

"Even so, it couldn't function at all in my arms. So, um..."

I quietly turned my eyes to survey the room.

I could see several beds for patients, but Mamik was the only person there.

Good.

"Could you teach me how to use the holy relic? Even though I'm supposedly a descendant, it's embarrassing that I can't handle—"

"Are you afraid of losing that position?"

"What? No, it's not like that..."

"Hey."

Mamik blinked slowly.

Unable to accept my bold form of address, question marks floated all over her face.

"Did you just say 'hey'...?"

"You're not a follower of Rekaenon, are you?"

"What? No, I am!"

"The holy relic told me earlier."

Of course, it's a lie.

A benevolent, snow-white, jade-like lie.

"T-that can't be? Haha, what are you saying, haha, maybe because you just woke up, you're confusing it with a dream. How can a holy relic talk?"

"It did, in my arms."

Mamik's face was colored with various emotions.

Bewilderment, distrust, and anxiety.

Looking at that face, I chanted a spell in my mouth.

—Level 2 spell. Discern.

It was a truth-discerning spell that worked better on ordinary people, especially those who were emotionally agitated.

Among believers, it was called the honesty spell.

"The priests will believe what I say."

Mamik stiffened completely.

Hard as stone. And soon the anger and anxiety she had been suppressing exploded.

"So what. What are you going to do. Report me or something?"

It works really well.

"Oh, informal speech."

"Why! You use informal speech but I can't? You're at least ten years younger than me!"

"Who said anything. But how old are you?"

"...31. That's not what's important!"

"That's true. What's important is Rekaenon."

"Ahhh! Rekaenon, Rekaenon, that damn Rekaenon! I'm sick to death of it!"

Mamik threw the report she was holding at the wall.

I quietly picked it up and looked at it once more.

"What the hell is an ancient god! If you think there are gods in all things, then everything becomes a god? What nonsense!"

"Mm, mm."

"Then if everything is a god, what am I. Why am I like this."

"You're a saint."

"Bullshit!"

Mamik screamed and disheveled her own hair.

I focused my senses on the door for a moment.

Suddenly she turned her body toward me.

"I had no choice either. Huh? I didn't want to pretend to be some unknown god's descendant either, but what could I do."

Mamik rolled up her sleeves and spread both arms to show me.

Beyond simply being thin, the vitality I felt from her was ridiculously weak.

"I have to make a living too! What can I do to make a living with a body like this?"

She giggled self-deprecatingly, then sat down beside the bed again.

She grabbed my hand and pleaded.

"Forgive me, just forgive me once. Huh? I'm begging like this. Is there anything you need? Should I help? Isn't there anything you're curious about?"

"Then how did you come to have that holy relic."

"Why is that important right now!"

"Ah, I should go report you."

"Ah, I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"

She rolled her eyes this way and that, groaning as if lost in thought.

"I don't know what you're scheming..."

"No! I just can't remember well. There was a record next to the holy relic."

"Just say whatever comes to mind."

"First, my ancestor was also a believer of some religious order. They fought, I think? They left behind Rekaenon's holy relic as spoils of war."

"...What religious order was that?"

"What was it. It started with P or F..."

I took a breath and asked.

"Phebula?"

"Right, that was the name! How did you know?"

"The holy relic taught me."

"Liar! ...Really?"

She tilted her head with a dubious expression.

That sight made me sigh involuntarily.

I had a suspicion.

The handwriting in the report Mamik was writing was too distinctive.

And I had seen that peculiar handwriting before.

「This is what is actually happening in the outside world.」

「Ancient god Phebula, please bring about a miracle.」

The text added to the last page of  《Destiny》.

The person who wrote that book and offered it as a sacrifice to Phebula was Mamik.

It was something that hadn't happened yet, but I was certain.

"Sigh."

I had wanted to find out who wrote 《Destiny》 at least once.

I knew that all the priests and believers who were there when we isolated Phebula's temple were confined, so I was curious about who had offered a sacrifice from the outside.

I was curious about who was the admirable person with a sense of mission trying to prevent the world's destruction.

But.

"It was Mamik."

"What, what does that mean?"

The fact that I'm suffering out here is because of a con artist!

My enthusiasm deflated and my sense of mission diminished.

Of course, I've also committed fraud when necessary, but in my case it came from good intentions, so it's different.

Anyway, it's different.

Separately, my head became more complicated.

Why did a follower of Phebula have Rekaenon's holy relic.

I'm really concerned because of the evil god theory.

But for now, it was time to sort out the current situation.

"So you're determined to report me after all? Huh?"

"I won't."

"...Really?"

Of course.

Even though I don't have 1g of faith, there's no way I'd sell out a fellow member.

It's not like there's much to gain from it either.

Of course, I will receive compensation.

"Instead."

"Yes?"

"Find that record as quickly as possible and bring it to me."

"That's all...?"

"And if I need it later, you'll help me. Then I'll keep my mouth shut."

Mamik blinked her eyes, then soon smiled brightly and nodded.

That face looked so much like a child's.

To conclude, Rekaenon was completely cleared of false accusations.

It was also revealed that the culprit who poisoned the stopper had infiltrated the religious order under outside orders.

We couldn't interrogate that person because.

"They died by poison. There are marks all over the body like thorn pricks, presumed to be plant-based magic."

They were found dead.

At this point, public sympathy arose for Rekaenon, and rumors about the miracle caused by the holy relic also spread.

The temple looked displeased, but oh well.

I received plenty of thanks from the Rekaenon order, and I was able to meet the priest who had written the script for the play.

I had hoped he would say it was creative fiction.

"Yes, the evil god that appeared in the puppet show is indeed Phebula."

"I happened to have occasion to enter the imperial library and read about it there."

"If you're interested in Rekaenon, perhaps you should read it too, noble sir."

...It might have been better not to meet him.

Religiously, I became depressed, but it wasn't like I gained nothing at all.

For the great contribution to solving the incident, I was summoned by the crown prince.

None other than to receive a reward!

"You've worked hard. How fortunate that it was an imperial noble who solved the temple problem."

Though she wasn't particularly tall, her frame was solid and well-built, carrying herself with unmistakable authority. 

She exhaled a long sigh of relief, her shoulders visibly relaxing.

"There were tremendous protests from the temple over the divine beast issue, but thanks to you, the talk has died down."

I bowed my head respectfully and spoke words contrary to my heart.

"Though it was by chance that the holy relic shone in my hands, I'm delighted that it was helpful."

"You don't ask what the divine beast matter is about."

"If it were something I should know, I think it would have reached my ears long ago."

"The duke didn't tell you?"

Shallow leading questioning, do you think I'll fall for it?

I blinked as if to say what are you talking about.

The crown prince let out a hollow laugh.

"Didn't you coordinate your stories? The duke used you as an excuse while protecting the divine beast."

"Pardon? What do you mean..."

"He said my prospective fiancé has too tender a heart and asked him to protect the divine beast."

Krueloooo!