Living as an Unemployed in Another World

104 – 4. Silence in the Helm (20)

20.

Two priests were sitting facing each other.

One has his head down but is not looking at the floor, and one has his head up but is out of focus. The two had a rough iron desk between them.

The cathedral that everyone who enshrines ‘El-Ra’, the goddess who protects order and justice, dreams of. Although it has been extended many times over its long history, that fact does not change.

Amid the chaos, amidst the endless increase in religion, numerous secret spaces unknown to the general public or laity were created in the process of extension. Among the many spaces, there is no room named interrogation room. It’s just that there are several nameless rooms lined up in a remote area of the spire.

The location they were in was one of those places. It wasn’t stained glass, but the sun was shining outside through the glass window, indicating that it wasn’t underground, but the man was well aware that that didn’t help anything.

The Heretic Inquisitor, Carl looked at the man sitting across from him. He was shaking His hands resting on his lap are wet with sweat running down his sleeves. It’s a familiar reaction. Although he was not a bishop, he was a man with a fairly high rank among the priests, but he couldn’t do much in front of the position of heresy questioner. The sin of forsaking God is equal to everyone. No, it’s even worse

You can tell by the bloody scab on his head, his swollen eyelids, and the blue bruises. Before coming to this place, I had already experienced violence several times. Bilateral assault between priests is taboo, but if it is general violence, the story is rather different. In that case, most of them would have happened between different hierarchies. Carl guessed that fact without difficulty and narrowed his brows.

Scars and bruises made his face look ugly, but the man did not even dare to use his divine power. He must be because he is right in front of him. Of course, I had no intention of loosening up the atmosphere out of pity for him. His sin was already evident.

“Priest Sebastian.”

“Yes, yes!”

As Carl, who had been pushed out of the parish to a lesser position, came to the center of the power structure again after a recent incident, the position of heresy questioner gained more weight. His position is no different than that of a master thief in times of peace, but when an edict is issued like now, he has more power than anyone else.

Among the few heretic interrogations, the fact that a man was called even to Carl, who had a handful of careers, clearly indicated an ultimatum in many senses. Carl took off his glasses and pinched his wrinkled forehead.

“As a result of the investigation by competent believers, we couldn’t find any evidence of your involvement with heresy. It can be said that there is no charge against him.”

“… ….”

“However, even though he did not set foot in heresy, it is a clear crime to create fear in the baron family and sell the holy water on his own. It’s the same with having adultery with your daughter who hasn’t even had a coming-of-age ceremony yet. Do you have any objections?”

“…… Doesn’t exist.”

“The priestly uniform you are wearing until now is made of a quality fabric that commoners could not even dream of. The same goes for every meal, though the liver is a little less. Yes, on the way here, didn’t you see the seniors’ words with your own eyes?”

The priest did not answer. Carl tapped the iron desk with his fingertips. The punishment for a felony does not consist in imprisonment. The priest reached into his bosom and pulled out a dust-free Rosario.

“Let go, let go.”

Before coming to this position, he had already completed the process of ‘sealing’ his divinity in the rosary. The moment he leaves this room, he is no longer a priest. If he wants to live as a priest in the future, he will have no choice but to convert to another religion. It is questionable whether they will accept the priest expelled from the cathedral, but that is not the case.

As he staggered out of the room, a young nun entered. Carl sighed deeply and put Rosario in his arms.

“What next?”

“This is the end for today.”

“Really? …… Good job. You go in and rest.”

Carl let out a deep sigh as the nun politely bowed her head and left her room. A mountain of paperwork was still piled up on one side of the iron desk. Carl picked up the papers lying on top of them, tore them apart, rolled them up and threw them in the trash.

I want to rest. He sincerely thought so.

In the first place, Carl had no interest in bishops’ items. He did not give much thought to the complicated power struggle of the old people. He had never been this busy, devoted to the church for over twenty years.

It’s winter and the reason he’s so busy is because of the edict. Royal decree. An appointment to entrust full authority over interrogation and punishment to the Church in order to eradicate heresy from the capital. A few months ago, the legendary great sword turned the royal road upside down, and the situation was discovered that numerous court nobles were involved in heresy, and they made a decision. At least the current royal family recognizes the doctrine of ‘El-Ra’ as the state religion, so they must have had no choice but to cooperate in order to save face.

Originally, Carl, who had been pushed out of a somewhat idle position in the Heretic Interrogation District, would not be able to take on such a great role just because an edict was issued, but…… Not long ago, when he visited the periphery with a knight for investigation, his position changed greatly as he encountered the death of the lord, the advent of the evil god Jul-Kal, and the legendary sword himself.

Instead of annihilating her bounty by treating her who was her other person dead in the first place, she took over all the information about heresy she had collected so far and started raising her performance, and in an instant, the Cathedral He has emerged as a person of interest within.

He was just handing over the information, but he was misunderstood that he was producing results through his independent investigation, so a nun in the role of a secretary, who was nowhere to be found, was followed to assist his activities, as well as dedicated training knights. Degree.

As such, unlike before, when activities were relatively free, they were leading a more uncomfortable life than before because they took on work on a group scale rather than on an individual basis. Not only would he frequently visit the nobleman’s mansion and receive glare, he would also take on the uncomfortable role of detaining and investigating a priest who worships the same god as he does now.

What he felt during the past month was that there were surprisingly many people around him who were reckless. He’s like the priest he just sent away. If he hadn’t been caught by him, he would have enjoyed a lustful romance with the young lady while collecting money by selling holy water, and he would have even reached the rank of a priest soon after. The fact that such people still occupy a seat in the church is a great stress.

Carl put his hand to his mouth. Then he touched his dry lips for no reason and pointed his hand at his glasses. He didn’t have to push up the bridge of his nose to correct his position, as he wore custom-made spectacles. It is another habit created to hide the habit of touching the corners of the mouth.

After a while, someone knocked on the door again. I wanted to take a break, so I told him to go home first, but young people these days don’t listen. He complained and raised his voice, and then the door burst open, revealing a woman.

“Faust.”

Faust is his last name. She is a mysterious woman with short red hair, pale skin from less sunlight, and a dot next to her dark red lips. She wore a robe that boldly cut off one of her legs, opened her metal case halfway, and shook the cigarettes inside her, smiling coquettishly. Carl tutted and clicked her tongue.

“I don’t spread out with a weeder like you. Go alone.”

“Oops. Who will say it.”

Ignoring Carl’s words, the woman strode into the room. She naturally takes out a cigarette and bites it in her mouth, which is not a skill she has done once or twice.

“I warn you, if you light it, I’ll pour holy water on your head.”

“Are you quitting smoking? How cute.”

The woman raised her hands knowingly and rested her ass on the iron table with her cigarette in her mouth. Carl answered roughly, ignoring her gaze.

“I hung up.”

“Since when? I haven’t heard of it.”

“You need to have time to peel. What are you here for?”

When she asked for her knife, she put her hand between her breasts and pulled out one of her notes. Realizing the meaning, Carl frowned.

“Are you still stuck with that habit? Pay for your age.”

“Well, rank priests still say they like it.”

He picked up the note that the woman had handed over with a grin, and carefully unfolded it with her two fingers, as if touching something dirty. Nothing was written on her note. Carl asked, pushing up his glasses again.

“Are you sure?”

“I checked several times too. But no charges at all. Rather, he is an example of a clergyman, surprisingly innocent.”

The woman shrugged her shoulders and Carl roughly crumpled up her note and threw it into the trash. And she let out a deep sigh. I deliberately asked for a separate investigation, but nothing came out.

As I said, he’s now also taking on the uncomfortable role of detaining and interrogating priests. And the ‘detention’ and ‘investigation’ actually happen elsewhere, just like the priest before him, and all he does here is give an ultimatum and check the facts.

Currently, a priest who ran a small monastery at the end of the royal road is detained in the basement of the cathedral. However, he has never received a separate ‘investigation’. The circumstances in which he was imprisoned here are solely at the direction and judgment of the cardinal.

Karl, who usually trusted the information power of the church, did not have any questions about the detention and investigation results, but when he found out that he had gone straight to the scaffold without going through him, he became concerned about the inside story and investigated the monastery he was running. He asked the interrogator to do so. And the result is this.

She always catches even the smallest flaws, and if she expresses “Nothing at all,” You can guess how upright the old man has been. But why, if that’s the case, why did he hate a person worth a cardinal? Even the heretic inquisitors, who are guaranteed independent authority, cannot go against the pope and the cardinals. Their faith is strong and blind enough to be twisted at first glance.

Carl pulled out a thin piece of paper from her pile of papers and handed it to her. You can’t put to death a priest who worships the same god without ever seeing his face. Judging her so, he sent her back with her request for visitation.

“Faust, you owe me.”

He looked at her woman’s voluptuous back, shook her hand roughly, straightened her up, sat down, and picked up the cigarette she had left behind. A black flame rises from the tip of that finger and then fades again. He crushed the cigarette with his teeth, threw it on the floor, and spat it out.

“…… In these busy times, where the hell is he?”

Karl suddenly remembered the image of a knight who had taken a leave of absence. After the size of the diocese he belonged to grew bigger, he thought he needed a military officer to stand next to him when dealing with the nobles, so he implicitly suggested that he join a team, but he refused, citing the excuse that he didn’t have the qualifications. And he later found out I put down the sentence for a while and went on vacation.

I don’t have a lot of talent, although I don’t have enough talent, but Carl couldn’t hide his regret and looked out the window. The sun goes down today

Watching the setting sun suddenly reminds me of what happened at the mansion. The descendant of the young man who coaxed himself with three tongues and the thief who messed with the royal capital. What are the two of you doing right now?

Since it’s winter, they must be biting and sucking on each other. They are a really fitting pair. He lamented his situation confined in a small room and soon crushed tobacco leaves with his feet.