Chapter 74 "Suspicion"

　"You mean you yourself have no reason to be attacked at all?"

I nodded silently.

The place has changed, this is the Academy of Theology of Gnosis...the holy knight's office in the corner of the Academy.

　I was led here by the holy knights....

　To be honest, I wanted to see this place once, so it was convenient for me.

　I thought it would be more cramped since they said it was a "stuffy place," but it wasn't. 

　Expensive-looking furnishings and a space that could accommodate dozens of people.

　What can I say...it looks like a very expensive room.

I sank down on the sofa and had a conversation with a Temple knight named Sherifa, who was sitting across from me.

　Rick, who had followed me here on his own accord, was in the corner of the room with his arms crossed.

But it's just a one-sided conversation.

　I'm basically a "victim who was attacked out of the blue without knowing why," so I don't have any information that I can give out.

　"Well...should we still assume that they are attacking people indiscriminately?"

　Shelly put her hand on her chin as if thinking.

　"I'm sorry to interrupt your musing, but I've already given you some information. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me something too."

I asked for the information, thinking to myself that I was being brazen even though I had not told her much.

Sherifa chuckled and said, "You're an adventurer after all," and began to talk about the status of her investigation.

　But....

　I'll just tell you the result first, there was no harvest.

The Holy Knight is continuing the search mainly in the abandoned houses in the town, but it seems that they are currently at a standstill with no particular results.

　"May I ask you a question?"

　I decided to ask a question when the conversation was over.

There are a few things that are bothering me.

"Oh. It's all right. Any questions I can answer, you can ask me."

　"First of all, who is in charge of this search?"

"The Cathedral Knight who is in charge of this place is not here. The highest-ranking Temple Knight is in charge now."

　"I see."

　She is very careful not to say who.

But still, there is conveniently no top-ranking Cathedral knight....

　To be honest, I suspected this place by process of elimination, but... it looks a little suspicious.

　I'm not saying all of them are in on it, but some of them seem to be corrupt.

　What do these guys think about that?

　"And... any ideas why the investigation isn't progressing?"　

　"...... reasons for the lack of progress?"

I looked at the female Temple knight with a curious look on her face and thought...oh, this fellow's no good.

　With this reaction, the idea of doubting your own people in the first place doesn't even occur to you?

It sounds good to say that they are innocent, but if you look at it from a different perspective, they are just fools with a narrow perspective.

　These guys must be very easy to manipulate for those who use them.

　"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

　I didn't point it out, but kept it muddled. I knew that if I told her, it would only make her angry.

After that, I asked her about the investigation policy and other random things, and we finished our conversation.

　I got up, too, because I was done with my business.

　Sherifa followed me and stood up.

　"Thank you for your cooperation."

　Saying this, Sherifa held out her hand to me.

　I shook her hand and nodded.

　Well, good luck.

　I left the church with the holy knight.

"He's gone..."

The adventurer, who identified himself as Ro, had just left the room when Instructor Sherifa spoke up.

　I - Rick - turned to the instructor.

　"Well, Rick. What do you think of him?"

　"What do you mean?"

The instructor motions for me to sit down, and I follow her lead.

　"Do you think he's irrelevant?"

　"Do you think he had anything to do with it?"

　"Oh, I can tell the truth of a man's words to a certain extent by looking into his eyes, but I couldn't tell either way from the look in that man's eyes."

　"What do you mean by that?"

　"This comes from my experience that when a person speaks or is asked a question, there is some kind of ripple in his eyes. I look at them to confirm the authenticity of the words... but strangely enough, the man I just saw didn't have any ripples at all. ...I'm honestly puzzled by the reaction, which I've never seen before."

　"So you are saying... that the man is not normal?"

　The instructor nodded after a short pause.

　"Ah, I sensed something unfathomable. ...So, I'd like to get some details from you, who made contact earlier, about the man, any details you can tell me about him?"

"I understand. Let me start by telling you how we met."

I was walking the streets looking for a member of Darzain's group.

　I was curious about him because he came out of a luxury inn on my way there.

　"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but why were you curious?"

　"Yes. As you may know, that inn is one of the five most expensive inns in town. I was curious because it was unnatural to see someone with a blue adventurer's license plate hanging in and out of the inn. Knowing what I know about the life of Gervas of the same rank, I didn't think he could afford to spend that kind of money."

　I said, "And one more thing," and continued my story.

　"I saw him going in and out of the stables provided by the inn, and to my surprise, he seemed to be using the earth dragon..."

The instructor's eyes widened in surprise, but I continued on without concern.

"I heard that a rumor has been going around lately that a man who used an earth dragon to defeat a new species of monster has been making a name for himself. I was even more curious because such a shady man suddenly appeared in town, so I decided to follow him. After that, as you know."

　"I see. Now, tell me one more thing. What was that man's ability? I know that he is a very good fighter when he was able to repel Dasein's attack, but...it is hard to believe. I've fought them several times myself, and each one of them is more powerful than the Holy Knights. To repel them unscathed..."

　The instructor certainly had a point. I myself was a little dazed after being thrown to the ground, so I only saw the end of it...

　"I am ashamed to say, but I myself was unconscious for a short while, so I only saw the end of the battle itself. However, it seems that he has mastered both magic and body art at a very high level. To be honest, it's hard to believe that he is a blue adventurer with that much ability......"

　I thought as I was about to say it.

At least two of those black robes were literally killed in the blink of an eye.

　He is certainly no ordinary man.

　...no....

　Then a question came to my mind.

　Something is not right. I thought so, and spoke up with a question.

　"...... instructor...maybe. Maybe it's also an act by that man."

　"What do you mean?"

　"I only saw the last of the battle. And the characteristic of the members of Darzain is that there are no corpses left behind."

Yes, for some reason, Darzain leaves no bodies, or even personal belongings, so the identity of its members is completely unknown.

"You mean, he used this to his own advantage...?"

　"Yes. That man has a criminal record. It is quite possible."

　Thinking about it calmly, that man is too suspicious.

　Is he still black...? Then what is his purpose?

　Is he trying to get in here?

"I see. Then I guess we should put him under our supervision."

　The instructor thought for a moment.

"...or we can keep them in our possession in the form of 'cooperation' via the guild..."

　She is muttering such things as.

　It's certainly suspicious, but it doesn't mean he's black.　

　We need to find out...?

　"Anyway, we need to keep an eye on him to make a decision. Rick, you have an early day tomorrow, so go home for now. I'll talk to my superiors about the surveillance."

　"I understand."

　I nodded at the instructor's words and left the school.

　"I'm here! Let her go!"

　Darkness.

In the middle of it, an adventurer with a yellow plate was standing with a sword in his hand.

　A group of men in black robes looked down at him.

　The adventurers had a dim grasp of the structure of this space. He thought that the presence was probably coming from the side holes in the columns and walls at equal intervals.

　The adventurer felt countless gazes piercing him, though he did not know how many.

　The black-robed men were full of enthusiasm, as if they were expecting something from the adventurer.

　"Welcome, my friend. We have been waiting for you."

　One of the black robes jumps down and takes off his hood to face the adventurers.

　The adventurer backs away in horror at the sight of the man's exposed face.

　The man had a strange appearance.

　From the nose up, there was a reddish-black bandage-like cloth covering the entire area, so that only the mouth could be seen.

The thought crossed his mind that his vision might not be effective, but then he remembered his purpose for coming here and glared at the man.

　"I've come all this way without telling anyone, just like you said! Release my girlfriend like you promised!"

　The adventurer had come all the way here to save his girlfriend, with whom he had shared a hardship and pledged his future to her.

　He had endured the humiliation of being taken away and held hostage before his very eyes, and he had come this far to do as he was told.

　"Don't worry. The woman is safe."

　The bandaged man snaps his fingers.

　Then, as if oozing out of the space next to the man, a woman - a fellow adventurer - appeared.

　She was standing upright, but her eyes were dimly open, and it was doubtful she was conscious.

　"Sona!"

The adventurer shouts her name, but Sona doesn't answer.　

"I promise. I'll let the woman go."

The bandaged man lightly shoves her away and she walks unsteadily toward the adventurer.

The adventurer runs up to her, goes to hug her, and gets something in the face.

　"What?"

　Sona's neck and above had somehow disappeared.

　Blood spurts from the headless body as if it were a joke.

"I freed her, didn't I? I've freed her from the inconvenience of being alive."

　He bursts into uncontrollable laughter.

　"Hey, huh? How do you feel? What do you think?"

　The adventurer looks at the headless body... and at the laughing black robe...

　"You aaaaah!"

　He roared in vindictiveness and tried to jump on the black robe...

　"Gubu!"

　He was pierced through the whole body by a large number of spears that rained down from above, and he died.

　The adventurer was left sewn to the ground as a pool of blood slowly spread.

　"We are the way. We are the truth. We are life."

　The black-robed men watching the scene shouted in unison.

"We are life and death. Bless and curse."

　The spreading puddle of blood wriggles as if it has a will of its own, then draws something like a letter and disappears.

　"We will make our entrails and assemble them in our wombs."

　As the blood disappears, the adventurer's body changes.

　The skin turns black and the skeleton deforms with a sickening cracking sound.

"We will tell you. We shall all be changed without sleep."

　The transformation continues for a while... and when it is over, there are no adventurers left, only a deformed man standing there.

　The bandaged man smiled with satisfaction at the result before him.

　"We've got enough people. Shall we go for the real thing now? Hey, fellow comrades?"

　He raised his head and looked at one of the black-robed men.

　The black-robed man smiled in response.