The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 10: Who is the Wicked (4)

“… Today is finally.”

Meanwhile, I stayed in solitary confinement in the Great Hall until the trial began.

Perhaps because it was inside the Daeshinjeon, the facilities were quite good. They were even given a proper bed. I wasn’t strictly arrested, so I could have gone out of Daeshinjeon if I wanted.

But instead, there were devices that could monitor me everywhere in the temple, and whenever I went outside, the paladins and wizards followed me.

‘If that’s the case, I’ll give you a proper meal.’

The rice came out almost the level of a prisoner’s diet. The priest who served them said that this was their usual diet, but because of his plump appearance, there was not much trust.

Well, I’m glad I didn’t put poison in it. Well, if you kill me here in a cowardly way, the aftermath will be severe, so I won’t do that.

Actually, there was no need to stay at the temple. She could have been hiding in a safe house until the trial was held, and even if it wasn’t, if she had asked her princess for a favor, she might have arranged for her a suitable home.

But it didn’t. First of all, now that my identity has been revealed, there are eyes everywhere, so if I made a mistake, the identity of the hiding place or the fact that I was cooperating with the princess could have been revealed. Didn’t want that

And in this way, they wanted to show me that I was proud, conversely, by monitoring me.

Now they’ll know I have no other traps.

I don’t know how much I’ve changed their minds by showing such a shrewd appearance, but at least they won’t be offended by my behavior.

“It’s time to get ready.”

I got up after hearing the words of the paladin outside. Then he opened the door and followed the paladin to the central hall of the Great Hall.

Originally held for regular religious meetings, marriages of nobles, or coronations of emperors, this place was large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

And people were already crammed into it. No, some were even hanging from poles or balustrades. That’s why this trial attracted a lot of attention.

The princess was sitting in the front seat in the middle of the crowd.

“… Do it your way. However, keep in mind one thing. Whatever you do, deny that I helped you. You must carry this to your grave. This is an order given to you as the princess.”

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When I was forced to explain part of my plan to the princess according to the contract, she only asked me like this.

I already noticed from then on. Gradually, the princess was looking at the angle of losing me. Is that why? Her expression looking at me today was cold, unlike usual.

Well, I don’t have any ill feelings toward her. Where is she actually she has helped me so far. I didn’t look at her for very long to keep her promise to her and turned her head towards her very altar.

In front of the altar stood the chief priest named Auguste, the judge of this trial, and other priests sat on chairs behind him.

A saintess was already on the platform to the right of Auguste, and other priests were next to her.

I ended up standing in front of the podium across from her.

I looked at her saintess. After all, she was the accused, but her expression was very calm as usual.

What is she thinking when she sees me now? Perhaps they would laugh at me for going into a pit of fire. This Inquisition was, in fact, the most favorable battlefield for her.

“… Let the trial begin. Lady, speak up.”

As expected, the right to speak was given to the saintess first. As if the saintess had been waiting, she opened her mouth.

“Before defeating the demon king, I received a revelation from the goddess. It was a revelation that Edmund would pose a great threat to the Empire.”

As soon as I heard her words, I sighed. Did he intend to hide the real revelation until the end of this trial?

“So we explained the situation well to Edmund and asked him to die, but he refused and ran away. And as a result, Edmund is now the most dangerous being in the Empire. Here is the harm he has done to the Empire.”

The saintess took a moment to catch her breath and began to recite the damage I had done to the empire. Her evil deeds, she said, were largely four.

He helped Speth fight the Imperial Army.

In the process, killing or seriously injuring the high-class talents of the empire, including the hero Calia, the mage lord Scarlett and Isabel.

Writing graffiti in front of the Grand Sanctuary that blasphemed the saint.

“Most importantly, this is all just the beginning. Edmund already has no one who can match him in combat power, but even his thoughts are very disrespectful. If we let him live like this, he will do far more damage than he has ever done.”

Unexpectedly, he didn’t mention anything related to Iris. Perhaps the saintess also decided that there was a problem with tackling with this.

She didn’t even say anything about the thunderbolt that struck the Great Sanctuary. There is no evidence that I did it, and it seems that it is related to the revelation.

“… Defendant, no. Plaintiff. Do you admit your wrongdoing?”

Auguste asked. I laughed at his slip of the tongue.

“I agree.”

“Then do you have anything to defend your actions?”

“A lawyer….”

This is a very funny trial. Now it was to the point where I couldn’t tell who was the plaintiff and who was the defendant. Well, I didn’t expect a proper trial.

“First of all, there is something I want to ask the saintess. What exactly is the revelation of the goddess? She wants the saintess to give a clear definition.”

“If you believe in Etoile, why are you asking what you should know?”

“Because I came from the other world and my understanding is lacking. I wanted to ask again on this occasion. What is the revelation of the goddess?”

“It is your will that the goddess tells the saintess in advance.”

“And what does the Goddess tell me?”

“Tell me what will happen to the Solus Empire, and even to this world in the future.”

“I will organize it. Are you saying that what the goddess tells you in the revelation is the will of the goddess?”

“Yes.”

“In other words, it is what the Goddess wants. Is that correct?”

“… That’s right.”

The saintess already realized the trap of my question, but she couldn’t find a way to deny it now.

“Then, I would like to ask you about the Goddess-sama’s revelation about me. What exactly was it about?”

“The exact contents cannot be disclosed in principle, but it is interpreted that you, Edmund, are a great threat to the empire.”

Are you lying to the end? Or do you really believe in it? For now, I wanted to hear how the saintess would make excuses.

“Then, as you said earlier, isn’t even this the will of the goddess?”

“Are you justifying your misdeeds as the will of the goddess?”

“No, on the contrary, I am asking if what the saintess did is correct. Isn’t trying to kill me an act against the will of the Goddess? In other words, isn’t that an act worthy of incurring the goddess’ wrath?”

I wonder if I was the first person to think this way. People started babbling.

However, the saintess’ expression did not change. I guess I’ve been thinking about it so far.

“I’ve heard similar questions before. Is it possible to change the Goddess’ revelation? And in conclusion, it is possible. We just need to show the goddess our will.”

“And how is that possible?”

“The first is to earnestly pray to the goddess, and the second is to block the cause of the revelation.”

“Has there been any success stories?”

“Of course. A long time ago, there was a revelation that a nobleman would murder the saintess at the time. However, the revelation did not come true because he petitioned the Goddess and arrested him in advance.

Let’s take another example. About 400 years ago, it was revealed that an assassin was murdering the Emperor. But even then, the assassin was eventually arrested on the spot and the assassination of His Majesty was prevented.”

The saintess gave these examples by taking advantage of the fact that most people, including myself, are ignorant of history. Really, when I was just listening to it like this, it seemed like I was blocking the revelation.

But I knew more about the history of the empire than she expected. Although I didn’t know much about the second case, I already knew the ending of the saintess who appeared in her first case.

Because a new holy woman appeared and her status as a saint was stripped and she was excommunicated.

And even if I didn’t know, I already saw the problem. It just removed the superficial cause.

“You see? Like this, when the Goddess often thinks that what you’ve done is harsh, she will relinquish your will. And looking at past cases, this one was also a harsh future to the point of begging the Goddess to change her revelations. So she tried to kill you. For the future of the empire. And it will happen soon.”

The saintess justified her actions like this.

Other priests who heard the words applauded and induced a response, and many citizens also clapped in sympathy.

I sighed and looked at her saintess.

She once thought she was a person of considerable character and wisdom. But when she looked at her face now, she realized that it was all a lie.

And now, the time has come to reveal her true identity.

When her applause died down, I asked her.

“Saintess.”

“Yes?”

“How long are you going to fool people? You have to speak straight. What the saintess did is for the sake of the empire? Isn’t it just for the Church?”

“What do you mean now?”

“The revelation the saintess saw was Etoile Daishinjeon, which collapsed after being hit by her thunderbolt. And isn’t that the image of me smiling as I watch it?”

In the end, I revealed the revelation of the goddess.

That moment. The central hall of the temple, where tens of thousands of people gathered, became silent in an instant.