Chapter 34: The Exiled Marquise is Devout 1
The Church—that refers to the group who call themselves the servants of God.
Their doctrine is singular.
Save the weak.
That is truly all there is to it.
And they are faithful to that doctrine.
So much so that you could say it applies to everyone, from the top to the bottom.
Of course, factions form within any group, but their factions are formed based on how to help the weak, which just goes to show how dedicated they are.
These people, who seriously and wholeheartedly strive to save the weak, have churches everywhere in every country. Their network is strong, and their support among the populace is immense.
They remain distant from secular power, and from the lowest-ranking priests and Sisters to the upper echelons, they are a collective of magic masters striving to perfect magic, which they consider a Divine Technique.
From the perspective of the Royal Family and nobility, they aren’t exactly a desirable group, but their existence offers more merits than drawbacks.
Following their doctrine, they actively engage in relief efforts for the weak. For the Royal Family and nobles, if the Church handles it on their own, they are welcome to it.
The fact that the Church has no interest in secular power is also convenient for them.
Thus, the Church and those in power have maintained a relationship of mutual respect but fundamental non-interference for many years.
Well, naturally, when a plot to assassinate the Maiden of Light was hatched, any talk of non-interference went right out the window.
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I held back the urge to click my tongue.
Hecate is a large city.
As long as I didn’t go near the Church, I wouldn’t run into them so easily—I wanted to curse myself to death for such naive thinking.
A Sister, clutching a large, bulging paper bag, hurried towards us flusteredly.
I wanted to ignore her and leave the shop if possible, but no matter how I looked at it, that seemed difficult.
“You’re the Longdagger Couple, aren’t you!”
The Sister spoke, peeking her face out from behind the paper bag.
I almost blurted out, “You have the wrong people,” but for some reason, Erica replied with a smile, “Yes, that’s right.”
The Sister placed the paper bag on the counter and bowed her head deeply.
“Thank you so much for your help back then. Thanks to you, both the village and I were unharmed.”
“No, we just completed a request.”
The Sister smiled at my reply.
I intended to answer as curtly as possible, but was there anything smile-worthy in what I said?
“Yes, a request from just a young girl, wasn’t it?”
I clicked my tongue inwardly at the Sister’s response.
If she knew the circumstances, anyone connected to the Church would likely think that way.
Adventurers who granted a young girl’s request for free.
There was nothing good for us in being well-regarded by Church officials.
In fact, I even wished they’d just forget about us.
I wracked my brain, trying to figure out how to cut the conversation short and get away, but a voice interjected from the side.
“Shara, sorry to interrupt while you’re having such a lively chat, but how about introducing yourself?”
We’re not having a lively chat, though.
Tepe said this while checking the contents of the paper bag placed on the counter.
His attitude was quite casual, so they must be acquaintances or something.
Though they felt more like friends.
“Ah, my apologies. My name is Shara Lansra. As you can see, I am a Sister. Thank you very much again for saving me and my village from crisis the other day.”
Finishing her self-introduction and thanks all at once, Shara looked at us with sparkling eyes.
What is it? As I wondered this internally, Erica, standing beside me, jabbed me with her elbow.
That’s when I realized.
“I’m Shin Longdagger, and this is my ‘wife,’ Erica Longdagger. We’re adventurers, as you can see. So, that was just work; please don’t worry about it.”
I had wanted to retreat without even giving our names, so much so that I’d forgotten the basic courtesy of returning a self-introduction.
To be honest, I still didn’t want to tell them our names.
Maybe I should have given fake names? No, that would probably cause trouble later.
Alright, introductions are done, Sword restocking is finished, let’s get out of here quickly.
“Are your injuries alright?”
Just as I thought that, Erica continued the conversation.
“Yes, thank you. I was able to take my time and heal properly.”
“What? Shara, you were injured?”
Shara nodded at Tepe’s surprised voice.
“Yes, on my way to treat an injured Villager, I was attacked by three Golden Ogres.”
“How did you make it out okay!?”
“Yes, because the Longdagger Couple there saved me.”
Tepe wore a thoughtful expression for a few moments.
“You subjugated three Golden Ogres with just the two of you?”
He asked somewhat timidly, so I gave a nod. Tepe clutched his head and looked up at the heavens.
“Damn it! I should have charged more!”
What an honest guy. Isn’t he actually unsuited for business?
No, perhaps he’s aware he’s unsuited, which is why he uses this peculiar selling method.
Ah, but now I get it.
The reason Shara knew about the “request from a young girl” and all that was likely because she was called to the village to treat that father.
The Church and the Adventurers Guild have a good relationship, as both operate under the banner of protecting the weak.
If we become too well-regarded by the Church, we might start getting nominated requests from them, which I definitely want to avoid.
“By the way, is your business here taken care of?”
Erica asked, glancing at the paper bag on the counter.
Oh, good move. This can create an opening for us to leave.
The reasoning being, “We shouldn’t interfere with your errands.”
“Oh, right. Tepe.”
Shara turned towards Tepe.
Good, now we can slip past them nonchalantly and leave the shop.
“I brought the repair items for the Orphanage that you requested.”
The moment I heard those words—Orphanage.
I realized my plan had just fragilely crumbled.
“An Orphanage…?”
Erica asked, her voice barely a murmur.
Ahh, of course, this would happen.
I carefully maintained a blank expression, trying not to let my gaze drift off into the distance.