Chapter 50: The Exiled Marquise and the First Designated Request 1
The Double Barrier City of Hecate has experienced the threat of annihilation twice in its past.
The first time was about ten years after the city of Hecate was established by carving out a piece of the Demon Realm, when it suffered a large-scale monster attack.
The second time was about sixty years ago.
According to records, humanity had apparently pushed much deeper into the Demon Realm than they have now.
There were even plans being drafted to construct a new city, so humanity’s efforts at the time were truly remarkable.
The one who took the initiative as a pioneer for this was the Bishop of that era.
He persuaded Margrave Tiner, the grandfather of the current Margrave, and launched a plan to build a fortress in the name of a church.
From today’s perspective, the plan seems overly hasty, but the momentum and fervor of the City of Hecate at the time were tremendous, and the church construction plan was executed with astonishing speed.
Thus, the church was completed. And just as humanity was boasting that the conquest and development of the Demon Realm would begin anew from here, it appeared.
That was because it was a monster never seen before, nor confirmed ever since.
According to records, it was said to be a monster with the lower body of a horse possessing eight legs made of swords, and a human-like upper body with a scorpion-like tail.
One day, it suddenly attacked the church, which had become humanity’s new front-line base.
It’s said that many adventurers had gathered at the church back then, but they were trampled by just a single monster, suffering immense damage.
Records indicate that roughly half of the adventurers died.
Considering these were adventurers capable of heading to the very front lines of the Demon Realm, the fact that so many died because of a single monster clearly shows how absurdly powerful it was.
The massive casualties among adventurers heading to the front lines was a catastrophe in itself, but the disaster didn’t end there.
As if responding to its attack, a massive horde of monsters overflowed from the Demon Realm Forest.
The swarm of monsters traversed the territory humanity had carved out in the Demon Realm in the blink of an eye and reached the City of Hecate.
Skipping over the details, the desperate battle in the City of Hecate lasted for several months. Ultimately, after immense sacrifices, the Octopedal Monster was subjugated, and with the arrival of the combined Knights Orders of the Faltar Kingdom and the Orclaugh Kingdom, humanity narrowly achieved victory.
The damage from this attack was enormous, and it is said that while healing these wounds, humanity lost all the territory they had carved out in the Demon Realm.
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“That church still exists within the Demon Realm Forest today.”
Bishop Bival said so after finishing his long tale of the past.
When he started the old story with such a serious face, I wondered what was going on, but it seems he’s finally getting to the main point.
Honestly, I really don’t want to hear it, and if possible, I’d like to grab Erika and leave right now.
Whatever he’s about to say, I can only imagine trouble.
“The Bishop back then certainly didn’t decide to build the church on a whim. As proof, a Divine Relic is enshrined in the church at that location, even now.”
The words that came out of Bishop Bival’s mouth were outrageous.
It was stated so abruptly and matter-of-factly that I almost let it slide past me for a moment, but once comprehension caught up, I was dumbfounded.
Seeing Shara gaping with her mouth wide open in surprise, I realized I wasn’t the only one shocked and regained my composure.
The fact that a Divine Relic of the Church was left behind in the Demon Realm is an unbelievable scandal.
I’m surprised it was kept secret for over sixty years, but being suddenly told such a grave secret evokes more confusion than surprise.
Surely this isn’t a parting gift for the journey to the afterlife, right?
“As you must understand, if this were to leak out, it would cause tremendous trouble for us, the Church, and for the City of Hecate as well.”
Divine Relics are famous as religious symbols, but they are even more famous as the core of Hecate’s Barrier Generator.
A Barrier created with a Divine Relic can generate and maintain a powerful Barrier without consuming vast amounts of Magic Stones like other Barrier Generators.
“Does that mean Hecate’s current Barrier is…”
It wasn’t really a question; the doubt just slipped out of my mouth.
Bishop Bival shook his head, seemingly unconcerned.
“No, there isn’t just one Divine Relic. Please think of it as only a part of it being installed in the church. However, it seems the Barrier’s strength has decreased compared to back then because of it.”
Either way, this isn’t information that should get out.
The fact that he told us means…
“Now, for the main topic.”
I resist the urge to cover my ears.
“We would like you, Mr. and Mrs. Longdagger, to retrieve that Divine Relic.”
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“I’m so sorry. Because I told the Bishop-sama about you two, things have become so dreadful.”
Shara said this with a downcast expression the day after Bishop Bival requested the retrieval of the Divine Relic.
It happened in the library archives of the Adventurers Guild, where we had gone to search for materials on the Demon Realm.
Erika returned a book she had pulled halfway out from the shelf and turned around.
“There’s no need to worry, Shara.”
Saying so, Erika gently enveloped Shara’s hands with both of hers and smiled.
Her red hair, illuminated by the Magic Tool lighting, swayed gently.
“We have our own objectives. The designated request from the Church aligns with them, so it’s not a burden.”
With that, Erika sought my agreement with just her gaze.
Suppressing the sigh that almost escaped, I replied, “That’s right.”
Indeed, Erika had accepted Bishop Bival’s request on the spot with a ready “yes.”
Even Bishop Bival was surprised by this; he likely expected her to refuse with some excuse or at least delay her response.
Incidentally, I was also greatly surprised.
When I asked her back home why she hadn’t refused the request, she gave the extremely cool reply, “Isn’t challenging danger the Orthodox Path for an adventurer?”
The person I love really is amazing.
Beautiful and cool.
Be that as it may, even with Erika’s and my words, Shara’s gloomy expression didn’t completely disappear, though it did improve somewhat.
No, but really, it doesn’t look like acting.
Considering the situation, it seems only natural to think this is all going according to the Church’s plan, so Shara’s behavior should logically be an act.
But I can’t sense any hint of pretense from Shara.
Even though I look like this, I am a noble.
I’m aware of my lack of skill, but I thought I was reasonably accustomed to political maneuvering and reading people.
However, I sense absolutely nothing of the sort from Shara.
For a moment, the question “Could Shara not be acting at all?” crosses my mind, but I reconsider, thinking that can’t be possible.
From the Church’s perspective, they must be overjoyed to be able to push a dangerous request onto troublesome people.
We have to go deep into the Demon Realm, and given the nature of the request, it must be done with a small group.
The Church probably thinks the possibility of failure is high, and if we fail, they’ll likely find some fault with us; they might even be hoping we die.
And if we succeed, the Church loses absolutely nothing.
“We’ve been had,” is my honest feeling.
But at the same time, I also think this:
What kind of faces will they make when we brilliantly accomplish this mission from the Church?
“What is there to hesitate about when proceeding on the Orthodox Path… huh?”
As I muttered Erika’s words from before while returning a book to the shelf, I noticed Erika and Shara looking at me.
Erika wore a satisfied smile, while Shara looked as if she had seen something unbelievable.
“Exactly, My Lord.”
Erika flashed a fierce smile.
“There’s no such thing as an unorthodox Orthodox Path leading deep into the Demon Realm!”
Shara cried out, looking like she was about to burst into tears.