“A sinner has been found.”
In a pristine room surrounded by simple, pure white plaster walls, a woman in her mid-twenties, dressed in equally plain white priestly robes, smiled gently.
Her flaxen hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders. Though not flamboyant, her well-proportioned features and gentle demeanor exuded a beauty befitting her title as the “Saint.”
Saint Ursula. According to legends passed down on this continent, heroes and saints are chosen by spirits when evil appears in the world, but she was not a true Saint in that sense.
Ursula was abandoned in front of a church as an infant and raised in the temple’s orphanage. She grew into a devout believer and, possessing the attribute of Light Magic, became a priest. Through divine grace and miracles, she saved countless people and was called “Saint” by the populace.
“Today, we will prepare for that. Are you all ready?”
“Yes, Lady Ursula.”
In response to Ursula’s call, the four women in the room stood up in unison, wearing similar smiles.
These maidens, ranging from their early teens to early twenties, were rescued by the Holy Church and gathered under Ursula’s wing. Known as the “Holy Church Devotion Squad,” they traveled with Ursula, saving those in need.
“Before that, may I stop by to check on the children?”
“Yes.”
The maidens smiled happily at Saint Ursula’s gentle words. As Ursula began to walk, the pure maidens in their white priestly robes followed.
As they walked gracefully through the cathedral, they were met with gazes of admiration and reverence from the worshipers and young priests. Among them, however, some priests cast tense glances at them, knowing that their faces were merely a “facade.”
—Holy Church Guiding Squad—
A covert execution unit that captures sinners, sends them to the Church Underground, and subjects them to “education.”
Since early childhood, they had been indoctrinated with the Holy Church’s ideals, their personalities shaped in an environment isolated from the outside world. They were the Holy Church’s combat dolls.
“Lady Ursula!”
“Are you all being good?”
When they showed their faces at the orphanage within the temple, the young children in their plain tunics rushed towards Ursula with beaming smiles.
These were unfortunate children who had lost their parents to accidents or illnesses. Initially, they cried for their parents, but thanks to the selfless love of Ursula and the priests, they had finally regained their innocent smiles.
“I’ll go to the back; please take care of the rest,” Ursula said, patting the heads of the clinging children and lifting them up to comfort them. She then entrusted the children to the maidens of the Devotion Squad and proceeded alone to the back, opening a locked iron door guarded by a Priest Knight and descending the stairs to the underground.
After descending the stairs quite deeply, where the sounds of the surface could no longer be heard, the white plaster walls turned into walls with black spots that looked like something had been stuck to them. From the depths came the sounds of clashing and the sobs of children.
As she walked down the corridor lined with small iron-barred rooms, where chains extended from the walls, handcuffs, and restraint tables stained reddish-black, and rusty torture devices were placed, Guiding Priests were forcing harsh training on the young children.
All the children in the underground were those who had never known their parents’ faces from birth.
Here, the children were taught the Holy Church’s ideals and efficient ways to break the human body, indoctrinated like newborn chicks that it was the right thing to do.
Children who would become the next generation of the Guiding Squad, breaking the “sinners” who rebelled against the Holy Church’s teachings and were captured and nearly killed.
Believing it was the right thing to do, Ursula embraced the children with a maternal smile to give them the “candy” of love, to the children beaten by the “whip” that still wore down their hearts.
“My cute, adorable ‘sisters.’ Were you able to break a lot today?”
In the academy late at night, she shed her maid’s attire and changed into black clothes, clutching a small glass bottle in her hand as if praying.
(For the sake of Ojou-sama…)
She, Hilda, was a member of the destroyed former Assassin Guild. Having lost her place to belong and selling illegal drugs to survive, she was caught by the guards, and Hilda, who was sentenced to death within a few days, was rescued by a young girl of about ten years old.
She didn’t know how she had rescued her. Even if she was a noble lady, she must have crossed a very dangerous bridge.
Clara, the daughter of Margrave Dandole. She became famous in the Dandole territory and the Royal Capital at a young age for devising new underwear and women’s necessities. She had personal connections with various merchants and nobles, and not only did she give Hilda a new identity and place to live, but she also saved Hilda’s impoverished family.
There were several people like Hilda under Clara’s care. She said she just wanted useful people who had connections to the Underworld, but whatever the reason, the fact was that Hilda and the others were saved. Hilda came to wish to protect her weak heart from Clara, who seemed calculating but had a somewhat petty side.
To that end, Hilda herself crossed dangerous bridges, making life-threatening contact with the Evil Race who had infiltrated the kingdom, acting as a go-between.
When her calculating but kind-hearted master became the Crown Prince’s primary fiancée, Hilda rejoiced as if she were holding hands with the ordinary maids. But Clara began to be so exhausted that she couldn’t sleep at night after the pink-haired lady who became the Princess’s attendant appeared… and after the young-looking girl began to cling to Clara’s fiancé.
Especially one of them, Viscount Mercis’ Daughter Alicia Melsys.
The daughter of the Mercis House, a branch family of the Melrose House, which was the old royal family like Dandole, she entered the gap in the Crown Prince’s heart, who was weakened by the royal family’s bonds, and quickly captivated the Crown Prince.
It was difficult to eliminate the lady who was the Princess’s attendant. In the first place, she realized that she was no match for her the moment she saw her. But the other girl was different. She had to keep her away from Clara and the Crown Prince as soon as possible.
If possible, she didn’t want Clara to get involved in the Underworld, but since Clara had decided, Hilda didn’t hesitate to take the worst measures.
In Hilda’s hand was a “poison.” It was an outlawed poison devised by an Evil Race member who used to be in the Assassin Guild, and completed by an alchemist who stole the recipe that had not been completed.
It can be used by having them inhale it as a powder, or by dissolving it and mixing it into their food. The more potent a general poison is, the stronger its odor becomes, and its effects rapidly diminish when exposed to air, but this poison has no odor or taste, and the target will inevitably die if it enters the body.
However, this poison also has a drawback. That is, this poison only works on “humans without Magic Stones” in their bodies.
The main ingredient of this poison is “human Magic Stones.” When a human species, which is the same species, ingests this poison, it reacts with the blood in the body, creating an amorphous pseudo-Magic Stone in the heart, stopping blood flow and leading to death.
Therefore, even if the same poison is made with Magic Stones from Monsters, it has no effect on Monsters who originally have Magic Stones. And it has no effect on nobles, almost all of whom use Magic. But only Alicia Melsys, who was originally a commoner and still cannot use Magic, can be killed for sure.
There would rarely be anyone who tastes her poison who has poison resistance like Hilda but no Magic Stone. That’s why she should be able to mix the poison in without being noticed.
But Clara wasn’t even thinking about assassinating Alicia.
She hated her, but she didn’t want to kill her. She wanted to give her a small amount of poison below the lethal dose, create a blood clot, cause a heart disease, and eliminate her from this academy.
That’s a naive idea. —Hilda didn’t necessarily think so either. But that was just like her kind-hearted master, and Hilda even felt somewhat proud.
Dodging the eyes of the patrolling academy knights, Hilda crept into the student dormitory.
Generally, in this academy, students below the middle nobility enter the student dormitory. However, unlike the lower nobility, who are numerous, the middle nobility could rent small mansions with similar buildings lined up.
But Hilda’s position was that of a handmaiden to Clara, who was slated to be the Queen Consort. With most of the students having moved to their territories or villas in the Royal Capital, the mere fact that Clara’s handmaiden was walking around here would be enough to raise suspicion if anything happened.
There was no way she could let her identity be discovered. She needed to sneak in undetected and accomplish her objective.
The security within the academy, which had allowed an incursion by the Evil Race, was tighter than before. Most of it was allocated to the upper nobility, but even so, directly infiltrating the mansion of a middle-ranking noble was dangerous for Hilda, a former member of the Assassin Guild with a Stealth Skill at Level 2.
But there was always an opening in everything. Sneaking into the mansion and approaching the kitchen were dangerous, but the laundry area was not so much, and in the communal linen building next to it, sheets and covers that had just been collected remained.
The ones of the best quality would probably belong to the noble students. Several middle-ranking nobles still remained, but if they mistakenly belonged to a student with a Magic Stone, it wouldn’t be a problem.
As she crept towards the linen building and approached the door to unlock it—
“!?”
Thunk!
Hilda sensed a slight Killing Intent and reflexively jumped aside, and at that moment, a throwing Knife pierced the door.
Emerging from the darkness of the night, as if seeping out, was a dark-skinned boy.
The Cruz boy, the butler of the target, Alicia Melsys, walked without a sound, his cold gaze and a black-bladed straight sword drawn from his sleeve aimed at Hilda.
“Who are you?”
＊＊＊
A black carriage traveled through the Royal Capital’s streets late at night, making only a slight sound.
Although it did not bear a noble crest, those with deep ties to the Royal Castle would recognize it as the carriage of Count Leicester, the head court Magician.
Even after sunset, the taverns of the Royal Capital did not cease their boisterous voices and lights until the first bell signaling the change of day. However, once past the main street and into the residential area near the noble district, one would not see figures wandering out into the dark night.
The black carriage glided smoothly over the cobblestones and stopped at the back entrance of the Temple adjacent to the Holy Church Cathedral, surrounded by planted trees. Two maidens holding staves lit with Magic light emerged from the Temple.
The coachman, momentarily captivated by the pure maidens clad in pristine white priestly robes, hurriedly bowed to them and opened the carriage door. A girl with gently undulating jet-black hair and pathologically pale skin quietly appeared.
“Welcome, Carla-sama.”
“Thank you for the greeting.”
Contrary to her frail vitality, an immense Mana seemed to seep from within her. Even as they held their breath at her ghost-like appearance, the priestess maidens lowered their heads with their usual smiles at her unexpectedly conventional greeting and smile.
“Please, this way. We will guide you to Ursula-sama.”
A secret letter had arrived for Carla from Ursula, hailed as the Saint of the Holy Church.
The contents were couched in euphemisms and numerous hidden meanings, but Carla understood them. It spoke of the whereabouts of the Princess and her guards, and why the Evil Race had infiltrated this kingdom, and that she wished to speak about it in confidence.
Carla didn’t believe such a story outright. It was true that Carla had drawn in the Evil Race, but the evidence and witnesses had already been burned away.
Even so, Carla secretly set foot in the Royal Capital, thinking that she might hear something interesting from the Holy Church, which possessed a nationwide information network.
“Welcome, Carla-sama. I am grateful for your trouble this evening.”
In a dimly lit corridor where no one was present, a fair woman with flaxen hair greeted Carla with a gentle smile in a room prepared for receiving dignitaries.
“Please, don’t mind it, Ursula-sama.”
“This way, please.”
Guided by Ursula, they sat on sofas facing each other. The room was simple, with unadorned white walls, but the stone floor, cut from massive rocks, was polished like a mirror, and the soft sofas that one sank into seemed to be masterpieces that only upper nobles could afford.
Four female priests stood by in the corners of the room, and after some idle chatter in the room where tea brewed by Ursula herself released its fragrance, Ursula suddenly leaned forward.
“Carla-sama… the truth is, within the Church, there are voices saying that it was you who brought the Evil Race into the country.”
Carla tilted her head with a faint smile at Ursula’s gaze, filled with sorrow.
“Oh, how terrible. I may look grown up due to Magic, but inside, I’m just a little girl who’s barely turned thirteen, you know? Who would say such scary things?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right. I think so too, but just between us, there is a department within the Holy Church that specializes in dealing with Wraiths.”
“Wraiths?”
Certainly, purifying Wraiths could be said to be the mission of a priest who should save people. However, Wraiths were Monsters that did not appear as easily as other Undead Monsters.
Undead Monsters were created when Magic Stones left in corpses were defiled by Miasma, and combined with residual thoughts in places with high Mana Particles, causing the corpses to turn into Monsters.
But Wraiths did not have a body to rely on and did not even have Magic Stones, so they would not appear unless there was a considerable amount of Miasma and Mana Particles, probably with a high-ranking Undead spreading it around.
Setting aside Monster-infested areas where people did not enter, what was a department that specialized in dealing with such Wraiths?
“Perhaps there was someone who held a grudge against the present world. The remaining thoughts were also incoherent, filled with a dreadful madness, but that Wraith was said to have shouted with hatred about the Evil Race and a certain noble lady.”
“Hee…”
Ursula looked at Carla when she said “noble lady,” and Carla narrowed her eyes slightly.
“The ravings of a Wraith have no credibility, but… the Holy Church has quite an interesting intelligence department, doesn’t it?”
The priestess maidens tensed at Carla’s words, and Ursula, restraining them with her hand, moistened her lips with tea, and Carla also took the steaming cup in her hand and brought it to her mouth.
Probably, instead of specializing in purifying Wraiths, there was a department that handled ‘Necromancy,’ which obtained information by granting Miasma by some means and creating Wraiths.
Necromancy was forbidden on this continent, and even possessing past research materials was punishable by death. The fact that the Holy Church, which had established this prohibition, was doing it was nothing short of a bad joke, and Ursula was astonished by Carla, who had derived the most distant conclusion from a few words, and at the same time, she was convinced that this pre-adolescent girl was the one who had drawn in the Evil Race.
“After all, what young master said was true. That you are the ‘evil’ that will close off the light of this country.”
As Ursula spoke those words, the maidens in the four corners quietly stepped forward.
“Young master said that there was no need to kill her, and that it would be enough to ‘educate’ her to the point where she could not return to the academy, but according to the will of God, let us leave one spot open in the Queen’s (・・) frame (・).”
The reason Ursula accepted Carla’s “education” from Nasanitaru was not because he was the grandson of the Temple Master. If he tried to use Ursula and the Devotion Squad for his own selfish desires without going through the Temple Master, Ursula would have mercilessly educated Nasanitaru as well.
But Ursula had previously heard from the Temple Master about a special order from the upper echelons of the Temple… from the Fandora Theocracy, where the headquarters of the Searth Continent Holy Church was located.
That was to have a maiden of the Holy Church among the three Queens.
The Temple Master had been plotting to make a noble lady related to the Temple a candidate for the Crown Prince’s fiancée for several years, but several powerful nobles, including the Fuderu Duke family, had intervened, and the Duke’s daughter had been forced into the position of fiancée candidate.
But there was still no need to give up. Ursula, after hearing Carla’s story, thought that if things went well, there was still a chance to recover, and accepted Nasanitaru’s proposal.
Carla, who had a habit of wandering alone into Dungeons and other places, which even the Crown Prince found difficult to handle, would not be as much of a problem as the Princess if she disappeared someday. And if they could get in touch with Count Leicester, who was also beginning to find his daughter difficult to handle, and draw him to their side, that would be good.
After that, if they transferred Ursula’s name as a Saint to a moderately foolish noble lady with Light affinity, they would be closer to their goal.
“Carla-sama, the poison should be taking effect by now, shouldn’t it?”
“…………”
Slowly standing up, Ursula deepened her smile, only at the corners of her mouth, with a condescending look.
The devoted girls, Needle Daggers at the ready, closed in on Carla, who remained motionless on the sofa, cup in hand.
“Oh yes… Sephriole Flower Poison. A nostalgic taste.”
“!?!”
In that instant, one of the girls, sensing something, thrust her Needle Dagger forward with astonishing speed.
Every one of the devoted girls was a Rank 3 Light Magician and a warrior. The blade, unleashed with terrifying speed, was about to touch Carla’s slender neck when a white hand, marked with a pattern of “black thorns,” seized her wrist.
GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!
“――――!!”
Crimson flames erupted from Carla’s hand, engulfing the girl’s body. As her hair and flesh burned, filling the air with a strange odor, Carla, still holding the girl’s arm, took another sip of the tea with the nostalgic taste she had imbibed so many times in the Dungeon to gain poison resistance, and smiled serenely.
“Such a lovely fragrance.”
Theo versus Hilda. Carla versus Ursula and the training squad.
Next time: Part 2. A battle chapter.