Chapter 67: The Exiled Marquise, the Lord with a Stomachache, and the Doting Bishop
*
He was the Margrave Makikomarkrow, lord of the Margraviate of Makikomarkrow, a noble standing on the front lines against the Demon Realm in Hecate.
Comsas Dortwil was in his mansion in Hecate, clutching the desk in his private room, enduring the pain in his stomach.
The fact that Healing Magic had absolutely no effect meant it must be psychological.
He knew the cause.
It was because of that exiled Marquise from Faltar and her nominal husband.
Defeating the Forest Dragon, a Designated Subjugation Target from the Adventurers Guild, was fine. They were the kind of people who could take down three Golden Ogres with just the two of them.
He supposed they were capable of that much.
That much was fine. He had mountains of things he wanted to say, like hadn’t they intended to live quietly in seclusion in Hecate? But up to that point, he could somehow understand it. They were adventurers, after all; such things could happen.
However.
What on earth were they thinking, accepting a designated request from the Church—albeit in another country—when they had been sentenced to death by the Church and received Exile?
Furthermore, being asked to retrieve a Divine Relic, a secret of the Church, left behind in the Demon Realm? It made no sense.
Both the one making the request and the ones accepting it were mad.
When Bishop Bival, the highest authority in the Margrave Diocese of Makikomarkrow, directly asked him to cooperate with the former Marquise, Comsas had almost asked if it was assistance for an assassination.
Comsas found both the Church and the former Marquise difficult to comprehend.
It transcended mere incoherence; they seemed lucidly insane.
Even dandelion fluff drifting in the wind had more predictability.
Adding to that.
Comsas groaned, pressing down on his aching stomach, and looked out the window.
Sounds like ‘pop, pop’ echoed, as if some fool had set off fireworks in the city despite the ban.
And they actually succeeded…
Comsas sighed, enduring the pain while aware of how pathetic his inner voice sounded.
What’s more, according to the report hastily sent up from the Guild, the adventurers were apparently celebrating the former Marquise, or perhaps the Longdagger Couple, as heroes for retrieving the Divine Relic.
When Comsas read it last night, he had slammed the report onto the floor without thinking.
It was the result of his incomprehension exploding.
Even Comsas, who was poorly versed in central politics, understood this.
Nobles defeated in court struggles and exiled usually didn’t try to stand out like this.
It wasn’t even about being versed or not; it was common sense, Comsas thought.
For Comsas, a timid man who hated the unexpected and unplanned, Shin Longdagger and Erika Solntsalri were beings entirely outside his comprehension.
The mere thought of such bombs existing in his precious city was terrifying.
But Comsas Dortwil was, nonetheless, a pragmatic man.
Adventurers had put their bodies on the line to stop the Monsters overflowing from the Demon Realm, and if those adventurers believed the Longdagger Couple had put an end to it, then not rewarding them would be a poor move.
Rewarding a former Marquise from another country who had been exiled seemed like nothing but a seed for trouble, but he likely had no choice but to do it.
For starters, coinciding with the Church’s announcement of the Divine Relic’s recovery, he made alcoholic beverages free in the city, partly as a reward for the adventurers who had fought the defensive battle in the Demon Realm.
The free drinks were scheduled for two days, but during that time, Comsas fantasized about the Longdagger Couple disappearing somewhere, sighing as he knew such a wish would never come true.
Yet, for the sake of his own peace, Comsas couldn’t help but wish for it.
*
Bishop Bival Vivality, the highest authority in the Margrave Diocese of Makikomarkrow, was offering prayers in the Hecate Church.
In deep prayer, he offered thanks to God.
Not for the successful recovery of the Divine Relic, but for Shara Lansra’s safety.
Strangely enough, in his mind, the matter of the Divine Relic’s recovery had been settled the moment he requested it of the Longdagger Couple; he had assumed it would succeed.
Therefore, his thanks to God were for sending those two to this land and for Shara’s return.
Well, perhaps calling Shara’s return ‘safe’ was a bit of a stretch, given her insistence on having heard God’s voice, but at least she was physically unharmed.
It was relatively common for church personnel to fall into such states of confusion after working alongside adventurers, so Bival thought Shara would calm down after a while.
Although, imagining that girl calming down was also rather difficult.
Putting that aside, Bival realized his mind had strayed from prayer as he recalled that he himself had experienced something similar in his embarrassing past, and he relaxed his praying posture.
God demanded nothing of humans, but if one were to offer prayer, it must be done with sincerity—that was Bival’s belief.
As if taking advantage of his thoughts straying from prayer, Bival found himself thinking about Shara.
It was truly fortunate that that rather pitiable girl had, albeit by chance, become acquainted with the Longdagger Couple.
Bival had dedicated his life to God, and he had no regrets about that, but the fact that he never had children filled him with an emotion extremely close to regret.
Because of that, he had a tendency to inadvertently view Shara as he would a daughter.
Noble adventurers were the perfect people to entrust with Shara, a Sister far too unique in her inability to use Healing Magic.
This was because anyone educated as a noble could certainly use Healing Magic themselves.
He thought himself quite sharp for trusting the intuition he felt when he received the report about the outrageous donation from Shara.
He felt like praising his own memory for somehow recalling that the family name Longdagger belonged to the man playing the role of Erika Solntsalri’s husband.
No, rather, it was Shara who was amazing for managing to become acquainted with such adventurers.
“Our Sister is amazing! Shara is great!” Bival nodded to himself.
Bival gave a wry smile, wondering if the atmosphere outside had affected him, making his thoughts wander.
It was because he remembered his own past, fighting Monsters alongside adventurers.
Because the Margrave had made alcohol free to reward the adventurers who dealt with the swarm of Monsters that suddenly overflowed from the Demon Realm, the city had suddenly erupted into a festive mood.
Bival felt a sense of nostalgia at the city’s clamor, recalling how he too used to drink heavily with his companions at taverns after finishing requests back in the day.
Bival, who had remained kneeling in the chapel, untouched by the commotion, letting his scattered thoughts drift, stopped himself just as he was about to stand.
He remembered that one prayed to God not only to offer thanks.
Bival once again assumed a praying posture and offered a sincere prayer.
He prayed for the Faltar Kingdom, which had lost both Erika Solntsalri and Shin Longdagger, praying for the peace and stability of its future.