"
I had no intention of bringing Philine and Roderich along, so I instructed them to collect information alongside the
Once I had confirmed their departure, I surveyed the line of guards. I wanted to keep one knight in the High Priest's room. The squad leader
"Judith, please ride alongside me on my beast and prepare for guard duty and ranged attacks. Leonore, I need you to remain here. You'll serve as the relay for communications from the lower city, from Hartmut, and from our party—while defending this High Priest's room. The moment the situation changes or critical new information arrives, please send an Ordinance immediately."
"Understood."
"Darmuel, Angelica, and Cornelius—you three are to follow the Chief Priest's orders."
"Yes, ma'am!"
By the time I had finished giving orders to the guards, the Chief Priest, my brother
"Aren't there too few knights? Shouldn't we contact the Lord and mobilize the knight order?"
"Leonore, what reason would we give to mobilize the knight order?"
"To recover the Holy Book of Ehrenfest, the reason would be…?"
The Chief Priest cut off Leonore's words with a shake of his head.
"We are simply going to rescue the gray priests, as information happened to reach us from the lower city that they were taken away by carriage. We believe they may be in a suspicious carriage that departed through the South Gate, but we won't know for certain until we get there. Most importantly, the people we wish to rescue are gray priests. That is not something we can request of the knight order."
The Chief Priest declared flatly that there was no sufficient reason to mobilize the knight order. Leonore lowered her indigo eyes for a moment, then lifted her chin sharply and looked up at him.
"However, you can request protection for Lady
"It is true that we could request increased protection for the lord's family through the Lord. However, if we contacted them via Ordinance as an emergency, there is a risk that the old
To prevent the surrounding world from learning of the Holy Book's loss and to avoid a loss of standing, we had to resolve everything with just the people here.
"The carriage we're about to search may contain the Holy Book alongside the gray priests, but I believe it's more likely that it doesn't. Our opponents are trying to gain advantages on multiple fronts. The gray priests and the Holy Book were almost certainly transported separately. A noblewoman who looks down on gray priests would never ride in the same carriage as them. They likely used a magical beast for travel. Moreover, at this point, the involvement of Viscountess Daldorf is still speculation. There is no proof. Do not forget that."
At the Chief Priest's words, everyone nodded in agreement. The primary objective this time was to locate and rescue the gray priests. And we wanted evidence that would lead us to the nobles responsible.
As if suddenly recalling something, Cornelius raised his head.
"Lord Ferdinand, is there a way to prevent the Self-Eating soldiers from detonating?"
I had heard that during the attack on the blue shrine maiden's Dedication Ritual and during
…Yeah, countermeasures against self-destruction are important.
I looked up at the Chief Priest, wondering if he had a solution. Everyone's gaze—equally eager for an answer—converged on him. The Chief Priest glanced at the guards lined up there and me, then slowly exhaled.
"To prevent an explosion, killing them is the most reliable method. If no magic power flows into the ring, the detonation cannot occur. If you kill them completely, you might recover the ring, but extracting memories would become difficult. If you want both, you have no choice but to sever the arm wearing the ring, apply healing to keep them alive, bind them so they cannot die, or seal them inside a time-stopping Magical Tool."
He spoke so matter-of-factly, but even imagining it was gruesome and terrifying. I couldn't help but gasp. And this wasn't merely imagination—it would happen right before my eyes. Seeing me looking frightened, the Chief Priest furrowed his brow slightly.
"If you freeze up at the scene, scream, or panic in a way that slows the knights' actions, that would be a problem. Rozemyne, you are free to stay behind."
I understood he was telling me I didn't have to witness something so grim, but I had made a promise to Conrath. To save the gray priests. And as the orphanage director who took responsibility for the gray priests, as the High Priest, this was not a place I could run away from.
"No… I will go."
We mounted our magical beasts and headed south. The speed of a carriage and a magical beast were incomparable. With only a bell's worth of head start, we should catch up quickly. We soared over the Outer Wall, over fields where the soil lay bare after the harvest, over forests dotted with bare trees, following the road the carriage had taken.
"If only we knew where they were heading…"
Judith asked from the rear seat, and I thought for a moment.
"They said it left after the fourth bell had been ringing for some time, correct? In that case, a carriage cannot pass through direct territory. They would need an overnight stay somewhere."
If they had a beast large enough to carry many passengers like mine, they could transport all the gray priests to their own territory without worrying about lodging. But only students at the lower years of the Noble Academy had riding beasts of that type, and ordinary nobles would never let gray priests ride on their beasts. Lodging was therefore inevitable.
"Does Lady Rozemyne know where they're heading?"
"They're leading bound gray priests, so they wouldn't approach a large town with a winter manor. The harvest festival has ended and the farmers are staying at their winter manors. The farming villages will be full of empty houses. I think they'll use those."
Winter was approaching, and the nights were bitterly cold. Unlike summer, they wouldn't have the luxury of taking their time reaching their destination. Naturally, they would try to stay in an empty house in a farming village as far away as possible. A carriage in an empty village would stand out, though.
"It's still a bit early for them to begin lodging preparations, so if they haven't changed direction or used a boat by now, we should spot them soon. However, there's a fork in the road ahead. Both paths lead south, so I'd like to catch them before we reach that fork."
As we talked, Judith called out in a sharp voice.
"A carriage!"
At her voice, I enhanced my eyesight with body-strengthening. Just as we were discussing it, we spotted a freight wagon and a carriage at the fork. The carriage appeared to be driving the peasant's freight wagon ahead of it. The peasant holding the freight wagon's reins kept glancing behind and moved to the left to avoid the carriage. The carriage then took the right-hand road as if to say "Finally, the way is clear!" and picked up speed. The freight wagon, seemingly relieved the carriage had passed, slowed down and trundled along with a clatter.
…What's going on? Something feels off.
As I tilted my head, looking down at the freight wagon with its cargo bed covered by a large cloth, the Chief Priest's sharp voice rang out.
"Darmuel!"
Called by name, Darmuel narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the freight wagon and the carriage. He was still the best at detecting faint magic, even with my increased magic now. Grandfather had told me that Darmuel had honed his sensitivity to judging others' magic levels through his own experience handling magic power.
"I can sense several weak magic sources from the carriage. They are likely Self-Eating soldiers. The freight wagon that went in that other direction has only the faintest magic—not enough to be Self-Eating soldiers. I believe they are genuine peasants."
"Understood. Then proceed as we discussed."
"Yes, sir!"
…We were in the middle of the rescue operation now. I needed to focus.
After listening to the brief exchange confirming the plan, I looked around at everyone.
"Please prioritize rescuing the gray priests above all else. Evidence can be gathered afterward, but lives cannot be returned."
Seeing everyone nod, I drew my Stappe. My important role was to pray to Angriff, god of valor.
"May the blessing of Angriff, god of valor, and kin of
Blue light radiated from my Stappe. Once I confirmed the blessing had reached everyone, I moved away from the group on my Lesser Bus. I needed to reposition to a spot where Judith could attack easily.
"Is this a good position, Judith?"
"Lady Rozemyne, please lower our altitude a bit more. …About here. Please hold this position."
I stopped in place and turned my gaze to the rear seat. Judith was bracing her weapon, aiming at the coachman. Her profile was taut with tension, and her lips trembled slightly.
"Judith, even if you miss, we have other plans in place. You have reliable comrades. Don't worry about failure—just take your shot."
"Lady Rozemyne, if I fail this shot, I'll have no purpose for existing, and Hartmut will scold me for the Magical Tool he provided."
She said it with a slight smile—this was her chance to shine. That alone seemed to ease some of her tension. She readied herself once more, her amethyst eyes gleaming brightly with confidence.
"I'll be fine. I won't miss."
Hearing Judith's reliable words, I drew my Stappe with a tense expression. After Judith's attack, I would launch a blue light into the sky to signal the start of everyone's rescue operation.
"Hyah!"
Judith shouted a sharp cry as she fired a magic stone. It was a Magical Tool Hartmut had crafted for long-range targeting. I couldn't see the exact moment of impact, but I could see the coachman waver unsteadily.
"Rot."
I immediately fired red light upward. Right after, there was a whooshing sound as a mass of magic power shot past my Lesser Bus with a tail of light, flying ahead. It was Cornelius's magic attack to stop the carriage.
The mass of light from behind struck the ground with a tremendous boom, sending dirt and dust flying into the air. The sudden explosion and dust startled the horses, and they reared up on their hind legs. Whether Judith's shot had hit cleanly, the coachman's body was flung from the driver's seat.
I saw a magical beast charge in, but halfway there, the beast vanished. It was Angelica, who had body-strengthened, leaping off and dismissing her beast.
"Haah!"
Coordinating with her descent, Angelica launched a fierce attack. All that was visible was a faintly glowing blue light. The Stingleuk shone pale blue, tracing the arc of Angelica's movements. She charged in like a swallow, her cloak billowing, and in a single instant cut through both the reins and the long handle. The carriage lurched violently and came to a stop, and the freed horses bolted off in a panic.
Angelica made it look easy, but it was anything but. At the very least, I couldn't do it. If I tried to cut the long handle, I'd need to pour in so much magic that the horse would likely vanish along with it.
"As expected of Angelica. Now no matter how much the horses thrash or bolt, the carriage won't move."
Judith said in a cheerful voice, having completed her part. I descended on my Lesser Bus toward the immobilized carriage.
Even as I did, attack after attack continued to rain down on the carriage. My brother Cornelius and my brother Eckhart were cutting away at the carriage's sides, trying to drag the Self-Eating soldier out. But they couldn't reach him.
"Come any closer and he dies!"
There had been only a single Self-Eating soldier in the carriage.
The other two were gray priests, bound with rope. One had a weapon stabbed into his side and was groaning in pain. The other was being held by the Self-Eating soldier with a blade pressed against his neck.
"P-please, help me, High Priest!"
He gasped as he looked at the blade against his neck. He would be killed far sooner than we could reach him. As Eckhart and Cornelius hesitated and stopped moving, drawing the Self-Eating soldier's attention, the Chief Priest circled around to the opposite side of the carriage.
…Huh?
My Lesser Bus touched down, and at almost the same moment, Darmuel pushed past Eckhart and Cornelius—muttering "excuse me"—and approached the carriage.
"D-don't come any closer! Are you willing to let this man die? Will you let a gray priest die right before the Merciful Saint's eyes?"
The Self-Eating soldier's panicked voice echoed out, and the blade dug in deeper, drawing a scream from the gray priest. But Darmuel offered no response to that voice. He simply raised his weapon and, without hesitation, stabbed the gray priest before seizing the Self-Eating soldier by the neck and hurling him from the carriage.
"What!?"
"Darmuel!?"
As if he didn't hear the shocked voices around him, Darmuel moved with fluid grace, pulling the weapon from the groaning gray priest inside the carriage and delivering the finishing blow.
"I have been Lady Rozemyne's guard shrine maiden since her blue shrine maiden days, and I have memorized the face of every gray priest in the orphanage. You are not gray priests. Where are the real gray priests?"
…I thought their faces looked unfamiliar, too.
The Self-Eating soldiers had stripped the gray priests of their clothing and disguised themselves. They apparently hadn't expected that we would know the faces of all the gray priests. The only surviving Self-Eating soldier, held down by Eckhart, went pale.
"If you kill me, you'll never learn where the other gray priests are!"
Watching the Self-Eating soldier from inside my Lesser Bus as he began negotiating to guarantee his own life, I let out a soft sigh.
"I don't need to ask you to find out."
"What?"
"That freight wagon that took the left path at the fork—something felt off about it. Farmers who have finished the harvest festival stay at their winter manors. They have to process all the food they've harvested in bulk, make candles, and prepare to get through winter together. It would take something extraordinary for a farmer to be driving a freight wagon down a road far from the winter manor during this critical period of Winter Preparations. And while there are empty farming villages near there, there is no winter manor."
Self-Eating soldiers who had contracted with nobles and survived on noble patronage knew nothing of how farmers lived. And because they had tried to avoid the town where people gathered in order to stay inconspicuous, the mismatch of using a freight wagon became all the more obvious.
"Let's go rescue the gray priests."
"Wait, Lady Rozemyne!"
When I urged my Lesser Bus forward, the guards scrambled to follow.
"Eckhart and I will interrogate this one and handle the cleanup here. Justus, go! Don't let Rozemyne run loose!"
"Yes, sir!"
I heard the Chief Priest's voice from behind. "Run loose" was a rather rude way to put it.
When we returned to the fork, the freight wagon was found immediately. Just as before, it was trundling along at an unhurried pace. In summer, this would have been an ordinary sight of peasants returning to their homes. The driver looked like nothing more than a common farmer.
"Lady Rozemyne, shall we attack the same way as before?"
At Cornelius's question, I nodded slowly.
"That Self-Eating soldier earlier wasn't wearing a ring, was he? This one might be. They definitely used a ring when passing through the gate. I'd like to secure the evidence."
Eckhart had attempted to immediately cut off the hand with the ring upon capture but had been perplexed to find no ring. In that case, this freight wagon must have it.
When I waved my hand as a signal, Cornelius launched a magic attack. Just like before, a tremendous explosion and a cloud of dirt erupted, and the horse panicked. Angelica leaped in and cut the reins and long handle, just as before.
"Wha—! What the—what's going on!?"
The voice was pathetic—nothing like what you'd expect from a trained Self-Eating soldier. When the man sitting on the driver's seat saw Angelica standing there with her Stingleuk at the ready, he recoiled, practically foaming at the mouth.
"Nobody told me about this! What the hell is this!? I was just asked to transport these people! I had no idea it was dangerous work like this, not a clue…"
I couldn't immediately tell whether the Self-Eating soldier was acting or was truly just a common farmer.
"Who hired you and for what?"
Angelica pressed the tip of her Stingleuk toward him and asked, remaining on guard. The man, faced with the weapon's point, trembled and screamed, "No! Someone help me!"
"I asked who hired you and for what."
"What I was hired for was—guah!"
The moment he tried to speak, a light resembling thorns surfaced across his body. The thorns bit into his flesh with a grinding sound, transforming into golden flames. At the same time, the ring hanging from a cord around his neck began to glow.
"Angelica!"
Sensing the prelude to an explosion, I cried out. Angelica instantly threw herself back, pulling her mantle's protective embroidery over herself as a shield.
The explosion erupted from his chest, and the man's mouth opened wide in a silent scream.
"Guaaaaah!"
Enveloped in golden flames, he vanished along with his scream. By the time the golden flames completely faded, the man's figure was nowhere to be seen.
"What was that…?"
"He was bound by an extremely powerful Contract Magic. He must have entered a contract stipulating that he was not permitted to speak about his employer or destination."
Darmuel said this as he moved toward the cargo bed. I widened my eyes in shock at witnessing the fate of a Contract Magic violator for the first time, but the others simply nodded with understanding, showing no particular alarm.
"Is that what happens?"
"I've never seen it either, but there's no point in worrying about someone who destroyed himself. More importantly, what matters is whether the gray priests are here."
Darmuel raised his weapon, remaining on guard, and tore away the cloth covering the cargo bed.
"…Ah."
Darmuel's expression said "I shouldn't have looked" as he quickly covered it back up. At that motion, everyone raised their weapons in unison. Darmuel saw the suddenly tense atmosphere, put away his own weapon, waved his hand lightly, and gave an awkward smile.
"It's fine. Everyone loaded on here is a gray priest—all four of them accounted for. However, it would be best if women didn't look. They've been stripped of their clothing and are in a state not suitable for a lady to see."
When the cloth was lifted, they had been left completely naked. That was certainly a problem. In this cold, they would catch a cold.
"Chief Priest, we've rescued the gray priests. However, they've been stripped of their clothing, so please have someone retrieve the clothes from that Self-Eating soldier. Even if they're stained with blood, I'll clean them with Waschen."
I sent an Ordinance via Judith, asking them to secure the clothing. Even if some pieces were slightly torn, it was better than nothing.
Justus headed toward the carriage to retrieve the clothes, while Cornelius and Darmuel cut the gray priests' bonds under the cover of the cloth and began questioning them. Angelica stood watch over the perimeter, and Judith and I waited on the Lesser Bus.
"This is Judith. Leonore, we've successfully rescued the gray priests."
I had Judith send an Ordinance to the Temple. This way, the news of the gray priests' safety would reach everyone at the orphanage through Fran.
…There had been something terrifying like the Contract Magic violation, but at least the gray priests were safe.
As I let out a sigh of relief, an Ordinance came flying in.
"This is Leonore. I am terribly sorry, but if the rescue has been completed, please return as soon as possible. I cannot hold Hartmut back."
…Wait. Hartmut!?
The gray priests had been rescued.
Darmuel had been a hero for the first time in ages.
Next up: the evidence.