Chapter 59
“Ughhh…”
A dark cave where not a single ray of light reached.
A man lay collapsed on the ground, covered in blood, letting out a faint groan.
His limbs were bent at grotesque angles, as if they’d been broken in all the wrong ways—
and soon, a massive hand appeared and roughly grabbed his torso.
—Heh, heheh. F-fun… this is fun.
Whoosh—whoosh—
Like a child playing with a toy, something swung the man’s body back and forth.
“Ugh… just kill me! Kill me already!”
Behind him, a woman barely managed to raise her head despite her twisted leg.
Her anguished eyes glared out from beneath a red robe and matching pointed hat.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, she shouted with a voice full of fury.
—I-I don’t want to! You humans… you played with us! S-so I’ll play too!
At the sorcerer’s scream, the monster froze, then struck the ground irritably.
Crack—!
The man’s body slammed into the floor and was crushed flat.
The woman clenched her eyes shut at the sight of her companion’s body, reduced to an unrecognizable pulp beneath the thrashing gray mass.
—Squeak? Squeak-squeak!
Meanwhile—
a small mouse crept into the cave through the entrance, looking around for something.
—Squeak!
Seemingly used to such chaos, it scurried past the rampaging monster and soon found someone sitting in the corner, leaning back in a chair.
“Hoh… is that true?”
A tiny old man, small as a child, with round, oversized ears.
He slowly bent down and let the mouse climb into his palm, eyes widening at the words it brought.
—Squeak….
“That boy… hm. He was such a clever child. What a pity, what a waste.”
Having heard from the mouse what had happened in the abandoned temple on the Aridus Plateau, the old man sighed regretfully over Rattenfänger’s death.
Abandoned by both goddess and men, a young boy was reborn under his own blessing.
Though filled with vengeance, the boy could never let go of his lingering attachments.
The old man had hoped he would one day break free of his shell and awaken—
—Squeak!
“…A powerless one?”
The child he cherished most in recent times was dead.
He mourned briefly—
but the moment he heard the mouse’s next words, his brow furrowed.
“A new hero of the Church, you say.”
The Church’s new hero had slain Rattenfänger.
The Demon Monkey King… so that must be the child that monkey spoke of.
Recalling a report from one of the Monkey King’s subordinates days earlier, the old man’s eyes glimmered with intrigue.
“Squallor.”
—Y-yeah? Dad?
It was sad that the boy he’d pinned such hopes on had withered before blooming.
But he couldn’t wallow in grief forever.
A gutter-dweller’s life, despised by all, was built on loss.
“There’s work to do. Stop playing and get ready.”
The old man stood, summoned his hulking servant, and walked toward the cave’s mouth with an expectant smile.
A child lost could always be replaced by another.
And since the one who killed the boy was a powerless human—
a body untouched by the goddess’s vile blessing—
there would be plenty of room for their power to seep in.
“Sir… are we really going to be okay?”
Inside a carriage.
After defeating Rattenfänger and returning to the fortress, Eric’s group had been seized by the Central Order of Holy Knights.
Lilian, quietly watching the situation unfold without understanding why, finally spoke up in a worried tone as their destination drew near.
“Sir Lilian, have we done anything wrong?”
“W-wrong? What do you mean! We defeated the undead in the Moon-Falling Forest and even stopped the plague beast at the border! How could that be wrong? If anything, the Church should be giving us medals!”
“Right? So it’ll be fine. Probably just a misunderstanding.”
Eric tilted his head with a puzzled look, but smiled as if to reassure her.
Of course, that’s what I said… but there’s no way this is just a simple misunderstanding.
Not only he, but even Gregorius had been summoned.
A mere priest couldn’t be placed on trial—let alone an Archbishop, one of only four Cardinals in the entire Church.
Only a handful within the Church could authorize something like this:
the Pope, the other Cardinals, and the three Grand Inquisitors.
And even those Cardinals couldn’t put one of their own on trial alone.
Isabella certainly wouldn’t be insane enough to sabotage one of her most useful pawns.
So… this must be the work of that faction Gregorius was wary of.
Coming to that conclusion, Eric sighed heavily.
This was exactly why he’d never wanted to get involved in the Church’s political feuds.
But it was too late to turn back.
The moment he followed Gregorius to recover the abandoned relics of the old diocese, his fate had been sealed.
Whether he liked it or not, to others he now looked like the new hero siding with the northern Cardinal.
That, after all, was Gregorius’s plan from the start when he summoned Eric to the North.
Still… the biggest obstacle—the old diocese problem—is cleared. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad choice after all.
And truthfully, being associated with Gregorius wasn’t entirely a disadvantage.
Even if the man was now a toothless tiger, he’d once been a prime candidate for the next Pope.
He might be cornered and summoned to a Holy Tribunal in the capital,
but among the northern faithful, his popularity hadn’t waned.
To claim my family’s heirship, I’ll need not only the elders’ votes but also the loyalty of the soldiers and knights in Ather Province.
The northern knights and soldiers took pride in their origins.
To them, belonging to the Grand Duchy of Ather—the mightiest power in the North—was a badge of honor.
It went without saying how they viewed Eric, a scion of that house.
To win them over, I’ll need Gregorius’s reputation behind me.
A notorious troublemaker who constantly embarrassed his family name—
for such a man to win people’s hearts, it was best to have a guarantor like Gregorius,
a man known throughout the North as “the Little Giant.”
The only problem is… what exactly are they using as grounds to summon me?
Eric silently organized his thoughts and glanced outside at the long lines of Holy Knights.
A Holy Tribunal wasn’t something convened lightly—
and to put both a Cardinal and the Church’s young hero on trial together…
it was unprecedented in the entire history of the Holy Faith.
Given his recent achievements, he should’ve been receiving honors, not accusations.
If they’re forcing a trial despite that… does that mean they’re determined to uproot me completely, even at great risk? Or…
As his thoughts deepened, Eric turned to glance at Malefica,
as if asking whether she had any idea what was going on.
“…”
She met his eyes, then gently shook her head.
Eric scratched his hair in frustration.
Right.
If she knew, she’d have warned him long ago.
Ever since he’d hidden the fact that he used supernatural power in the Moon-Falling Forest, she was practically in the same sinking boat as him.
Clatter—
After some time, the carriage stopped.
Peering outside, Eric swallowed dryly at the sight of towering walls stretching endlessly along the horizon.
…The Holy Capital, Amenus.
Amenus. The capital of the Empire.
Clang, clang, clang—
With a heavy rumble, the great gates began to open.
Beyond them, sprawling streets and magnificent buildings came into view.
Led by the Holy Knights at the front, Eric entered the capital and looked up at two tall structures in the distance.
The splendid palace enclosed by an inner wall,
and beside it, a spire so high it seemed to pierce the sky—
The Papal Palace.
Thud—
The headquarters of the Holy Faith.
Even Eric—who’d cleared the “Protect Humanity” scenario multiple times in his previous life—
had only managed to visit this place five times in total.
Unlike other temples, it strictly forbade entry to outsiders.
“Get out.”
A knight opened the door curtly.
Eric rose, motioned for his companions to follow, and stepped out of the carriage.
“Wow…”
He briefly gazed up in awe at the grand marble structure before him.
Thud—
“Ugh!”
“Sir Eric!”
“Hey! That’s uncalled for!”
Pushed from behind by a knight, Eric nearly tripped on the stairs.
Lilian and Leona immediately protested, but he raised a hand to calm them.
It was irritating, sure,
but picking a fight with the Holy Knights of the Goddess—especially in front of the Papal Palace—
would only hurt his position in the upcoming trial.
“Tch. Why the Goddess chose such a worthless man…”
Eric ignored the grumbling knight and turned to see an elderly man being helped out of the adjacent carriage.
“Your Eminence, this way please…”
Unlike Eric, the Cardinal was treated with respect, escorted carefully up the steps.
“Hey. You—this way.”
As Eric naturally tried to follow the old man,
a knight grabbed his arm and stopped him.
This way?
After following the knight around the outer wall for several minutes—
“Your companions will wait here.”
They arrived at what looked like a side entrance to the Papal Palace.
When the knight pushed Eric through and blocked the others, Eric frowned.
“What? What do you mean we can’t go in?”
“Yeah! Why are we being left out?”
“Brother, this isn’t right—!”
Even Malefica joined in protesting,
but the knight only nodded to his comrade at the door—
a silent “Take care of them”—
and dragged Eric further inside.
Thud—
“Oof!”
After walking down a long corridor, the knight finally stopped before an open doorway and shoved him inside.
“…As you ordered, I’ve brought the new hero.”
“Oh my, thank you, Sir Knight!”
The polite knight bowed to someone within,
and from across the room came a soft, lilting voice.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Hero.”
Eric lifted his gaze—
and saw a woman sitting at a table, smiling sweetly at him.
Under the bright light, her hair shimmered with a bluish hue,
and her light-blue eyes gleamed with mystery.
Flawless white skin, exquisite beauty, and a dimpled smile that seemed too perfect.
“Justia, that’s my name.”
Of course—
to anyone who’d ever played Protect Humanity,
that was a face they could never forget.
“I may still be unworthy,” she said with a gentle smile,
“but I’m training diligently to one day receive the Goddess’s divine oracle.”
