IBWMD 66

~Chapter 66~

Back during the New Year Festival, I did end up walking alone for a bit after being kicked out of the carriage…

‘But back then, there were plenty of people around, so I didn’t feel threatened even without an escort.’

I forced a playful grin.

“Worked me to the bone again and now you’re offering to be my escort?”

“Ahem, well, that’s…”

“It’s fine. If you ever need help again, call me.”

More work was always good for me.

If I helped with the estate’s affairs, then maybe later I’d have some leverage when negotiating with the Duke…

‘…When the Duke comes.’

Maybe all of this will end.

Karl being assigned to guard me. This close interaction between us.

Even if we ended things with a mutual divorce, I wouldn’t be the Duchess anymore—there’d be no reason to keep guarding me.

Somehow, that thought left a hollow feeling in my chest.

‘I wonder if I’ll even get to hear what Karl wanted to tell me before the Duke arrives.’

It felt like it was something he couldn’t say just anytime.

As I was caught in that small wave of regret, the skewer shop owner scratched the back of his head.

“Still… it doesn’t sit right letting you go alone.”

That’s when one of the exhausted merchants shouted from behind,

“Harold! We’ve got some spices left over here. You want them for the skewers?”

The shop owner’s head turned slightly.

“Go get them. You know how precious that stuff is.”

I smiled and gave his shoulder a few pats.

“We didn’t even finish going around the slums yet.”

“…Right. That’s true.”

“You’re going again next time, right? Call me then too.”

“If something feels off, turn back. I’ll come walk you back.”

With a worried look, the skewer shop owner patted my shoulder again, then dashed off toward the spice merchant.

To be honest, I thought everyone was worrying over nothing.

Frankly speaking, I was the type to be an escort, not need one.

‘Better head back and rest quickly.’

“That path’s the faster one, right?”

I was about to take the shortcut I’d grown familiar with on the way back to the lodging—

“…Noona.”

I turned my head at the familiar title I hadn’t heard in a while. A smile broke out immediately.

“What brings you here?”

It was Tan and Eliza, who had both filled out a bit more since I’d last seen them. Just seeing them made me feel warm inside.

“It’s been a while. Did you eat?”

“We did. But that’s not what’s important right now, noona…”

“You.”

Eliza quickly cut Tan off.

“Why are you walking alone today? Where’s everyone else?”

“Wow, rude. That’s a fancy way of asking if I have no friends.”

“…That’s not what I meant!”

“Noona. Is there really no one guarding you?”

“Yeah. There isn’t.”

“Then don’t take that path.”

“Why? It’s a shortcut.”

I was sweaty from working all day and wanted to wash up quickly.

But Eliza was firm.

“No. You can’t. There might be an ambush.”

“An ambush?”

I blinked at the sudden mention and asked again.

Tan, wearing a serious expression, answered immediately.

“…Noona, you’re in danger right now!”

* * *

“Something’s not right.”

Zion muttered unconsciously, then gasped and shut his mouth.

Laid out before him were reports regarding the destruction of Saint Portou from centuries ago.

Reports written by Holy Knights who had been dispatched there hundreds of years ago.

It had been pure chance that Zion came across these records.

‘Please, Brother Zion!’
‘What’s wrong, Deputy Priest?’

That day, he’d met a noble lady—like a twin of an old friend’s younger sister—and rediscovered his lost devotion.

Since then…

‘…Why shouldn’t I eat this stew? If what Brother Zion says is right, then didn’t the Lord also stir this stew for us—’
‘No, it’s a stew made with meat broth, isn’t it?’
‘So what if it is—’
‘The Book of Faith, Chapter 141, Verse 35? “Do not boil bones taken from senseless slaughter.” This stew boiled bones, so it’s a harmful stew.’
‘…’
‘Which means we should give it to the unclean people of the lower land—the poor. Don’t you all agree?’

Escaping from his dead-fish eyes, Zion transformed into a true question-mark assassin.

Since the scriptures had been written by many over long generations, they contained just about everything.

Including outdated doctrines—like forbidding chicken or chopping off hands—that were now forgotten or ignored.

Zion was one of the rare few who had all those outdated, unused verses memorized…

…which was a disaster for the complacent priests and deputy priests of Saint Portou.

‘Arghhh!’

Eventually, a few days later—

Unable to take it any longer, the deputy priest screamed and ground his teeth mid-conversation with Zion.

‘…Your punishment will be decided now!’
‘Huh? A punishment…?’
‘If you love the scripture so much, organize the entire library and study the doctrines inside!’

Zion thought:

‘How is this a punishment?’

It was practically a reward in this line of work.

Sure, if he’d been punished by being sent to hunt monsters, that would’ve been even better…

…but that wasn’t feasible, as all the other Holy Knights were already deployed.

‘Well… I haven’t moved in so long…’
‘My armor doesn’t quite fit anymore. I’ve gained some weight.’

The remaining knights in Saint Portou, still with dead-fish eyes, were extremely reluctant to leave.

‘Oh well.’

Zion figured this was still a pretty luxurious form of exile.

‘At least I’m not ashamed anymore.’

Remembering that noble lady who reminded him of his old comrade gave him strength.

He didn’t even know her name yet, but once his punishment was over and he could leave, he swore to find her and thank her.

It was while he was immersed in these old records in the temple library that he stumbled upon something odd.

[Today we searched the area below the mountains. These young folks today are so lazy they can’t even search properly…]

It seemed the Holy Knights sent to stop the extinction had prioritized something else over hunting monsters.

“…What is this?”

Reading yet another complaint about “kids these days” from hundreds of years ago, Zion felt a question rise in his mind.

There had been a reason he’d picked up this report in the first place.

It was to study in advance for the day he’d eventually go out to hunt monsters.

‘So why is there no mention of any monsters being caught?’

The Holy Knight’s record only detailed what they were looking for.

He checked other knights’ reports just in case, but it was the same.

[Today I searched Dragon Valley. Next up is Dragon Plains…]
[Why does everything in this cursed land have “dragon” in the name? Makes it impossible to find anything.]
[I heard there was a Dragon’s Well, so I went… but it was blocked off by a snowstorm… Damn it.]

“What the heck were they all trying to find?”

The only common thread he could identify was the frequent mention of “dragons.”

‘…Was it something related to dragons?’

Even Zion—who wasn’t the sharpest when it came to anything outside scripture and rules—couldn’t ignore the oddity anymore.

‘Why would the temple be looking for something dragon-related… or demon-related?’

He was just beginning to piece the logic together when—

Bang!

The door slammed open.

“…That’s enough!”

“So impatient…”

“You said once the target was confirmed, it wouldn’t be hard! Like you’d capture her immediately!”

“What was I supposed to do when she’s never alone?”

“She was alone for a moment during the New Year Festival!”

“You want me to act in the middle of a crowded market? Only an idiot would try that!”

“Excuses. Can’t even handle a single woman…”

“You’re the one who split our forces to secure mages!”

The temple’s library filled with the angry voices of two people.

Apparently unaware that anyone was inside the normally empty library, they argued openly.

Zion lifted his head with a blank look. And then—

Thud. Clatter.

He squeezed his mountain-sized body into the narrow stacks.

Like a fat cat spilling out of an undersized box—or rather, like a bear with its muscles spilling out.

And then he thought:

‘…Why am I hiding?’

He had no idea why. It was just instinct.

Maybe the gloomy, secretive vibe of the archive had gotten to him.

He listened quietly from his cramped position.

“He’s waiting for results. We can’t delay any longer!”
“Why didn’t that ‘great one’ just send us mages from the capital in the first place? It would’ve made everything easier.”
“Watch your mouth! He’s busy educating the lady… no, he’s busy with many duties!”
“If I were devout, would I be stuck in back-alley jobs? Why don’t you just mobilize the Holy Knights already?”

It wasn’t the sacrilegious idea of misusing Holy Knights that caught Zion’s attention—but the implication of what they were trying to do with them.

‘Search?’

Zion couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

Peek.

He poked just his small head out from his massive frame between the bookshelves.

A short distance away, he saw the two men.

Zion’s jaw dropped.

“…Chief Priest?”