How a Former Pastor Lives in Another World

13

First Mission (2)

Rei and his party craned their necks at the Borderlands’ soldiers who blocked the road.

Why is the regular army obstructing our path?

As everyone stood bewildered, not understanding why, it was Priest Moro who stepped forward.

“I am Moro, dispatched from the Holy Nation. What brings the soldiers of the Borderlands here?”

“…”

“You are a priest. I am Xenon, a knight of the Violet Borderlands.”

The leading knight nodded.

“It is a decree from the Count of the Violet Borderlands. From now on, the northern Violet will be sealed, and no one shall enter.”

“That’s quite the affair.”

“Therefore, I ask that you, Priest, also turn back.”

The knight’s demeanor was polite yet firm.

“We are here on official business. There has been an accusation against a witch.”

“There is no such sinister being as a witch in the Count’s lands. So please, return.”

“That won’t be possible.”

“…”

“I told you, it is the Count of the Borderlands’ command.”

At Moro’s firm refusal, the knight’s brow furrowed.

“A command?”

Then, it was Rei who raised his voice. Stepping down from the carriage, he asked with a voice full of doubt.

“Sir Xenon. Are you perhaps a heretic?”

“What?!”

Suddenly you’re a heretic?

Aaron and Jenny turned with shocked expressions, but Ray was unfazed.

“Or perhaps… is it Count Byun who is the heretic?”

“You fool! Such madness…!”

In this world, a heretic is the most vile of sinners.

On a continent that has established a monotheistic, singular religion known as the Solar Faith, the word of God is absolute.

A heretic is automatically excommunicated, and the power of this is immense.

Even the emperor must kneel barefoot and beg for mercy if the Pope declares, ‘You are excommunicated!’

“We have come to interrogate a wicked contractor of demons. Are you obstructing us, thus siding with the heretics?”

“What…! That’s an order from Count Byun himself…”

“To interpret the commands of men before the will of God. Is Count Byun himself a heretic?”

“Watch your tongue!”

The knights and soldiers bristled.

Ray’s thoughts deepened at their awkward ‘performance.’

‘Why don’t they strike first?’

The color of their souls is dark red. In other words, they are the minions of demons.

Considering the intensity of the color, there seems to be no ‘wizard’ or ‘witch,’ but the subtlety lies in their attempt to ‘persuade’ the clergy of the Holy Nation to send them back.

Why don’t they try to kill them all instead of keeping them alive to send them back?

There’s something more to this.

“It’s highly suspicious. Despite explaining the situation, you try to chase us away without even reporting to Count Byun.”

“The authority of the nobility operates differently from the doctrines of the Holy Nation.”

“Sir. May I test just one thing?”

“What…”

Ray took something out of the carriage. It was a large jar. The sound of liquid sloshing could be heard.

“What is that?”

“It’s holy water brought for this interrogation. I will now sprinkle it on you.”

“!”

The self-proclaimed knight panicked at the mention of holy water.

Ray approached with a sly smile.

“The wicked heretics melt away when sprinkled with holy water. But nothing would happen to a devout believer, right?”

“Wait, hold on. I have no reason to undergo such a test…!”

“Die, heretic!”

“aaargh!”

As Rei impulsively poured the liquid from the jar, the knight recoiled in horror.

But it was too late. The liquid Rei had sprinkled soaked the knight through, and he screamed out in rage.

“You damned dogs of the gods…! Huh?”

A tangy scent rose from the drenched liquid.

“What, what did you sprinkle on me! What is this smell…!”

“It’s egg pickle. More importantly, did you just say ‘dogs of the gods’?”

Realizing he had been tricked, the knight’s face turned a mottled red.

“You brat, you tricked…!?”

The knight’s words were cut short.

Because Rei had smashed the jar over the knight’s head.

Crash!

With a loud noise, the jar containing the egg pickle shattered.

The knight’s helmet broke along with it.

“Ugh!”

The knight fell, revealing his egg-white skull. Rei shouted,

“These b*stards are heretics!!”

The soldiers claiming to be territorial troops were flustered, gripping their spears, but Aron and Jenny had already burst in.

“Argh!”

“Lord Baron…!”

The soldiers fell helplessly. But soon, they began to retaliate.

“Damn it, kill them!”

“Uh…!”

Aron hesitated as a soldier lunged at him.

Despite having trained in swordsmanship from a young age and even receiving the ‘Sun’s Blessing,’ he still hesitated.

“What are you spacing out for! You have to kill them for sure!’

In the end, it was Jenny’s axe that decapitated the charging soldier.

Jenny swung her halberd without a moment’s hesitation towards the heretics… no, towards the people. Her demeanor was markedly different from when she sparred.

“Die!”

Jenny screamed, swinging her halberd at the soldiers with a ferocity that was overwhelming.

‘I should join in too.’

It was then that Ray, also armed with a sword, decided to join.

“These heretics, right before the domain of Byungchangbaek. This is serious.”

It was Father Moro. In his hands, he now wielded a short and deadly warhammer.

“Kill the old man first!”

Three soldiers charged at once. But the moment Father Moro’s warhammer flashed.

Thud!

Skulls burst open, faces caved in.

The attack was so swift and precise, not even Ray, blessed by the sun, could keep up.

‘No wonder he’s not just any armed priest.’

Unlike the paladins, the armed priests of Eclipse often wander alone.

Given that their main duty is hunting mages and witches, their combat prowess is extraordinary, but to annihilate three men in two seconds…

It didn’t take long for the four of them to subdue the heretics.

“Argh! My leg! My leg is broken!”

“Stay still, before I make you a cripple.”

Jenny threatened with a genial expression yet deadly words.

“…Scary woman.”

Aaron muttered to himself, and Ray inwardly agreed.

“Well done, everyone. Especially Brother Ray’s wit. Without it, we could have been in serious trouble.”

Father Moro praised Ray for discerning that they were heretics and for his actions.

If it weren’t for Ray, they would have been ambushed without a chance.

“It’s nothing. If it hadn’t worked, I would’ve just apologized and ended it.”

Of course, Ray had acted with certainty that they were heretics, fitting his actions to the outcome.

“Now, tell us. What business do you have camping here?”

Father Moro asked gently, but the heretics responded with insolence.

“Get lost, dogs of God. Do you think we’d tell you?”

Spitting in defiance, the heretics faced Ray’s intervention.

“Will you talk?”

“Hmm, what do you mean?”

“If a nail is driven under the fingernail, most would talk, I suppose.”

Startled!

The heretics flinched at Ray’s chilling voice.

“Hahaha, Father Ray, you seem to have the qualities suitable for the Inquisition.”

“Hehe, I’m embarrassed.”

Don’t be embarrassed about such a thing…

The heretics looked at the two with anxious eyes.

“It’s not common for heretics to impersonate the territorial army and block the way. But we can’t afford to waste too much time.”

“So, what then?”

Father Moro lifted his warhammer. The cold iron, sparkling in the sunlight, struck down on the unprotected crown of a heretic.

“Gurk!”

The heretic’s skull shattered, spewing blood from nose and mouth. It was instant death.

“There are many captives; let’s break their heads until someone speaks honestly. Sister Jenny, will you help?”

“It would be an honor, Father!”

Jenny hoisted her halberd. She was the one who had been cutting down the heretics without hesitation.

“I, I’ll talk! Wait! Just a moment!”

The heretics finally succumbed to the fear of death.

It was just when the knight acting as their leader took a deep breath to speak.

“Gurk…!”

“What, what’s happening?”

Aaron was taken aback by the knight suddenly vomiting blood. Father Moro shouted.

“Everyone, step back!”

Following the priest’s command, the three stepped back quickly.

It wasn’t just the knight. One by one, the captured heretics began to vomit blood from their throats and started to collapse.

“Argh, aaargh!”

“Please! Please save me…!”

They couldn’t finish their pleas for life. The flesh in their throats was pierced, and from within, hundreds, thousands of cockroaches poured out.

Not just one person, but all experienced the same phenomenon, spilling cockroaches from every orifice of their bodies.

“What is this…”

The roaches that had slaughtered the heretics soon scattered in all directions.

“It’s a curse. And a very powerful one at that.”

“Could it be… the work of the witch who was captured?”

At that, Father Moro shook his head.

“To cast such a curse, it must be a very powerful being. If they were caught by the people, they wouldn’t be so strong.”

Then who could have done this?

Amidst their doubts, Ray and his companions had no choice but to leave the corpses behind and move on.

***

Shortly after that incident, Ray’s group finally arrived at their destination, the city of Sanhella.

Sanhella was a city on the way north, and it was quite sizable.

It was home to the lord’s castle of the Border Count, who guards the northern frontier, so it was naturally expected.

However, the atmosphere of the town did not look peaceful even from afar, as smoke from burning bodies and the smell of death spread everywhere.

“Halt!”

The guards stopped the carriage. Judging by their armament, they were soldiers of the Border Count.

The armed guards, after halting the carriage, bowed to Jenny, seeing her nun’s habit.

“Are you from the Holy State?”

“Yes, we came upon hearing that the witch was captured.”

Father Moro revealed himself as he spoke.

The guards sighed in relief at the sight of a proper priest.

“Ah… Finally, we can deliver divine punishment to that witch.”

“Please, go in and punish the witch for us! The city is in chaos because of her!”

Everyone seemed eager for the witch to be executed swiftly.

Before passing through, Father Moro asked the guards.

“Brothers. Are there any who claim to be soldiers of the Border Count blocking passage around here?”

“What? We have received no such orders.”

Just as I thought.

They weren’t the soldiers of the Border Count after all.

The heretics were posing as the lord’s army, blocking those flowing into the Border Count’s territory.

Worried about the evil plot lurking in this city, the group headed towards the city’s prison.

“Phew… I’m a bit nervous about going to see the witch.”

“It might not be a witch, you know. Don’t jump to conclusions so soon.”

Aaron chided Jenny, who retorted in kind.

“We don’t know, sir. There’s clearly something strange happening in this city, isn’t there?”

“Jumping to conclusions and acting hastily can lead to innocent victims.”

‘That’s true.’

Ray thought Aaron was quite rational.

It wasn’t easy for a priest of noble, authoritarian birth to think this way.

Father Moro, who had entered the city, first heard from the accuser and the mayor about the incidents that had occurred.

“Our village has recently been struck by a plague. A severe outbreak has claimed many lives.”

“What makes you think this is not an ordinary plague?”

“Eh? Well… it just broke out suddenly.”

“Is that all?”

“What more conclusive evidence could there be?”

“……”

Something felt off.

Plagues are, by nature, sudden.

Where is the reason in a plague spreading?

Even in modern society, how often has a mutated virus evolved into a pandemic that engulfs the world?

Even the reason for the witch accusation was bizarre.

“The witch spread evil herbs throughout the village, claiming to cure the plague!”

“May I see these herbs?”

Ray sighed as he examined the herbs presented by the witnesses. He recognized them too.

“Father Moro.”

“Ah, Brother Ray, you recognize them too? What about the others?”

Jenny raised her hand as well.

“This herb is commonly used in our convent. It’s called pigweed, a simple antipyretic.”

“Hmm, we occasionally used it in the monastery too. Never had a cold, though.”

The novices’ knowledge of herbs was accurate.

After all, they had grown up in environments where they had to be self-sufficient for the most part.

In contrast, Aaron, who was raised in luxury, lacked such knowledge and couldn’t possibly have noticed.

“I’m less knowledgeable than commoners…”

Of course, he seemed quite indignant about it.

“Yes, as you all say, there’s no major issue with the herbs themselves. After all, antipyretics are commonly prescribed when illness strikes.”

“That can’t be! Margaret has been growing strange herbs all over the house!”

“I saw Margaret feeding weird grass to the pigs! It must be for some evil ritual!”

The accusers of Margaret each had their say.

But the more I heard, the more convinced I became that this accusation was baseless.

Crucially.

“Who was the first to accuse the witch?”

It was a young man named Ronald who stepped forward at the priest’s question.

“I did.”

“What was your relationship with this Margaret?”

“We were lovers… No! There was nothing between us!”

The villagers reacted to his sudden change of story.

“Huh? Ronald. Didn’t you say you confessed to Margaret last time? You were rejected outright, not even lovers.”

“What are you talking about! That witch rejected me! I was the one who rejected her!”

“How can the confessor be rejected…”

“Anyway! That evil woman is definitely a witch! Ever since I met her, I’ve been suffering at night!”

“Wow, this is total garbage.”

Everyone agreed with Jenny’s assessment.

The situation was overall quite unsatisfactory.

The man who first accused her, likely spurned by Margaret after his confession, must have made the witch accusation out of spite.

The so-called evil herbs were nothing more than common antipyretics.

How could ordinary villagers even recognize and accuse a witch?

The priest and the trainees all shared the same thought.

“Let’s meet this Margaret who has been accused.”

“No, there’s no need to meet her! She should be burned at the stake immediately…!”

“Brother, if you falsely accuse a witch, you must bear the sin yourself.”

“How can that be…!”

A young man named Ronald recoiled in horror.

“Tsk, tsk.”

To accuse the person he liked, even after being rejected, of being a witch was utterly despicable.

“But it’s not like that… She really is a witch. Margaret is definitely a witch…”

Ronald, showing his ugliest side to the very end, denied reality.

Ray went to meet an innocent victim who was imprisoned with Father Moro.

“It’s unjust, Father! I only gathered herbs to help the villagers!”

A young woman pitifully trapped, dressed in nothing better than a sackcloth.

Given the information received so far, Father Moro and the acolytes were also weighing heavily on Margaret’s innocence.

However.

“There are many who have been cured by my medicine! I can prove it!”

A very deep, dark red.

The sorcerer who had spread the plague in Obelo village had exactly that color.

Why is this the truth.