Chapter 23 - Resolve

Abandon his humanity for his daughter. No one could readily agree to such a proposal.

After a long hesitation, Gaf spoke.

"I..."

Yohan raised a hand to stop him.

"You needn't answer now. I'll give you time. If you accept my proposal, be at the castle gate on the night we act. If you don't come, I'll assume you've left Ilea."

He turned away.

"Whatever you choose, I'll respect your decision. Think carefully, and choose wisely."

With that, he left the room and headed straight for the forbidden library of the Abyss. There were many things he needed to collect for the deed.

* * *

Shrill shouting rang out beyond the door of the castle's guest quarters.

"What! You released the apostate?! On whose authority, you worthless wretch!"

The cracking voice belonged to none other than Archbishop Hilles. His usual kindly smile was gone, replaced by utter hysteria.

"The girl, Ilea, was not an apostate. I could sense not even the faintest demonic energy, let alone a Demon."

Even if a Demon had sensed something amiss and fled, it would have left faint traces of demonic energy in its host's body. But Ilea was clean. There was not the slightest impurity in her.

Shaperia had no choice but to admit her mistake.

"She was innocent. This happened because I was mistaken, and I wanted to put it right."

Archbishop Hilles shrieked.

"You stupid bitch!"

A sharp smack rang out. The archbishop had struck Shaperia across the face.

"The Church does not make mistakes! Even if there has been an error, it must never get out! Our honor is directly tied to the Great Saint's authority! You've committed a dreadful sacrilege, you bitch! As if making a mistake weren't enough, you've sullied the Great Saint's name!"

Cover up the fault and save face. That was the Church's way.

Shaperia should have denied her mistake and pressed on.

She cupped her reddened cheek.

"Admit your mistakes and correct them. Wasn't that what the Great Saint always emphasized?"

The archbishop's face twisted.

"I took in a street urchin and raised her to be a proper human being, and now you openly defy me! You dare try to teach me?!"

Books and papers of every kind flew at Shaperia.

"Get out! Get out of my sight!"

Even as the books struck her, Shaperia calmly traced the holy sign.

"... I'll take my leave."

She turned and left the study. Shouts and curses followed her down the corridor.

Trying to ignore the insults, she sank into thought.

'I should have covered up my mistake?'

Establish authority by binding an innocent person to a torture frame. It was too disgusting, too vile a method to accept.

'That's only the archbishop's view. The Church will be different.'

Hadn't the Church always sung the praises of justice? Even if parts of it were rotten, its foundations would be pure. The archbishop's values could not extend to the entire Church.

She had to believe that.

Just as Shaperia was about to trace the holy sign, someone spoke to her.

"You've incurred the archbishop's wrath because of me."

A beautiful silver-haired girl was waiting at the end of the corridor.

"You're..."

"My name is Ilea. Until a few hours ago, I was a suspected apostate."

Self-reproach crossed Shaperia's face. She bowed slightly.

"I'm truly sorry. I made a mistake that must never happen again."

Ilea shook her head.

"You reversed your judgment, Lady Shaperia. That is a mercy seldom granted to someone as lowly as me. Thank you for having the courage."

"I don't deserve your thanks. I merely did what was right."

"Would the others agree?"

"... Anyone in the Church would have done the same."

"I see."

Shaperia's expression was clouded. Ilea gave a bright smile and changed the subject.

"What a needless question. I had something else to discuss."

"Please, go ahead. If you wish to reproach me, I'll gladly listen."

"I have no complaints. Besides, how could I dare challenge a holy knight?"

"I'm not a holy knight yet. Nor am I of noble birth. There's no need to stand on ceremony with me."

Ilea had already more or less guessed Shaperia's background. However hard they tried, most commoners could not hide the scent of their rough origins.

Their gait, table manners, pronunciation, choice of words, and so on. Unlike nobles, who maintained a cultivated elegance even in their everyday lives, commoners sought only survival and convenience. The distinction was inevitably clear.

The circumstances of their upbringing clung to them like body odor.

Shaperia was no exception. She carried the scent of a commoner. She seemed to have concealed it quite well, but anyone with even a little discernment could detect it.

Ilea spoke.

"If you're not a noble, then those eyes of yours must be a power granted directly by the Great Saint."

"That's right. It's not a power I inherited from my parents."

Shaperia possessed the Eye of Scrutiny, which detected Demons. It was an ideal power for opposing them. Such formidable powers were usually passed down through blood, and those born to inherit them were accorded respect by all.

In short, someone with the Eye of Scrutiny would be a noble. If they were a commoner, they were an emissary chosen by the Great Saint.

Ilea nodded and murmured,

"Now I understand."

She had memorized every power and house that might threaten to expose her identity: House Valderian's Demon Detection, House Aeris's Ghost-Slaying Soul, House Teon's Light-Demon Constitution, House Tarun's Evil-Eradicating Holy Spirit Formula, and so on. Shaperia's power was not among them.

Ilea had had no way to prepare for it.

She spoke.

"If you don't mind my asking, could you tell me exactly what your power does?"

Yohan had told her the eyes only detected Demons, but they might have other abilities.

A puzzled look crossed Shaperia's face. Ilea answered it with an innocent smile.

"It's simple curiosity. You're welcome to refuse."

Shaperia hesitated before speaking.

"It allows me to find hidden Demons."

"Then you saw a Demon in me."

"As I said, I was mistaken. I'm sorry."

"Were you really? Look again."

Ilea moved close enough for Shaperia to feel her breath.

"Look again? What do you..."

"Go on, now."

Ilea gave a soft clap. At the same time, a small equation formed above Shaperia's head.

Shaperia did not notice.

"What do you see now?"

Ilea's clear blue eyes filled Shaperia's vision.

"I-I don't know."

"Let me help you."

The clear, pristine sea began to ripple. Its surface heaved violently, as though a volcano had erupted in its depths.

"Is it any different now?"

Ash rose from the seabed, clouding the water. Ilea's eyes were no longer blue. They were murky and oppressive, like an abyss steeped in malice.

Fear and revulsion slammed into Shaperia. She groaned and shuddered.

"So your eyes can see my true nature."

Ilea was fully exposing her spectral soul: the soul of a witch. Ordinary eyes could not perceive a spectral soul.

Shaperia's were different.

"W-what in the world is this?"

The silver-haired girl before her was not a Demon. There were similarities, but the difference was vast.

"You're looking at a witch."

"What are you saying..."

"Now I see that everyone has underestimated you. Your ability isn't a detection power. It goes beyond that: it sees through to a subject's true nature. Fairies, witches, even dragons in human form cannot escape those eyes."

Ilea chuckled and added,

"And yet you use them only to detect Demons. Fortunately for me, you're ignorant."

Shaperia could not make sense of Ilea's words. Her hand moved on instinct.

She had to destroy the malice before her.

The moment she gripped her sword hilt, Ilea clapped again.

"That's enough."

The equation above Shaperia's head vanished. Ilea spoke.

"Can you see anything?"

Shaperia shook her head.

"As I said, I was mistaken. You are utterly innocent."

"What a relief. This has been an interesting conversation."

Shaperia gave Ilea a puzzled look.

"Didn't you say you had something else to discuss?"

Ilea smiled brightly.

"I've just taken care of it."

Shaperia remembered nothing. A minute of her memory had vanished.

The Short-Term Memory Erasure Formula. It was difficult magic, but well within a witch's abilities.

Ilea bowed her head slightly.

"I'll see you again someday."

Looking vaguely uneasy, Shaperia scratched her head.

"... Yes. I hope our next meeting will be under happier circumstances."

"That's a difficult wish to grant."

Murmuring those words, Ilea turned away. With each step, the smile faded from her face. Her pale features were hardening like wax.

'What a troublesome power.'

Eyes that saw through to one's true nature. Shaperia was still unskilled in using them, but in time she would learn to wield them properly. She would be able to detect Ilea's spectral soul without Ilea exposing it.

She was a lethally dangerous natural enemy.

* * *

Time passed quickly. As the autumn foliage scattered into fallen leaves, a chill settled over the domain.

Winter was approaching.

It was a season when neither farming nor hunting was possible. The people would have to survive for months on stored food, yet their granaries stood empty. During its several-week stay, the pilgrimage party had consumed a vast quantity of grain.

As if that were not enough, the pilgrims had demanded enormous donations. They were little different from a band of robbers, merely carrying scriptures instead of swords.

Infuriatingly, as winter drew near, the pilgrimage party began preparing to leave. They intended to spend the bitterly cold season in the well-provisioned royal capital.

On the afternoon before their departure, Yohan left the castle ahead of them. At the gate, he looked at Sir Reil.

"Do you think Gaf will come?"

There was no answer. The blond knight merely looked down at Yohan from horseback with dead eyes.

A scarecrow with no self of his own. Reil made a poor conversation partner.

Yohan clicked his tongue and rummaged through his backpack.

'Might as well check my things again.'

The pack was full of holy relics from the forbidden library.

'I haven't forgotten anything.'

He had to use every means at his disposal to kill Kril and Shaperia, then seize the fragment of the Great Saint's corpse as well.

It would be difficult. Since he could not even count on Ilea's help, there was no room for error. Depending on how things went, he might have to give up on the Great Saint's corpse.

Yohan steeled himself.

"Time's up. Let's go."

He mounted Reil's horse. Having never learned to ride, he had no choice but to share the knight's mount.

'I'd hoped Gaf could at least teach me to ride on the way. So much for that.'

Just as they were about to set off, hoofbeats sounded behind them.

"You act as though you can do everything, but it seems you can't ride a horse."

Gaf rode up with a black hood pulled over his head. Yohan gave a faint chuckle.

"Decided to abandon your humanity?"

Gaf said nothing. He merely looked at Yohan with a somber expression.

"Put this on."

Yohan tossed him a black mask. Gaf caught it and slowly spoke.

"Ilea is the only humanity I have left."

Yohan shrugged.

"Let's go."