Chapter 32 - Sacred Relic (2)

Yohan and his companions returned to the domain just before sunrise. Outside, the dawn was still dim, so Yohan had not yet returned to human form. He was still a Demon.

Since he could not enter the castle looking like this, they decided to wait until morning at the village mill.

Yohan perched in a corner of the mill and took out the Great Saint's eye. A gold-covered model of an eyeball. The exalted sacred relic gleamed upon his black palm.

'A considerable return for the cost.'

He had used up the Polymorph Slime, the jar that had sealed the Apostle, the Great Witch Rahel's treasure box, and several lesser relics, but what he had gained was none other than the Great Saint's eye. He had come out far, far ahead.

'Things with Beris have become a little unpleasant, but that can't be helped. A gain this big is bound to come with some risks.'

The Apostle Beris had gone so far as to engrave contract magic upon the world to express his hatred for Yohan. Someday, that would bring a major crisis his way.

It was an enormous risk, but one well worth taking. Against people, the Great Saint's eye was a treasure without equal.

A relic that won goodwill with a mere glance, and beyond that, inspired respect and awe. Its power was eminently suited to the chief deity of a religion. These eyes had also allowed the Great Saint Marziel to reign over all with ease.

'The possibilities are endless.'

As he sat lost in thought, Ilea spoke.

"The younger master will be delighted."

Yohan's red eyes shifted toward Ilea.

"Why?"

"Because he'll regain his sight, of course."

Yohan looked back at the golden model. When he offered no reply, Ilea spoke again.

"Do you perhaps want to keep it for yourself?"

"Keep it for myself? You've misunderstood something."

"Pardon?"

"This eye was never Raguel's to begin with."

Yohan had never said he would give the Great Saint's eye to Raguel. He had merely mentioned that the fragment of the corpse inside the casket was an 'eye.'

Ilea gave a hollow laugh.

"I suppose I jumped to conclusions."

"Do you feel deceived?"

"Not at all. I'm pleased, actually. It's a Class One holy relic, after all. Using it merely to restore someone's sight would be a waste. You could put it to more efficient use, Yohan. Still..."

She paused, then added,

"What do you intend to do about your contract with Young Master Raguel?"

Yohan had promised to restore Raguel's sight. The price of failing to fulfill the contract was death.

The corners of his mouth lifted.

"We never set a specific deadline."

Gaf, who had been listening, struck the pile of straw hard.

"You shameless bastard!"

Ilea covered her mouth in feigned surprise.

"You truly are a Demon to the bone."

Yohan shrugged.

"I intend to keep my promise someday. Just not now."

"Another opportunity won't come easily. Transplanting or restoring body parts is the stuff of miracles."

"Which is why you'll have to help. Our fates are tied together, aren't they?"

"You're so... willful, Yohan."

Gaf snorted.

"He's a selfish bastard."

Yohan chuckled.

"That's a compliment to a Demon."

Ilea shook her head as though he were hopeless, then changed the subject.

"May I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

"The Great Saint's eye. What exactly can it do?"

Young as she was, there were many things even this witch did not know.

'Even Ilea can't know the Church's most closely guarded secrets.'

Yohan spoke.

"It earns goodwill from humans who meet its gaze, and hatred from Demons."

That was the neatest way to sum it up.

Ilea's eyes widened at his explanation.

"If you corrupted it into an accursed object, you could bring countless Demons to heel."

Once corrupted, a sacred relic gained powers contrary to its original nature. Just as Kazan's ring, which blocked demonic energy, had become an accursed object that resisted holy power, the Great Saint's eye would become an unholy accursed object that earned 'goodwill from Demons' and 'hatred from humans.'

Used well, it could bring countless Demons to Yohan's side.

"Correct. And that's quite a useful way to employ it."

"Then have you decided? Will you corrupt it?"

Yohan shook his head.

"But I intend to leave it as a sacred relic."

A shadow briefly crossed Ilea's face.

'She must be disappointed.'

Yohan's choice did not quite align with her ultimate goal. She would prefer him to corrupt the Great Saint's eye and bring countless Demons to heel.

"May I ask why?"

"First, I intend to transplant the Great Saint's eye into my human body."

At present, Yohan's human form was far too weak. Strengthening and investing in that form, rather than his rapidly developing Demon form, would do far more to improve his chances of survival. No matter how powerful his Demon form became, it would all be for nothing if he died as a human.

But transplant the Great Saint's eye into his human body after turning it into an accursed object? Nothing could be more contradictory. A human shunned by humans and loved by Demons could not survive in this world.

"And the second reason?"

"A practical one. I have no way to obtain the sacrifices."

Corrupting a Class One holy relic required countless lives. The prostitute Betra alone had been enough for Kazan's ring, but the sacrifices required for the Great Saint's eye would be beyond counting. Even offering the entire population of a city might not suffice.

"Why not leave it for the future? Put the sacred relic aside for now and procure the sacrifices when an opportunity comes along."

Yohan shook his head.

"I don't have the luxury of saving power I can use right now. I need to grow stronger by any means available. So no."

It was a question of opportunity cost. Rather than dragging things out, using the Great Saint's eye immediately to exert influence over human society would be more efficient.

Ilea's expression turned cold. She spoke slowly.

"... What if I were to procure the sacrifices right now?"

Yohan furrowed his brow.

"I don't see why you would go that far."

"Because its potential as an accursed object is unquestionably greater."

Transplant the corrupted Great Saint's eye into his Demon form, then win over every evil being. It was an appealing prospect, to be sure.

But it troubled him. Could he really retain his sanity after offering so many lives in human sacrifice?

'Impossible.'

Either the guilt would destroy him, or he would truly become a Demon to the bone. In short, he did not want to cross that line. Call it human weakness if they liked.

Yohan spoke.

"That conflicts with my first reason. As I said, I need to strengthen my human form too. Thank you for the offer, but I'll decline."

Ilea smiled again. It seemed she would be the first to yield, as usual.

"I was simply curious about your choice, Yohan. Now that I understand your intentions, I won't interfere any further."

An inexplicable unease came over Yohan.

'Curious about my choice?'

Ilea turned toward the window.

"The sun is rising, too. We can perform the transplant now."

Faint dawn light was seeping in through the window. At the same time, Yohan's appearance gradually changed. He was returning to the form of an ordinary boy.

A somewhat boyish voice left his lips.

"Gaf, crush the golden model."

"... What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Smash it with a rock or whatever you like. Just crush it."

Gaf took the Great Saint's eye and sighed deeply.

"This is madness."

He steadied his breathing and drew his iron sword. Then he began striking the model with the hilt as hard as he could.

CRACK, CRACK.

Cracks were forming in the model. Red liquid seeped up through the fissures.

"That's enough. That will do."

Taking the Great Saint's eye back, Yohan raised it above his head and tilted his face upward.

DRIP, DRIP.

Bright red blood fell into Yohan's left eye, one drop at a time.

It was the Great Saint's holy blood.

* * *

Several days flew by.

Yohan stood motionless before the full-length mirror in a corner of his room.

A boy with black hair and black eyes. Perhaps his human mother's side was blessed with beauty; his features were sharply defined and remarkably harmonious. He was likely to grow into a handsome man.

That was not important right now. His attention was on his left eye.

'Neither its color nor its appearance has changed.'

Despite absorbing the holy blood, his eye looked exactly the same. His vision was unchanged too.

Only one thing was different: how others treated him.

Yohan glanced to the side. The maid who had brought him a cup of tea flinched and lowered her head.

"U-um... well..."

"What do you think when you look at me?"

Caught off guard by the question, the maid opened and closed her mouth, at a loss.

"You can be honest. Tell me how you feel."

After a long hesitation, she answered in a barely audible voice.

"You're handsome, and dependable, and..."

"You feel you can trust me?"

"Yes!"

She clapped a hand over her mouth immediately after the involuntary shout.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. You may go."

The maid hurried out of the room, forgetting even to give him the tea.

'Not quite what I hoped.'

Handsome. Dependable. Trustworthy. They were certainly positive feelings, but somehow fell short of the original novel.

Surging respect, awe that overwhelmed reason, admiration bordering on faith... When the pope in the original novel used the Great Saint's eye, it had certainly elicited dramatic reactions like those.

The difference was likely whether the wielder possessed holy power.

'Do I need to acquire holy power?'

As a rule, sacred relics needed holy power to function at their full strength. The Great Saint's eye was no exception.

If he could wield holy power, he should also be able to activate or deactivate the eye's currently constant effect as the situation demanded. Acquiring holy power would be more efficient in several respects.

As he considered how to do so, a knock came at the door.

"It's Ilea. May I come in for a moment?"

"Come in."

Yohan stared intently at her as she entered. Ilea did not avert her eyes. They held each other's gaze for a long while, as though in a staring contest.

Suddenly, she let out a chuckle.

"Young master, are you trying to enchant me?"

Yohan clicked his tongue.

"It doesn't work on you after all, it seems."

"I'm not human, after all."

She was a witch.

"I more or less expected that."

Ilea approached him, her eyes crinkling in a smile.

"Are you disappointed?"

Yohan's expression tightened slightly. She gently slipped her arm through his.

"Don't worry. You've already won plenty of my affection, young master."

Yohan cleared his throat, then pushed her forehead away with the tip of his index finger.

"Enough nonsense. Tell me what you came for."

Ilea gave a soft clap as though only just remembering.

"Shaperia is here. She's with the lord right now."

Puzzlement crossed Yohan's face.

'Why is she here?'

Had she been expelled from the Church after losing all her holy energy and come looking for somewhere to stay? She was not the sort to impose on others so shamelessly.

He could not fathom her intentions.

"I'll have to see her myself."

Yohan headed straight for the lord's drawing room.

* * *

Shaperia kept stealing glances at Baron Grian's face. There was much about him that seemed cowed. Just as during the pilgrimage party's last visit, he was constantly beset by anxiety.

For the lord of a domain, he exuded no authority whatsoever. If anything, his young son seemed to be the one truly in charge.

'Is that possible?'

A boy of barely ten holding the real power in a noble house. It was difficult to imagine.

'I must be mistaken. The Baron is the one I should speak to.'

Shaperia began slowly.

"My lord, you may already have heard, but the pilgrimage party was attacked."

The Baron's eyes widened. He seemed genuinely unaware of any of it.

"What do you..."

"The Church is currently investigating."

"H-have they identified the culprit?"

"They haven't found a single clue. There was one puzzling detail, however."

"What was it?"

Shaperia sipped her tea, then glanced around.

"I don't see your knight."

"Which knight...?"

"Isn't there a blond knight in your domain's service?"

She meant Reil. The Baron had not seen him in a long time.

"There is, yes."

"Do you know his current whereabouts?"

"I don't. He hasn't shown his face at all lately."

Shaperia frowned.

'A lord doesn't know where his own knight is?'

The Baron spoke.

"But why do you ask?"

At that moment, the drawing room door swung open. Yohan entered.

"Sir Shaperia, a pleasure to see you. It's been a while... No, I suppose it hasn't."

Shaperia had only recently left the domain. Barely ten days had passed before this reunion.

She rose to return his greeting.

"It's good to see you again."

"What brings you here? You can speak with me from here on."

The Baron sprang to his feet as though he had been waiting for those words. The sight seemed both natural and somehow strange.

After a brief hesitation, Shaperia spoke.

"I've come here hoping to impose upon our brief acquaintance. If it isn't too much trouble, may I ask a small favor?"

Yohan could not begin to guess what she might ask. He decided to hear her out.

"Please, go ahead."

She looked him straight in the eye.

"Me, just for a moment..."

Shaperia could not finish. Her gaze dropped to the floor without her realizing it. Unfamiliar emotions swirled within her, feelings she had never experienced before.

Yohan slowly approached her.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"Don't come any closer!"

Shaperia backed away in confusion, her gaze wavering wildly. To Yohan, who knew her from the original novel, the Shaperia before him was a stranger.

'She looks less like the Demon Butcher... and more like a teenage girl.'

He pitied her, but found her a little intriguing as well.

"Calm down and take a seat first."

"S-stay there while you speak."

Yohan chuckled.

'Great Saint Marziel, you never stood a chance of being anything but a womanizer.'