Chapter 42 - An Uncomfortable Reunion (1)

The clearing at the center of the village was packed. Church sacred soldiers, several holy knights, priests and pilgrims, and the villagers themselves stood assembled in orderly ranks, roughly a hundred people in all.

Every eye turned toward a hut, drawn by the bizarre behavior of a young noble boy who had flung open its door and emerged. As though tossing alms, he threw something before the Church troops.

A small red imp.

The moment they saw what it was, every soldier drew a sword. Every blade pointed at the imp.

"Restrain it!"

An iron cage resembling a small birdcage dropped over the imp. Trapped inside, it stared at the hut in stupefaction.

More precisely, at the boy.

As soon as the imp was captured, every eye returned to the boy. The swords pointed at him, too.

A knight in holy armor rode forward.

"Identify yourself! Until we establish who you are, you can expect no respect—"

He never finished. The moment he met Yohan's eyes, an emotion welled up inside him.

For some reason, he felt he ought to treat the boy with respect.

"A-ahem."

The holy knight immediately mastered his feelings. He could not allow personal sentiment to sway him. As agents of divine punishment, dispassion was not a choice for them but a duty.

He spoke.

"Your family name and given name. Now!"

The boy before him was plainly a noble. His attire alone set him apart from the villagers.

Yohan bowed slightly.

"Yohan Miyatro. I am honored to meet a champion of the Holy War."

Upon hearing the family name, the holy knight dismounted. He was still looking down at Yohan; the difference in their heights was overwhelming. He looked as though he weighed three times as much, too.

"One of the family that watches over the Abyss, then. I am the holy knight Keinak Zahad. Forgive me, but do you have any means of proving your identity?"

Yohan clicked his tongue too quietly for anyone nearby to hear.

'What a stickler.'

Should he have brought the family seal? As he pondered this predicament, a woman stepped out from among the troops.

"Sir Keinak, I will vouch for his identity."

Red hair streamed in the night breeze. He recognized her at once.

'Shaperia. I thought she'd be here.'

She would have set out the moment she saw the Church's beacon. Even losing all her power had not broken her. She would live by her convictions until the day she died.

Yohan felt a little uncomfortable. The bitterness he had forcibly buried rose within him.

Would it have been better to kill her back then? He did not know. Whichever choice he made, he would have had to pay a price in his conscience.

He had to bear that burden and move forward.

He spoke.

"Sir Shaperia. I thought you might already be here."

"I came as soon as I saw the beacon. But what brings you here, Lord Yohan?"

This place was quite far from the Miyatro domain. Even with her training, Shaperia had only just made it by doing nothing but travel, yet Yohan had arrived before her.

They had not crossed paths on the way, either. It was puzzling.

Yohan replied.

"I was in a nearby village on business when the beacon went up. I couldn't simply ignore it, so I set out."

Nobles were duty-bound to answer the Church's summons.

Keinak murmured in admiration.

"Impressive for one so young. House Miyatro has a bright future."

Shaperia made the holy sign.

"Saint Marziel. The Great Saint will surely recognize your devotion, Sir Yohan."

Yohan returned the holy sign. Nodding in satisfaction, Keinak spoke.

"Young mas—no, that would be discourteous. Your identity has been confirmed, sir. I have a few questions, and I would appreciate your cooperation."

"Of course. Ask me anything."

Keinak pointed at the caged imp.

"First, I would like an explanation about that creature. How on earth did you capture it?"

An imp was still a Demon. An untrained civilian, particularly a young boy, would have trouble subduing one.

It might have been different if he possessed aura or holy power, but Keinak could sense no supernatural ability in the boy before him.

Very mature for his age, but still an ordinary boy. That was Keinak's assessment of Yohan.

Yohan answered.

"I was lucky. It approached me and whispered in my ear, but I wasn't tempted. My devotion aside, it was a terrible speaker."

"It cannot have been easy to resist its temptation. Well done. Such strength of mind befits the Watcher's family. But did it not resort to force?"

Even an imp that small was still a Demon, quite capable of killing a young boy.

"It had exhausted all its demonic energy. It approached me after failing in an earlier hunt. It was worn out from the start."

"You were fortunate it was so inept. You could have been in grave danger. Please be sure to travel with an escort from now on. Demons are far from the only dangers lurking in hills like these."

"I will bear that in mind."

Keinak slowly nodded and beckoned to the troops behind him. A man in white clerical robes stepped forward.

Keinak addressed him.

"Anything unusual?"

"Nothing. At least, we found no trace of White Horn among the villagers."

The Church had split its forces into several companies to search inside the holy sealing array for White Horn, who had vanished like smoke.

Keinak heaved a deep sigh.

"If he isn't hiding inside a human body, where in the world has he gone?"

"Do not be too impatient. He is a rat in a trap. We should hear good news soon."

"You're right. His Highness's spear dealt him a mortal wound. He won't have the strength to tear through the barrier. We must capture White Horn now, whatever it takes. If he truly is an Apostle, this may be our last chance."

As expected, the Church also suspected Yohan was the thirteenth end.

'Sigh.'

He could only sigh. Here he was being called an Apostle, yet he lacked even the strength to break the holy sealing array. Even without Gawain's attack, he could not have torn through the barrier.

His reputation made his enemies stronger and more cautious, while he remained weak.

He had to find a way to grow stronger.

The priest spoke.

"I agree. We mustn't grow impatient, but some haste is advisable. Our business here is finished. We should move on."

Keinak nodded.

"One last thing to check. Who is the Village Chief here?"

An old man stepped out from the orderly ranks of villagers.

"That'd be me, sir."

It was the old man who had cared for Yohan.

"Forty-one in total. Is that the entire population?"

Before the Village Chief could answer, Yohan interjected.

"There is one more, Sir Keinak."

Keinak turned to him.

"Where?"

"A child is asleep in the hut I came out of."

Keinak cast a stern look at the Village Chief.

"I believe I ordered everyone to assemble?"

"W-well..."

Yohan answered for the anxious Village Chief.

"The boy was the imp's first victim. He collapsed from exhaustion while resisting its demonic energy and has yet to regain consciousness."

The Village Chief went deathly pale. His grandson had been attacked by a Demon? He had never imagined such a thing.

As soon as Yohan finished, Keinak gestured to the priest, who hurried into the hut.

A little later, he came back out and shook his head at Keinak.

The Village Chief fell to his knees in despair.

"Oh, Great Saint! How could you take my grandson from me, too!"

The priest addressed Keinak.

"I sensed only crude demonic energy. There was no trace of White Horn."

Then he turned an expressionless face toward the Village Chief.

"He isn't dead. Get up."

"Th-then..."

"I've taken measures to ensure he wakes soon. He needs to be questioned."

Before the Village Chief could rejoice at the news that his grandson was alive, despair overtook him.

The Church's investigations were notorious. Torture was routine, and deaths during questioning were common.

He could not help being afraid.

Trembling, the Village Chief asked,

"W-what has my grandson done wrong that he needs to be questioned?"

"We found evidence of contact with a Demon. He may have lent it his body in the process. Naturally, an investigation is necessary."

If he had allowed a Demon to possess him, he would have no grounds to protest even an execution. Possession required mutual consent, making the host an apostate who had succumbed to a Demon's temptations.

The boy had indeed lent the Demon his body. Death awaited him at the end of that investigation.

Yohan spoke.

"I vouch for the boy's innocence. He resisted its temptations to the very end and collapsed from exhaustion."

"That is insufficient. A few words cannot simply—"

The priest never finished. The moment he met Yohan's eyes, trust in the boy began to well up inside him.

"If the Demon had succeeded in possessing him, how could I possibly have pulled it out?"

Keinak, who had been listening, nodded.

"Ordinary methods cannot extract a possessing Demon."

That required a specialized exorcism, something no ordinary person could perform.

Yohan was merely an ordinary boy, yet he had clearly held the imp in his hand.

On the face of it, the reasonable conclusion was that no possession had occurred.

The priest spoke.

"... Having heard you both, I believe I was too hasty. There will be no need for questioning."

"Agreed."

"Thank you for reconsidering."

Color slowly returned to the old man's face.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll never forget your kindness, sir!"

He bowed his head to Yohan over and over.

Keinak spoke.

"We've been delayed quite long enough. Time to move."

No sooner had he finished than the troops began forming ranks with seamless precision. A sacred soldier hurried over and picked up the imp's cage.

Yohan asked,

"You aren't going to dispose of it now?"

Clutching the iron bars tightly, the imp was staring fiercely at Yohan.

It seemed to be telling him to keep his promise if it returned alive.

Keinak answered.

"Every Demon captured within the sealing array is to be interrogated first. They may have some connection to White Horn, however slight."

"I'm no expert, but surely making a Demon talk won't be easy."

Demons were surprisingly tight-lipped. Mere physical pain would not make them say what one wanted to hear.

"I'm skeptical myself. But those are the Church's orders, and I follow them."

Yohan nodded. That was how soldiers were, and holy knights were little different.

"I hope you have good results."

"As do I. Take care of yourself. I hope we meet again someday."

Just as Yohan was about to reply, someone shouted,

"We greet Your Highness, the Third Prince!"

The entire force dropped to one knee at once.

A man was approaching from between the huts ahead. His bobbed purple hair swayed with every step.

'Gawain!'

The moment Yohan saw him, he too dropped to one knee.

The slash-and-burn farmers threw themselves to the ground in a panic. They could barely think straight. Royalty was something they could only dream of seeing.

Gawain paid no mind to the commotion. He simply approached the gathering, muttering to himself.

"It has to be around here. It cuts off right here. Ha, I don't understand. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

He stopped abruptly before Keinak.

Still kneeling, Keinak asked,

"Your Highness, have you still not found it?"

"Ah, Sir Keinak. That's right. I can hear Espada crying, but I can't tell where it is. It's rather bewildering. This has never happened before."

The holy spear Espada never left its master's hand for good. No matter how far he threw it, it always returned to him.

This time was different.

Espada had not returned to Gawain. He could not even pinpoint its location.

Keinak said,

"We are continuing our search as well. We will send word the moment we find it, so please do not be overly concerned."

"Just focus on finding White Horn, Sir Keinak. I'll take care of Espada myself."

With that, Gawain continued scanning the area.

"It's definitely around here, but it just cuts off. What a headache. Honestly."

His wandering gaze stopped abruptly on one spot.

"Hold on."

He was looking down at Yohan.

Gawain bent down to meet his eyes. Yohan spoke first.

"Yohan von Miyatro. I greet Your Highness, the Third Prince."

"Have we met before?"

"Not to my knowledge, Your Highness."

"I see. Would you stand up for a moment?"

Yohan straightened up. Their eyes met.

After staring at him for a long while, Gawain spoke.