Episode 28: A Distorted Doctrine and the Faith of the Saint ⑤ – There Is No Salvation in This World –

"That's everyone taken care of."

After confirming the complete destruction on the ground, Falty, who had been flying high in the sky, descended, looking as normal as ever, with no signs of fatigue.
　Meanwhile, the knight who had led his soldiers into battle was now lying on the ground, trembling violently, having witnessed the complete annihilation of his men in a matter of mere moments.
　When I took off his helmet, his beautiful face, which had been smoothed with balm, turned pale as he looked at me and Falty.

"Da-Damn monsters……! "

"If that's what you want to believe, then go ahead and believe it."

　Falty's gaze seemed to ask, why did you keep this guy alive? As she silently stared at me.
　I kept him alive because I was looking for a clue to the sense of unease I was currently feeling in this world. The sky being overcast has become the norm, the air feels sticky and clammy, and above all, I feel more malice from people than I did before the demon king was defeated.

　―――Something is not right with this world.

"That armor, you must have some status in the church, right?
　Since you guys are closer to the Goddess than we are, I'll ask you straight up: Do you know what's happening in this world right now?
　It is not that a calamity has occurred. It's something more fundamental. I feel uncomfortable with the current situation, with the world as it is."

　This started with the unpleasant feeling I had when I was originally in the kingdom, after witnessing the fate of Mireille and the others in Al's village. Mireille's change of heart is one example, but the bloated stupidity of the kingdom's people and the arrogance of the Principality's people are similar. I feel like I'm missing something important.

"……Haa, haa, haa."

　The knight was breathing heavily at my words. What are you scared of? It's not directed at me, it's something else.

"Tell me honestly what you know. Depending on the circumstances, I might even save your life."

　Hearing my words, the knight opened his mouth hesitantly.

"……It was the Goddess's will that brought about the calamities that followed the Demon King."

　The Goddess. A supernatural being who gave power to the party of the hero. A being said to control the balance of this world. But…… ah, yes, I guess that makes sense.

"……Our church, which worships the hero and the Goddess, manages the temple of the Goddess in the east of the empire. There is an object believed to be the true core of the Goddess, but one day, suddenly, no one could enter the area... or rather, all the believers who were inside exploded and died, and since then, a powerful barrier has been erected to prevent anyone from approaching. The goddess herself began to reject people―――That was probably after the hero committed suicide."

　That's news to me. What exactly is this temple of the goddess? Even I, a member of the hero party, don't know such a thing. I'm sure Falty and Irene are the same.

"Of course you wouldn't know. Only a few of us, including myself, an archbishop, and those above, know of the existence of that place."

　Archbishop! An archbishop! ! He's such a big shot! ! !
　I thought he was wearing some pretty impressive armor, but now I understand why. A person important enough to be dressed in armor and given valuable weapons from the Empire, and sent ahead as a vanguard…… Wouldn't the main army be led by a Cardinal? Or maybe even the―――Well, it doesn't really matter.

　……In other words, if what the archbishop says is true,

If the goddess has manifested the calamities――― The pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place.

"……The goddess declared this to us through her final revelation. The world is coming to an end, it said. We've been abandoned by the Goddess! ! That's why we humans need a new power to replace the Goddess! ! We, the devout, are the righteous ones! ! We are the chosen ones who will create a new era! ! "

"……I see. I'd like to get more information from you, but what should I do?"
　
　I feel like I got a glimpse of what caused the devout followers to go wild. ……If this guy is the archbishop, I want to get more information out of him, but I don't want to take him back to where the children are. The wound cut by the evil sword has been neatly burned and stopped bleeding, so it seems unlikely that he will die from excessive blood loss, however, he has lost his arms and both legs are broken, so he is in a terrible state.
　As I was wondering what to do, I felt someone's gaze on me and saw the Devil smiling at me.

"We should just secure this man, right? That's easy."

　Saying that, she grabbed the archbishop by the collar, and his body sank slowly into the darkness. Ah, this must be the mysterious space where the evil sword was created.

"……What is that power? It's scary!"

"Fufufu, flattery won't get you anywhere, Divine Bow-dono."

――――Then we collected the guns and other weapons the soldiers had, and we returned to the town.
　I decided to use the weapons I picked up to prepare for the main force that would eventually arrive, but I was tired that day, so I decided to rest at the church.

　――――However, when night came, I couldn't sleep, so I sat down on a chair and began to clean my sword.
　I heard a knock on the door, and when I answered, Irene came in with a bottle of fruit wine and two glasses.

"Fufufu, you can't sleep, can you? The light was shining through the window."

"Well, yeah. ……Oh, that's a 70-year-old Boudrousse, isn't it? It's quite a fine bottle."

　Irene put her weapons down on the floor, cleared the table, and sat down in the chair opposite me, saying, “This is my special treat”.
　I'm grateful to be able to join her, but it's rare for Irene to want to drink with me.

"Thank you very much for everything. ……Thank you so much for today. Thanks to you, I was saved."

　Irene said her thanks and opened the fruit wine, pouring it into glasses.

"Don't worry about that. ……It was by chance that we were able to capture the archbishop."

"The archbishop? ……Ehh? ? "

　Irene was confused by my words, so I explained the details of today's battle and how the Devil had taken the Archbishop to a mysterious place. A complicated look appeared on her face.

"The Devil is a mysterious being…… I see, so that happened. So as expected, the Goddess……"

　Irene seemed to have come to the same conclusion and nodded quietly.

"During the journey to defeat the demon king, I would occasionally hear a voice, but now it has completely stopped. I was never very religious, so I didn't really think much of it."

"Is that how it is? Come to think of it, you did mention sometimes during our journey that you had received a message from the Goddess…… However, how can you be a saint with such weak faith?"

　Irene smiled wryly at my words and gazed into the distance, as if remembering the past, her face illuminated by the lamp.

"I've spoken with you a little about it, Raoul. When―――When I was young, I was a prostitute for aristocrats. Therefore, I have never once thought that in this world I was superior or that God will save people when they are in trouble."

"……I heard about it at times, after Al and Falty went to bed."

　During the trip, I heard a little about Irene's past. ……Irene's calm demeanor comes from her life experiences.

"Yeah. ……I was born in the back alleys of the Empire. My mother was a prostitute, and I don't even know who my father was.
　Fortunately, I was blessed with good looks, so I was able to survive by selling my body. ……That's because I was born with an innate protection against disease, which allowed me to live to this day in good health. My friends who lived the same lifestyle all lost their lives before reaching adulthood for various reasons.
　I would have licked the asshole of a nobleman if it meant staying alive. I had to do whatever it took to survive.
　That's why I believed that God wouldn't do anything for me, that I had to manage on my own…… I lived my life far away from faith.
　――It is rare to find a kingdom blessed with fertile land, and in most parts of the world, there are many children who have no choice but to live in the same way."

　When told again, I don't know how to respond.
　That's probably because I was fortunate. ……Compared to Irene, I am so blessed to have been able to grow up in the Kingdom without worrying about food, clothing, or shelter, even though I lost my hometown.

"Poverty, plunder, oppression, exploitation by the ruling class, discrimination. For this world, or rather, for humans―――Perhaps there was no salvation from long ago."

　Unable to respond to Irene's words, I picked up my glass and noticed that it was filled with bright red fruit wine. I stared at it for a moment, then drank it silently.

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