The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 9: The Two Saints (1)

Iris Rossier is dead.

I watched her die in the crowd.

When her life ended, the people of Roswell cheered. It was confirmed once again how bad her reputation had become.

“Justice has finally been served.”

“Yes, it is.”

Clovis was standing next to me. Tears welled up in his eyes.

After the execution, I went to his studio and talked for a while.

“Rumors abound about who the new lord will be. Have you heard anything?”

“Well, it would be right to be Iris’ younger brother, but he’s too young. However, I heard that there is no suitable person on the collateral side. So, Her Highness the Princess may appoint a new person.”

“Either way, Prince Fleance will not be safe.”

Clovis said in a somber voice. In a way, do you have sympathy because you are the same victim?

I looked at him for a while and then asked a question.

“I have a question for you. Originally, weren’t you hiding because you were afraid of people? But how did you think of leading the other citizens to invade the mansion?”

“… Well, who other than Edmund could have inspired me?”

“Still, until the last time we met, weren’t you scared, like asking for protection?”

“I was like that, but I think I gained courage as people’s attitude toward me changed.”

“… Something like that happened. In any case, it helped to capture Iris Rossier. Thank you.”

Of course, I already caught Iris, but he didn’t want to show off to him. Clovis smiled faintly and nodded his head.

“Where is Edmund going now?”

“Well, now I’m going to punish the saintess behind Iris.”

“Can I help you?”

“For now… I guess we need to start with the chaos in Roswell. In particular, please protect Prince Fleance well.”

“… All right.”

After talking with him, I returned to the hideout.

“How is Marion?”

“You are much better than before. But I still have to rest, so I don’t think it’ll be difficult to get out of the Magic Tower for the time being.”

Something was wrong. It hurts so much because I went outside for a while. Even the fact that Rafaela couldn’t find her cause was also a disturbing factor.

Is it because of a curse or a jinx, rather than just overwork, that the master of the Blanc Magic Tower died young? So, something is unsettling.

“Did you interpret the magic circle on the back of Pesima’s hand at that time?”

“Oh, I am now 90% done. There are still a few questions, but I think it’s magic that temporarily binds the soul to this world.”

“… Then the soul might still be there. At worst, he might be taking another body.”

“Not necessarily. If you stay in the spirit state, you can’t recover mana on your own, so you can’t last long.”

I shook my head. Of course you know that So he must have used some kind of follow-up magic.

“If Marion gets better, ask about the skill scroll of the Talent Transfer Magic that Pesima left behind. There might be something in the magic circle there.”

“Okay, I’ll ask you later.”

“By the way, the time has come soon… ….”

Kikiiik.

Scaredly before I could speak, I heard the sound of the door opening. A middle-aged woman entered with a dark expression. When she removes her mask, she reverts to Mina’s form.

She was on her way to explore the surroundings of the Great Temple of Etoile.

“How was it?”

“As expected. The surrounding borders are too bloody. Just like in the Roswell mansion, you can’t infiltrate it with normal teleportation or summoned beasts.”

“Then what about your teleportation?”

“Because of the artifact that detects my shadow’s teleportation, if I recklessly use teleportation, it will be detected as it is. Above all, there are too many troops guarding the Great Hall compared to then.”

“Looks like you’re spending the church’s money until it runs out.”

My worries deepened. Then, is there really no way to infiltrate the Great Etoile?

“There is a way.”

“What is that?”

“I don’t know why, but the reconstruction of the Great Temple of Etoile, which had been suspended for a while, was being reconstructed in a hurry? Manpower is being mobilized there. In particular, it is said that indulgences are issued to commoners who do not have money if they offer labor instead of money.”

“Are you still issuing them indulgences?”

“Since indulgences have become illegal, they do not ‘officially’ issue them, but they still advertise that providing labor can wash away sins. A lot of people are caught there, and a lot of people are forced to come.”

“… So you’re telling me to sneak in between them.”

You should definitely wear a mask and infiltrate.

“Anyway, what are you going to do now? How are you going to get revenge on the saintess?”

Mina asked. I said with a light smile.

“There is one question I have been wondering. Why does the goddess allow me to take my revenge? In fact, she had a chance to kill me through Calia, and she could have made the saintess oppress me even more than now. Right now, the saintess is so preoccupied with her princess, she can’t even think of me being in the hideout of Blanc’s tower.”

“Well, that might have been passed off as okay after interrogating Marion once, but that’s true.”

“So I suddenly thought of something. That the goddess may not be on the side of the saintess anymore.”

“Can’t anyone guess that?”

“No, I mean. Now she might be saying that the goddess doesn’t talk to her saint anymore. That she lost her powers altogether.”

I emphasized this fact. And if you think about the evil deeds the saintess did, it’s a story with plenty of possibilities.

Above all, looking at the series of events, I have a strong impression that the reason the saintess keeps trying to kill me is not to fulfill the will of her goddess, but to defy the prophecy of her goddess.

“Then what will happen? Why is even a saintess excommunicated?”

“If she pretends to be a saint even after she loses her authority, that’s enough reason to be excommunicated. The problem is, there is no way to prove to her that her powers are gone.”

“… Except for one thing.”

Rafaela quietly opened her mouth. I looked at her

“That’s a story from a very long time ago. In fact, there have been cases where saintesses were excommunicated like that.”

“Then do you know how the new saint was chosen then?”

“According to the story, a new person claiming to be a saint has appeared in the church. At that time, the priests split into two and fought, and then decided to find out who was right through the prophecy. The two saints made conflicting prophecies about a specific event, and in the end, the new saintess’ prophecy came true and the old saintess was excommunicated.”

“So you’re saying that a new saint has to appear? Have you been chosen by the goddess?”

“Yes.”

“Wait a minute, and how are we supposed to know that?”

“… I don’t know. Actually, the power of a saintess is not something that can be sensed with magic.”

But there has been no such commotion yet. If so, there are three main possibilities.

Either Saint Lucy still has the power, or Saint Lucy found a new Saint in advance and dealt with it.

Or it’s because they’re afraid of the new saint.

“It is not easy… ….”

From noble mtl dot com

Either way, it’s hopeless. At least we have to keep in mind the third possibility, but how on earth do we find the hidden third saint?

I wish I had some clues…….

“By the way, this new saintess can be anyone?”

Then Mina asked a question.

“I don’t even know that far. I am not a priest either.”

“… A long time ago, she heard from a saintess that a goddess would give a revelation and designate a girl to be her successor. Although there are rare cases where an adult woman is singled out….”

“After all, you can be any woman? What if the goddess chooses? What kind of crap system is this?”

Mina burst into anger. Only then did she realize that she did not believe in Etwarism.

“Well, if the Goddess has an idea, won’t she somehow lead us to meet?”

Rafaela quietly offered her opinion, but Mina shook her head.

“I can’t believe I have to rely on luck like that.”

It was the same that I couldn’t see the answer either. But she struggled to suppress her disappointment, she said.

“For now, let’s find another way. Public opinion about the saintess is getting bad right now, so I’m going to take advantage of that.”

***

It was late at night.

Joan thought for a moment before falling asleep.

Once a paladin who guarded the palace of Etoir, she was kicked out of the church after giving her own opinion about her indulgences.

Fortunately, with the help of her saintess, she was able to work at an orphanage in Solaum, and since it was also the will of the goddess, she has lived without complaint.

But a few weeks ago, she had a strange dream.

The Great War of Etoile collapses after being struck by lightning. The figure of Saint Lucy in despair. And the face of a man with a triumphant smile.

Since she too had vaguely heard the revelation of her saintess, she thought that face must be Edmund.

‘But why am I having this dream over and over again?’

She moved on thinking she could at first, but as she had this dream over and over again, Joan grew suspicious.

Maybe she was chosen as the new saint.

But I didn’t understand. She was kicked out of the church, is that possible?

First of all, if she was really chosen to be her saintess, her saintess Lucy would have to come see her. She probably made her revelations to him first.

But there was a high possibility that it was just Joan’s misunderstanding.

‘Yes, I will.’

With this conclusion, Joan fell asleep. I hope you don’t have the same dream today.

Is that why? I didn’t have that dream today.

Instead, she saw a middle-aged man walking down the streets of Solaum. Next to him was a young woman who appeared to be his daughter.

I don’t know why, but Joan quietly followed them from behind.

I watched as the man and the woman next to him stopped. They opened the door of a shabby building and entered. And Joan followed them in too.

But as soon as he entered the building, the middle-aged man disappeared. Instead, a young man stood in his place.

It was the man who smiled when the Great War of Etoile collapsed.

Joan looked at the man with a surprised expression. At the same time, a woman’s voice sounded in her ears.

“Find Edmund.”