Chapter 218

217. Annoying Swarm of Mosquitoes (2)

When she heard the news, Rene couldn’t hide her bewildered expression. The timing was just too coincidental. Right when they were about to open a new path, right before the imperial envoy arrived…

The fact that a heresy investigation had been initiated and an official inquiry had begun was anything but a positive situation for the lord. The imperial court would start doubting the duke’s ability to govern, and his political standing—already almost nonexistent—would completely evaporate.

Rene bit her lip slightly and spoke to Fernandez.

“The possibility of someone’s scheme…”

“Not very high. If someone knew about the plan before it was even implemented, it would mean there’s a spy. But the only people who know the core of this plan are you, me, the chieftain, and the duke. None of us could be the spy.”

“So, you’re saying this heresy incident just happened out of nowhere??”

Rene frowned as she spoke. Fernandez nodded heavily.

“Right now, Ribue and the nearby settlements are in the perfect environment for dark mages to infiltrate. Heretics and cultists always find such cracks to slip through.”

Their behavior is like cockroaches. In fact, their actions are no better than that. They crawl into the shadows, the dark crevices, spread plagues, and wreak havoc.

“What are you going to do? If the imperial envoy finds out about this, it’s all over. Is there any other way?”

“We have to find them and send them to the church before the envoy arrives.”

-Or, abandon you.

Faijashi whispered low. Yes, that’s also an option. Fernandez nodded slightly. In this plan, Rene and Ribue are replaceable conditions. While Ribue’s position and the duke’s conditions are suitable for the operation, any other duke could take their place without causing major issues.

When Fernandez said that, Rene narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him.

“You’re thinking of abandoning us.”

Just as Rene had once told Fernandez that his “eyes were different,” Fernandez also felt that Rene’s eyes were “different.” Her eyes were unlike others’.

To borrow the explanation that Fernandez had once given, the eyes he saw in Rene were “eyes that see deeper.” Deep into the heart, perhaps even into the realm of instinct.

They were the eyes of a sage. And Fernandez knew a few people with such eyes. ‘Heroes.’

‘It’s too much of a waste to give up on her.’

-Have you grown attached in this short time?

‘Not likely. Even if we leave, this woman won’t collapse. She’ll find another way somehow. After that, even if she doesn’t ascend to the throne, we’ll lose our influence in the southern and western parts of the empire.’

Rene Philippa isn’t the kind of woman to crumble under this level of trial. Moreover, she was someone who could definitely hold dominion over this region. If we abandon her, Fernandez would lose control over the imperial territories near the wasteland in the future.

All relationships are transactions. Mutually beneficial transactions. And the basic principle of transactions is to buy low and sell high.

With the small favor Fernandez can show now, he can buy the goodwill of someone who will become a future hero at a ridiculously low price.

“What are you talking about? Aren’t we friends now?”

“…You don’t strike me as the type to overflow with loyalty.”

“I don’t make friends easily.”

At this point, the only people who have boldly approached Fernandez as “friends” are Vicente, Daryan, Loft, and Rene. The king of the east, the strongest human, the god of death from the north, and the future emperor.

-Your social life is better than in your past life.

‘Maybe this is the reward for living a good life.’

-Ha, that’s hilarious.

Fernandez chuckled and set down his teacup.

“Cooperation with the Vaitas Church is possible. If the situation is resolved early, keeping it quiet won’t be difficult.”

“You must have connections in the church, huh? Those guys don’t lift a finger unless there’s something in it for them. Especially when it comes to politics.”

“Well, yes. No need to worry about that. The problem is…”

“How to catch that dark mage. That’s all, right?”

“Call the palace mage. I need to go to the scene myself.”

“Let’s go together. You’re a warrior, not a mage, though you act like one… Fine!”

Rene clapped her hands and stood up. Her eyes were already sparkling with energy.

“Let’s go and collect some taxes from that dark mage or whatever, daring to cast magic without permission in the duke’s territory!”

“Taxes, huh.”

An amusing expression. Fernandez chuckled at Rene’s words and stood up.

* * *

Antien, the palace mage of Ribue, was an old man whose modest personality was evident on his face. A former professor at Philainneil University, this old man leisurely guided his horse and pointed to an abandoned settlement.

“Here! I conducted a field investigation here with that wraith priest.”

“Anything unusual?”

“Everything was unusual! There were no traces of bandits or thieves in the village. Just the people disappeared? That’s strange.”

“Then why didn’t you report it?”

“What was I supposed to report? The wraith warlords claim innocence. When I investigated, there were no traces of magic. But the people just disappeared… What does that sound like to you?”

“The peasants joined a rebel group or a band of thieves?”

“There’s no other answer. Do you know the tax rate in the Ribue territory recently? They’re imposing excessive taxes on these small settlements. Do you think there are only one or two abandoned settlements like this in the entire territory?”

“Then what about the wraiths and skeletons rumored to roam at night?”

“Those rumors circulated even when the territory was normal. Not just our territory, right? This village, that village, even in the capital, it’s just common street gossip.”

Citizens always enjoyed ghost stories and strange tales. It was their pastime, and rural villages often retained peculiar customs and folklore.

In that sense, the old mage’s words were reasonable. Settlements abandoned due to excessive taxes. Baseless rumors, villages with no traces of magic…

It’s logical. But not in this case. Fernandez turned his horse toward the village.

* * *

The village road was neatly maintained. There was no animal waste or pedestrian trash. Just an old, weed-covered, yet orderly road.

Of course. Waste and trash only appear when living beings are present, and the only animals here were…

‘Wild dogs.’

Only wild animals that had made their home in the abandoned village. Inside the village, where weeds had started to grow, there were signs of life in the houses.

-Caw, caw.

A crow cawed loudly and flapped its wings, flying up. A crow perched on a wall tilted its head and watched the group approaching the village.

“I heard the food was left on the table as if they just disappeared.”

“That’s why so many animals gathered here. Wild dogs, cats. Ugh, even rats!”

A rat scurried away through a crack in the wall. It was a desolate scene. And a familiar one.

Fernandez closed his eyes as he guided his horse. The smell of decaying animal carcasses and the stench of wild animals typical of a wasteland filled the air. A stray cat looked at him with a lazy expression.

-Multiview.

Even as he approached on horseback, the cat showed no sign of alarm, basking in the afternoon sun. Fernandez closed his eyes, bowed his head, and whispered to the cat.

“Thorough, aren’t you?”

The cat tilted its head and slowly stood up. Its yellow eyes stared at Fernandez’s face. By all appearances, it was just a bold, ordinary stray cat.

“Manderson of the Corpse Tower.”

-Screech!!

The cat let out a chilling cry and darted away. Fernandez didn’t chase it. Its presence had already vanished.

The dark mage…








Gen, there’s a field you need to master more than magic. Concealing your presence. Before learning magic, all dark mages first master the art of hiding their presence and the residual traces of their magic.

And the older the dark mage, the more of an expert they become in that field. How perfectly they can conceal their existence—that’s the measure of a dark mage’s skill.

His master, Gian-Kel, was such an expert that even while disguised as a bishop of a city, no one could detect him. The more skilled a dark mage is, the harder it is to track them using conventional methods.

The ways to track a perfectly hidden dark mage are either through traditional Heretica-style investigations or by having another dark mage analyze the characteristics of their concealment.

—Or, if you’ve already sensed their hidden presence.

Heretica’s investigative methods, the unique senses of a Vaitas priest, the achievements of an old dark mage, and even future knowledge. Fernandez laughed as he watched a cat dart by.

‘My old friend. What brought you flying all the way here?’

—A corpse fly, that one. I never liked him to begin with.

“Did you find something?”

“No. Nothing at all.”

Fernandez answered Antien, who had approached him, and then mounted his horse again. There was nothing more to see in this town.

Rene, who had been walking with him, cautiously approached. She glanced at Fernandez and whispered.

“Did you find anything?”

“What are you referring to?”

“There’s no way you came back empty-handed.”

“Only suspicions for now.”

As Fernandez said this, Rene narrowed her eyes, looked at him for a moment, then huffed and turned away.

He couldn’t take them on the chase. It was obvious that magic would be used, and his magic wasn’t the kind to be shown to others.

Anyway, resolving the situation comes first. Fernandez took one last look at the town’s scenery as he rode back to Ribue.

* * *

—Whoosh!!

A pyre was set up right in front of the royal palace. By the time Fernandez arrived, the air was filled with screams and smoke. People were wailing, waving their hands, and shouting in terror.

“What… what is this?!”

“Stay still.”

Fernandez grabbed Rene’s arm as she tried to rush forward and stepped ahead. The guards, recognizing the noblewoman and the palace mage, cleared a path through the crowd.

At the end of that path, the pyre and charred corpses were piled high. Fernandez walked through them with a cold, hardened expression.

“AAAAAH!!”

One person hanging on the pyre, screaming in the flames, turned into a blackened corpse and fell to the ground. Before the fire could die down, another person kneeling in front of it was dragged out by the guards.

“Please, spare me! I… I don’t know anything!!”

“The accused, despite clear evidence of guilt, insists on innocence, insulting the court. Sentence: execution.”

“I… I’m innocent! Please, spare me!! I didn’t do anything!!”

A familiar voice. Fernandez clicked his tongue and dismounted. The guards tried to block him, but upon seeing his face, they hesitantly stepped aside. Fernandez pushed aside the spear pointed weakly at him and stepped forward.

“This court is adjourned.”

“…By what authority?”

Heretica Pascal smiled softly as he looked at him. In his hand was a bloodied Saintmetal Greatsword. Those who resisted fiercely likely fell under that blade before reaching the pyre.

Fernandez stood before Pascal and looked at the citizen being dragged away by the guards. It was a woman, trembling with tears and snot smeared across her face. He briefly held her chin, examining her forehead, mouth, and eyes.

“This woman shows no signs of using dark magic.”

“…You seem well-versed in dark magic. Who are you?”

As someone carrying out a special operation, Fernandez was not an Inquisition Officer. Pascal frowned, looking at Fernandez as if he were a stranger.

“An envoy from the Federation of Beastmen Nobles.”

“Do not interfere in foreign matters, heathen.”

“Our federation does not seek trouble. I request a discussion.”

“Stay true to your position.”

“I am doing just that.”

Rene, who had followed Fernandez, watched him speak fearlessly before the terrifying Heretica and quietly admired him.

Being from the Eastern Kingdom, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of the Inquisition Officer’s infamous reputation. This was no place for mere goodwill.

“Fine. Follow me.”

As Pascal stepped aside, Rene’s eyes widened. An Inquisition Officer stepping back during an execution? Unthinkable. She looked at Fernandez with newfound curiosity and whispered as she approached.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“We need to prevent greater damage.”

“Are you worried about the people of our territory now?”

“No. If the Inquisition becomes official, rumors will spread. Do you think the Empire’s envoy won’t notice?”

In any case, the immediate problem is the Empire’s envoy. In a position where military reinforcements are needed for the wasteland with the Empire’s support, an Inquisition trial is the last thing they need.

Fernandez clicked his tongue and followed Pascal into a tent outside the palace.

* * *

“Brother, what is this?”

As soon as Fernandez entered the tent, Pascal frowned and spoke. He tapped the stack of reports on the table.

“Each of them had at least one charge. And you, of all people, shouldn’t be stepping forward like this.”

“At the very least, the woman you were about to burn was innocent. Brother Pascal. The Church wouldn’t want this incident to blow up.”

“The Church does not want even the smallest trace of heresy to seep into civilized society. Do you know that your actions just now could be seen as suspicious of heretical circumstances?”

“Report me to the internal review board. But not now. Your operation is interfering with my mission.”

At his words, Pascal snorted and replied.

“Are you saying the Church condones heretical circumstances? That’s a dangerously bold statement.”

“Isn’t burning innocent people without proper investigation also a dangerous act?”

“Who proves their innocence? Did you investigate this case before me? The subject of this case is me, brother. To burn even one heretic, we’ll clear away hundreds of innocent corpses if we must. Remember the teachings of the Inquisition Office.”

Yes, that’s how it was. Fernandez laughed coldly. They were the kind of people who would tear through flesh without hesitation to remove a festering wound.

He remembered his past life, when Aria’s village burned. He recalled the countless people hanging on the stakes. Fernandez shook his head and spoke.

“Give me one more day.”

“Have you caught a lead?”

“I’ll confirm it, brother. After that, I swear by the Temple of the Gods, I won’t interfere in any trials.”

“…Fine. One day. I’ll wait.”

Fernandez left the tent, leaving Pascal behind.

* * *

Kirhas was restless. With a known Heretica indiscriminately capturing and burning the people of the Principality, there was little she could do as a foreigner.

She bit her lip as she watched the smoke rising outside the castle. She wanted to stop it. But by what right? Now she was the Beastmen’s Chieftain, and even if she weren’t, she’d still be just a torchbearer.

Then, the door burst open. She quickly put on a cold face and glared sharply at the door. Soon, her expression softened. It was Fernandez.

“Kirhas.”

“Y-Your Excellency, it’s a disaster!”

“I was just coming from there.”

Fernandez walked straight in with sunken eyes and grabbed the weapons placed in the corner of the room. He strapped on a sword belt and slung a greatsword over his back.

“It’s time to do the Inquisition Officer’s work. Kirhas.”

“Is Brother Pascal coming too?”

“No. Just us.”

It’s all too coincidental. The heresy incident that conveniently erupted just as his operation was about to begin. The Inquisition Officer dispatched immediately after the report. The Empire’s envoy arriving just as the Principality’s entire population could witness the spectacle of the Inquisition trial.

It’s all too coincidental, to the point of being suspicious.

‘There’s someone else.’

Besides Manderson. Someone who could interfere with the Inquisition trial request and dispatch. Someone who wants to disrupt his plans. Someone lurking in this territory.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Whoever it is, they won’t live longer than today. Fernandez stepped out under the darkening evening sky. Dusk and dawn are the Inquisition Officer’s time.