A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 30

“Haha… How pitiful it is that a poor child is deceived by the cruel goddess!”

After I was appointed as the Inquisition Officer.

The first heretic I encountered was a brown-haired Dwarf Grandpa.

As I heard the story, it turned out that one of my seniors had brought this heretic, and interrogating him was my first job.

“Now, this pitiful Dwarf was dragged in for denying me and Tet, claiming he should serve a new god. We’ve given him several chances, but he still denies us. We work so hard for you all, you know.”

To my right were various weapons and tools for torture laid out.

“Choose whatever you wish from here. Then, we’ll interrogate this heretic. Make sure he knows we are right.”

I could hear her voice in my head— Iya’s voice.

Since becoming a priest.

She would occasionally talk to me like this.

Her voice was clear and beautiful, and just listening to it made me feel good.

“How can a goddess who tries to make a child like you move according to her desires be considered just?”

“Um, Grandpa… I have a question…”

“…Yes. What is it, poor child?”

“Is Goddess Iya real?”

The Dwarf paused for a moment at my question before bursting into hearty laughter.

“Haha! I don’t know that! She’s a god who has never shown her face to me. No matter how much I deny her existence, she won’t appear to prove it! Can we really say she’s real? If so, then isn’t that a fiction built on the lies of the cult?”

“That’s really harsh. Look at how much effort I’ve put in for you all.”

Iya sounded genuinely upset, her voice filled with disappointment.

I felt so sad for her.

“I’m sorry, but Goddess Iya does exist. It’s just that Grandpa doesn’t believe.”

“Child, I know that much. They are indeed real gods. But what I mean is that they are not right. Therefore, there’s no need to believe in them.”

It was just a diversion from my question.

The Dwarf Grandpa began to speak his true thoughts.

“If Goddess Iya and God Tet are just, why do they allow evil to exist? Why don’t they save the suffering? If they are righteous, why don’t they rescue the troubled? Can you answer that?”

This time, he looked at me as if daring me to refute his words.

“Oh my. That’s quite a challenging question, isn’t it? If I were to answer that…”

And the answer to that question was simple.

“No, Grandpa.”

“Huh?”

Why doesn’t this Grandpa get it?

If a god exists, that alone is enough.

“We humans can’t judge whether god’s judgment is right or wrong, can we?”

“Oh.”

In my past life, I often wished that the god my parents believed in would exist.

Family. Friends. A home. Time.

I sincerely wished that if they took everything from me, they would at least be real.

If not, how pathetic would I be?

I had to sleep on the cold winter ground.

I had to eat bread filled with mold.

I had to wear torn and stained clothes.

How pitiful it was that even after becoming an adult, I had no one to contact.

So please just tell me that someone like me didn’t matter and that you were real…

I thought about it again and again.

But in the end, that was just a dream, and the gods they believed in didn’t exist.

Only a god completely different from what they imagined was real.

If it were my old self, I might have given up the moment I talked with Iya.

I might have despaired, thinking my pain had no meaning.

But at some point, my wish to simply believe that a god existed became my faith.

Even while believing there is no god, I’ve wished there was a god.

It was in that contradiction that I met Iya.

So now, that’s enough.

“Don’t you know that just by existing, some can be saved, Grandpa?”

“Ha… If we follow that logic, there’s no need for those two gods, is there?”

“That’s right, if only it could be proven.”

“…Tsk. You’ve already been brainwashed.”

“I’m not brainwashed. I’m standing here with my own thoughts.”

“Sure. They must have made you think that way!”

This Grandpa had no answers.

In the end, he couldn’t refute my words and simply blamed Iya.

“You know how scary unprovoked evil can be, don’t you? We feel it just as much as you do.”

Yeah. I know.

Certainly, if you’re like that, then…

Someone like this heretic should repent.

Thinking this, I slowly looked around at the weapons and tools.

What I chose was a hammer about my height.

“Is it heavy?”

Not heavy.

It was actually a bit heavy, but I could manage with two hands.

“Do you still not wish to repent?”

“If you want me to repent, tell Goddess Iya to come directly to me.”

“…”

At those words, I slowly lifted the hammer, and Dwarf Grandpa quietly closed his eyes.

“Don’t worry; other priests will heal you anyway.”

That’s right. This is a fantasy world where magic exists.

With that thought, I swung the hammer with all my might.

With a Kwahack! the corner of the chair Dwarf Grandpa was sitting on shattered.

“Oh?”

“…Hmm?”

“…I really can’t do this.”

To strike someone’s head with something like this.

There’s no way that could be possible.

“But this person is a heretic denying me?”

If I talk nicely, he will surely believe.

“How naive. Are you just a kid from that other world?”

As I was having a little argument with Iya.

“I made a mistake!”

Dwarf Grandpa suddenly got up and swung his fist.

It was because the ropes that bound him had loosened after I hit the chair with the hammer.

“Ow!?”

With a Thud! my body flew into the wall, and pain twisted through me.

“Ah, pa…”

“You think I’m scared of that? How foolish!”

“It’s not that… I just wanted to talk…”

“Rene. A little late, but I’ll tell you something. Our cult, neither I nor Tet forces belief upon you. You have your own thoughts and freedom.”

“Talk? Haha! I’ll listen. Someday, in the afterlife!”

“Yet here you are, captured, which clearly indicates there’s a real problem somewhere.”

Dwarf Grandpa slowly reached for the sword hanging on the wall.

“And that Dwarf killed three of our cult’s kids who tried to persuade him through conversation, lying that he would listen.”

Would it have been nice to tell me that beforehand?

“That’s true. It’s just a story. Heretics exist for a reason. They deceive and kill without a thought.”

As soon as Iya’s words echoed in my head, the heretic swung the sword.

With a whoosh, the heretic’s arm was severed.

“Good thing I was watching just in case.”

Suddenly, an old man had entered through the open door.

His neatly combed hair was a faded gray.

His sharp gaze flickered with brown eyes.

He looked like a maimed middle-aged man, clad in a priest robe.

I had seen him before.

When I suddenly became a priest.

And when I became an Inquisition Officer.

That old man was certainly… called Pope.

“Are you listening, Goddess?”

“Should I answer?”

“I already know you’re pondering whether to answer. It’s because you realized why I’m here.”

“You’re accurate. How unappealing.”

“Regardless, I’ll say it anyway. Please stop making this child an Inquisition Officer.”

…Huh?

Why is my name suddenly mentioned?

“This child is far too young. It’s not something a kind-hearted child can do. As proof, this child would have died moments ago if I hadn’t been here.”

Suddenly, Iya’s voice went silent.

The reason was easily inferred from the Pope’s changing expression.

Right now, I’m talking with the Pope.

“What do you mean? …Understood.”

Then the Pope suddenly reacted strangely and approached me, extending his hand.

“May I call you Rene?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but I will leave the choice to you. Do you… wish to be this Inquisition Officer?”

“Uh…”

“You can refuse if you feel it’s difficult. It won’t harm you in any way. So tell me your true feelings.”

True feelings.

My true feelings.

After the Pope cast healing magic on me, the pain had faded away.

…Then what I needed to do was already clear.

I slowly stood up, grabbing the hammer I had dropped earlier.

Then I approached the heretic lying on the floor, bleeding.

“Now, wait a moment…”

With all my strength, I swung the hammer.

With a Crunch! a terrible, unsettling sensation crawled through my fingertips as the bone shattered.

To be honest, that sensation was incredibly unpleasant—I felt like vomiting right then and there.

But this was the work I had to do moving forward.

“I’ll do it. I’ll take on this responsibility.”

If someone has to do it, then let it be me.

I who was saved by the existence of god.

I will make those who deny that existence repent.

★

“Please heal me.”

“Ah, yes…!”

This heretic was a pretty strong one.

No, to be precise, all the heretics I encounter seem strong.

Why is that…?

Or maybe it’s because I’m still young, and I’m still not used to wielding a Warhammer.

I ended up getting pretty hurt.

“Are you not in pain…?”

“I’m fine…”

Of course, it hurts.

It hurts a lot.

My right eye is completely gone, and each breath feels like a sharp pain, my left wrist is cut off entirely.

Didn’t I get hit in the side by an arrow too?

The area on my right thigh pierced by a spear still felt numb.

I can’t help but feel that those who worship a god that doesn’t even exist while denying the existence of another are the worst.

Well, if they were truly kind, they wouldn’t become heretics in the first place.

Still, it’s a relief that I’ll definitely be healed if I manage to come back alive.

It wasn’t as dangerous as the last time.

Though I thought it might get hazardous when I was deceived into getting addicted to something strange.

I really need to learn to distinguish lies soon…

“It’s over…”

“Ah, thank you…”

My right eye. I can see it.

Breathing. There are no problems at all.

My left wrist is back in its place, moving perfectly.

There are no painful spots on my thigh or sides.

Even when I look in the full-body mirror next to me, I don’t have any scars.

Admiring the perfect skill, I expressed my gratitude to the priest and then threw myself onto my bed in my room.

Why do heretics deny Iya?

They don’t force faith upon you like that, nor do they ask for offerings.

How foolish they are.

And with that thought, I slowly closed my eyes.