What Klad’s words pointed to was clear.
Either the priest who entered the lord’s castle was carrying an object imbued with demonic energy, or was a demon itself.
Either way, it was incomprehensible.
“I don’t see what’s funny about what you just said, Klad. Isn’t this a serious situation?”
“I mean it’s that interesting a story.”
“It’s certainly interesting, but… I don’t know what Father is thinking. I don’t understand. What on earth is this…”
Jake held his head as he fell into thought. No matter how powerful Father was, it was impossible to push a demon into the temple. The temple was Lord God’s domain. If something like a demon set foot there, its entire body would burn up and turn to powder without even being able to scream.
Then was the priest carrying an object imbued with demonic energy? For example, something like a Black Sphere?
Though it couldn’t be brought inside the temple, if the priest had received it from the Duke before leaving the capital, it was possible.
He knew that the Grand Temple had formed some kind of cooperative relationship with House West. That’s why when the oracle came down, the temple didn’t immediately publicize it but went through the Duke’s approval.
But even so, the temple was a place that served Lord God. Just because they’d follow the Duke’s words didn’t mean they should go against Lord God’s will!
“I can’t understand it. This doesn’t make sense. How could a priest, who should make demons their enemy and stay far from everything imbued with demonic energy, possess an object related to demonic energy? If this is true, we should call an inquisitor to deal with this severely!”
Though he shouted in anger, inquisitors also belonged to the Grand Temple. If the temple had completely fallen to the Duke, inquisitors couldn’t be of help.
“I don’t understand, Klad. What could a priest who serves a god have to gain from the Duke to betray their god?”
“Money, honor, things humans like. The Duke can provide those more easily than a god.”
“But aren’t those who become priests those who’ve given up money and honor?”
“Maybe that was true in the past.”
Klad didn’t bother mentioning that the ‘past’ he spoke of meant several thousand years ago.
“You seem to think the Duke seduced the priests to betray their god, but it’s actually the opposite.”
“The opposite—what do you mean?”
“The temple has been corrupt for a long time. Corrupt priests bring children and raise them as priests, and the children grow up corrupt, engraving in their hearts the doctrines taught by corrupt people. That’s just been continuing for hundreds of years. It’s not that the Duke is so great he bent the temple to his will.”
“That still doesn’t make sense, Klad. There’s no way the god would just watch that happen.”
To Jake, Lord God wasn’t just a god who created the world, but the being who gave his weak self the strength to speak, run, and walk.
Actually, thinking about the context, it was because Lord God made stupid rules that innocent Jake was born with a heart that couldn’t beat properly, but Jake didn’t resent the god. Rather than having any great faith, it was probably because from the start, he believed the only things he could trust were the fact that he was a hero and that Lord God was the one who granted him that position.
Instead of saying that Lord God was trash not worth associating with and to forget him, Klad patted Jake’s back.
“Calm down.”
“……”
Jake, who had been agitated, quickly calmed his excitement at Klad’s single word.
“I’m fortunate I lost the hero’s power. If I had continued serving the god and visiting the temple, my every move would have been reported to Father.”
Jake let out a short sigh. Though he’d shouted in surprise for a moment, it was something he’d somewhat suspected. He’d just been turning away from it because he didn’t want to believe it.
“Is the priest who visited the lord’s castle a high priest?”
“No. It says it’s just one ordinary priest.”
“Hmm.”
All Jake knew about the Black Sphere was that the hero’s power was needed to create it. Would Father really hand over that precious thing, created through coincidence upon coincidence, to a priest he didn’t even know well?
If there was a reason to bring it to the lord’s castle, Father would have either visited personally even if it was difficult, or sent a knight he cherished. Entrusting it to a priest who held the ducal house’s secrets in their hands without knowing how they’d act was not like Father at all.
“I’ve heard there’s magic that replicates items—is there any possibility of replicating the Black Sphere with that?”
“Replication magic only creates objects with the same appearance, it can’t copy abilities. Moreover, things like demonic energy or the hero’s power absolutely cannot be replicated.”
“What about the possibility that the priest touched the sphere before visiting the city and got demonic energy on them?”
“Demonic energy isn’t like mud that leaves stains when you touch it. For it to react to my magic to that degree, it’s not a matter of contacting demonic energy—the demonic energy would have had to seep into their body.”
“I see.”
There was no way Father would have noticed Klad’s trap magic, so the possibility of this being a trap was extremely low. The Duke had sent the priest confident that Jake wasn’t in the city. While plotting something, whatever it was.
What triggered the trap and what scheme the Duke was plotting couldn’t be known until seeing it directly. This wasn’t information that could be obtained by requesting it from the information guild. But if the Duke obtained the Hero’s Sword while they delayed on this matter, it would be serious.
Jake had to choose. Would he find the Hero’s Sword before the Duke, or would he accurately grasp the Duke’s scheme before moving on?
“Let’s return to the city, Klad.”
After deliberation, Jake reached a conclusion.
“Today’s matter is important information that will be hard to obtain once time passes. Information is power. If we’re lucky, we might gain greater power than obtaining the Hero’s Sword.”
And Jake tended to be lucky.
If they obtained the Hero’s Sword, they could obstruct the Duke from getting what he wanted, but it wouldn’t greatly help their future moves. Even if they displayed the sword and proved to the world that he was the hero chosen by the god, nothing would change. Now was the time to choose offense over defense.
“Good. Then let’s go.”
“This time, even if it strains our bodies, we must run, Klad. The more time we delay, the lower the probability of obtaining information becomes. Father might send someone, so we must arrive at the city before they do.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve thought of a method.”
Klad calmly pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.
“What’s that?”
“A magic scroll. If you tear it, you can use the magic stored inside.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a teleportation scroll? I’ve seen them at the ducal castle. But teleportation scrolls have set destinations, so even if we tear it, we can’t go to Baron Nolson’s territory.”
“Just trust me.”
Instead of explaining much, Klad unfolded the scroll. And before Jake could ask what he was planning to do, he scribbled on it.
“Klad!”
“Don’t worry. I’m just modifying the destination written on the scroll.”
“What if the magic scroll’s effect disappears from that!”
“It’s fine, I always do this.”
“…Really?”
If Klad said so, then it must be so.
Not knowing that if an ordinary mage carelessly touched a scroll, the scroll might explode let alone be modified, Jake calmly composed himself.
“Done.”
“Amazing, Klad. If we can just obtain magic scrolls, we can easily move anywhere, anytime.”
“You mustn’t overuse my power. If I make a mistake, I might break the rules.”
“Rules? Not the oath?”
Instead of answering, Klad pulled Jake’s shoulder into an embrace.
“Ah.”
“You might get a bit dizzy, so hold on tight.”
Jake, who had been about to step back, grabbed Klad’s arm tightly at the mention of dizziness.
Ziiik—
The scroll tore, and a strong resonance was felt as if the sky was collapsing. His vision quickly blurred then became clear again. And when he closed and opened his eyes, Jake was standing in a corner of Baron Nolson’s lord’s castle.
“What if someone witnesses us—why did we come here, Klad?”
“It’s fine. I can grasp the flow of mana around the magic circle I set up and check whether there are living beings or not. I came knowing no one was here.”
“The more I see your abilities, the more amazing they are.”
Jake praised Klad’s abilities instead of saying magic is amazing! At this point, even Jake who was ignorant of magic couldn’t help but know that what was amazing wasn’t magic but Klad.
“Something suddenly exploded in a castle with nothing but collapsed debris, so everyone probably got scared and ran away. They must think Baron Nolson planted explosives inside.”
“That’s good news for us. We should examine the trap magic circle before anyone returns. Which way is the exploded magic circle?”
“This way.”
Klad walked in step, escorting Jake so he wouldn’t trip over the fragments scattered everywhere.
The exploded magic circle was near the entrance on the first floor of the lord’s castle. It was presumed that the magic circle reacted and exploded the moment they entered after clearing away all the rubble that blocked the entrance when the hall collapsed completely.
Jake, who climbed over the giant stone fragments blocking the view, let out a sigh the moment he saw the state of the space that had been the hall.
“…Good heavens.”
The scene there was more devastating than he’d imagined.
