Chapter 88

It has been two months since the defense of Reiting.

When Aldis returned to the capital, he was often the subject of people's conversations, but as two months passed, fewer people mentioned him.

After returning, Aldis spent his days lounging and napping at home, but he resumed work a month ago.

"I refuse."

Aldis replied coldly.

At the inn 'Seseragi-tei' on the main street of the capital Gran, two people were sitting at a table in the attached tavern.

One was Aldis, and the other was a man who acted as an intermediary for mercenary requests.

"Don't say that."

The familiar intermediary, Jean, showed a look of exasperation.

"Sure, I know you dislike the church, Aldis. But it's a direct request, and I think it's worth at least hearing it out, right?"

"It'll just end with me listening. It's a waste of time."

With Aldis' unyielding response, Jean pressed on with a troubled expression.

"Refusing a church request without reason is not good. I have a position too, you know. It's not a particularly difficult job, and since it's a direct request, the reward is quite generous."

As Jean said this, he thrust a paper with the request details towards Aldis.

"It's a bodyguard job. The person to be guarded is about the same age as Aldis and, more importantly, a cute girl."

"That just makes it more troublesome."

Aldis looked exasperated, but Jean smoothly ignored his words.

"Besides, the person to be guarded is Sister Solte, who is renowned as a future candidate for the Holy Maiden. Getting to know her could benefit you in the future. Actually, I'd like to get to know her myself."

"Solte?"

Aldis, who had been stifling yawns while listening to Jean, reacted to the name of the person to be guarded.

"Is that the one? The girl with cherry-colored hair who's small?"

"What, you know her? Despite disliking the church, you've been keeping an eye on Sister Solte, huh?"

Jean's tone was teasing.

"That's not it. I just met her once before on a job."

Hearing Solte's name, Aldis remembered.

When he was still active in Tria, he had taken on a job with Ted and others.

It was a request to search for and rescue students from Mariures Academy who had entered the Kosus Forest. One of the students they were searching for was a girl named Solte.

She was apparently a talented girl who, despite being a nun, was allowed to attend the academy, and a genius who had mastered healing magic at a young age.

Among the five students, the one who left an impression was a noble boy with a bad attitude and Solte, who was the only one among the five to respond appropriately.

The church's request and Solte's name. These two things brought back Aldis' memories.

"Do you know her? If so, there's no reason to refuse. It's officially a church request, but I think it's actually her personal wish."

"Her personal wish?"

"Look, there's a small signature in the requester's section."

Reluctantly, Aldis glanced at the request paper and looked at the requester's section.

Indeed, the requester was the church, but in the lower right corner, Solte's signature was written in small letters.

Normally, the personal name wouldn't be written.

"I think it's a bit much to keep complaining when you're being asked by an acquaintance and even getting paid for it."

Jean created an atmosphere that made it hard to refuse.

In the end, Aldis told Jean, "I haven't said I'll take it. I'll decide after talking to her directly," and sent him off.

Normally, he would absolutely refuse any church-related requests.

But since the person wasn't completely unknown and Solte had left a good impression, this was the main reason Aldis decided to compromise.

The next day, Aldis headed to the church, a place he would never normally approach.

It was located in a corner near the center of the capital, one street away from the central square.

The church, built 200 years ago with carefully selected white stone, had a simple and unadorned exterior that exuded a sense of simplicity, while its solemn appearance left a profound impression on those who saw it.

The entrance gate was open, allowing people to freely enter and exit for worship, but a gatekeeper was always stationed to watch out for troublemakers like Aldis.

After informing the gatekeeper of his business, a priest came to guide him after a while.

"Thank you for waiting. You are the one who accepted the request, right? Sister Solte will be pleased."

"No, I haven't decided whether to accept it yet. I just want to hear the story."

"Huh? ... Oh, I see."

Aldis' answer seemed unexpected.

The priest, with his prominent ears, was momentarily taken aback and then continued hesitantly.

"Well, please, this way. Sister Solte wants to explain the details of the request herself."

Guided by the priest, Aldis stepped into the church.

The interior of the building was open, with a spacious area.

At the front, a statue of a goddess carved from pure white stone was placed.

Many people knelt before it, offering their prayers, which Aldis glared at with a hateful expression.

"Is something wrong?"

"… No, nothing."

To the priest's questioning look, Aldis maintained a blank expression.

"Would you like to pray later? Although the time for worship has passed, I can make a special arrangement for you since you are here for the church's request. The merciful goddess will surely forgive you, even though it's not usually recommended."

(No, that woman lives in a world far removed from mercy.)

Aldis swallowed the words that almost slipped out.

Instead, he uttered a more moderate but still disrespectful response.

"Is the goddess really that great?"

"Of course. The goddess protected this world from the evil god's army during the Divine War and bestowed us with the wisdom of magic. Our very existence and the peaceful life we lead are all due to the goddess's grace. Therefore, every human must offer gratitude and reverence to the goddess. It is our duty to honor the goddess, who allows us to live fully!"

The priest's voice grew louder as he spoke.

As the priest's words became more passionate, Aldis was enveloped in a cold feeling.

He was also overwhelmed by an indescribable anger and frustration.

"Look at that mural."

Unaware of Aldis' emotions, the priest pointed to the wall.

"It depicts the Divine War."

The place the priest pointed to had a massive mural covering the entire wall.

It showed a scene of war.

But it was not a war between humans.

It was a battle between gods.

A battle between the goddess who protects the world and the evil god who seeks to destroy it.

A clear and simple conflict of good versus evil, even a child could understand.

The most prominently depicted was the goddess, clad in pure white, holding a shining sword in her hand.

Around her were the angels she led and the holy army they formed.

On the other side, in the corner of the mural, were the beings the church called evil gods and their demonic army.

"This is a scene where the goddess defeats the evil god. If the goddess hadn't defeated the evil god, we would surely have lived in a world shrouded in darkness. The world itself might have been destroyed."

Aldis shifted his gaze to the evil god.

The mural depicted the leader of the demons, with a mouth that split to the cheeks, revealing sharp fangs.

Eyes that glowed with evil.

Long, sharp claws.

Beast-like, dark and hairy skin.

Ten arms sprouted from his back, each holding various weapons like swords, spears, axes, and clubs, all drenched in red blood.

The ominous figure stirred a sense of revulsion in anyone who saw it.

(What a load of fabricated nonsense.)

Aldis struggled to suppress the urge to destroy it.

Doing so would change nothing. It would only make the church his enemy.

But even knowing this, the humiliation that clung to Aldis was unbearable.

"Oh? Is something wrong?"

"… No, nothing."

"Good. Sister Solte must be waiting impatiently. Let's go."

Unaware of the anger in Aldis' eyes, the priest resumed his guidance.

2018/01/03 Typo correction: "restarted the tour" → "resumed the tour"

*Thank you for the feedback in the comments.

2019/05/03 Typo correction: "restarted the tour" → "resumed the tour"

*Thank you for reporting the typo. (I thought I had fixed it before, but it wasn't corrected.)