Chapter 35
Ran stood for a long ti at the entrance that led to Brinhill, deep in thought.
Should he wear his mask or not?
'I didn't co as an inquisitor today.'
He covered his uniform with a cloak. Since the color was pitch black, no matter how he adjusted his appearance, he looked gloomy either way.
Tap, tap.
Brinhill was not a large village. As soon as he passed through the gate, a road stretched out straight ahead. Stalls lined both sides of the street. Ran slowly walked through them.
'...?'
As expected, he drew attention. Passersby and rchants scanned Ran with sharp eyes. Brinhill had a higher population of demons than other regions, making them particularly wary of unfamiliar outsiders.
'Ah.'
Ran let out a shallow breath. By chance, he spotted an old woman in shabby clothes. He rembered who she was.
'Berulf's mother.'
Berulf.
A man who, after being tortured by Martin and forced into a master-servant contract with Dante, beca a demonic beast, destroyed the Brinhill church, and then died at Ran's hand.
He was terribly unlucky.
According to Ran's plan, it didn't have to be Berulf in that role. Anyone from the Revolutionaries would have sufficed. In other words, Berulf could have survived. At least, he might not have t such an end.
If it hadn't been for Ran.
He could be sitting next to that old woman right now.
"Co take a look~ These are Salisbury's specialties~"
"Ma'am! Please, just one bite!"
The voices of haggling rchants rang loudly. Amidst them, only the air around Ran and the old woman seed a different temperature. As if two gray dots had been dropped by mistake onto a canvas of vibrant colors.
Step, step.
Ran tied his horse to a nearby bush and approached the old woman.
The old woman, as frail as her slight body, sat absentmindedly behind a small display, a few trinkets spread out in front of her.
Even as Ran got closer, she didn't notice. Her cloudy pupils stared blankly into space, as if she was looking at mories in her mind rather than at custors.
"Uh, how much is this?"
Ran knelt down and pointed at a random silver bracelet. There was no answer. He glanced at the old woman. She was still lost in her mories.
"Ma'am! A custor!"
"Huh? Oh, my, I'm sorry."
The woman at the neighboring stall selling fabrics woke her up. The three of them exchanged awkward laughs.
"Are you really going to buy it?"
Ran was taken aback again. The old woman seed to be asking sincerely.
"Ah, was it not for sale? Then maybe sothing else?"
"This one. How about this?"
The old woman opened a box next to her. Inside, six different pendants were neatly arranged.
She picked one out. It was a pendant finely engraved with the crest of the Holy Church.
"Take this one. Even High Priest Ortolio bought one. Now, there's only one left."
Whether Ran truly intended to buy sothing or not, he had asked about the bracelet. For her to suddenly recomnd a pendant to such a custor was a bit odd, if not rude, but the old woman showed no scruples.
Naturally, Ran did not show any reaction.
"Oh. This is wonderful. It seems like it could be attached elsewhere besides as a necklace."
"Right? All these were made by my son, but especially these pendants—he put his heart and soul into them."
Ran stopped as she was about to nod up at her. He barely managed to smile. His eyes darted between the pendants in the box.
"Your son's very talented."
The old woman said nothing. Ran didn't attempt to look at her either. He felt he knew what expression she would be wearing.
Then his eyes were drawn to the pendant at the far end. It depicted a beast with its mouth wide open, embossed on its surface.
Ran pointed to it.
"I like this one."
"Ah, this?"
The old woman seed flustered as she tried to cover the pendant, her reaction as though she hadn't expected it to be there.
Ran asked if it wasn't for sale. Only after glancing at Ran and around nervously did the old woman finally speak.
"Not that one... This is related to a demon legend, so I don't really want to sell it to a custor."
She explained that the beast engraved on the pendant was 'Uru,' the dog that guarded the demon god Tarok. She added that demons believed displaying a talisman or ornant shaped like Uru in the household would ward off misfortune.
"Hearing that only makes more interested."
"Wait—"
The old woman reached out in distress.
"This will do."
Ran quickly put the Holy Church pendant back and, without hesitation, picked up the Uru pendant. He rummaged in his inner pocket and handed her a gold coin he found.
Both the old woman and the fabric seller watching from the side widened their eyes. At most, the pendant would only fetch five silver coins.
"Thank you. Sell lots."
He heard the old woman's voice behind him, but Ran did not look back. He placed the pendant in his inner pocket.
"Hey, sir! Wait in line properly! This gentleman was here first!"
Loud voices could be heard further ahead. While the area near the gate was quiet, deeper inside, the crowd was much denser. One particular stall had drawn a large group.
Ran found his steps drawn in that direction. From behind the throng, he used his height to peer toward the stall.
A savory scent wafted to his nose. Ran's eyes widened. They were selling sothing rare.
"Doesn't this look a bit off color?"
"Yeah. It's not even sewage."
"Does sewage sll this good?"
"Well, apparently it's good, so let's try it out."
Two n carefully carried steaming wooden cups past. Their comnts were not wrong.
Though he hadn't traveled everywhere on the mainland, Ran had never before seen tea sold from a stall like this. To his knowledge, tea was a cultivated beverage enjoyed over conversation.
Suddenly, he rembered sothing Ortolio once told him—that tea originated from demon culture.
"Return the wooden cups and you'll get your deposit back, so don't forget to bring them in!"
While staff bustled to brew the tea, a man slouched behind them, calling out. He was adorned with all sorts of trinkets.
Ran's and the man's eyes t. Both were tall, and they recognized each other instantly.
"Marl?"
Marl's eyes went wide.
* * *
Thud!
"Ah, brother! W-wait, please!"
Having been knocked over, Marl scooted on his rear along the shadowed alley.
Ran approached with a threatening swing of his arm.
"Ahhh! Why! Why! At least let know the reason before you hit !"
"I warned you not to sell goods to that person."
"Who? For heaven's sake, does a street vendor get to pick and choose their custors?"
"Don't play dumb."
As Ran made as if to hit him, Marl, shoulders hunched, finally confessed.
"Oh! Ahaha! I rember! You an that Revolutionaries custor—the one who bought the Exploding Shells."
Ran lowered his arm and closed his mouth tightly. Marl's voice dropped.
"I had no choice! I an, he threatened with a knife! Said he'd turn into a demonic beast, or whatever. Was he a dark mage? I didn't know at the ti. Why would a dark mage buy Exploding Shells anyway? Anyway, I just did as I was told."
"..."
"It's true! After hearing that the Revolutionaries got wiped out at the Gerinhild Grand Cathedral, I was terrified. Is he safe?"
"He's dead."
"Oh dear. May her soul find freedom."
Marl clenched his eyes shut and muttered what sounded like a private funeral rite.
Ran left him, sitting down beside him in the alley.
"Should an underground trader move so openly in this market?"
"With the Eastern Front as it is, being forced onto the street feels like nothing. But, you know, life is strange. I've made up my mind."
Marl wiped his bleeding philtrum carelessly. anwhile, the noise from his street stall out in the alley continued unabated.
"I'm going to take a break from backdoor deals. You saw it, right? All those people. I think I'll try to settle down properly."
"What are you selling?"
"Hehe. It's called 'kafa'."
"Kafa?"
"Yes. I picked it up by chance when I visited the Costa Islands. I was incredibly lucky."
The Costa Islands referred to the islands in the southernmost region of the Astana continent.
Marl launched into a long story about how he ca across kafa there. The locals brewed and drank kafa like water, boasting that its flavor and effects were superior to any tea on the mainland. The problem was that kafa only grew in certain regions of the Costa Islands.
"They roast the seeds before selling them to prevent smuggling out the strain?"
"Exactly. So I tried bringing a few sacks as a test, and I have a good feeling about this one. So, inquisitor—no, brother—give a hand."
Marl grabbed Ran's arm.
"I want to try selling this in Gerinhild. Please help break in there."
"What do you want from ?"
"I'll handle the sourcing, just help set up shop in the capital."
"Alright, then let's do this."
Marl's eyes lit up.
"Do a favor first."
"Huh? What now?"
"Look after a kid for ."
"Nope! Not doing it. You always do this! Whenever I say sothing, you're always one step ahead!"
"I'll give you access to the strain."
Few on the mainland even knew of kafa. Perhaps only a handful of travelers thought of it as a rare specialty.
If they could spread kafa across the entire mainland...
Marl sat up straighter.
Golden coins seed to dance before his eyes.
* * *
'Ugh, bitter.'
Marl handed him a cup of kafa, urging him to try it on his way. Ran sipped, then tossed the wooden cup aside. His entire tongue tingled. He regretted buying it for Berulf's mother.
'Maybe demons have superior taste buds.'
Thinking so, he continued walking until he reached the outskirts of the village.
A little way up a slope, he saw the church.
'Brinhill Church.'
As he drew closer, Ran's expression darkened.
The damage from that day remained almost unchanged. The roof was only half-patched, and one wall had completely collapsed. Hairline cracks had spread everywhere like spiderwebs, making the building half a ruin.
'Was it half-hearted repairs?'
Before being an inquisitor, Ran was a priest—a priest of Quersa. Even for an operation, destroying a church was a trendous decision for him. Just as Iscarang had said.
Greater evil over lesser evil.
To deal a decisive blow to the Special Unit, it had been an unavoidable choice. In the end, everything went as he intended.
'Now, knowing the Emperor's true intention, everything is in confusion.'
Thinking thus, he entered the church.
To his surprise, soft organ music filled the air. The afternoon sunlight, passing through stained glass, colored the interior in gentle warmth.
'High Priest Ortolio...?'
He saw a figure with a head full of white hair, seated mid-way among the orderly pews.
Besides Ortolio, there was another person. Ran passed by a robed figure sitting in the back, walking forward.
Step, step.
Ran sat a short distance away. Ortolio was deep in prayer. Ran also gently closed his eyes.
He felt at peace for the first ti in a while.
'It's been so long since I prayed, Lord.'
Ran fiddled with the Uru pendant in his pocket. The organ music seed to swell.
He joined his hands.
As always, he didn't recite formal prayers or offer greetings for peace.
'I have doubted you, so perhaps I deserve divine punishnt.'
He had already decided on his answer.
He could only hope that the resolve he had ford did not spring purely from malice, that it was not solely out of resentnt toward the Lord. He hoped to be granted trials as acts of rcy, not anger, and to find peace and answers in the end.
'... And so my resolve may not falter.'
Ran wished.
"Brother Ran?"
At the voice, Ran turned his head. Ortolio was smiling kindly.
"What brings you here? Last ti you dropped by unexpectedly and left just as quickly."
"I... I wanted to see you after so long."
"You did well to co."
Ortolio moved to sit closer, and asked about recent happenings in the capital.
Ran told him everything as he knew, without holding back. Even ntioning how, with the Special Unit's major reorganization, inquisitors would likely vanish into history.
"So much has happened while His Majesty was away. To think demons attacked the Grand Cathedral."
Ortolio let out a deep sigh. He lowered his head again, as if it were all his responsibility.
Seeing that, Ran's eyes softened with a sense of sympathy.
"I never want to be disrespectful to you again, High Priest."
"Hm?"
Ortolio looked at him with curiosity. As Ran glanced around, his eyes ca to rest on the person in the back.
"You didn't send any letter claiming the Special Unit was searching for , did you?"
"A letter? My wish to see you again never wavered, but I never sent any letter, lest it beco a burden."
Ran was looking at the man in the robe.
"You can lift your head now, Demian."
At those words, the man slowly threw back his hood.
His once-glossy blond hair, his bright, intelligent eyes—all were now faded.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Oh, Demian ca back.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】
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