There were seven members of the Cardinal Institute.
They held leather bags with both hands, and ran through a subterranean tunnel.
It was an escape route that was prepared just in case something like this happened, and it was connected with the underground waterways.
「Is it this way!?」
「Right......No, next is left!」
「Oi, would you get ahold of yourself, we won’t be let off easy if you get it wrong, you know!?」
「What was that!?」
「Stop it, this isn’t the time for discord!」
The men were irritated and frenzied.
They cursed regrettably.
「What in the world was that suspicious Magician!? The Demon King he said......That’s just absurd......」
The Head Cardinal Professor Bishos pacified them.
「Gentlemen, what are you enraged about? We have more than ten years worth of accumulated riches. It is an amount where we could live our lives just playing around, and it will be possible to come back to the royal capital. For now, let us think only of safely escaping.」
「Y, yeah, that’s true!」
The Cardinal Institute members nodded.
After passing through the narrow path, they came out to a place that had the sound of water.
It was the underground waterways.
Even a small boat was prepared.
*Ho* The men breathed sighs of relief.
「With this, we can leave the twelfth district......」
At that time, from the wall’s shadow, someone went in front of the small boat’s way. *Jyari* They stepped on a pebble.
Was it an ambush!?
Bishos held the lantern out, and sent the light towards them.
「Who might you be?」
「It’s me -desu wa♥」
What came out from the illumination was, blue armor──It was the Holy Knight Geibalt.
Going *Ooh*, the Cardinal Institute members made a stir.
One of them stepped forward.
「Geibalt! What are you doing in a place like this!? Hurry up and drive away that strange Magician! Protecting the Inner Court is the duty of you all, isn’t it!?」
Someone else also shouted at him.
「To begin with, how dare you shamelessly come in front of us at this point! Geibalt, if you had just killed Lumachina, none of this would have happened!」
The Holy Knight shrugged his shoulders.
「Fufufu......I’m so sorry about that. That girl, she was surprisingly difficult to handle.」
Bishos admonished the members of the Cardinal Institute.
「You all, now is not the time to be fussing over such trivial things. When we’re making our escape from here, wouldn’t borrowing the strength of a Holy Knight be very reliable?」
I see──is what the others said as they agreed with him.
Geibalt placed a hand on his cheek, and acted flirtatiously.
「Aran, would you happen to have a new request for me?」
「It is a fact that you failed your previous request. I would like to recover the losses you know?」
「How much might it be? The price of your lives.」
The people of the Cardinal Institute lost their temper once again, but Bishos calmed them with one hand.
「There is no time. Why don’t we just pay your asking price......However, it will be upon completion.」
「How magnanimous! I don’t hate clients who are generous -wa!」
「Umu.」
Going *Nfufu......*, Geibalt made a sarcastic laugh.
「But, you know, I’ve already retired from being a Holy Knight -no yoo～, so sorry, ’kay?」
The people of the Cardinal Institute winced at those words.
Bishos wrinkled his brow.
「And what do you mean by that?」
「It means that you all are already done for. You’ve failed -wa nee, "that person" is angry, you know?」
Going "That person?", the people of the Cardinal Institute tilted their heads.
Only Bishos bit down his back teeth.
「Not yet......I, still......」
「You’ve thoroughly sucked on the sweet juices, haven’t you. Making use of that position, you devoted yourself to the limits of luxury, and went into self-indulgence. That’s right, you indulged yourself to the point that it was repulsive, didn’t you -wa ne?」
「And the appropriate amount of money was handed over!」
「You’ve learned too much -no yo.」
「......!!」
Bishos gulped. He grabbed the sleeve of one of the Cardinal Institute members that was next to him.
「Eh?」
Bishos thrust that man, who raised an idiotic voice, towards Geibalt.
At the same time, he ran back to the subterranean tunnel that they came out from.
He ran away.
We were made into sacrificial stones──is what the people of the Cardinal Institute realized at this late point in time and started to panic.
They who had received concessions for many years had become too dim-witted.
Geibalt spat out.
「For me, men with smelly breath, are unforgivable -yo nee.」
A wall of the subterranean tunnel collapsed.
A long and narrow worm came rushing out.
*Buchi buchi buchi......* A sound like rubber being torn to pieces resounded in the narrow airspace. And then, *byuu*, blood became a fountain.
The people of the Cardinal Institute who ended up losing everything from the neck up, collapsed to the ground.
Six headless corpses.
And then, from a place that was a little back in the subterranean tunnel, a scream was raised.
「Ugaaaah!?」
Bishos had his shoulder bitten by a worm, and was grappling with it.
Geibalt thought that it was surprising.
「Arara, to not be killed by my 《Snipe Worm》 with one attack, you’re surprisingly pretty good, aren’t you.」
「P, please! Save me! If, if it’s money, I have some! I’ll give you as much as you want! Twice as much as that person! I’ll pay three times as much!」
「Hohoーn, would that be true?」
When he snapped his fingers, the 《Snipe Worm》 returned to being a crystal.
While bleeding from his shoulder, Bishos raised a dry laughter.
「Ha, haha......It isn’t bad, right? If you let me go, I promise you a reward where you can live just playing around for your whole life.」
「You know, I have nothing but that -no ne. It’s boring -da wa.」
「Eh? But......」
「Above all, there’s already no way of saving you, you know -wa yo? So you can’t even see what’s happened to you -no nee.」
「Boe?」
Bishos lowered his gaze.
A worm that pierced the center of his body from his back had sprouted out. When the worm opened its mouth, in there, his own internal organs were──
「G, give that backkkkkkー!?」
That became the death throes of the Head Cardinal Professor Bishos who stole much from the believers.
*Pachi pachi pachi pachi......* A half-hearted applause was made.
A different person slowly raised their body from the small boat that floated on the waterway.
「That was quite the performance. As expected of a Holy Knight.」
That man was tall and muscular to the point that it was hard to believe he was a Human.
Without matching his muscular body, his face had an intellectual impression. His black hair was in a seven three hairstyle, and he wore black-rimmed glasses.
Geibalt curved his lips.
「"Former", right? Men who fuss over the past aren’t popular, you know -wa yo?」
「I see, pardon me. Allow me to welcome you once again. Welcome, to our 《Royal Palace Chivalric Order》!」
The man had the name of Maximum Abrams.
「I sure am happy to be observed by the commander -waa.」
「I shall introduce you to our companions later......But, before that, it might be good to do a makeover of your armor.」
「That’s true......Nn? Could I have you wait for a moment.」
He noticed that footsteps were coming from the subterranean tunnel.
The one that came, was a young Pantherian girl. She had rare black hair, and a small build like that of a child.
If he remembered correctly, she was Diablo’s companion.
──She was called Rem or something.
She discovered the corpses of the bunch of the Cardinal Institute, and her eyes went wide open.
「Wha......They’re dead!?」
「Fufufu, you did well to find them -wa ne. Even though it had become quite the maze.」
「......I would with the smell of blood being this strong......You are, the Holy Knight Geibalt, aren’t you. What happened here?」
She did not carelessly get closer. Since she knew that he used worm Summoned Beasts, she also took some distance from the walls, and made a sink in her knees so that she immediately jump away from the ground.
As expected of a high level Adventurer.
Geibalt also didn’t think of trying to shorten their distance. Looking at that equipment of hers, he could tell that Rem didn’t stay as weak as she was when they fought before.
「Ufufu......I’m, no longer a Holy Knight -no yoo.」
「......Did you double-cross them?」
「Ara, ew, you sure do say it in a really unpleasant way -wa ne.」
「......Then why did you kill them? Last time we talked, you didn’t have any signs of harboring resentment for the Cardinal Institute. In that case, at your new employer’s inclination──you silenced them.」
「You, although you’re smart, you’re dumb. Do you want to die?」
「Uu!?」
Rem put herself on guard. She clutched a crystal in her left hand.
In this situation where it seemed like it would turn into a fight at any moment──Abrams called out from Geibalt’s back.
「You don’t need to mind her. The words of a demi-human Adventurer, no one would take them seriously.」
「Ara, is that so?」
「I don’t want to confront a Magician that could capitulate the Inner Court all by himself after all.」
「Might those be your true feelings?」
「Of course they are my true feelings. It is better to have few enemies, and many allies.」
「I see. Well, I’m also happy going with that -wa. I have a debt to this girl......Or rather, to the High Chief Priest after all.」
Geibalt took out an iron key from the accessory case on his belt. It had 『714』 written on it.
Showing it to Rem, he placed it at his feet.
「I’ll give it to you.」
「......Is that......A confession room key?」
「You have some good judgment -wa nee. It’s a small present for Lumachina-chan. If she’s lucky, I think she still might be alive -wa.」
「Eh?」
「The Holy Knight Toria......Haven’t you heard that name?」
That was the name of the female Holy Knight that assisted Lumachina when she was escaping from the Church.
To the Church when the Cardinal Institute was in control, she was a traitor, and was imprisoned but......
At this point, she could be called the only "genuine" Holy Knight.
It was because Toria went against the Cardinal Institute in accordance with her piety and tried to set Lumachina free that Lumachina had met with Diablo, and brought about today’s situation.
Rem’s eyes went round.
「Is she alive!?」
「Probably♥ Well then, I’ll be going. You won’t stop me, will you?」
「......I, do not have the strength to do that after all.」
「Fufufu......You know, you restrain yourself too much -no yoo. See ya!」
Geibalt got on board the small boat that was floating on the waterway.
The large man that was together with him unfastened the mooring rope. He rowed the oars.
「Now then, let’s go back! The mission was accomplished, and my number of excellent subordinates increased. Even if I put it modestly, today was perfect.」
「Ahan, isn’t this like a date on a boat? Won・der・ful!」
「Was I a bit......too quick to say that?」
With Geibalt, who was wriggling his body, and the giant man, who made a conflicted-looking expression, on board, the small boat went down the waterway.
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