< 15 : Black Magician (1) >
Cloud. The branch of Centurion.
Hus Allemier, a second-class investigator of Cloud, looked at the man in front of him with a complicated expression.
The name of the man opposite him was Evan Allemier.
He was a heretic interrogator from the only holy land on the continent, Crossbridge, and he was also Hus’s brother.
Evan, who faced Hus, observed his younger brother while savoring the tea in front of him.
Hus opened his mouth first, feeling uncomfortable with Evan’s gaze that kept looking at him.
“Brother, you didn’t have to come here in person…”
Hus had sent a letter asking for help, but it was only a request for advice.
He thought that even if he got more help, at best one of Evan’s subordinates would come down.
But Hus’s expectation was shattered and Evan himself came here from the holy land.
He even used his vacation to meet him.
It was a very burdensome thing for Hus, who faced Evan.
Evan looked at Hus like that and said with an expression as if nothing had happened.
“I thought it would be nice to make time to meet my brother after a long time.”
“I see. It would be very reassuring if you helped me personally.”
Of course, it was only burdensome for Hus, but the heretic interrogator of Crossbridge was a very reliable existence.
Heretic interrogator. They were close to elites even in the holy land.
They moved in small numbers to collect information on heretics, and sometimes they executed them on the spot.
As they performed their missions with a small number of people, the power of the heretic interrogators was all strong.
Hus, who had learned magic in his own way, had no confidence in holding out against Evan for long.
“By the way, nothing has changed. Are you still staying as a second-class investigator in this backwater?”
“Brother, that’s…”
“Hus. I believe you wouldn’t say that you like this rural area.”
Nevertheless, Hus was awkward with Evan because he had often encountered Evan’s personality.
The Centurion region was located on the outskirts of the empire.
It was a place that suited the word rural.
Staying in the Centurion branch like this was also a very dissatisfying thing for Hus himself.
But Hus himself was stuck here even after the friction with the branch chief.
Due to various complicated problems, promotion did not seem easy for the time being.
It was not pleasant to show his appearance to his brother Evan as it was.
“I think I’ll go up when the time comes.”
“Hus.”
“Yes, brother.”
“You are a member of the proud Allemier family.”
“…”
“Don’t forget that it is our duty to raise the name of the family.”
Hus felt his lost eye twitching as he heard Evan’s words.
Allemier family.
He had lived not to tarnish the name of the family until now.
He worked hard to catch up with Evan’s back that always went ahead.
But no matter how hard he ran forward, he couldn’t see any signs of catching up with Evan’s back.
And now he had to listen to his brother’s shameful scolding.
Hoo. A sigh flowed out of Hus’s mouth as he faced Evan.
“It’s all my fault.”
“Is that so?”
“Please stop telling me embarrassing stories and let’s talk about work now.”
The scent of tea leaves spread softly from the teapot on the middle of the table.
Evan moistened his lips with the teacup he held and savored the scent spreading in his mouth and nodded his head.
Tuk.
The teacup held by Evan returned to the table.
He then smiled and began to get to the point.
The reason why Evan came all the way to this remote place.
It was about the traces of evil gods found somewhere here.
“Then let me hear about work. What exactly happened?”
“The residents of four villages nearby disappeared in an instant. That too without any trace.”
People disappeared.
Evan frowned as he heard that.
There were many reasons to doubt what Hus thought too.
They ran away as a group because they didn’t want to pay taxes.
Or thieves came and kidnapped them.
Rick, a third-class investigator who disappeared before, believed that too until then.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re trying to say that they simply ran away or were attacked by bandits.”
“There was no blood or corpse left in the village. It’s strange if there was a fight.”
“There were no traces of escape either, so you suspect it’s the work of an evil god?”
Maybe it was because they had already exchanged the contents by letter once.
Evan quickly grasped what Hus wanted to say.
The residents hid their appearance without a trace.
This was not unprecedented in the history of the empire.
At the time when the evil gods appeared and the heroes were active, those who were sacrificed to the evil gods by the wicked magicians did so.
Those who were dedicated to God disappeared without leaving any trace.
The blood and sweat they shed, even their clothes, disappeared without a trace.
“As you said, brother, I suspect the existence of the evil god cult now.”
“Is this all you have to say, or…”
“Rick Swail. One of my subordinates also disappeared after going out to find traces of the evil god.”
“Did he disappear without a trace like the others?”
“Yes. Only the horse he rode was left behind.”
People who disappear without a trace.
And an investigator who disappeared while chasing that trace.
If these circumstances were gathered, there was enough room for doubt.
Hus looked at Evan in front of him and asked to fit the last piece.
“Do you think there is a possibility, brother?”
“It’s definitely suspicious.”
“Then…”
“I’ll see for myself and report it to the holy land. Let’s start by searching around where you suspect first.”
There is a possibility that the evil god cult is active.
As Evan’s words of affirmation fell, Hus swallowed his saliva with a heavy feeling.
He was the one who drove out his subordinate who talked about the possibility.
It was practically no different from Hus himself pushing him to death.
And now his death became an opportunity for the heretic interrogator from the holy land to move to find traces.
Rick Swail.
Hus sent a short word of regret to his subordinate who had disappeared now.
*****
A crossroad in the Centurion region.
Eutania sat in the back seat of the carriage that rattled along, holding a book and slowly looking around.
Unlike the mountain village where she used to live, there was a road here that was maintained for carriages.
It was because there was only one carriage in the village.
Considering the story that there was a large city nearby, it seemed to be a crossroad leading to the city.
Eutania, who was enjoying the scenery with her head resting on the book, turned her head to the driver’s seat and opened her mouth.
“You’re surprisingly good at driving a carriage.”
“…I learned a little over my shoulder.”
The one who sat in the driver’s seat and held the reins was Peter.
He drove the carriage forward with a dark face, holding the reins tightly.
Peter, who survived by Eutania’s mercy, had no choice but to drive the carriage to the city.
It was because the distance from the village to the city was quite far.
In addition to Eutania, there were a lot of foodstuffs piled up in the back seat of the carriage he was driving.
Eutania had brought the foodstuffs that had been stockpiled in the village.
Every time he saw Eutania and the foodstuffs in the back seat, a heavy burden piled up in Peter’s heart.
If he wanted to, he wanted to throw everything away and run away right now.
“Do you resent me?”
“…”
“I also had a time when I resented someone.”
Swoosh.
Eutania touched her ash-colored hair while saying that.
Her hair, which she touched with her hand, was much damaged unlike before.
It had been a long time since she lost her home and ran away from the world.
The young lady of the count who used to act spoiled to her parents had long disappeared beyond the world.
Even if she wanted to go back to those days, there was no one left who knew how to go back.
The only thing left in this place now was herself, who claimed to be an apostle of God.
“Why did you… do that…”
“I resented the whole world. Because all the people I loved disappeared.”
“…Is that why you want to pay them back?”
Revenge on the hateful world.
Peter asked if that was Eutania’s thought, but Eutania shook her head firmly.
She just stroked the book and told her motive.
“I don’t mean that. It’s just that there was someone who reached out to me back then, so I decided to live for him.”
Heeheeheehee!
The conversation was interrupted by Peter pulling on the reins.
Peter stopped the carriage and looked at the crossroad where the carriage had been passing by.
A cut tree was placed in the middle of the crossroad, blocking the advance of the carriage.
And behind the tree that blocked the carriage.
There were men of various colors armed there.
“Damn… are they bandits!”
They were bandits who blocked the road.
The man who drew his sword at the front met Peter’s eyes.
The bandit leader who met Peter smiled slyly.
He licked his sword with his tongue and opened his mouth.
“I was hungry, but it worked out well.”
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