Chapter 30: The Visit (1)

Heretics.  

Those who worship fallen or evil gods.  

A significant headache, even for the Empire.  

Some said they’d rather deal with exiles, anti-magic fanatics, or criminals.  

Saintess! The heretics used an entire village as a sacrifice for human offerings…!  

Saintess! The sea has been stained with blood!  

The mountain is completely covered in blood…!  

The Sun God is fake? 

The mountain too? 

What kind of nonsense is this?  

The absurd rumors that came in daily.  

Nothing but trouble that added to her workload.  

She’d always planned to deal with them personally someday.  

It’s a necessary step to achieve my goal.  

To bring the sun back to this world.  

A secret plan, unknown even to the Pope.  

To make it happen smoothly, she needed to fully conquer the temple.  

Sweep away the false believers who didn’t truly worship the god,  

Bring true faith to the world,  

And perform a miracle to erase the accursed blight festering in her heart.  

A necessary step for that purpose.  

Thump.  

Adrianna quietly clutched her cold chest.  

Her heart, icy and sluggish.  

A curse that had tormented her for so long.  

A curse cast by someone beyond the North, jealous of her talent.  

Thanks to the potion Evan gave her, it had subsided for now, but who knew when it might flare up again?  

It was also why she couldn’t freely leave the Sun God’s temple.  

Without the Sun God’s blessing, the curse would worsen.  

If she had to go out, the Full Moon Church was her best option.  

Moonlight, a derivative of sunlight, had a similar effect in suppressing the curse.  

Come to think of it, it’s about time to receive a new potion.  

Arthur had been blunt about his opinion on the potion.  

That got him some flak, and after meeting her in person, he became much more cautious.  

He told me not to act too conspicuously.  

He said that directly?  

He also said to report my actions periodically… so I guess that’s what he meant.  

So, the Saintess was being as mindful of Evan as possible.  

Who knew when that young mastermind might reveal his displeasure or true intentions?  

Did he send Bishop Blake knowing this, as a way to say “contact me if you need something”?  

A gift, and a nudge to stay in touch.  

It would be rude to stay silent after receiving such a gift.  

If Duke Cabaro, a born noble, passed down that disposition, it made sense.  

Cold sweat trickled down her spine.  

He didn’t notice I’ve been avoiding conversation, did he?  

“Heh, heh. Interesting.”  

Adrianna forced a laugh.  

[Mmph!]  

At her eerie chuckle, Bishop Blake thrashed.  

Only then did Adrianna wipe the smile from her face.  

She slowly approached the heart bound in chains.  

“First time meeting, Bishop Blake. Or is it our second?”  

[Phew!]  

Once freed from the chains, the [Silence] magic on Bishop Blake lifted.  

Gasping for air despite the lack of breathing space, the bishop growled.  

[God’s dog… Adrianna…!]  

“Oh my. I prefer cats over dogs.”  

[What kind of monster have you raised?]  

A hardened voice.  

Laced with a trace of fear.  

[I’ve lived a long time, but even I… have never seen such a monster.]  

Bishop Blake, a priest blessed by the Blood God.  

He had long surpassed a human lifespan.  

Yet, he’d been utterly toyed with, rendered helpless.  

By one person.  

A young monster who turned even a child destined for sin into a follower.  

[Did you raise that monster?]  

“Raise? How rude.”  

Adrianna covered her mouth with her sleeve, laughing.  

“Even I am just a ‘toy’ he plays with.”  

[A toy?]  

Confusion tinged Bishop Blake’s voice.  

[You, a divine apostle, are a toy to him?]  

“You saw it yourself, didn’t you?”  

[I… cannot comprehend him. He’s an incomprehensible unknown.]  

If it were mere chaos, he might have understood.  

The understanding that “this is incomprehensible.”  

But the unknown was different.  

It defied understanding entirely.  

Couldn’t comprehend? How could that be?  

He’d seen it with his own eyes.  

A true mastermind who kept two sins as subordinates,  

Using even a Knight of the Full Moon as a “sword” when needed.  

Above all—  

He turned a sin into a follower who worships him.  

Humans cannot become gods.  

Heroes, perhaps, but not gods.  

Even so, faith holds immense power.  

The power to inspire belief and devotion.  

Lives are mere tools in its service.  

To turn a sin into such a follower.  

What’s chilling is that Evan didn’t even act directly.  

They chose to believe, to follow, to feel saved, becoming devotees on their own.  

If he could bend even a sin like that, what about others?  

Could he not do the same?  

Of course he could.  

He simply didn’t, or didn’t feel the need to.  

[Saintess… you cannot understand him either. He… he’s a true heretic in every sense.]  

“Heretic, huh? That’s intriguing.”  

Adrianna smiled faintly. A white halo glowed softly behind her head, illuminating the temple.  

[…W-Wait.]  

“I have many questions. I don’t know how much you know, but…”  

Sssss—  

The sunlight gently enveloped the bishop’s heart.  

It appeared warm on the outside, but inside, it burned hotter than anything.  

[Agh, aaaaagh!]  

“Bishop.”  

Adrianna spoke with a gentle smile.  

“Shall we have a little ‘discussion’ about scripture?”  

And also, figure out exactly what Evan Alkart’s goals are.  

At that moment—  

[Letter! Letterrrr!]  

A bird tapped at the window with its beak.  

A bird that delivered letters in the absence of holy knights.  

Adrianna opened the letter.  

I heard a large amount of drugs were spread at the ball. 

I’d like your help with that.  

“…I see.”  

A deep smile formed on her lips.  

She felt she understood what he wanted.  

***

Lately, Frey had been acting strange.  

Is she sick?  

Frey, the Sin of Pride.  

She’d been off since the heretic subjugation.  

Not in a bad way.  

Just…  

“Evan.”  

“Evan.”  

“Evan, aren’t you hungry?”  

“I tried cooking this time.”  

She followed him around, did his heavy lifting, and even made sure he ate.  

Enough to make Dolph jealous.  

Why’s she suddenly like this?  

She wasn’t like this before.  

She used to be a bit tsundere.  

She’d grumble when asked to do something, but now she acted proactively.  

When told to do something, she nodded obediently and completed the task perfectly.  

She used to flaunt her knowledge shamelessly for fun, but now she showed no such inclination.  

Why’s she acting like this all of a sudden?  

She’s not sick, is she?  

So, he casually asked Lapis.  

“Um… she’s probably not sick! She’s just finally realized it.”  

“Realized what?”  

“The truth?”  

What does that mean?  

He didn’t understand, but Lapis wouldn’t say more.  

She even stuck out her tongue and scampered off.  

Even bribing her with expensive vegetables later failed.  

Did I spoil her too much?  

Maybe she’s similar to the Saintess?  

The Saintess gave vague answers too, never resolving Evan’s doubts.  

Maybe they were alike?  

The Saintess wasn’t particularly strong in combat.  

Her divine power was immense, but she lacked fighting ability.  

Instead, she was said to excel in strategy.  

She’d even killed a great demon in the future with her wits alone.  

It’ll probably sort itself out.  

More importantly, did the letter arrive safely?  

He hoped she liked the gift.  

It’d be even better if it helped resolve the drug situation.  

The Saintess should be able to cure drug addiction.  

Drugs damage the brain and nervous system.  

Restoring them would solve it.  

It required divine power beyond even an archbishop, but a Saintess favored by the god could do it.  

It probably wasn’t that severe anyway.  

A bishop should be able to handle it.  

She’d probably help with something like this, right?  

He’d sent a letter yesterday, so it should be fine.  

Three days passed like that.  

Then Frey made a shocking declaration.  

“Evan.”  

“Yes.”  

“I want to be independent.”  

Frey’s bombshell statement!  

Evan blinked, unable to respond immediately.  

What did she say?  

“Independence?”  

“Yeah.”  

“Do you need personal time, or a place of your own?”  

“Not exactly either…”  

Independence?  

Independence?!  

We just got close!  

Evan was dumbfounded.  

He stared at her, but Frey just avoided his gaze.  

They say you don’t need to be good to all your kids.  

Weren’t we getting along?  

“Is there something you want to do?”  

“The orphanage you said you’d build. I want to run it.”  

“Run it?”  

“Yeah. Just give me one adult, and I’ll manage it well.”  

Should he let her go or not?  

Evan hesitated.  

She’d been well-behaved lately.  

No trouble at all.  

Maybe she’s reformed?  

Normally, he’d need to verify thoroughly, but…  

Maybe I can trust her this once?  

“Alright.”  

“!”  

Perhaps because he agreed so readily, Frey’s eyes widened.  

“Really?”  

“Yes. I’ll give you authority to manage the orphanage.”  

Having someone close in age would be good for the kids.  

Destined to be the Sin of Pride, she must be smart.  

She’d handled tasks well when assigned before.  

Left alone, she’d probably manage it fine.  

He’d need to check in occasionally, and the orphanage might fail, but…  

It’s not my money anyway.  

Originally, he’d planned to use his own funds, but the Duke had covered it.  

Saying it wasn’t time to spend personal money.  

Good is good.  

“But it’s not full independence. You’re still young, Frey.”  

That was the minimum line.  

Full independence was too soon, wasn’t it?  

She wasn’t fully grown.  

But stopping her felt wrong.  

What if she got angry and killed him?  

Not that he was scared—just a bit worried.  

Lapis stared at him.  

Evan avoided her gaze.  

“It’s not independence, but support for individual activities. Your home is here, Frey.”  

“…Yeah. I won’t forget.”  

If she fully left, she might decide they were strangers and kill him.  

Keeping some sense of belonging was wise.  

Evan said this and signed the documents confidently.  

This should be fine, right?  

***  

Frey packed her things.  

There wasn’t much to pack.  

Just paper and a quill.  

As someone destined to be a Sin, food was optional for her.  

Crunch.  

Lapis, chewing on a carrot, stared at Frey.  

“What are you thinking? Independence?”  

“Are you satisfied with just this family?”  

Frey asked quietly.  

Lapis slowly stopped munching on her carrot.  

“…Satisfied?”  

“I don’t know how far Evan’s planning, but he’s not stopping here. You know that, right?”  

Evan was greedy. He just didn’t show it.  

A destiny grand enough to encompass all the future Sins.  

A destiny like a needle—impossible to hide.  

Perhaps countless threats would come for him.  

A great destiny was like a magnet, drawing everything in.  

“…But Evan didn’t tell us to do anything. He didn’t even mention it.”  

“I read in a book that a follower should understand their god’s will on their own.”  

Frey’s eyes gleamed strangely.  

The blindfold over her eyes slowly lifted, revealing their shape.  

A pentagram.  

A mark of those who worship a god.  

It should’ve been an inverted pentagram,  

But as the Sin of Pride worshipping someone, the contradiction warped it into a different symbol.  

“You protect Evan.”  

Frey whispered to Lapis.  

“I’ll be his hands and feet elsewhere.”  

“What are you going to do?”  

“The salvation of the Sins.”  

Frey smiled faintly.  

“That’s what Evan wants. Still don’t get it?”  

Lapis scrunched her face.  

“I know too, okay?”  

“Yeah. I thought you would.”  

Wrath and Pride.  

One instinct, one reason.  

Symbols of opposing Sins, but in this moment, their intentions aligned.  

“All of this…”  

Their voices overlapped.  

“For Evan.”  

***

After Frey left,  

Two days later, a guest arrived.  

The Magic Tower.  

Specifically, a tower exclusive to alchemists.  

A man calling himself an elder asked Evan,  

“So, you’re the next tower master?”  

“…?”  

Me?