115. In the Name of the Goddess (3)
“I cannot understand it.”
“What?”
In the room, left alone with Aries, Leo murmured weakly, his head bowed.
“That… No, the warrior’s choice.”
Leo unwittingly changed his way of addressing Khan and then hastily corrected himself, a sign of his wavering heart. The cause was none other than Khan’s decision.
“Why… Why did the warrior refuse the church’s offer? Possessing the demon’s essence, there’s nowhere on the continent safe for him. Of course, with his grace’s powers, he could easily handle any average demonic follower but… No, that’s not it.”
Leo shook his head, negating his own train of thought.
‘Right, it’s natural to mistrust the cardinals of the church.’
Most of the faithful at the headquarters seemed unaware, but Leo knew. He was aware that not many cardinals were free of political maneuvering. Their faith might not be false, but that doesn’t mean they are driven purely by it.
Take Bates, for instance; the church could have purified the threat at any time with their power. But they delayed for paltry reasons until a demon was summoned.
‘I wanted to change that.’
Hence, he became a Paladin and volunteered to be Aries’, a candidate for apostleship, squire. Being noticed by her and accomplishing numerous tasks seemed to him the fastest way to a significant position within the Order of the Paladins.
Leo’s guess was half correct.
If he could safely escort the demon’s essence to the headquarters with Aries, he could achieve enough merit to substantially shorten his tenure as a squire. The problem was Khan’s refusal.
“Our mission is to safely escort the demon’s essence along with the warrior who defeated it to the headquarters… But now, the warrior, the one who should be escorted, refused to go to the headquarters. In this situation…”
Following a ‘Paladin-like’ mode of operation, they should execute the mission forcefully if necessary. However, the subject was someone who not only slew a wyvern alone but also subdued a demonic realm and sealed the demon’s essence. Besides, just before, wasn’t it the Goddess of Justice himself who stepped in to protect him?
Defying the church’s orders outright could provoke a tremendous backlash. Ultimately, Leo found himself unable to choose either path. In truth, as a squire, Leo had no real authority to make decisions. Ultimately, the direction of the mission rested with Aries…
“Do you have any plans of your own?”
“We will carry out the mission. Someday.”
“Someday?”
Aries’s answer was succinct.
“Nobody told me how soon to bring him.”
The church’s command held no importance to her, at least for now.
“The escort continues. Until Khan decides to go to the headquarters.”
“That will…! The cardinals won’t leave you be!”
Even as a paladin designated as the apostle of the Goddess of Justice, the cardinals were also high priests blessed by the gods. They were the core of the church’s power.
As long as the celestial gods maintain a stance of not overtly interfering with the church’s operations, no matter how distinguished Aries may be…
“If they have complaints, let them come forward.”
“…!”
“I won’t just sit idly by either.”
Leo was taken aback by Aries’s radical statement. She, uncaring whether Leo’s handsome face was ruined or not, raised one corner of her mouth and said, “In the name of the gods.”
Like a barbarian warrior from somewhere.
***
“Kuh.”
Is someone badmouthing me…?
Suddenly feeling his nose itch, Khan mumbled and scratched the back of his head. Perhaps it was because there had been too many upsetting incidents lately…
“My lord. Here, this is an item found by the inspection team.”
“Just leave it there.”
“Yes.”
Maya, thinking of herself more like a personal assistant by now, had started taking on various tasks and placed all sorts of knick-knacks on the desk.
Most of them were indeed trivial items without any distinctive features. Or at least, that’s how they appeared on the exterior, probably worn down by the passage of time. However, among them was an item that displayed an information window.
『Meeting Minutes of the Old』
It didn’t have much notable information written, but the mere presence of an information window was of significant value. Unlike the stone tablet found by Khan in the central district’s underground, its condition wasn’t as good.
There was, however, some readable content. It was about the ‘Transcendent Gene’ and ‘Argos’, mentioned in the stone tablet found earlier.
‘Considering the recurrent theme, there might be a laboratory or something similar nearby…’
The clerics of the inspection team were conducting extensive searches using the inhabitants and guards of Bates under Leo’s orders. Officially, they were collecting evidence of illegal deals conducted by Bates, but in reality, it was at Khan’s request.
Specifically, to find more traces of the dark mage mentioned on the stone tablet.
‘But, it seems there’s nothing related to Mortalia…’
Over a thousand people had conducted an extensive search over several days. The fact that nothing turned up meant that there likely wasn’t anything more to find, or it was hidden too well to be easily discovered.
It couldn’t be ruled out that ancient mages hid something with some sinister method, but if that were true, there was no way to find it.
“This is as far as we go.”
“Is this sufficient?”
“Yes. It doesn’t look like there’s anything more we can dig up.”
Khan, having put the meeting minutes into Aecharis’s pouch, stood up and draped the ‘Snow Mountain White Wolf’s Fur’ he had taken off, around him.
“It’s time to head back.”
Having collected the clues, it was time to meet someone who could interpret them. At Khan’s murmur, Maya mentioned the nickname of the person with a tense face.
The being who made their domain in the eastern Loren region, adjacent to Al-Lorenze in the north of Argon. A mystical figure within the kingdom, seen as a symbol of various superstitions and feared by many. They were also rumored to have constantly refused invitations from the empire’s five-colored Mage Tower.
“The Witch of Loren…”
***
There were two ways to head east in Argon.
One could either go north through the Potsral Mountains and then head east or continue straight east from the Potsral Mountains, circumventing the land near the Tusa territory to reach the east.
Naturally, the former was safer. Near the land of Tusa, one was bound to encounter Greenskins wherever they went. Although the Greenskins of the Tusa land possessed some sense of reason and did not attack rashly, that did not mean safety was guaranteed.
However, taking the northern route meant there was a greater chance of getting involved in troublesome affairs. As it is, with rumors already starting to spread about the two barbarian being the heroes of the Demonic Realm subjugation, if Khan shows up, he will unnecessarily draw attention.
“Therefore, we’ll go through the land of Tusa.”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
Khan shrugged his shoulders at Aries’s natural response and then turned to ask Leo, who stood by her side.
“I get that little lady agrees… but what about you?”
“I would naturally escort sir warrior… No, I guess I am not skilled enough to escort you with my abilities.”
“Well…”
He wasn’t wrong in saying that. Of course, given that he was a prodigy who became the youngest captain, it was only a matter of time before he grew stronger. However, reaching the level he would achieve in the future would require at least a few years.
‘Not that his skills are completely unusable.’
In essence, he meant there was little reason to bring him along. If the lad wished to return to the headquarters of the church, Khan had no intention of holding him back…
“However, I am Dame Aries’s squire. Plus, even though I am just a squire, I am indeed a knight in my own right. I believe I could be of some use against the demon worshippers who covet the power the warrior possesses.”
Leo’s blue eyes ignited with a flame-like passion. Regardless of where that zeal originated from, it was clear he overflowed with enthusiasm.
‘Tsk…’
There was hardly a reason to refuse, especially since the future captain of the knight order volunteered himself. However, knowing the man’s future, Khan couldn’t welcome him with open arms.
What if someone unexpectedly attacks from behind?
“Hmm…”
Leo flinched under Khan’s deep gaze. It was hard to believe those profound eyes belonged to a so-called uncivilized barbarian. The intensity naturally pressured him.
However, Leo could not back down here either. He had a goal, and to achieve it, he needed to become not just a knight, but something greater and change the church.
In that sense, he had to maintain his position as Aries’s squire as much as possible. Also, like most knights, he longed to witness the true essence of a warrior favored by the Goddess of Justice.
“As long as it does not oppose the will of the heavens, I am prepared to do anything! Please…!”
Seeing his earnestness, Khan, who had been staring intently at Leo, finally cracked a smile.
“Do as you wish.”
“Sir…!”
“Instead, it would be wise to keep the promise you just made about helping with anything,” Khan advised with an enigmatic smile. To this, Leo responded with a bright laugh, assuring that he naturally would.
‘Caught myself a sucker,’ thought Khan, unbeknownst to Leo.
—
In the era of the Midlands Quest, it’s clear from its medieval setting that the world’s inhabitants were highly susceptible to superstition. It may be due to the actual existence of gods, demons, and all sorts of monstrous creatures in this world, taking it almost to a frenzied level.
“Among them, the Witch’s Forest is one of the three forbidden zones of the Argon Kingdom.”
“The three forbidden zones…you say?”
“Yes.”
Maya nodded in response to Leo’s question.
“There’s one each in the west, south, and east. People of the Argon Kingdom hardly ever venture near those areas. Initially, these are regions that have been abandoned by people or are simply inaccessible.”
It was only natural that during Leo’s inquiry about the kingdom’s affairs, the conversation turned towards the three forbidden zones.
“Our destination is one of those three forbidden zones, the Witch’s Forest.”
“The Witch…!”
Leo, visibly shocked, hurriedly asked, “Not the same as the Witch of Winter, is it?”
“If she were, she would have been subjugated long ago.”
“Is that so? But why is she called a witch then…?”
“It’s the backward medieval folks,” Khan said, clicking his tongue.
“When they cannot understand a being, they fear it and inflate all sorts of rumors. It’s not hard to make an ordinary human into a witch that way.”
“Even so, it doesn’t seem easy for a regular human to be called a witch and become a symbol of fear….”
Without meeting the witch in person, it’s hard to understand, so instead of explaining in painful detail, Khan summed it up briefly.
“You’ll understand once you meet her. Why she is called a witch.”
TL’s Corner:
Leo and Maya use 공(gong) to address Khan, it’s a higher for of respect than nim.
It can mean “Your Eminence” or “Lord”. I used warrior when Leo is talking about Khan and my lord when Maya is talking to Khan. The reason is Maya is Khan’s follower and Leo is not.
Khan rubbed of some devil may care attitude to Aries.
Last, we’re finally going to meet the Witch of Loren!