第６２８堀：成果と限界 (Part1)
Side: Yuki
Sometimes, when you expect things to go well, they don't, and conversely, when you expect them to go poorly, they surprisingly succeed. It's just that simple, really...
"Just by poking the Hyle Church in Onock, something bigger than I expected emerged." I muttered that after reading the report. As planned, while investigating the church, we were attacked by a deacon who appeared to be the mastermind behind the student kidnapping incidents around Onock. We managed to defeat and capture her instead.
"Our plans are completely derailed, aren't they?" Originally, Steve and his group were supposed to cause a commotion, but I didn't expect a commotion to be caused first. Thanks to that, the planned operation was canceled, and we had to provide backup for Kagura and the others. I fully expected them to evade us evasively, but to think they'd attack Kagura. Are they idiots?
"Well, having allies inside the church is a good thing, I suppose." From what I heard, the female deacon was a fanatic, the type you can't reason with. However, the priest, when attacked by the deacons, apparently tried to help Kagura and the others escape, even getting stabbed himself. He wouldn't risk his life if he were acting, and he would have been an enemy from the start, so it's probably safe to consider him an ally.
"...I'm back now."
"Oh. Welcome back, Kagura. Tori and the others, good work."
"We've returned, Yuki-san."
"Haa, that was the worst aftermath cleanup, wasn't it?"
"...I can't believe that basement was a dismantling facility."
Kagura and Tori, having finished their work at the church, returned. By the way, Mikos and Solo collapsed after seeing the gruesome state of the basement. Well, as Kaya said, it was a dismantling facility, so you probably couldn't endure it without a high tolerance for gore. Mikos has battlefield experience, but the inside of that dismantling facility was a different matter entirely. Apparently, they weren't just bringing in academy students, but also drifters like mercenaries, and if their magical power seemed good, they would... dispose of them. And the reason they went to the trouble of bringing them in and dismantling them was...
"This is the magic gear found at the scene." It was for the sake of what Tori was handed, as she said. Rather than dismantling, they were actually siphoning off magical power. Should I call it torture? They were apparently using an intense method of forcibly extracting magical power, then allowing them to recover, only to extract it again. Such reckless acts would eventually turn them into empty shells, after which they would be dismantled and disposed of. It's truly despicable. Why can people become so extreme?
Therefore, it was perfectly natural for Mikos and Solo to collapse. No one would blame them. More importantly, I pray they don't get traumatized by the sight of meat in the future. I can't provide psychological care, you know.
"Well, I thought the investigation would be difficult, but in the end, things moved surprisingly quickly."
"Right. Honestly, I thought they would have already cleared out, but it seems not."
"Well, they had the church as a cover, after all."
"...They would attack students and people, knock them unconscious, and bring them to the church. That was it. No suspicious rumors would spread."
"...It seems I was their target, though."
"From what I heard, that seems to be the case." The deaconess apparently intended to abduct Kagura, all for the sake of the goddess. It seems they didn't intend to dismantle her at the church, at least according to the records. Well, that doesn't make it a matter of forgiveness or not, though.
"What about the Princess?"
"...I reported it to her, and it caused even more chaos." Of course it would. She probably suspected something, but to think the church priests were performing such gruesome dismemberments, it would shock even a serial killer. Physical evidence, like student uniforms, was also carefully preserved. At least enough student uniforms for about 10 people were confirmed. That means that many people were subjected to this fate over the past four or five years. Well, as a movie plot, it's a pretty common truth.
"But even so, we can't just protest, can we?"
"...No. Even if we protest, they'll just say the Onock Church acted on its own accord. If we pursue it carelessly, the Hyle faithful might turn against us." That's a given. It's a classic case of cutting off the lizard's tail. And if we were to use that as a reason for a forceful investigation, the innocent Hyle faithful across the land, knowing nothing, might erupt in anger. Ugh, religion is troublesome. In fact, they might even take this opportunity to openly begin a takeover of Hyden. Since the matter of the magic gear has been exposed, they'll have to move quickly to suppress it, otherwise, it will be a severe blow to the Hyle faith.
"...Because of the gravity of the situation, she accepted Weed's investigation, saying that if we continued to talk about favors and debts, things could get out of hand." Even the Princess must have seen that a Hyden-led resolution was impossible. Well, there's no room for discussion anymore. If they had merely abducted and imprisoned them, there might have been a tiny sliver of room for negotiation, but this is murder. And with evidence emerging that the Hyle Church was also involved in the rebellion that occurred in the Hyden capital, there's no point in talking anymore. It's either do or be done.
"Can we ask Hyden for cooperation and expect them to accept?"
"She said they couldn't provoke the Hyle faith, so they could only assist as intermediaries."
"In that case, this incident too..."
"Unfortunately, this incident will be classified as top secret and officially treated as if it never happened. After we hear from the priest, he will return and continue to act as usual. The deacons will be considered missing." That's a natural decision. I feel sorry for the victims, but by doing this, we can act without the Hyle faith catching on. If this were the people of Weed, we'd turn it into a radio news story and quickly sway public opinion to our side, but we can't do that on this new continent where there are no simple information transmission devices like radio or television. Even if there were information transmission devices, we don't know how many magic gears they have. If we carelessly leak information, they might become desperate, and that would truly trigger the Second Demon Lord War. It's clear that monsters would be summoned in the city, leading to utter chaos. In that case, it seems we have no choice but to crush them secretly.
"What a hassle."
"But isn't it the same as before?"
"Yes. I don't think it's much different from what we've done so far."
"...As usual."
"Indeed."
As Riel and the others said, what we need to do hasn't changed. Crush the opponent with minimal effort. That's all there is to it.
"...So, what's next? If we're going to investigate the Hyle faith's main temple, I can get a letter of introduction from the Princess. If I go with you, they should let us in. They were targeting me, so they should be happy to welcome me."
"No. That won't be necessary."
"Eh?"
Kagura made a surprised face. Ah, she doesn't get it.
"This incident has given us certainty. And the Hyden Royal Family now properly knows what the Hyle Church has been doing. Right? Kagura reported her dangerous encounter to the Princess, after all."
"Y-yes. Evidence has also been presented."
"In other words, now, even if we crush the Hyle faith, Hyden won't complain."
"...No, crush them? How?"
"...Steve and his group are here, aren't they? Haven't you seen the optical camouflage, Kagura? The one that makes you transparent?"
"Ah!?"
She seemed to realize my intention after I said that much. Now that we're certain our relationship with Hyden won't be complicated, there's no reason to go out of our way to consider Hyden and act together. We'll quickly raid the Hyle faith's main temple, strike at its core, and bring the situation to an end. This time, the reason we couldn't—or rather, didn't—act on our own was that if Weed alone knew the truth and tried to resolve it independently, our relationship with Hyden could have become strained. In the worst case, it could have led to a war against both Hyden and the Hyle faith. If they knew nothing, it would look like Weed suddenly attacked the Hyle faith, which is the state religion. We suspected something, but in this world, you can't punish someone just for being suspicious. It's the same in any society: you need evidence and a green light. The principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' doesn't mean incompetence; it's an absolute condition for a nation to function and prevent social distrust.