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“Another day, another incident with a child caught using sorcery by the Inquisition Officer. This time, they were caught while attempting to use sorcery again, but this time by a Priest.”

“But it turns out, the little rascal claimed to have learned sorcery from the Cleric of the Cult!”

“Priest Rebecca, just to be sure, they don’t teach idol worship at the seminary, do they?”

“Of course not!”

“The black magic used in the Abas Prigia street department store terror attack.”

“Murder cases that occurred in the Northern Regions of the Kien Empire.”

“Clerics of the Cult identified as suspects in these murder cases. To be precise, they’re heretics.”

“Deep in the night, Hormoz’s intel seeks the Inquisitor wandering in a remote area.”

“They all seem unrelated at a glance, yet there’s a strange connection linking them. I hope it’s just my paranoia speaking. Given the state of the world nowadays, something definitely feels wrong.”

“Still,”

“…let’s first call the Saint.”

If there’s something to be done, it wouldn’t hurt to proceed.

—

Episode 12 – The Most Powerful Magician Ever

—

It wasn’t hard to meet Lucia.

“You called for me?”

“Yes, Saint.”

Lucia, who was protecting the child, hurried to find me as soon as she received the call from Priest Rebecca.

“How’s the child doing?”

“Fortunately, they seem to be fine.”

The child, caught trying to use sorcery—specifically, a form with religious significance—showed no abnormal signs.

They were healthy, both physically and mentally. Just to be safe, the Inquisition Officer was brought in to closely observe the child, and the report came back very favorable.

“There are no injuries, and the holy relic didn’t react. Besides being a bit startled, the child seems perfectly fine.”

“Holy relic?”

Lucia cautiously revealed a necklace-shaped item from her pure white garment. A blessed silver cross.

It was the exact same cross used to identify the black magic at the department store terror site.

“Thank goodness. By the way, why do you keep that cross tucked away in your clothes?”

“I have nowhere else to store it.”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

I wondered why she would put such an item away in her clothing. She had to unfold the garment every time she took it out. It was inconvenient, to say the least, and it startled me every time I saw it.

Anyway.

I decided to stop the small talk and get to the point.

“Saint Lucia, what activities are the Clerics of the Cult involved in up North?”

What I wanted to know was the movements of the Clerics. More precisely, their methods and activities.

The child, who claimed to have come from a remote village up North, evidently practiced some form of religious sorcery and testified that they learned everything about it from a Monk—an Inquisitor.

“Are you referring to the Priests?”

“No, I mean including the Monks as well.”

“Monks, huh….”

Lucia closed her eyes lightly, beginning to think deeply.

“As far as I know, the Priests and Monks here operate under the instructions of the Archbishop, who is the leader of their diocese.”

“Oh, is that the Archbishop we met at the Cathedral?”

“Yes, that’s Archbishop Theodosius.”

The Clerics of the Cult operating in the North follow the orders of the Archbishop.

While Knights and Inquisition Officers, along with battle Priests and Exorcist Priests, are directly commanded by the Inquisition, regular Clerics sent for healing or relief are overseen by the local diocese.

“That person was also a seminary professor and had been active in the diocese for a long time, so he’s well aware of the situation in the North. When I first came here, I was under his supervision.”

Lucia briefly detailed what the normal Clerics in the North were doing.

“The ordinary Priests and Monks primarily handle masses for refugees and relief activities. They mainly work in hospitals or shelters, and since the number of patients is overwhelming, most of them stay in cities where hospitals and shelters are densely packed, except for the field hospitals close to the front lines.”

Regular Priests, Monks, and Nuns mainly operate in the cities. Due to the influx of refugees, various incidents occur, and epidemics break out, particularly in summer and winter.

No one rivals a Cleric when it comes to healing people.

No ordinary doctor could ever match a Cleric. Just look at how easily Veronica managed to heal the finger I had nearly sliced off, while the doctors couldn’t save it at all. If there had been a ton of Clerics in the world, the profession of doctor might have disappeared long ago.

Even potions that can heal wounds can’t compete with a Cleric’s heal spell.

The potions sold on the market are no comparison, while only high-grade military potions can barely stand against the average Cleric’s heal. The Elixir that shone bright during the Independence War and saved many a magician’s life would be another story, however.

But the Elixir is a lost technique.

I nodded along as I listened to Lucia’s words.

“Usually, they operate mostly in cities. So you can take that as an understanding.”

“And what about field hospitals or remote areas?”

“They go in turns.”

Lucia explained that when the Clerics remaining in the North head to field hospitals and remote villages, they set a rotation among themselves. Sometimes the diocese sets a plan, but given the critical conditions out there, they adjust it based on the situation.

I took a moment to check the location of the village the child claimed to have come from.

The village, whose name I had never heard of, was quite far from the city.

“Hm….”

At this point, I posed a question to Lucia.

“Saint Lucia, can you check if any Priests or Monks have recently gone from the city to that village?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, just one more thing. Do the Clerics ever operate independently?”

“Independently?”

Lucia tilted her head in confusion.

“As far as I know, there are no individuals who operate alone. Although it’s the rear, it’s still a region under conflict after all. It’s safer to move together, so the Clerics often work in groups.”

“Are there no exceptions?”

“Well, there are cases where someone might step out briefly to run an errand, but… that only applies to times they’re moving around in the city.”

So this meant they wouldn’t venture out alone but always moved in groups once outside the city.

Just as Lucia said, there were no Clerics or Monks operating alone while visiting the remote villages. When I questioned the passing Clerics, they all said that there were no such activities among them.

And the same goes for the Inquisition Clerics as well.

“I’ve never heard of a Cleric operating alone.”

Priest Rebecca stated that no Inquisition Officers were working independently up North. It was a precaution for their safety, and considering that a regular Cleric, who wasn’t even armed, wandering alone was simply unimaginable.

“Hmm….”

No matter how much I thought about it, the doubt wouldn’t fade.

Was there really nobody to restrain the Inquisitor who was teaching sorcery to a child? If Lucia and Priest Rebecca were correct, the Inquisitor would certainly have been accompanied by other Clerics. Yet, none of the Inquisitor’s companions intervened when the child was taught sorcery.

Then, did it mean the Inquisitor was acting alone?

What if they secretly slipped out of the city and roamed the outskirts, spreading sorcery, or something like that?

I didn’t have any certainty or evidence, but it didn’t sound like a completely outrageous hypothesis. First, I needed to find out whether any Clerics had visited that village. I asked Lucia to check, and I expected a quick response.

I waited for Lucia’s return from the city.

And I would soon get a response from her upon her return.

“I just confirmed it. In the past year, no Cleric has been dispatched to the village the child mentioned. However, they have been sending relief supplies regularly.”

“Are you sure about that, Saint?”

“I asked Archbishop Theodosius directly. I also checked the registry.”

The cult had officially sent no Clerics to the village where the child lived.

In other words,

“….”

That meant the individual who taught the child sorcery was not a Cleric under the cult’s management.

—

The cult secured information about the Inquisitor who claimed to have taught sorcery through the child. Priest Rebecca took down some basic details about them.

“Could it have been the act of an excommunicated Cleric?”

“That’s uncertain. It could have been a Cleric of the cult, or perhaps the work of a heretic who’s hidden in the North, as the Colonel suggested.”

Ideally, the Inquisition should have officially investigated the matter, but due to the state of emergency in the area and the fact that the child hadn’t completed any sorcery that caused harm, the Inquisition had kept their distance from the incident.

This meant unofficially, they had been involved.

“There’s potential to pursue it further. We need to investigate all the Clerics dispatched here to get a clearer answer.”

“That sounds like it’ll take a while.”

Priest Rebecca decided to keep all possibilities open and proceed with the investigation. Separate from the heretic tracking effort, other Inquisition Officers would also be summoned for a thorough inquiry.

Meanwhile, I summoned my subordinates to investigate other aspects.

“This is a list of people from other religious organizations we obtained through the civilian workers in the North.”

Pippin and Jake had gathered information regarding other religious organizations via public institutions in the North.

While the child explained they had received knowledge from a Cleric of the Cult, there was always the chance that they had mistakenly identified a Cleric of another faith as one from the cult, so it was worth investigating.

Data included the number of believers, number of Clerics, major activity areas, and any notable particulars.

Even the distribution of religious populations was easily accessible information from public institutions, so the possibility of drawing suspicion from the military intelligence agency was low for Pippin and Jake.

“This data was collected before the state of emergency was declared, so there haven’t been updates, but there’s still a lot of valuable content.”

“What makes it so valuable?”

“Details like the number of religious followers by region or the distribution of believers by religion. Also, the address list of religious facilities… even though many people have been displaced, analyzing this might prove helpful.”

“Then analyze it.”

Pippin organized the collected data for analysis.

As she worked on the information, Jake headed out to check the locations of religious facilities, the flow of people entering and exiting, and the movements of Clerics, and Jake’s gathered intel was passed on directly to Pippin to back up the findings.

Of course, there was quite a bit of information for Pippin working alone to analyze. However, the volume of information was not the issue.

“Heeeeeeek…! There’s just too much paper…! It’s sheer environmental destruction…! At this rate, the bees will lose their forests to live in…!”

“Charnoy, have you finished your analysis?”

“Not yet….”

Charnoy, unlike Pippin, wasn’t an officially appointed executive, but a civilian worker in the military intelligence department. It often fell to civilian workers to manage information analysis and security within military intelligence agencies.

Having transferred from the Military Intelligence Agency’s inspection division to the overseas department, Charnoy demonstrated that she hadn’t just lucked into her position.

In the blink of an eye, she analyzed an enormous volume of intelligence.

“Pippin, did you get any results?”

“Yes.”

After a lengthy grind, the results produced by Pippin and Charnoy were as follows.

And there were no twists to the tale.

“There are various religions in the North, but the influence of religious organizations other than the cult is minimal in the area you’re referencing, Manager.”

“…….”

“So, it seems there’s almost no chance that anyone other than the cult’s Clerics are operating in that region.”

At this point, the outcome was no longer surprising.

—

Through Pippin and Charnoy’s deep dive into analysis, it was revealed that the village and surrounding area where the child lived had no influence from any religion other than the cult.

While various religions coexisted in the Kien Empire, considering the cult’s activities over the last five years and the geographical conditions, this result was almost predictable.

“There’s no denying that the cult has the strongest power on the continent. Geographically, the Empire is adjacent to the cult, and most of the other major religions’ followers consist of immigrants or foreigners.”

“That’s true.”

It’s similar to how Islam or Hinduism hasn’t taken root as the dominant religion in South Korea.

“Of course, this isn’t an accurate analysis.”

“Yes, that could be the case. You need to consider that part.”

Pippin added a footnote suggesting that the information analysis results might be inaccurate due to the challenging situation in the North, but at this moment, that didn’t matter much.

I sighed softly while skimming through Pippin and Charnoy’s reports.

“Sigh….”

I suspected it, but it was the Cult again.

The backdrop of terror, suspects in murder cases, sorcery that could lead to dangerous incidents.

Every one of these events, which could potentially result in a major diplomatic disaster if made public, involved a cleric of the Cult.

Sitting in my hotel room, I worked hard to spin my hope circuit.

“……”

One thing was certain: there was hardly anything concrete.

The murder case had official statements from the Inquisition, so there was no way around that, but aside from Hormoz’s intelligence and the evidence from the kid, there was no direct evidence linking the clerics of the Cult to the backdrop of the terror and sorcery issues.

The important point was right there.

“If we can’t prove that this incident was caused by the Cult, we won’t suffer any consequences, right?”

“That’s probably the case.”

As much as the Cult is a damn nuisance, that nuisance is our damn nuisance right now.

The Cult vouched for Camila’s identity and also vouched for the relationship between her and Francesca and me.

Lucia was an openly associated figure with the Cult. She was both a cleric of the Cult and a saint.

If something were to happen that undermined the authority of the Cult here, no one could predict what kind of disaster would ensue.

The Empire might diplomatically intervene, wary of the close relationship between the Cult and Abas, or another religion might stir up trouble, fearing the Cult’s rising power.

There was also the possibility that hardliners within the Magic Tower could clash with the Cult. There were plenty of concerning aspects as the Cult traditionally had many enemies.

What was crucial was that the more precarious the situation became for the Cult, the more troubled my own position would also be. More specifically, Camila would be in trouble.

For now, I decided to quietly bury this issue.

“Report to the company and ask them to leave this problem to me for the time being.”

“To the Overseas Director?”

“Yeah. I’ll talk to Leoni separately. So just write that in the action recommendations.”

“Understood.”

Pippin, having gathered the reports, bowed and left the room.

The documents were set to be delivered to the embassy via courier soon. Since I was submitting the report through the Military Intelligence Agency, the risk of the Imperial Guard HQ intercepting it would be low. I decided to assign that role to Charnoy.

“……”

After dismissing Pippin and taking out my tactical bag to check my gear, one of my subordinates knocked at my hotel door.

“Manager, may I come in?”

“Oh, Jake. Come in.”

It was Jake.

The blond-haired punk opened the door and handed over a stack of documents he had been shaking about with one hand.

“This is the status of the Northern nobles you asked me to look into last time.”

After my meeting with Hormoz, I had instructed Pippin and Jake to investigate individuals who could back the Palm Tree Trade Guild in the North. The document Jake handed over contained just that information.

“Is that so? Hand it over.”

As I checked the documents Jake handed me, he summarized the contents for me.

“Most of the Northern nobles have fled this place before the declaration of martial law. They’re all locals with roots in the North, and their wealth is mostly tied up in the North, so they’ve either had their family fortunes shattered or relied on relatives in other lands.”

“Their wealth is tied up?”

“Real estate constitutes a significant portion of their assets, like buildings and land.”

Jake pointed out the assets status section of the Northern nobles in the documents.

Many nobles had been running businesses by securing loans against land or housing.

“It’s money lending money. Why are there so many loans?”

“They lived in the Northern region for a long time and their status was solid, so they could easily get loans.”

Collateral is a legal means to prevent default. It’s also referred to as a mortgage or guarantee.

“But with the martial law being declared, land prices plummeting, and no one interested in buying those properties, what do you think happened?”

Jake sighed heavily as he mumbled.

Well, no one would buy land in the North while demonic beasts are rampant. What good would extremely low prices do? Forget about moving in; if you’re unlucky, you might die living there.

Nobles must also find it frustrating. Interest keeps piling up, but there’s nowhere to generate cash flow, and if repayments are overdue, collections could come knocking.

The intelligence document from the Military Intelligence Agency was filled with material that was downright tear-jerking regarding the lives of the Northern nobles.

Anyway,

Jake summarized the contents of the report in one sentence.

“There are hardly any nobles in the North who can act right now. They simply don’t have the capacity.”

Just as I figured.

Having seen enough, I flipped through the report. As I was rapidly turning the pages filled with gathered intelligence and analysis, a strange document caught my eye.

“What’s this?”

I showed the half-turned report to Jake. He leaned forward and read through the paperwork, then nonchalantly answered.

“Oh, that’s data on the Duke of the North.”

“I know that. But why is this guy included here?”

“Because he’s a noble.”

“The Duke?”

Checking the report again, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“This guy is royalty.”

The Duke of the North is not just a noble. She is the aunt of the current Emperor, Nikolai VI.

In other words, the Duke of the North hails from the imperial bloodline. She is also a notable archmage who made a name for herself in the war between the Cult and the Magic Tower over a century ago.

“The Duke is not just an ordinary noble. She is royalty by blood.”

“I know that. I just added it in case it mattered.”

Jake read the information compiled by the Military Intelligence Agency regarding the Duke of the North.

Investigating the royalty of another nation could lead to significant diplomatic upheaval, but when has the intelligence agency ever cared about that sort of thing? Jake monotonously recited the document, while I checked my gear and tuned in to the report.

“The Duke has been living in the North ever since the war between the Cult and the Magic Tower ended. Her activities were widely reported in the imperial media during the initial disputes with the Magic Realm, but her involvement decreased after martial law was declared. Currently, her whereabouts are unknown.”

“Unknown whereabouts? Is she still alive?”

“It seems she’s alive, but there hasn’t been any exposure of her activities in the news. The analysts at headquarters believe she is currently hiding in the stronghold of Novo Nikolayevsk, the administrative capital of the North, but that fact has not been confirmed.”

This part sounds similar to the Emperor.

Jake added a footnote, detaching a photo from the document. It was a picture of a young woman with distinct royal features, and I recognized her at a glance.

“Is this a photo of the Duke? When was this taken?”

“It’s a photo taken three years ago, right before the declaration of martial law. You recognize her?”

“I’ve seen the faces of archmages frequently in my military history classes, especially in textbooks.”

With a major in military history and having served three years in the Empire, I couldn’t possibly not know about it.

The photo of the Duke, taken three years ago, looked incredibly young and beautiful, making it hard to believe she had lived for over a hundred years.

I heard that powerful clerics and mages can stop aging and extend their lifespans. The Duke seems to fall under that case, given she is an archmage.

Meanwhile, the blond-haired punk, Jake, started to go on about the photo while examining it carefully.

“She looks incredibly young. Look at those eyes! They’re like sapphires, aren’t they? And silver hair? It’s really rare to see silver hair.”

“Is she pretty to the point of making heads turn?”

“Yep.”

“Get a grip, man.”

I smacked Jake on the back of the head. What’s he fawning over a geriatric for?

“Tehe, Mama….”

Having been hit on the head, Jake started spouting bizarre nonsense and stepped back. He glared at me as if asking why I was causing him trouble.

“What?”

“Your standards are quite high, Manager. Is it because there are many women around you?”

“And you’re the one who says that, huh? Aren’t you the one who claims to be dating Pippin?”

“Ah! We are not dating.”

“But you stick together like glue in the office, right? You might as well get caught. Do I really need to receive criticism from the officers of the Magic Tower? Ugh….”

I raised my fist and then exhaled deeply. It’s not like we’re in the past, so what’s the point in using violence? I couldn’t go swinging around a bat like an instructor either.

I let out a deep sigh and resumed checking my gear.

After making sure everything was functioning properly, I filled my bag with items and gave Jake his orders.

“Stop monitoring that old guy smelling like a chicken coop. He’s not involved with the black market.”

“Understood.”

Jake agreed to halt the investigation as instructed.

After confirming all the documents, I passed them to Jake, who promptly shredded and incinerated the papers.

Thus, all the data regarding the Northern nobles and royalty that the Military Intelligence Agency had unlawfully collected (as espionage itself is illegal) was completely incinerated. So were Pippin and Charnoy’s reports.

“Uh, Manager.”

“What is it now?”

“Are you going to be okay?”

Jake suddenly threw me a completely unexpected question. I stopped organizing my bag and turned to him.

Having shredded the documents, Jake pointed at the stuff I was packing. Speaking in a tone that clearly showed his concern, he continued.

“I mean working with the Inquisition.”

“Yeah.”

“The opponent is a cleric, right?”

“Indeed.”

“We might struggle against them with our current equipment. Why don’t you request support from headquarters?”

I replied as I organized items in my tactical bag.

“If we drag company equipment to the North, the counter-espionage agency will suspect us. The Imperial Guard HQ might too.”

The intelligence agency constantly develops and introduces new equipment to aid prompt and successful operation execution. This tactical bag is a great example. Even if the counter-espionage agency searched for things, they would absolutely not find the items hidden in designated places.

However, the downside of such equipment doesn’t show until after using it, rather than during usage.

Acquiring and analyzing equipment from foreign intelligence agencies found on-site is something counter-espionage agencies do routinely. The information regarding that equipment could leak.

Thus, intelligence officers conducting secretive information operations who must conceal traces of their endeavors often only pack the minimal gear. Of course, there are some who bring everything they could care less about, as long as they won’t get caught. Usually, it’s Americans who do that.

But I’m not American.

“If we stir up trouble in the North now, it’d be hopeless.”

“……”

“And it’s not even a paramilitary operation. Where would a support request even go? Are we preparing for war in the North or something?”

“But why are you bringing a gun then?”

“I need to cover my bases.”

I holstered my pistol in the shoulder holster and commanded Jake.

“Keep an eye on Pippin and stay put. I’ll be out on work, so make sure they can reach me without delay.”

Having packed my pistol and bag, I left the hotel. Then, I headed straight towards the Cathedral.

Upon arriving at the Cathedral of Saint Basil.

Inside the sparsely populated Cathedral during the late-night hours, as usual, a priest with mint-colored hair was seated in the front row.

I quietly crossed the aisle and sat down next to the priest.

“Priest Rebecca.”

“Colonel.”

“Are you ready?”

Priest Rebecca silently bowed her head. Without showing any sign of exertion, she pulled something out, and a heavy bag appeared from under her chair.

“This is the item received from Dvok.”

“Good.”

I placed my bag on top of the heavy one.

“Let’s depart.”

Leoni will surely entrust this job to me, so I just need to do my part.

“Let’s go see the faces of the Inquisitors.”

 

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