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Priest Rebecca introduced a few employees from the Inquisition. They were Inquisition Officers dispatched to the northern regions of the Kien Empire, and at the same time, they were Information Officers to participate in this operation.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yes.”

I pushed the small door leading to a back alley of the Cathedral and addressed the Inquisition Officers.

“Let’s head to the village.”

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Episode 12 – The Strongest Magician of All Time

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We set off with the Inquisition Officers to the village where a child, caught using sorcery, lived. It was located quite far from the city, and due to its remoteness, sending a letter to the village required a specialized mailman to deliver it in person.

“How on earth did that little kid make it near the city?”

“I’ve heard that the parents frequently traveled back and forth to buy goods. Since there are few young people in the village, they’ve been visiting the city in shifts for a long time.”

“What do the parents do?”

“The mother seems to be an ordinary housewife, and the father is confirmed to have died after being conscripted. Being part of a minority, he was conscripted by a recruiter who visited the village early in the conflict.”

“And the Inquisitor?”

“It appears he began visiting the village a few months ago. There’s a severe food shortage, and given that only elders and children remained, there were various ailments, but since that Inquisitor arrived, things have improved.”

The Inquisitor who taught sorcery looked like the typical heretic at first glance, but considering the current situation in the north, the timing of the Inquisitor’s appearance was remarkably strange.

A cleric of the Cult was identified as the prime suspect for the murders of magicians and soldiers, which had already caused quite the uproar in the north.

While the investigation results were not announced, rumors that the cleric was suspicious were openly circulating amongst those in the Empire and Magic Tower.

Everyone, regardless of nationality, was treading carefully, and suddenly, a monk appeared out of nowhere and taught the young kid sorcery in a village where no clerics had been dispatched from the diocese.

There were many reasons to doubt the identity of the Inquisitor.

What was his intention in spreading sorcery? What was his goal in wandering around the remote villages of the north?

On the road leading to the village as mapped out by the Inquisition Officers, I posed a question to Priest Rebecca.

“Do you really think that Inquisitor the kid mentioned is a heretic?”

“Given that he taught sorcery to civilians without permission, it seems very likely. To be precise, it seems more like a heretic than an apostate.”

Current Inquisition Officer, Priest Rebecca was suspecting the Inquisitor who taught sorcery of being a heretic.

Heretics and apostates.

I knew roughly what they were about, but I didn’t quite understand the exact difference between heresy and apostasy.

“Is heresy common?”

“More than you’d think.”

“So, what’s the difference between heresy and apostasy?”

“Heresy involves denying or doubting the teachings of the cult after receiving baptism, while apostasy is the outright abandonment of faith. It’s subtle, but there is a difference.”

Priest Rebecca, carefully walking across the icy path, asserted.

“Thus, it’s highly likely that the monk who taught the child sorcery is a heretic. If he were truly an apostate who had renounced his faith, he wouldn’t be wandering around in the garb of the cult.”

Hmm. If a current Inquisition Officer says so, what choice do I have but to believe?

“Well, I guess we’ll find out when we meet this Inquisitor. Watch your step on the icy path up ahead.”

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*

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Priest Rebecca, the Inquisition Officers, and I slipped out of the city, avoiding checkpoints. Since we were moving as trained individuals, it wasn’t difficult to bypass the inspection posts.

“If we continue straight ahead, we will reach a checkpoint.”

“I saw on the way here that there’s a river nearby. We can get through using the sewage system.”

“Let’s cross the river. Everyone, prepare to cross.”

I led the Inquisition Officers to the riverbank.

Like true clerics, the Inquisition Officers swiftly recited prayers and jumped into the river.

“May you receive the blessing.”

“Oh, yes.”

“And Simon, seeing a man basking in fire said, ‘You are with the Lord.’”

The winter river was colder than ice, but the chill posed no problem for the Inquisition Officers.

As soon as the priest granted me a prayer, I felt warmth enveloping me, suggesting it was a blessing to ward off the cold and maintain body heat.

I crossed the river and moved into the thicket where the eyes of the checkpoint soldiers couldn’t reach. There, I gathered with Priest Rebecca and the Inquisition Officers, and we began to move on foot to leave the city.

“In the north, checkpoints are generally concentrated in cities and major pathways. There likely won’t be other checkpoints in the direction we’re heading. Even if there are, there are many ways to bypass them.”

“Are you sure, Colonel?”

“I’ve been wandering around the north daily, so I have a rough idea of where checkpoints might be. I might not know the exact locations, but it won’t be an issue as long as we avoid the paved roads.”

“Got it. Let’s move.”

After that, nothing happened.

We simply walked, and walked, and kept on walking.

Since checkpoints were set up at regular intervals along the paved roads, we primarily used unpaved paths.

The Kien Empire, having a vast territory rivaling Russia, had a much lower population density in the north compared to other regions, which meant there were far more unpaved roads.

However, since the territory was so expansive and government management had barely been observed since martial law was declared, moving along unpaved roads was quite difficult.

“There’s a hill ahead. The ground is frozen solid; should we turn back?”

“It’s not a mountain, just push through. Why turn back?”

“It’s an icy path, we’re likely to slip and fall. If we get hurt, our speed will drop too.”

“It’s actually harder to go back. There’s no moonlight, so it’s almost impossible to see ahead.”

“The snow accumulates to thigh level. We might end up with frostbite if we keep going like this.”

“We’ll take a break and then move on. We don’t know what might happen, so conserve your divine energy, everyone.”

With the ground frozen solid and the cold creating icicles on our clothes, along with a moonless night, each factor was a challenge and a barrier.

At least we were far from the NaRodan Mountains, with many plains and an abundance of unpaved roads, which meant there were no checkpoints. If this were Gangwon Province, we’d surely be wailing in despair.

“The effect of the prayer is beginning to fade. The cold is stronger than expected.”

“10-minute break. We’ll recite new prayers and continue moving.”

Priest Rebecca directed the Inquisition Officers as they marched on.

I adjusted myself. In the meantime, I took out the map and compass, organized the map, measured the azimuth, and determined my location by calculating the distance to the base point and the target point.

With no moonlight and the surroundings being almost flat, finding my position wasn’t easy, but compared to those moments of getting lost in a desert where even the GPS failed, this was a walk in the park.

“The distance has decreased quite a bit. If we keep going like this, we’ll arrive before sunrise, Priest Rebecca.”

“That’s a relief. Are there no spots with frost?”

“None.”

“Let’s move. Everyone, let’s go.”

I checked the map intermittently while guiding Priest Rebecca and the Inquisition Officers to the target point. We detoured when a checkpoint appeared and hid in the bushes whenever a vehicle passed, then climbed back onto the road.

Although we were on the move, it was almost akin to infiltration, and everyone maintained silence. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t boring with no one to chat with, but since the area was well-preserved by nature, the shimmering stars were visibly bright whenever I lifted my head, making it not too dull.

After a few hours of trudging through the snowy fields and muddy paths.

We arrived at the destination just before dawn.

“…I see it.”

The Inquisition Officer who was leading spoke under his breath. Priest Rebecca signaled for the Inquisition Officers to stop. I approached Priest Rebecca, who was crouched behind the bushes in a half-bent duck-walk stance.

“Did we reach the village?”

“Yes. Do you see that light over there?”

There was no need to ask which light she meant.

In the night, even a flick of a lighter could be seen from afar, so there was no way they wouldn’t notice the light spilling out from the building. With no moonlight, the surroundings were dark, making the distant artificial lights all the more distinct.

Leaning against a snow-covered, rounded mound, I unfurled the map and surveyed the village through binoculars.

“I can see it well.”

“Is the destination certain?”

“The terrain matches the map. Our position is likely around here.”

The destination is certain. That means this is indeed the village where the child caught using sorcery lives.

Upon hearing my response and checking the map, Priest Rebecca quickly gathered the Inquisition Officers. The Inquisition Officers who crawled over the snow knelt and huddled together, listening to Priest Rebecca’s instructions.

“We’ve reached the target point. Since we don’t know where the heretic might be hiding, everyone spread out to search. Report anything suspicious immediately. Stay alert as we don’t know what risks might be present….”

“Wait a moment, Priest Rebecca.”

I stopped Priest Rebecca, who was about to send out the Inquisition Officers.

“I know you’re anxious, but we can’t just head into the village without a plan.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Can’t you see?”

I pointed toward the village.

“This is a remote village.”

Although I couldn’t accurately gauge the size in the dark, it seemed like the village wasn’t very large. It was likely home to only a few hundred people at most.

One of the characteristics of such villages is that the residents generally know their neighbors’ faces.

“If an outsider enters a place like that, the villagers will catch on right away.”

Residents in areas where outsiders rarely visit easily notice the presence of newcomers. There were times we almost got caught while trying to sneak over the borders of villages in Southeast Asia like Laos or Myanmar. It was the same in the Middle East as well.

Of course, the differences in ethnicity between Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and the Middle East might play a role in that. However, in my decade-long experience in intelligence, I found the foreign information officers I encountered had similar troubles. Information officers from Middle Eastern countries also had plenty of unpleasant experiences when they poked their heads into remote villages.

Priest Rebecca nodded, as if realizing that point for the first time. Quickly acquiescing, she asked me a more productive question.

“So, how should we proceed?”

“First, we need a purpose for our visit. And identification too.”

I sat on the mound, taking a moment to think while I continued.

“According to the little bird, the Inquisitor has been visiting the village frequently for the past few months, right? If that gentleman isn’t permanently stationed in the village, our chances of running into him right now are low.”

“Then we should monitor the village for a few days.”

“If we’re unlucky, it might even take weeks.”

Thus, we needed a believable purpose for our frequent visits and prolonged stays, so residents wouldn’t find us suspicious while we wandered through the village.

As I spoke, Priest Rebecca seemed to fall into contemplation.

“We might need to create an identification card. I didn’t expect this….”

“That’s okay. I just thought of a good idea.”

“…?”

Hmm.

I stood up and surveyed the village’s landscape through binoculars, asking the Inquisition Officers a question.

“Have any of you ever pretended to be civil servants?”

“If we’re talking about foreign civil servants, yes.”

“How proficient are you in Kien?”

“We can manage basic conversation without issue, and some of us can handle business conversations too.”

“That should be sufficient.”

I took my eyes off the binoculars and folded the map to tuck it away.

Remote village.

Small population.

Scarce food.

Almost nonexistent medical facilities.

The village was overall underdeveloped, and due to the ongoing conflicts, most adult males had been conscripted, leaving behind only the elderly, women, and children.

Checking the luggage I brought from Debok, I found a few decent pieces of clothing. Lucky me.

We had little in terms of resources and only superficial intel, but at least I got a hint of what we should do.

“Let’s go play civil servants.”

It’s time to pull a fast one on the people.

 

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