Chapter 52. Evidence of Being a Devil's Kin
‘Impressive.’
Bishop Lambrado had not expected much when Radel said he wanted to pray.
It was because the ones locked up here were not at a level that an ordinary person could handle.
Among the devil worshipers, they were the ones infinitely close to being apostles.
The reason their eyes were covered was to prevent them from casting hypnosis through their eyes. It was an environment where even highly trained Inquisitors could not be careless.
An ordinary person would have found it difficult to even hold onto their sanity in the vile demonic energy emitted by the heretics.
‘Even if he was purified with holy water…….’
Radel's appearance, kneeling and concentrating on his prayer, was astonishing.
Even as wicked words muddled the mind, Radel devoted himself solely to prayer.
It was incredible concentration.
“Keuk, grrk!”
That Radel's prayer was genuine could be seen just by the heretics' reactions. They were dealt a strong blow by the pure and sincere prayer.
“St-stop! Grk! Stop!”
Everyone locked in the prison writhed in agony.
In other words, Radel was genuinely pitying them.
Among the Inquisitors, there were many cases where they could not abandon their hatred for the devil worshipers. It was because losing family and colleagues to devil worshipers was a fairly common occurrence.
It was not easy not to hate the heretics after experiencing such things.
‘Perhaps he possesses a talent that is essential for an Inquisitor.’
The natural talent of an Inquisitor.
It was a calm emotion that was not swayed by the heretics.
“Kiik! You damn dog of God! You brought something like that?!”
Bishop Lambrado, who had been wearing a tired expression all along, smiled at the corners of his mouth.
A welcome notification sound also reached the ears of the concentrating Radel.
Ding.
[The quest has been successfully completed.]
[Your sincere prayer brings rest to the fallen.]
[The target's Affinity has surpassed 20.]
* * *
Radel sat opposite Bishop Lambrado, drinking tea.
Unlike the underground prison, the bishop's office was bright and splendid.
“I didn’t know they would be in so much pain.”
It was only after finishing the quest that Radel realized something was wrong.
He thought he had heard the sound of grinding teeth or screams during the prayer.
But since he had seen the heretics shouting from the moment he entered the underground prison, he thought they had just been continuing to do so.
“Your Highness was only genuinely concerned for them. The reason they suffered was because they sold their souls to the devil.”
“Do Inquisitors also pray when subduing heretics?”
“That's right. However, it is not an easy task even for a skilled Inquisitor. It is faster to subdue them with divine magic. It is because only a pure prayer is effective, and it is difficult not to fear or hate them.”
Bishop Lambrado said so and looked at a picture frame hanging on the wall.
Many names were written there.
“That is……?”
“They are the names of the Inquisitors who have unfortunately lost their lives. A new name is written as long as once a year, or as short as every few weeks.”
For the first time, Radel heard how the Inquisitors lost their lives.
That devils endlessly craved human blood and souls, and to obtain them, they cleverly sowed discord among people and tempted them.
He said that the deaths of the Inquisitors were often the work of those who had fallen for such devil's enticements.
“Those locked up down there were once human. If we pray for them consistently, perhaps they might slowly return. I believe Your Highness's prayer was the right thing to do.”
The two drank tea in silence for a while.
Then, Radel opened his mouth.
“You said you had something to tell me.”
Bishop Lambrado nodded.
Then, after observing Radel carefully, he finally asked a question.
“Why do you think I showed Your Highness the underground prison?”
Even to Radel's eyes, it was a place that not just anyone could enter.
He didn't understand why he had deliberately shown him, an outsider, a dangerous space hidden in the temple's basement.
There was no way he would have shown him the underground prison without any reason.
Unless it was at someone's instruction.
‘Someone higher than Bishop Lambrado.’
As far as Radel knew, there was only one person.
“I believe there might have been an instruction from the Archbishop.”
“You are as brilliant as I've heard.”
Bishop Lambrado was genuinely impressed.
‘He is worthy of the Archbishop's special regard.’
That must be why he had sent a separate communication to Lambrado to summon him.
“A few days ago, I met with the Archbishop. He said he had a dream.”
“A dream, you say?”
Radel asked back calmly.
Although it was puzzling, since it was a dream of the Archbishop who led the Supreme Deity Order, he felt it must have some meaning.
“That's right. The Archbishop often receives revelations in his dreams. It must have been the case this time as well.”
As Radel waited in silence, Bishop Lambrado continued.
“He said he saw the academy being covered in darkness in his dream.”
Seeing Radel's expression turn serious, Lambrado thought that the Archbishop's words were indeed correct.
'Will the Prince of the Empire believe such a thing?'
'Hoho. Of course, he will. All you have to do, Bishop, is go and relay the message.'
At the time, he did not understand those words.
He had simply followed the Archbishop's will.
Even though he had passed the Trial of Three Days, he had not expected a royal of the Empire, who was not even a priest, to accept a revelation.
However, the 8th Prince was serious without a hint of doubt.
“Bishop, how should we prepare for the darkness?”
“You will prepare for it?”
“Isn't that why you showed me the underground prison? Experiencing it directly has certainly been a great lesson.”
Of course, it was true that Bishop Lambrado had such an intention, but…… he had not expected him to accept it so quickly.
He reflected on his own faith and opened his mouth.
“Then I will tell you about the method of identifying heretics.”
“Is it not possible to identify them normally?”
“That's right. They are ordinary. They can be good-looking or ugly, their gender, age, and personality are all different. The common point is that they have a mark of their contract with a devil somewhere on their body.”
“Come to think of it, I saw a mark in the underground prison.”
Radel recalled the heretics who had been locked up in the underground prison.
Some had the mark on their arm, some on their foot. There were also those whose marks were not visible, perhaps hidden by their clothes.
“It is the evidence of being a devil's kin. If there is someone you suspect of being a heretic, look for a mark somewhere on their body. That can never be hidden.”
* * *
'The quest reward is pretty good.'
Radel smiled as he put the holy water given by Bishop Lambrado into his pocket.
It was because not only did Bishop Lambrado's affinity rise, but he also received holy water as a gift.
Holy water blessed by a bishop of the Supreme Deity Order, no less!
With this, even a high-level undead monster would be a one-shot.
Of course, he had no intention of using it recklessly. Wasn't there a prophetic dream passed down by the Archbishop of the Supreme Deity Order?
He didn't know what would happen at the academy in the future.
The darkness that appeared in the Archbishop's dream.
It could be interpreted in many ways, but the most likely possibility was an attack by evil beings.
However, even if a heretic appeared, Radel was confident he would not be flustered.
He had studied enough through the underground prison today.
He had also received valuable advice from Bishop Lambrado.
"The more you prepare, the better."
It was the moment Radel, who had resolved to make more preparations just in case, arrived at the temple's backyard.
"Magician! Please give me a chance too!"
"Please, I beg you! This time, please duel me!"
The pleading voices of the apprentice holy knights could be heard.
Wondering what was going on, he looked in that direction and saw Armandy running away with a shudder.
"I can't! No more!"
The apprentice holy knights chased after Armandy.
"Then could you just use an attack magic once!"
"Or any magic at all!"
Radel felt a strange sense of pride seeing Armandy's popularity.
He wondered when else Armandy would have experienced such popularity if he had only stayed at the academy.
'It was a good thing we came to the temple together.'
He looked for Gusto and saw him on one side, wiping sweat with a refreshed look on his face as if he had finished dueling with other apprentice holy knights.
Gusto, who had spotted Radel, quickly approached.
"Are you alright, Your Highness?"
Gusto seemed to have an idea of where Radel had been.
Radel nodded.
"It was a good experience."
"I knew you would think so, Your Highness."
Watching the two of them chatting, Armandy ground his teeth.
'What are they talking about amongst themselves after leaving me here!'
He had been dragged to the training ground and had dueled with the apprentice holy knights more than ten times.
No matter how skilled a magician Armandy was, it was by no means an easy task to repeatedly duel with apprentice holy knights while acting as if his magic skills were at a freshman's level.
He was also mentally exhausted.
Armandy, feeling his stamina draining, desperately ran away from the apprentice holy knights.
'See if I ever come to a temple again!'
* * *
In the Marcellent shopping district, Radel parted ways with his party.
More than anything, Armandy had said he was tired and wanted to return to the academy quickly. It was understandable, as he had been pestered by the apprentice holy knights.
Only Radel, who still had business in Marcellent, decided to go in the evening.
The items Inette had asked him to buy for her were sent with Gusto.
As Armandy and Gusto disappeared, the place Radel headed to was the shopping district.
"Now I can finally go without being burdened."
Radel's plan was, of course, to enter the secret passage hidden in the Marcellent Bell Tower.
It was to find things that would be helpful for his academy life, like the Hayden-style Beginner Potion.
As Radel bought potion ingredients and entered the Secret School, a new notification popped up.
Ding.
[Condition: Admission to the Imperial Magic Academy]
[A hidden space is revealed.]
[The Secret Classroom reveals itself!]
A Secret Classroom?
Radel discovered that one of the doors that had been locked all this time was now open.
When Radel entered the Secret Classroom, there was a large map attached to the wall.
It was a map of the Imperial Magic Academy, drawn in detail down to the Marcellent mountain range.
Although the locations had changed slightly, even the professors' personal workshops were shown in detail.
Radel couldn't close his mouth as he looked at the map, on which everything was drawn, including the dormitories for each year, the campsite where Radel was staying, the academy's back mountain and forest, the lake, and so on.
"There's a secret passage……?"
He had expected it to some extent, but it seemed that ancestor Hayden's hand had reached the academy as well.
The secret passage connected various places in the school.
From the dormitory passage to other dormitories, the main building, and even the outside.
Radel memorized the locations in his head and thought he should check them out later.
A lot of time had passed, so he didn't know if the information on this map was correct, but it didn't seem like it had been made carelessly.
And it was unlikely that the academy had rebuilt its buildings during all that long time.
'Just what on earth was my ancestor up to?'
Putting aside the question that came to mind once again, Radel began to look around the Secret Classroom.
He planned to take anything that might be helpful.