Chapter 91
✠
“Wow, it’s a village!”
After camping outdoors for several days, my whole body felt stiff and sore.
Just as my muscles were about to twist from longing for a proper bed, I spotted a fairly large village and couldn’t help but feel delighted.
Tessilid and I glanced sideways at each other, both looking equally grimy.
“Ailet, how about we rest here for today?”
“I’ve been waiting to hear that.”
We asked around and secured a room at the best inn in the village.
After taking a proper bath for the first time in a while, I lay down on the bed with a refreshed body, feeling pure bliss.
[‘The Scale that Judges Souls’ complains about us getting separate rooms.]
Knock, knock.
“Ailet, it’s me.”
“Yeah, come in.”
I welcomed Tessilid while still sprawled out flat on the bed.
He flinched slightly the moment he opened the door, but soon spoke as if nothing had happened.
“I’m thinking of going to the church.”
“To the church? What for? Confession?”
Tessilid picked up a blanket hanging over a chair and, after casually covering my exposed legs beneath my robe, finally answered.
“With all my sins, that wouldn’t be a bad idea. But that’s not the reason.”
“Ah, I get it. You’re trying to gather news from the Holy See, right?”
“Exactly.”
I couldn’t let the fragile protagonist go alone.
“I’ll come with you. Wait outside for a bit.”
After sending him out, I rummaged through my satchel. Since my usual clothes were washed and hung out to dry, I needed to wear something else.
[‘The Scale that Judges Souls’ sparkles its eyes, urging you to wear something pretty.]
[‘The Word that Builds the World’ expects you to put on a cult-leader costume.]
[‘The Scale that Judges Souls’ says that’s too much and recommends a beige outing dress instead.]
Since we’d be walking around the village anyway, I decided to go with the Scale’s suggestion.
I put on a dress with a slight apron-like feel over a shirt and stepped outside.
“Let’s go, Terry.”
“I feel like I should escort you.”
“Me? Escort you?”
“……”
We strolled through the village toward the church with the visible cross spire. It didn’t take long to arrive, and the church was larger than expected.
While observing the exterior near the entrance, I muttered,
“It’s big, but since this is such a remote village, I wonder if there’s anyone here who knows about the Holy See.”
“No need to worry about that. Look over there, Ailet.”
“Where—… huh?!”
A group of people was entering through the church’s back door.
Their white uniforms, adorned with sky-blue trim and golden epaulettes, were practically a symbol of the Holy Knights.
Tessilid immediately recognized them.
“The Crusader Order.”
“Ah, the Crusaders.”
It was the knight order led by Tessilid’s non-blood-related brother, Clovis Argent. Their main mission was searching for holy relics.
After a moment of thought, Tessilid seemed to realize something.
“Ah… it looks like, in this timeline, your existence hasn’t been erased. Then they must have been struggling to find you.”
“Huh?”
“The Crusader Order’s mission is to find the Saint. Clovis has probably been searching for you for about eight years.”
“…What?!”
In this 17th timeline, the Church recognized me as the Saint.
Because of the appearance of a Saint not present in the original story, the Crusader Order’s role had changed.
[‘The Tower Architect of Trials’ informs you that Clovis has been scolded repeatedly for failing to produce results while you were stuck in the tower for eight years.]
[‘The Inspector of Leaked Secrets’ tries to make you feel guilty for ruining a young man’s career.]
[‘The Caustic Balancer’ unusually takes your side, saying that as a transmigrator, hiding isn’t necessarily wrong.]
[‘The Word that Builds the World’ scoffs, asking why they act like someone else’s Saint belongs to them.]
They had a point. Besides, I wouldn’t have even been able to leave the count’s estate because of the tutorial anyway.
Tessilid added,
“You don’t need to feel sorry. When Clovis was assigned the mission to find the Saint, you were around twelve, right? Imagine if it had been revealed back then that you were the Saint and you were taken under the Church’s protection.”
“What would’ve happened?”
“You would’ve been forcibly separated from your family and made to dedicate yourself to service and sacrifice from a young age. The duties placed on the title of Saint are heavy.”
“…I see. Thanks, Terry.”
“For what?”
“Your brother is the commander of the Crusader Order, isn’t he?”
Even if they weren’t related by blood and weren’t close.
“Thanks for keeping my secret.”
“I just did what I believed was right.”
He really didn’t know how to take credit. No wonder he always ended up at a loss.
“So what now? Want to contact Commander Clovis?”
“We’re not close, so no.”
“You actually have someone you’re close to?”
“…I do.”
“Oh? Who?”
“You know them. Hestio and Ifeil.”
That was surprising.
They were the boys we’d stormed the boss room with ten years ago in the Toy Mansion.
Apparently, the sandwiches I fed them back then in hopes they’d become friends with Tessilid were still paying off.
But what surprised me more was something else.
“They got assigned to the Crusader Order?”
“Yeah. Look over there.”
At the back of the group, two tall young men walked along.
A sharp-faced priest with long black hair loosely braided.
A playful-looking knight with blond hair brushing his neck.
Their current appearances overlapped with the boys from my memories.
“Wow… they grew up well.”
[‘The Scale that Judges Souls’ is pleased with their visuals.]
Good thing we saved them. Otherwise, the world would’ve suffered a great loss following the original story.
While I couldn’t take my eyes off them, Tessilid murmured,
“It’d be nice if we could contact just those two separately. But how do we call them out…?”
“Huh? Terry, look. They’re heading somewhere secluded.”
“What?”
Seeing Hestio and Ifeil leave the group and head down toward the basement, Tessilid looked stunned.
“They’re probably going to a private prayer room. Good soundproofing, very nice.”
Agnes, knowledgeable about church layouts, explained.
“Well, this is oddly convenient.”
“Let’s go, Terry.”
I grabbed his arm before he could overthink it.
“But why would they go to a prayer room? They’re not exactly devout.”
“If it’s a soundproof private space, maybe they’re going there to nap.”
“That… could be.”
Taking advantage of a moment when the priest guarding the area stepped away, we slipped inside.
The basement corridor had rows of prayer rooms on both sides.
Finding which room Hestio and Ifeil were in wasn’t difficult.
Because—
“Sniff… Tessilid, you idiot! How could you die so meaninglessly?!”
“Hey, calm down, Hestio. Someone might hear.”
“Calm down?! Yesterday was your funeral! You died without even leaving a body, you moron…!”
Hestio’s wailing gave away their location instantly.
I couldn’t ignore such noise in a place meant for silence.
I immediately marched over and flung the door open.
“Excuse me.”
Inside the small room with nothing but a cross and cushions, I pushed Tessilid in and followed, shutting the door behind us.
“Whoa! What the—?! Huh?!”
“…Wow, Hestio. I think I’m seeing things. Tessilid’s ghost is right in front of me.”
“You see it too?”
Their wide-eyed blinking was honestly funny.
But since it was a reunion after a long time, I held back my laughter.
“It’s been a while, Hestio, Ifeil.”
“Wait… I think I’ve seen you before…”
“Yeah… that pink hair…”
“You haven’t completely forgotten, I see. I’m Ailet—the one who got dragged into the Toy Mansion with you. The girl who tried to go to Count Orshu with flowers in her hair.”
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
That reaction was satisfying.
I even considered giving them snacks out of affection.
But then—
“So… you died too?”
“…What?”
The black-haired priest, Hestio, suddenly said something ridiculous.
“You came with Tessilid, so you must be dead too, right? Ifeil, what do you think?”
“Yeah… you probably died first and brought his spirit here to say goodbye…”
“Hey. Cut it out. I know you’re sane.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah.”
They obediently shut up. Tessilid seemed amused.
“Is ten years not that long? This feels very natural.”
It was his first line since entering the room.
“Hear that, Hestio?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s talking. Guess he’s not a ghost.”
“Hey, Tessilid. Since I’m happy to see you, mind if I grab your collar?”
Of course, Tessilid’s opinion didn’t matter.
Hestio immediately grabbed him by the collar.
“You bastard! If you were alive, you should’ve reported back to the Holy See! What have you been doing?! I just laid flowers at your funeral yesterday!”
“My funeral? Interesting. Tell me more.”
At his calm response, Hestio hesitated and glanced at Ifeil.
“Don’t you think he’s acting weird?”
“Yeah… his vibe changed.”
Because he’s a regressor.
…But I decided to gloss over that.
“He came back from the brink of death.”
Hearing that, Hestio released his collar and questioned him more calmly.
“What happened?”
Tessilid answered,
“A dungeon burst happened, and I nearly died. Ailet saved me. I only recently regained consciousness and was about to return to the Holy See.”
His explanation was concise—too clean.
It omitted the torture, the betrayal, everything.
“Haa…”
“Phew…”
Hestio and Ifeil sighed heavily, as if choosing their words carefully.
I stepped in.
“What did the Holy See announce about Terry’s death?”
“Well…”
“Tell us.”
Tessilid needed to know.
Hestio clenched his teeth, unable to say it.
Finally, Ifeil spoke.
“They said you trusted the Holy Sword, charged into the dungeon alone, and caused the burst. Of course, we didn’t believe it.”
“….”
I immediately looked at Tessilid.
He stayed silent for a long time before finally asking—
“Who said that?”
“…The entire Radiant Knight Order.”
The very order Tessilid belonged to.
The dead cannot speak.
So the knights who abandoned him—and survived—
placed all their disgrace onto him.
