Chapter 12
“Oh, and if possible, please lock down the entire temple right now.”
“…the entire temple?”
Airek, who had been sighing for some reason, questioned my request which came out of the blue.
“Because Kento isn’t the only mole here.”
“What?”
“There are more spies?”
Both Airek and Seth looked incredibly shocked.
I felt a bit guilty for continuously surprising them, but unfortunately, it was the truth.
“Yes, but I don’t know who they are or how many there are.”
This part was true. If I had known this for certain, I would have earned their trust more effectively!
It’s a shame this part of the original story was only vaguely described. What a bummer.
In any case, we’ll have to figure it out one by one on our own.
“Then, I’ll be leaving the task of rooting out the spies to the High Priest and the Captain. I apologize for asking you to do this upon your return, Captain.”
I briefly considered doing the interrogations myself, given it was my specialty, but Airek and Seth were candidates for the male lead.
I figured they would thoroughly handle it without my intervention, so I decided to trust them and leave them with the task.
“No need to apologize. It’s my duty as the Captain. I will make sure to conduct a thorough search, so don’t worry and get some rest. You don’t look well.”
Honestly, I would love to spend the night enthusiastically interrogating Kento with Seth but…
“Then I’ll leave it to you. Let’s discuss the rest tomorrow.”
Though my mind was clear, my body was on the verge of collapsing.
Ordell’s body had terrible stamina, likely due to a lack of exercise.
This won’t do. I’ll need to start with basic physical training soon.
“You seem to be having difficulty walking… Let me escort you to your room.”
Seeing that I looked like I was going to collapse if I took a single step, Seth anxiously took my arm and supported me carefully.
“Oh, I’ll take you up on your offer then.”
Why refuse such help?
After bidding goodbye to Airek and telling him I’d see him tomorrow, I leaned on Seth’s sturdy shoulder and slowly headed to my bedroom.
* * *
As soon as Ordell and Seth left, leaving Airek alone in the kitchen, he rubbed his forehead.
The headache that had been his companion since the moment he had accepted Ordell as the saintess of the grand temple had gotten worse in the last few days.
Specifically, it started when Ordell began to suddenly show signs of change. Whether this was a good thing or not, he couldn’t yet tell.
‘…she said she didn’t tell me on purpose because she didn’t trust me completely.’
Ordell had casually mentioned that she chose to face danger alone because of that.
But did she realize?
That statement implied she didn’t trust him either.
Why did Ordell’s tone, which seemed to say she never expected his trust anyway, bother him so much?
It had been two years since Ordell entered the grand temple.
During that time, there had never been a moment where they could build mutual trust.
So, it wasn’t surprising that trust hadn’t suddenly formed, yet it still somehow felt shocking.
Airek chuckled.
“Ah, you’re still here.”
Just then, Seth, the man who had escorted Ordell, reappeared in the kitchen.
Seizing the opportunity, Airek asked something he had been curious about.
“Captain, how come you didn’t recognize the Saintess? It’s not like you’ve only seen her once or twice.”
Seth, as a sword master, had a very keen eye.
It was extremely strange that he did not recognize Ordell.
“Well, somehow the Saintess’s impression seemed completely different from before. Almost like she became a different person.”
“Different?”
“Yes. The last time I saw her before leaving the grand temple, she had a distinctly fierce expression… Now, she looks so gentle that I couldn’t believe it was the same person.”
Seth thought back to his memory of Ordell.
She always had a fierce, stubborn look in her eyes.
Her yellow-tinged eyes had a menacing edge to them as if making it clear to anyone not to treat her lightly.
But now, seeing her again after half a year, how did she look like?
Seth had never seen Ordell with such a soft and gentle expression.
Even her eyes which seemed to hold a smile looked golden, reminiscent of honey, rather than yellow.
With such a drastic change, how could he think they were the same person?
In fact, his keen observation skills had caused this confusion.
“…it seems that the Saintess has undergone a great change of heart lately, and because of that, her personality has also somewhat changed.”
Airek briefly explained what Ordell had been doing in the grand temple over the past few days.
From demanding better meals for the children to eating with them in the dining hall, and even catching Kento’s embezzlement in the afternoon.
Seth was greatly surprised.
“The Saintess has truly accomplished something significant. I should have been the one to catch the embezzler… I apologize. It seems I’ve been away for too long.”
“How is this solely the Captain’s fault? It’s my fault for not realizing that there were rats gnawing at our place all this time.”
Airek smiled bitterly.
With Seth gone, he knew he should have kept a better eye on the temple, but this was all his mistake.
“Anyway, now is not the time to assign blame. We must capture the remaining spies before it’s too late.”
Seth’s blue eyes darkened at Airek’s words.
“You’re right, High Priest. I’ll do as the Saintess suggested and issue a lockdown in place right now. I’ll also immediately gather everyone residing in the grand temple.”
“Make sure to investigate every priest, holy knight, and acolyte without exception. Be careful not to frighten the children, but examine everyone thoroughly to leave no room for suspicion.”
Investigating even the children might be excessive but this was a matter of the safety of the grand temple.
They could not afford to make the same mistake again.
Seth nodded with a determined look on his face.
“I will be thorough.”
“In the meantime, I will interrogate Kento. I’ll see if I can get a confession about who his accomplices are.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind handling this alone? I can take care of it if you prefer.”
At Seth’s concern, Airek shook his head firmly.
“The honor of the grand temple is at stake. I will not take it lightly, so you have nothing to worry about.”
Seth accepted without insisting further.
The two of them quickly sprang into action.
Seth gathered the holy knights, while Airek headed alone to the deepest cell where Kento was imprisoned.
The smell of damp, filthy, humid assaulted his nostrils.
Standing guard in front of the cell where Kento was kept alone were two holy knights that Seth trusted especially.
Since these two were practically raised by Seth and had no chance of being spies, Airek felt at ease and entered Kento’s cell.
Kento was bound limb from limb by chains and handcuffs on the wall.
“Kento. You’re going to have to answer everything I ask you from now on.”
Airek raised a whip that had been set up on one side of the cell for interrogation.
Kento initially sneered dismissively but upon seeing the sharp barbs at the end of the whip, his eyes began to waver.
Did he think there would be no torture in a temple dedicated to a god? Not at all. It is precisely because it is a temple that it can.
It’s only natural for the temple to punish and bring the mace down on the evil that has sullied the name of the gods.
“I’m in a very bad mood right now, so this is going to hurt a lot. You can scream for as long as you want and when you can’t handle the pain anymore, confess and tell me the truth. That might improve my mood a little.”
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Kento hesitantly took a few steps back.
But there was nowhere for him to escape in the enclosed space.
“Don’t worry. You won’t die. Fortunately for you, the god I serve, the Sun God, specializes in healing.”
Torture, heal, interrogate, heal.
Understanding the implication of this repeated process, Kento’s face turned pale.
But Airek’s face, staring down at him, was devoid of any emotion.
Soon, horrific screams echoed through the cell.
* * *
The next morning.
Having each performed their duties admirably through the night, Airek and Seth met again in front of the Saintess’s reception room.
At the faint smell of blood emanating from Airek, Seth frowned.
“High Priest, there’s a smell of blood coming from—”
“Oh no, I tried to wash it off as much as possible. Is it still noticeable?”
“Hmm. It’s faint enough that the Saintess might not notice, but it could be detected in an enclosed space.”
Airek nodded at Seth’s advice.
He would need to leave the windows open as soon as they get inside. Ordell takes a long time to get ready anyway.
‘Ah, but not anymore. She doesn’t dress up now.’
Ordell used to spend a lot of time dressing in luxurious dresses and adorning herself with elaborate decorations.
However, the newly transformed Ordell had ordered all her dresses to be disposed of.
She began wearing the Saintess’s robes or simple clothes she had previously ignored.
This stark change was a clear indication that she had truly transformed.
Thinking of Ordell, who had asked him to believe in her, Airek sighed, feeling a mix of emotions.
“Um, H-High Priest, Captain.”
Just then, the maid who had gone into Ordell’s bedroom to announce their visit returned with a perplexed expression.
“Th-the Saintess is not in her bedroom. The room is completely clean and empty.”
Both men’s eyes widened at the unexpected news she brought.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!