The game difficulty
has gone crazy
Meanwhile, in the Wordsworth territory, about a week northwest of Istirenne.
A jet-black crow sent from the capital arrived at the lord’s mansion.
“W-What… what did you say?!”
Inside the lord family’s office, a beautiful lady with ash-gray hair dropped the letter she had been reading.
Tris Wordsworth cried out in shock.
The family butler, Fred, who was standing beside her, flinched.
“M-My lady? What is the matter?”
“T-That is…….”
“What kind of letter is it?”
Something had happened.
And it happened only a little more than half a month after Glen, who had just arrived from Veronia, left the territory.
“Glen…….”
“You mean the second young master? Has something happened to him?”
“……Glen has been officially recognized as the Third Saint of the Papal State!”
“Ah! Wh-What in the— wait. What? What did you say?”
At that moment, Tris suddenly jumped up from her seat and grabbed Fred by the collar.
“He did it! I knew it! I believed in him! That child was destined to become someone like that!”
“M-My lady! P-Please, your dignity— khk!”
“Ah. Sorry, Fred. Are you okay?”
“Cough……! Y-Yes, I am fine. But since you are the head of the family, please refrain from such reckless behavior.”
“Mm…… I was just too happy.”
After calming herself, Tris once again read through the letter Glen had sent.
It briefly described, in his own handwriting, how he had been recognized as the Third Saint.
How he moved to exterminate the Black Cult without discriminating between territories.
How he saved the life of Cardinal Gracia Deleda from the clutches of the Black Cult.
How he not only led the decisive battle against the Black Cult, but even defeated the cult leader.
“Ahaha…….”
With her eyes stinging and her chest overflowing, Tris pressed her forehead against the letter.
How long had those lonely years been, when the whole world turned its back on him and he could not receive even a single warm word?
But now, Glen had become a saint admired by everyone in the world.
‘From now on, live a life filled only with admiration and love from everyone.’
“It seems something good has happened.”
A slightly gloomy, yet warm voice echoed through the air.
It was Septerien, the Queen of Banshees and the guardian spirit of the Wordsworth family.
“Ah, Lady Septerien! Look at this. Glen— he was officially recognized by His Holiness the Pope as the Third Saint!”
“That truly is joyful news. You should work hard as well, so as not to fall behind him.”
With an awkward, faint smile, the translucent Septerien gently hovered around Tris.
Because of that, all the fatigue she had built up from hours of work vanished at once.
“Of course. I don’t know when he’ll come back, but if I want to surprise him when he does, I need to do my best too.”
When Tris clenched her fist, Septerien nodded.
“Just wait, Glen. This older sister won’t lose to you either.”
“Ahem. I look forward to it as well, my lady. Then, shall we handle this agenda item first?”
“Alright, Fred. It’s the holy power stone matter we received from Veronia, right? For now…….”
A clear gleam began to shine in her jewel-like ash-gray eyes.
Meanwhile, in the holy city of Istirenne.
The largest city in the Papal State.
Ironically, beneath the central plaza—where the greatest number of people passed through—there existed an archive of the Black Cult.
But now, the inside was filled with a thick, metallic stench of blood.
Slash! Splaash—
All that could be heard were the sounds of blood splattering, flesh being torn apart, and dying screams.
“Ghh…… urgh!”
Dozens of Black Cult priests guarding the archive were annihilated by only eight Inquisitors.
“High Inquisitor. There are no more access routes. It seems this is the deepest section.”
Judith stood there, drenched head to toe in heretics’ blood, immersed in ecstasy.
“Yeah. Good work. Check thoroughly for any hidden passages.”
It clearly was not an atmosphere where anyone should answer casually, so Katrin gave the order instead.
Soon, the auxiliary bishop led the remaining six Inquisitors to search the archive.
Looking at the enormous library filled with purple lighting, Katrin frowned in disgust.
“This place is fucking creepy.”
Who would have thought such a gloomy space was hidden beneath the central plaza of the holy city?
When they first heard Cardinal Gracia’s order, both Katrin and Judith had doubted their ears.
“Isn’t this nice, Sister? We can judge a whole bunch of heretics without even going far.”
“You might like it. What if you kill every single one of them?”
“Ahaha. Don’t worry about that.”
Smiling pleasantly, Judith handed Katrin a book with a dark red cover that had been placed on a nearby desk.
“There’s no need to force open their heavy mouths.”
『Cult Diocese Status』
“That kind of thing is written in there too?”
“Yes. It seems the one who sat at this desk was the person in charge.”
Neither of them knew, but that desk belonged to Prophet Litera, the administrator of the archive and the highest-ranking priest of the cult.
On the desk located in the deepest part of the archive, there were many records containing useful information besides the cult diocese report.
“That’s a lot stacked up.”
Narrowing her eyes, Katrin looked at the bookshelves stretching endlessly up to the ceiling.
“…Don’t tell me we’re supposed to review all of these by ourselves?”
“No. Of course not. They said that once no danger is detected, the city guard will be deployed as reinforcements.”
“That’s actually good to hear. Why is that commander, who never lends even a single soldier despite always throwing tantrums, suddenly being cooperative?”
“He’s probably trying to get on the good side of us and the Saint after this incident.”
“That boot-licking pig bastard…… Just wait until he crosses me. I’ll shave off every last hair he has.”
Recalling the city guard commander’s fake smile, Katrin filled her blue eyes with cold killing intent.
Meanwhile, Judith casually flipped through the other books on Litera’s desk.
“…Still, Saint Glen is amazing. Just how much favor from God must he have to be shown even things like this?”
“Well… doesn’t that mean his faith toward God is deeper than anyone else in the world?”
Katrin thought briefly of the Glen she had seen so far, then frowned.
“…Is that so? It doesn’t really feel like he’s as devoted as the Saintess.”
“Faith is not meant to be shown to humans, but directed toward God. He must be praising and praying more earnestly than anyone where our eyes cannot see.”
At this point, one might even wonder if Judith’s object of faith was Glen himself.
“…Honestly, I feel like quitting the Inquisition and following him instead.”
“That serious?”
“Of course. My lifelong wish to judge all enemies of every cult in this world would be far more achievable by his side, wouldn’t it?”
“Well… that’s true. He is a Saint with that kind of mission. Then why not quit and follow him? Why are you still here?”
“Why else? Because the Saint rejected me, so I stayed.”
While searching through books, Judith looked up at the ceiling with sorrowful eyes.
“Ahh… that must mean my faith is still lacking……!”
“…You actually went to him?”
Katrin shook her head at the fact that this crazy woman had genuinely considered quitting the Inquisition.
Glen Wordsworth.
Honestly, Katrin thought he was someone worthy of respect.
‘It’s hard to tell what he’s really thinking, but he does seem like a good person.’
Otherwise, how could even a mere maid join an expedition for his sake?
Still, Katrin respected and trusted Cardinal Gracia even more than Glen, so she chose to remain one step behind and be satisfied with witnessing his miracles.
“…Hm? Oh?”
