Chapter 96

While I wasn't originally a warrior, having been around many friends who trained, I developed a keen eye.

One thing I learned is that martial arts practitioners have a distinct way of walking.

And the gait of those priests was that of formally trained martial artists.

Balanced, powerful, and ready to counterattack at any moment.

I couldn't help but scream internally.

Rhom, you bastard! This is not what you said!

Are you trying to get me killed?!

“Young Master. It seems they are no ordinary priests.”

Theo, who had also noticed something was off, whispered.

“I know.”

I instinctively scanned them up and down, but their robes were so loose it was impossible to tell if they were hiding weapons or not.

A dagger or a mace could pop out from those sleeves at any moment.

Damn it, Rhom. I shouldn't have trusted that simple mind of yours.

What was he thinking, letting them in if they were assassins impersonating the Holy See? I could have died!

At my nod, Theo carefully gripped the handle of his axe.

However, fortunately for everyone, it seemed today was not that day.

My eyes met with a pale-blond female priest, and she gave me a smile full of goodwill.

It was far from seductive, more like meeting a close friend.

“Greetings. Duke Gryph?”

“...Yes. Greetings to you all, priests. Welcome to the Black Company.”

I nodded reluctantly.

It seems they aren't assassins after all.

If they were really assassins, they would have rushed at me and swung their blades the moment they entered.

Phew.

After these people leave, I'll have to overhaul the security protocols.

I'll have to call Rhom in for some mental education too.

I whispered to Theo.

“They probably come from a monastic order that practices martial arts.”

“Does the Western Church have such places? How fascinating.”

“Yes. They do that, even though they're a religious institution.”

“Hmm, then I'd like to have a sparring match to see what their level is.”

“……”

This idiot, really.

You feel a competitive urge now?

Doesn't it occur to you what would have happened if they were assassins?

I decided to include Theo in the mental education later and first greeted the priests.

What event was there that involved dispatching suspiciously well-trained priests?

Nothing really comes to mind...

But as the priests got closer, I felt a strange sensation.

“……”

An unsettling feeling.

Not something like foreboding or fear, but the feeling of something unpleasant approaching.

The priests had calm faces, seemingly unaware of the strange sensation, but the closer they got, the stronger my feeling of discomfort grew.

Why on earth?

The only thing that has changed is the priests?

To confirm my reasoning, I spoke to the priests.

“One moment, Fathers.”

“Yes?”

“Please stop there.”

“Yes, we will.”

The priests stopped in their tracks, and I gained certainty.

As the priests stopped walking, the feeling of discomfort neither strengthened nor weakened.

I didn't know the reason, but the cause of this strange sensation was indeed the priests.

Why on earth am I feeling this?

Could it be that my intuition ability has developed and I'm sensing danger?

No, I don't think so.

My traits haven't changed much since the subjugation of Tospol.

I didn't know the reason, but for now, it was time to play the host.

I couldn't be lost in other thoughts with guests in front of me.

“I am not feeling well. I wouldn't want to pass on any illness, so it would be best if you did not come any closer.”

“Oh dear, I will pray for your swift recovery.”

“Thank you, everyone. You must have had a hard journey coming all the way to Fasa.”

“Not at all. We came by ship, so it was quick.”

The leader of the group, the pale-blond priest, said with a smile.

“I have heard much of your fame. I am Ceras, a servant of the Lord. I have come from Ratio to meet you.”

“Ce, ras?”

“Yes, Ceras.”

I paused.

The moment I heard that name, something shot out from the dusty heaps of memory in my mind.

It was strategy information for Warlord Saga that I had forgotten, exhausted from overtime.

***

In Warlord Saga, the Inquisitor is a unique class for heroes of the Western Church.

In contrast, the neighboring Eastern Church, which has a similar format, has no such class at all.

This is because while the Eastern Church held councils to explore heresy, the Western Church directly sought out and burned warlocks, black magicians, and demons to death.

In other words, the Western Church can be said to be more aggressive and action-oriented than the Eastern Church.

Given such work ethics and religious background, the difficulty of performing this job was naturally quite formidable.

It takes more than an ordinary person to deal with those rough fellows.

Therefore, the Inquisitor was a glorious position bestowed upon the elite chosen from among the numerous personnel of the Western Church.

Among them, the most infamous to users was Ceras Shrewsbury.

Pope Astro's hunting dog,

The Labyrinth Destroyer,

Inquisitor Ceras.

Why did Ceras earn such infamy?

It goes back a long time, to when the 'Heresy' DLC was first released for Warlord Saga.

The 'Heresy' DLC was an expansion that unlocked previously locked content such as black magicians, demonologists, and heretical religions.

The addition of a DLC also meant the addition of achievements.

Moreover, since the concept was completely different from previously released DLCs, it made countless users, including myself, cheer.

Naturally, as soon as the DLC was released, everyone bravely tried out the new classes.

And were immediately crushed by Ceras.

─No, what is that;;

─I died on my 1st try lol

And it wasn't just once or twice.

Countless users, not giving up, kept retrying to get the achievements.

But wherever they went, they had to face Ceras and witness a BAD END.

─No, what the hell is that!!!!!

─Why does Ceras follow me wherever I go?

─I was playing in Stride's line and died to Ceras;;

─Met Ceras right at the start and ran, but she followed me to the ends of the earth and killed me;;

She wasn't some kind of spoon-wielding murderer, nor had anyone signed up for a home delivery service, but wherever you went, Ceras would show up like the grim reaper and kill you.

Naturally, Ceras' infamy soared, and users complained to the game company, asking if it was a bug, but the company ruled it as normal.

The cause of the problem was only revealed after a user, unable to bear Ceras' tyranny, tore apart the data sheet.

The cause was Ceras' unique trait, 'High Intuition'.

Ceras possessed a terrifying intuition for finding heretics, so much so that it was mistaken for a bug.

And that very character has now come to visit me.

This is completely outside my calculations.

I didn't get transmigrated into the game by choice, but since I wasn't playing a heretic this time, I never thought I would meet Ceras.

Unless it was the malice of some divine being...

Just in case, it's absolutely impossible that I'm mistaking her for someone else with the same name.

In the world of Warlord Saga, there is only one person who uses the name Ceras.

Because the game company deliberately did not create any characters with overlapping names.

Above all, the trait that suddenly activated was telling me that my judgment was correct.

「Trait Activated: Descendant of a Demon

When you meet the greatest nemesis of your life, you feel the dark shadow in a corner of your heart that you had turned away from like an old friend.」

Damn it.

Only then did I realize that the unsettling feeling I had just felt was not simply a health issue.

The character trait I possessed had sensed the presence of an Inquisitor and sent me a warning.

More than that, no, you mean the demon thing wasn't just a simple modifier? There was really something to it?

Faced with the greatest crisis of my life, there was no composure or anything of the sort.

Just as I was about to scream without realizing it.

「Trait Activated: Heart of Iron and Blood

Do not be afraid. What you should fear is not unethical violence, but yourself.」

The trait that activated just in time calmed my physical reaction.

I quickly composed my expression.

It would be a big problem if Ceras sensed something suspicious and doubted me!

As I was gathering my scattered thoughts, Ceras asked with a puzzled expression.

“Do you perhaps know me?”

“Ah, no. You just resembled someone I know. My apologies.”

“Ah, I see. My name is common, so you may have heard the same name somewhere.”

“Being directly under the Holy See, aren't you of noble birth?”

“Ah, people often misunderstand that way. But I have no family name.”

“I see.”

“Indeed.”

Commoner, my ass.

The quality of your skin and hair is different.

Anyone can see you're screaming 'I'm not ordinary' with your whole body.

It was too poor a lie to believe, but this wasn't the situation to point it out.

I had to force a wide smile, as if someone was holding a knife to my side and threatening me.

***

Ceras was also smiling on the outside, but inwardly, she was narrowing her eyes.

‘How does this southern country bumpkin know my name?’

Ceras didn't believe Leon's excuse.

Although he tried to gloss it over, Leon's reaction was that of someone who knew the name.

It was too unlikely to be a coincidence.

Ceras Shrewsbury was Pope Astro's closest aide and confidant, but because of her duties, her name was not known outside the Holy See.

Demons make humans flee, but Inquisitors make demons flee.

An Inquisitor is an expert on demons, not on civil affairs.

Therefore, even within the Holy See, only the high-ranking cardinals knew of Ceras' existence.

So, an ordinary person like Leon Gryph should never know and could never know the name of an Inquisitor.

‘Perhaps there's a loose-lipped person among His Holiness' political enemies. If so, does that mean Leon Gryph has already established connections all the way to the Holy See? Did His Holiness send me to find this out?’

Somehow, this mission had been strange from the start.

If it were a simple mission like purifying spirituality, there was no reason to specifically pick an Inquisitor from among the many confidants.

It was clear that Pope Astro had never believed the story about it being the work of a demon from the beginning.

It must have been a pretext to investigate a political enemy within the Holy See.

After all, an Inquisitor is an expert in investigation.

If Pope Astro had known, he would have said, 'No, that's not it,' but there was no one here to clear up the misunderstanding.

It is difficult for a normal person to think that their opponent is a gamer from a future civilization who is skilled in game strategy.

Such a thing was outside Ceras' imagination.

Ceras, who had made a completely different mistake from Leon, decided to find out who was behind him.

‘I don't know which cardinal he's colluding with, but I have one more reason to stick by his side. I'll dig out everything.’

Leon, standing next to her, shivered from an unknown chill.

This feeling was different from the previous discomfort; it was very eerie.

So Leon hurriedly tried to change the subject.

“So what brings you here? A donation? Or is there something you need to ask of me?”

“From what I hear, your mercenary company is highly skilled, but there is one thing you lack.”

“Is that so? What would that be?”

“That would be faith.”

At the sudden, out-of-place word, Leon was perplexed in a different sense.

Honestly, he had never felt any inconvenience from a lack of faith.

Leon now began to see the priests as salespeople who had come to clear out their inventory.

“Um, Father. Are you perhaps here to proselytize?”

“That is not it. But even the most ruffian of men would have worries they cannot speak of to others, or need the last rites in their final moments, would they not? If you would permit it, the clergy of our Holy See would like to accompany your company and refine their spirituality.”

It was a plausible excuse, but also a reason that was fully accepted.

While there were priests who devoted themselves to the church organization, there were also priests who went out to perform their duties.

‘Did it work?’

Ceras watched Leon's reaction.

But Leon's gaze was somewhat strange.

His eyes, which had been looking at them as if they were peddlers, had changed to look as if they were prey.

Ceras felt an inexplicable shiver and trembled.

‘What?’

Ceras was young and beautiful, and thanks to her training, she was also full of healthy beauty.

Because of this, she was often courted by men when she went out.

Of course, those men would hastily distance themselves the moment they learned Ceras' true identity, even if the mood was going well.

Thanks to such experiences, Ceras had a knack for distinguishing impure gazes.

However, the way Leon was looking at Ceras was completely different.

If one had to say something similar, it was the look in the Pope's eyes when he suggested they go fishing on the weekend.

It was an accurate assessment.

Because at that moment, Leon was thinking this.

‘For such talented individuals to walk in on their own two feet. I'm really lucky.’