Inquisitor of Heresy
As I looked into the dry gaze of the heretic inquisitor, my hands began to twitch. As I pretended to scratch and lightly placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, my mind felt much more at ease.
‘Is there anything to nitpick?’
I tapped the handle of the sword with my fingers and searched through my memories. I carefully examined the jumbled and mixed memories of that time.
‘The aura was drawn from inside that monster Drake, and it was only for a split second, so it couldn’t have been seen from outside.’
After red blood spurted out from my brother, the greatsword of the heretic inquisitor blocked my path, and all I got was blown away by the impact.
No matter how much I thought about it, nothing bothered me. I let go of the sword handle and smiled kindly.
“Hello, Inquisitor.”
“···.”
‘I think I flinched a little? Or was it my imagination?’
The heretic inquisitor flinched slightly, stared at me for a moment, then strode toward me.
I barely managed to hold back the urge to draw my sword as I watched the heretic inquisitor approach me without saying a word.
Finally, the inquisitor reached out his hand, and I felt a cold touch on my forehead.
It was the blessing of the Inquisitor.
It was absurd that he didn’t even say hello and gave a blessing first, but since I had experienced it once, I was able to receive it without any problems.
– flaw···.
“···You called me.”
After a brief blessing, I asked the retreating inquisitor a question.
“Oh, Aaron is here.”
The answer came from behind the Inquisitor. The polite pig priest Blian was smiling, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a cloth.
Right next to the Inquisitor, his ugliness was so obvious that I felt dirty, but I smiled brightly. Priest Blian was the best vending machine for cost-effectiveness, spitting out gold when you put in a compliment.
“Father Blian! It is truly an honor to be able to meet you again like this. When I was afraid when I faced the devil this time, Father Blian’s words increased my faith, and I was able to find my way even in the darkness.”
“Haha… You’re gilding me again. What did I do…?”
Priest Blian glanced at the Inquisitor and rolled his eyes. He seemed worried that the woman might break his head. I opened my mouth at that.
“You did nothing! The demon I was fighting suddenly lost his spirit! He muttered, ‘Damn it, the priest’s prayers…’ That’s when I realized. Father Blian was with me!”
That pig priest must have been hiding during the last incident. Or he was sneaking out of the castle. It didn’t matter what he did. What mattered was that the fat guy would start spitting out gold when he was slowly scratched.
“That… was that so? Ahem… I guess you have answered my pitiful prayer. What can I do with this old body? All I can do is close my eyes and seek God… Hehe.”
Looking at the flesh trembling in my eyes, I felt like the vending machine was about to spit something out. Since compliments were priceless anyway, I decided to put in a few more coins.
“No! Why are you saying such sad things! What could be more natural and difficult than for a follower of God to seek God! Father Blian is more faithful and trustworthy than anyone else!”
“Is that so? Ahem···.”
Although he was just talking nonsense, it seemed to have deeply moved Blian, who shuddered, closed his eyes, placed his right hand on his forehead, and prayed softly.
In the meantime, he opened his eyes and glanced at the heretic inquisitor, and it seemed like he was just pretending to pray.
“Whew… I’m glad my prayers reached you.”
Now, looking at Blian, who had a completely shameless expression on his face, I almost burst out laughing, so I bit my tongue.
“Of all the people I met at the Castle of Cassidy, there was none so devout as you, Aaron. Including those in this synagogue. This is truly shameful, and at the same time something to be proud of. For surely the will of God is not confined to the synagogue, but is widely spread.”
Seeing him continue to babble with a serious expression, it seemed like the vending machine was going to spit out something real this time. I also put my right hand on my forehead with a serious expression. Of course, I was only pretending to pray.
“As a mere captain of the guards, you have fought against the devil once again, which is an achievement worthy of praise, but I value your courage and the faith that underlies it even more. That is enough to serve as an example to others. You fought against the devil not with the sword of humanity, the aura. You fought against evil with the sword of faith that you held in your heart.”
Blian took a moment to catch his breath, perhaps out of breath. It was a bit unpleasant to see, but bearable.
Blian’s tongue, which had been living with a beak until now, was really long. And it was so serious that even I, who was listening, thought, ‘Was I that great?’
Knock knock…
I swallowed without realizing it at the sight of Blian searching through his belongings.
“Your firm faith and the achievements you have made because of it. You are an example to all, and you deserve to be rewarded. That is why I am giving you this.”
What Blian took out with a proud face was a golden cloth. Blian held out the golden cloth that shone brightly as if melted the sun, and made an expression like a nobleman giving out a golden gift.
‘What is that?’
I squinted my eyes, forgetting to react to the object whose meaning I couldn’t understand.
“Ahem… Don’t feel too pressured. This is a position fit for someone with such sincere and strong faith as you.”
Perhaps because he thought I was too deeply moved to speak, Blian spread out the cloth with an even more stretched out expression.
The identity of the cloth was a golden cape. A golden cape with a single black line drawn on it. It was like the cape Blian wore around his neck, but one line was missing. The meaning was clear.
“Aaron, I appoint you an honorary monk.”
Blian gave a smile that made you want to squeeze him.
‘This is crazy.’
I forced myself to hold back the frown from my face.
Right now, a guy with a devil’s handprint on his heart is an honorary monk? From a distance, this may not seem like much of a comedy, but to me up close, it was a terrible tragedy.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Even though I overdid it a bit, the Inquisitor acknowledged it. He saw you risk your life to cut off the warlock’s head. Even though you’re originally a being worse than a demon, it’s a sufficient achievement to have brought justice to the warlock.”
Blian approached me, glancing briefly at the Inquisitor. Then he lifted his hooves, wrapped the cape around my shoulders, and clapped his hands.
“Thank you… haha… that’s something I never expected….”
I forced myself to hold back the clenching of my molars and smiled brightly.
“What about gratitude…, now no matter how busy I am, I have to go to synagogue every Sunday. Haha!”
Blian tapped my shoulder and smiled brightly. It was meant as a joke, but it felt strangely cold, so I laughed awkwardly.
‘This is seriously fucking sick.’
Suddenly.
I unconsciously clenched my molars as I watched Blian’s cheeks tremble and tremble. If I had just relaxed my grip a little, I felt like I could punch him in the face right away.
“Oh, and would you mind guiding the Inquisitor? He wants to tour the castle, but I have some things to take care of right now.”
After wrapping the cape around me, perhaps because I thought we were now a complete family, Blian asked me with a more relaxed expression on his face than before.
‘This little pig?’
My mouth kept itching, but I couldn’t reveal my true feelings.
“Haha, it is an honor for me to be with you, Your Excellency the Inquisitor.”
At my answer, Blian’s cheeks fluttered again.
The sight of him looking like a senior dealing with a problem that could come up for his junior at any time made me clench my fists.
‘You will definitely beat me someday.’
I looked at Blian tapping my shoulder and made a promise to myself.
I’m going to catch this pig someday and beat him up good.
***
‘Fuck.’
I watched the heretic inquisitor follow me half a step behind without saying anything, and muttered curses under my breath.
I was slowly circling Castle Cassidy, dragging along an inquisitor who was practicing silence, beyond the level of taciturnity.
The inquisitor simply followed me without saying a word. Every now and then, when he turned his head, his indifferent gaze pierced through me, and I felt a tickle in the back of my head.
The streets were beyond deserted, there was no one there. It was clear that word had spread that the Inquisitor was on the prowl.
I heard that a few years ago another Inquisitor visited Castle Cassidyck, and that more than a dozen people were left with broken heads.
Commoners did not go to synagogues, but rather gathered in their own homes to worship. Since many people were blind, it was common for the contents of the Bible to be distorted.
It was more of a minor incident caused by a gathering of blind people rather than pagans, but the Inquisitor had no such flexibility. In this era, ignorance was clearly a sin.
I walked around the awkwardly quiet and secluded Cassidy Castle, slowly gathering my thoughts.
‘This could actually be an opportunity.’
When I put on the cape earlier, I felt a sense of rejection because it was an unexpected situation, but when I thought about it carefully, it wasn’t such a bad situation for me.
The cult members were like a cartel with Bibles, so they really took care of each other. So it was safer to be inside than outside. There were also many benefits.
I was taken aback by the fact that I suddenly felt like I was living a life that was not suitable for a spy, but I had already put on the cape. If I had already set foot in the swamp, it would have been better to think about where to step next.
‘As long as no handprints are found, that’s fine.’
He glanced at the heretic inquisitor and nodded. Turning crisis into opportunity! He tried to shake his head, recalling the slogan he had heard a long time ago.
Even so, I couldn’t keep that heretic inquisitor hanging around. Every time I met his eyes, I felt like there was a thorn stuck in my throat and my life was being shortened.
‘If you don’t drop it properly, you might get kicked again.’
Thinking back to Blian, who was watching the Inquisitor’s mood, I realized that I might be dealt with in the future. I should have caught this at the beginning.
I glanced at the heretic and saw that he was still looking at me. At that gaze, I lightly touched the handle of my sword and opened my mouth.
It was time to roll the dice.
“Your Excellency the Inquisitor, aren’t you feeling anxious?”
He asked with a slightly serious expression.
The heretic inquisitor, who had been watching me for a moment, nodded his head slightly, but the width was so small that you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked closely.
“There’s a place I often go to. Would you like to go with me?”
There are some unanswered questions about the Cassadic Castle, and Brick’s mother is one of them.
Brick’s mother was the worst, most horrible cook I’ve ever tasted in my life, and she owned a restaurant.
It was surprising that they thought of selling such a horrible thing for money, but it was even more surprising that they had customers.
I was tricked by Brick the first time I visited, and I haven’t been around there since.
But now it was clear that those horrible fish buns would be the most important weapon to shake off the Inquisitor.
‘I wonder how the expressionless interrogator will react when he eats that.’
I briefly considered whether he might swing his mace in anger, but I was sure he wouldn’t.
He was an inquisitor who could even break the heads of nobles if they went against his will, but as he had such great power, the discipline he had was extremely strict.
Contrary to the common perception that they would just break your head if you got it wrong, they had their own appropriate and detailed line. They would never take out a mace unless it was related to the Bible.
The inquisitor nodded with his usual blank expression.
‘I’ll make it so you never want to come with me again.’
I nodded my head in agreement with the mindset that I would cut my own bones as well in order to cut the enemy’s bones.
Just by eyeballing it, I had twice as much bone as this woman, so if we shaved together, I was sure I would win.
‘But… fish bread?’
My heart started pounding for no reason.
***
“Aaron, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Yes, Masha. Long time no see.”
Brick’s mother, Marsha, was a beautiful woman with wrinkles on her face, but with a unique elegance that set her apart from others. She also had a noble character that matched her appearance.
“Oh, do you want to sit over here?”
Masha, who noticed the inquisitor behind me, furrowed her eyebrows slightly and guided me to a corner.
The heretic inquisitor casually took out the greatsword from behind his back, placed it next to him, and sat down. He also turned the handle toward himself, so that he could grab it at any time.
‘I guess I have the advantage here.’
Sitting across from him, I habitually counted the numbers.
There were many obstacles to swinging a greatsword indoors, and my sword was long enough to break the head of an inquisitor. Even if I looked at it from a long distance, I could cut off his head in two moves.
The heretic inquisitor, sitting upright, stared at me with indifferent eyes again. The contrast of his black eyes against his white armor felt strangely burdensome, so I was the first to avert my gaze.
A moment later, the Hell Fish Bread appeared.
Masha smiled gently and left, placing fish bread and glasses of beer in front of us.
‘···Fuck.’
I muttered a curse under my breath as I looked at the bread that had a lot of fish in it, as if I had been showing off my humanity for no reason. I felt like I had entered a tiger’s den to avoid a wolf.
At that moment, the heretic inquisitor, who had been praying briefly with his right hand on his forehead, picked up the fish bread without even taking off his gloves. I unconsciously gulped and focused on him.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the inquisitor bit into the fish bread and chewed it for a long time.
And then···.
‘I just made an impression.’
For the first time, emotion appeared on the face of the heretic inquisitor, who had never shown any expression at all.
The inquisitor looked at the fish bread in my hand with wavering eyes, then raised his head and stared at me.
The fishbread seemed to have given her quite a shock, as her eyebrows furrowed slightly and her slightly open mouth paused.
At that, I almost laughed, forgetting that the person I was talking to was an inquisitor. I held back the corners of my lips from twitching with all my might.
The heretic inquisitor, who had been glaring at me with wavering eyes for a moment, spoke for the first time.
“···Aren’t you eating?”
It was a clearer voice than expected. However, it was dry and cracked, as if he had not spoken for a long time. One of the heretic’s hands slowly moved to the mace on his waist.
“Oh, yes.”
Startled, I picked up the fish bread. Once I picked it up, I was really scared.
To think that Masha could instill such a clear fear in me, who had only felt fear a few times in my life… was in some ways amazing.
I chewed a mouthful of fish bread, and the deep sea beyond the ocean swirled in my mouth. It seemed as if if I opened my mouth right now, whales and fish would jump out, sing, and dance.
I was astonished that food could give me such a feeling… I forced my mouth to move. I could guarantee it. If you feed this fish bread to a spy three times a day, he would definitely confess any secret within two days.
The heretic inquisitor, who had been looking at me with wavering eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, took another bite, and the angle of his delicate eyebrows rose even higher.
So we took turns eating each other’s bites, and soon we were able to erase that horrible fish bread from the world.
The thought of having fought together against such a terrible and gigantic enemy as the Fishbread gave the Inquisitor a strange sense of camaraderie.
“···.”
However, the heretic inquisitor, whose face had turned pale, seemed to have different feelings from me, and he wiped his mouth with a cloth and glared at me with a look of disgust. At some point, the heretic inquisitor’s expressionless face completely broke.
At that moment, when Masha asked, ‘Shall I give you one more?’, the inquisitor quickly got up and hurriedly left the place.
‘You won’t follow me again.’
I was sure of this when I saw the Inquisitor whose greatsword had banged against the door as he rushed out.
“Oh, you must be busy. I made extra ones just in case there weren’t enough…”
He scratched his beard nervously at Masha’s sullen muttering.
“I didn’t even order it, and if you make more like that… what should I do? Sigh… just give it to me first.”
What kind of stupid restaurant owner makes food without asking for more? My hands were shaking with anger.
“As expected, it’s Aaron.”
I tried to suppress the irritation that welled up in my eyes at Masha’s somewhat burdensome gaze and glared at the two fish buns placed in front of me.
‘···It might be better to just get your head blown off by a mace.’
I moved my hands, trembling with fear, while thinking seriously.
***
“Captain, why is your outfit getting more and more extravagant as the days go by?”
Kel muttered, looking at me with a somewhat weary look in his eyes.
“Of course. How beautiful it is.”
I simply laughed at him and smoothed the cape on my shoulders.
At first it felt like a portable guillotine that you could carry around around your neck, but once you put it on, it was more effective than you’d think.
Since most of the imperial people were followers of the Cult of the Sun, wearing this allowed you to get a discount wherever you went. On top of that, if you tapped the handle of your sword, you could even get a discount on the guards, so the cape almost felt like a badge.
This gold cape was more effective than any other accessory.
“That… is not it. Well, as long as the leader is good.”
Kel mumbled his words in a sullen tone, but he didn’t really care. He carried a handkerchief with a flower pattern in his pocket, so it was obvious how poor his aesthetic sense was.
“But, Captain, did you hear that?”
“what?”
“The Feners sent soldiers to work with us.”
At Kel’s words, he scratched his beard with his finger.
I knew that the soldiers of the Fener family had entered the castle, because I had sent them in, but I did not know that they would be on duty with us.
“···Why?”
“I think so too, but how could we know what the nobles are thinking?”
Already, the knight of the Fener family, Ben, was attached to Young-ae. And in addition, they sent soldiers to strengthen the defense of the Castle of Cassadic…
‘No matter how much the marriage is discussed, isn’t it too much of an investment?’
A musty smell wafted from somewhere. Looking at the way things were going, it seemed like it wasn’t just a marriage issue.
‘Come to think of it, my brother was after Yeong-ae too. She is pretty, but why did he go to such lengths…’
Although Yeong-ae had an outstanding appearance that could be described as a beauty worthy of the title, she was not someone who could truly ruin the country.
No matter how pretty it is, it’s just an empty shell, so how many fools would ruin a country there?
“Anyway, the captain said that the lord told us to get along well. If there is an argument, you could be punished more severely.”
“Why are you saying that to me?”
“Did you hear me correctly? The Lord said to get along well. If there is a fight, there will be a heavier punishment…”
“I heard.”
“So, let’s get along well···.”
Even though I said I heard it, Kel continued to mutter as if he was trying to brainwash me.
There was no need to fight when we were both screwed. Thinking that it was a useless worry, I left headquarters.
“Ah, from today onwards, we will be conducting the inspection together with the soldiers of the Fener family. I will tell you once again, do not fight and get along well…”
Meanwhile, Kel, who didn’t give up, kept sticking next to me and repeating like a parrot.
“I got it. I’m not some thug. Would I fight with someone I work with?”
“You really shouldn’t fight.”
“Can’t you see this? I’m an honorary monk.”
I said quietly, tapping the gold cape. At that, Kel’s face immediately rotted away.
“···The leader is an honorary monk? The empire is about to fall···.”
The moment I reached the castle gate, I clicked my tongue and muttered quietly.
“Ha! You ignorant guard! Nice to meet you!”
A soldier with a familiar face looked at me with a red face and shouted.
‘Hmm… I guess I’ll just hit one.’
I looked at him and wondered if a one-sided beating was a fight.
