As I stepped out of the hospital room, a woman dressed neatly in a tight-fitting priest's robe was waiting. I called out her name.
"Rosetta."
She was the newly joined commander of the First Holy Knights Division, Rosetta.
Having been engaged in relief activities since our arrival at Crossroad, it was here that we met.
"Prince Ash."
Rosetta, who called my name in return, adjusted her round silver-rimmed glasses and smiled brightly.
Just as I thought her smile lines surprisingly charming, she said,
"It's heresy."
"..."
Frozen, I stuttered in response.
"Eh? What? Heresy? What is?"
"Refusing treatment. It's an act of heresy."
Rosetta gestured towards the room behind me... Mikhail's room.
Only then did I realize that the 'heretic' Rosetta was referring to was Mikhail, and a chill ran down my spine.
"And heresy..."
As Rosetta murmured ominously and reached into her robe, I, without realizing it, waved my hands frantically to stop her.
"W-wait a minute! Calm down, Rosetta! Mikhail is going to receive treatment! So don't do anything scary!"
"Huh? Scary thing?"
Rosetta blinked in confusion, then slowly withdrew her hand from her robe.
In her hand was... a pen and notebook.
An incredulous sound escaped my lips.
"Eh?"
"Ha ha, scary thing, you say. What are you talking about? This is just..."
Rosetta opened the notebook and began to write something down in elegant handwriting, kindly explaining as she did so.
"It's just accruing heresy points."
"What in the world is that?!"
Heresy points?! Just the name sounds terrifying!
Regardless of my shock, Rosetta calmly continued writing.
"Mikhail Vermillion... refusal of treatment... heresy points, 10 points."
"..."
"Ah, there! You shouldn't run in the temple corridors! It's heresy!"
The young mercenaries running through the corridor covered their ears and ran off upon hearing her. Rosetta clicked her tongue and wrote something more in her notebook.
"Ignoring the priest's words... add 5 more heresy points for a total of 20."
"..."
"Ah, there! Those eating! You shouldn't be picky! It's heresy! Don't leave food on your plates!"
Rosetta continued to point out the actions of mercenaries around the temple, freely doling out heresy points.
'What exactly does 'heresy' mean to this woman...?'
And what can be done with the heresy points once a certain amount is accumulated...?
It was unclear, but fortunately, it seemed that these heresy points were only for recording purposes and not actually used for punishment. She just quietly wrote in her notebook.
Thump!
Having closed her notebook, Rosetta looked up at me and chuckled.
"Did you think I was some mad priest who arbitrarily brands others as heretics and whips them to death?"
"...Well, that."
To be honest, I did think so...
"I understand that you are wary of my Holy Knights Division. We are infamous for our inflexibility, after all."
"Was I misunderstanding?"
"Not exactly. We do cling to principles, after all... But, we are strict with ourselves."
Rosetta walked ahead with light steps. I quietly followed her, listening to her words.
"To ourselves, within the Goddess's Order. My Holy Knights Division is the flame that consumes our flesh and the whip that scars us. However, we do not impose these principles on others outside."
"Oh..."
"Well, I am keeping the heresy notebook. It's our duty not to remain silent in the face of injustice."
That's still pretty scary...
I hesitated a bit before asking.
"By the way, it might be a bit late to ask, but does it bother you that I speak to you so informally?"
Looking back, I remember being very formal with Margarita, who was the head priestess at first, always addressing her with the utmost respect.
But then, speaking informally to her successors, Zenis and Rosetta, seemed a bit odd.
Rosetta slightly raised her thin lips in a menacing smile.
"You're asking quite late. Yes, speaking informally is also heresy."
"Aaah!"
Startled, I nearly had a fit, but Rosetta covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Just kidding. It's not that easy to earn heresy points."
Well, just a moment ago, you were handing them out quite freely...
"Whether you speak to me informally or formally, whether you see me as a pebble on the road or as a messenger of the Goddess, it makes no difference to me. I am here to fulfill my mission."
"...Anyway, I'll just keep speaking informally."
It felt too late to change now, so I decided to continue speaking informally.
The temple was filled with soldiers who had been injured and were having trouble moving. Rosetta, whenever she encountered them, generously sprinkled her holy power.
The soldiers, feeling better, bowed repeatedly to Rosetta, who did not properly receive their thanks and just briskly moved forward.
I admired her internally.
"I thought a heresy inquisitor would only be good at throwing punches, but your healing skills are extraordinary."
"It seems you have a misunderstanding. All priests in our order possess exceptional healing abilities."
Rosetta showed off the silver rosary wrapped around her wrist.
"How could we learn to destroy without being able to heal someone? Even heresy inquisitors are no exception."
Indeed, in the game, whether a paladin or a heresy inquisitor, they all come with a healing skill like 'Light of Healing' as a passive skill.
"I also hold the status of a saintess. I have a pretty long career as a healing priestess."
"You're a saintess too?"
Like Margarita before?
Surprised, I asked, and Rosetta answered indifferently.
"In our order, whether a saintess or a saint, it's just a title. Precisely, it's an honorary position given to female priests who can generate a certain level of holy power and have contributed significantly to the order. I too meet the qualifications."
"So, should I call you Saintess from now on?"
"Ha ha."
Rosetta let out a cynical dry laugh and stopped walking.
"That title doesn't suit the thorny path I've been assigned. I've never used it."
"..."
"Saintess is a title better suited for someone else... Margarita was once dispatched here, wasn't she?"
Rosetta stopped in front of the head priest's office.
She lightly brushed the old door with her fingertips.
"She must have worked in this room."
"Do you know Margarita?"
"Of course. The title of saintess isn't common, after all. We saintesses do at least greet each other and keep in touch."
Rosetta lowered her eyes, perhaps recalling memories with Margarita.
"The Goddess often takes the kind and righteous ones first, doesn't she?"
"..."
"She gathers the souls of the good people first, to use them preciously in heaven."
I thought of Margarita.
Even though she always complaining while shivering, she was always at the forefront, healing people.
The saintess of this temple that I always miss.
"But I have survived ugly and disgracefully on this earth without being martyred in battle. I must continue to walk the thorny path given to me."
Rosetta's eyes flashed open.
Then, spinning around, her long priestess robe fluttering, she stretched out her leg in a picturesque kick and,
Bang!
Kicked open the door to the head priest's office.
The locks that had been hastily placed on the inner door of the head priest's office shattered into pieces with one kick.
As I stood there with my mouth agape at the sight, Rosetta pulled out her notebook and started writing swiftly.
"Rosetta, for damaging temple property, heresy points 30. And then..."
She shot a sharp glance inside the head priest's office.
"...I'll transfer these 30 points to Priest Zenis, who caused this act of heresy."
Thump! Crash! Bang!
The sound of someone frantically rolling around came from inside the office. Rosetta entered with light footsteps.
"Zenis, I know you're hiding here. Come out this instant."
"Eek, eeeeek!"
Inside the head priest's office, in front of the desk, stood Zenis with a face full of panic.
The inside of the office was a mess. Cigarette packs and liquor bottles were scattered around, and unwashed laundry was strewn about.
"Ugh, the smell of an old man..."
I couldn't help but cover my nose. What is this stench! Am I going to end up like this too?!
Rosetta frowned as well.
"To defile this sacred space where Saintess Margarita once worked, you really have no shame, Zenis."
Well... to be honest, Margarita also lived with cigarettes and alcohol due to work stress... The state of the room wasn't much different back then...
This wasn't the time to bring that up.
As soon as Zenis saw Rosetta, he let out an ill-fitting scream and hastily opened the window at the back of the head priest's office.
Rosetta murmured coldly as Zenis tried to escape by jumping out.
"Do you think jumping out will allow you to run for much longer?"
"...!"
"Think about it, Zenis. Whether it's better to take your punishment cleanly now or to run and accrue more sins against the Goddess and the order, only to face an even more terrible end. Think carefully."
Zenis hesitated, twitching, but upon seeing Rosetta's threateningly clenched fists, he eventually gave up on escaping.
"I surrender, sister."
The priest slumped his shoulders, sniffling and meekly knelt before Rosetta.
Anger swirled in Rosetta's intelligent eyes behind her glasses.
"Our order's eternal lost sheep, the troublemaker Zenis... You've run well until now, but this is the end."
"...Punish me."
"Yes. I was going to do that anyway."
Shrrk-
Rosetta unwound the iron whip from her waist and gripped it in her hand. The murderous intent was palpable as if she really intended to use that lethal whip.
I panicked and intervened urgently.
"Wait, wait, wait! Are we really going to have an iron whip show here?!"
"Yes. I will administer the whipping. Until his life is taken."
"Until his life is taken?!"
Was Zenis's statement yesterday about 'trying to kill him' not an exaggeration but meant quite literally?
Rosetta, without blinking an eye, coiled the whip on the ground.
"Zenis, who's hiding behind Your Highness, has not only trampled the honor of our Holy Knights Division and the Inquisitors but has also tarnished the name of our Goddess's church with his notorious debauchery."
"Well... that thing! I sort of know the story!"
I had done some background checks on Zenis when he first came here, on Serenade's behalf.
"About 10 years ago, while on a mission abroad to spread the faith, he got a princess of that country pregnant, didn't he...?"
"...It actually happened 14 years ago. The report to the higher-ups came a good while after the actual event. Truly, as the head of the order... it's a disgraceful matter to even speak of."
Whether truly ashamed or not, Rosetta's pale face flushed with anger.
Zenis, kneeling behind me, closed his eyes and remained silent.
'Just hearing this story makes you wonder if he's insane!'
Regardless, Zenis, who had been assigned to Crossroad, worked diligently as the head priest.
Which is why I had been willing to overlook his past.
I desperately tried to defend Zenis.
"Hadn't he already been punished? He received a penalty akin to excommunication, and was made to serve as a common priest for life... That should have been the end of it!"
"The punishment at that time was arbitrarily decided by the church's leaders. It was a political maneuver intended to spare our Holy Knights Division's disgrace and weaken our influence within the order."
What kind of intense political battles are happening within a religious organization?! Tone it down, will you!
"Anyway, a judgment has already been made! Why overturn it and punish him again?! Once a decision is final, it shouldn't be overturned! Haven't you heard of the principle of res judicata?"
"Church law is different from criminal law, Your Highness."
Rosetta stood her ground without yielding an inch.
"Now that our Holy Knights Division, and I, have taken leadership of the order, we can revise the church's previous sanctions. I am merely exercising the rights given to me."
"But!"
"Have I not told you, Your Highness? Our Holy Knights Division is the flame and the whip purifying our order from within."
"..."
"This is an internal matter of our order, Your Highness. With all due respect, you have no right to interfere. Not even the Emperor has the right to meddle in this matter."
Rosetta spoke calmly, yet her words were sharp as a blade.
"We will cooperate in all matters outside the order. We will slay monsters and heal the sick. Our order will continue to be a good neighbor to you all, as it has always been."
"..."
"So please, do not hinder our efforts to cleanse the stains within our own order."
Swish-!
With a flick of her arm to the right, the iron whip moved like a live snake, shredding the furniture around her in an instant.
"Please step aside, Your Highness."
With an intelligent face, Rosetta showed a gentle smile.
"This is your last warning."
A smile with the scent of blood, chillingly cold.
--TL Notes--
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