Chapter 15 - The Truth of the Small Room
When we returned to town and reported to Hans-san, he praised us, saying it was impressive to exterminate one on a path we were taking for the first time. As I was about to head home in a good mood, he told me to wait. Apparently, the usual members were going to see Adolf-san together. It seems the contents of the parchment found in the small basement room had been deciphered. The contents, which Adolf-san told us in the town hall meeting room, were a detailed record of the research the mage had conducted in the small room, and they completely exceeded my expectations.
Five years ago, the mage, having hit a dead end in his research, went on a journey for about two weeks. It was to ruins called [the Lost Capital] or [the Ruined Town] located southwest of Nakanohara. It was a place with a small temple that held a massive catacomb, where the capital of a once-prosperous country had been. As a result of losing a war with another country, the nation was destroyed, and the city apparently became a ruin. The mage went to that temple to try and have the priest there teach him how to preserve corpses.
What he was taught there was the method of creating [Revenants] through magic.
[Revenants] are the so-called resurrected corpses, also known as the reborn or the returned. It's said that those who died leaving behind regrets in life, or those who died tragic deaths in wars and such, become them. There is a way to create them artificially. It's the [Undead] magic designated as [Forbidden Magic] by the Church.
However, he was rejected by the priest who had originally offered to help the mage with his research. It's only natural since the Church made it [Forbidden Magic]. Out of necessity, he continued his research in secret. And he succeeded in the immortalization of rat corpses. All that was left was to apply the same to the corpses in the catacombs.
There was one problem with the [Forbidden Magic]. If the person who created the [Revenant] died, the effect would be lost. In other words, the [Forbidden Magic] had to be passed down through generations.
The mage, however, found an answer. That if he himself became a [Revenant] while still alive, and then enslaved the corpses as [Revenants], it would become an eternal preservation method.
"The record ended here."
Adolf-san's story finished. I was dejected and speechless. It's impossible. To become a [Revenant] oneself just to preserve corpses...
"Did he carry it out?"
In the silence, Hans-san was the first to speak.
"We don't know now. We can only infer from his subsequent actions."
I fell into a sensation where Adolf-san's voice sounded like nothing but noise.
"I want to ask everyone. Does becoming a [Revenant] while alive mean dying?"
Everyone agreed with Adolf-san's question.
"Then, can you all kill yourselves?"
Everyone shook their heads. Suicide is forbidden. This is the teaching of the Goddess. The souls of those who commit suicide will never be saved. Since the mage lived in Nakanohara, he must have had the same belief. If that's the case...
"In other words, he went on a rampage at the church in order to be killed by someone?"
Hans-san's words must have spoken for everyone's thoughts. No one was surprised. Everyone was waiting for Adolf-san's words with bated breath.
"In other words, there was another accomplice."
It's Beatrix who speaks without hesitation at times like this. Moreover, the story has progressed too far for me to understand.
"Since becoming a [Revenant] oneself goes against the Goddess's teachings, he had to be killed by someone, right? That means someone turned the mage into a [Revenant], right? Since going missing would be suspicious, they made it look like he attacked the church and killed him publicly or something."
In Beatrix's argument, the one who struck him down becomes the mastermind.
"There's another possibility. The case where the two who struck him down did so without knowing anything."
In Hans-san's argument, there would be another mastermind. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other. I wonder if it's impossible to confirm now.
Adolf-san, having heard the two hypotheses, said to wait a moment and stepped out. And when he returned, Marcelo-san and Angelica-san were with him. While everyone was equally surprised, Hans-san let out a sigh. Beatrix muttered, "So that's how it is," without changing her expression.
Marcelo-san and Angelica-san were both looking down with somber expressions. Prompted by Adolf-san, Angelica-san finally opened her mouth.
"The ones who struck down that mage... were us."
Silence dominated the room once again.
The priest who first started the research was Marcelo-san. Marcelo-san, hearing that the mage was on a rampage, went to persuade him. And what he saw there was the mage in the church basement, firing magic like a madman and blowing away everything around him.
Out of necessity, Marcelo-san used [Magic-Sealing] magic and sealed his magic. It was strictly for the purpose of persuasion. However, the mage drew the sword at his waist and slashed at Marcelo-san. Marcelo-san, who was being slashed on his hands and feet and desperately running away covered in blood, was cornered against a wall by the mage, who raised his sword high... and he was struck down by magic released instinctively by Angelica-san, who had rushed there after hearing that the mage was on a rampage in the church.
"That mage is my older brother."
It was a confession from Angelica-san, speaking through tears, as if she were spitting blood.
[Forbidden Magic], violence against the church, and parricide...
Marcelo-san, feeling responsible for being the trigger for everything, left the priesthood and went to apologize to the mage's mother. And Marcelo-san, who was forgiven, was persuaded on the spot to help with the magic tool shop the mage had been running. As time passed, he married Angelica-san, changed the shop's name to Marcelo's Magic Tool Shop, and has continued to the present day.
Marcelo-san was an orphan, but now he lives with Angelica-san, the children born between them, and the mage's mother. The proof of the regret of having killed his brother—and for Marcelo-san, the mage who had treated him, an orphan, as a best friend without discrimination—is apparently the [Magic-Sealing Rings] they are wearing now. It seems the two of them wanted to seal their own magic that had killed the mage, and at the same time, always be able to feel him.
Behind those two's mischievous smiles was such an experience. I didn't notice at all.
Adolf-san provided an answer to the question everyone was hesitant to ask.
"These two seem to have known nothing about the results of the research in the basement. I heard it directly from them, so there's no mistake."
Lies don't work on high-level mages or priests. They can see through them.
"The problem is why it was the church basement."
Beatrix is fixated on that point.
"Hans-san. If you were the mage, where would you go to be killed by someone?"
"I'd charge into the Kingdom Army or the Town Guard. It was during the war back then. You'd be killed without question."
Since it suddenly bothered me, I tried asking.
"Is there no possibility that Angelica-san's brother was being manipulated by someone?"
Magic called [Forbidden Magic] isn't just [Undead]. There's magic that manipulates the mind, [Charm], and magic that manipulates the body, [Doll].
"There's a powerful barrier in the church, and such magic has no effect. However, if the enslavement had already been completed by other methods, the story is different."
The former priest's apprentice seems to have an idea of what those other methods are.
"For example, if the immortalization had already been completed. Once one becomes a [Revenant], the barrier has no effect. However, in this case, it would mean the mage was already dead."
The mage didn't fall into darkness, but was killed by someone and became a [Revenant]... in a way that exploited his feelings toward his research...
Just then, a town hall staff member entered the meeting room looking quite flustered. He said he needed Adolf-san to come immediately. Adolf-san said, "Let's take a short break," and went out of the room.
I pulled Beatrix's sleeve. Everyone else was also whispering to their neighbors.
"I have a really bad feeling about this. Is it going to be okay?"
The story is too big. It's not just an individual's fall into darkness.
"The problem is why the church basement. If we know that, we might see something."
It's probably as Beatrix says. It's become a story of crime... no, something like a conspiracy.
While we were whispering, Adolf-san returned. And then, we were told something that sounded like the end of the Nakanohara District.
"Just now, messengers came from several eastern villages. It seems corpses have risen from the village graveyards, become [Revenants], and are attacking the villages."
The guards all stood up, and the room became chaotic. It's impossible. Adolf-san told everyone to calm down, and once everyone was seated, he began giving instructions.
"Hans, can you prepare four squads from the Town Guard other than your own? I'm requesting an escort for the church priests."
"Understood. Would a composition of two cavalry squads and two infantry squads be acceptable?"
"That's right. The cavalry will go ahead to gather information, and the infantry will ride in the carriages with the priests to provide direct protection."
The number of villages where [Revenants] appeared is multiple, but the number per location seems to be small. He intends to counter them with holy magic.
"And there's one more thing. It seems the Demon Lord army subjugation unit on their way back was attacked by a group of bandits at the western pass. There was a request for rescue from those who escaped."
Hans-san furrowed his brow. Some among the Town Guard even clicked their tongues overtly. They probably want to say, what is a Demon Lord subjugation unit doing about mere bandits.
"Given the circumstances, wouldn't it be better to let them break through on their own?"
Everyone in the Town Guard nodded at Hans-san's proposal.
"It's not that simple. There are several mages mixed in with the opponents, and one of them apparently uses high-level magic. If they try to force their way through, the damage will be great."
"A high-level mage? Are they really bandits?"
Instead of answering Hans-san's question, Adolf-san silently looked toward the south. To the south of Sertoria is the Kingdom of Engrio.
There had been a proclamation that soldiers from the Kingdom of Engrio, who had participated as reinforcements for the Demon Lord subjugation army, would soon pass through the vicinity of Nakanohara. Normally, they would camp near the town and a place for a welcome would be provided. However, there seems to have been a request that it was unnecessary, out of consideration for the emotional aspects of both sides. In other words, they are somewhere in Nakanohara.
Isn't the timing a bit too good?
"But if there's a high-level mage, we don't have the military strength to counter them."
"I'll go. Can you lend me one squad from the Town Guard? I'm requesting cavalry. I'll be using the post stations. Oh, Hans's squad should stay."
"I... cannot agree to that."
Hans-san was directly opposing Adolf-san, who spoke as if it were nothing. It's only natural; the Town Guard would lose face. However, in the end, he was persuaded by Adolf-san. After all, the opponent is a high-level mage. If someone of the same class doesn't go, they'll be counterattacked.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened and one man entered.
"I heard the Mayor has urgent business with me..."
The one who entered the meeting room was Paul-san.