kscans

Chapter 71 - The Defense of Nieren and the Newcomers

The purification seemed to be finished. The priest, Myra, and Aira were catching their breath.

As I was vaguely watching them, someone knocked on the church's entrance doors.

"We're closed for the day!"

I called out from inside, just in case.

"Mash, it might be an injured person seeking help,"

Myra said, reminding me that this was, in fact, a church. But would any injured person see the pile of monster corpses at the entrance and still try to come inside?

Either way, a monster wasn't going to knock, so it was definitely a person. I had a very bad feeling about this.

Since none of my party members made a move, the priest approached the doors. Just then, with a splintering crash, the doors blew inward.

A giant spike was embedded in the thrown bronze doors.

It was the same kind of spike that had been stuck in the pink Big Hopper we saw in the city.

A group of six strangers entered.

The short, chubby man in the lead surveyed the scene and began to applaud. The dry sound echoed through the room.

"Seeing your clumsy performance outside, I thought just tossing one inside would be enough to annihilate you all."

Black hair, black sunglasses, black clothes. And a black cane. The man looked like a clown.

"You see how it is. God's taking a day off today. That's why the church is a mess, and the city's in chaos. Could you just go home?"

No one else was answering, so I decided to reply. My party members gathered around me, wary of the newcomers.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. We were waiting for this moment, when security was lax,"

the chubby man said with a laugh. His speech was polite, but it held a mocking tone. Next to him stood a tall, thin man, also dressed in black. He too wore sunglasses. Did they sell those in this world? Or were these two otherworlders who had brought them along? Behind them were two muscular men with slave marks. They had the ears of beastmen. Were they from the dog-eared race, like Famu? But their sharp gazes held none of the friendliness she possessed.

"They're from the werewolf tribe,"

Famu answered, noticing my gaze. She was as sharp as ever. I wish she'd stop reading my mind.

Furthest back stood a woman in priestess-like robes, similar to Myra's. She looked to be about Mizuki's age. I could see a slave mark peeking out from the gap in her sleeve.

Next to the priestess was a man who looked like a mage. He was another middle-aged guy. His robes were hitched up, revealing muscular arms unbefitting a mage. He had no slave mark.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing for you in this church. Just a priest whose hobby is touching women's butts."

"H-How did you know?!"

the priest squeaked. He had seemed so composed for his age, but maybe he was just a coward.

"You seem like quite the pervert yourself..."

The chubby man slid his sunglasses down and looked over the women in our group with an appraising eye. His gaze lingered on Mizuki in particular. I felt like she had been defiled.

"This is disgusting. Let's just hurry up and take these geezers down!"

Cecily said. Her mouth was as sharp as ever. I wish she'd remember the last time she mouthed off to us like that and lost.

"You shouldn't assume you can beat us with your level of skill,"

the man said. He was right. I mentally warned Cecily as well.

"How about this? Your mage girl and the dog-eared one. Won't you trade them for my two werewolves? I'll be happy to train them for you."

The man grinned. He was starting to say some disgusting things.

"That dog-eared girl won't do. She's wearing a light blue outfit,"

one of the werewolves told the chubby man. I looked at Famu. She was glaring at the werewolf. She was just as belligerent as Cecily. Was there some meaning to the color light blue? The werewolf's words piqued my interest.

"What's wrong with light blue?"

"You're keeping her without even knowing? When a dog-eared finds a master they intend to serve for life, they wear something light blue."

The werewolf's words hit me like a ton of bricks. So that was why she'd chosen to wear those clothes. I looked at Famu again. She bit her lip and averted her gaze. She'd chosen the light blue clothes to stand out, but she didn't want me to know why? Her gesture confirmed that what the werewolf said was true. That was her intention in wearing that color.

Myra coughed lightly, as if to distract me. It seemed she knew as well. Mizuki, Cecily, and Aira looked just as surprised as I was.

"Sorry, but we're not interested in men. Now, what's your business with the church?"

I could ask Famu about her clothes later. For now, I brought the conversation back on track.

"What a shame... We have business in the basement of this church,"

the man answered.

"In the graveyard... You're grave robbers?"

The tombs of nobles were down there, but if they were after jewelry, it seemed incredibly inefficient.

"You don't know? The hero from a hundred years ago sleeps here."

The chubby man's words surprised me, to say the least. But what would they find by desecrating a grave? I couldn't imagine there was anything valuable enough to be worth bringing this city to its knees. Were there powerful weapons or items buried with the hero?

"You caused all this chaos just to visit a grave? People have died. Your ancestors must be weeping."

"It would be good if it ended with just a few people..."

the man said with a meaningful, creepy smile.

"You guys stole a regular Big Hopper. You used the church to sublimate it into a pink one. Then you killed it in the city and spread its fluids everywhere. Am I about right?"

Since he seemed willing to confess, I decided to confirm how they had orchestrated this incident.

"Do you think I'm affiliated with the church?"

"No."

I shook my head.

"Then let me ask you a question. Do you really believe the church produces miracles through the power of faith?"

"...It doesn't?"

Something did come to mind. If the power of faith caused miracles, then it shouldn't matter where you were. You wouldn't need a church. And yet, to rely on miraculous power, you had to go to a church. I had thought it was because priests with powerful faith were there.

"It's the power of a Crystal Core. The power of mana fragments that flowed from the Jar of Holy Oil. Not that you would understand,"

the man answered.

"A Crystal Core? The magical stone that forms dungeons?"

It was a gem that held the magical power to create dungeons and monsters. Destroying it would make the dungeon disappear. It was the goal of any dungeon explorer.

"Indeed. And it is something much closer to you than you think."

The chubby man took a palm-sized gem out of his storage. It wasn't reflecting light; it was glowing with its own rainbow luminescence. Were there people all over the world carrying around such dangerous things?

"Crystal Cores are magic stones that store immense amounts of mana. Their role isn't limited to controlling dungeons. They are strictly managed by the Empire and the church,"

Myra said. A cynical interpretation would be that they use that power to control the populace and the faithful. I didn't want to argue with Myra right now, so I kept that thought to myself.

"I won't go into detail now, but because Crystal Cores store so much mana, they cannot be controlled by ordinary people. That is precisely why the church exists,"

she added. In other words, this man was either not ordinary, or he was using a special skill to control it.

"...I understand your power. I surrender. We'll leave now, so please spare our lives."

Now was the time. I'd heard what I needed to hear, so I raised both my hands.

"You can't be serious. Are you just going to let these guys go?"

Cecily raised her staff. Aira silently followed her lead, raising her mace. Were they expecting me to use Goddess Summon? But the chubby man was undoubtedly an otherworlder, too. He possessed power comparable to mine. The outcome of a fight was uncertain. I didn't want to take such a risky gamble.

"Are you sane?"

I wanted them to understand that you have to be alive to have options.

"I'm sorry. I cannot forgive them either. You may not want this, but today, I will make you a hero. Will you not fight alongside us for the sake of the people of our world?"

Myra raised her mace.

"...Master. I know you said you would surrender for our sake."

Famu also readied her weapon.

Mizuki and I were the only ones left standing there, stunned. I didn't want to do this. Their malice wasn't directed at us. If they didn't know we were otherworlders, there was a chance they would let us go. They must have caused this commotion to avoid trouble. I knew it wasn't the right thing to do. If we let them go, they would do the same thing in another city. But was it so wrong to pretend we didn't know and run away? These opponents were human. Famu and Mizuki would be the ones facing them.

"Mizuki..."

I closed my eyes. "...Please. I want to be a hero."

"...You liar. But leave it to me."

Finally, Mizuki drew her sword. I had relied on her again.

"Your name is Mizuki? That woman..."

the man said. The men in black hadn't prepared for battle, but the two werewolves stepped in front of them, hand axes at the ready.

Next to the chubby man stood the priestess-like woman. Beside the tall man stood the mage-like man.

"I'd like to know your names to carve on your coffins. After I dry you out, I'll give you the special honor of being laid to rest next to the hero of a hundred years ago,"

I said. In the distance, the priest was shaking his head.

"You're the ones who'll be needing names,"

the tall man spoke for the first time.

"You're right. Then allow me to introduce myself like a true hero. My name is Mash. The woman that fat pig over there is drooling over... well, you already know. The dog-eared girl is Famu. The mage is Cecily, and the two priestesses are Myra and Aira. You won't be able to tell them apart, so don't even try. And we are the ones sent by the goddess Laciel. We are Levante."

The man in black's lips twisted into a smirk.

"And let me add this. If you don't leave now, today, the two of you in black and your mage over there will die."

This was my final warning. I didn't want that day to come yet. Please, I hoped they would back down. I clenched my fists, as if in prayer.

"The name Mizuki sounded familiar. Are you the otherworlders who summoned a goddess in the city of Richel?"

I waited for the man's next words.

"In that case, allow us to introduce ourselves as well."

Those were the words of someone with no intention of backing down. Even though this was a more difficult situation than if they had just snuck into an empty church. Even though there were guards with powerful special skills present.

"I am Mii,"

the chubby man said.

"And I'm Kei,"

the slender man followed.

They were fake names, just like mine. Ridiculous names that didn't suit their faces. Saying that would only anger them, so I kept it to myself.

"I get it. You're the Men in Black!"

Mizuki said, looking at the two of them. I see. They were clearly Japanese, but they were dressed as the duo from the American urban legend, the black-suited men who investigate and cover up UFO-related incidents. So it was a cosplay. I hadn't realized until she said it, but maybe Mizuki knew about them from the movies.

"I wonder if there are UFOs in this world, too,"

she said, as if there were UFOs in our original world.

"Who knows. There might not be UFOs, but I believe there are aliens somewhere in the universe,"

I replied to Mizuki. One of the werewolves cleared his throat.

"Let me continue. I'm Fang, and this is Task."

The two werewolves bared their fangs. Task's canines were longer.

"Doris,"

the priestess-like woman introduced herself.

"I'm Izaak,"

the mage-like man followed last.

"No need to state our team name, I suppose. The name of the god who summoned us to this world is Tarshan,"

the chubby man added.

"An enemy of Laciel's. Are you another one who wants your wish granted?"

"Who can say?"

the man laughed. What an unpleasant fellow.

"Well then, shall we begin?"

The start of battle was declared.