Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Induction Ceremony (End)

Cleaning up the demons was, as expected, not especially difficult.

It was my first battle after gaining Perception.

The test was satisfying.

It harmonized especially well with Chapter One of Rebellion Against Heaven.

Sierra, who had watched my battle closely, praised it as a decent application and said the elixir Chairman Hubert Graham had given me seemed to have worked rather well.

The knight who had been keeping watch counted the number of horns I brought and asked whether it had been a solo subjugation.

At this, Eclin shrugged and answered that it had been solo, and the knight murmured words such as, “As expected of the talent the Saintess chose...”

It seemed they had informed those inside the knight order about me to some extent.

After collecting all the horns, I immediately moved with Eclin to the knight order branch located closest to the academy.

I did not need to handle the cleanup separately.

According to Eclin, there were members whose job was solely to clean up.

If one told the knight order the place that needed cleaning, they would handle it neatly.

Still, she said it was best not to destroy buildings too much.

Restoring destroyed buildings was apparently quite difficult even for them.

The branch I visited with Eclin was located in an obvious place, if one had to say so.

It was hidden in its own way... but ultimately, the Silver Wings Knights and the Saintess both belonged to the Holy Kingdom, so it could not be helped.

We went to a church in the city that served Chief God Heneris.

After entering the church, Eclin and I did not even set foot in the chapel, where there were many eyes, and passed through a narrow passage to reach a place where “confessionals” were located.

Several doors lined up in a row, and Eclin’s feet headed to the door at the very end among them.

When we opened the door and stepped into the room, a narrow space appeared. Since it was a confessional, it seemed designed so that only one person could enter at a time.

Ahead, I could tell that one woman who appeared to be a priest was standing. Judging by the structure, the door the priest entered through seemed not to be on this passage, but on the opposite side.

Although we had entered, the priest did not speak to us at all. Between her and us, a cloth like a screen had been drawn, so neither side could see the other’s face.

“...You show your badge here.”

Eclin held out her knight order badge beneath the cloth.

Just as I wondered whether I should hold mine out as well, the priest returned Eclin’s badge to her, and then the sound of a lever being pulled rang out with a clack.

Soon, with a rattling sound, the wall beside us opened.

[ Oho... ]

Sierra, watching the wall open, let out a short exclamation.

Before long, a dark stairway leading underground appeared.

Shady at my feet excitedly jumped onto the stairs and then tumbled down them.

“Kek...! Keng...!”

Every time Shady struck the stairs as he rolled down, strange cries came from him.

Immediately, Eclin took the lead and began descending the stairs.

“Can the other branches be found in this way as well?”

I asked Eclin while descending the stairs.

“It differs by branch. The building structure is different, after all. If you are not sure, just show your badge to a priest in a church. If there is a branch in that church, they will guide you, and if there is not, they will tell you the location of the nearest branch.”

“I see.”

“...The entrance is like this, and the exit is separate. This place is a bit unique.”

Eclin said this while opening the door at the bottom of the stairs.

Soon, the branch revealed itself.

For a space underground, it was bright and spacious.

Like the church, it seemed to have been built long ago, and the outer walls showed the passage of time.

Sierra said she would soon meet the Saintess and entered the cursed blade. Just in case, she took Shady with her too.

There were more people inside the branch than I had expected.

Since the Saintess was staying at the branch, it seemed the number of people had increased.

Well, just as I knew... since this was a branch of the Saintess’s knight order, the Silver Wings Knights, all the people in the branch were women.

As I walked with Eclin, the eyes of the knights in the branch gathered on me.

“...Who is that beside the vice-captain?”

“They say the Saintess brought him in herself.”

“Bandages... He really must be blind...”

“What would a fake blind person even be?”

Since the fact that I was male alone was enough to make me feel out of place, I let their murmuring pass me by and followed Eclin.

I worried they might be hostile, but for now, there did not seem to be any feeling of that sort.

No matter what, I thought there would be no one who could object to the choice of the Saintess, who commanded the knight order.

Eclin, who had been humming, soon turned back to look at me and opened her mouth.

“I will handle the report. From now on, you need to prepare for the induction ceremony.”

Eclin snapped her fingers, and not long after, other knights took me somewhere.

Was there anything in particular to prepare for an induction ceremony?

***

“A solo subjugation of a nest from the induction test onward... As expected, there was a reason the Saintess received a revelation from the Chief God.”

Ines turned her head to look at me with a satisfied smile.

I had already told them about the revelation.

On the desk, the six pairs of demon horns Zeto had brought were neatly placed upon a thin cloth.

Right now, Zeto was likely in the middle of preparing for the induction ceremony.

It was regrettable that I could not meet him immediately, but since the hour was already late... it seemed better in many ways to proceed quickly.

“How was he, Eclin?”

At my question, Eclin, who had been sniffling, glanced once at the horns on the desk and soon opened her mouth.

“Well, he was amazing. Though they were red-horned, he realized it was a nest before even entering the building... and on top of that, he handled all of them without taking a single step into the building.”

“...Are you saying he used sword aura?”

At Eclin’s explanation, Ines cut in.

“To call it sword aura... it was very different somehow...”

Eclin trailed off like that, then soon began exchanging words with Ines about Zeto’s swordsmanship.

I left them alone and quietly looked back on what had happened with Zeto at the academy.

“Saintess... you are very beautiful.”

Even now, his voice seemed to linger in my ears.

It was not my first time hearing a compliment about my appearance, but it held great meaning for me. Rather than being because he was a blind man who could not see... it was simply because he was “Zeto,” perhaps.

But there was one thing that did not sit well with me.

It was the energies I could feel from his body.

I had tried to infer in my own way what those energies might be, but nothing came to me for certain.

“If it is a curse, I can simply remove it...”

While waiting for Zeto, I had once asked the Chief God a question.

What on earth dwelled within that man’s body?

...It was not something I did because I thought an answer would come back.

It was merely a prayer close to lamentation.

But just yesterday.

The Chief God answered my question.

The Chief God spoke.

“The identity of that is the ‘fate’ he chose to obtain for himself. My lovely child, if you touch it carelessly, you will not be able to avoid great calamity. This will be good neither for you nor for me...”

The Chief God told me not to intervene at all.

He did not tell me the precise identity of the energy.

No, it would be more correct to say he could not.

More importantly, to think it was something he chose to obtain for himself.

What did that mean?

Fate.

It was a meaningful word.

Soon, Eclin’s voice scattered the worries filling my head.

“In any case... from what I saw, Honorary Knight Zeto seems like he will become a great strength to our knight order. Perhaps even to you, Saintess...? Hehe...”

Eclin, who had been conversing with Ines, sent me a pleased smile.

“Eclin...”

Ines lowered her voice, as if telling her to restrain herself.

I answered Eclin with a bitter smile.

“...I sincerely hope so.”

***

The induction ceremony of the Silver Wings Knights was a process similar to forming a vow or a kind of oath, in which the Saintess asked the joining member set questions, and the member answered according to what was prescribed.

Until now, it had been no more than a formal act containing history and tradition.

However, after Bernice became Saintess, that changed somewhat.

Bernice, Saintess of Innocence.

Because of her authority, which allowed her to distinguish truth from lies, the induction ceremony gained greater meaning.

Zeto’s induction ceremony was not an official induction ceremony, so there were not many people around to watch.

It was enough to have the minimum number of people required to hold the ceremony.

The captain of the knight order, Ines, the vice-captain, Eclin, and the Saintess, Bernice.

In that quiet space where a total of four people had gathered, including Zeto, Bernice took Zeto before her into her eyes.

Zeto had his right knee on the floor, one hand over his chest, and his head bowed.

With his ink-black hair, the pure-white ceremonial robe of the Holy Kingdom suited him terribly well.

Surely it would have been good if it had ended at only that.

Bernice detected it.

No, she could not help detecting it.

The negative energy that had lurked inside Zeto’s body since before.

That ominous, somehow unpleasant energy had grown much denser in the several days she had not seen him.

The energy seemed to have spread beyond his heart and now throughout his entire body.

For a short while, Bernice examined Zeto’s body and was able to realize that his life force had been reduced, even if only a little.

At this, Bernice had to feel dizzy.

What on earth was the fate of his that the Chief God had spoken of... for him to tell her not to intervene in any way?

Why would that not be good for her either?

Bernice was confused.

Even though her head was dizzy, she barely managed to speak and proceeded with the induction ceremony.

“...Do you swear to become my sword, the sword of Bernice, Saintess of Innocence, and destroy all wicked beings upon this land?”

“I swear.”

Zeto answered Bernice’s question.

Naturally, it was the truth.

“...”

She had to continue to the next question now, but Bernice hesitated.

At the silence that continued after Zeto’s answer, everyone except Bernice had to feel doubt.

But no one urged her.

Bernice squeezed her eyes shut and barely steadied her heart, then opened them.

And continued to the next question.

“Even if it means casting away your life... will you uphold that oath...?”

Before her parted lips could even close, Zeto immediately recited his answer indifferently.

“Even if my life is the price, I will gladly uphold my oath.”

Zeto’s voice rang softly through the hall.

In truth, it was not common for even this question to come out as truth.

The resolve to cast away one’s life was not something humans could make easily.

Even if this came out as a lie, it was not as though one would not be accepted as a member.

Bernice clenched her teeth.

Yet why was even this the truth?

Why could she not interpret that oath of Zeto’s as simple loyalty?

“What is his fate...”

For what reason had he chosen to hold such dark energy within his body? Even when the decline in his life force was plainly visible.

She came to know deeply what she did not want to know, and learned even what she did not need to know.

For the first time, Bernice resented her authority.

This was something she should repent to the Chief God for, but the induction ceremony was now at its final stage.

Now all she had to do was finish by saying, “I am very glad that you have become my sword. May the Chief God’s blessing dwell with you,” and bestowing a blessing.

Soon, Bernice’s mouth opened.

“Because you have become my sword...”

“...”

“...I am very...”

Bernice could not speak.

This was because of her authority.

She could not speak lies.

Bernice was not glad.

And so, she could not continue.