Chapter 23 - Saint Irina (3)
Esmeralda was in a very subtle mood right now.
When she encountered the trap designed by the demon Lilith, she felt chilled to the bone. If Jim had said he would live with his family from now on, she wouldn’t have been able to stop him.
But Jim stupidly retreated without even realizing it was a strategy.
Just thinking about that, he’s so stupid it’s laughable.
However, what made Esmeralda feel uneasy was…
[Note: He thought that while agreeing here would allow him to escape, it wouldn’t have a good impact on the other person, so he firmly refused.]
Even if he didn’t know it was a strategy, he knew it was an opportunity.
Nevertheless, he didn’t think of using someone who might have really lost their son.
Even though he had thought he wanted to escape from the hero party so badly.
Even Esmeralda had to acknowledge that mindset of not causing any harm to ordinary people.
Come to think of it, he was like that even when he first infiltrated. Although it was a crude method, he decided to create a fictional village.
It would have been easier if he had really destroyed and annihilated an existing village.
“Mr. Jim. It looks like we’ll arrive soon. Good job.”
That’s why Esmeralda approached Jim with a softer attitude.
Of course, there was another reason why she was treating Jim well.
“Aren’t you excited?”
“…Yes, I suppose so.”
Wasn’t she heading to the Papal State of the Celestial Order with a demon?
In reality, Esmeralda was taking Jim to the execution ground.
Esmeralda felt sorry every time Jim’s complexion turned pale with each step and his surface thoughts shook unstably. Probably when they get there, Jim will find it difficult even to breathe.
But there’s no choice. Esmeralda couldn’t stand the sexual harassment continuing in Jim’s head anymore.
And even when it’s not time to wrap bandages, it’s not good to leave wounds untreated for long.
Since the wounds inflicted by a high-ranking demon don’t heal well without holy power, Esmeralda was in a situation where she had to find a temple as soon as possible. It can’t be helped.
And it’s fine, isn’t it?
“It’s okay for Jim to go to the Order since you’re neither a demon nor a criminal, right?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s right.”
I even got his permission!
Of course, I won’t deny that it’s like eating mustard while crying.
But while I won’t deny it, I don’t intend to repent.
‘I should start tightening discipline soon. I don’t like the way he looks at me.’
It’s uncomfortable that Jim has started to see Esmeralda as “still a woman” rather than a “stupid idiot” recently.
Isn’t that reason enough?
Now she’s even tired of being surprised by the sudden adolescent-like sexual fantasy harassments.
As Esmeralda endured such one-sided attacks and reached the Order.
“We’ve been waiting for you. Hero. And Mr. Jim.”
“Yes, have you been well, Irina?”
Irina Saintis, the Saint of the Celestial Order, welcomed the two. She was smiling brightly as if she was really glad to meet the two.
[Note: She is genuinely happy to meet the two.]
Esmeralda read Irina’s surface thoughts and nodded.
Well, she’s still the Saint of the Order.
She wouldn’t just think about grinding herself every day to make holy relics.
They’ve built up a friendship of sorts while staying together for a long time, so she wouldn’t suddenly think of grinding her up.
‘Well, she is the bitch who would grind my corpse to make holy relics while shedding tears if I die.’
Heartless woman.
Esmeralda answered with her true feelings behind her smile.
“I heard you encountered a corps commander. And that you stopped by our temple to treat those injuries.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Esmeralda flinched as Irina grabbed her hand, then nodded with a sour expression.
Feeling something like being caught, Esmeralda nodded but subtly tried to escape from that hand.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a tight grip, just something like Irina’s habit, so it wasn’t difficult to escape.
‘What is this?’
In Esmeralda’s eyes, Irina still only showed feelings of gladness. But what is it? This uncomfortable feeling somewhere.
‘Is it my prejudice?’
Esmeralda didn’t think much of it but didn’t let her guard down.
“Please escort the hero.”
“Yes, Saint.”
Irina, befitting her position as a power in the Order, skillfully commanded the priests.
A moment later, priests appeared carrying a stretcher, probably for transport.
“Oh, this much isn’t necessary…”
“No, Hero. You’ve already strained yourself with injuries until now. Even if you were fine until now, now that you’re here, please agree to rest as much as possible.”
“Is, is that so?”
Esmeralda looked alternately at the stretcher prepared for her and Irina, then lay down on the stretcher.
Once she lay down, it couldn’t be more comfortable. Well, she had only been wrapped in bandages, but the wounds hadn’t healed. So it’s good to be able to go comfortably lying down like this.
As Esmeralda was squinting at the dazzling sunlight.
Click.
Esmeralda, who had been lying on the stretcher and smiling at the warm sunlight, suddenly tilted her head at the restraints suppressing her body.
After blankly staring at the restraints being fastened on her body, Esmeralda looked at Irina again.
[Note: She secretly plans to send her to the laboratory.]
Irina, knowing implicitly about the hero’s ability, deliberately manipulated her surface thoughts to torment the hero.
It was a kind of show she prepared because she felt the hero’s gaze had been implicitly disregarding her goodwill.
Just from that, Esmeralda started to sweat profusely.
Now that Irina’s suspicions had come one step closer to the truth.
“Um… Irina?”
“Hero, please rest well. You’ll be fine after sleeping for a few days.”
Irina stuck a syringe into Esmeralda’s neck with an unchanged smile.
“Slee… ugh?!”
Esmeralda thought as she slowly lost consciousness due to the unidentified syringe stuck in her neck.
‘As expected… I… was… not… wro…ng….’
She collapsed like a genius detective meeting her end.
As if mourning her death, snoring sounds were heard a moment later.
Zzzz~
Thanks to this, Esmeralda, who hadn’t been able to sleep properly for the past few days, was able to sleep deeply.
Jim, who had been watching Esmeralda with shocked eyes, belatedly turned around after noticing the gaze directed at him. There stood Irina, grinning.
“Then, Mr. Jim, I’ll guide you through the inside of the temple.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll stay at a nearby inn…”
At that moment, Irina’s gaze, which had been dripping with affection, turned cold.
“Why? Are you reluctant about the temple even though you’re neither a demon nor a criminal?”
“Th-th-that’s not it! Alright. May I ask for your guidance?”
“Of course, just trust me and follow, Mr. Jim.”
Irina grabbed Jim’s hand with a smile blooming like a flower.
Then she led Jim and ran out like a child.
The direction she headed was first the chapel, where many general visitors also come.
It was a place with special meaning as it was sometimes used for weddings.
However, Jim, whose heart had been pounding even at Esmeralda’s small kindnesses, couldn’t even think of such sweet thoughts.
For him, a demon spy, it was just like going to hell.
‘Ah, come to think of it…’
Jim blankly stared at Irina’s hand holding his own.
Usually, just the flowing holy power would have been painful, but for some reason, it was fine now.
Only now did he properly feel Irina’s soft touch.
‘Oh. No, this isn’t right. You crazy bastard, won’t you come to your senses?’
Jim berated himself for his heart pounding at the touch of that hand even while being dragged to hell.
‘But it is soft.’
However, thoughts are not something that can be easily controlled.
First was the chapel.
Then the garden, places with statues, the priests’ quarters, and where they work.
The Papal State of the Celestial Order had more diverse buildings than expected.
Among them, there were buildings whose purpose was hard to guess…
“This is the heretic reformation center. Even I can’t bring outsiders in here carelessly, so it might be difficult to show you the inside.”
“Th-that’s fine…”
Most of the places, after hearing the explanation, were not places I wanted to know about.
It might be my imagination, but I seemed to hear faint screams, but since I hadn’t heard them until now, it’s probably my hallucination.
It must be that I’m hearing such auditory hallucinations because I thought that way.
“Now then, next is a place I really want to show Mr. Jim.”
It had been 30 minutes of exploring the inside of the Celestial Order led by Irina’s hand.
She says she just returned from a journey, but to drag me around like this, she must still be a bit naive. Well, I know the Saint’s purity. Because of that purity, I had to shed endless tears.
As I was being led by Irina’s hand, half-running around the inside of the Papal State.
The moment her footsteps gradually slowed hesitantly and then completely stopped.
I could tell we had arrived at the destination Irina had mentioned.
It was a somewhat suspicious place that looked barren but had flowers blooming through the soil and rocks.
“Mr. Jim.”
After watching that scenery silently for a while, Irina opened her mouth.
“Do you know about the Celestial Order’s dark secrets?”
I understood only that it was an extremely difficult question to answer.