Back to the Start – Part 07
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Translator: Kell
A cheer erupted from the dumbfounded and silent crowd.
“Did you see that?! That was Magic!”
“Incredible… It took all the thugs down without even hurting anyone!”
“See? I told you, didn’t I? We’re gonna be Mages for sure! I’m sick of the Church and their constant sermons!”
Going from fear to excitement, the travelers stood up and began attacking the aggressors. Pooch quickly stepped in to stop them, but they threw stones at the troublemakers, spat at them, and even shouted profanities. It was like a public execution.
The attackers reaped what they sowed, but when people who had no self-control began lynching, death was highly likely. It would be best to stop them while it was still early.
“What are you all doing?!”
With impeccable timing, the perfect guy for the job appeared from the tunnel. He wore a leather patch over his eyes, and he had conspicuous green hair—the adjudicator from Dea Ignis.
“Everybody, stand down! You should know that lynching is prohibited by the Church!”
His commanding voice poured cold water over the agitated group’s heads. One by one, they dropped the stones in their hands, and quickly took several steps backward as if they hadn’t done anything.
The attackers regained their spirits. “He’s right!” they shouted.
“We expected as much from the people who’re trying to enter a witches’ lair!” one added. “They’re all rotten to the core! The witches of Wenias murdered the king and took the throne. The moment you set foot on that bloodstained land, your souls will be cursed and you will spend your next life as miserable Beast—Ow!”
The priest struck the man with his staff. “Silence, knave. If those who set foot in the kingdom are cursed, then what about the clergymen protecting the church in Wenias? Brainless fools. Don’t use God’s name to commit selfish acts.”
Dismissed by the priest he thought was on their side, the man turned red and went silent.
He must be the son of the bigshot. Upon closer look, he seemed to be wearing fine clothes, and his sword had some elaborate design.
“Hey, priest,” I called. “How’s the situation in the tunnel?”
The priest scowled in annoyance. “It’s a mess. A bunch of people with swords suddenly started wreaking havoc, then a bunch of Beastfallen who don’t know how to hold back barged in. It almost ended in a disaster.”
“You didn’t kill them, did you?”
“Why don’t you ask them?” He pointed behind him with his staff.
Pooch’s subordinates appeared, dragging the troublemakers they had tied up. They seemed to be fine. All three of them were mumbling, “Rats… rats…” repeatedly, like they were having a nightmare.
“This is a perfect example of a bunch of idiots grouping up but amounting to nothing,” the priest said. “With subordinates like this, I would wager their commanding officer is incompetent as well. Above all, having trouble getting a few dozen people to calm down is proof that you don’t have what it takes to hold a high position.”
That’s the priest for you, all right. The moment he came out, he started picking a fight, without even taking a break.
Insulted, Pooch roared, baring his fangs. “A priest with a sharp tongue, eh? Your people started this mess, yet you have the audacity to talk shit?”
“Stop it, both of you!” Zero cut in. “If you cause more trouble after I went to the trouble of quelling it, I will tie you up in the most embarrassing manner you can imagine.”
How? I don’t even wanna imagine it. It seemed that I was the only one struck with fear.
“He’s the one who started it,” Pooch said. “Who’s this priest anyway?! Do you know him?”
“Well, uhh… He’s with us,” I said.
“Whaaat?! But he’s a priest!”
I know how you feel, man. If I was in his shoes, I’d have the same reaction. Wait, why am I even working with the guy anyway?
“There is more,” Zero said. “He is an adjudicator from Dea Ignis.”
“A-A-An adjudicator?! Have you gone mad?!”
“We witches are eccentric beings, yes.”
Breathing a sigh, Pooch pressed his brows and looked downward, speechless. When his eyes caught the creature that appeared in his field of vision, he blinked a few times.
“I’ve been wondering… Is that little thing a Beastfallen?” Pooch pointed at Lily.
She’d been standing still for a while. Surprised by the sudden attention, Lily quickly tried to hide behind the priest’s legs, but fell over when the priest dodged her. She immediately rose to her feet, her lips tight, as if holding herself back from crying.
“Lily,” she said. It was a short introduction.
For some reason, Pooch turned to me awkwardly. “Yo, bro. Y-You didn’t kidnap her or anything, r-right?”
“Why does everyone immediately assume I’m doing something illegal?! When did I ever take someone by force?! Huh? I’m like a harmless stuffed animal! I don’t even feel anything even when I sleep in the same bed with a witch every night!”
“Bro, don’t you feel sad saying that?” Pooch said.
“So you were aware that you were too harmless for a man,” Zero added.
“I thought for sure you two were doing it every night,” the priest chimed in.
Get your mind out of the gutter, priest! You should quit your job as a churchman right now!
“Don’t let her looks deceive you, Pooch Wolf,” I said. “She may be a squirt, but she’s powerful. Throwing someone off their guard is part of her abilities. Actually, she’s seventeen. Almost an adult, really.”
“What?! She’s older than the young lady?!” Pooch crouched down and studied Lily’s face.
Unable to stand his gaze, she scurried behind my leg.
“She does not like you,” Zero said.
Pooch rubbed his nose with a look of dismay. “You didn’t mention you were working with a priest. I mean, your report is so broad that it doesn’t tell us anything at all.”
“If anything, I should be praised for being able to write despite being a Beastfallen.”
“Well, I guess it’s fine since he’s working with you two.” His ears flopped.
“Um, excuse me,” someone called from behind Pooch. It was his subordinates. They were all wearing stupid looks on their faces. “What should we do?”
Pooch regained his commanding expression. “What do you think?! Arrest all the rioters and arrange their trip to Plasta! After that, get some carriages ready! I’m taking guests to the castle!”
“Sir! Yes, sir!” The dog, cow, and lizard all scampered away in the same direction. Apparently, they didn’t know the concept of dividing duties.
“Are you sure about hiring those guys?” I asked.
“To be honest, no,” Pooch answered. “But it’s better to hire Beastfallen for public order.”
“What do you mean?”
“As soon as Wenias became a Magical State, there were more and more people who wanted to sell Beastfallen heads to the kingdom. That means some dangerous people will be coming and going, affecting order. That’s why the young lady issued a decree that prohibited Mages from buying Beastlfallen heads. After that, Beastfallen began gathering here.”
“Makes sense.”
The natural enemies of Beastfallen were witches and bandits who wanted their heads. Since they were safe from both in Wenias, they had plenty of reason to travel from afar just to migrate here.
“I think bandits entering the kingdom is better than the symbol of depravity gathering here,” the priest remarked.
“To put it short, yes,” Pooch agreed bitterly. “When Beastfallen start showing up in a country that isn’t at war, it’s obvious that they’ll turn to banditry. That’s why we decided to hire them.”
I see. Better to integrate them into the system than let them run amok all over the kingdom.
“How does it all tie up with them wanting to serve witches?”
“They learned from the past. Witches originally created Beastfallen. That’s why it’s often more convenient for witches and Beastfallen to work together, like the young lady and me, or you and the Murky Darkness Witch. It worked out better than expected. Ever since we hired Beasfallen for security, the number of bandits rapidly decreased. Not like we didn’t run into any problems, though…”
Problems?
“Let me guess,” the priest said. “An increase in inexorable crimes.”
Pooch’s brows furrowed. “Tch. Idiots are irritating, but I guess so are smart people.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Just recently, I heard that a village was destroyed by Beastfallen. An ordinary Mage couldn’t stop them, so the chief Mage had to step in. The number of crimes might have decreased, but their nature had worsened. It’s quite obvious that that would happen if the number of Beastfallen increased.”
“You know, I’m trying to be forgiving here since he’s with you, but I’ve had it,” Pooch said. “People from the Church are actually causing trouble in the kingdom too. There are 273 churches of all sizes in Wenias, and the people there are inciting the people to riot by spreading conspiracy theories day and night. Some priests are gathering weapons and distributing them to followers, and many of them are highly encouraging witch hunts and burning at the stake, which are forbidden. This nation is advocating for coexistence. It’s quite obvious how much headache they’re giving us.”
All right. Give it to him, Pooch. He clearly couldn’t stomach the Church.
The priest, of course, didn’t waver a bit, no matter how loud Pooch howled. “And I have only one thing to say to that,” he said. “Wonderful. Or did you expect me to say something else?”
Pooch froze with his mouth open, speechless. He pressed his forehead, as if he had given up on everything. “This is why I hate Church people,” he lamented. “Are you sure we can take this guy to the young lady?”
“You need not worry,” Zero said. “This priest is surprisingly compassionate. He is kind, sensitive, and pure-hearted. I think he resembles Mercenary—”
“If you say anything more, I’ll execute you right here and now.”
“I’ll help you with that, priest.”
The priest and I both put our hands on our weapons at the same time.
Zero laughed. “See?”
Departing on a carriage when it was already dark was foolish, so we decided to leave the next morning.
Pooch said he’d get us a place to say, but I told him we had already booked rooms. We agreed to meet at the tunnel’s exit the next day.
“Oh, yeah,” Pooch said. “Can you get the priest some other clothes? You know the current situation. If word gets out that I took a priest to the castle, it’ll cause unnecessary speculations.”
The priest gave a silent nod. For someone whose main duty was to gather information, wearing peasant clothes to hide himself was no big deal.
When we returned to the inn, we were greeted by the former Beastfallen. “They let you go? That’s too bad. I thought we’d have all the Ebl Boar’s meat to ourselves.” He laughed. A bloodstained cloth was wrapped around his arm.
“Was that from the attack earlier?” I asked.
“Yeah. They specifically targeted me. I think they knew I was a Beastfallen.” He stared at his powerless human hands.
It seemed like he still missed being a Beastfallen a little.
“Father, now that I’ve become human, am I still a symbol of depravity?” he asked. “They say that I’m deceiving everyone through some witchy method. That I can change my appearance, but a monster will always be a monster.”
“You were the first to jump in front of the aggressors to protect your wife. So I defended you.”
The man looked at the priest curiously. “Um… I don’t follow.”
“An adjudicator would never brandish their weapon to defend a monster.” With that, the priest immediately strode back to his room.
Zero watched his back with a grin. “I quite like that man,” she said. “What do you think, Mercenary?” She looked at me for agreement, for some reason.
I stroked the hair on my chin. “I don’t know. What do you think, squirt?” I glanced at the little Beastfallen on my leg.
“What?! Me?!”
As I expected, she gave a start, her gaze wandering about.
Then suddenly she remembered something.
“Uh… D-Don’t ask me, dimwit!”
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