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Mercenary’s Contract – Part 02

Translator: Kell

“Can you tell me your plan already?” I said. “You’re not gonna execute this woman instead of the fake Zero, are you? Cause that’s just fucking stupid.”

“If you’re aware you’re an idiot, keep your mouth shut,” the priest said. “If you’re not, then you should just die.”

“Are you gonna explain the plan or not? If you don’t, I’ll just take the witch and run away.”

“Stop, Mercenary. I am the one who started this.” Zero tugged my ear as if to admonish me. I glared at her, and she gave me a gentle smile. Then her expression turned serious immediately after. “I told you about the possibility that the ‘Zero’ the Church is after is an illusion created by Sanare—a witch that does not exist.”

“You did. And I know that that’s likely the case. If Zero is just a rumor that Sanare spread, then it’s case closed. Let’s kill these guys right now and work out a plan to get that book.”

The priest hit me on the back of the head with his staff.

“Ouch! Are you trying to kill me?!”

“You didn’t seem to be aware of your stupidity.”

“Why, you… What, so you understand everything? Huh?”

The priest shrugged, as if to say ‘obviously’. “I’ll dumb it down for you,” he said. “If Zero is just a rumor, the Church can’t kill her.”

I blinked a few times. Well, duh. But there was also no need to execute someone who didn’t even exist in the first place.

“Even if Zero does not exist,” Zero added, “now that the rumor has spread so widely, the Church has to take some sort of action. If the Church announced now that the existence of the witch Zero was nothing but a hoax, the people would think that the Church was only saying that because they let her escape. What do you think would happen then?”

“Uhm… they’ll continue the witch hunt?”

“Correct. They will continue the hunt for a witch that does not exist. Until they catch one that fits the description. That is Sanare’s plan. Whether I clashed with the Church or not, the Church would eventually have no choice but to intensify the witch hunt. Am I right, priest?”

“Yes. The Church will use all its resources to find Zero. And its sights will ultimately be set on you.”

I was starting to follow. “So is this some sort of a massive harrassment towards you?”

Zero breathed an annoyed sigh. “It is harassment with a practical purpose. The Church executes the Coven of Zero witches who saved the villagers, they fail to capture their leader, Zero, and then they torment innocent people again to find her. That is the kind of situation Cestum is trying to create. ”

“And then those who are sick of the Church will support the witches? Can’t believe they can come up with such a tedious plan.”

However, Sanare did create a saint from scratch back in Akdios. The plan seemed something like she would come up with.

“But isn’t coming forward as the Zero they’re looking for kinda too much? Sure the witch hunt will end, but your life will end too. What would be the point then?”

“I will not let myself be executed that easily. I am going to negotiate. Sanare probably did not expect me to come forward to the Church. If we can harass them back, taking a little risk is worth it.” Zero cackled like an actual evil witch.

I don’t think you can call the possibility of an execution a little risk. I still had no idea how witches think.

“I sent a letter explaining the situation with the rider,” the priest said. “However, you are still a witch. You might not have anything to do with this particular case, but there is still a good chance that you will be burned as a scapegoat to avoid chaos. Just so you know, I won’t help you if you are to be executed.”

“Fret not,” Zero replied. “I am not counting on your help to begin with.”

“Well, I’m counting on you, priest. From the bottom of my heart.”

If Zero were to be executed, I would be the one desperate to save her. If I left Zero to die, I would have to go after Sanare alone. More importantly, Zero’s own brother, Thirteenth, would not be pleased.

“Regardless of what happens, the news will reach the Church tonight,” the priest said. “Then the witch hunt will be over. All that’s left is for Corruption to recover the book safely.” The priest’s expression darkened.

“You always look like that when you talk about this Corruption fellow,” I said. “Considering the whole burying people alive thing, I know they’re fucked up, but do you have some kinda relationship?”

“Not really… Do you remember what I said before about how adjudicators are selected?”

“You mean sparing convicts on death row and making them work?”

He told me about it back when we fell into Sanare’s trap in Akdios and were forced to take refuge in Fort Lotus.

“Yeah, I remember. You weren’t lying?”

The priest smiled. Well, I didn’t actually think it was all lies.

“There are many kinds of adjudicators. Corruption was charged with mass murder—burying twenty young, beautiful women alive and marking their graves with stone statues of what they looked like before they died. She was able to commit the unspeakable deed because she was the daughter of an aristocrat and had the land and wealth to do it.”

“So burying people alive was their pursuit even back then.” Zero sounded disgusted.

“It’s more like an illness than a pursuit,” the priest said. “Whenever she sees a beautiful woman, she gets an uncontrollable sense of duty to bury her.”

“What kinda illness is that?” I asked.

“Obsession,” Zero said. The priest and I lifted our heads at the same time.

I cocked my head to the side, and the priest nodded. “Yes, obsession. For her, the grave is a symbol of eternity and a haven of tranquility. To bury a beautiful woman alive in a grave is to preserve her beauty forever.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand that.” I completely gave up.

Zero gave a small laugh and said, “You really are a good person.” I had no idea if she was giving me a compliment or making fun of me.

“But no matter how powerful a noble she was, twenty missing women is too many. Rumors began circulating that she was a witch who hunted beautiful women, and I was sent to judge her.”

“What?!”

“I ruled that she was not a witch, but a mere murderer. She was sentenced to death, but was ultimately selected to be an adjudicator. She was delighted. Many witches are beautiful women, and she was glad that she could legally hunt them down. She said that even if they weren’t a witch, she could get as many beautiful women as she wanted if she just claimed it was to help search for witches.”

“She sounds like fucking bad news! You shoud’ve ruled her a witch and killed her on the spot!”

“Perhaps I should have.”

The priest’s lack of rebuttal or sarcasm shocked me.

Man, I can’t roast you if you just readily admit it.

“But she wasn’t a witch. She showed me the graves and asked, ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ And she was right. It was filled with love for those who lay underground.”

“That sounds like some fucked-up kind of love to me.”

“There is nothing normal about her. Her appearance, personality, and the reasons behind her actions are all slightly different from normal people. Corruption wanted Zero. She said she received permission from the Bishop. I just hope she doesn’t try anything when she learns that I caught Zero.”

“Well, anything is possible, so we can’t deal with whatever she plans to do until it actually happens. The messenger arrives at the Church tonight, right? It’s gonna be a while before the information gets to Corruption. She won’t be able to do anything once we get to Lutra Cathedral. We can think about how to deal with her from there.”

At the very least, it wasn’t something we needed to think about while headed for Lutra Cathedral with the Knights Templar.

We were too optimistic. We spent the night outdoors, and the next morning, we suffered a small defeat.

Sensing something wrong, I stopped in my tracks.

There were no trees to hide behind in the wastelands of Lutra.

Four covered carriages stood still up ahead. One was parked in a way that blocked the road, its back facing us.

“Bandits?” Zero muttered.

“Are there bandits who would attack the Knights Templar in their own territory?” I said.

The knights walking behind us caught up. When one asked what was going on, I could only point forward.

The knights ahead of us reached the carriage blocking the road. “We are the Knights Templar!” one bellowed. “Make way! We are escorting a witch to Lutra.” His voice echoed through the empty wasteland.

Not receiving any response, the knights peeked into the carriage.

“Everybody down!” the priest shouted.

Immediately I got down on the ground and covered Zero, pulling the knights with me.

A series of ear-shattering explosions rocked the road, and the knights peering into the carriage collapsed like rags before they even had a chance to scream. Countless things flew overhead like some sort of gale.

“What the hell’s going on?!”

A thick cloud of dust rose into the air. The smell of gunpowder drifted in a little after the explosion.

As soon as the deafening sound subsided, a sharp command echoed. “Everybody out! Surround them!”

The voice was high for a man, but low for a woman. It was followed by what sounded like the roar of bandits coming from all directions. Countless footsteps were approaching us from beyond the cloud of dust.

“Fuck. What the hell was that?! Do bandits these days use Magic?!”

“I am not familiar with this spell,” Zero said.

“It’s not bandits, and neither are they using Magic,” the priest growled through clenched teeth. “That was the Church’s Divine Annihilation Machine. It’s currently owned by Corruption!”