Time flies by like a flash. About two months after he tried to take on a mercenary mission in Chester in October but ended up being the subject of a bounty and had to flee, the bounty of 1,200 imperial gold coins placed on the heads of the group was finally cancelled. .
Lord Chester's family was wiped out, and just as Henry had expected at the beginning, the laws of the empire did not spare them, although it did take a bit long.
But what was different from what was expected was that there was no official involvement from the empire in this operation.
It may not seem like a big deal to the ears of commoners and those unfamiliar with the Padrosi Empire system, but this matter has unprecedented implications for the nobles of the entire empire.
Paladins and executors of the Inquisition are experts in dealing with heresy issues. Because of the complexity and variability of such issues, they have a high level of executive authority to make on-the-spot judgments and adapt accordingly - judging on the spot may lead to more serious consequences. In the event of bloodshed, you can proactively attack to control the scope of the disaster.
Therefore, the execution of all the Lords of Chester's family was not beyond Henry's expectation. The family was not very receptive to human speech, and it was very likely that they would violently resist arrest and then die on the spot in the conflict.
but.
No matter how flexible they are, all the Paladins have is execution power.
At least in the past, they were required to operate under the supervision of judicial authorities with regulatory powers. These could be the immediate superiors of the Lord of Chester, the judicial branch of Parnilla, or commissioners sent by the royal family of the Padrosi Empire.
It would be fine if the target was a civilian, but as an imperial noble, he was unilaterally convicted and executed by the church clergy without the intervention of the imperial judiciary. This is a very interesting piece of information.
Who gave them such great power, and how many people's interests would be offended?
Henry and his party, who were approaching the northern part of the empire at this time, should not have heard too many details at such a long distance. At most, they could only know that the reward had been cancelled.
But sometimes there are things that even if you don't intend to inquire about the details, someone will shout everything into your ears.
"——At this moment, Lord Paladin Commander Lucius gritted his teeth and stood up."
"The belief in the gods made his chest filled with blazing fire. Even the body that was penetrated by the abominable werewolf and bleeding all over his breastplate seemed to no longer be in pain at this moment."
"The sacred aura made him fearless. He strode forward and killed the evil beast that had killed several brothers with one sword!"
In the small square, troubadours playing lutes and singing praised the deeds of the Inquisition, and printed advertisements officially issued by the Yetinah sect also used Lamani language with pictures and texts. The process of the incident and the participants were recorded in detail.
"The glorious paladins heroically imposed the hammer of divine punishment on the hateful nobles who had fallen to heresy"
"The Most High God, the glory of Saint Sarnia protects the world, follow the noble and absolutely correct order of the great Pope, not long ago-"
"What a long-winded term." The Luoan girl lowered her voice and muttered with a frown, while the sage next to her shrugged: "How can we show their greatness without using such exaggerated rhetoric."
Although his tone remained calm, Henry squinted his eyes and glanced twice at the detailed records of the much-publicized deeds on the bulletin board, which led to the above thoughts.
The fact that those on trial were nobles, but the imperial judiciary was absent, was not the only point of concern.
The Inquisition at the center of the incident is a relatively young organization among the Yetina sect—although they always like to cling to history to show that they have a long history, the establishment time of the organization is not much longer than the age of the white-haired girl. This is a special organization formed by a group of the most fanatical young people trying to regain religious influence now that the power of the church is becoming increasingly weak. Its general job is to assist the people or the imperial government in arresting heretics and various evil spirits.
From wandering magicians who wantonly use magical power to cause destruction to bloodthirsty monsters, they are all on their hunting list. In the early years, they were reprimanded by conservative bishops as "noble clergy engaged in activities similar to lowly mercenaries". work".
With the help of the empire's commercial exchanges, similar branches have appeared in some places along the Inland Sea of Morbigas where the influence of Lamani culture is still far-reaching.
Modeled after ancient legends, the Paladin organization was formed by the brave men who protected the Saint and slayed demons.
This is not the first time they have learned of the existence of these people. They had fought against them when they were on the west coast, and they had fought side by side with these people during the crisis on the east coast.
It's just that the Inquisition was supposed to be just a young organization within the White Church, trying to restore the declining influence of the Yetina sect.
They are similar in nature to the missionaries who traveled across the ocean to the Eastern Crescent. Although they are growing stronger within the church, they are only able to compete with the conservatives when they unite as a young group.
"By the Pope's command," were the words that caught Henry's attention beyond those of the participants.
Something is slowly changing.
The much publicized heroic deeds reflected official church approval.
"Giving rewards to hounds is to make them work harder, because if they can receive honor and recognition for killing, they will work harder to kill."
"In the end, it became a weapon without the need to judge right from wrong." The Luoan girl looked at her teacher. This was the first time he said this, but he had mentioned similar concepts to himself more than once.
What kind of person does the teacher hope to become?
Is it wrong to yearn for him and run in his direction?
She wanted to ask, but she knew that this person would probably only let herself think.
"Religion in this country has such great power?" Ling, who read the contents on the bulletin board carefully and repeatedly, asked with a slight hesitation: "Those nobles are not convicted by the judges in the capital, but by religion?"
If there is something that Ms. Doctor, who is now proficient in the Lamanite language, still cannot understand, it is the difference between the Lamanite religion and the Crescent Island religion.
The belief system of Crescent Continent is very similar to the Rigal world thousands of years ago. People believe in ancient natural phenomena and integrate them into their culture. Praying for natural disasters and doing human things at the same time.
It is more like a subtle cultural identity, lacking the powerful appeal and authority of the white church.
"A high degree of integration with secular power is the characteristic of religion here." Henry said: "Although it should not reach this point in fact."
"Troubadour, letterpress."
"This is the northern border close to the Suomir Kingdom. Even in a place like this, you can hear singing. What does this mean?" He turned his head and looked at the people accompanying him.
"Well, they really want people to know their deeds?" Kaleva answered. He seemed a little hesitant, as if he felt that his answer was too superficial.
"It means that the power of the church is everywhere." The Luoan girl looked at the church that was being renovated behind the square where the troubadour was. The construction workers were setting up scaffolding to process the colored glass - this is a very expensive thing.
expensive? She suddenly thought of this, and Ling had already said: "It costs a lot of money, it costs a lot of money."
"Well, to a certain extent, your answers are correct." The sage said and stepped forward.
Several people followed him.
This is a small town. The population in the northern part of the empire, close to Suomir, is not as large as that in the central and southern parts, because the climate is relatively cold and not so livable.
The hotel they planned to stay in was also in front of them. They came out this time to find supplies for the winter, and they also planned to sell the horses because they could ride a carriage again.
December 24th is a Sunday.
In the small town square, everyone from children to the elderly, except for the glassworkers who were renovating the church, and even the young and middle-aged labor force sat around the troubadour.
"When - when -" the sound of noon came from the independently built bell tower behind the church. The troubadour who sang the story vividly played the strings one last time and bowed to the audience, and there was sparse applause. Then people stood up one after another and walked to the soup kitchen temporarily set up in the square.
Although it has been a long time since returning to the east coast, they have been exhausted. This is the first time that Ling and Lulu have seen such a scene. The latter even planned to escape after seeing something to eat, but Mira caught her.
"We have lunch when we go back to the hotel. It's included in the accommodation fee, so we can't waste it."
There was nothing strange about the Luoan girl and Kaleva who were accustomed to all this, but Miss Doctor turned her head curiously and asked: "What are you doing?"
"We have porridge on weekends." Mira seemed a little confused. She felt that Ling's question shouldn't be a problem. Although she did not believe in the white church, the church's free weekend lunches at Avenella were very important to her.
"It's a day off, with free meals and entertainment activities." Henry briefly introduced the details of this activity inherited from the Gulaman era.
"...I see." After a moment of silence, Miss Doctor said as if she had figured something out.
It is precisely familiar things that are prone to blind spots. Because she has become accustomed to it, she does not think there is any problem with this. The Luoan girl looked at the stranger curiously.
"What did you think of?" she asked, and Ling nodded and shook her head: "Most of the shrines and temples in the Kingdom of the Moon are on the mountains, and religious practitioners stay away from the world to avoid being exposed to mundane things like fireworks. Influence."
"But this is in the market." Because she was born in a foreign country, she could see clearly. Aya continued: "For working people, as long as they believe in them, they can get a holiday once a week, eat without having to work, and You can watch a minstrel show.”
"It is deeply rooted among the people, has a strong influence on the grassroots, and is part of their lives."
"This is an inseparable part of the country's social system. If the ruler wants to manage the grassroots well, he needs to please them?" She was keenly aware of the nature of the White Church and the reasons for its rise. The Luoan girl and the girl who had long been accustomed to all this Kaleva was a little shocked by Aya's speech.
"In that case, what this incident represents-" Ling turned back and looked at the content on the bulletin board.
"Things that can exist for such a long time must not be something that can be summarized simply as good or evil." What Henry said seemed to be related to the current situation, but also seemed to be just speaking in general terms.
"The one who never has it longs to have what he deserves."
"He who has lost wants to regain what he has."
"He who has everything does not want to lose what he has."
"And that." His tone was still steady, his eyes looking directly at the civilians lining up at the soup kitchen.
"Owner of nothing."
"There will be a price to pay for this."
Some shackles that should not have been lifted were lifted. The people who carried out all this may have known about it but had no idea what the situation would be.
Padrosi's intelligence network is probably aware of what happened in the Moon Country, because the liquidation movement to completely ban the old guilds began shortly after Erica's death.
But that’s just how people are.
Even if they know that others have burned themselves in flames on this road, they will still believe that they are walking the same road.
There will be a different result.
The restoration of the Lamanites and the strengthening of the power of the White Church were like the twin stars that were spiraling together, and they could not separate each other.
The Raman poison that cannot accommodate the other can only be destroyed if it is unwilling to assimilate.
Pure human supremacy religions that cannot tolerate heresy, when all the evil spirits that are really harmful to people are eliminated, where will they point their swords for their own survival?
Should he once again stand against them, or should he believe that these people will do better than those who have followed this path in the past?
These people were not evil, and he knew that better than anyone.
But precisely because they are right, precisely because they know and firmly believe that they are right.
They will ruin everything.
