#013

“Lord Antonio. It has been a long time.”

“Did Casimir send you?”

They arrived sooner than expected. He had heard they would come in three days. Antonio set aside the knitting he had been working on.

“So, have you met Fabio?”

“It’s been a while, yet you don’t even ask how I’ve been.”

“What is there to ask someone who has come for work? I’m sure you’re eager to return.”

“My, how cold.”

Nasir pulled out and loosened the necklace he had hidden inside his surcoat.

“You told me I could call you uncle, but if you act this heartlessly, your nephew will be wounded.”

“…Nasir?”

“Yes, it is I, Lord Antonio.”

Nasir smiled.

“Even you couldn’t recognize me, Lord Antonio.”

“Is that a new talisman?”

“Yes.”

Nasir toyed with the medal-shaped metal in his hand.

“Does it change one’s face? No, it doesn’t seem to be just that….”

“You are sharp. This talisman is called ‘Blind Spot.’ Not only does it change one’s appearance, but it also blurs the overall impression, making it difficult for others to remember the person even if they try to recall them later.”

“Impressive. Its utility must be very high.”

“It is only a pity that it cannot be used except in special cases, as there is a high potential for abuse.”

Nasir liked this talisman quite a bit.

While there was a side effect where the wearer would gradually lose their sense of direction if worn for too long, the convenience far outweighed such a drawback.

It wasn’t simply about changing one’s appearance; it touched human perception to make them ‘not notice.’

While wearing this talisman, no one paid attention to Nasir.

Usually, people didn’t even perceive Nasir’s existence until he spoke to them first.

‘That should have been the case.’

Nasir recalled the young man who had stared at him intently while chopping wood.

Startled by that gaze, Nasir had even felt around to check if the talisman he was wearing had disappeared.

After confirming the talisman was still in place, he wondered what kind of Blessing that serf possessed to be unaffected by ‘Blind Spot.’

Thus, he had cast the ‘hypnosis that makes one mistake the caster for a friendly acquaintance, ensuring they don’t hide anything,’ which he frequently used during interrogations…

‘It didn’t work at all.’

A person under that hypnosis usually wears a bright expression, as if they have finally recognized someone they are very glad to see.

However, Fabio had merely flinched, his face becoming slightly wary.

It seemed he vaguely felt that Nasir had done something, but he didn’t seem to know what it was.

‘Whether it is a constant-activation Blessing or an automatic defense Blessing, it is a Blessing of a considerably high grade.’

Having immediately analyzed Fabio’s Blessing, Nasir couldn’t help but be puzzled.

‘Is there any reason to grant such a high Blessing to a serf?’

That doubt grew even larger when he saw Fabio collapse in surprise at the sword swung as a threat.

‘Illusions and bloodlust didn’t work either. He was purely startled because a real sword was swung before his eyes.’

Illusions were the strongest ability Nasir could use.

Even a Holy Knight of the Centurion rank in the Order Sect could only ‘distinguish’ Nasir’s illusions; they could not ignore them entirely.

A Blessing that could perfectly erase all ‘Distortions’ at any time.

‘Even an Archbishop cannot do that unless they declare a Sanctuary in advance.’

He didn’t know what the god who hid even their own symbol was plotting, but they had undoubtedly granted a Blessing equivalent to an apostle.

‘Is it to target Antonio… no, former Cardinal Ansberto?’

An unknown divinity would not have granted an apostle-grade Blessing to a serf in such a remote corner for no reason.

He didn’t know how they discovered the current location of former Cardinal Ansberto, which only the highest echelons of the Order Sect knew, but if they weren’t targeting the former Cardinal, there would be no reason to grant such a costly Blessing to a serf.

Based on that judgment, he had asked a question.

Why did you approach Antonio, a mere bell ringer?

‘I intended to cut him down right then if he couldn’t answer properly….’

Now he understood why Antonio had gone to the trouble of writing such a long letter to Commander Casimir.

‘The most dangerous power Fabio possesses is not some mysterious Blessing.’

The elegance born of complex etiquette, the intimidation stemming from power, the aura granted by innate divine power, the authority derived from experience and knowledge.

A serf possessing none of those things had made him not want to doubt the boy with just a few words.

‘The nameless divinity likely didn’t grant Fabio the Blessing just to use him as a means to achieve another goal.’

Fabio himself must have been the goal.

Even now, with little education and unremarkable experience, hadn’t he already enchanted Antonio, who had once been a Cardinal, and Nasir himself, an Inquisitor?

It was frightening to think of what influence he would wield once he learned more about the world and accumulated knowledge.

“…Lord Antonio. Do you know what Blessing Fabio received?”

“I wonder. Since he knows things I didn’t tell him, and seeing how he is particularly fond of books, I thought he might have received the Blessing of the God of Records….”

Antonio glanced at Nasir’s face and continued.

“Have you met him already? Judging by your expression, you seem to have a hunch.”

“No, I couldn’t tell at all.”

“But I do know that the one who blessed him is not the God of Records,” Nasir said. “He recognized my face even while I was wearing the talisman.”

It wasn’t the typical reaction of an Imperial seeing a desert tribesman—he seemed uncertain—but when Nasir tested him with a probing question, Fabio had affirmed it.

‘Even when I mentioned his eye color was unique, or when I brought up the gold of the desert, he didn’t ask back.’

When wearing the talisman, Nasir appeared to others as an ordinary Imperial with blue eyes and golden-brown hair.

Therefore, it was normal for someone to be puzzled if Nasir suddenly asked if his eye color wasn’t unique.

However, without any doubt, Fabio acted as if he could see Nasir’s golden eyes right before him.

‘It’s extraordinary that he wasn’t particularly surprised, considering it must be his first time seeing a desert tribesman….’

What was truly shocking was that even ‘Nephiton’s Illusion’ could not deceive him.

The failure of an illusion was a problem on a different dimension than the failure of a hallucination or hypnosis.

Hallucinations and hypnosis are ‘intrusions’ that directly touch another’s perception, so it was possible to notice and block them if one had a talisman or Blessing that defended the mind.

However, an illusion is a power that alters the reflected light itself, not the perception of a specific target.

While it was possible to collapse an illusion by blocking the power creating it, it was impossible to see through an illusion while it was being maintained.

Or so he had thought.

‘Until the being I met today did it effortlessly.’

Wondering if the talisman itself had been nullified, he had met Antonio while wearing it, but Antonio had not recognized him at all.

Though Antonio had lost much of his divine power after breaking the vows he had sworn, he was still the man who had been a Cardinal.

Even such a man could not feel any incongruity from ‘Blind Spot’…

“It wasn’t simply ‘defending’ or ‘nullifying’ the distortion of perception. He didn’t even perceive any of Nephiton’s distortions.”

Even if Nephiton had lost much of his Divine Power after being murdered by Loclem, there was still no divinity who had surpassed Nephiton in his primary domain of ‘Illusion.’

The ‘Illusion’ of the talisman [Blind Spot], made from Nephiton’s remains, was not something that could be seen through just by having an apostle-grade Blessing from an unknown god.

“Lord Antonio. I don’t think I can grant the request you made.”

Nasir’s voice became serious.

What Antonio had repeatedly emphasized and requested from Casimir was for Fabio to be allowed to live ‘normally.’

Antonio hoped that Fabio would not be known as ‘one who received a Blessing outside the Order,’ but simply as a young man slightly smarter than others, living in a monastery or studying while assisting a priest.

If the Blessing Fabio possessed were not dangerous, Antonio’s request might have been granted.

“…He is far too special.”

It wasn’t important exactly what Fabio’s Blessing could do.

The mere fact that a powerful divinity had granted it while hiding their identity made it a ‘dangerous’ Blessing.

“If we hide it, it could be dangerous for him and for us.”

At Nasir’s words, Antonio’s eyes trembled.

After a long silence, Antonio spoke slowly.

“…I hope I won’t regret writing that letter.”

But could he?

How many times had he written a letter requesting a favor from Casimir, only to tear it up, unable to bring himself to send it?

If Fabio hadn’t acted as if he might suddenly vanish somewhere, he might never have sent it.

‘Since I cannot know the intentions of a divinity that hides even its own symbol, I asked a trustworthy person for protection instead.’

Instead of protection, he had pushed the boy into a state of grueling surveillance.

Antonio felt as if he were suffocating.

One who possesses an overly powerful ‘Blessing outside the Order’ would be suspected until the day they died; they would be neither accepted by the Sect nor permitted to leave it.

In such a situation, could a person remain sane?

“You certainly will not regret it.”

“…Are you offering empty words to comfort this old man?”

Antonio frowned.

No one can give a certainty about an uncertain future.

Furthermore, Nasir didn’t even have the authority to decide anything regarding this matter. The decision still rested with Casimir.

Nasir knew Antonio’s temperament—that he hated empty words.

What did it mean to utter words he couldn’t take responsibility for in this situation?

Nasir smiled faintly.

“No, I am trusting the impression that young man gave me during our brief encounter.”

“…What did you see in that child?”

“I saw the certainty that, no matter what happens, that child will not do anything to disappoint you, Lord Antonio.”

At Nasir’s words, Antonio felt his boiling emotions subside rapidly, almost ridiculously.

‘…Fabio.’

“If Commander Casimir has eyes, she will see it too. So, I suppose I am trusting two things: Commander Casimir’s discernment and Fabio’s nature.”

Saying so, Nasir stretched his legs and leaned back against the chair.

“You don’t need to worry too much. He will be loved even within the Sect.”

After all, isn’t he the one who made the austere Cardinal Ansberto abandon his principles?

At Nasir’s words, Antonio gave a loud cough.

“I am no longer a Cardinal….”

“I know. But didn’t you use the Cardinal’s seal when you sent the letter to Commander Casimir?”

When Antonio stepped down from the position of Cardinal, he declared that he would renounce all the power he possessed.

In doing so, he hid his Baptismal Name so that he would not receive the courtesies due to a former Cardinal, and he told no one where he was going.

Even Commander Casimir, his stepdaughter and a high-ranking official of the Sect, barely knew that Antonio was working as a bell ringer somewhere.

Even if Casimir wanted to contact Antonio, her only option was to send a letter to the Holy See and ask them to deliver it to him.

Replies also had to be received through the Holy See.

Since the letters were all read by the Holy See, Casimir had no choice but to express her dissatisfaction very, very indirectly and politely, even when she felt anger at her stepfather’s stubbornness.

Moreover, Antonio never sent a letter first unless it was a reply.

Such a man had sent a letter to Casimir that did not go through the Holy See.

And to ensure it wouldn’t be suspected as a fake, he had even stamped it with the seal he used during his time as Cardinal.

“Because of that, the Commander was quite angry.”

Saying that if he could exercise such flexibility, why had he cut her off so sharply when she had clung to him. At Nasir’s words, Antonio had no choice but to avoid his gaze.

“Is there anything you wish to say to Commander Casimir?”

“…She said she couldn’t understand why I would go this far.”

Loclem is the God of Order and Judgment.

He establishes the law, upholds it, and punishes those who break it.

It does not matter if the law is an evil one.

Those who break a law once established must be punished.

Antonio broke the rules to change the Doctrine, and as punishment, he lost much of his divine power.

However, stepping down from the position of Cardinal did not necessarily mean he had to renounce his priesthood. That was not a requirement even in Loclem’s code.

Yet, to keep the declaration he had made, Antonio quit being a priest as well.

Casimir could not forgive Antonio for that.

“I can still clearly see her screaming, asking why I would go to a place where no one knows me when I should have stayed in the highest position possible, even if it were humiliating, to accomplish more. She asked what meaning there was in such a life, and if I wouldn’t regret living like that before I died.”

He understood the feelings behind those words.

He was not unaware of the love contained within them.

But those tears mixed with anger had remained embedded in his heart for a long time, like a rusted blade.

“At the time, I couldn’t answer and turned away in silence, but now, I will answer those words.”

There is meaning.

I will not regret it.

Many things will change.

Because,

“Tell her that I have gained a realization here that is more important than anything else.”

Because he had seen the noblest Order in the lowliest of places.

* * *

‘Antonio… I really thought he was like some honorary village chief from a God-World Genre novel….’

I pondered what had happened earlier while pouring water into a horse trough.

The most shocking thing wasn’t that the Inquisitor was a heretic, nor the current state of the Order Sect, which was a complete mess.

The most shocking thing to me was that the person I had spent nearly six months with was a completely different person from who I thought he was.

‘To think he suspected me of being a heretic all along and didn’t show it at all.’

I had been worried that Antonio trusted people too easily and might get scammed somewhere….

‘I feel betrayed.’

Every time he claimed he wasn’t a priest, he meant he wasn’t one ‘now.’

And the claim that one can only be said to have learned to read if they have mastered Sacred Script was a complete lie….

‘Above all, what I cannot forgive is that he reported me to the Heretic Inquisitor.’

When he said he had called a priest to come pick me up for my own sake, I was touched, thinking, ‘He’d go that far?’ only to be shocked when the priest who arrived was a Heretic Inquisitor.

It felt like I had gone out imagining a celebrity’s luxury van because he said he’d called a van for a comfortable ride, only to be faced with a prisoner transport vehicle.

Even if that Inquisitor was a connection and the standards were loose enough that nothing would happen, the feeling of betrayal was inevitable.

If I had an Affinity window, it would have dropped by about -50 because of this.

‘If the place I arrive at is a heretic detention center, I’m going to curse that bastard Antonio for the rest of my life.’

Chapter 14