#018

The person who changed the law Loclem had notarized was punished….

Considering that the law was actually changed, it seems it was changed because it deserved to be.

But instead of a reward, they gave a punishment….

Loclem is a heartless bastard who delivers the prescribed penalty if the law is broken, no matter how much he treasures the person.

“Was that punishment not based on the law?”

“…No.”

“Then Loclem simply did what he had to do. In truth, if he handed down judgments based on words he never declared—claiming he had a ‘hidden intention’—wouldn’t everyone waste their time guessing Loclem’s ‘true meaning’ instead of following the written law whenever they acted?”

“But what about the one who received that punishment? He did the right thing and gained nothing; is that just? Is that correct?”

“Did he do the right thing in order to gain something?”

Casimir’s face crumpled further, but she couldn’t answer.

“He likely didn’t. He did the right thing because it was right. Usually, changing something brings no profit, and more often than not, it only brings loss.”

“…It is a wretched waste for the wisest and most courageous to be sacrificed and consumed.”

“There may be those who gain enlightenment from seeing such a waste.”

“What enlightenment could possibly be gained? The enlightenment that one should remain a coward, since the wise and courageous will sacrifice themselves and shoulder the loss to make the world better even if you do nothing?”

Anger laced her voice; it seemed she had a lot bottled up.

I started feeling a bit wronged.

‘I mean, who gives a descriptive essay question based on a personal grudge?’

Isn’t it cowardly for someone who hates “dippers” to ask a question about “pouring vs. dipping”?

Just be bold and say, ‘I hate dippers! Will you pour or not?’ State your position first.

That way, I could play along and say, ‘Of course, the truth is in the pouring. Doesn’t it always come poured at the restaurant? Dippers are all tasteless fools!’

Even though I’m a dipper.

“No, the enlightenment that one must create a world where such a waste never happens again.”

“…Regrettably, it seems no one gained such an enlightenment.”

“Did you not gain it, Lady Casimir?”

Knight Commander Casimir raised a single eyebrow.

“You are angry on his behalf right now. You are angry because you believe it was not right for him to be sacrificed.”

“…Yes. I am the only one who is still angry.”

Her voice sounded as if she were chewing on an old rage.

“Why are the others no longer angry?”

“…Because he said he didn’t want them to be. He told them not to get worked up over this anymore, saying that doing so would actually make him uncomfortable. The others respected the party’s wishes and stopped mentioning it.”

‘Maybe you should do the same, ma’am….’

“Then everything became shockingly peaceful. As if the disappearance of one person had never happened… everyone enjoys what he changed as a matter of course, yet no one speaks of him.”

‘Dear me…. But doesn’t she think using her reverse scale as an interview question for a random serf is nothing more than venting?’

“…Do you also think so?”

“Pardon?”

“I am asking if you truly believe it is right to treat him as a non-entity, claiming to respect his will, just like those hypocrites.”

‘How am I supposed to say yes to that?’

It feels like she just sliced the ‘YES’ button in half in a YES/NO choice.

Given that there is an actual sword in the room, this is no different from being threatened with a blade.

“No.”

“No? If you chose those words just by reading my mood, you will regret it deeply. Speak again. Is it truly not?”

‘Is there actually a highway robber who threatens me with a sword and then demands sincerity?’

However, I am a man who can manufacture sincerity even in the face of a blade.

“It truly is not. Is it not written in the 〈Book of Precedents〉? That the public interest must take precedence over private interest.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I fully understand his desire to no longer be swept up in turmoil. Since he is a man who does the right thing even while enduring damage, he likely felt that others being angry or sad because of him was uncomfortable.”

“Now….”

“But! Is the ‘wish’ to ‘avoid that discomfort’ not a private desire and a private interest?”

‘Please just let me finish my sentence.’

Her gaze is menacing.

“His deeds must be widely known, remembered, and continuously spoken of so that more people may awaken. That is the public interest. There may be much friction in doing so, and he may experience great discomfort because of it, but is it not wrong to prioritize private interest over the public interest?”

“…That is a private interest?”

“Yes! Those hypocrites also made a very wrong choice! This was a matter where private emotions should not have interfered, yet they condoned his prioritization of private interest because of their own feelings of guilt!”

“Then are you saying his will can be ignored?”

“The decision to sacrifice himself for what is right, and the wish to be forgotten because he no longer wants to be swept up in storms—both are his will. In a conflict between two wills, would it not be correct to prioritize the former?”

“…….”

Knight Commander Casimir looked at me in silence for a long time.

‘She won’t swing the sword just because it sounds like bullshit, right?’

“…I heard you received a great Blessing; it seems that Blessing resides in your tongue.”

“Pardon?”

“It is a compliment. You speak very, very well.”

‘Complimenting me by saying my tongue is like one blessed by Idan is just another way of saying she’s heard the sophistry of a devil.’

I gulped.

I don’t think I’d be surprised if my head hit the floor in the next moment.

“I told Nasir to report on you, but he kept saying I’d know if I saw you, or asked me to judge after talking to you, so I wondered if you had cast some sort of spell….”

‘No, but I really didn’t get any eloquence-related buffs.’

I felt wronged.

[Miracle of the Silver Tongue] is an achievement trait; it doesn’t have a separate effect that increases persuasiveness.

The words I’m saying are simply the result of me racking my brain.

‘I wouldn’t mind dying if I were framed as an Othergod associate, but dying for this reason would be too unfair.’

“I-I have truly never used any strange power! How can I prove it? I will cooperate with all necessary procedures!”

“There is no need for that.”

‘What?’

I speak too well? No need to look further! Confirmed heretic! Execution!

Is that it?

‘These primitive medieval people?!’

“P-please, just one chance….”

“Why should I give you a chance?”

‘What the fuck?’

“It has already been proven that you did not use such power.”

Casimir’s lips twitched, like someone who had just told a joke only they found funny.

“…Pardon?”

“In this place, which is covered by the Blessing of Pasa, I could not possibly miss it if you used a wicked power.”

I was stunned by Casimir’s words.

‘So she knew I wasn’t using any tricks, and she still said that thing about my tongue being blessed?’

This is the Knight Commander of the Order Sect?

She’s the type of person who would tell a hardworking foreign laborer, as a compliment, ‘You’re surprisingly diligent and good at your job. Could you be a terrorist under deep cover?’

“You moved my heart without using any Miracle.”

Even though I was determined to oppose whatever you said.

Casimir spoke with a smile that bordered on a smirk.

“You see, I had been looking forward to this interview because I wanted to tell my father that he was wrong. I cursed him, saying what could he possibly do in such a backwater, what could change, and that he would eventually regret it. But he insisted until the end that he was right and that he had found something great in such a backwater, which really rubbed me the wrong way.”

‘Antonio’s recommendation was actually working against me?’

“So I stayed cynical, wanting to see what that ‘great thing’ was….”

Casimir stood up and approached me.

“Seeing you in person, you truly are remarkable. I am impressed.”

‘Wow, fuck, she’s taller than me.’

Fabio isn’t exactly short, either.

She’s a woman, so how tall is she? 190cm?

“Are you truly a serf?”

How can he speak so fluently in front of me without any fear?

Casimir looked down at me with a face as if she were watching something amusing.

“…I’m not a serf.”

“What?”

“To come here, I gave up all the land I had reclaimed, my house, and my assets, and I cleared my serf status, so I am now a freeman.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“And why should I be afraid of you, Lady Casimir?”

I have no house, no assets, and I’m about to have no life.

“Now, all I have left is my own life, so what is there to be so afraid of? At worst, what else could happen besides dying?”

“Are you saying you aren’t afraid of death?”

“Pardon? Of course I am.”

When I replied with wide eyes, Casimir was momentarily speechless.

“But isn’t it common for people to die? My father passed away after slipping off a cliff, but that doesn’t mean I tremble in fear of dying every time I pass by a cliff.”

“…And?”

“They say the brave die once, but the coward dies many times. Since a person only dies once in their life, is there any need to suffer many times by being afraid in advance… I just thought of it that way.”

“So, it’s not that you are certain I would never harm you, but that you stood here thinking that if you died, it couldn’t be helped?”

Actually, I was certain I was about to die.

Casimir grabbed my chin and turned my head this way and that, as if appraising an object.

“Well, small dogs are often the most fearless.”

‘Wait, did she just compare me to a dog?’

Lord Antonio, exactly how did you raise your daughter?

“Hm? Don’t scowl. I meant you’re cute.”

Casimir patted my head as if petting a dog.

‘Fuck, is patting someone’s head considered treating them like a dog among desert people?’

Nasir!!

I will never forgive you!!

But Casimir was too scary to not forgive.

“…D-do you have anything else to ask?”

“No. I believe I have asked everything I wanted to know.”

“Then I shall….”

“We must go find out what Blessing is cast upon you.”

‘Here it comes.’

Am I going to meet a high priest?

‘I thought I had achieved enough mental victory….’

As expected, the fear of death made my breath hitch.

“What. Are you nervous? You were so unfazed when looking at me.”

“If I am truly related to some strange Evil God… what will happen to me?”

“At worst, what else could happen besides dying?”

Casimir mocked me, repeating my own words back to me.

“Didn’t you say it’s a loss to be afraid in advance?”

“…If a person could put everything they know into practice, would they even be human?”

“You don’t need to be too nervous. Our Order Sect accepts those who have received the Blessing of heresy if they wish to convert.”

I’m the living proof of that. Did Nasir tell her my story?

Casimir pointed to her silver-gray eyes.

“A beautiful color, isn’t it? The function is perfectly fine. In fact, I can see better than before.”

‘But it was made of maggots….’

“So you don’t have to worry.”

“What… do I not have to worry about?”

“No matter where the Blessing is engraved, I’m saying that if we cut it out and regenerate it, you’ll be clean.”

If it’s a part like the tongue, forget a day, you’ll be fine within an hour.

Casimir smiled brightly.

“As long as it’s not a Blessing engraved on the Soul, everything can be erased.”

I briefly imagined maggots being poured into my mouth after my tongue was cut off.

‘I should just be burned at the stake.’

Chapter 19