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Chapter 34 – The Sun God’s Inquisitor (2)
“What could this be?”
Lying on the bed in his lodging, Ketal stared at the translucent gray cube.
A strange light flickered inside it.
It was clearly no ordinary item, likely a magical artifact.
Ketal hadn’t mentioned the cube when explaining things to the lord.
He figured it would be taken away if he did.
This turned out to be a wise decision.
Any artifact related to Karthos was extremely dangerous and might not be returned to him if confiscated.
‘How do you use it?’
The cube had lit up whenever Karthos used magic, seemingly assisting with the spells.
‘…Can I use magic with this too?’
His heart raced at the thought.
He decided to keep it for now and ask mages about its use later.
“Whoops, it’s about time.”
Ketal got up from his spot, a broad smile on his face.
The joy on his face wasn’t just from acquiring the artifact.
Naturally, he was happy because he could finally visit the church in this fantasy world!
After explaining the situation and handing over the Life Vessel, the head of the guards came to see him the next day.
He told Ketal that the inquisitor of the Sun God had arrived in the territory and wanted to meet him.
Though he had met priests before, this was his first time meeting an inquisitor.
The meeting place was the church, and he had no reason to refuse.
He readily accepted.
Seeing Ketal walking cheerfully, the guard captain spoke with a worried expression.
“Your counterpart is an inquisitor of the Sun God. Please, please don’t be disrespectful. I’m begging you.”
Though his words were almost groveling, it was understandable from the captain’s point of view.
If Ketal were to be disrespectful, the entire territory could suffer.
Ketal laughed heartily.
“Don’t worry. Have I ever been rude to anyone?”
“…Not really.”
He had even been polite to the priest of the god of lies and deception. Since he cleared that dungeon without any issues, meeting an inquisitor of the Sun God shouldn’t be a problem. This barbarian was certainly different from other barbarians. The guard captain closed his mouth and continued walking.
They arrived at the church of the Sun God, located in a corner of the territory.
“Here it is.”
“Oooooh.”
In this world, gods existed.
They bestowed power directly and sometimes descended in person.
Places where their followers gathered were called churches.
Ketal wondered how different a fantasy world’s church would be.
He knew there was a church of the Sun God here, and he had immediately rushed over upon learning of its existence.
However, he hadn’t been able to visit it.
The reason was simple.
Those who didn’t serve the Sun God couldn’t enter the church.
In reality, permission was enough to gain entry, but the priests had adamantly opposed letting a barbarian in, so he hadn’t been able to enter.
But this time, Aquaz had requested to see Ketal in the church.
Ketal laughed joyfully.
“This is more than enough of a reward.”
“Please, I’m begging you…”
“I got it, I got it.”
Ketal chuckled, knocking on the church door.
Slowly, the door opened, and several women greeted him.
“W-Welcome, Mr. Ketal.”
The priests, trembling, greeted him.
Ketal was deeply moved.
Heize was also a servant of a god, but due to her travels, she wore simple, practical clothing.
These women, however, were dressed in refined, elegant priestly clothes.
Ketal liked that fact for some reason. He grinned widely.
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
“…Ah.”
A priest stumbled at his smile, nearly collapsing before another priest caught her just in time.
“Are you alright?”
When Ketal tried to approach, they recoiled as if in a fit of convulsions, increasing the distance between them.
“N-No! I’m fine! You don’t need to help!”
They fled in panic.
Ketal was deeply hurt by their clear rejection.
The priests, trembling, retreated further, as if afraid to remain in the same place any longer.
“Aquaz is waiting inside. Please come in.”
They hurried away.
Left alone, Ketal stroked his chin.
‘Should I not smile?’
It seemed like things got worse every time he smiled.
But he figured a stern face would probably be even scarier.
Ketal felt sad about the priests’ rejection but quickly brushed it off.
He had experienced too much to let such things bother him now.
For now, he decided to enjoy the moment.
Ketal walked slowly through the interior of the church.
There were pews for worshippers and a lectern where the priest likely gave sermons.
The basic layout wasn’t much different from churches on Earth, except there were no stained glass windows, likely because glass wasn’t yet commonplace.
Behind the lectern stood a statue, a robust male figure holding a spear aloft and a round shield, exuding an aura of majesty.
This was probably the Sun God.
“A god, huh.”
A real deity who granted powers and issued revelations.
Ketal felt a strange sense of reverence.
Gazing at the statue, Ketal assumed a posture.
He knelt and clasped his hands together in prayer.
Watching him quietly, Aquaz was surprised.
Ketal’s posture showed deep reverence, comparable to that of a devout priest.
It was astonishing to see such faith in the giant barbarian.
Aquaz found herself watching in awe, his piety making it hard to interrupt.
As she pondered what to do, Ketal stood up and turned, having been aware of her presence all along.
Their eyes met—his gray, hers silver.
“Are you Aquaz?”
“…Nice to meet you.”
Aquaz regained her composure and greeted him.
“I am Aquaz, the Sun God’s Inquisitor.”
“I am Ketal the Barbarian. Pleased to meet you.”
Ketal grinned widely.
* * *
Aquaz led Ketal to the church’s reception room.
Sitting across from each other, they observed one another quietly.
The inquisitor, a beautiful woman, likely had blood on her hands.
Ketal felt a strange emotion.
Inquisitors had existed on Earth too, long ago when religious power was extraordinarily strong, judging heretics.
Though they had vanished in modern times, they were historically documented.
It was fascinating in a different way from wizards or swordmasters, like witnessing a piece of history come to life.
Aquaz had her own conflicting thoughts.
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Her original plan was to pressure Ketal, to interrogate him and forcibly extract the truth.
But seeing him pray with such sincerity had dispelled that thought.
She had no choice but to ask,
“Do you… believe in our god?”
“No, I do not believe in any specific god.”
She wasn’t surprised by his answer, but it did raise a question.
“Then why did you pray to our god?”
“I don’t believe in your god. But I was invited into your church.”
Even if the invitation wasn’t meant to welcome him, an invitation was an invitation.
“Therefore, it is proper to show respect. Although I don’t believe, showing inner reverence would be hypocritical and disrespectful. But at least I can show respect with my body.”
Even if he didn’t believe, he could still act respectfully.
Aquaz was momentarily stunned by his calm words.
The sudden silence made Ketal awkwardly ask,
“Is that also considered rude? If so, I apologize.”
“N-No, not at all. It’s not rude at all.”
Aquaz quickly shook her head.
“…Indeed, even without belief, one can show physical respect. As you said.”
Aquaz’s face showed deep emotion.
Nothing was more disrespectful than a disbeliever’s heart, so showing respect with one’s body was touching.
Aquaz had been quite weary.
As an inquisitor, she always dealt with those who did not believe in her god.
They hurled all kinds of insults at her, and though she made them pay for it, it was still exhausting.
Yet here was a barbarian, the epitome of disbelief, saying something so moving.
Her opinion of the barbarian in front of her rose significantly, warmth entering her once cold eyes.
Ketal suddenly seemed to remember something, his expression turning unsure.
“…Should I be burned at the stake for saying something like this? It just occurred to me that speaking of disbelief in front of a believer might be rude.”
“W-What? No, not at all. As long as you don’t directly insult our god, we won’t do anything over mere disbelief.”
Aquaz shook her head quickly.
Although there were times in the distant past when disbelief alone could be punished, in the current era, that would cause significant issues.
Inquisitors only dealt with heretics who directly insulted the god or those tainted by evil.
“Is that so? That’s a relief.”
It seemed that these were not as harsh times as during the religious wars.
“Let’s get to the point then. There must be a reason you called for me.”
Ketal smiled quietly, a smile resembling that of a beast.
“It’s about the recent dungeon, isn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
Aquaz confirmed.
‘He’s definitely sharp.’
There were many differences between him and a typical barbarian.
Aquaz began to speak.
“The Karthos you claim to have defeated was a lich who committed great evil in the world. Many extraordinary individuals tried to defeat him, but none succeeded.”
In the end, a hero had to step in to resolve the situation.
Ketal leaned back in his chair.
“Even if you say so, it doesn’t really affect me much.”
He had heard enough about this yesterday.
To Ketal, Karthos was just a lich who self-destructed while struggling alone.
“You can’t believe my words, and I can only believe what I’ve seen. We’re at an impasse.”
“Yes, but our god has the power to break such an impasse.”
“Oh?”
Ketal’s face showed interest.
“I swear by the name of the god I serve, and you swear by yourself. Here, we will speak only the truth. Will you accept this rule?”
“By rule, you mean it has an element of coercion.”
Ketal bared his teeth.
“Is this the power of the god?”
“Yes. The Sun God will personally oversee our conversation. You can refuse if you feel uncomfortable.”
Aquaz narrowed her eyes.
She didn’t expect him to accept.
Despite being different from typical barbarians, he was still a non-believer.
He wouldn’t like being exposed to the gaze of a god.
Her aim was to understand Ketal.
She prepared to gauge his reaction starting from his refusal.
But contrary to her expectations, Ketal beamed brightly.
“Why would I refuse?”
Divine power, the god’s authority, the god’s gaze—this was a chance to experience it firsthand.
Ketal was excited.
The lich had deeply disappointed him, but surely not the god.
The god’s power would undoubtedly impress him.
“A-Are you sure?”
“Of course! Let’s proceed immediately!”
Aquaz was taken aback.
The god would look down directly.
No one who didn’t serve the god would enjoy that.
Yet Ketal seemed almost delighted, as if experiencing the god’s power was his goal.
‘What is this?’
It felt like a reversal.
Instead of her using the god’s power to test Ketal, it seemed like Ketal was eager to test the power of the Sun God.
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