Chapter 20: The Journey Begins

“I will teach you the language. You must learn it as soon as possible, Master. Using only basic language will get you easily ignored.”

“…I don’t have to learn it.”

“I cannot bear to see my master being ignored by any riffraff.”

“…”

“For convenience’s sake, you must master it as soon as possible.”

Bel had no reason to learn a language like humans did.
The language problem could be solved by receiving a few high-quality sacrifices.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible to learn it through systematic education like a human, but Bel didn’t prefer it.
In the first place, it was a time-consuming task.

“I just need to eat a few more men.”

“You can’t! Are you going to kill people like that again?”

“No, I can just f*ck you like I did before.”

“Th-that’s even more unacceptable. And you shouldn’t use such words!”

“Then what should I say?”

“H-having a relationship… no, that’s not it.”

Then he said in a slightly less confident voice,
“Then, rather than a man who might have come from who-knows-where, please use me when you need to.”

“…”

Bel wrinkled her nose.
“You won’t even put out.”

“Master, such words are…”

Bel covered her ears.

This guy.
Was it a mistake to take him in?
I just want to send him far away.
The more I got to know him, the more he was just a nag.

I didn’t know he’d be like this.

That day—
That is, the day Bel first took in Lema Valkite.

Before leaving the auction house, Lema received a pouch of silver coins for travel expenses.
Lema didn’t take much money because the women left in the auction house had nowhere to go back to.
Instead, he got a greatsword and a shield, presumed to be of an old type.
He didn’t care much about the greatsword, but he seemed to choose the shield very carefully.
Other than that, he packed a bag with dry rations and water.

Bel said she didn’t need to eat, but he only replied that he wasn’t trying to feed Bel, but that it was for his own consumption.

In fact, Lema was quite competent in assisting Bel—more than expected.
Since Bel didn’t need to eat to gain calories, it wasn’t frequent, but the food Lema occasionally made during camping was quite delicious.
To the point where it could be considered a delicacy rather than food consumed out of necessity.

But this human seemed to feel that even that was not enough.
“For now, this is all I can offer. Someday, you must build a temple and receive better tributes.”

I didn’t know he was such a stubborn guy.

They didn’t bring a horse or carriage because the people left at the auction house had to use them to move.
So they had to walk for a long time, but Lema didn’t complain a single word, even while carrying all the luggage, holding a greatsword and a shield.

In any case, Bel ended up traveling with Lema.
However, Lema didn’t seem to be very skilled at traveling either.

“To find the summoner, it’s best to go to Isen first.”

“Isen?”

“I used an information guild there when I was wandering with my brother before. It’s difficult to find the summoner with just my common sense.”

“Alright.”

Lema had spent his whole life training within the order, and he only went outside the order for the purpose of monster subjugation, so his common sense was not that broad.
Instead, he knew enough about the Holy Empire and the apostles, and how to disguise himself as an ordinary person in this era.

Bel used him to learn the language little by little and to gain the most basic knowledge of this era.

First, she learned where this place was.
The place where Bel had awakened.

This was a neutral territory, also called the Outside of Order, not under the rule of the Holy Empire.
A place where some countries maintained a friendly relationship with Lucilonia, and some did not.
However, they seemed to maintain a generally amicable relationship.

“Lucilonia is a country located in the center of this continent. They call themselves the Holy Empire. Although they only accept one religion, since they believe the Supreme God can take any form, the way of life is actually very different from region to region. It’s a multi-ethnic nation, so to speak.”

First, the Supreme God Luxlon, who is most important in Lucilonia.
The god of light, justice, and order.

The reason they could maintain that much power was because of the apostles of Luxlon, who had special abilities.
Special humans called apostles because they were said to have been directly granted abilities by a god.

In fact, apostles could heal diseases considered incurable, wield powerful destructive powers, possess a body so strong that nothing could break it, or, if not that, they could also prophesy.
They could give comfort to the anxious or read someone’s mind.
Besides that, they also had abilities like making flowers bloom or causing wind.

Their numbers were not that large, but even the most trivial ability was powerful, and because of the propaganda that they were chosen by a god, they were respected by everyone.

Those who were good and had strong beliefs became apostles, and there were many who trained solely for that purpose.
In fact, some apostles had appeared from devout priests or holy knights who followed Luxlon.

Since it was an honorable position to use the power of a god, most of them became apostles when they manifested their abilities.

“Most? What if they don’t become an apostle?”

“Those are called fanatics. If they go further than that, they are heretics.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Actually, there isn’t much of a difference. They believe that the god gave them abilities because they believed in Luxlon fanatically. Therefore, all apostles were once fanatics. It’s just a matter of how long it took them to become an apostle.”

“A heretic? If a fanatic doesn’t become an apostle, are they a heretic?”

“That’s not it. In any case, Luxlon is another name for all gods. However, there is a separate standard for becoming a heretic.”

“Hmm.”

Bel was lost in thought.
Lema waited a little and then opened his mouth again.

“And… one of the groups of heretics is also called the Shadow Knights. The difference is that this is not defined by Lucilonia, but that they call themselves unbelievers. So, it’s more correct to say that it’s a group that accepts fanatics who have not yet caught the eye of Lucilonia.”

That was right.
If the one who summoned Bel was an apostle of Luxlon, Bel would have already been called Luxlon.

“Then, by that logic, does that mean you are a heretic? Or a Shadow Knight?”

“Pardon?”

Lema frowned as if displeased.
“What are you talking about? I am the orthodox, and those Lucilonia bastards are the heretics!”

“…”

“I just called them that for convenience’s sake!”

Since Lema was fuming as if he had been greatly insulted, Bel decided not to say anything more.
Instead, she asked something else.

“What exactly do the Shadow Knights do?”

It was a word she had heard before.
When Bel was first trapped in the slaver’s iron cage, when she broke out with brute force, it was something the slaves who were watching her had said.

“Actually, it’s a bit ambiguous to call the Shadow Knights heretics. By the standards of the Holy Empire, they’re not even called heretics. They say so themselves. So, it’s more correct to say that it’s a group that accepts fanatics who have not yet caught the eye of Lucilonia.”

Lema quickly calmed his breath and explained calmly.
“I don’t know the details. It’s said that they have a base somewhere on the continent, but it hasn’t been revealed.”

“Then do those women with nowhere to go go to the Shadow Knights?”

“They… might, but the possibility is small. They are difficult to find.”

In Bel’s eyes, Lema was a devout knight, and he also had the temperament of a fanatic.
What’s more, until just before meeting Bel, he was a guy who hadn’t given up his faith, hoping that he could still clear the misunderstanding.
There was no way such a person would have refused to become an apostle, so there seemed to be another factor.

“Then why did Valkite become a heretic?”

“Ah, that’s… a valid point. We should have naturally become apostles according to the procedure. We don’t know the reason either. No matter how much we requested to know the reason, or for an explanation, they wouldn’t listen.”

“Wait.”
Bel stopped him first because she heard people’s voices nearby.

“There’s something.”

There was a road not far away.
The sound of horse hooves was heard from that direction, so Bel and Lema hid behind a large tree and observed it.

The splendid carriage slowed down and then stopped at some point.
There were even several escort knights around it.
At a glance, it was the carriage of a noble, or if not that, a wealthy merchant.
The condition of the horses pulling the carriage also looked good.

“…The carriage looks nice.”

“Should we ask them nicely for a ride to Isen?”

“What if an apostle is riding it?”

“Then we’ll have to rob them.”

A holy knight who was once a candidate for an apostle of light was now talking like a bandit.