Chapter 24: An Unexpected Request

“Ah…”

And she went to Bel’s side and bowed.

The knights, who had been watching Bel’s every move, were startled.
And they stared with wide eyes, as if in disbelief.

“Thank you. You are… the one who saved me, right?”

“…”

When Bel stared at her, the woman corrected her posture and bowed politely.

“My name is Beata Mirgas. I wanted to visit you in Mirgas first, but I apologize for making you come all this way yourself. It is my first time serving an apostle of Luxlon, so there may be some shortcomings, but I hope the apostle will be understanding.”

The woman, who had introduced herself as Beata, seemed to have mistaken Belmias for an apostle.
It was a mistake she could make, since she had not personally seen what Bel had done to the bandits.
What’s more, judging by the fact that she said Bel had saved her, it seemed she had been conscious—even if only for a moment—when she was dying in the broken carriage.
It seemed she had even seen Bel healing her.

Waiting for Bel to nod, Lema asked,
“…You were originally going to see an apostle?”

It was not common for a family that was not a vassal of Lucilonia to go all the way to the Holy Empire from such a remote area just because they needed help.
If there was something they needed help with, it was more common for it to be resolved at a lower level.
What’s more, they would probably be able to find an apostle in this vicinity.
They could be dispatched to other countries, or serve people in other regions; apostles were not legally bound to stay within the Holy Empire.
There were not many cases where one had to go to the Holy Empire.

And in the past, Valkite had also gone to the Holy Empire.
Since that came to mind, he had to ask,
“Did someone manifest divine power?”

“Oh my… of course not, Sir Knight. We are an ordinary family with not a single person who has received ordination. It’s just…”

Beata sighed deeply and frowned.

“A strange thing has happened in our territory. We judged that it is a matter that cannot be resolved without the help of an apostle…”

“Then what’s that?”

Lema pointed to the treasures that had been gathered along with the broken carriage.
Leaving aside the bundles of medicinal herbs, which were a specialty of Mirgas, there was a chest full of gold bars.

Beata spoke in a tone as if he were asking something obvious.
“It’s a bribe, Sir Knight…”

“What?”

“A bribe.”

“Do you think an apostle of Luxlon would be swayed by something like money…!”

Lema, out of habit, was about to represent Lucilonia’s position, but he tore at his hair instead.

To that, Beata said with an innocent face,
“Sir Knight, there’s nothing in the world that can’t be done with money.”

“…”

“It was that urgent…”

Although he had flared up out of habit and quickly calmed down, what Lema had pointed out was not wrong.
The apostles of Luxlon acted to make the world a better place according to the doctrine.
If a big problem that required the help of an apostle had really occurred in the territory, the apostles of Luxlon were the type to be dispatched on their own, even without being offered such money.
Had they been tainted by the world?

While Lema was so confused, Beata asked Bel,
“Do you think so too, Apostle of Luxlon? But we also wanted to express our sincerity. Originally, it would be right to prepare a better place and deliver it, but would you accept it even in a place like this?”

“L-lady, they are… not apostles. They cannot be apostles of the Supreme God Luxlon…”

Kibyr said in a small, trembling voice.
If they were apostles, they would punish the bandits, even if they made an example of a few, but they would not slaughter them so ruthlessly.
What’s more, Bel had even chewed and eaten some of the men she had killed.
Her appearance, covered in blood and walking slowly with an expressionless face, was that of a living disaster.

That could not be an apostle of light, of justice, for humanity.

The reason she had pointed that out, even while trembling in fear, was because those who were not apostles did not like to be treated as such.
For instance, like the Shadow Knights.

“Really? Then what kind of people are they, Sir Kibyr?”

“…”

After a long silence, Kibyr answered,
“…I don’t know.”

Since she hadn’t seen the horrific scene herself, it was unknown how those words would be received.

Beata feigned surprise and then bowed her head deeply.
“I apologize. You are so wonderful that I thought you were an apostle, the highest and holiest position I know. Sir Kibyr doesn’t know any better either. It was a word from a foolish person out of respect, so please forgive me.”

And she raised her head sharply.
“But then, are you a heretic?”

Every time that woman spoke, and every time he saw her attitude, Lema felt something surge up inside him.
What’s more, he felt very strange.

Lema Valkite had lived his whole life as a member of a vassal family of Lucilonia, so in fact, his basic way of thinking was attuned to that of a believer.
No, on the contrary, he was somewhat lacking in common sense except for matters concerning the Holy Empire and the duties of a holy knight.
So he had a hard time adapting even when he was wandering with his brother.
What’s more, after being branded a heretic, he had a history of being on the run, so it was unavoidable that her attitude felt alien.

It is impossible for an ordinary person to show such a lukewarm attitude towards heretics.
That is, normally, one should feel uneasy upon hearing the word ‘heretic.’
Like Kibyr, who gritted her teeth and said that Bel and Lema could never be apostles.

But this woman named Beata didn’t seem to care.
“It doesn’t matter. In any case, it’s a fact that you saved me…”

“…”

“Will you accept it?”

“Yes. It’s a good tribute.”

When Bel lightly expressed her intention to accept, Beata smiled as if it were an honor and even clung to Bel’s side.

“But what’s the matter?”

“Pardon?”

“You said there was a big problem in your territory.”

Surprisingly, Bel asked with interest.

Beata smiled even more brightly, as if she were happy.
“It’s difficult to explain in words. You have to see it for yourself to understand. Perhaps, since you came here yourself without any information, you might know when you see this…”

She took something out from her bosom and held it out to Bel.
A small, pebble-like thing.

After confirming that Bel had taken it, Beata paused for a moment and then said,
“Uhm, but before that… there is something I would like to ask of you for a moment.”

“What is it?”

“I, for a moment… I want to try dancing.”

“…”

“Will you watch me?”

Lema, with a bewildered expression, pointed at Beata and demanded an explanation from Kibyr.
He didn’t say it with his voice, but it was an expression and gesture that anyone could interpret.

In a word.
Is that woman crazy?

“…”

Kibyr, who was watching Lema’s gesture, clouded her eyes and avoided his gaze.
“U-uhm… the lady is not usually like that…”

“…”

“Probably.”

So they didn’t know either?
It wasn’t a very believable thing to say.

From before, the attitude of the woman named Beata had been strangely grating on Lema’s nerves.
Leaving aside the excessive favor she was showing to Bel, the fact that she was casually offering a tribute that seemed to be of considerable value, and her lukewarm attitude towards heretics.

It might not be good to get involved with them any further.

Regardless, Beata ran to the place where the bandits’ corpses had been scattered until just a moment ago and started to dance alone, spinning around.

“Aha, ahahaha!”

The cheerful laughter that echoed through the night sky was a bonus.

Are they crazy…

Lema gave up trying to understand.
He just thought of handing that woman over tomorrow and getting a hefty sum for travel expenses.

There was just one thing that bothered him.
From before, his master, Belmias, seemed to be in a pretty good mood.
From the context, it was from when Beata Mirgas had woken up and started talking.
Even when she had killed and eaten the bandits, she had seemed to be in a very bad mood, calling them low-quality sacrifices.
Perhaps the tribute she had received was quite to her liking.

“Master, are you interested in the affairs of Mirgas?”

“Yes.”

Bel was rolling the pebble she had just received from Beata in her hand.

“Like at the auction house last time, are you interested because you like that tribute?”

“No, I just think I might know something.”

“Know something?”

She didn’t know how to explain this.
There were other beings besides Belmias who granted human wishes.
However, since they each had their own preferred wishes and sacrifices, their eras of awakening did not overlap.
But when they happened to meet, it was a little nice.

And this pebble was a trace of that.

But how should she explain this to a human?
She didn’t know.
Even if she did explain, it didn’t seem like a human would be able to understand.

“Yes, I know something.”

So Bel just let it go at that.