Circumstances of a Fallen Lord

Chapter 83

Well, its not the first time Carlton has acted strangely. Luisen neatly gave up on contemplating the issue further and continued to talk about Morrison.

You said he was an inquisitor? They really exist? The mercenary asked.

I was utterly surprised as well. Ive heard of them, but I never thought Id meet one in my lifetime

Ive heard rumors that theyre complete lunatics Carlton had heard of these heretic-chasing inquisitors; they were legends. Once again, his heart sank. If, at least, a bandit were to kidnap the young lord, then Luisen would have money or status to leverage against them. In this situation, Luisen was as defenseless as an infant; neither money nor power would work on the church.

I apologizeif I had been more careful, this wouldnt have happened, Carlton said.

It wasnt just Carltons fault. In fact, Luisen was well aware that he had behaved recklessly around Morrison, swayed by his previous good memories of the man.

However, who could have imagined that the kind merchant who helped me was an inquisitor for heretics?

Inquisitors werent all that common. Luisen, while living as a noble in the kingdoms capital, met various priests, but inquisitors were beings that only lived in stories. Ordinary folk would not even know they existed.

Besides, youre quite tired, right? No matter how keen you may be, it would be hard to uncover an inquisitor, Luisen said.

In the first place, inquisitors wouldnt reveal themselves like this. They would go deep into the shadows to catch the heretics that often moved in secretin the background. Anyway, this organization had operated for hundreds of years, and its members studied how to disguise their identity and deceive others. There was nothing they could do. In any case, this is a chance to know more about Rugers gang. Lets shake Morrison for all his information.

Of course, we should, Carlton replied, resolutely. Simultaneously, he did his best to not make eye contact with the young lord.

Not realizing that Carlton would fall into chaos after being made aware of his sudden first love, Luisen was eager for this awkwardness to be resolved before Morrisons return. He just knew what sort of comments the inquisitor would make while observing their atmosphere.

As they waited docilely, Morrison and his men came to the cabin. All of Morrisons men sported injuries, but none of them were life-threatening. Because finding Luisen was his top priority, it seemed as if the mercenary showed some mercy in his subjugation and consequential interrogation of the men.

When all this is over, I believe well have to concentrate on resting and recovering for a while. Youve wounded us deeply. Morrison said, meaningfully.

You should be grateful to be alive, Carlton replied, without backing downhe spoke bluntly as per usual.

Luisen was relieved. He was worried that the mercenary would remain dazed and absentminded, but, when Morrison returned, the mercenary returned to his usual overwhelming, intimidating form, placing plenty of pressure on the inquisitor and his men.

Sitting down, Luisen could now comfortably hear Morrisons explanation.

***

    Morrison, The Inquisitor.

 That man was chasing the trail of a demon worshiper who was recently rising in influence.

While the South was still wrapped up in a power strugglewhen the political atmosphere was still dubious, he came to the region disguised as a merchant. However, the more he chased, the more the trail became cold. Later, he was left confused as to where he should go.

While contemplating his next move, he came to Mittil to obtain more information and to report to his superiors. That was when he found Luisen.

A false pilgrim exuding an unclean aura.

"

"

How did you know I was a fake? Luisen asked.

Each pilgrims pass has slightly different designs. All inquisitors have those memorized.

Luisen examined the pass Morrison returned to him. Looking at hiswhat is hesupposed to memorize?

I cant tell, even as I look at it. Truly, he is an elite priest in the church. Luisen neatly gave up trying.

I was going to arrest you on the spot, but I changed my mind and decided to observe instead. It seemed like you two were traveling with a purpose. Morrison wondered if the two were going to meet some colleagues or return to their base. He followed Luisen, judging that he could find out more information if he stayed by the young lords side. As he observed them, he found out that Luisen and Carlton needed a fast boat; the inquisitor was able to use that desire to lure the two into his party.

I was scrutinizing you carefully from the side, and, at that moment, the ghoul appeared. Those things dont occur after normal deaths. Black magic or cursesthose that die from those heretical powers become ghouls.  It was only then that the inquisitor realized Cullen had been enticed by a demon worshiper. Because the relic Luisen held was drenched in an evil aurathe evil power was so strong, the inquisitor noticed the relatively weak snake monster a step too late.

Morrison looked hatefully at the demon worshipers dagger In Luisens point of view, the knife simply looked crude, but the young lord supposed the inquisitor saw the world with different eyes.

However, Cullen was merely a small fry. If the handyman had more time, he may have become one of the demon worshipers; that had yet to happen, though. Rather than to alert Luisen of his identity as an inquisitor by trying to arrest Cullen, Morisson decided it would be better to feign ignorance and observe the young lords actions.

After that long nightthe night where the circumstances relating to the snake monster were revealedMorrison constantly observed the young lord and mercenary, who rarely came out of their room.

Y-You watched everything? Luisen asked, flustered.

Yes, everything. Morrison looked meaningfully at Luisen. His gaze seemed to say, Are you really going to say Im delusional about your relationship at this point? No, right?

Honestly, just because we kissed were not loversnor are we in love Luisens face flushed from embarrassment. This is an invasion of privacy, you know.

It was my job. My misunderstanding was completely cleared up. Rather than being demon worshipers, I found out you were hostile to them.

Then, you kidnapped me to learn the information you lacked?

I said Im sorry, didnt I? We were desperate as well. Those people are evil.

Luisen fixed his posture and began to listen to Morrison in earnest.

The inquisitor continued, Devil worshipers. Literally, that refers to people who worship demonsthe Devil. Alternatively, you could refer to them as Black Wizards.

Devil or demon worshiping was a heretic religion with as much history as the current reigning church. The methods of worship varied slightly from time to time, but this faction seemed to use magic.

They were people who had striven to find the meaning of truth in this world through magical research and, at some point, turned to demon worshiping. They believed that the Devil was a prophet who would destroy the false world and lead them to the truth. All of those followers followed the deviland they believed that they had gained special powers by worshiping the devil.

For example, controlling monsters or casting curses. We call that black magic.

And, there isnt really a devil?

How could something like that exist in this world? Morrison snorted. His tone conveyed the convictions of a man who had deep faith in and was devoted to God. In anycase, these demon worshippers use unusual magic. The problem, though, is their delusions: they believe that the more they please the Devil in hell, the more power theyll gain. Thats why theyre doing these sorts of crazy thingsto please the devil. They make altars and present all sorts of offerings.

The more terrible their schemesthe more frightened and confused they made their audiencethe more effective their offerings would be. Or so they claimed.

The results of their misdoings are quite visible and conspicuous, so their religion has persisted quite tenaciously. Their modus operandi is quite gruesome and dark as well. They do all sorts of evil deeds resulting in enormous damage, but, since theyre not interested in recruiting others to their cause, its hard to catch onto their trail.

After hearing Morrisons explanation, Luisen was lost in thought momentarily. So the reason these people are doing such strange deeds are because they want to drop the world into chaos?

Are you saying that such crazy, mentally deranged people that can usually only be seen in third-rate power fantasy novels actually exist in this world? In my timeline? Luisen could hardly believe in their existence.

The amusing banter he exchanged with Carlton was the truth! Dear lord, the world is doomed.

Luisen looked at the mercenary, who was furrowing his brows. It seemed like his companion was feeling the same way.

Honestly, but who in the world does that these days

This is the kind of world we live in. The civil war made a mess, didnt it?

This is a little hard to believe. I keep thinking that, even though youre the inquisitor, that youre joking with me.

Do you really think Id joke about these heathens? Morrisons gravely serious face was a little frightening.

Luisen stealthily made his way to Carltons side. The mercenary took the young lords hand and stepped forward, as if to hide the other behind him. Only then did Luisens flinching heart calm down. Morrison threw them a meaningful smile, but the two could easily ignore that look.

Now then, I think Id like to hear from the Duke. Morrison said.

At those words, Luisen made eye contact with the mercenary. Carlton nodded slightly. At that signal, the young lord also began to talk about what he had been through.

Starting with the attack, the village that had been wiped from existence by monsters, the altar underneath the giant centipede burrow, etc. The young lord spoke for a long while, but Morrison listened to the whole story carefully without ever losing concentration.

How did you How could you get tangled up so often with that slippery group? Morrison exclaimed, startled. That man hadnt run into Rugers gang even once, despite the fact that he had been chasing after them. He couldnt help but wonder if the heavens were playing a prank by tying Luisen and the demon worshipers fates together.

Before regression ghouls appeared here and thereeverywhere. Luisen had thought ghouls were simply popular in the northern regions, but they may, in fact, be a sign of the demon-worshipers increased influence. Furthermore, the reason why no bodies were left in the makeshift bandits village may be that those that were attacked by monsters all became ghouls. The corpses themselves may have walked away.

The future was far bleaker than Luisen had realized. The young lord inadvertently thought back to the one-armed pilgrim. The pilgrim had solved many strange cases even after the snake monster incident. Did he know about the existence of the demon worshipers? Somehow, the young lord thought the other would have known.

This conversation with Morrison was truly useful. It filled the gap between Luisens memory and the inquisitors information, making the young lord look back on future events that he had simply passed by in his ignorance.

PR: Morrison is like that over-sharing aunt at a family gathering who wants to announce loudly that the teenagers new love interest, whom theyve brought to meet the family for the first time, is soooooo cute and theyre such a cuuuuuteeee couple, and everyone wants to hide under the sofa from the awkwardness.