Episode 267 Punishment Discount Season (4)
Dolores Rune Quo Vadis.
She left the dormitory before afternoon and visited an Old Testament temple here.
“……If I do this, I won’t get caught, right?”
With the whole body including the face covered with a black hood and cape.
secret action. It was her intention to look at the temple as an ordinary person, not as a saint.
Dolores made her way through the crowd with suspicious movements to the most secluded corner of the temple.
‘good. It was perfect.’
However, because of the all-white floor and wall columns, Dolores’s attire was rather conspicuous.
It’s just that I don’t know it myself.
The purpose of her visit to the temple of the Old Testament sect today was quite complicated.
The current situation of the religious chant Quo Vadis itself is chaos itself, and due to the fierce confrontation between the Old Testament and New Testament factions, there is no room to pay attention to all parts of the empire, and as a result, heretical pseudo-religions are proliferating in various places.
Dolores had come on a field trip to solve a problem like this.
Originally serious, her expression became even more serious today.
‘Come to think of it, there was a problem like this in the second game of the college league, right?’
She recalled Quo Vadis’s quest that she had recently seen in the University League.
Faith Saints / Difficulty [★★★☆]
Currently, the empire is suffering from the growing harm of heresy and pseudoscience.
At this time, from the standpoint of the Quo Vadis Inquisition, suggest a way to eradicate heretics and cults and raise the status of the Church of Rune.
Content related to the ‘Heretic Inquisition’ of the Quo Vadis family.
I thought it was a quest prepared by Mozgus, the Heretic Questioner, but it was a task that reached a higher level than that.
For reference, the person who wrote the answer to this question was Sinclair, a freshman in 1st grade.
‘Sinclair’s answer was said to have been read by the Pope himself.’
Dolores later visited Sinclair and asked about it.
What kind of content was presented as an answer to that question and how it was recognized by the pope.
But Sinclair just laughed and avoided answering.
‘Ah, it wasn’t a big deal. In the end, it was rejected because it was too extreme. Still, I barely passed because I was recognized for my originality. Ehehe-‘
Dolores swallowed.
‘To get rid of heretics and cults, the Old Testament and New Testament factions have no choice but to reconcile and join hands, or one of them will disappear altogether. Or to strike down the heretics and cults all at once. But the latter is impossible…’
So Dolores came to investigate the ‘Old Testament’, the root cause of all these problems.
If Dolores, a saint from the New Testament faction, came, it was obvious that she would act in a showy way, so she had no choice but to go undercover to investigate.
“……There are so many people.”
Dolores murmured as she looked at the long line of people that wrapped around the temple several times.
There are far more people in Old Testament temples than in New Testament temples.
The amount of donation collected was also on a different level.
‘Originally, I knew that the contributions of the Indulgentia family accounted for a large portion of the donations coming to the Old Testament… but it seems that was not the case.’
Despite the disappearance of the Indulgentia family, which was an affiliated family, the Old Testament faction’s funding line was still intact.
How does the Old Testament maintain its wealth when Quiltian or Dantalian is dead?
By simply selling indulgences? Is that really all there is to it?
‘Although there are many people queuing to buy indulgences, most of them are small buyers. I don’t see those who have committed heinous crimes or who can afford to pay huge sums. It’s natural, but.’
There is no way that those who would have to spend a lot of money to buy indulgences would come to the temple in broad daylight.
Even if they came to visit, it would make no sense to send an agent or visit in person rather than making a written transaction.
‘Then, where do the high-ranking priests of the Old Testament get their VVIPs?’
funding line. Dolores was curious about that.
……just then.
A large, ornate chariot stood in the corner of the temple.
It can be seen that the ‘White Shield’ pattern, the holy symbol of Quo Vadis, is glistening as it eats oil.
Soon after, a tall middle-aged man got off the carriage and smiled while receiving cheers from the crowd.
“……!”
Dolores looked at him and paused.
The person she was most afraid of in this world appeared.
‘Humbert Humbert L Quovadis’.
A man who holds the position of cardinal, a position so high that there is no place for him to rise higher except for the pope.
At the same time, the father of Saint Dolores.
Ironically, Dolores was afraid of her father.
It has been that way ever since she became his foster daughter just because she was gifted with divine power a long time ago.
In particular, when I went to say hello before going to bed, and when his gaze ran over my body, I felt as if a snake was entwined all over my body.
“……Huh!”
Dolores felt her heart sink and pressed her back against the stone pillar.
let’s stay like this If you hold your breath and stay still, Humbert will not look this way.
But her wish did not come true.
“hmm?”
Humbert was a keen man.
He sensed a gaze that was fixed on him momentarily and intensely, and turned his gaze towards it.
“Wait a minute, lieutenant. There’s a place I’m concerned about, so I’ll take a quick look around before entering the temple.”
He raised his hand to show the adjutant following him and moved toward the stone pillar.
Tumble-Tumble-Tumble-Tumble-
Everywhere Humbert takes a step, a road is created.
The followers of Rune each took off their hats and bowed their heads, paving the way for Humbert.
Dolores felt her heart pounding.
Humbert’s footsteps keep coming closer.
Each time it felt like a huge snake was squeezing my heart.
Nervousness reminds me of the moment I almost ran into Quilty in the hallway.
However, there is no good male student junior who helped her at that time.
It was just temporary luck.
“…”
Dolores swallowed dryly.
Just as she was desperately thinking of an excuse to present in front of Humbert.
“Oops! Who is this?”
There were two people standing in the way of Humbert.
Both were men with white hoods and robes covering their faces.
Humbert’s expression frowned slightly.
“……who?”
“Oops! Look at my mind! Heh heh heh- I covered my face with this.”
Then the white hood came off with a loud laugh.
The exposed face is an old face with signs of having suffered a lot.
He was an elderly man between an uncle and a grandfather.
The owner of a somewhat dwarf body with a warm impression that can be seen everywhere.
But seeing him, Humbert could only harden the skin on his face.
“……It’s been a while. Cardinal Luther.”
The only two cardinals in the religious chant Quo Vadis.
Two supreme powers who assist directly under the pope.
One was Humbert, the other was this man right in front of him.
‘Martinluther L Quovadis’.
A clergyman who came all the way from a poor and narrow pioneering temple in the far periphery. The leader of the New Testament faction. Humbert’s greatest rival.
He is Cardinal Martin Luther.
Behind him stood Archbishop Mozgus, a tall man who also belonged to the New Testament sect, with his back straight.
Humbert asked politely, with a friendly smile on his lips.
“Why did Cardinal Luther come here?”
“Heh heh- I came to spy on you.”
“……yes?”
Humbert stiffened his expression when he asked, and Luther chuckled.
“Our temple only blows flies every time, but the temples that Cardinal Humbert visits are always crowded with believers like this, so you have to be able to endure it. Hahaha- So, despite my shame, I’ve been trying to get some know-how.”
Luther spoke in a friendly tone, and Humbert only forced a smile.
“Is there anything special about the reason there are so many followers?
“Haha- is that so? I’m learning this all over again. It’s probably all because of my immorality.”
Unlike Humbert, Martin Luther was quite unique in the way he preached.
He seldom preached doctrine or gave lectures.
but visiting the old, the sick, and the poor, always saying:
‘If you’re hungry or tired, come visit us anytime.’
‘If you suddenly get sick or have no energy, come visit us anytime.’
‘If you need someone to congratulate you from the bottom of your heart on your wedding day, come anytime.’
‘If you need someone to sincerely grieve at a funeral, come anytime.’
‘If you feel very sad and want to cry or complain, please come anytime.’
‘If you can’t sleep because the house is too cold or too humid, come visit me anytime.’
‘If you’re lifting something heavy or have a place to work on, come visit us anytime.’
‘Besides that, please come visit me anytime.’
How many times have you read the Bible, have you memorized all the lyrics to the hymns?
Just come to the room of an elderly person living alone in the morning and evening, check whether the floor is warm, whether there is a strong wind, go to the sick child to find out how much fever there is, whether he has eaten, go to someone who is sick and need help, etc… Martin Luther
and The New Testament priests under him always look weak and lacking somewhere.
A life of barely eating and barely wearing clothes.
It was the complete opposite of the priests of the Old Testament sect, who had sophisticated looks and good manners and clothes.
Of course, the biggest difference among them will be the amount of donations collected.
Humbert half bowed his head towards Luther in front of him.
“Then I have a meeting, so I’m done.”
“Oops, this old man took up too much of the noble man’s time.”
Then Luther also smiled and bowed his head and crossed the cross on his forehead.
When Humbert politely turns around and is about to walk away.
Luther suddenly recited a passage from the Bible.
“The land is infested with demons, trying to devour us.”
Humbert stopped in his seat when he heard that.
Looking at his back, Luther continued to speak.
“Do not be afraid, stand up. We will overcome with the truth.”
A large crowd gathered to buy indulgences watched them both.
Face to face with the crowd, Luther continued to speak.
“Even if your relatives, wealth, honor, and life are all taken away.”
Humbert is silent and doesn’t look back.
Luther ended his remarks in a mild but firm manner.
“The truth will live and make the empire last forever. Runmen.”
* * *
It was definitely unusual for the two top powers of Quo Vadis to meet at the same place. A
large crowd gathered to see this riotous event, and Dolores was able to escape safely by taking advantage of the gap.
Dolores, who hid herself in the corner of the temple to avoid Humbert’s gaze, tilted her head with a sigh of relief.
‘What did Cardinal Luther do here?’
Martin Luther has been out of the public eye lately, and
Dolores is worried that the pope’s symptoms of dementia are getting worse as he gets older
. Martin Luther, who was reducing his outside activities, was dissatisfied with the contrast:
‘I have to increase my activities even by myself.’
That is the way to imprint the existence of the New Testament faction on the public.
Dolores thought so….
But contrary to the ideal, the reality is difficult.
Dolores is still only a student, and being a saint has a semblance but little real power. It is inevitable
that the gloomy thoughts that I will not be able to do anything by myself keep coming up.
‘……If only he was by my side.’
Suddenly, Dolores remembered a certain face:
a person who was reassured just by being with her, a person
who for the first time in her life made her want to lean on and rely on,
and also a person who, for the first time in her life, wanted someone to lean on her
. ‘
I felt confident that I would be able to do even the hardest and most difficult things with him.
In fact, didn’t I join forces to defeat even the fearsome demon king?
‘I thought nothing would be difficult with him.’
If the night hound were by my side, I wouldn’t be afraid of the Old Testament, the cult, the cult, or Humbert
.
Dolores honestly admitted her feelings.
Perhaps it was the first time.
But the way to meet him was far away.
Maybe he had already forgotten himself.
That night at the orphanage, just once.
It was just a passing relationship for one night. “…Hah”
Dolores didn’t even think to stop the sigh that came out of her involuntarily.
Just
then.
“This way?”
A strange voice came from behind the stone pillar.
Turning my head behind the pillar, I see a man with a familiar face walking this way.
It was Humbert’s aide.
The tenacious Humbert had sent an aide before entering the temple and told me to pursue the gaze I felt earlier.
‘What should I do!? ‘
Dolores looked around her head in bewilderment.
But this is a dead end, so there is no way out.
In the end, there is no choice but to be found out by the aide.
Eventually, Humbert’s aide walked quickly and looked behind the innermost stone pillar. He pushed it out
… and then.
“As expected, no one is there. Cardinal is also true. You’ve become very sensitive lately.”
The adjutant soon went back shaking his head.
Then, on top of the adjutant’s head.
“…! ……! ……!”
Dolores was
struggling with her
limbs on the side of a stone pillar several meters from the ground.
A man tightly covering her mouth with one hand.
A man wearing a black dog mask, like those sold by children on the street, can be seen clinging to the stone pillar. A tough, seemingly
invisible wire weighs the two of them down. Dolores recalled a past memory at the rough hand covering her
mouth
. In the past, when
I met Quilty in the hallway, I was dragged into the locker room by strong hands. I
think it was a similar feeling then.
”
……Bikir?”
“…Shh.”
A low growl. A hoarse voice full of scars.
The mask has changed, but the spirit and mood are the same.
The
hound of the night.
He came to Dolores.
