The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 10: Who is the Wicked (3)

“I’m ready.”

2 Days later. When the replica of the absolute mask was no longer usable.

I have finished all preparations.

In front of me were three bodies that looked exactly like me. One of them had been decapitated, another had rope scars around its neck, and the last had burn marks.

“Good job, Rafaela.”

In the past, growing a new arm consumed a lot of mana. But now, with the body copying magic I used then, I copied my entire body. That’s as many as three.

Fortunately, there was a way to handle this enormous amount of mana. It was because there was a device that stored a large amount of mana in the Blanc Magic Tower.

“… To be honest, only the exterior was copied perfectly. It might be a mess inside.”

“Still, there shouldn’t be much problem in deceiving me. I’m always thankful.”

But Rafaela still had a dissatisfied expression on her face.

In fact, the method she proposed was to transfer the soul to the copied body, but there were many problems with that.

Once I doubted if the cloned body would really function, I had to somehow be by my side when I was executed in order for her plan to work.

Raphael also knew this and tried to find the best possible way, but the time was too short to find another safe way.

“… You know? In the end, what’s more important than this is to run away as undetected as possible. Would that be possible?”

“Don’t worry.”

“But… ….”

“Yaya, it’s okay. She’s the kind of girl who wants to see the downfall of a saint more than anyone else. I will not die.”

When Rafaela tried to stop me until the end, she was stopped by Mina. Seeing her good expression, she seemed to be well prepared to take revenge on the owner of the Mage Tower.

“Looks like things are going well.”

“Of course. We already have all the evidence. Now all we have to do is wait for the saintess to fall.”

“I’m glad. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more.”

“Only in words? If you’re really sorry, why don’t you become a Buddha and stay?”

“… ….”

“Okay. Now I won’t persuade you any more. Just fight well and come back.”

Mina tapped me on the shoulder and said. I tried to go outside after putting all the fake corpses into the subspace.

Then, for the last time, Rafaela stood in my way and said.

“You must come back alive. You know?”

“I promise.”

“You promised. And… If possible, I want you to come unscathed.”

“I will try my best.”

I said with a faint smile. And I came out of hiding.

I didn’t want to be exposed already, so I put on a robe and hid myself as much as I could, and used some camouflage magic. Compared to the absolute mask, the effect was inferior, but it was able to deceive the eyes of ordinary people who could not use magic.

Then, as soon as I started to see the Great War, I finally took off my camouflage and took off my robe.

“Uh… ?”

“Eh, it’s Edmund!”

There were already people who recognized me. However, I ignored their gaze and walked confidently in front of the Great Temple.

People naturally got out of the way. I read each of their expressions.

Bewildered. Surprise. There were many fears. He even showed some hostility towards me.

Yeah, that must be the case. I accepted and walked on. And stood in front of the paladins guarding the entrance to the Great Temple.

The paladins who met my eyes immediately trembled like aspen trees. I told them calmly.

“I came to see the saintess.”

***

“Stand… saintess! It’s a big deal! Edmund appeared in the Great Crusade!”

“Contact Orcus and Archduke Charles right now! He will try to destroy the Great Crusade.”

That morning. As she was preparing to go to the imperial palace to make sure that the absolute mask was safe, the saintess heard news like thunder from the sky.

“Just… something is weird I am just waiting in front of the Grand Sanctuary.”

“What did he say?”

“I told you to go see the saintess.”

Hearing that, the saintess was taken aback. What the hell are you up to?

From noble mtl dot com

‘Did you think you would believe that word?’

Of course, she couldn’t stand in front of him without any preparation. Her paladins escorting her and her Magnus alone would not be enough.

After hearing the news that Archduke Orcus and Charles had arrived through the portal inside the Great Temple, the saintess went to meet Edmund with them.

They were armed to fight Edmund.

In contrast, Edmund, who was waiting at the entrance of the Great War, was not armed.

Even the sword he always carried was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, many people gathered behind him. She was driven so much that the saintess could not forcefully disperse.

Seeing that appearance, the saintess was intimidated for nothing.

On the other hand, Edmund opened his mouth with a relaxed expression.

“Why are you so prepared to meet me?”

“That is why you are a dangerous person.”

“… It’s late to say hello. It’s been a while, lady. Were you at peace after you tried to kill me?”

“Goodbye. We do not even greet those who have been excommunicated. So, just say your business. What have you come to see me for?”

“I’m getting tired of living the life of a fugitive, so I wanted to fight head-on without hiding anymore.”

Edmund said using amplification magic. Now his words can be heard by people quite far away.

So Orcus tried to cancel the magic, but Edmund took a step back and blocked Orcus from trying to cancel it.

“You don’t have to go out like that. It doesn’t mean that we will fight by force. Instead, I want to fight with words in front of all the citizens of Solaum.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I am requesting that the Inquisition be held.”

“Are you challenging your motion for excommunication?”

“Rather than that, I would like to prosecute you, saint, for misleading people with false revelations.”

Edmund pointed at the saintess and spoke in a clear voice.

Then this time, the paladins and priests stood up. Edmund’s remark earlier was an unimaginable blasphemy.

The saintess also trembled with anger when she heard Edmund’s provocation. Does he think he was right now?

“As expected, you are arrogant.”

At that time, Orcus said while activating the binding magic he had prepared in advance. However, Edmund, who already knew this, stepped back lightly and escaped Orcus’ restraints.

“Stop it!”

When Orcus was about to land a follow-up, the saintess intervened and stopped it. Orcus, realizing that the gaze of the people watching was not good, stepped back.

The saintess asked while maintaining her composure as much as possible.

“What the hell are you up to? What other traps have you set?”

“It’s a trap…. Wasn’t that the saintess’ specialty rather than mine? There are no other pitfalls. I swear by the orb of truth.”

“What do you want?”

“I say it again. All I want is to uncover the truth.”

The saintess, who confirmed Edmund’s sincerity, couldn’t keep her composure for the moment and made a distorted expression.

But she was conscious of others and put on a gentle expression.

“… Do you know what a great job you are doing? But this time, I will accept your request. Instead, I’ll ask. What if you lose?”

“If the saintess is innocent, I may be sentenced to death for blasphemy.”

“Okay. We set a trial date as soon as possible.”

In the end, the saintess accepted Edmund’s proposal.

***

An unprecedented thing happened.

The saintess was indicted in the Inquisition.

In fact, this is impossible in principle. If any other person were to be charged in this way, he would be heretics and excommunicated for having blasphemed her saint in her role.

But Edmund was too big a tycoon for that. That’s why she allowed it, which was unusual for a saint as well.

Here is another reason why this trial is unusual.

‘Oh, and I want everyone who can see this trial. Is that possible?’

As Edmund requested, this trial will be held in public. This, too, was unprecedented, but the saintess accepted it.

As a result, it was inevitable that the topic would be high, so the news spread quickly.

Of course, it came to the princess’s ears, and she immediately visited the Great Hall with the escort.

“I heard Edmund is here. But what is this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Edmund is accused of helping Speth. If there is a trial, it will be held by me, not the Etoile Church.”

Then she immediately went to the saintess and argued. However, the saintess looked straight at her princess and said,

“You are misunderstanding something. We didn’t catch Edmund now.”

“What is that… ?”

“He showed up here on his own and charged me. So, after all, I am the accused. We haven’t officially arrested Edmund either.”

“Then why are you following it?”

“Because that’s what we wanted too.”

Unlike other nobles, the saintess is conscious of the majority of people. Because the source of the strong power of Etoileism is the numerous followers.

So, she was conscious of the recent decline in the credibility of the Etoile Church, and she was well aware of the reaction of people watching Edmund today.

And the most effective way to change the minds of these people is to reaffirm that Etoileism is right by stomping Edmund down with words.

“You seem confident of victory.”

“Of course. It’s a trial I can’t lose.”

In the first place, it is a trial that is bound to be biased from one to ten.

Of course, since it was an open trial, it would not be openly biased, but besides that, it was clear that her saintess knew much more about the goddess Etoile than her otherworldly counterpart, Edmund.

Of course, she hasn’t received a revelation from the goddess recently, but she was confident of being a saint.

“Would Edmund be an idiot to suggest holding a trial like this? There must be some ulterior motive.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve strengthened the security of the Great War. Even Orcus is on standby in case he makes his sudden move. I think it would be even more reassuring if the princess would attend.”

Of course, at this point she should be thinking what weapon Edmund might be hiding, but still she thought Edmund’s last weapon was his magic trick.

After hearing this far, the princess suddenly realized Edmund’s danger.

Because of the previous contract, Edmund had no choice but to inform the princess of the rough plan.

Until then, the princess thought Edmund was foolish. Because she thought that a saintess could not accept such an offer. So she didn’t really tackle that plan.

But seeing the saintess’s reaction, I thought she might be wrong.

If Edmund really defeats the saint at this rate…. The aftermath might even reach the princess.

“So, how are you going to handle it after that? Do you think Edmund will accept defeat as it is?”

“So, first of all, please allow the princess to burn him at the stake. After all, in Etoire, the death penalty cannot be imposed without the permission of the emperor or acting emperor, right?”

“Of course he would approve, but what if he disobeys and runs away or resists?”

“Then join us and help subdue him.”

“I promise. Instead, I want you to win too. No, win no matter what.”

Sensing her sense of danger, the princess asked her saintess.

“Thank you. I will definitely win. This is the fate of Etoile.”

For the first time, the interests of the two aligned.

And a few days later. Trial was held.