The Porter Is Not Interested in the Hero Party

88 – good friends (14)

[Ashuria.]

At that time, Ashuria finished her prayer and rose from her seat. He shook off the straw and dirt from his knees, stretched himself, sat down next to me again, and answered.

[Why is that?]

[Will you pray like now in the land of the people of the Empire?]

Ashuria tilted her head as if she was asking something like that.

[Of course. The death of the people of the empire is also death.]

[So, even if there is an enormous sinner among the people of the Empire, will you pray for his death?]

[I can pray even if you are a heretic, but I can’t give you a definite answer because I can’t fathom the enormous sin you are talking about. God is fair, but I, acting on behalf of his will, am not a completely innocent and fair being to my shame.”]

*****

During the trial, Ashuria beat the priest who exercised the right to remain silent, saying he did not know anything, and was taken away by the guards. The priest who was hit by Ashuria’s fist was treated urgently on the spot, but he said that he was unable to heal from the shock he received on the head and showed abnormal symptoms.

Ashuria’s nunship was immediately suspended.

“Fool.”

When Lena heard the news, she said that with a frown on her face. Miele shook her head and asked me.

“I think it’s ridiculous that you hit a bad person and then you catch him.”

“Well, even Ashria isn’t free from this problem.”

Lena said that and scratched her head. As she said, Ashria couldn’t escape from this incident. Wasn’t it the woman who retired from being a heretic questioner after getting involved in a violent incident? If someone looked around to find faults, he was a person who would definitely come up with a problem.

Lena asked the hero rubbing his chin at the table opposite.

“Warrior. So what are you going to do? I was taken away by the Ashurian guards. You’re not just saving someone else like this, are you?”

“I hate it if it’s not Ashria.”

Millet said firmly. Lena also nodded and added.

“If something like that happens at church, it doesn’t mean that whoever comes in is the same. Can someone better than Ashuria come along?”

The warrior looked at me. I nodded and said to the warrior.

“I also think that it would be good for Ashuria-sama to come. Haven’t you been together for a long time? It takes too long to put it back together.”

The warrior sighed deeply and shook his head. and said

“…First of all, I think we should see what happens in the future.”

Even as a hero, he is not in a super-legal position. Ashuria’s fate was, in a way, out of our hands.

*******

A few more days passed like that. Ashria was in prison, and the case against the Church was still going on trial. Quite a number of people, including priests, heretic inquisitors, and corrupt local lords, took part in this false accusation and took advantage of it, and it turned out that there were several more victims besides the testifying victims.

“What about Ashuria?”

“I want to be punished, but I think it’s a bit of a headache in the courtroom.”

Even though she was a heretic inquisitor, the current public sentiment towards Ashuria was good. It was because she personally brought the victims to the capital, and the victims were demanding mercy from Ashuria.

Beating a priest in court is a serious crime that should be dealt with strictly, even if it is justified.

However, it was a considerable burden for the court to punish a talented person who is a member of the warriors party and must continue to operate in the future.

At other times, I might have withheld the punishment and then passed on as if there was no reward or punishment when it was all over. However, in the current case, such an expedient could not be used. It was because his will was firm. The hero scratched his head and continued.

“…Anyway, it seems that Ashuria thinks it’s better if she stays in prison… … . what to do.”

Lena frowned and said.

“What is that. You are so irresponsible. Are you going to stop catching demons with us? Are you asking us to find someone new?”

“I don’t know what to do because even if I talk, I just say I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like it unless it’s Ashria… … .”

Millet grumbled. Lena added.

“You don’t listen to the warrior. What will I do?”

“Yeah… … .”

The warrior was speechless. There must have been many stories in the ‘I’m sorry’ summarized by the warrior. The emotions she felt while working at the warriors’ party, the admonitions she gave out to others, all of them must have come back with a sense of guilt and can’t even move.

Sin is like a swamp. This is because people harden when faced with consequences. It takes a long time to get out of that helplessness alone. Find a place to escape or come out on your own.

I didn’t want to wait for that.

We didn’t have time for that.

I cautiously nodded to the hero. The hero noticed my signal, nodded, and went outside. Lena and Millet were each hanging out with faces that had lost their motivation. I naturally followed the hero and closed the door.

“I will talk.”

“Are you uncle?”

“Aren’t they people with a lot in common? I’ll do my best to talk to you so you can get back on track.”

The warrior stared at me. She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled.

“…I always get help from you. I wanted to do it this time.”

I also lived only with the help of the warrior. As much as the hero felt sorry for me, I only wanted to pay back by receiving a lot of help from the hero.

“Isn’t there a difference in what each of us can do? I am the one who carries the burden, and the hero is the one who leads everyone. If I come with Ashuria-nim, the hero-nim will lead me.”

The warrior cautiously held out his hand. Fingers with calluses from holding the sword. I held her hand and nodded. The hero’s face turned red, and her hand brushed the back of my hand. The rough and rough parts collided with each other, making a crackling sound, and a shadow fell in the hallway.

said the warrior.

“Bye. mister. Let me tell you.”

“Yes. Warrior.”

Coincidentally, the sun outside the window was covered by clouds. Our figures disappeared along with the shadows as the hallway became dark.

*****

The prison atmosphere was the same everywhere in the world. It wasn’t more gloomy than the prison of the empire, and it didn’t have a bright atmosphere like the prison of the kingdom. When I opened the door, the guards nodded in greeting, and Ashria sat in a corner of the prison cell.

Her face was haggard even in the dark, and her black hair and dark eyes emphasized the shadows, making her look gloomy. Ashuria asked, sweeping her body with her arm.

“…Why did you come? I should have said everything to the hero.”

I sat down on the chair across from me. Blue walls and black bars. The prison had no light and was enveloped in ultramarine air. I said looking at her.

“I came to ask you to go with me.”

Ashria looked at me again. She shook her head and said:

“…..Do you not despise? I am the sinner I always said. He took pleasure in torturing innocents and killing them. And finally, I put my hand on the priest’s face and fell into the abyss.”

“Everyone is a sinner. No one can stand upright in front of sin. Me, Lena, everyone.”

“Isn’t it different? I am… … . I can’t accept the fact that I pretended to be proud. It is unacceptable that I was leading people to hell and engaging in this evil. I pretended to be noble, calling others sinners, but in reality I was committing evil while being embraced by the devil.”

“Are you going to sit here like this? We have a task. Another order will come soon. We will move towards the demons. Where else are you saying to find someone like Ashuria, who has all of the arts and martial arts?”

Ashuria’s face twisted. She was a woman with more expressive expressions than I thought. She finally turned her back on me.

“I would appreciate it if you could tell Lena I’m sorry. You have to face your sins and move on, but you just can’t do that. Neither you nor Millet have a face to see. You can think of it as selfish. However, how can I proudly hold my head up as a member of the Hero party? I will be a flaw to the hero as well.”

“I need you.”

Ashuria’s shoulders shook. But she didn’t move. Until I went back, she seemed intent on not turning her head.

Whips and slender arms.

Ashuria didn’t try to release the burden on her heart and hugged her body tighter. As if he would run away somewhere else.

She only wanted me to return quickly.

Because no one likes to be seen crying.

But I couldn’t get out of here. I grabbed the iron grate and said.

“You didn’t promise. He said he would go to the imperial capital together.”

Ashria didn’t turn her head at those words. But she was clearly listening to me, as the crying stopped and her breathing slowed down.

“Didn’t you go to the capital and say you would pray for the dead of the empire?”

Ashria opened her mouth again.

“I think you should ask someone else to pray. I am just a sinner.”

“Isn’t a sinner worthy to pray for someone?”

“that’s… … .”

“I too have sinned. Lena-sama and Millet-sama must have committed a sin somewhere. Can’t any of us pray for others?”

Ashria looked at me again. Tears were flowing from his eyes, and his face was a mess. She was looking at me with pitiful eyes through the bars.

“…Do you remember the love I dreamed of?”

[What on earth is proof of love? In pain, we can feel satisfaction through the bruises and cuts on our bodies, and we can satisfy our possessive desire through the act of slashing the other person’s body with a knife.]

I knew.

And he knew why she was shaking so much.

“….Yes. I know.”

pain is love With that logic, she has been torturing and executing people. If there were innocent people among them, even her roots were filled with the evil karma that plagued them.

“The love I dreamed of and pursued, everything I enjoyed and did was sin. My life, everything I’ve been through, has been an axis of evil. How will I pray, and in what way will I be able to atone? This is not an area of the mind that can be resolved in the realm of prayer.”

She turned again. Her back looked unusually small. Her always reassuring figure sagged and shrunk.

“….I’m sorry. Because I used to say bad things about you. I was a human who didn’t deserve it.”

I raised my head. she was so stubborn

But this party had to have her.

Ashuria was blunt and a little tasteless, but she was kinder than anyone else and tried to be good. She was a woman who believed that the justice of the church was real justice, and did her best to live up to that view of justice.

The firm will and force needed to catch the Demon King.

She was a woman who had it all.

“…Will your sins be washed away if you are here?”

Ashria turned to me.

I took a deep breath and spoke to her again.

“From now on, you promise me. If your steps don’t fall, I’ll move you. You go to meet each of the people you punished and apologize to them all. Until everyone apologizes. That’s how you travel.”

Ashuria’s eyes twitched. She too knew the answer. There was no one to go with her, so she was just waiting here for someone to punish her.

“I-I… … .”

“If you need someone to pray for you, I will pray for you.”

Ashria looked at me with a puzzled face. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know how to express it.

“If someone needs to whip you and push you, I will do it for you.”

“That, that… … . So… … .”

“This isn’t just about doing it.”

Ashria’s breathing stopped. It seemed that her face had turned red.

“Instead, please pray for the people of the Empire. Please go to the Devil’s Castle together, recite a prayer for those people, and shed tears. As much as you take on my guilt and sorrow, I will be with you. Didn’t you promise?”

“…I am a person who deserves it… … .”

Ashuria’s mouth barely let out words of refusal. But the refusal was meaningless. I was the only man in the world who could represent the empire.

“I need you. The Imperials need your prayers. Shouldn’t it?”

“I am… … . that, so… … .”

Ashria couldn’t find anything to say in the end.

Instead, she put her hand through the bars. I took her hand and brought it to my forehead. He put his hands together and knelt down. Ashuria also fell on her knees without saying a word and bowed her head.

With the bar between us, we fell into silence with our foreheads facing each other.

The sound of Ashuria’s sobs and my breathing.

The faint voices exchanged, and Ashuria wiped away her tears.

The world was ultramarine blue.

Even after Ashuria finished her prayers, she couldn’t stop crying for a long time.