Chapter 21 – The Heretic Judge - 3

I don't know exactly why the elf was so angry, but if I couldn't calm down that anger, there would be a murder case in the mansion's chapel.

A heretic judge is killed by a slave in the church of the famous Deharm Viscount. This nonsensical sentence spread quickly and became the gossip of noble ladies.

That's absolutely not the case! Wouldn't it be obvious that it would not only humiliate the ancestors but also become a ruin that encouraged the downfall of the family?

In addition, murder due to a simple clash of emotions could not be justified under any circumstances.

'But what should I do?'

Do I have a clue to resolve the conflict between the heretic judge and the elves? Even after mobilizing all the knowledge in my head, I couldn't come up with a clear way.

For no reason, only the inside of my mouth is dry, and my blood is cold. Hamtar seemed to have interpreted my appearance differently, but he opened his mouth with a triumphant expression.

"It seems you are weighed down by the weight of your own sins. I understand, but I do not have the authority to grant pardons for sins committed. So give up and confess your sins. If you do, the benevolent saintess may show mercy."

'If I give up, you'll die, you idiot!'

The anger boiling inside me turned to Hamtar, but there was no way that Hamtar , who was full of self-confidence, could see through my thoughts.

If so, there is only one way now. I got up, determined to go out as shamelessly as possible.

"mister. I don't know who is wrong and who is right now."

A nobleman must not lose his dignity under any circumstances. Reflecting on the teachings handed down from time immemorial, I leisurely looked back at the god Hamtar.

"Did you say I was guilty? The Heretic Judge!!"

Embarrassed by my changed momentum, Hamtar's eyebrows twitch. As if he had no intention of backing down, Hamtar gazed at me with his back straight.

"I heard eyewitness testimony. Circumstances made it clear that the culprit was the head of Theorad."

'Damn. Hopefully, there were eyewitnesses.'

"Who do you mean witnessed what?"

"I cannot tell you. This is because all testimony given during interrogation must be kept strictly confidential."

"Can't you tell me, the head of household?"

"Unless the god of light permits it, I will protect the witness even if a knife is thrust into my throat. Please be aware that this is not just my will but the will of the entire Church of Balance."

Thorns sprout from the benevolent intonation. It was clear that I was seen with disapproval for trying to interfere with the church's affairs.

'I'm sorry, but that wasn't what I was hoping for.'

I raised my chin arrogantly, feeling the elf's gaze shooting from behind me.

"The Church of Balance has also changed pathetically."

Hamtar gnashed his teeth. He is expressing outright anger at me.

"Lord Theorard. If you do not explain to me the legitimacy of your remarks, I will do my best to refer the patriarch to the Inquisition."

"Do not worry. That won't happen. I just said it because I thought you, the priest of the Church of Balance, were disrespecting the teachings of the Church."

"Am I disrespecting the teachings of the church?"

"Of course. As far as I know, the Church of Balance will not accuse anyone of being a heresy, no matter how suspicious they may be, until clear evidence is provided. Am I wrong?"

Hamtar was silent. It must be because he couldn't find any loopholes in my words, even if I thought to myself.

"But what are your actions? Isn't the eyewitness testimony held up as if it were the teachings of the god of light? They even sputtered nonsense, saying that they would interrogate me for 'presuming heresy'."

"It was frivolous."

"It would be nice if you realized it even now. Forgive me with an open heart. Incidentally, I am willing to respond to your interrogation."

You shouldn't create a gap for the elf to intervene. I walked slowly past Hamtar towards the confessional. Hamtar follows me behind.

"What do you mean you are responding to the interrogation?"

"Like the others, I am also going to go to the confessional and take your questions. Isn't that side fair? I can't get special treatment on my own."

"You are not wrong."

He still disliked me, but his tone was much more harmful. This is a good phenomenon. It was good enough to not blindly disbelieve my words.

"Then I'll go in first."

I opened the door to the confessional, went inside, and sat down. After waiting for a while, the sound of the door opening is heard from the other side.

The partition in the center of the confessional was covering the other side, so I couldn't see his face, but when I looked at the silhouette, it was Hamtar.

"Then, interrogation from now on..."

I screamed desperately in silence at the voice I heard from the other side.

"Confess! I was the one who made the slaves urinate on my father's stone statue! But misunderstood! I had no intention of doing that!"

"Head of household?"

"I am being played by that wicked elf! It means that the elf is living a life of oblivion! So please don't go against that elf's heart! Die! Not only you will die, but all the family members of the mansion can be massacred."

A long silence followed. Hamtar hesitated for a long time to judge the true meaning of my words. Frustrated with that fact, I took out the movable slab of the 'weapon for hunting monsters' from my pocket and pushed it into the gap at the bottom of the partition.

"This...?"

"It is a movable slate for monster hunting weapons that the principality recently developed. I tried to use this to neutralize the elves. But look at that figure. Let alone incapacitate it; it couldn't hurt even a bit."

"Recently, a witness came out and said that a light exploded in the courtyard."

"It must be the servants who witnessed the explosion of the magic weapon."

"Hmm. If what the head of the household said is true, why didn't the family know about it? Why didn't you ask for help?"

Say that

"Even if you let your family know about this, it will only bring confusion to the entire mansion. Do you think an elf who enjoys playing slavery will like that? The same goes for the latter. The moment I rashly ask for help and get caught by the elves, it's catastrophic.

"Then why are you telling me separately?"

"It's putting my hopes on you. With the church's power, it might be possible to defeat the elves. I beg you to tell the saint this fact. If it's the Knights of the Order, it might be possible to stop that elf."

A muffled sound flowed from the other side of the partition. It seemed that they still distrusted me, but if they moved their hearts even a little, they would have succeeded.

"Once I heard you well, but it's not easy for me to judge the truth. I'm sorry, but I can't rule out the possibility that the head of the family is lying to get out of an unfavorable situation. Therefore, we must call in the elven slaves and proceed with cross-examination."

"Heretic Judge...!"

"Do not worry. I'm going to ask a thoroughly indirect question so that what the head of the house is concerned about doesn't happen. If that convinces me in my heart, I will tell the bishop about this."

I was about to say something but fell silent. Even if I were in Hamtar's position, my words would have sounded absurd.

It is impossible to force unconditional belief, so we have no choice but to leave the rest to God, Hamtar. I sighed and opened the door to the confessional.

"Let's bring the elves here."

*

At the confessional where Theorad left, the god Hamtar looked down at the stone tablet given to him and was lost in his thoughts.

'The elven slave is the culprit behind all of this?'

It was not a normal slave. The momentum shown in the first meeting was certainly not that of a slave. No matter what, I want you to call the knights. It's bluffing.

'Are you trying to escape the situation?'

Hamtar had seen quite a few nobles do the same thing as Theorad. He buys a moderately strong slave and uses it as insurance to cover the evil he has done.

Even if they are much stronger than normal people, most of the slaves couldn't overcome the imprint left on their bodies by the black magicians of the Devil's Eye, so they had no choice but to obey their master's words.

Aristocrats used that fact to avoid their crimes by excusing the evil they had committed as slavery. In the case of Theorard, the odds were high.

'A grandiose man.'

Or perhaps the temperament of a trickster was Theorard's true nature. To the god Hamtar, who had judged countless heresies, Theorad's intentions seemed insidious.

'Even if everything the head of the household says is true...'

Making her urinate on her father's stone statue is an incurable sin. Also, God Hamtar was not merciful enough to let go of the fact that he insulted himself by mentioning the church.

One way or another, I will punish the Deharm family and get an apology from Theorad. When Hamtar thought that and lifted the stone slab, the door to the confessional opened, and the sound of someone sitting on the other side was heard.

'She is here.'

He was confronted by an elven slave, but he wasn't too concerned. He intended to reveal himself by asking simple questions that anyone could answer.

The god Hamtar touched the stone slab and spat out his words in a sullen voice.

"Listen carefully. You answer my question from now on."

Blazing-

The side of the face is hot. Embarrassed, the god Hamtar turned his head to see that the partition between them had burned to a handful of ashes.

Beyond that, a beautiful silver-haired elf was watching over her with an aloof attitude.

"What are you doing?"

Hard-

The sword I was about to draw freezes. Then, an unbelievable amount of cold permeated the confessional. Cold air flowed out of his breath, and his fingertips lightly froze.

'How could this be?'

This wasn't magic that a mediocre slave could use. No, even magicians who eat raw mana stones couldn't link magic to this level naturally.

'Could it be that everything the family head said was true?'

Embarrassed, Hamtar's breathing quickens, and his pupils dilate. He trembled his lips in some kind of fear. The elf looked at the slate in Hamtar's hand with contempt.

"A cheeky, short-lived species."

Colorless words without emotion were formed into magic and occupied the surroundings of the god Hamtar. The temperature around him is dropping, and now he is choking to the point where he can't breathe normally.

"You...."

Cuckoo!

An intangible hand squeezes the neck. The god Hamtar gritted his teeth and trembled his hands. Saliva trickles down his teeth and drips pitifully down his chin.

Even so, the elf did not loosen her magic or ignore Hamtar's situation. The only mercy the elves bestowed was to keep the magic long enough so that the opponent would not die.

Because she accepted his self-righteous attitude as if it were natural, God Hamtar even felt aloof from the elves who pushed him.

"Why?"

The elf, who had been watching the god Hamtar wander between death and near death, calmly licked his lips.

"Did you try to kill Theorard?"

Hearing the elf's words in endless agony, the god Hamtar felt his mind go numb.