Chapter 22-23 – The Heretic Judge - 4

"Lord, I didn't mean to kill; I just... As a heresy judge..."

Words that do not form sentences are cut off like paragraphs.

Because an inseparable, intangible hand gripped his neck tightly. Thanks to this, Hamtar felt resentment beyond resentment.

'Am I trying to kill Theorard? What reason do I have for killing him?'

He wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but he felt like he would choke to death if this continued like this.

"Khehe, Air...!"

Now, crab foam flows beyond the saliva. The elf nodded her head just before the vitality in his overturned eyes disappeared.

"Great."

The intangible hand that strangled God Hamtar disappears.

Deep breath... Hhhhhhhh...

Hamtar gasped for breath and coughed in succession, like a man caught in a trap.

The elf leaned back in her seat, staring indifferently at the face of Hamtar, which was covered in saliva and mucus.

"Tell me, I will make it easier for you. Why did you try to kill Theorard?"

The god Hamtar, barely breathing, raised his head.

"I ha-have No-t...."

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Have I ever allowed you to speak half-words?"

Poududeuk! Hamtar's index finger was abnormally bent.

"Aaaaah!"

The pain of his broken bones runs through his body. Hamtar, who was writhing in pain like a madman, grabbed the door of the confessional to escape, but suddenly! The door didn't open as if it were locked from the outside.

Hamtar, who had grabbed and turned the doorknob several times, knocked on the door of the confessional with a desperate cry.

"Open it! Open it! Zeba, please!"

Like a sinner trying to escape hell, he screams like an idiot. Hamtar God desperately tried to leave the confessional, but the elf just watched him leisurely.

"It's no use shouting. Because the confessional is soundproofed."

"Huh, huh...."

Hamtar, who was turning the doorknob, let out a low sob as if resigned. The appearance of acting authoritatively with the prestige of the church on its back was not gentle; it only wanted forgiveness like a child scolded by strict parents.

"I never tried to kill the head of the Theorad..."

Whoops!

Hamtar's middle finger twisted like a pretzel. The god Hamtar opened his mouth wide, and his whole body trembled at the pain that was worse than before.

When the pain exceeded his threshold, he stopped even screaming. Hamtar God, who was salivating intermittently and groaning, found it difficult to understand why he was being misunderstood.

'Stand, stone slab!'

Because Theorard handed over the slate to him, the elf believed in this absurd misunderstanding. So even if I told the truth, there was no way the elf would listen. In the elf's head, Hamtar must have already been identified as the culprit.

'This clever devil!'

He must have been aiming for this from the beginning and turned the stone slate over. Well, it was strange from the beginning. The culprit who peed on his father's stone statue was himself, and he requested the dispatch of a heresy judge to the diocese. Anyone could see that it was a ploy to pass on his guilt (attacking the elves).

'How many steps ahead has he think from me?!'

'That Theoard is more like a devil than a man!'

Hamtar gritted his teeth as he moaned in pain. He has fallen into a quagmire, but he has to somehow find a way out of this situation by targeting the elf's gap.

As Hamtar looked at the elf in the pain that eased, he realized that his thoughts were short-lived. He only saw that the elf didn't move a bit from where she was sitting.

'Didn't she need to use the power of magic tools while using this much magic?'

In order to amplify the power of magic, exclusive equipment, such as a wand, is indispensable.

Even superhuman beings called archmages carry wands and perform miraculous magic, but elves use high-level elemental magic, as well as barriers and telekinesis, without any equipment.

I can't even get a sense of what level it is possible to reach.

Gulp.

As the feelings of frustration and despair entered Hamtar God's heart one after another, the elf sighed and opened her mouth.

"Well, it doesn't matter. The political battles of short-lived species are annoying to hear. Even knowing the reason won't change anything."

"Then what should I do with you?" The elf's narrowed eyes reach Hamtar.

"It's not hard to kill anyway. At that point, my play will be over. Is not it?"

I'm not sure, but let's answer first. Hamtar God forced a smile and shook his head.

"Yes, yes."

"If left unattended, this will happen again. So, I'll put a mark on it."

He felt a tingling sensation in his back. When Hamtar was taken aback, the elf smiled lightly.

"With this, I can kill you anytime. I'm a Naburang who believes that notions are gods. Do you know what this means?"

"I will take everything that happened in the mansion as a word to keep quiet."

"Okay. It's good that you understand quickly."

Right! When the elf snapped his fingers, his twisted and broken fingers returned to their original state. However, God Hamtar did not have time to look at the miracle that happened to his body. It was because the elf was staring at him.

"Now open the door to the confessional and get out. Act like nothing happened in front of Theorard. If you want to live."

"I will keep that in mind."

God Hamtar, bowing his head respectfully, opened the door of the Gohaesajang and went out. It takes a while to catch his breath. As soon as he saw Theorad, who was waiting for him, Hamtar felt a chill run down his spine.

"Ah. Heretic judge. Did the interrogation go well?"

The clothes are neat, and the appearance is handsome. His gestures, his way of speaking, and his smooth smile seemed to be full of goodness. Maybe that's why Hamtar was more afraid of Theorad.

'Hundreds of snakes must be wriggling behind the scenes.'

It was a complete defeat of his own. He looked down on his opponent. Well, the man in front of me is the head of a prestigious family that has been around for seven generations. The fact that Theorard would be good at conspiracy tricks was something he should have guessed in advance.

"Yes. There was nothing wrong with the interrogation."

It's hard to keep eye contact. Hamtar answered while looking at Theorad's chin, and he walked across the church with a busy gait.

"Now that the heresy judgment is over, I will leave."

He moved quickly, as if he were running away. Theorad, who was looking at the back of the god Hamtar in a puzzled way, tilted his head.

'Why are you doing that? You don't even tell me the results.'

'I'm not sure, but it seemed like he had witnessed the truth through the conversation with the elf. I even gave you the movable slab, so I'll take it and claim my innocence to the bishop and tell the circumstances of the mansion.'

'If it's good, the order's knights might really come to the mansion to help.'

'If that were the case, I might be able to escape from the clutches of the elves.'

'Cheer up! I believe in Hemtar God!'

Theorard looked at the back of Hamtar, who was gradually moving away, and cheered inwardly.

*

Church of Balance The 5th Parish in the Central Empire.

The office of the diocesan bishop, Leviham.

Knock...Knock...

Leviham, buried in papers, raised his head at the sound of a knock on the door.

"Ah. Yes. Please come in."

The door opens, and the god Hamtar enters. Leviham put down his quill and smiled.

"You are on the way back from heresy questioning. It was a lot of hard work."

"No. Of course, I just did what I had to do. Rather, I will report to you."

"Yes. Was there really a heresy in the Viscount Deharm?"

Silence for a while. Hamtar shook his head.

"No. It seems to have been a simple misunderstanding. There was no heresy in the Deharm Viscount House. Because he was more faithful than I thought."

"Ugh. Okay! Okay. Is there anything else you want to say?"

"I don't think I have anything else to say. Bishop."

"Okay. You must be tired, but it looks good to go in and rest."

"Yes. Thank you for your grace."

Hamtar bowed his head and left the room. Leviham, who had been smiling until then, turned his head away with a rather serious expression.

'The heretic judge is lying.'

Haggard eyes, dry lips, a distraught face, weary steps, subtly trembling accents, and pupils trembling without being able to make eye contact.

All of that was telling me that the heretic judge was lying.

'A heretic judge who regards lying as the greatest sin is telling lies?'

It doesn't make sense. It was an incomprehensible phenomenon in the general flow. It only seemed that the Deharm family had mentally subdued the heretic judge.

However, Hamtar was a faithful believer and priest enough to be acknowledged by Bishop Leviham. Such a person would not have been oppressed by the power of the family.

If there was another reason, the only thing I could think of was that Theorad, the head of the family, did something to the heretic judge.

'But that, Theorard?'

For what reason did a person born with goodwill persecute the heretic judge? Leviham, narrowing his eyes, took out one of the papers piled on his desk and opened it.

It was a human name book that compiled the personal information of nobles in the vicinity of the parish and their attitude towards the religious order. After flipping through the papers several times, Leviham easily found Theorad Deharm's entry in his.

『Theorad Deham』

[Hazard Level: Level 6] Do not hesitate to show kindness. Very friendly to the church. He has a good character and is highly trusted by the people of the region. He has no enemies with various political interests.

This was the record left by the former parish priest during the days when the current bishop, Leviham, assisted the former parish bishop as an assistant bishop. Leviham had no intention of denying this record. This is because the theorist he saw in reality was the same person as written in the record.

'It was about three years ago.'

It was a time when the spring rains were pouring down and soaking everything. At that time, Levyham, who came out to the street to see something in the market, accidentally found Theorard in an alleyway.

At that time, Leviham, who was about to say hello, felt that the atmosphere was unusual, so he hid himself. It was because Theorad was talking to a woman who was sitting on the floor. A newborn baby was held tightly in the arms of the woman.

─ Do you remember the robber's face? Didn't you say he killed your husband and burned your house?

─ Ugh, I couldn't see it because he was wearing a mask. I'm sorry.

─ There are many things to be sorry for. Don't be silly and say your name.

– Haria. Her name is Haria Darnil.

—Good. Haria.

Theorard kneeled down on one of his knees and sat down. The puddles around him stained his silk clothes in a mess, but Theorard didn't care. Theorard's behavior was so disgraceful that the other nobles who would reprimand him even if a drop of filth splashed on his clothes looked pitiful.

"I saw a burning house as I was investigating this case, and I saw your dead husbands. It sounds like I believe in what you say. No matter how many years it takes, I will definitely catch the culprit. And....."

Theorard removed the brooch from his neck. The startled woman opened her eyes wide, but Theo Rad didn't care.

─ I'll give you this, so sell it to a valuables store and get on with your life. Shouldn't there be time to breastfeed the child?

─ I am better! I can't take it!

The woman freaked out and hit her hand. For a single gold coin, that expensive brooch was worth enough for a commoner to live affluently for three years.

But Theorard put the brooch in the woman's hand, as expected.

-Take it. Don't regret it later.

-How can something like me...

─ High and low are equal in life. I don't give because I'm like you; I give because I'm sure you need it. Repay the favor with survival.

Having said that, Theorard got up from his seat and left the alleyway. It is good in her eyes that the woman who stared at her from the back endlessly muttered her words of thanks one after another and burst into tears.

He 'was unmistakably a saint.'

Good job, to the extent that I was moved without even realizing it. At that time, Leviham even felt a sense of respect for Theorard.

'To think that such a person persecuted the heretic judge.'

No matter how much he thinks about it, he doesn't understand. Was it all smoke? Did he, who was an auxiliary bishop, know in advance that he was in the market and had done good deeds? To gain the church's trust?

"Hmm."

He thought it couldn't be, but he couldn't help but be suspicious. Most of all, he was very concerned that the heretic judge had surrendered to the Deharm family.

After thinking for a while, Leviham corrected Theoad's record in his life book.

『Theorad Deham』

[Hazard level: Level 4] Possess cunning enough to subdue the heretic judge. [The reason for this is currently unknown, but caution is advised.

'One day, I will personally visit the mansion and find out the truth.'

Having finished his thoughts, Leviham closed his life book and returned to his usual duties. It was because he had too many things to do on his own to give all his nerves to Theorard.