“…therefore, the almighty Rom cursed the devils with an eternal truth that cannot be undone and gave grace to the sun, preventing them from coming out under the sunlight.”
Krail, who was taking a class on devils, tilted his head and asked a question to the priest.
“Then, priest, if we want to find out whether someone is a devil or not, shouldn’t we just directly ask them to confess?”
The priest answered Krail’s question after glancing at Julius, who was dozing off behind him.
“Hmm, Krail asked a good question. As the Scripture says, devils cannot tell lies, but they came up with a wicked trick to twist the curse of God.”
Looking at the prospective inquisitors who were still looking at him as if they didn’t understand, the priest asked a question.
“Why do you think the devil covets the bodies of living and dead humans?”
“Hmm…because it’s a special dish that suits their taste?”
Lots of laughter erupted at Krail’s words.
Julius was still dozing, curled up with his body behind his partner in mischief.
“Hahahaha! That’s an interesting answer. It’s certainly true that the reason they covet human bodies is to eat them. However, it is not the same as humans eating to satisfy hunger.”
Everyone held their breath and began to listen to the priest’s words.
“The reason they want to devour human bodies is to overthrow their very existence.”
“What does that mean?”
“When devils acquire a human body, they mimic humans not only in appearance but also in existence. That is, they are no different from humans except that they cannot walk under the sun until they reveal their evil nature. He deceives the eyes of God and takes the place of a human soul, so it is not a lie to say that he is a human being.”
“Is there no way to get the devil out of the body where the devil resides?”
Someone asked a question.
The priest slightly shook his head, “Except for getting it back through a wager with the devil, there is no way to force separation…this is also the reason why many people had no choice but to sacrifice themselves in the war 20 years ago. We had no choice but to burn them all. It’s really unfortunate.”
“Devils are beings that deserve to be destroyed not because they cannot tell lies, but because they use it to deceive humans in a clever and wicked way.”
“‘I didn’t tell a lie.’ That’s what devils often say, and that’s where today’s lesson will end. Now that the flowers have bloomed after all this time, let’s take a break from training and go to the festival…”
Drurrruk!
I don’t know when this happened, but before the priest even finished speaking, Julius jumped out of his seat and excitedly ran out of the classroom.
Krail watched for a moment the distant back of his hometown friend, who was so excited at the thought of meeting Cecil that he ran away. Then, he sighed briefly and turned his head to look out the window.
It was a day in May, with flowers in full bloom showing off their scent.
***
There were two plates of delicious steak with steam rising on the table. She had her jet-black hair tied back neatly, and her black eyes, which were sparkling differently from their color, looked alternately between her plate and the blond-haired man sitting in front of her.
Julius spoke in a very kind tone as he watched the girl fidget like a puppy trying to get permission from its owner.
“The food will get cold. Let’s eat quickly.”
After hearing those words and seeing Julius slowly begin to cut the steak in front of her, Thalia put a knife in her hand and started cutting the meat as if she were following Julius, but she was unable to cut it properly and was struggling.
Julius, who watched the scene silently, exchanged his neatly sliced steak with her plate and opened his mouth.
“When we were young, you were never good at cutting with a knife. Whenever you ate meat, I would always cut it for you like this. It seems like it’s still the same even after all these years.”
“Ah…thank you. Senior…ah….”
Thalia, seeing Julius grinning as she recalled her childhood memories, lowered her red face and just shoved the meat into her mouth.
The first time Thalia opened her mouth again was after finishing her meal and while she was drinking the coffee that came with dessert.
“So how long do you plan on staying here?”
She spoke while glancing at Julius’ left hand.
“It seems that I am quite hated by the church, so I’m actually being demoted, so I guess I’ll probably be staying longer than I thought. It’s uncomfortable for you to have me here, isn’t it?”
At the sight of Thalia’s expression, Julius felt the guilt that had been constricting him subside a little and he gave her a slightly mischievous expression like when they were a child.
“Ah…no! I’d be happy if you were still here! If anything, you can stay forever.”
Julius responded with a smile as Thalia waved her arms and made excuses.
“Forever will probably be difficult, but we will probably be able to spend a year together.”
For some reason, he looked sad when he answered like that, and Thalia could only blink her eyes blankly.
***
“So, what happened? Priest Brukin.”
Emily, one of the only two priests in Kente Village, opened her mouth as she looked at the elderly priest Brukin, who had a serious expression on his face.
“A trustworthy friend at the church headquarters in the capital is in trouble. It seems like a major accident has occurred.”
Brukin glanced at the broken mirror placed in the corner of the small room, sighed and scratched his head.
After briefly looking at the broken pieces of glass on the floor, Emily tilted her head and said to him.
“Telmere’s mirror cannot be broken unless it is something serious, so what on earth have you done? If you carelessly destroy the church’s property, you’ll be in trouble.”
“…I didn’t break it, it happened because it was forcibly disconnected it from the other side, Priestess Emily.”
Emily, avoiding Brukin’s glaring gaze at her, smiled awkwardly and twisted her hair.
“Anyway, if it was done by the church, then shouldn’t there be a valid reason? We can’t be sure, but we’ll be able to restore it when the time comes.”
“I tried to secretly ask my friend in the capital about what happened to Julius, but this got them into trouble.”
“Then we can at least write a letter. Now that Julius has returned and Krail has become a special heretic inquisitor, there should be no problem if we want to inquire something. Why don’t you at least write a letter to the child and ask how he is?”
“It’s not because of the regulations of the heretic inquisitor belonging to the Central Church.”
“Then why?”
“It’s because of the last command from the church before the mirror broke.”
“What is the last order given?”
“The command was ‘Be silent.’”
“…indefinite standby order. Has something big happened to the church? I wonder if a war will break out like 20 years ago….”
“So, I guess I’ll have to go to the capital myself. There’s no way to know anything if we’re stuck in a rural area like this. It’s an order, but I’ll have to find out for myself how things are…”
church probably having hidden civil war going on right now