“Th-this place…”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Is this shop the entire building?”
“Hm? Haha… Is there something specific you’re looking for? Just say the word.”
Cassia walked past the shopkeeper, who was covering her mouth while laughing, and headed toward the back of the store. Nothing. Nowhere. Where in the world did the old woman vanish to?
“Ah, are you perhaps looking for something other than aphrodisiacs? There’s a very popular item these days. How about this? Your husband can hold it in his mouth during foreplay, and it comes in various flavors…”
“No, no!”
Cassia shouted, blushing at the bright smile of the shopkeeper, who had taken out a jar of candy from the ‘Edible Aphrodisiacs’ display; an item whose purpose she couldn’t even guess.
There was no way the old woman came here to buy goods, and Cassia had definitely seen her enter, so she had to be inside. There was a hundred percent chance the shopkeeper was a pagan too, and this place was undoubtedly a meeting spot for believers.
Having made her judgment, Cassia grabbed the wrist of the tilting shopkeeper and made eye contact.
“I’m not a customer.”
At Cassia’s meaningful words, the shopkeeper’s eyes narrowed for a split second. Catching that slight change in expression, Cassia breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
She hadn’t come to the wrong place. She hadn’t lost the old woman yet.
“What do you mean?”
But the shopkeeper did not seem inclined to continue the conversation easily.
Cassia, oddly, thought that was for the best. The old woman had moved while leaving room to be followed, and Cassia had followed her while worrying about potential traps. She was ready to bolt if necessary. But judging by the shopkeeper’s unprepared attitude, the old woman hadn’t led her here with malicious intent. She had likely noticed Cassia watching the street preacher closely and lured her here to try and entice her into the faith.
She probably thought: ‘If she follows out of curiosity, great. If not, it doesn’t matter.’
『Today again, may the poor souls be guided to paradise.』
That line, which she had already heard like a chant from two pagans, was stuck in her brain. The pagan believers were bound to gather while avoiding the eyes of the authorities in one way or another, and such a ‘place’ had to exist somewhere in the capital.
This was likely it.
Keeping her eyes on the shopkeeper’s, Cassia murmured softly.
“Today again, may the poor souls be guided to Paradise.”
“Ah.”
A small exclamation left the shopkeeper’s lips.
“So you’re a sister.”
The suspicion on her face vanished instantly, then she turned and walked toward a display case in the corner.
“…What is this, wife?”
“Shh.”
Cassia put her index finger to her lips and quietly followed the shopkeeper.
“Since it’s the festival period, many visitors in the capital have recently become believes. It brings me such joy to see how pleased our Emissary is.”
The shopkeeper slid aside a large wooden display filled with glass bottles and tools of unknown purpose. After a rumbling noise, a door hidden behind the wall was revealed.
Startled, Zester sucked in a breath, and Cassia squeezed his arm firmly, signaling him to act naturally.
When the door opened, a stairway leading down came into view.
“You’re here for the afternoon sermon, right? The Emissary has just arrived, so you’ll be able to hear every precious word. Ah, and since the ‘Sun’ said he would come today as well, it will be a truly beneficial time.”
“Thank you.”
Cassia smiled calmly and took Zester’s hand, stepping inside.
“May the light of Paradise be with you.”
With that short greeting, the door closed. The stairs leading underground were so long the end wasn’t visible.
Cassia looked around, slightly flustered, as she hadn’t expected a place like this to be hidden here.
“Wife, what in the world is this?”
“Shh. She’ll hear us outside. Keep you voice down.”
“If I’m not wrong, this looks like a pagan den, no? Isn’t it?”
“I think so.”
“You think so? Did you come knowing this? Where did you learn that strange phrase?”
“I’ll explain later. For now, let’s pretend to be outsiders interested in the faith and take a look.”
“No, how do we know what’s down there?!”
“There’s bound to be something. For example, the missing Pia might be there.”
The moment Pia’s name left her mouth, Zester slumped in defeat. This cunning wife of his had definitely planned this. Date, his foot. She had definitely only been thinking about other things from the start.
Oil lamps hung sparsely on the hard stone walls.
Zester followed Cassia with a hollow look on his face as she marched down the long stairs without any hint of fear. After about two minutes of diligent walking, they reached an old wooden door. Sounds of many people murmuring came from beyond. Cassia opened the door with the most casual expression she could muster.
‘My goodness.’
Cassia was stunned. One, by the fact that such a large space existed under the shop, and two, because with a glance, she could tell that the gathered ‘believers’ here easily numbered over a hundred. The believers merely glanced at Cassia and Zester entering, showing no particular wariness or interest.
Remembering what the shopkeeper had said about many new converts among festival visitors, Cassia realized their reaction was only natural, which was a relief.
She was relieved.
The underground hideout of the pagans was a decorated small underground cave, and it wasn’t exactly organized. Aside from a wide wooden platform in the distance, there were no significant structures. All the believers were standing. It was the kind of place where they could vanish without a trace if it was discovered.
The area was well-lit by oil lamps packing the walls. The believers, as if waiting for someone, watched the platform and chattered idly among themselves.
In time, a small, frail figure slowly ascended the platform. It was the old woman. When she took off the dull-colored cloak covering her face, her heavily wrinkled face was revealed.
“I didn’t expect it to be on this scale… It wouldn’t be strange if people were being held captive somewhere in here. Should we look around since we’re here?”
Zester bent close to Cassia’s ear and whispered.
“No. They said there would be a gracious afternoon sermon. Let’s listen first for a bit.”
“My beloved brothers and sisters. I would like to begin by lifting my voice in gratitude to Lord Remiel, who has granted us the grace to share this precious time together today.”
The moment the old woman’s words rang out, Cassia and Zester were startled. Her voice obviously wasn’t loud enough to echo through the entire hideout, yet it sounded clear, as if spoken right next to their ears.
Magic. Likely some kind of amplification spell.
‘What is this? Is she someone who can use magic stones?’
No remaining mages were alive. But there was a way to manifest magic. Magic stones. The old woman, the Emissary of the Remiel Faith, seemed to be someone who knew how to handle magic stones. Cassia nodded inwardly, realizing how she had managed to gather so many believers in the capital.
The believers clasped their hands and muttered prayers. Words like Lord Remiel, Paradise, and Equality popped out occasionally.
“Today, I will speak of why Lord Remiel seeks to create Paradise.”
“Ooh, Lord Remiel!”
“Lord Remiel! Lord Remiel!”
As the “sermon” began, the believers stretched their arms toward the air and chanted the deity’s name like a spell.
As the Emissary’s ‘sermon’ was about to begin, the believers stretched their arms into the air and shouted the god’s name like a chant. It was truly a terrifying atmosphere. Unlike the calm Cassia, Zester broke into a cold sweat.
‘Don’t tell me Cassia’s fallen for this strange religion too? If the Imperial family finds out she believes in this, we’ll be in big trouble. What if she asks me to believe in this Remiel or whatever his name is too? Oh, well. If Cassia asks, I’ll do it.’
Swallowing the conflicting thoughts swirling inside him, Zester tightly pulled Cassia’s shoulder, hugging her close, then he squeezed his eyes shut and muttered.
“Huu… Lord Remiel…”
“…What are you saying? Snap out of it, dummy.”
Cassia poked him with her elbow and turned her gaze back to the Emissary, the faith’s leader in the distance.
“In the beginning, Lord Remiel created this world. The world, covered in Lord Remiel’s power, was peaceful. The strong did not despise the weak, there was no distinction between nobles and commoners, and it was free from jealousy, violence, and envy.”
“Sounds like a nice world.”
Zester chimed in, nodding earnestly and Cassia looked up at him incredulously.
“However, the Demon Orobas was jealous of Lord Remiel and sought to plant roots of evil in this world. His servants tainted countless creations of Lord Remiel with evil. The strong wielded power over the weak, beaten slaves came into existence, and the once-good creations committed violence against one another and did not hesitate to murder.”
To have the audacity to label Orobas, whom all imperial citizens followed as ‘God’, a ‘Demon’. Cassia looked around, pressing down on her pounding heart. If they were discovered, every single head here would surely roll.
“Evil spreads faster than good. By the time Lord Remiel recognized the chaos of this world and tried to save his creations, the forces of evil had already spread uncontrollably. The faith of His creations was Lord Remiel’s strength, but many creations turned to worship the demon Orobas instead of Lord Remiel.”
The Emissary paused to swallow her words, as if overcome with emotion, then let out a long sigh.
“In the end, seeing the world could not be saved, Lord Remiel resolved to create a new world for the remaining righteous creations. That is—Paradise!”
“Waaah!”
“Lord Remiel! Lord Remiel!”
“When Paradise opens, I, your Emissary, shall guide the noble souls of you gathered here, you brothers and sisters, to Lord Remiel!”
“Ahhh!”
“Paradise!”
Cassia frowned.
The phrase ‘guide your souls’ did not sound metaphorical at all.
A religious leader who knew how to use magic stones. And what the philosopher Raergo had told her about the cost of using them in Ruberno.
As those threads tangled in her mind, she began to suspect that this suspicious old woman was leading this cult with impure intentions.
‘He said high-grade magic stones demand a significant price to pay. Is this crazy old woman trying to steal the believers’ lives to power magic stones? No, before that, are there other places besides Havelyn with deposits of magic stone?’
This was complicated. Even with her advantage of going back ten years in time, this was far too much to handle for someone who had stayed holed up in Greze her whole life.
“And today, ‘The Sun’ has graciously come to call upon the sacrificial believers who will join our plan.”
The Emissary finished speaking and stepped down from the platform. Immediately, someone else climbed onto the platform where the religious leader had been.
The believer called the ‘Sun’ wore a black mask and was dressed in armor and a thin helmet covering his head. Aside from his tall stature and sturdy build indicating he was a man, his specific identity could not be determined.
“Greetings.”
A low voice, also amplified by magic, struck Cassia’s ears.
A voice that sounded somewhat young, yet deep and powerful.
Although she couldn’t see the face behind the mask, Cassia could easily deduce who he was. The title ‘The Sun,’ which was only given to members of the royal family.
Plus the memories of the past that Cassia possessed.
The one who was accused of pagan worship in her previous life, leading pagan believers to start the ‘Pagan War’ for which he was burned at the stake.
It was undoubtedly the Second Prince of the Empire, Eagle Simone.
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