TRSDICI 14

Chapter 14

Me?

Bella’s hymn was clearly not a song, but an abnormal sound attack.

Still, all I needed was a deacon who could sing hymns.

‘Of course, if that was all, it would be better to find another deacon.’

But unlike the people who only stayed locked inside rooms reading scriptures, the Bella I saw today had courage and awareness. Even in dangerous situations, she did not panic and instead looked for what she needed to do.

Not only that, she was also very prepared, meaning I would not have to handle every small task myself.

‘And most importantly….’

The enormous amount of mana Bella possessed.

Earlier during the test, when she knocked out the Voice-Stealer with her shout, I thought it was just a coincidence. But after seeing this scene, it was obvious Bella possessed far more mana than ordinary people.

‘The monsters charging at her are collapsing after hearing Bella’s hymn.’

She was probably releasing mana unconsciously whenever she sang.

Normal people could never do that. Just by mana quantity alone, it rivaled my current divine power.

‘Still, she sings unbelievably badly.’

I remembered the conversation I had with Bella before.

• “What’s your specialty?”
• “Hmm… cleaning, cooking, singing?”

So that was what she meant. She planned to drag heretics into hell with her singing.

Since I had severely misunderstood her, it was only right to apologize. But after hearing her singing, even that feeling ascended straight into heaven.

Right when I began wondering how much longer I had to endure that noise—

“Cough, cough!”

Bella stopped singing and coughed.

Well, naturally. She had been continuously firing high notes and mana through her throat.

Kiiyaak!

At that moment, a dog-like monster opened its jaws and rushed toward Bella.

Bella saw it, but she could only hold her throat helplessly and could not move.

Right before its sharp teeth sank into her flesh—

Taat!

I kicked off the ground and split the monster apart with my sword.

After shaking the blood from my blade and turning around, I saw Bella staring at me with wide eyes.

“Are you alright?”

After asking that, my expression hardened.

“For reference, I am not alright.”

“Inqui— no, Inquisitor? How are you here…?”

Bella’s speaking voice was beautiful.

I truly wanted to research how someone with such a voice could sing like that.

“I was lying in the cathedral when I heard a demon’s scream. So I came here and found those monsters.”

“I-I see. Thank you for saving me.”

Bella bowed deeply. Her huge bag slid down, hiding the back of her head.

“Forget that. Why are you here? Didn’t you leave with the others?”

There was no reason for Bella to be here.

At first, I suspected she might be part of the Akseo Society because she seemed suspicious. But during the attack, the one who knocked out the Voice-Stealer was Bella herself.

“Ah… while coming to the test grounds, I saw some medicinal herbs we needed. So I thought it would be good to bring them back.”

“And then you almost got eaten by monsters.”

“T-that’s…!”

Bella quickly defended herself.

“Cardinal Varun definitely said there were no monsters here. But suddenly…”

There was no reason for Varun to lie.

The monsters probably reacted to Bella’s massive mana.

Monsters grew stronger by feeding on mana.

“Didn’t they tell you there could still be remnants of the attackers nearby?”

“They did. They said it was unlikely they’d come back, but it was still dangerous…”

“Then why come into the forest? Is your life that worthless?”

“But there were medicinal herbs needed for a sick child at the orphanage…”

At that point, I had nothing to say.

“And somehow, monsters faint whenever they hear my hymn.”

Of course they did.

Though it probably wasn’t just monsters.

“Could this be the power of the hymn?”

As if that were possible.

I almost denied it immediately, but regained my senses and answered instead.

“Perhaps.”

“Ah, so it really is?!”

Bella’s eyes widened.

“But people always say I’m bad at singing. They say it feels like someone scratching their eardrums with fingernails.”

An accurate evaluation.

Still, I grabbed Bella by both shoulders and spoke seriously.

“Don’t lose confidence now. When you introduced yourself earlier, didn’t you proudly say singing was your specialty? Every talent given by the Goddess has a reason.”

“Really?”

Bella’s eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

“Then should I sing another—”

“Shut up!!!”

“W-What?”

I sighed and rubbed my face.

Encouraging people truly did not suit me.

More importantly, if this continued, Bella would end up with several problems.

“I’ll tell you the truth.”

I looked at Bella.

“Monsters don’t collapse simply because you sing hymns. They collapse because your mana is being released while you sing.”

“Mana?”

“Yes. And the others were right. You are not good at singing. Even my ass—”

“Ass?”

“No, even if I sang carelessly, I would still sing better than you. You may not want to admit it, but that is reality.”

“Ah…”

Bella lowered her head deeply.

For some reason, her expression resembled Aren’s pitiful face, making me feel slightly guilty. But I could not allow her to continue down the wrong path.

“That’s unfair.”

Bella spoke with tears already gathering in her eyes.

“To me, my singing sounds perfectly fine. So why does everyone keep saying I’m bad? If I believe in myself, why should I accept that I’m wrong?”

Tears like morning dew fell onto the grass.

Seeing that, I crossed my arms and tilted my head.

‘Something is strange.’

I had not known her long, but Bella did not seem like the type to stubbornly insist on nonsense.

Of course, it was extremely difficult for someone to shatter a belief they had held for so long.

But Bella’s belief was as solid as a mountain. No one could break it.

That confidence could only exist if she truly believed she sang well.

“Really?”

Bella raised her tearful face.

“…What?”

“You truly hear no problem in your singing?”

Bella roughly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and silently nodded.

“Hm, I see…”

I tapped my arm and thought carefully.

When Bella sang, the mana inside her body naturally burst outward.

That power knocked out the Voice-Stealer, collapsed monsters, and even woke me from a peaceful sleep far away.

‘Then perhaps the mana itself is the problem?’

For example…

What if Bella’s voice became distorted to others because of the enormous mana mixed into it?

Then it would make sense why Bella herself believed she sang beautifully. She was the one directly hearing the true resonance of her own voice.

‘Well, I can just confirm it myself.’

I looked at Bella.

“If you truly believe that, then I will believe you once. But if you are wrong, I will no longer waste my time on you.”

I had no intention of traveling with someone who could not even recognize reality.

Maybe my guess was wrong. But even then, there was no reason for me to keep searching for another method just for her sake.

“Inquisitor, do you have a way to confirm it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay! I’m confident, so let’s do it!”

This tiny thing looked up at me proudly.

“Let us hope my time is not wasted.”

Smirking, I placed my palm against Bella’s throat.

“Eh?”

“Don’t move. I’m going to inject divine power and suppress the mana trying to escape from your body. All you have to do is sing like this.”

If my guess was right, then this would allow Bella’s real voice to be heard.

“Understood.”

Bella nodded, and I spoke seriously.

“Bella.”

“Yes, Inquisitor.”

I poured divine power into her throat and blocked the mana from rising.

“Go easy. I still have many things I need to do in the future.”

“Don’t worry. I’m only going to warm up my voice.”

Bella steadied her breathing.

“Then I’ll begin.”

I nodded.

The moment she opened her mouth—

Kugugugu!!

An enormous amount of mana surged upward like a collapsing dam.

I could feel the tremendous pressure through my divine power.

I poured in even more divine power to suppress her mana.

And then—

“Aah───”

A voice that seemed to contain sunlight echoed through the forest on the night breeze.

A pure and beautiful voice unlike anything I had ever heard before.

Until now, all I had listened to were screams of despair and cries of agony. But her singing was such a powerful shock that even my darkness vanished for a moment.

Kwaaaaaa!!

At that moment, the suppressed mana exploded violently.

I could suppress it by pouring in even more divine power, but then Bella’s body would not withstand it, and the compressed mana would explode.

So I immediately removed my hand and protected my hearing with divine power.

“AAAAAAAH!!!!”

Mana burst from Bella’s mouth like a dragon rising into the sky.

Have you ever crossed heaven and hell in a single instant?

That was exactly how I felt.

The only reason I escaped hell was because Bella saw my horribly twisted expression and stopped singing.

“A-Are you okay?”

My ears…

My ears…

Even in the brief moment before I covered them, the demon’s echo pierced deep inside.

“I’m sorry… Was I really the problem after all…?”

I shook my head once to regain my senses.

“No. You were right. Though you did not notice it yourself, I heard your true singing for a moment.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. As expected, the mana released with your voice was the problem. Your belief was not wrong.”

Joy and long-held frustration mixed together on Bella’s face.

Judging by how tightly she bit her lip, it seemed she was holding back tears.

“Thank you, Inquisitor.”

Still, Bella smiled softly.

From that alone, I could roughly imagine how she had lived all this time.

“Then if I learn to control my mana properly, will other people finally be able to hear my singing too?”

“Correct. You are smarter than you look.”

“But how do I control mana? I want to clear up this misunderstanding with the sisters too.”

“That is something I can help you with.”

“Huh? I’d be grateful, but why would you go that far for me…?”

There was confusion and caution in Bella’s eyes.

Ironically, I liked that attitude more.

“I am currently searching for a deacon who can sing hymns. I need one to freely operate as an Inquisitor.”

“So if I become your deacon, that solves it?”

“Yes. And if you learn from me afterward, you will be able to control your mana freely.”

I knew the amount of mana Bella possessed because I experienced it firsthand.

If trained properly, she would become an excellent asset instead of a burden.

“Hmmm…”

Bella hesitated, making me tilt my head.

“Why are you hesitating?”

“Well… if I do that, I don’t think I’ll be able to take care of the orphanage much anymore.”

“Weren’t you trying to become an Inquisitor from the beginning?”

“That’s true… but after everything that happened today, I feel like I thought too lightly about it.”

This girl was not easy.

In the end, I coated my tongue with the Sword of Joy and struck.

“Oh? Then are you planning to keep forcing that kind of singing onto people?”

“T-That…”

“When you can no longer hold yourself back and start singing again, one of the nuns listening will say this: ‘Please shut up, Sister!’”

“Our sisters would never say that!”

“And then one of the children lying nearby will ask, ‘Big Sister Bella… what about my medicinal herbs…?’”

“Aaaah!”

Bella grabbed her head, but I had no intention of stopping.

“And after that continues for a while, the orphanage director will quietly call you over. ‘Miss Bella, your hymn is far too blasphe—’”

“O-Okay! I’ll do it! I’ll do it already!”

Finally, Bella surrendered, and I snorted.

“You were going to do it anyway, so why hesitate?”

“Ugh… this feels like half a threat…”

“If you hate it that much, then quit. I have no intention of dragging along someone without determination.”

I wanted to bring her because she had many advantages, but if she lacked resolve, then I did not want her either.

“No. It’s not that I dislike it.”

Bella looked up at me with determined eyes.

“In fact, I want to do it. Of course… if I can truly help you, Inquisitor.”

So becoming an Inquisitor really was her own wish.

She was simply afraid that walking this path would separate her from the people precious to her.

“Then work hard to become useful. You have talent.”

How many people her age possessed as much mana as Bella?

I could confidently say she would rank within the top ten on the continent.

And that was without training her martial ability at all.

As for me, I would only continue growing stronger from now on.

“Hehe, thank you. But if I ever become useless, you can just abandon me!”

“I do not have that kind of hobby. Though I might work you hard enough to stay useful.”

Bella smiled brightly and spoke.

“Inquisitor.”

“What?”

“I think you’re actually kind.”

I tilted my head.

“Me?”

“Yes. Your words are rough, but in the end, everything you do is to help someone, isn’t it? Thanks to you, I was able to make up my mind too.”

“You are mistaking necessity for kindness.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Hm.”

That was the first time I had ever heard something like that.

Not even as an empty compliment.

“So please take care of me from now on, Inquisitor.”

Bella bowed deeply again. Her giant shell-like bag slid over the back of her head once more.

Well, it was not bad that she thought positively of me.

“Sure, turtle.”

Bella lifted her head and answered awkwardly.

“…I’m not a turtle. I’m Bella.”

“Forget the small details. We’re resting at the cathedral tonight, and tomorrow we head to the Divinar Diocese.”

I turned toward the cathedral, and Bella hurried after me.

“Huh? Why are we going there?”

“To investigate.”

About one month from now, the Divinar Diocese Office would be burned down by someone.

The reason I knew this was because in my previous life, Rudian constantly asked if I was the culprit.

The timing matched perfectly with the destruction of my family and my disappearance, so he naturally suspected me.

‘I need to find the real culprit if only to clear my name.’

Of course, I had no intention of staying there for an entire month.

Rudian once told me that before the diocese incident, there had been an attack in the Divinar territory, and the two events were likely connected.

So if I watched that attack carefully, I would eventually discover the culprit.

‘My suspicions were cleared only after hearing that story. Before the diocese incident, I had already been kidnapped.’

Still, because I was annoyed at being suspected for so long, I once knocked Rudian unconscious and threw him into ancient ruins.

Yet somehow, he survived and came chasing after me again.

‘That damn stalker bastard….’

As I frowned deeply, Bella suddenly spoke.

“Really? My orphanage happens to be there too, so that works out perfectly.”

“Your orphanage?”

“Yes.”

The place attacked back then had been an orphanage.

There were not many orphanages in the territory, so it was probably Bella’s orphanage that would be attacked.

But there was no need to make her worry, so I answered casually.

“That’s quite a coincidence.”

“Right?”

Bella nodded and asked another question.

“But Inquisitor, aren’t you going to contact your family? They’ll probably be happy to hear you became an Inquisitor.”

My family would be happy that I became an Inquisitor?

I thought about it carefully and tilted my head.

“I doubt it.”

They would probably be horrified instead.

Two days later, late at night.

“I apologize for visiting so late, Baron Luminara. I am Cardinal Varun.”

Cardinal Varun personally visited the Luminara territory.

‘This is bad….’

At a glance, Benedict Luminara could already tell this was far from a normal situation, and he could only swallow dryly.

(To be continued)