Leen suddenly raised her hand. “Um... What are the ‘Carbuncles’?”
Both Derg and I fell silent. Leen had shot me a cutting glare earlier, so I now returned the favor. Derg looked like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Under our gazes, Leen could only speak with a high-pitched, flustered tone.
“Wh-Why are you giving me those looks?! I know it’s some kind of church-affiliated group, but I just don’t know the specifics, okay?!”
I was surprised she’d managed this long as an adventurer without knowing...but I supposed they were a group you wouldn’t come into contact with often unless you were involved in witch trials.
“The Carbuncles are a specialized group in charge of witch trials. When the church officially runs a witch trial, they will be involved,” Derg said.
“Huh? Why’s that?”
Leen looked utterly confused. I supposed that was to be expected.
“It’s protocol. After all, a witch trial is conducted after an indictment. And an indictment will result in one person being executed.”
“Yes, it seems that way... At least according to the current rules...”
“It’s easier said than done. After all, it’s an execution. Their job is to both run the trial and kill whoever comes out as guilty,” I said.
If the witch was exposed, then she’d have no reason to hide her identity any longer, and would likely fight back to avoid getting executed.
“You can’t kill witches with mere authority. A second-class knight is needed at the very least. Sometimes even a first-class knight will get involved.”
Knights of these grades were above Derg—and me as a B-rank adventurer—so they were the super elite. People of their level were required for the process, and if things went really bad, the full force of the church might be called upon. But to be honest, the most troubling and common scenario was that the one indicted wasn’t a witch.
“Right... So the trial can’t begin until these carbonara uncles, or whatever, come?”
“In short, yes,” Derg replied.
I glanced over at Erifell’s neat desk and didn’t see any paper on it. The drawer was, naturally, locked. It would take too long to pry it open and rifle through her stuff, and there was no guarantee we’d even scrounge up the info we needed. Erifell was prudent enough to have the paper sign in her door—it was highly likely that she had kept the pertinent proof elsewhere.
A witch trial was carried out thoroughly under the church’s jurisdiction. That meant Erifell had enough evidence to use Derg’s authority to call out the Carbuncles. The church wouldn’t act on unfounded claims such as “she’s suspicious!” I was sure they would rush to Esma if they knew Erifell had been cursed, but the question became who was the culprit? Without an answer, we would only go in circles.
“Hmm...” Leen poked at the slime on Erifell’s head, one brow furrowed. “It will take them five days to arrive, right?”
“Y-Yes,” Derg said with a nod. “If I use the church’s communications network, I can send out a request at any time. Five days will be enough for the carriage carrying the vanguard to arrive.”
“That will be too late.” However, Leen gave an emotionless response. “At the pace the curse is progressing, Erifell’s body will only last three or four days.”
Both Derg and I stood up, confused sounds escaping our mouths.
“Then what do we do?!” Derg asked.
“It would be better if there was a bishop in the Esma church. They can use Purilifa or Healifa, which would halt the progression of a witch’s curse.”
Purilifa was a type of purification magic that could restore a target back to its normal state. Healifa was a type of healing magic that could cure the wounds of a living thing. Saphir Church bishops were adept at both spells. They were capable of dealing with undead monsters and removing impurities from corpses thanks to their ability to work with tainted mana.
“Can’t you use Purilifa, Leen?” I asked.
“Not as well as a professional... What I can use is Aqualifa, which allows me to purify liquids. I can make river water or swamp water drinkable, but working with spells that affect living creatures is very difficult.”
It was a useful spell for journeys, but I supposed if she could do more, then we would’ve been able to resolve the incident in Leston a little more easily.
“A third party can only remove a witch’s curse without the involvement of the witch in question by first removing the curse with Purilifa and then recovering the damage on the victim’s body with a powerful Healifa spell. Is there anyone in Esma capable of that?”
Receiving Leen’s glance, Derg responded through gritted teeth. “There isn’t a high-level priest in Esma who can do that. Our people who can use Purilifa are currently on their way to Leston to purify the land and bodies there.”
If corpses lived on tainted land for a long time, it would become a hotbed of pestilence and mana, becoming a new home for monsters. One of the church’s jobs was to purify areas and return them to their previous state in order to prevent this from happening.
“The other way to remove a curse is—”
“To kill the witch who made the curse. Right?”
Leen nodded to my interjection.
“That’s right,” she went on. “If you cut off the curse’s power source, then the symptoms will improve.”
The problem was pinpointing who the witch in question was. With Erifell rendered inactive, we had no evidence. With no evidence, we couldn’t call the Carbuncles. Without the Carbuncles, we couldn’t hold a witch trial. Ugh, this witch picked a great time to work her curse...
“I’ll do what emergency measures I can, but don’t expect too much,” Leen said.
“Miss Leen... You seem rather knowledgeable about witches,” Derg murmured. His remark seemed like a way of him airing out his frustrations.
“Well, I am an expert, after all,” Leen said, glaring at Derg while puffing out her cheeks. “Oh, but you won’t find a stigma on me. Care to look?”
“No, my apologies, forget it. I just realized that we are fighting with the clock.”
Derg fixed his posture, faced me and Leen, held out a hand, and bowed his head.
“I beg of you—please lend me your aid. This situation is too much for me alone and...”
I didn’t need to hear what else he had to say.
“Huh?”
Which is why I didn’t let him finish. I already had my answer.
“No need to ask. Witches are my enemy, so I’ll gladly help you.”
“Thank you,” Derg said, giving a deep bow.
However, Leen cut him off with her chiming voice.
“No.”
Yep, she spoke without any hesitation.
Derg lifted his head, but before his lips could twist into displeasure, Leen gave him the most beaming smile.
“You’re wrong, Derg. We’re not helping you—you’ll be helping us!”
“Excuse me?”
“This whole incident began in Leston. We were dealing with it first and you showed up later!” The world’s most self-centered woman stood up with her arms crossed. “So, if you ask nicely to help us out, I might consider saying yes.”