“Oh. It was you.”
There sat Gobta’s mother, Lyra Boucher.
Right—the high priest had gathered his followers here before he knew about Lyra’s testimony.
That’s how she had been able to pretend to still be brainwashed and follow the others to the cathedral.
Lyra stood there, alone. Alba must have still been hiding in the basement.
“I—I have a question. For the high priest.”
After being controlled by the high priest and unable to speak for so long, her voice was stilted.
“A question? Of what sort?”
The high priest seemed to go the route of placating her as he faced her with a smile.
“Wh-why…did Cumba have to die?”
“It was God’s will.” His eyes and mouth curved as he grinned. “He was called to Heaven by God.”
“W-was it because I s-suggested he go to a h-hospital?”
“If you feel remorse for doubting the church’s treatment, then stop with these suspicions.”
“Then—wh-why didn’t Alba…get better? And why was he m-made into compost?!”
“I am the proxy of God. Do you doubt God?”
“Does G-God want to silence us and c-control us like this?”
“You’re a bothersome one, aren’t you?” The high priest’s smile was beginning to fade. “The church was kind enough to listen to your silly family troubles and even gave you a job.”
“Gobta and my husband are not silly. And the one who l-listened to me was Cumba. I—I already had a job, b-but you brainwashed me, so I had to quit, and you don’t even pay—”
“You fool. Stop talking.”
Lyra let out a yelp as she flinched back.
“Uneducated, uncultured people with empty heads are easy to brainwash. Precisely why you were deemed an ‘especially devout’ disciple and given the important station in the compost team. I was kind enough to overwrite all your worldly worries.”
The high priest used this tone with her even though she wasn’t brainwashed any longer.
His words are so different from Tsukasa’s. Just listening to him makes me want to puke.
Listening to him talk, I started opening a large number of a certain type of window.
“The special Cleansing Prayer that I imprinted on the back of your head used extra trust from the other disciples. You caused that trouble for others just to gain your own peace of mind…”
The high priest’s way of speaking had a persuasive power that forced people’s wills to bend to him.
A person could brainwash another person, even without using magic. And he was good at it.
I was starting to understand. The holder of a Shard of Judgment was bestowed the Judgment Spell’s Power of Words based on that person’s innate individual strengths. That meant it was easy for an evil person to be bestowed an evil power.
“You must believe that we, the church, are right and just. Understood?”
The power of words to forcibly overwrite someone’s thoughts.
“Y-yes…”
“If you obey now, God is willing to forgive this foolish irreverence. Turn to me and bow your head, and the scales will erase your vote of doubt.”
Lyra trembled as she knelt.
“Repeat after me. ‘The high priest’s words are right and just.’ These words will bring you happiness, just as they have for the ten thousand disciples around us.”
As if begging the high priest’s forgiveness, Lyra folded her hands together…and asked:
“Wh-what will happen to Gobta? And my husband?”
“Worry not,” the high priest responded with a smile. “Lowly races such as goblins will be erased from this kingdom. You don’t need to think about them anymore.”
“I’ve caught you red-handed in an act of criminal intimidation.”
Tsukasa’s voice rang out.
“On top of attempting to escape from your trial, the accused is piling up charge after charge.”
From the center of the arena, the high priest began to approach her.
“Pfft. You foolish otherworlder.” He again began to walk toward the center of the arena. “Intimidation? What part? I’m speaking amicably, am I not?”
“Acts of intimidation include threats of harm to a family member’s life or liberty which induce fear. What you are doing to Lyra right now is, by definition, intimidation.”
“In that case, surely it is necessary to brainwash such a fearful person for their own good. If not, one can never truly be at peace.”
“There is no such thing as true peace in this world. Humans make mistakes and cause accidents everywhere they go. That precisely is why righteous judgment becomes necessary.”
“Tsukasa Wagatsuma… You’re still planning to proceed with the trial, are you? How laughable. Enough. An otherworld judge is not needed in this world. I sentence you all to death. Isn’t that right, my loyal disciples?”
Gilvert Trinity turned around dramatically to face the gallery.
However…
“…”
…no one answered.
“…Oh? Did you not hear me?” He spoke once more. “Death to these blasphemous Japanese people! Isn’t that right, my disciples?!”
Silence.
The ten thousand church members sitting around us were staring down at the arena, looking wide awake.
“Now the only person here with something wrong with their head is you.”
I approached my sister from behind as I called out to the high priest.
“A-assistant Akuto Satou, what have you done?!”
Tsukasa, still unsteady on her feet, turned back to me.
“You finished, didn’t you, Akk—I mean, assistant.”
“Yeah. All present should have had the brainwashing reversed. Though there may be some left over.”
I carried a small fox girl in my arms. “The high priest’s words are right and just! Right and just, I say! Right and juuust!” It was Tamamo Keisei, in a little nun outfit.
The half fox-spirit had had some additional Cleansing Prayers imprinted onto her: I ONLY SPEAK WORDS THAT AGREE WITH THE HIGH PRIEST and I HAVE NO MEMORY BEFORE TODAY. She must have been acting pretty annoying to afford these extras.