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Our time in the bath ended up being lively and fun (and more than just a little embarrassing) but as with all good things, it finally came to a close. After I got out of the hot spring and dressed myself, Aruna picked me up in a bridal carry, making good on her offer to bring me back to town.
Aruna had trained herself both physically and magically to her absolute limits, which allowed her to move in complete silence. We swept through the forest with nary a rustle. I knew she was augmenting the strength of her legs, but I wondered what skill allowed her to move without a sound.
While I was marveling at her transcendent technique—though I couldn’t make heads or tails of how it worked—we reached the vicinity of the town’s south gates within a scant few minutes. I had Aruna set me down at the edge of the woods where no one was likely to be watching, and walked the rest of the way back. As I was walking, however, it suddenly struck me as odd that she had brought me here in a bridal carry. Did she really have to do that? Surely there was some other way.
At any rate, I barely made it through the gates before they closed. The bath had done wonders for my fatigue, so I didn’t feel it necessary to rest just yet, but I headed urgently toward the Lycoris estate regardless.
En route, however, I was stopped by loud cries.
“You people need to know the glory and wonder of Erebos!”
“What’s going on?” I muttered to myself, distracted from my goal of getting home.
At the plaza in the center of town, near the Lycoris estate, a group of men in familiar garb were declaiming with their arms dramatically raised in the air.
These men were worshippers of Erebos. I’d seen them here and there around town since I’d arrived—they were hard to miss, given their dark robes and habit of drawing their hoods low to conceal their faces. The acolytes were insistent on spreading the word of Erebos, but very few people in Lycoris seemed to be interested. Shunned everywhere they went, the number of people willing to lend them an ear was close to zero.
“They believe in such a strange god, don’t they? I can’t believe they’re still at it even at this hour... I suppose they’re enthusiastic, at least,” Fouré observed.
“You shouldn’t call their god strange. We may not understand their beliefs, but everyone needs something to put their faith in. As long as it doesn’t cause problems for others, I think people should have freedom of religion,” I gently admonished.
“Huey, you’re so nice! That was a pretty kind thing to say!”
“But they’ve noticed you were looking at them, and they’re coming this way. Be on guard, Hisui. There’s something odd about them,” warned Aruna.
“Huh?”
Distracted by my whispered conversation with Fouré, I hadn’t noticed them coming. My reaction came far too late—they were already standing right in front of me.
“Hello, boy. You were watching us, yes? Are you interested in Erebos?” one of them asked.
“Oh, um... Not really...” I stuttered.
“That’s a shame! Erebos is a wonderful god, filled with boundless love and mercy for all living creatures. All the happiness and fortune in the world is a blessing from the great Erebos!”
“R-Right...”
I had told Fouré just a moment ago that I thought people were free to choose their religion so long as they didn’t disturb other people, but as it turned out, their proselytizing was already cranking up the pressure. If they weren’t handled with finesse, I felt like this might spark a conflict between them and worshippers of the three goddesses. The Trinity faithful were far from radical as a rule, but given that the followers of Erebos were essentially denying the power of the goddesses in their preaching, I doubted they would stay quiet forever.
“Interested in Erebos now? If you are, then I can tell you much, much more...” The man trailed off, expectantly.
I decided to decline. “Sorry, but I follow the Trinity, so I’m not all that interested in other religions.”
“You’re one of their believers too?!”
“Ah!” I squeaked.
One of the nearby preachers suddenly shouted, startling me. He was also trembling, but out of passion rather than shock, and his voice was filled with raw emotion as he continued.
“People have extolled the glory of the three founding goddesses since antiquity! How do you people not understand the greatness of our beloved Erebos?! Each and every one of you keep going on and on about the Trinity...but what exactly have those three done for you—or any of us?!”
His shrill cries rang through the plaza. The area had been filled with its usual hustle and bustle, but everything suddenly fell silent at this. All eyes were now focused on the man.
“You should keep that to yourself. If the Trinity orthodoxy hears you, they’ll be angry for sure,” I lectured him, not wanting to just stay quiet.
“Shut up, boy!” The acolyte’s voice was laden with irritation, but I’m sure I sounded the same—I couldn’t stand by and listen to someone insult Aruna and the others. “Damned whelp, wagging your tail for the goddesses,” he sneered. “Divine punishment be upon you—”
“Stop! Not in a place like this!”
The man had moved to pull something from his robes, but the other black-garbed men immediately dogpiled him. In the end, he didn’t do anything, but it was clear he’d been about to start a fight.
I hurried away from the group of Erebos faithful who had ganged up on me and fled toward the manor. “Maybe freedom of religion shouldn’t extend to that,” I muttered to myself.
I had no idea what those acolytes were trying to do, but whatever it was, they were being far too extreme about it. They should’ve been more understanding of others—godliness was in the eye of the beholder, after all, and it ought to stay that way.
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“Damn that smart-mouthed brat!”
Once Hisui had disappeared into the crowd, the man who’d been about to start a riot hissed spitefully, his voice overwhelmed with a savage anger.
One of the other acolytes cut into his snarling. “Cool it, moron. If you use that here, people would know we’re to blame for all this. Just why do you think His Grace deigned to give us that artifact in the first place?”
“Oh, shut up! It’s just so frustrating... Every single one of those sheep milling around follow the Trinity. No one will stop to listen, and they all turn away from us, like we’re nothing more than troublemakers. Aren’t you angry about that too?!”
“Yeah, but if we give in to anger, then we can’t achieve our goal. We’ve wanted to change this town for so long—it must change. They’ll all realize soon enough that Erebos’s guidance is needed to achieve true happiness.”
Another acolyte, the one who had originally restrained the resentful man, spoke up, his voice full of rapture. His voice dispelled his comrade’s anger instantly.
“Hmph. Now that you mention it, I suppose it is about time to put our plan into action.”
“Yes. We’ve already captured the target. Once imbued with the curse and released, we’ll see this town thrown into mayhem. His Grace grieves for the current state of affairs in this town, so we will begin the mission in the next few days.”
“Good. If that brat gets cursed, let’s just abandon him. It’ll be beyond our ability to cure, y’know what I’m saying?”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that? But, I get it—we gotta triage the afflicted and all... It’s not like we can get to everyone in time. Do whatever you want.”
“I will! Ha ha!”
Taking care to keep their voices low enough that others around them couldn’t hear their conversation, the men continued their reprehensible discussion. Slowly but surely, their evil aspirations began to close around this sleepy town...but its inhabitants had yet to realize.